Dear Ones,
Hope you had a great weekend! What an exciting unbelieveable Viking game, as they won in overtime. Today we are going to go the new Christian school for a tour and for lunch, as we have prayed for the start of this brand new school. 
Next Monday will be the celebration of my aunt’s life but will share some thoughts in my devotional today of God’s grace in her life.
 Devotions from Judy’s heart
  God’s grace is so indescribable, that we can never fully explain it, but simply receive it. Like the song goes: “Marvelous, infinite, matchless grace/ Freely bestowed on all who believe/You that are longing to see His face/ Will you this moment Hs grace receive?” Grace is a precious gift from God and it is unmerited kindness, undeserved favor that transforms our lives.
   Sometimes we know people that are so full of grace and extend that grace to all those around them. I think of my 97year-old aunt who recently went home to the Lord and how God’s grace was so evident in her life. I was a small child when she became a nurse and married my uncle who was a Pastor, and in my young eyes, I thought she was so beautiful!                                                                 Rhoda’s life had many challenges but through them all she became stronger in faith.  She left nursing to be a stay-at-home mom when her children were born, and a Pastor’s wife. Lest you think a Pastor’s wife is a glamourous life with attention from the congregation, it also involves filling in all the roles that people fail to fill. One time my uncle was about to begin a funeral service and realized no one had taken care of the lunch following the service. So, Rhoda had to quick go home and make sandwiches etc. and supply food for all who came. Later, she laughs about it as par for the course and goes on as she always seemed to.
   Grace helps us to not take things so serious and even to laugh at ourselves. My uncle built a Bible camp on the lake for kids to come to in the summer. Also, our relatives gathered many times there to spend a weekend sharing, playing, and eating together. We often had skits and Rhoda had a wonderful sense of humor and could impersonate people which caused much laughter. She did Tammy Faye with her dog and cracked everyone up.
   Another time she and her daughter had car trouble on their way home on a cold night. Their car quit in front of the Purple Palace tavern and they had to go in and ask for help. As Rhoda was sitting up to the bar, all she could think about was if someone from the congregation would see her there. Neither Rhoda nor Linda had money to pay the men who helped them as they had just given all their money to the church in the offering,  Linda offered to put a thank you in their town’s Review about the men at the bar who helped them but Rhoda declined. More laughter!
  There were also difficult situations in life when God’s grace seemed to pour into her and she had to hang on tightly to the Lord in faith. She also extended mercy and grace to others that covered all offenses. As it says in Eph. 2:8-9 (ESV), “For by grace you are saved through faith And it is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”  May each of us be thankful recipients of God’s grace but also extend it to all, for it is a gift of God.
Challenge for today: If someone has hurt you, be the first to share God’s grace.

 Blessings on your week and prayers and love, Judy