Dear Ones,
Hope you are enjoying this day. Al’s sister came yesterday afternoon and we are enjoying catching up with her. This morning we are going shopping at JoAnn Fabrics as there seems to be so few left open. We are also going out for lunch afterwards and spend a leisurely day together. Fun!
Devotions from Judy’s heart
I don’t know if you are like me, but I often find myself praying to be less self-centered and more focused on the Lord and others. We are all on a life-long journey and each season has challenges. I am reading Ronald Rolheiser’s book, Sacred Fire and he writes about what lies beyond the essentials of discipleship and shares about the different stages. In the first stage of Essential Discipleship we struggle to get our life together. We may start out life in a secure home but when we hit puberty, we are insecure; we try to find our own identity and acceptance and go on to seek a career, mate and ask, “Who am I and where do I find meaning?” We want to make a name for ourselves and live a meaningful life, but of course, only God can give us significance.  The second stage is Mature Discipleship which is the longest season and a time we work hard and have responsibilities.  But it is also a time we struggle to give our life away more deeply, and more generously and meaningfully. It is usually in our 20’s to 30’s that we begin to experience this but for some it is far older and lasts until retirement. We begin to live more for others than ourselves and think of what we can contribute and not what we can get. The third stage is Radical Discipleship and this is where we struggle to give our deaths away. As I wrote recently, how we leave this earth has an impact on those we leave behind. We want to make a deeper life-giving contribution to them and the world. If we do it with faith and in peace, it is likely that our death may be our final and best gift to them. But whatever stage we are in, Jesus is always inviting us to a deeper relationship with Him and to open our hearts in new ways to all that He has for us. Col. 2:7 (Amplified) says, “Have the roots (of your being) firmly and deeply planted  (in Him, fixed and founded in Him), being continually built up in Him, becoming increasingly more confirmed and established in the faith, just as you were taught and abounding and overflowing in it with thanksgiving.”
Challenge for today: Take time to spend with the Lord and to know Him in deeper ways.
Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy