November 30, 2020

Dear Ones,

Hope you had a good weekend full of thanksgiving! Another mild and sunny day! I made 2 spaghetti pies and went to Aldi’s this morning to stock up. Ann and Paul are coming over this afternoon as Paul will be on his way back to the cities and shopping too. We had a wonderful time of remembrance and honoring of my aunt last night on zoom. When we can’t physically gather it is the next best thing. 
Devotions from Judy’s heart

Perhaps we have all had a time or two when we felt our eyelids heavy while at a meeting or in church and our spouse had to elbow us. At such times we had to be jogged awake and maybe it is that time for all of us now to awaken, as we see what is happening in our world. Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus and told them to wake up and make the best use of time, because the days were evil. He said in Eph. 5:14 (ESV), “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”  He was not writing to sinners but it was a message to a good church in the New Testament times. However, he still had to warn them to wake up one another. We can be awake in body and yet spiritually asleep. Sometimes the spiritual weariness comes on so gradually we don’t realize it. Whitney Hopler writes about this problem and gives some ways to help us be alert and awake by discovering God around us. She says we should pursue wonder and pay attention to how God is at work. Notice the signs of His hand moving in so many ways. She encourages us to approach prayer and meditation as an opportunity and not an obligation of something we have to do…we get to do that anytime and anywhere! If we think of it as a duty and something we have to do, it just becomes an empty ritual rather than an awesome experience to be in His presence. We must also be willing to learn every day. I think we will find that God has new things to teach us when we can move out from our old familiar ways to capture what He has waiting. We need to clear our minds and be open and even excited. It is important to ask the Holy Spirit to renew our minds and keep us spiritually alert. Whitney also tells us to use our senses to the fullest. She describes them as tools to access spiritual wonders and be alert to what God is doing. It may be taking time to view a beautiful sunset or listening to music that touches our heart, or just taking time to smell the scent of roses etc. Life is not meant to be a to-do list but to experience the joy of God’s presence. We need to not only wake up ourselves and be spiritually alert but to wake up one another. Time is short and we need to stay awake or we will miss out on the wonders of God’s work around us.

Challenge for today: Intentionally connect with the Lord in doing something new and different.