Dear Ones,
Happy weekend! Can hardly believe we have no snow, and it is February! I can’t remember a time like this. Today I will be doing food prep and cleaning the apartment etc.
Devotions from Judy’s heart
  Ever since I was a child, I have thought that Christians should have more fun and laughter in life than others, for we have come to know the joy of the Lord. When we have been freed of our sins, have peace of heart, why should we not live in gratitude and overflow with joy. Downcast Christians who are so serious minded that there is no expression of joy, are not an inviting invitation for others to commit their lives to a God they view will steal their fun.

  I am not saying that if we are not filled with laughter and joy, we are not a Christian, but we need to be centered in the Lord and let His love flow through us and joy will be the overflow. I have been with Christians when we have laughed til our sides ache, and we went home feeling so much lighter in our spirit. It’s like the breath of the Holy Spirit blowing the cobwebs out of us.

  We see only too well, how our culture is bored and looking for entertainment in many places. We pay to have others tell jokes and do dramatic things but when we go home our hearts may feel empty as before. Jesus’ joy doesn’t ever run out and we can experience it deep down in the center of our being. Even when our circumstances are not what we would like, there is still a depth of joy and strength that keeps bubbling up. We have confidence that God can weave even those things into something good. Joy builds from what we know of what God has done in our past, and borrows from what we anticipate in the future, as we live in His presence now.

  I love to meditate on Psalm 16 and verse 8-9 especially, “I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand I shall not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure.”  The message translation says, “I’m happy from the inside out, and from the outside in. I’m firmly formed.”
  Challenge for today: Go in the joy of the Lord throughout your day!
Blessings on your weekend and prayers and love, Judy