Dear Ones,
  Hope you are having a great day. This morning I studied, made meat loaf, and went to Aldi’s and my exercise class. Tonight we begin our fall schedule at church and start a new Bible Study. 
Devotions from Judy’s heart
   How we see ourselves is important to how we see the world around us. Too often if something bad has happened to us in the past we can think it defines us and we have a negative picture of ourselves. Of course the enemy loves to play that card and tries to cause us to see ourselves as damaged and ruined for life. But that gives too much power to our story and our story is really God’s story.
    As those made in God’s image, we are far more than our story for we are spiritual beings. The Lord wants us to view our story in the right light. When we think about it, God planned we would come to live in this time, with a certain family etc and we are His story to write as He sees best. Even when the worst has happened God can weave our story into something so much bigger and bring beauty out of it.
   As I am reading James Smith’s book, he shares about his daughter getting raped and how she kept this a secret for so long and felt depressed. But when she got counseling and therapy, she was later able to share her story with trusted friends and the Holy Spirit created a new story in which she is helping others. When we have courage to share our stories, the Lord lets us help write the ending. That may mean giving up some false beliefs we have had about ourselves, especially those things that have resulted from how others have viewed us.   
    I memorized Psalm 103 and you might want to memorize a few of those verses also, to be able to meditate on them when you feel like your story needs some rewriting. Psalm 103:2-4 (ESV). “ Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget now all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy.” 
   Like Smith says, the Lord wants to redeem our stories and restore us, so He is writing our story with us. He is not through yet. But let us not get stuck but embrace the true narrative of how much we are loved.
 Challenge for today: Invite the Lord into your story, and ask Him to heal any of your false narratives.
Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy