Dear Ones,
Hope you will have a peace-filled day.  I made soup to have when I get back from the dentist.. There was a cancelation so I will be getting 2 teeth extracted this morning. Prayers appreciated. Then this afternoon I have my mammogram that is way overdue and a Dexascan.  And hopefully it won’t take long as we are invited to friends for coffee and fellowship. 
Devotions from Judy’s heart
   How good are we at accepting advice and counsel? Do we bristle when someone tells us of  a better way we could be doing something? Or perhaps criticizing something we have done?
Our response says a lot! If we have a fragile ego, we may get hurt and respond with anger, and justify why our way is best and probably ignore their advice. But hopefully we are open and will give it consideration and even thank the person.
   I was reading in my devotions from Exodus 18 about Moses and how he responded to advice, and on that same day Mark Roberts also wrote on Crossroads. Com of exactly that. Moses was on overload as he settled disagreements from morning until night among the people. His father-in-law, Jethro, observed how he was overworked and gave him unsolicited advice. He first asked Moses a question of why he was doing this and then went on to say if he kept on, he would wear himself out. In other word’s he couldn’t do it alone and needed help.  He suggested a solution that he choose capable God-fearing men who could settle the lesser disagreements and Moses would go on handling the more difficult ones. He also added, “If God commands you, and you do this, you will be able to continue your work…” Now Moses could have gotten defensive and told Jethro to bug out, but he listened and did everything he said.
  It appears that Moses was humble and received criticism and was open to advice. He didn’t get offended and it paid dividends as Moses’ burden was lifted. How about us? Do we get defensive when someone offers a suggestion to us? Or maybe we don’t want to delegate things since we won’t get the glory associated with the job. We may be struggling and God sends others to help but we say “No thank you. I’ve got this!” I remember feeling overwhelmed by calls from women in the Bible Study that I led. The phone seemed to ring every time I put it down. But one gal suggested that I tell the whole group to call one another and minister to one another when needs came up in their lives. I did that and it was a great help and also taught them to minister to each other.
   Let us all be humble and open to accept the help God sends us, in whatever way it comes!
Challenge for today: The next time someone gives you advice, thank them and tell them you will pray about it and ask the Lord. 
Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy