Category: Sister Judy (Page 215 of 279)

Devotions from Judy’s heart

Yesterday there was a strong wind and the leaves were just blowing about and floating down on me when I went for my prayer walk. I was reminded of the hang gliders we saw in Utah just letting the wind take them high above. They looked so free floating around in the air. When they dropped closer to the ground the situation looked more precarious and I wondered where they would land and what kind of landing it would be. But if the two people were worried and focused only on their landing, they would have missed the joy of the moment.  I know I have to remind myself again and again to live in the present and enjoy life to the fullest, smell the roses, & take time for what is important.. Just as those in the hang gliders, let us enjoy the ride and let the Spirit take us where He wills. As I was in the process of writing this, an e-mail came from a friend with tips for a beautiful day to enjoy the RIDE! What perfect timing!  To name a few of the tips that was set to music and pictures: Take a 30 minute walk a day and smile.  Sit in silence for 10 minutes each day.  When you awake ask, “What is my purpose today?”, Realize life is a school and you are here to learn lessons. Make peace with your past so it won’t mess up your present. Forgive everyone everything. Live life with energy, enthusiasm, and empathy. Before bed, complete the sentence,” I am thankful for…” .  Believe the best is to come. These are only a few suggestions to make the most of our ride!!  Enjoy your ride today!

Devotions from Judy’s heart

I love when our house is filled with aroma and today I made chili and had it simmering all morning. It just made my taste buds sing and want to sample. As it says in II Cor. 2:14&15, we are the aroma of Christ and He spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of Him everywhere through us. Isn’t that amazing? We don’t always know those that are drawn to the Lord because they sniff the fragrance we are carrying. But we do know how our hearts leap when we come into a room filled with tantalizing aromas. In my chili, I put all kinds of my garden veggies and let them simmer to add more flavor. I think people and experiences in our lives are used to bring out the aroma of Christ in a deeper way as we let them simmer over time and process them. I have had retreatants tell what I have put in my main dishes, just by the aroma, even before tasting. How wonderful when others are aware of Him in our lives and smell His sweet fragrance. Next time we enter a room full of wonderful aromas, let us ask Him to spread His fragrance through us.

Devotions from Judy’s heart

As I went for my prayer walk I was aware of how the leaves let the wind just blow them freely about until they land on the ground. Some try to hang on and make it though part of the winter but maybe they miss the joy of the free fall.  I wonder how many times we are like those tenacious leaves that hang on and want to be in control. But are we ever really in control?   When we hang on so tightly and don’t release our selves to Him, we miss the wonderful freedom God has for us.   In  II Cor. 3:17 it says,  “Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom.”  But when we let the Spirit blow us where He wills, it takes trust on our part as we don’t know where He will take us.  Fresh in my mind is the freedom Kurt and Brenda are experiencing now. They left if up to the Lord if they should move and the Lord gave a clear answer to their prayers. They didn’t get blown all the way to Chicago but are landing near the roots of their present tree. May each of us release ourselves daily so the Spirit can move us as He wills.

Devotions from Judy’s heart

Devotions from Judy’s heart

This afternoon Al and I began our preparation for winter, including cleaning out the chimney and wood stove, piling wood on the porch, etc. We know winter that is coming even though it was a warm sunny day today.

As I was taking my prayer walk I thought of how important it is to prepare for the Winter Time of our lives as we look forward to eternity.  Eugene Peterson said we should pray every day for a good death. How do we prepare? If you have suggestions, I will print and pass on to others who get these daily e-mails. It seems like at this time of our lives we tend to revert back more and more to our beginning years, as we become more dependant on others and accept their help. Being a “grateful receiver” helps!  We start thinking of what we will leave behind, just like putting away the deck chairs and summer things.  We begin putting aside those things that we want to leave behind for those we love.

We focus more on what is ahead of us and not on our aches and pains, knowing we will soon receive a new perfect healthy body. We may do some cleaning up ( as the chimney cleaning) and make amends with people who we have been hurt by or whom we have hurt. We may spend more time appreciating the little things in the present, as we are not sure how long we will have. The more I think about it, the more I believe we should live that way every day, even before the winter season comes upon us.

Devotions from Judy’s heart,
Today I went for a prayer walk and the road was brilliant with color. Some of the leaves have turned golden, others bright red, and some orange etc. They are preparing to let go and fall to the ground as the wind blows upon them. I thought of how we are all in process of “shriveling” too and one day will die and be put into the ground.  But even though we may get wrinkled, we can still shine forth with His presence that lives within us. This was so evident when Grace and I visited her friend Helen who is in her 80’s and getting wrinkled, but is so aglow with the love of the Lord. One glorious day, in God’s perfect timing, the wind of the Spirit will usher each of us who know Him, to our real home in glory.  May the last of our days show forth the beauty and glory of the Lord in our lives!  And even as the fallen leaves provide compost for the soil, the memory of the lives of the saints that have gone before us enrich our lives even now.

 Devotions from Judy’s heart

“Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain.” Ps. 127:1
One thing we have noticed on our trip was the variety of homes and their locations. We saw some lovely mansions built on high bluffs without a single tree near. Being from MN I can hardly imagine doing that as we love being surrounded by a forest of trees. In fact we like it that our house cannot be seen by people from the lake who are fishing.  But those who stand out on the cliffs for all to see would probably feel “suffocated” if they lived where we do!  There was a time in ministry when we were more up front and seen, but now the Lord has us more hidden and it feels right. Al calls us a monk and a nun in the woods. People who come to Canaan are often those whom God is bringing into a more quiet contemplative time alone with Him.  We’re not all alike or serve in the same place but we need to pay attention to where the Lord would have us dwell in each season of our lives.  But may our homes be filled with the fragrance of Christ just as “Mary poured perfume on Jesus feet and the house was filled with the fragrance.” John 12:3

Devotions from Judy’s heart

We are told to seek the Lord while he may be found and to call on Him while He is near. “Is. 55:6.  Have you sensed the Holy Spirit prompting you to do something, respond in a certain way, or say something to someone you had not planned? How good it feels when we obey promptly and feel the Lord’s smile on us. We need to respond at the very time when the Holy Spirit moves upon us. When we don’t act on His prompting the moment passes and we may no longer sense that same leading. The moment is gone! I notice with our little grandson, John Mark, how he readily responds to his mom or dad when they tell him to put away his toys etc. It gives his parents pleasure when they don’t have to coerce him but he obeys right away. I think the Lord gets pleasure when we are quick to obey too!  I wish that were always true in my life but so many times I question etc.
In the prayer from Daily texts from Mount Carmel Ministries I read this prayer that I want to be my prayer: “Gentle Spirit, your love moves us in directions of your choosing. Sometimes I feel the movement and sometimes I don’t. Give me a sense of awareness so that I can seek to move as you would have me move, to live as you would have me live. Open my life to the riches of your treasure today.”

Devotions from Judy’s heart

“From the rising of the sun to its setting my name is great among the nations, ’”says the Lord.

As we watch sunrises over the mountains it is a reminder of the end of night and hope bursting into being. If we have lost our hope in what seems like an impossible situation, we may feel daybreak will never come. But in the Lord, no situation is hopeless, for we can cast every care on our all-powerful God who will sustain us and never let us fall.( Ps. 55:22).  We can have hope ( not merely wishful thinking) but deep down trust in Him who will hold us fast in what may seem to the world to be hopeless. “The sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. (Mal 4:2). With healing comes hope bursting with peace, knowing all is well with our souls.

Devotions from Judy’s heart

On our trip we have seen such beautiful scenery each day and sometimes it is just breath taking. But most of the time we are not looking out our rear view mirror but straight ahead out our spacious windshield. We will miss all that God has for us if we keep looking back. There is a song that goes something like this: “I look not back, God knows the fruitless efforts, the wasted hours, the sinning, the regrets. I leave them all with Him who blots the record, and graciously forgives and then forgets.”  If we keep looking back through our rear view mirror, just think of how much we miss.  It says in Isaiah 43:1 “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See I am doing a new thing!”  It is good to reflect on our past, just as it is good sometimes to use that rear view mirror. But let us not dwell there and open our eyes to the new.

Devotions from Judy’s heart,
Yesterday when we were traveling on mountain roads, a big logging truck was right on our tail. He was so close to our back end and started to make us nervous. The speed limit for trucks was set slower than that of cars but he was reckless and going way over the speed limit. All of a sudden he passed us and we felt very relieved to not have him breathing down on us. I thought of how uncomfortable it is when we feel pushed by others on our spiritual journey? Maybe they expect so much out of us before we were ready?  Or maybe we recall pushing someone else in their Christian walk to be in the same place we are or to see things our way?  I know pastors are vulnerable to parishioners pushing something they want for the whole church.  Maybe it is a concern to them but they think the whole church should move that way. We must guard against pressuring others rather than letting the Holy Spirit do the wooing and prompting. He is gentle and guides us, but doesn’t push us. He also knows when we are ready for His next move in our lives.