Dear Ones, 
Hope you are having a great weekend and enjoying warm temperatures before it turns cold. This morning I did food prep, cleaned the apartment and made a big stew in the crockpot. Our oldest grandson, Joe, is coming by today on his way to the cities and we haven’t seen him for a while. 
Devotions from Judy’s heart
Persevere! Persevere! We are not to give up but to hang on and persevere even when things may seem impossible. We have a God who can do anything, and when He tells us to persevere, that’s what we need to do even if we have no idea how He will work things out. The other day I was packing Christmas shoeboxes for Samaritan’s Purse. I had them nearly full when I found in my prize box, two lovely necklaces with turquoise beads strung on very fine leather-looking strands at three levels. The problem was the two necklaces were all emmeshed together and I could not get them untangled. I tried and tried for some time and was about to give up and just cut one off to save the other. But as I worked, I felt like the Lord was trying to teach me and this was like an object lesson that even in the most difficult circumstances of life, we need to persist and persevere and not give up. We have many examples in scripture of those who could have given up but like Job remained steadfast even when his life came crashing down on him; he lost everything and yet we read how he was rewarded greatly. I think of Joshua and Caleb who were the only ones of those who spied out the land of Canaan that believed God could help them conquer their enemies; they persisted and got to go into the Promised land. Or so many examples of the Apostle Paul who didn’t threw in the towel when he was imprisoned, beaten and even left for dead; no, he just got up again and continued his work. He tells us in I Cor. 15:59 (The Message), Stand your ground. And don’t hold back. Throw yourselves into the work of the Master, confident that nothing you do for Him is a waste of time or effort.”   We are to persevere, stand our ground and not throw away our confidence in Him. If we do not get fatigued and lose heart, we are promised we will reap a harvest of blessings.
Challenge for today: The next time you are tempted to give up, persevere and seek God’s strength go keep on keeping on!
Blessings on your weekend and prayers and love, Judy