Dear Ones,
Hope you will have a wonderful day. We will soon be heading to MN. and spent last night in Iowa City where there was snow.  I got to swim again and we enjoyed a restful evening. We see the forecast for more snow as we head North, so appreciate your prayers for the last of our journey. We’ve had a  wonderful trip and so grateful to the Lord. 
Devotions from Judy’s heart
Pride seems to be the root of most every sin. Lately I have been reminded of how we need to guard against pride every day and let the Holy Spirit show us the subtle ways it presents itself in our lives. Maybe we are guilty of name dropping or incidentally inserting into our conversation that we own the company; or how much we gave to a cause etc. I have been reading from the book of Daniel and what a difference there was between Daniel and the King. Daniel was taken captive to Babylon, along with other handsome wise men to serve King Nebuchadnezzar. But Daniel was humble and didn’t think he knew it all; when asked to tell and interpret the king’s dream, he went first to the Lord. When he received the answer he quickly acknowledged where the answer came from and said in Daniel 2;20 (NRSV), “Blessed be the name of God from age to age, for wisdom and power are His.” He told the King that it was the God in heaven that revealed mysteries, not him. The king however, was prideful and even though he acknowledged that Daniel’s God was the God of gods he didn’t fear or worship the Lord. He thought of himself as a god and built a statue of himself for others to worship. Even when the 3 friends of Daniel were miraculously delivered from the fiery furnace, he recognized God’s power but didn’t submit to Him. Again, after Daniel interpreted the dream of the great tree that was hewn down, symbolizing the king and a warning to him, he never repented. One day when strutting around on the roof of the palace, he spoke about his own mighty power that had created all the magnificent beauty he saw.  His extreme pride led him to 7 years of mental illness when he became like an animal, eating grass and had nails like claws. It took that long before he could give God the credit and praised Him. When he did, he was restored and said that God rules and is able to bring low those who walk in pride. May we walk in humility and give God the glory. 
Challenge for today: Ask the Holy Spirit to convict you of pride and quickly repent.
Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy