Category: Sister Judy (Page 117 of 277)

Dear Ones,

Hope you wake up to a day of peace and joy!
Devotions from Judy’s heart

  For Mother’s Day I got a card from my surrogate son whom I have known for many years. His parents are with the Lord, and I am blessed he has chosen me to be his surrogate mom. In his card were the words of Frederick Meyer that spoke to me: 

   “Joy is peace dancing. Peace is joy resting.”

  Can’t you just visualize freely dancing with a heart of peace or sitting restfully in quiet with the Lord as joy overflows in your heart? I love that picture and sometimes I feel like that as I sit by the lake with the sun shining down on me and no one else around except the Lord.

   We may wish every day was like that but we get bogged down with schedules and cares of life and our peace gets squeezed out by stress. However, our peace is not dependent on perfect circumstances but in the person of Jesus who is our peace. And because He is our peace, we have deep joy that does not fade when things are less than ideal

  Maybe we worry about what the uncertain future holds but instead we need to put our gaze on the One who holds the future Just as it says is Prov. 3:5 (AMP), “Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding.” We can live in peace and joy and not fear if we are trusting in the Lord. As a few lines of John Greenleaf Whittier’s song goes:

 

 May we experience the beauty of His peace and overflow with His joy a we lean into Him.

 Challenge for today:Trust and be confident in Him and let His peace and joy take over your day!

Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

“The love of God is greater far than any tongue or pen can ever tell; it goes beyond the highest star and reaches to the lowest hell…..Oh, love of God, how rich and pure! How measureless and strong! It shall forever more endure—the saints’ and angels’ song.”

  Let us receive deeply His love and also share it with others.

Blessings on your weekend and prayers and love, Judy

Dear Ones,

Happy Weekend to you! Looks to be a beautiiful day. I studied and did some food prep this morning and took a quick trip to Costco. This afternoon I am going to bake chix soup and maybe a tript to Kohl’s. Enjoyed the Gala last night so much and we had a table for couples all from Northern Living. 

Devotions from Judy’s heart

  How wonderful it is to behold a changed life and to know that it is a miracle that only God could do! You can think of your own scenario, of what would entail a miracle but what I saw last night was multiple miracles that all glory goes to the Lord.

  We went to a Gala for Teen Challenge last night and heard a wonderful program by the men who have been held captive to addictions of various drugs and many who have been in prison and served time, lost their families etc. Teen Challenge may have been their last resort, if the judge let them choose between life behind bars and rehab at Teen Challenge. We heard their stories and the horror of all they suffered as they went through detox etc; but then came the wonder of getting their lives straightened out as they committed themselves to the Lord. All of the men giving testimony gave the credit to the Lord, knowing they couldn’t do it on their own. Some men were blessed as they got their wives and children back again and some were able to work for Teen Challenge after they graduated for they understand the struggle to get free of addictions. As they sang in the choir and gave glory to God, we all rejoiced with them and felt like standing up and cheering.

  None of us should let the enemy hold us back from what the Lord has for our lives. The only way we can defeat the enemy is in the power of the Lord. If we are going through a battle, we must not give up. Or if our loved ones are caught in the web of the enemy, we must pray and use all our spiritual weapons to stand with them, and pray that they get set free. Some have to try it all on their own before they discover that they can’t do it themselves but must surrender to the Lord.

  As it says in II Chron. 20:15 and 17 (Message), ”Don’t be afraid; don’t pay any attention to this vandal horde. This is God’s war, not yours…..Just stand firm….and watch God’s saving work for you take shape, Don’t be afraid, don’t waver. March out boldly tomorrow—God is with you.” Let us remember if we humbly ask for God’s help when we go through any kind of struggle, God will fight for us and He always wins!

  Challenge for today: When you feel the enemy bearing down on you, look to Jesus and His strength, recognizing the battle is His. He will change your life!

Blessings on your weekend and prayers and love, Judy

Dear Ones,

Hope you are enjoying the day and especially the sunshine!  This morning I made cookies and bars and went downstairs for Donut day. This afternoon we have Bible Study and then tonight we have a gala for Teen Challenge. Several from our apt. complex are going. 

Devotions from Judy’s heart

   Our words that we speak are very revealing to show what is really in our hearts. Jesus said in Luke 6:24 (ESV), “The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” 

   It is interesting that I should read a devotional upon rising  from Lynnette Kittle who shares about the importance of our words; for in the night, I awoke and was in remembrance of a time I hollered (screamed is more like it) at our son when he was about 5 years old and probably had teased his siblings. As I finished my tirade on him a neighbor from church showed up at our door. What could I say, for she heard the whole thing?  She saw first-hand what was in my heart. In the night, what also came to me was David’s words said in Psalm 51:4, “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done that which is evil in your sight.” When we sin, we not only hurt others but we sin against God.                                                                                                                 Today, there is so much focus on food, with cooking shows and many movies with story lines revolving around chefs and food. Much attention is given to what we put in our mouths but hardly a word is said of what comes out of our mouths. But in our world today we hear so many hateful and hurtful words that are spoken to destroy others and their reputations, often using social media for all to see. Those harmful words that come out of our mouths cannot be taken back and it also reveals what is in our hearts. Jesus said in Mark 7:20, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him.” Those hurtful words have power to not only destroy others but ourselves.                                                                                                                                                We need to think before we speak and ask the Lord to put a guard on our mouths. If we lash out with our words, we need to not only to ask forgiveness of the ones we have hurt but to repent before the Lord, for we have sinned against Him.                                                                                                                                                                    Challenge for today: Before you press the send button on your computer, pause and pray.

Blessings on  your day and prayers and love, Judy

Dear Ones,

Hope you wake to a joy filled day. The house is quiet and I am going to send this out before others get up. Al’s sister is here and we had such a fun day yesterday going to our daughter’s at the Lake, having Finnish Pasty and a hot Sauna, finding treasures at Share and Care, watching movies and having popcorn etc. Today we are going to do some shopping and maybe ice cream at Culvers. 

Devotions from Judy’s heart

  Grow! Grow! Grow!  People are getting itchy to get out in their gardens and plant flowers and veggies and then have the joy of watching them grow. When we lived at the lake, I gardened with a man who was a former farmer and I loved watching everything grow from those small seeds. It seemed like such a miracle when we finally were able to eat the produce that started from something so minute.

  Wouldn’t it be sad if they stayed the same and didn’t grow and burst through the soil and become what was potentially in that seed?  But it is more dreadful in a spiritual sense when we come to know the Lord and don’t mature into what God has planned for us. Maybe we don’t take time to read His word and be open to the Holy Spirit or find fellowship with others. It’s like trying to grow without sunshine or the necessary rain and we tend to dry up, just like the seed that Jesus mentioned that fell on the hard path. Or maybe we grow for a little while and then get choked out by weeds or the desires of the world. As long as we live, we will have to face the challenge of the world trying to squeeze in and to rob us of our faith.  

  Sometimes we had trouble with animals who dug under the fencing of our garden and stole some of our good veggies after they were ripe. Even when we mature as Christians, we must be on guard against the enemy that would lead us away from the Lord. He wants to steal the fruit in our lives and destroy us. We must be vigilant!

  Peter says in II Peter 3:18 (NRSV), But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.” No matter where we are in our spiritual journey, we have more room to grow. Let us open ourselves to all the ways He wants to feed and nurture us and to grow, grow, grow!  

   Challenge for today: Take time today to nurture of the life of Jesus within you.

Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

Dear Ones,

Hope you had a great weekend. Al’s sister from Upper Michigan arrived yesterday afternoon and we are enjoying time to catch up. This morning we are headed for the Lake to have dinner with Ann’s family and to have a hot sauna. It’s been a long while since we have done that. Kurt swam in the lake over the weekend but I don’t think any of us will. 

Devotions from Judy’s heart

Don’t we all want to really know how much we are loved? Sometimes it is hard to comprehend and we seek signs and gestures shown to us to somehow help us believe that it is true. We read how we are loved beyond words by the One who is love itself, but does our heart really know? What if we are rejected by those closest to us, do we then believe we are unlovable? King David said in Psalm 27:10 (God’s Word), “Even if my father and mother abandon me, the Lord will take care of me.“  Yes, the Lord would take him in, no matter what.

Every time I read about the bummer lamb I can get a little more of a grasp of what it means to be loved.

“Every once in a while, an ewe will give birth to a lamb and reject it.

There are many reasons she may do this. If the lamb is returned to the ewe, the mother may even kick the poor animal away. Once an ewe rejects one of her lambs, she will never change her mind.

These little lambs will hang their heads so low that it looks like something is wrong with its neck.Their spirit is broken.

These lambs are called “bummer lambs.” Unless the shepherd intervenes, that lamb will die, rejected and alone. So, do you know what the shepherd does?

He takes that rejected little one into his home, hand-feeds it and keep it warm by the fire. He will wrap it up with blankets and hold it to his chest so the bummer can hear his heartbeat. Once the lamb is strong enough, the shepherd will place it back in the field with the rest of the flock.

But that sheep never forgets how the shepherd cared for him when his mother rejected him. When the shepherd calls for the flock, guess who runs to him first?

That is right, the bummer sheep. He knows his voice intimately.

It is not that the bummer lamb is loved more, it just knows intimately the one who loves it.

It’s not that it is loved more, it just believes it because it has experienced that love one on one.

So many of us are bummer lambs, rejected and broken. But He is the good Shepherd.

He cares for our every need and holds us close to His heart so we can hear His heart beat.

We may be broken but we are deeply loved by the Shepherd.”

– Author Sheila Walsh, from the book: “Loved back to life”

No matter what your circumstances in life may be, know that you are loved beyond measure!

Challenge for today: Sit in a quiet place and enjoy the Shepherd’s love and thank Him.

Blessings on your week and prayers and love, Judy

Dear Ones,

Hope you are enjoying the weekend. I am soon off to church to help clean it, along with other gals. I also need to clean our apartment today as Al’s sister from upper Michigan is coming tomorrow for 4 days. We hope to get to the lake and go a movie and do lots of catching up.

Devotions from Judy’s heart

   Little things we do in life often make a difference and can change the course and thinking of someone else! We may never know the results of responding to the Holy Spirit when He tells us to give an encouraging text to a friend who is feeling low, or giving a total stranger a kind remark, or pitching in and helping someone who is overwhelmed by a deadline. Just one scripture or caring look can change the course of someone’s life, though it seems so small.

   Al and I were recently on coffee duty here at Northern Lakes and a friend 2 apartments down from us goes to work early each day. He has offered to push the buttons at 6 a.m. on our coffee makers that I have made ready the night before, so Al can go down later and put the brewed coffee in the carafes. Such a simple gesture but appreciated!   

   Recently on Facebook an employee was shown who definitely made a difference. A homeless man came and sat down at IHOP and asked for a drink for he was thirsty. He said he had no money but the employee gave him the menu anyway and told the man to order from there. The heart of this homeless man must have been so grateful as he waited for his hot meal. Just think of how that act of kindness made the day for him. And another person was also touched as she watched it all unfolded.

   One small act of kindness done when prompted by the Holy Spirit may carry more weight than a huge deed done in our flesh. Have you noticed how a kind word spoken when a person feels down is like gold and can bring healing to them? 

   It’s so important to be open to the Spirit and as it says in Rom. 8:6, that “the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace.” Rather than letting the world influence us, when we have our hearts set on the Lord we have peace and deep joy. It naturally flows out of us like a bubbling spring and spills over on others. Let us not be centered on self but on the Lord and then allow Him to use us to bless others

  Challenge for today: Do an act of kindness for another as the Spirit directs you today.

Blessings on your weekend and prayers and love, Judy

Dear Ones,

Happy weekend to you! It’s another rainy day and Kurt will be on his way to the lake to do some work. We will be going to Costco when it opens and pick up our cake for the monthly Birthday party this afternoon. The house is full of aroma as I just made Al his favorite cookies as they disappear so quickly. 

Devotions from Judy’s heart

   Don’t we wish at times that things could stay the same? We may have a nice comfort level in an area and then all of a sudden change comes when we least expect. It can be small changes just like the other night when I went to make coffee to have while we watched the evening news. The coffee pot is not very old but I noticed only a trickle of coffee was making it into pot and steam was pouring out. I thoroughly washed the pot, checked that everything was in place but got the same result a couple of times more. Bummer! We are going to have to get a new coffee pot and it took a while in the past to find just the right one for us.   

   Now this is a minute change compared to the huge changes of life without a loved one, a vocational change, a change in our health etc., but change most often comes without our permission.

  It made me reflect on our lives with the Lord and how we may feel comfortable in how we relate to Him and have our devotions in a certain way, and practice certain spiritual disciplines etc. And then one day, we feel dry spiritually and the Lord is bringing something new into our lives and the old needs to be laid aside. In fact, it says in Isaiah 43:19 (God’s Word), “I am going to do something new. It is already happening. Don’t you recognize it.” The Message translation says, “Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand-new. It’s bursting out! Don’t you see it?”  We are in a time of transition and we should not stay where we are at but move on. 

  Just like our children outgrow certain behavior practices, there are times the Lord says enough to us, and we need to change and grow in a particular area. We can no longer get by with responses that are   juvenile and we need to change. Sometimes he prepares us for the changes if we are paying attention and so it isn’t a shock but rather a smooth transition.

   Now just a few days ago there was a used coffee pot on the free table at our apartment complex. I could have taken it and would have been prepared when our pot died but I didn’t take advantage of it. I missed my chance!

   Life is full of change and can be exciting when we move with the Lord, so let us be willing to move on with Him in His timing.

   Challenge for today: Think of change as a chance to grow in new ways and welcome it. 
Blessings on  your weekend and prayers and love, Judy