Category: Sister Judy (Page 106 of 277)

Dear Ones,

Hope you will have an enjoyable day! My day is full as I hope to write, get to Aldi’s and  my exercise class; then to work and sew with other gals on Alzheimer’s quilts, a walk, and then Bible Study. Al is preaching next door at Assisted Living this morning.

Devotions from Judy’s heart

   Beginnings are important and how we begin our day may have an effect on our entire day. Maybe we have an incredibly busy schedule and wonder how will accomplish all that is on our to-do list. But does our list match what the Lord has on His list for us? And if not, we need to make a few revisions.

   First of all, we need to spend some quiet moments with Him so we can listen and hear His plan for the day. There will always be enough time for what He has on the list and our obedience is what He is looking for.

   Christianna Schreifels writes about the importance of listening as it says in I Samuel 15:22 (ESV), “Has the Lord great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.” (Saul had disobeyed by not killing all the people and animals in battle with Amalekites and lied to Samuel about it….as a result he lost his kingship.)

   Christianna goes on to say that listening is obedience and the works of our hands is sacrifice. Maybe we think we should be busy doing more and more things for the Lord, but He wants us to sit in His presence and listen first. He will give us all that we need to accomplish what He wants for us in the day and we will experience peace as we follow.

  The world competes for our time and attention, but it is more important to sit at His feet as Mary did, than to spin our wheels. Obedience should be our priority and we have to listen first. As I write this we are preparing for company and I wonder if I will be ready in time. But as I read what Christianna wrote, I know my first priority is to sit quietly and listen and ask for the Holy Spirit to fill me with His love and some energy too. Then my load will seem lighter and His presence is with me all the while I do preparations.

   Challenge for today: Take 10 minutes and sit in quiet and just listen to what the Lord has to say to you today. 

Dear Ones,

Hope you had a wonderful weekend. Today is another beautiful fall day. We enjoyed the game yesterday as the Vikings won. Our pastor is a big Packer fan and wore his green Packer shirt when he preached.  This morning  I made a new recipe for pumpkin choc chip cookies that I probably won’t make again, and am soon to go to my exercise class. 

Devotions from Judy’s heart

   Recently, we have said good bye to friends and relatives who have left this earth life and are now in their eternal home. Of course, we miss them so much and they are a reminder that we also are getting older and will one day join them.

  But when we know the Lord, death is not the end because we are created as spiritual beings who will one day live with Him forever. We don’t need to fear but to look forward to eternity in heaven, as Jesus promised. We are people of hope. As it says in II Cor 4:16-18, “So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen’ for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.”

   Yes, outwardly I am getting more wrinkles and just celebrated a big birthday but instead of focusing on my years, I choose to focus on the unseen. Our souls are full of hope because death is like a homecoming. We will one day leave this world but something so much more glorious awaits us. We will receive glorified bodies like Jesus, so no need to worry about wrinkles, pain or suffering. In fact, there will be no more sin. And who knows what we will be assigned, but you can bet it will be glorious.

   We don’t know a lot about heaven, and I suspect our minds couldn’t even imagine or process the glories that await us if we were told a lot. I can’t begin to picture how beautiful it will be there for the Lord is preparing this place for us even now

    Yes, there will always remain an empty place that our loved one once filled. But it helps to fill those places with gratitude for the memories of them and the hope that one day we will join them. Even now, I ask the Lord to prepare me for leaving this world when my time comes, and to share Him with as many others as I can in this in between time. May the thought of our glorious future, carry us through even those tough days, for we will spend all eternity celebrating with the One who loves us most of all.\

  Challenge for today: Spend some time relaxing and picture heaven in your mind and heart.

Dear Ones,

Happy Weekend to you! We got some rain but seems to be clearing this afternoon. I spent the morning in the kitchen and tried a couple new recipes which we sampled for lunch. I also took a friend to the Dollar store which is always fun! This afternoon we have some errands to run and I suspect we might end up at Culvers! 

 Devotions from Judy’s heart

How do we discern God’s plan for our life work? Do we just do what we think will make us happy, or are we in a job that was expected of us to take over one day? Perhaps we tried several different types of jobs and one seemed to bring in the most money.

  At this time, three of our grandsons are seeking great jobs that will love and will pay them a good living. For all of us there are many callings and possibilities and we may fill those roles at different times in our lives. I am no longer in the Pastor’s wife role that I was in for many years and now I have more time to study and write. Al only preaches once a month, and leads a weekly Bible Study so he also spends more time studying. He tells others we are a monk and a nun studying in our “monastery!”

   James Smith in his latest book, writes how our first calling is to be in Christ, that is to be loved and forgiven and made holy. We are to live in Him and become part of the Body of Christ. But we may have smaller callings such as vocational ones that we do throughout our lives that may be completely different from what we did previously. The important thing is that we listen to the Lord with open hearts and watch for the doors He opens for us. The bottom line is to be what He calls us to be, which will bring us greatest joy and satisfy our souls. 

   Smith writes how theologian Ray Anderson found his callings. He was in the war and later farmed for some time, and then went to seminary and became a seminary professor and pastor. In finding our vocation, he asked the question, “If_________(fill in the vocation) is the last thing I will ever do on earth, will it be meaningful to me?”  For him he wanted to teach until the day he died and he loved it.

   Each one of our lives has meaning and purpose and let us find what God has designed us for. I am reading from the book of Amos and the Lord called Amos when he was a farmer, rancher and grower of figs to be his prophet. Quite different than what he started out to be and a difficult assignment to speak a difficult message to a people who needed to repent! But Amos was faithful to what God called him to do. 

  May we also be faithful to do the work the Lord has for us, for then our soul will be at peace and our work meaningful. Paul said in I Cor. 7:17 (ESV), “Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him”

Challenge for today: Ask the Lord if you are in the place where He would have you right now!

Blessings on your weekend and prayers and love, Judy

Dear Ones,

Hope you are enjoying another warm day before the weather changes. This morning I made egg dishes, and Oh Henry bars and went downstairs for Donuts. We have Bible study this afternoon, then shopping, and tonight I have Women’s Bible study. 

Dvotions from Judy’s heart

   We were all created with a longing for the transcendent, the desire to know our Maker. But so many try to fill this longing in other ways. Professor James Smith writes that some try to fill it with a soulmate, a romantic connection with someone. Others may try to fill this hunger with money or material possessions but find that doesn’t satisfy either. Others seek affirmation from others thinking that will meet their spiritual need but none of these things work!

   God wants to have a relationship with us but it means trust and giving up control of our lives to Him. Until we reach that point, there is a void within us and that longing to have a meaningful life of purpose is not met. Soul hunger can only be satisfied with God for we connect spirit to spirit. As Jesus said in John 4:24, “God is Spirit and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and Truth.” God has also given us minds to understand divine things and he tells us to set our minds on things above. He gives us a transcendent will so we can choose to trust God and also to imagine and to conceive of new things.

   Smith writes about how we as parents can expose our children very young in life to the transcendent. From the time our kids first see our smiles of love to folding our hands in prayer before a meal, we are sending a message that awakens the transcendent. From the first time our kids could sit in the highchair we had devotions and had them fold their hands to pray. We sometimes lite a candle during the devotional reading or played music or even danced.

   As adults we should be open to the transcendent and expect to hear the Lord speak. So often when we go on a mission, or retreat we hear the Lord’s voice to our hearts as we are quieted down and ready and open to hear. We get home and get too wrapped up in the busyness of life. I like Smith’s word, “Nurturing the transcendent means keeping our eyes and ears open to the wonder of each moment.” Let us practice God’s presence throughout our day, and see what a difference it makes.

Challenge for today: Take time for the transcendent at the start of your day by singing a worship song to the Lord and let the words speak to you all through the day.

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.

Dear Ones,

  Hope you had a wonderful long holiday weekend! We enjoyed celebrating our friend David’s birthday yesterday and we marvel at how the Lord brought our two couples together over 1/1/2 years ago on the Paul Bunyan trail. This morning  I made Al’s favorite cookies and a veggie stir-fry and went downstairs for choc covered raspberries. This afternoon we are invited to friends for coffee and fellowship. 

Devotions from Judy’s heart

  God disciplines those who He loves, or He would not really love us. We can be comforted that it is always for our own good and to help us to go the right way. I read today from Heb. 12:6 &11 (ESV), “For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and chastises every son whom He receives…For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”

   While at the lake over the weekend two of my niece’s little girls were playing In the lake, on the dock, and in the woods. I noticed how their parents always kept a careful eye out for them, not to damper their fun but to be sure they were safe.  If they got out of their parent’s sight, they  would immediately be called back that no harm would happen. If they didn’t respond the parent would have to discipline them to help them learn to listen and obey. That is easy to understand for our children but we may not always appreciate when the Lord has to discipline us.

   Our discipline may be painful at times when we are wandering off on our own, and the Lord tries to get our attention. He may use various simple ways at first of calling us back, like a word of scripture that seems to be in neon lights, or a constructive word given by a friend who sees us going on the wrong path. But if those things don’t work and we continue going our own way, He may have to use more costly measures like letting us suffer the consequences of our bad choices. I noticed Gloria’s mom cautioning her as she neared the edge of the steep slope. She listened and obeyed and she turned and went happily on her way exploring. But if she had insisted of her own way, she could have fallen down the steep hill and gotten bruised by the stumps and prickly branches and landed in poison ivy. 

  When we go through painful times, we might ask ourselves if the Lord is getting our attention because we have not responded to His messages of warning. Let us rather be like children who hear the voice of our Father and thank Him for His warning and quickly obey.

Challenge for today: Listen to God’s voice and respond in obedience, knowing He speaks out of love for you.