Dear Ones,
Hope you are having a great weekend. We are enjoying our time with Mark’s family in a big way. The grandsons are delightful, and each their own person. Last night we had a nerf gun war with bullets all over the place and today is more games outside and in the house with prizes. Andrea is better today but still a ways to go, so do keep praying for her ears and dizziness etc. 
We will leave again tomorrow after church and begin the long trip home. But it was so worth coming, even if it was short and sweet! We appreciate prayers for our safety and hope to be home Tuesday evening so Al can do his men’s Soul Care group on Wed. 
Devotions from Judy’s heart
God has blessed each of us with so much that we will never be able to fully express our gratitude. His death for us on the cross was the greatest sacrifice ever, and He continues to bless us in so many ways each day. Romans 8:32 Paul says, “He who did not spare His Son, but gave Himself for us all-how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things.” It is good at night, before we go to sleep, to review our day and to see how God has been with us and blessed us, and to express our thankfulness. I love to review even the little ways that He surprises me and seems like little miracles. And just like our earthly father likes to give gifts, so our Heavenly Father loves to give us good gifts. My dad was a generous man and loved to give to us kids, as well as, missionaries and unexpecting people.  His gifts often came to us when we were in great need, like when Al was in seminary, and we were so thankful. But our Heavenly Father, even more so, loves to rain blessings on us; and if we pause, we can see His hand moving in our behalf. On our trip to N.C. we intended to go to a certain motel. But when we got there, it didn’t appear very well kept, so we decided to keep looking. That’s when we found one that had a big pool with a glass ceiling, and doors that opened to the patio deck with chairs just waiting for us to recline in.  As I swam, I just praised the Lord for granting us this surprise and enjoyed the afternoon of spiritual reading. There may be times we feel like God is withholding or late in giving His gifts, but He knows what is best. It could be that He is doing a deep work in the transformation process of our lives. But let us remember that the best gifts may not be tangible things we can hold in our hands but peace and contentment and joy that we experience in our hearts.
Challenge for today: As the song goes, “Count your blessings, name them one by one…And it will surprise you what the Lord has done!”
Blessings on your weekend and prayers and love, Judy