Dear Ones,
 Hope you have a wonderful long enjoyable weekend! I just finished cleaning our apt and making G.F. cookies for the grandsons, sweet potatoes , and  food prep. Today we are going to Culver’s for lunch which is Al’s favorite place, and then get flowers for our balcony and some herbs. Tomorrow afternoon we are going to the lake and stopping to see a friend on the way. I hope to have a hot scrabble game with our grandsons and then we will have a family picnic at the Point. It is always a  fun gathering time to see extended family. We hope the mosquitoes don’t eat us alive though!
Devotions from Judy’s heart,
 Change comes to all of us with or without our permission. Some people thrive on change but for the majority of us, change does not come easy and takes a time of adjustment.
   Here at Northern Lakes, we often have new people coming to live who have just sold their homes and had to downsize to fit everything into apartment living. It is a big change and yet we can sympathize as we all have been through it and made the adjustment. Young people who graduate and go away from home and out into the world on their own, take a big leap to a different way of life. Our granddaughter, Lily, just graduated and because she is a decorated athlete, she leaves next week for Kansas State and begins soccer practice right away…not much time to adjust for her. Others move across country for a new job, new home, new church, new everything and it takes a while to transition. Or maybe we lose our mate, and our whole life seems to be upside down with total change.
  That’s the thing about change, we don’t necessarily choose it, often it just happens and we are left to deal with it. Leaving the old but not knowing what to expect from the new is a challenge. We have to adjust and it takes time and a whole lot of dependency on the Lord.
  It’s so good to know He does not change for He is the same yesterday, today and forever! He is love and always there for us in the midst of where we are at. We don’t always understand His purposes for us at the time, but we can rest assured that He is present in our circumstances whatever they are.
   I was reading from Psalm 37 today and David wrote in verse 23-24, “A person’s steps are directed by the Lord, and the Lord delights in his way. When he falls, he will not be thrown down headfirst because the Lord holds on to his hand.” When we let the Lord direct our lives we can rest assured even in the changes that come, that He walks with us through them and steadies us with His hand. David goes on to say, “Wait with hope for the Lord, and follow His path.” Even when we don’t understand His ways as changes come to us, we can rest in His peace and know that we are not alone but He right there with us.
  Challenge for today: When change comes unannounced into your life, welcome the Lord into your situation and rest in Him.
Blessings on your holiday weekend and prayers and love, Judy