Category: Sister Judy (Page 39 of 267)

July 17, 2024

July 17, 2024 / Judy Hendrickson / 0 Comments

Dear Ones,

Hope you wake to peace filled day!

I am writing as I look out on a beautiful still lake surrounded by huge trees from our retreat house. Awesome view! We arrived yesterday afternoon and had a delicious supper and time of catching up with our dear friends and much laughter, and prayer as we settled into our king-size bed that we can view the lake from.

Devotions from Judy’s heart

We hear so much about prayer and often we feel guilty that we aren’t praying enough. What exactly is prayer? I am reading a book that Catherine de Hueck Doherty wrote about reflections from a life of prayer. She said, “Prayer is love… Prayer is the meeting of 2 loves: the love of God and our love.” Prayer is an expression of our love for God, and it can also be in silence, just as 2 lovers can sit in silence at yet be communicating their great depth of love. When we come to know the Lord in a deep way, I think we will come to know a depth of joy and peace that may surprise us for we will receive compassion for others like we have never known before.

In prayer we are really surrendering ourselves to the Lord for we are welcoming His will over our own. We don’t have to have a set time to pray for we can talk to Him all day long throughout our day. We can pray in our hearts, even when we are serving others and not doing it aloud. In many ways a young mother when she is busy with meeting her children’s needs can be praying in her heart throughout the day. Doherty says, “Real prayer is simply the communication that constantly passes between you and the Lord. Prayer is conversation with Him.”

I think we make prayer complicated and wordy, but prayer is really simple. Where we live there are people with health issues and we can just simply say as we walk down the hall, “God, Cindy is sick. Please touch her with healing.” We don’t even have to know the person, for through our day we may see an accident or someone who needs care, and we can just ask the Lord to look after them. Our lives should never be boring for if we are flowing in prayer throughout our day, it gets exciting. God is so present and in a sense our lives become a prayer.

Paul says in Gal.2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” As we become united with the Lord as He lives in us, I think we will find ourselves praying all the time.

Challenge for today: Talk with the Lord with words and without words throughout your day.

Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

July 16, 2024

July 16, 2024 / Judy Hendrickson / 0 Comments

Dear Ones,

Hope you wake with expectancy of God speaking to you today. We are going to be packing up to go for a retreat for 2 nights and days with good friends that did all the planning and preparation. We are leaving early so we can hit a Christian bookstore on the way which makes Al very happy!

We have already been given a schedule that leaves us time to be alone with the Lord, sharing of the 4 of us, and as couples, and time alone with the Lord. Walks and free time are included and even a nap!! We feel very blessed!!!

Devotions from Judy’s heart

I love flowers, especially wildflowers even more than a bouquet of roses, as they speak to me of God’s glory. At a women’s church gathering I won a lovely bouquet of a mixture of many kinds of flowers, and I was reminded so often as I passed the floral arrangement of our Creator who made them. When we walk the Paul Bunyan trail, I enjoy the beautiful wildflowers dotting the woods with their brilliant colors and variety; they are free for us to enjoy and also a reminder of Him who created everything.

God speaks to all mankind through the beauty of nature, and even unbelievers can see that God exists and has revealed Himself because of all that He has created. I am reading Psalm 19 and David begins saying that… “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows and proclaims His handiwork. Day after day pours forth speech, and night after night shows forth knowledge. There is no speech nor spoken word (from the stars); their voice is not heard. Yet their voice (in evidence) goes out through all the earth, their saying to the end of the world.”

I grew up in a home where the beauty of nature was appreciated and mom would often remark, “Come look and see the beautiful sunset over the lake tonight!” When we are with unbelievers, we can express our faith in sharing how God created so much beauty for us to enjoy etc. The evidence is right there as we might be out star gazing, and the heavens simply declare His handiwork. Let us all be aware of the reminders that God leaves for us to daily renew our faith and trust in Him. If He created the heavens and the earth and all that is in it, is He not able to take care of us!

Challenge for today: Throughout your day, thank the Lord for the reminders He leaves for you to know that He is there with you. Also share Him with others!
Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

July 15, 2024

July 15, 2024 / Judy Hendrickson / 0 Comments

Dear Ones,

This has been quite a weekend with the assassination attempt on Trump’s life and we need to pray for our nation as never before. Today I plan to go to my exercise class and pack, and you can read where we are going tomorrow in the following devotion.

Devotions from Judy’s heart

Recently, I was reading about Poustinia which is an unstructured time we go apart to be with the Lord. It is any quiet place alone and we are free to pray, rest, walk, breathe in the Spirit and just be free with the Lord. Its time spent just loving the Lord for He loved us first and we are loving Him back. There is no need to be uptight and have a schedule, but it is a time to relax, think about the Lord and His words and spend some enjoying His presence in silence. Poustinia can be just in a room of a house, but the fact is we are alone with God and letting him love us.

Not long ago we got a call from dear friends who we have known for many years and pray for them and their family daily. In fact, they are like family to us. They wanted both Al and I to be on the phone together as they had something to ask us. Not many times people call and say they have a gift for us, and will we accept, and this was the gift of a retreat option. They had rented a lovely home about an hour away for 2 days and nights in July and wanted us to join them for a time of retreat. The house overlooks the lake and has 4 bedrooms and 3 baths and is inviting but that isn’t all… They are going to plan how the time is spent and provide the food, and all we have to do is come join them. What a gift! When I was reading about Poustinia, I thought this will be not only time with the 4 of us sharing the Lord together, but we also will have time alone in a room by ourselves, or by the water etc. where we can just be with the Lord. All we need is our Bibles and the rest of the time is up to the Lord. We are excited already and anticipating that special time.

I will write after our experience to let you know what it is like, but it is something everyone can do. If you desire to have your own Poustinia you may want to have a room by yourself, even if it is a closet, where you can be alone with the Lord. There may be times you simply sleep because rest is needed and like it says in Song of Solomon 5:2, “I went to sleep but my heart stayed awake.” Let it be a time to enjoy the Lord, think about Him, think about His words, and just enjoy Him.

Challenge for today: Take time today to be alone with the Lord and express your love to Him.

Blessings on your week and prayers and love, Judy

July 13, 2024

July 13, 2024 / Judy Hendrickson / 0 Comments

Dear Ones,

Hope you are enjoying this sunshiny weekend and taking time to get refreshed! We haven’t seen the repair man for our Air Conditioner yet and know others are waiting too.

Today I am remembering my dad as it is his birthday and he lived to be 100!

Devotions from Judy’s heart

We are often told in scripture to REMEMBER. It says in Eccl. 12:1 to Remember our creator in the days of our youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, ‘I have no pleasure in them.” And in I Chron 16:12 David says, “Remember the wondrous works that He has done, His miracles and the judgments He uttered.” Remember!

For all of us, it is good to turn humbly to our past to find meaning in the present and hope for what lies ahead. And it is especially important to remember the Lord desires to direct our life where we are at now and into eternity. When we create space for Him it allows ourselves to slow down and be centered in His love. We can then practice being reflective and sitting still, praying and meditating. Of course, the world tells us the opposite and to speed up, do more, keep up. The Lord’s way however is to remember, to rest and to bathe in His grace and love.

God remembers us even before our birth. He knows our name and offers us His secure love. There may be difficult times in our lives, when we think God has surely forgotten us or He would do something about our disasters. But He doesn’t forget us ever and God loved us enough to send His son to become like us and then to die for us. Let us never forget His great love for us. When we have doubts it may be good to read Isaiah 44:22 to help us remember as it says to remember that “I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like a mist: return to me, for I have redeemed you.”

Challenge for today: Take some time to sit in remembrance of how the Lord has blessed you and lives with you and in you.

Blessings on your weekend and prayers and love, Judy

July 12, 2024

July 12, 2024 / Judy Hendrickson / 0 Comments

Dear Ones,

Hope you wake to the beginning of a wonderful weekend! It continues to be warm and I hope to do my baking early. In answer to the question asked yesterday about “What is the biggest robber of your time”, for most it was their cell phones… the very thing that is supposed to save us time.

Devotions from Judy’s heart

Do we really know how much we need God and are dependent on Him? Sometimes when we have accomplished a lot and gotten accolades from others, we forget that we need God’s grace. We think we are doing just fine ourselves and that is not a good place to be for are not self-sufficient and always in need of His mercy and grace. We don’t rule, God does. David said in Psalm 93, “Mighty God rules from High Heaven. What you say goes—it always has.” Though David was king he knew that God ruled.

Much of David’s life was spent in the wilderness running from Saul but after Saul’s death when he became King, he built a home but also wanted to do something for God. He had received so many blessings and answers to prayers as God spared his life time and time again and David wrote songs of gratitude and called him His refuge. He told the prophet Nathan that he wanted to build a home for God and Nathan was more than pleased. But during the night God spoke to Nathan and told him that David was not to do the building but that his son would do it. We may wonder why not? It seems like a perfect plan. But God thinks and plans in eternal terms, and we think in temporal ways.

After David was told he was not to build the Lord a house, he went in and sat before the Lord. (II Sam. 7:18) and listened to the Lord. He didn’t bulldoze his way through to do what plans he had in mind, but traded his plans for God’s plan. He listened and prayed and blessed the Lord.

When we get caught up in our own plans, we may have good intentions but forget God. We may receive applause from others but in the end, we are no longer aware of our dependency on the Lord. Let us always surrender our plans to His, just as David did. As David once prayed, “ But I trust in you, O Lord; I say, ‘You are my God.’ My times are in Your hand.” (Psalms 31:14-15)

Challenge for today: Surrender your agenda to the Lord each day and stick with His plan!

Blessings on your weekend and prayers and love, Judy

July 11, 2024

July 11, 2024 / Judy Hendrickson / 0 Comments

Dear Ones,

Hope you wake with a desire to share your day with the Lord and to serve Him in new ways. Today is donut day here and Bible Study this afternoon.

The question for this week is what is the biggest robber of your time?

Devotions from Judy’s heart

How we spend our time, is a good indication of our priorities. Perhaps our check book is another big indicator to show us what is most important in our lives. We can say the Lord is Number One but if we don’t spend time with Him, listening and reading the Word, and serving Him, it gives the opposite message. Just like when Al says he loves me, but if he seldom spends time with me or to share with me, I will have to question if he really loves me. Our relationship with God should be first and most important so we give attention and time to Him and family second and others next. We don’t need to waste time by spending the majority of our time on lesser things but on what is greater. Like it says in Deut. 6:5, We are to love God with all our heart, soul and with all our might.

Perhaps the biggest robber today is our cell phones that continually beep and grab our attention. Two friends may be having a very intimate conversation, and a cell phone goes off and they excuse themselves to answer and to give attention to something lesser. Our time is valuable and we will one day give account for how we spend it. Sometimes we waste it on dwelling on negative

We also waste time when we refuse to forgive others and let our thoughts be consumed by hurt emotions that take over our attention like worry, fear, guilt etc. We may need to just stop and pray and give over those emotions to the Lord rather than letting them steal His love from flowing through us. and ways to get even with them. Bitterness is harmful to us and will rob us of peace as our time can be filled with thoughts of revenge or self-pity. Instead, let us be aware of our reaction to those who do evil to us and forgive them, knowing God has called us to love and forgiveness. May we not waste our time dwelling on negative emotions but put our focus on the Lord, our greatest priority! Like it says in Psalm 16:8, “I keep my eyes always on the Lord.”

Challenge for today: Ask the Lord what things need to change in our life to put Him first in all things.

Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

July 10, 2024

July 10, 2024 / Judy Hendrickson / 0 Comments

Dear Ones,

Hope you had a good night of sleep. Al and the men had a good time at the lake yesterday and I was able to shop with a friend and have her for lunch and prayer and sharing. Today Al preaches next door and tonight we get to hear from the ones that went on a mission trip and are now back. No A.C. yet!

Devotions from Judy’s heart

I’m sure we have all had times that we waken in the night and can’t get back to sleep again. We just lay in bed thinking of all the things we have on our agenda for the next day and wonder how we will get it all accomplished. As we look at the clock slowly ticking away, we think of even more things that need our attention, and sleep eludes us.

When my brother came to visit recently, he had a page torn out of a devotional from the Upper Room that he wanted me to read and it had to do with sleep. As it says in Proverbs 3:24, “When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.” That sounds heavenly, especially if we are laying there in the night, wide awake and want sweet sleep! Dolores Kight writes her own experience of a discussion at church where she shared her battle with sleep. A retired school psychologist responded by saying when we struggle with sleep it is good to look back on what we did in a day, not think of all our plans for the next day. In reflecting on our day, we think of how we spent our day and what we accomplished and the interactions we had and we thank the Lord for it. Even if something negative happened we can still thank the Lord for the good he can work out of it and what we learned from it. The example was given in Genesis 1 of creation and how God spoke “It was good!” at the end of each day during the 6 days of creation. So, Delores said she has used this process when she falls asleep and continues to be blessed with sweet sleep. She also has a good frame of mind to start the next day for if we are thankful for the day before, we can look with anticipation to the new day before us.

There are many scriptures about sleep and you may like Prov. 3:24 or another one. We can enjoy sweet rest and sleep as we sink down into our pillow and know that the Lord is tucking us in with His presence. No need to think on the stresses of tomorrow but know that He will be with us just as He was today.

Challenge for today: Memorize a scripture on sleep, and if you wake in the night, reflect on the day you had and tell the Lord, “It was good.”

Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

July 9, 2024

July 9, 2024 / Judy Hendrickson / 0 Comments

Dear Ones,

Hope you wake to a day of surprising blessings. Al is going with a couple men to the Silver Chateau (cabin) early this morning and have lunch and boat ride etc. I plan to go shopping with a friend but if the Air Conditioning repair man shows up, I will have to hurry home. This is going to be a hot week so we hope he will be coming very soon!

Devotions from Judy’s heart

The Lord knows our individual needs even more than we do. He knows also the needs of our loved ones better than we do. Recently our son Kurt and grandson Grant stopped to see us on their way to the cabin. It was not a warm day and it was also sprinkling a bit, and I told them how sorry I was that they didn’t have better lake weather. Their response surprised me as both of them said the weather was perfect as they had just come from Kansas where it was 100 degrees, and they were tired of the extreme heat when they went about their work. This cool weather was wonderful.

God knows what we need even in times when we don’t know ourselves and we can trust Him to orchestrate just the right circumstances. Sometimes there may be friends that have so much going on in their lives that they would appreciate just time to be alone with their thoughts and to rest, not another gathering. Pastors who are busy ministering to others, often try to schedule time to go on retreat and be alone with the Lord. When we ask the Lord to be in charge of our lives, our schedules, He will keep us in balance.

We can also trust the Lord to help us in our battle with the enemy for the enemy goes after our individual weaknesses. He tries to trip us up and what works on one person, may be different than another. He wants to fill our thoughts so he can get us to worry, or to fear, or to get angry or unforgiving. We don’t have to argue with him or give him the time of day but tell him we belong to Jesus, and he has to take it up with Him. We get victory not by our willpower but in faith turning to the Lord. It may help when being attacked to inwardly begin to praise the Lord, and if I am alone, I just sing at the top of my voice! An example that made me laugh out loud… I read about a man who had trouble with blasphemous thoughts, and he decided when the enemy brought those thoughts to his mind, he would start praying for his missionary cousin in China. He noticed the enemy quit his approach with those kind of thoughts as it only stirred up more prayer for China. Let us take everything to the Lord! As is stays in Col. 2:6, “You received Jesus Christ, the Master; now live Him.”

Challenge for today: Give yourself unreservedly to the Lord who know you well and trust Him to meet all of your needs.
Blessings on your way and prayers and love, Judy

July 8, 2024

July 8, 2024 / Judy Hendrickson / 0 Comments

Dear Ones,

Hope you had a wonderful Holiday weekend. I especially enjoyed a sauna and swimming at the lake and time with family. It’s warming up in the 80’s this week and we aren’t excited since our A.C. is not working.

Devotions from Judy’s heart

Did you know that when you come to know the Lord, you are called a living stone? It says in I Peter 2:5, “You come to Him as living stones, a spiritual house that is being built into a holy priesthood.” Christ is the head cornerstone, and He places us by other stones as well. But as wonderful as that is, we find that we have to be shaped and ready to fit in, so that means we may have to have our rough edges shaved off and smoothed. Actually, we can count on it! We may want to resist but it is necessary if we want Him to use us. While reading about this process in Pastor Christianson’s book, “The Renewed Mind”, he calls this the sanctification process. We are being made holy, separated from the world, as the Holy Spirit is doing a work in us so we become more like Jesus. We may go through discomfort when this is happening, but it is important not to resist. Sometimes, we feel like we have been set aside as we are in a waiting time when we are being prepared for what the Lord has for us next. Kind of reminds you of a tree that has dropped his leaves and is dormant but waiting for spring to come. We may feel like we are on the shelf right now, but it could He be preparing us for the next phase?

We must guard that we keep close to the Lord and also in fellowship with other believers, for we are being built together into a beautify spiritual house. It makes me think of Taylor, who you have prayed for in the past, especially when she went on a 9-month mission. We had them for breakfast Friday morning at the lake before they headed back to Wisconsin. She and her husband are now part of a Chrisitan community there and like two precious little stones in the building of His kingdom. They wanted to be part of community of believers that worship and pray together and work together. For now, they are staying with a pastor’s family with 3 little ones and an Amish girl that has joined too. We look forward to hearing how the Lord will be shaping them into beautiful stones for His glory.

Let all of us be patient as we are being shaped by His hand.

Challenge for today: Don’t resist the Lord’s loving hand as he shaves off your rough edges and polishes you and fits you into His beautiful House.

Blessings on your week and prayers and love, Judy

July 6 2024

July 6, 2024 / Judy Hendrickson / 0 Comments

Dear Ones,

Hope you are having an enjoyable weekend. I am sending this out early as we are going home tomorrow. I am watching the sunset here on the lake and it is so beautiful. We have had a fun day as we had Taylor and Ethan for breakfast and time of sharing and prayer. Also, spent time playing scrabble, trying out the new sauna of Ann’s and swimming with relatives and time to finish a book.

Devotions from Judy’s heart

How often do we take things into our own hands and do things our way, rather than seeking what God has for us. As I read of the life of King David and compare it to King Saul, there is a world of difference. Saul started out humble and dependent on God, but very soon, full of self-importance, he compromised and began doing things his way and it got him in trouble. David, on the other hand, trusted and was obedient to the Lord, and refused to do it his way but bowed to God’s way.

When David became king of both Israel and Judah, he needed to find a central site to rule from that would include both countries. He captured Jerusalem, which had belonged to the Jebusites, and it became the City of David. He destroyed the idols that were there, and it says in II Sam. 5:10, “David became greater and greater, for the Lord, the God of hosts, was with Him.” Change came to David as he matured spiritually, for instead of being hidden and marginal as he was hunted by Saul, he was now upfront and the very center of things. He was King and gave commands, but he didn’t let it go to his head. He remained humble and lived a life of obedience to the Lord and showed compassion to Saul’s crippled son, Mephibosheth, and gathered in the northern tribe, Israel to become one with Judah. David was 37 when he began ruling, after so many years of fleeing from Saul and being a fugitive.

Change comes into all of our lives, and do we flow into the next thing God has for us and go in His power, or do we take over in our own strength? An employee who now becomes the boss, should humbly remember what his previous status was so he can be a one who rules with God’s love and wisdom. David began as a shepherd boy and ended up shepherding a nation. God used all of his previous experiences to make him into one who ruled with caring as a shepherd over the flock, not a power-hungry king. May we also remain open to the Lord and let the Holy Spirit direct us into whatever is next in our lives, as we remain humble and dependent on Him.

Challenge for today: Read the words of David from Psalm 23 in a different translation and let the Lord shepherd you.

Blessings on your weekend and prayers and love, Judy

Category: Sister Judy (Page 39 of 267)

July 17, 2024

July 16, 2024

July 15, 2024

July 13, 2024

July 12, 2024

July 11, 2024

July 10, 2024

July 9, 2024

July 8, 2024

July 6 2024

Recent Posts

Meta

Recent Comments

Archives

Categories