Category: Sister Judy (Page 25 of 267)

I have always believed that when we know the Lord, we should live in joy and delight in each day. We have been released from the bondage of our sins and we don’t have to spend all our days earning forgiveness and love, but just receive it. I guess I have never thought of the Lord taking pleasure in my enjoyment of the life He has given me right now. Things may change in our future but Iet us live each day in joy of His presence and the gifts He has given us.

Our part is to accept His gifts but not that pleasure is our goal that we need to pursue. In fact, haven’t we all seen people who live for retirement as they think of the things they want to do, but like Eugene Peterson writes, “The pursuit of pleasure leads to a swamp of boredom.” Pleasure is something we receive and a gift to enjoy but not our goal. Our goal is to love and serve the Lord and also to enjoy His gifts to us. There are times I may sit by the Lake in the sun, looking out over the water and realize how rich my life is and how content I am.

Let us realize pleasures can’t be bought and we are to look to the Joy Giver Himself, and receive His gifts to us that will result in pleasure. As we seek Him first and foremost, our hearts will also open up to be loving and generous with others and bring joy to them. I suspect that brings double pleasure to the Lord.

All of us should choose our friends wisely as we aren’t able to spend time with everyone, and sometimes we need boundaries even with those who become close to us. When they are taking up too much of our time, and we are getting stressed we can speak up and make changes. We can offer to get together every other week instead of every week or tell them you only have so much time and then end it, at the set time. I use to have someone call every morning for an hour and it became too much as I was a busy pastor’s wife. Back then I didn’t know how to limit it without hurting her feelings. We don’t need to apologize or give long explanations but rather that we feel the Lord is directing us in a certain way. Of course, we can’t control how others will respond ether but we can keep boundaries as a form of selfcare: we can’t give to others if we are worn out and our bucket is empty.

Boundaries help us to be physically, emotionally and spiritually healthy so we can serve God best and most effectively. If others don’t respect our boundaries, we may need to put firmer ones in place or it may even get to removing ourselves from a relationship. Coonie writes that boundaries are a sign of maturity and self-respect. They give us direction and protection so we don’t live according to the demands of others but help us be healthy and fruitful. Then we can be more intentional about seeking the Lord, reading the Word and enjoying His presence.

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Divinity Wrapped in a Blanket

By: Jill Briscoe

Divinity wrapped in a blanket,
Laid in the arms of the race,
Slept while His Father kept silent,
Watching with tears on His face.

The godhead resides in a body,
So weak and incredibly small,
While angels bereft of their treasure,
Try to make sense of it all.

Divinity wrapped in a baby.
How simple, yet simply profound,
Like the kings and the shepherds I worship,
And bow myself down to the ground.

Infinity chose to be finite,
Omniscience made Himself known,
Omnipotence laid down His power,
Emmanuel made my heart home.

Unspeakable gift, softly spoken,
Unimaginable love made so clear,
Immeasurable grace of the Father,
Bringing us all nations so near.

Divinity wrapped in a blanket,
Eternity visiting time,
Stopped all the clocks in the heavens,
As God chose to make Himself mine.

But maybe we should ask ourselves if we appreciate all the many wonderful gifts we receive each day from the Lord but don’t’ really notice but pass them by without much thought. That is like only living life on the surface and missing out on His treasures for us!  We have so many Psalms that are full of words of praise for the gifts given us and sometimes the response is dancing, singing, playing an instrument, and even shouting and clapping. (Psalm 47:1)

But I am being challenged by Esther De Waal who wrote Lost in Wonder, and she exhorts us to be attentive and look around us with eyes wide open with astonishment by God’s gifts. We are to look beyond the surface and experience all of life as a gift, much like children. They seem to get excited over what they see in nature, something as simple as a flower or a leaf. We too, need to look beyond and see with the eyes of our hearts, and see the beauty of God’s handiwork and all the wonders He displays for us to take in. It is more than looking and is rather seeing beyond.

I will close with the words from Michael Mayne who wrote, “I guess that, in the end, the giving of proper attention to what lies all about us and within us, and to whoever or whatever is before our eyes, is much more than the beginning of wonder. For it’s also a pretty good definition of love. And therefore, it is also the surest, swiftest way to God, who is both our journey and our journey’s end.”