Dear Ones,
Hope you are enjoying this rainy day, even though you may not see the sun. This morning I made bars and roasted acorn squash and went to my exercise class. This afternoon is craft time and tonight is Bible Study at church so this rainy day is full!
Devotions from Judy’s heart
We live in a world today of a multitude of words and many feel they are not valued if someone isn’t calling them or texting them. People have the T.V. blaring all day long and even when driving somewhere the music is loudly playing. However, if you would drop by to our apartment, you would find it very quiet, as both Al and I live a rather contemplative life. Our T.V doesn’t come on until the news at 5 and the rest of the time we practice a quiet and reflective life. Al spends many hours in his study, reading and writing and I love to work and write from my desk in our bedroom. Then when we eat meals and go for our walks we catch up and have time to share and talk the whole way.
But no matter if we are an introvert or extrovert, we need times of silence so we get to know the Lord in deeper ways and also know ourselves. It says in Luke 6:45b (ESV), “For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” What is inside usually comes out eventually in a variety of ways. Our words often surprise us and show us what is buried in our hearts that we haven’t allowed others to see, and maybe have never admitted to ourself. Haven’t we all seen times when important respected people don’t know that they have not been disconnected from the sound system and what comes out of their mouths for us to hear may be very disappointing.
But if we set aside our words and have times of quiet, we are able to listen closely, letting the Holy Spirit speak into our lives and 
getting in touch with things the Lord wants to change in our hearts. Otherwise, we end up living our life on the surface and get distracted, and fail to see the areas that need change.
Let us have times of silence and pay attention to our interior life, a life to be lived for God. 
Challenge for today: Try to use less words and seek to hear what God is saying to you.
Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy