Dear Ones,
Hope you wake to a peace filled day! We will be heading home today, and home always looks good. Thank you for prayers for our trip as it has been a wonderful one and also a blessed time of retreat, more than we could have anticipated. 
Devotions from Judy’s heart
How important it is to hear Jesus’ words to us daily and to build our life around what He speaks to us. Today I was reading from The Message translation of Jesus words that He spoke to the crowd in the sermon on the Mount, which He also speaks to us. In the 6th chapter He says, “The words I speak to you are not mere additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on.” It’s not enough to say “Yes Sir” unless we actually do what He says to us. He goes on to say that we need to work His words into our lives and let them be foundational to keep us strong and standing when the storms of life come.                                                                                                              
As His words become part of our lives, “our true being will brim over into true words and deeds.” Isn’t that what we truly desire? Some of the old will need to be stripped away and removed.  It may have been good at one time, but now we need a new mindset and perspective. I think of my trip to the dentist not long ago. I had to have 2 teeth removed and some work done to prepare me for my eventual implants. Right now, my gums are healing and getting ready for it. Even though those teeth were fine at one time, decay has gotten in and it was necessary to remove them. It is humbling as I am missing 2 teeth, but fortunately they are not upfront! But a hidden and necessary work is being done and I will have two brand new teeth to replace the old.    
                 
Maybe we can think of things in our lives that we gave so much time and attention to in the past. It could be a position we held, but we find that God’s grace is no longer upon it, as it is time to give it over to someone else. Or the Lord may be stripping us of old habits that are now causing us to get weighed down. It is helpful to set aside time to just be quiet before the Lord and listen to how He wants to lead us in a new way. “The old way of living has disappeared. A new way of living has come into existence.” (II Cor. 5:17) Let us hear His word to our hearts and move into the new and build our lives on Him. 
Challenge for today: Spend some quiet moments just listening and if you are directed to cast off something old, follow in obedience. 
Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy