Dear Ones,
Hope you had a wonderful Christmas and time with family and friends.  The Viking game yesterday was very exciting! Today I am going to Aldi’s, my exercise class and then we are having friends over for dessert and fellowship time.
Devotions from Judy’s heart
Have you ever noticed how those you pray for, seem to just occupy a special place in your heart? You rejoice when they rejoice and you weep with them when they weep etc. How wonderfully the Lord created us for relationships and to help bear one another’s burdens too. As many of you are familiar with Taylor, my niece’s daughter, and prayed for her through the years when she was a rebellious teen, then when she came to the Lord and served on a 9-month mission overseas and later met a Christian man who has become her husband. During Christmas we were excited we would have time at the hotel with her and Ethan along with many other relatives. When she came into the party room, she gave me a gift and told me not to open it until Al was with me. So, I got Al and when I opened the card, it said there would be another member of their family in the future. I had not known she was pregnant and we got rather boisterous and celebrated and gave praise to the Lord. Such good news!

But not everyone in our lives wants to celebrate our highs and comfort us in our lows, as there are some who may reject us, speak evil of us and not want our good. I read today from Joyce Meyer’s devotional of what we are reminded to do in such circumstances. Matt.10:14, “And whoever will not receive and accept and welcome you nor listen to your message, as you leave that house or town, shake the dust (of it) from your feet.” In other words, there are times we need to shake it off what others mean for our evil and move on. Instead of getting offended and saying things we shouldn’t, we simply shake it off and hold our tongue and keep our peace. Not easy always, but a witness when we can be peaceful even when mistreated. That’s because our peace comes from the Lord and not from perfect circumstances.

I remember in one of our churches where negative things were being spoken against Al and me and we didn’t even know where it all originated. But I remember going for walk, probably a tearful walk, and just telling the Lord all about it. He was my protector and of course, He understood. Things didn’t get better just because I prayed, but the Lord brought peace to my heart as I know it was all in His hands. We can’t control if others receive us or reject us, but we can have peace knowing the Lord hold us securely in His loving hands. Let us commit everything to Him, open our hearts to those he sends into our lives, and shake off the dust when needed.

Challenge for today: Don’t ruminate on those who may have negative responses to you, but give it all to the Lord.
Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy