Category: Sister Judy (Page 209 of 279)

Devotions from Judy’s heart

I love light and the first thing I do in the morning is to open the blinds and watch as the sun comes up. I noticed when we went to see my aunt in her new corner apt, it had lots of light. For her it is especially important as she has macular degeneration and is legally blind. But with her little peripheral vision, she needs all the light she can get. How about us? We are told in Is. 2:5 to “walk in the light of the Lord”.  The Lord is Light and He wants to shine in the darkness of our lives and bring dawn.  He wants to bring us out of the shadows and expose us to His light that we may walk in the light of His presence.  He also says we are a light in the world and not to hide our light but to put it on a stand. (Matt.5:14).  We can also pray for our loved ones that the Lord will bring them out into His light and scatter the darkness. May we  open the blinds of our hearts and be children of the Light!!!

Devotions from Judy’s heart

Dec. 15th was a special day for 2 of my friends who celebrated their birthdays. It is also special as it is the anniversary of my cousin’s adopted son’s “Homecoming”.  Martin’ was born with a so many things wrong with his body and he was given up by his parents. But my cousin and hubby started caring for him, which demanded around the clock time for care giving, but given with heaps of love. It was a witness to all of us of unconditional love. He lived to be 17 years old, far beyond his expected  life span because of the love he received.  They spent much time at the hospital when his body needed emergency care. Their lives changed as it was focused around Martin and all his many needs. They ended up adopting him as he had won over their hearts. They in return, received so much love from him.  He went to glory where he has a new perfect body and can run and laugh and sing for the first time.  Today they are going to Children’s hospital and giving out gifts in Martin’s name. They sacrificed so much for Martin and it caused me to think of all that it cost my Heavenly Father for the sacrifice of His Son for us. We are broken too and we need someone to care for us, save us, and love us unconditionally. Let us make room in our hearts for Him whose birthday we are celebrating at this Christmas time.

Devotions from Judy’s heart,

We have a new pastor coming Jan. 1^st and she expressed that her call is to make God’s grace known to all people. Written up in the paper is an article that says, “Grace is the cornerstone of both her theology and her life.”  Grace is something we sing about, talk about, but may not always be easy to extend to others. One of our grandkids bought his brother a rather expensive gift for Christmas.  But recently that brother was “mean” to him several days in a row. He called me and wanted my advice as he was intent on bringing the gift back and buying him a cheaper gift, since he was “undeserving”. We talked about grace and how it is undeserved favor etc. But he was still hurting from his brother’s actions and said he was going to return the gift that day. So far he hasn’t exchanged it but will have to wait and see if grace wins out!
I have been reading in Timothy lately and in II Tim. 1:9 it says, “God saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to his own purpose and Grace. This Grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the ages began.”  How blessed we are that God does not give us what we deserve but rather pours out His grace freely. Let us extend that grace to others for we are recipients of that same wondrous grace.

Devotions from Judy’s heart

Do we live on the surface or do we experience abundant life that Jesus promised us in John 10:10?  We have a choice to live superficially or live deeply and abundantly. When we had the farewell coffee time for our interim pastor, our council president knitted him a beautiful prayer shawl. At first glance you may think it was just an ordinary prayer shawl but a closer look gave special significance.  Marlys had done it in several patterns of 3 stitches signifying the Trinity. It was bordered by 6 stitches called a seed stitch, which was significant of all the seeds pastor had sown in our midst. She also used a diamond pattern that reminds us that in God’s eyes we are His most valuable creation, a jewel.  The center and the largest panel was a cross which reminds us of what God has done for us through Jesus sacrifice on the cross. Sometimes used is a cable pattern that looks like 2 vines twisted together. This can remind us that Jesus is the vine and we are the branches. I put the prayer shawl on Pastor’s shoulders as Marlys read about the patterns in it. But we all took a closer look after these things were pointed out. Do we take time to look deeper into what is happening around us, to see what God is up to, to listen more intently to a friend’s story, to live below the surface?  Let us not be surface dwellers but ones that dwell deeply into Him!

Devotions from Judy’s heart

Do you know we are still eating some left-overs from when Kurt and his friends were here?  The food they cooked was fantastic and we are still enjoying and savoring the results.  When they left the cabin, they left behind some wonderful gourmet dishes and made me think of what we leave behind. Do we exude the fragrance of Christ or are others relieved when we depart?  In II Cor. 2:14 it says we are the aroma of Christ and “through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of Him everywhere.” Is it possible that others drawn to Him because of the fragrance we leave behind?  The guys left behind an aroma that has blessed us and not just their food!  I usually put water (with a fragrant oil) in a tea kettle on top of our wood stove and as it heats up the aroma fills the house.  May it be our prayer that others catch the sweet aroma of Christ by what we leave behind also.

Devotions from Judy’s heart

Surprise!! How many times have we been surprised by a party, maybe someone’s kindness to us, a gift etc?   It may be a simple kindness like my neighbor who picks me up for Line Dancing and has my passenger seat all heated up by the time she arrives at our house. Or when we went to El Tequila’s to talk over if we should buy a new SUV, the boss surprised us with paying for our dinner. Then he surprised us again by giving us a gift certificate for several more lunches there. A wonderful surprise! I think the Lord loves to give us surprises but the sad thing is we often miss thanking Him or recognizing they come from him. “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”(James 1:17)  When we surprise others, we are being used by Him to share His love. Or when others surprise us we can give thanks to Him for He prompted them to give. Let us remember where every good gift comes from!

Devotions from Judy’s heart

 Today a very old familiar song came to mind. “This is my Father’s world and to my listening ears, all nature sings and around me rings the music of the spheres.”  There are so many songs and scriptures about nature and it does seem to sing. Just this past week, Al was walking near the channel and could hear the ice “singing”. He told me to walk that way and listen as well. It is hard to describe but it did sound like singing. As ice was forming and coming together, it made a loud noise and was awesome to hear. As it says in Ps. 98, all nature is invited to make a joyful noise to the lord and break into song…the sea, the rivers, the hills etc.  He wants to draw us nearer and can use even the singing ice to help us see His awesomeness. Let us not miss what nature wants to teach us before our eyes.

My Psalm for today ( read them methodically) is: Ps. 29:3-4, “The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord, over many waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful: the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.”

Devotions from Judy’s heart

This morning I woke up with the moon streaming in our window and shedding its light. When I went outside the heavens were just filled with stars and glory. ( This was at 5:30 am).  Just think, “He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name.” (Ps. 47:4). If He knows each star by name, certainly He knows each of us in a most personal way. If we are paying attention we will notice that, “The earth is filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord. (Hab. 2:14)  Nature can speak to us if we are listening and it can cause us to see the Lord. It can speak of His love in new ways that we don’t want to miss. “As high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His steadfast love towards those who fear Him. “Ps. 103:11.  May we draw closer to Him as we see His beautiful creation and know that we have a Father who delights in displaying His love to us in a myriad of ways.

Devotions from Judy’s heart

Today as I went to clean the glass door of our wood stove, all the soot and grime came off without much effort at all. Other days, I can’t get more than a little tiny clear window as the black soot is stuck on. When the temperature of the stove is just right, it is easy but when it is not, it is almost impossible. As I looked into the clear glass, I thought of how wonderful it is when our hearts are open to God and to others. Others can see us as we really are and we can see outward and upward with clarity. It made me think of how we need to respond to the Spirit as He moves upon us, and not just when we decide the time is right. Our times are in His hands!  Let us not dismiss the move of God upon us but be quick to respond. Let Him clean the window of our souls that we can be transparent and reflect His glory.

Devotions from Judy’s heart

We are still eating left-overs from the gourmet dishes of this past week. We were so impressed with Bo’s recipes that are simply “to die for” !!  When Kurt and his friends use to come to the cabin they fished constantly and would come back to the cabin and throw a pizza in the oven.  Now instead they just spent almost  4 days hanging out and making unbelievable gourmet dishes, 3 times a day. I wonder if we aren’t often settling for simple pizzas when we might be feasting at the Lord’s table. He desires to feed us with the finest of wheat. He loves when we “hang out” with Him and spend lots of time together. He gives us a taste for flavorful things that may be new to us but are rich and satisfying. We can anticipate each meal for He prepares endless feasts for us. Why do we settle for so little when He has so much for us?  As it says in Song of Solomon 2:4, He invites us to His banqueting house, and His banner over us is love. Let us accept His invitation for the rich things that await us from the One who loves us most.