Category: Sister Judy (Page 211 of 279)

Devotions from Judy’s heart

“Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him all creatures here below.” Every day is a day to live in gratitude and praise. The black Pastor at the S.C. Base Chapel church said we should wake each day being so thankful we are alive and entering another day to praise Him. Each day is a gift and if we enter it with thanksgiving our spirit will be renewed and we will catch the blessings sent our way. How important it is keep our hearts open Every time we close our heart and put on a protective layer, we also shut out what the Lord means for our good.  Each day as we awaken, let us greet the day with Him as our focus and with hearts of praise.

“ Because  you love is better than life, my lips will glorify you….My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.” Ps. 63:3 & 5

Devotions from Judy’s heart

In Jer. 17:10 it says the Lord searches the heart and examines the mind. Yesterday I went on my own search too and it was to find all the dust balls in the house. It is something I like to do for Brenda as neither of us likes to dust.  I cleaned the baseboards and low areas, but with a stool I was able to clean cupboards above the frig, high shelves, etc. She had just the right solution in a squirt bottle for me to use too.  Now when company comes, they may not know how clean it is in these places, but Brenda does and it feels good.  In our own lives we all have lots of dust and areas that need constant attention. Sometimes we don’t know when all this “dust” appeared but it just does in our day to day lives. We need constant cleansing in our hearts for our hearts want to deceive us. In fact, they would much rather that we paid attention to some one else’s “dust balls” than our own. Just like I wrote about last month, when I all of a sudden I saw the ceiling fan and the area around it that was so dirty.  The Lord wants to search us and daily cleanse us. In Ps. 139:23 -24 it says, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” That was written by a man who had committed adultery and murder, but who let the Lord cleanse his heart.The Lord has the perfect cleansing solution too, for His blood shed for us paid the price. Let us allow Him the freedom to search us and bring wholeness and healing.

Devotions from Judy’s heart

We were smothered with hugs and xxx yesterday as the kids came from school and we were here waiting. After the birthday party at supper time, Paige and Lily prepared a musical program for us, which included dancing, playing of a Recorder etc. We had to buy tickets and conform to all the rules of the theater. It all was going so well, but Grant felt left out so did his own thing on the side. He would jump off a chair and throw his football through a basketball hoop and wait for us to clap for him. He was not going to be outdone by his sisters! I thought of the scripture in Gal. 6:21 where it tells us not to compare ourselves with others. Each of us is so precious to the Lord and He does not show favoritism. Isn’t that wonderful to know that He lavishes His love on each of us the same and delights in us?  I know that we delight in the grandkids, and this is only a small way in which He delights in us. In Zeph 3:17 we are reminded of this. “The Lord your God is with you…. He will take great delight in you. He will quiet you with His love. He will rejoice over you with singing.” Let us go about out day with the realization that He rejoices and sings over us, since we bring delight to Him.

Devotions from Judy’s heart

Yesterday I read from Romans 14:13 ,”Let us no longer pass judgment on another, but resolve instead never to put a stumbling block in the way of another.”  We are to show understanding love. While at my brothers, I helped him tie his shoes, start the fire in his gas fireplace, carry a few things etc. All very simple things but when your arm is in a cast it becomes difficult. His handicap is very visible and I would do anything to help my brother. But most people around us ( including ourselves) have handicaps. Many of these are not visible to see with our eyes but we may need inner healing and help psychologically. My devotional book had a prayer that is good to pray often. “Great and forgiving God, thank you for teaching me how to live with my neighbor. Without your help, I easily pass judgment on them instead of showing them understanding love, and forgiveness. Keep me from doing harm to others by what I do or don’t do. Show me how to use kindness and gentleness to bring hope and healing.”

Devotions from Judy’s heart

This morning I read in Luke 21 about the poor widow who put in 2 small coins in the temple treasury. It was all she had to live on!  What a contrast to the Biltmore Estate we toured yesterday with the enormous oak dinner table that seated 38, the 43 bathrooms, the bowling alley, the swimming pool, etc with over 1800 workers to keep the estate beautiful.  It was truly lovely and we enjoyed seeing the lavish furnishings in each of the over 200 rooms. But I must say I actually preferred the simple style of the monastery with its peaceful atmosphere. One feels so close to the Lord. When I think of the hidden life of solitude and the prayerfulness of the monks, it stirs my heart. They own nothing and yet they are so rich. One does not need an abundance of things to be happy but rather to commune with the Lord and receive His lavish love.   The words of the song came to mind that I learned as a child, “ A tent or a cottage why should I care. He’s building me a mansion over there…. He has riches untold!  Let us seek true riches that last forever!

Devotions from Judy’s heart

Today we were in the Blue Ridge at sunrise and there was a mist covering the mountains.  It was hard to know where the mountains ended and where the heavens began. We were literally in the clouds. I felt like shouting,  “Be exalted O God, above the heavens, let your glory be over all the earth.” (Ps. 57:10-11. ) I thought of how we must be ready for the unexpected as the temperatures went from 70 degrees when we left Charleston this morning to  25 degrees and snow in the mountains.  How  important it is  that we are ready for the unexpected. It says in Luke 21:36, “ Always be on the watch and pray.” We had to dress differently today than yesterday and had to drive slowly in the snow. But what if we had insisted on wearing our short sleeved shirts like we did yesterday when it was then in the 80’s?  We would have been freezing today!  As it says in II Tim. 4:2, “Be prepared in season and out of season.”  We had heard the forecast and were prepared today for this new season and so thankful in our winter coats. May we be prepared in the spiritual sense too and be watchful and prayerful.

Devotions from Judy’s heart

I think this trip is showing me once more how to live in the present moment. On our way to Charleston, we didn’t have a rigid time schedule and we stopped along the way at places that sparked our interest.  We went to
“The Cathedral of All Souls” which was a historic Episcopal  church in Asheville, N.C>  We took time to view all the stained glass windows etc. and sat in quiet. We took in the Cultural Center of Arts too. Sometimes we are in such a hurry on our journey, that we miss the most meaningful things along the way. Faster may not be better. We took a little extra time and experienced more of the little things that add up to make us rich and full. As we start our journey homeward tomorrow we plan to do the same. Let us make each day count!

“O God, teach us to count our days that we may gain a wise heart.” PS. 90:12

Devotions from Judy’s heart

While at Ann’s on Saturday I had a moment of intense gratefulness one noon.  I was mixing cookies and had just been melting some butter on the stove. There was soup warming up on one burner and someone had put a casserole dish on the back burner too. When I had finished mixing the butter and sugars for the cookies, I transferred the bowl to the adjacent counter.. All of a sudden there was a big explosion. The rice casserole dish exploded, sending glass all over the kitchen. Had I still been at the stove, I would have had glass in my face and maybe all over. Oh how thankful I was that I was right where I was at the time. I wonder if we know in even a small way, how often we are protected from harm. Afterwards I thought of the verse from one of my favorite Psalms, 37:7, “You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.”  All day long I was giving thanks!

Devotions from Judy’s heart

Tonight we feel the joy of the lost lamb that was found or like the woman who found her lost coin after lighting her lamp and sweeping her floor. Today we took the grandkids to the Charleston Aquarium and had such a fun day. But when we got to the car to go home, Al said he didn’t have his billfold! Oh my, the stress we all went through and prayers went up immediately.  We went back to the Aquarium and combed the place as best we could. We started thinking of the consequences since we are only on the first leg of our journey and need our credit cards, Driver’s license to get back in to the Base etc. The kids were very cooperative and felt bad for grandpa. We had planned to stop to eat on the way home but instead went right home. But to the joy of all of us, Ann met us at the door to tell us Al had left his billfold on the table and never had it in his pocket. We started cheering and thanking the Lord with all of our hearts, and went out to celebrate. I felt like the woman in Luke 15:9 who called together her friends to share her joy.  “Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin. In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”  What we found was important to us, but not like the joy of a lost soul who is found!

Devotions from Judy’s heart

It’s often the little things in life that mean so much and are remembered. Each morning we wake up to the smell of coffee at 5:30 am. as Leif sets it the night before. Also on Friday when we came home from the Boone Hall Plantation, we were all tired from walking for hours and being out in the cold and wind. But when we stepped inside, the house was filled with the aroma of chicken baking. Leif had a yummy supper in the oven and we didn’t have to do a thing. In fact, we all headed for a nap and still had plenty of time to get ready for the International Home School event..  When we feel prompted to do something for others, we need to heed the voice of the Spirit. Sometimes it is a word of encouragement or may be an act of kindness that seems small, but to the other person it may make all the difference in the world. So let us be sensitive to the Spirit and “Keep in step with the Spirit” (Gal. 5:25) and walk in love.