Category: Sister Judy (Page 70 of 268)

Dear Ones,

  Hope you are keeping cool today. Al is off to men’s group, and I am cleaning as we are having a pastor friend and his dad from Tulsa coming this afternoon after our Bible study. We see them only once a year so it is a special time. It is also Donut Day here!

Devotions from Judy’s heart 

  Money, money, money! What is enough money? Some people have very little money and are extremely happy and some with more money than they can ever spend are very unhappy. Jesus had lots to say about money for we can’t serve both God and Money. Wise King Solomon wrote that “Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless.” (Eccl. 5:10)

 Money is one of the hot topics in marriage, as each of us have our own perspective of money which influences how we make decisions daily. If a lavish spender is married to a stingy hoarder both will have to do lots of compromising if there is to be harmony. Also, both may be greedy as Michael Mangis says in his book, Signature Sins, one would be greedy for spending and the other greedy for having money. As a practicing psychologist, he rarely sees a couple that money isn’t an issue of lots of contention and difficult discussions.  Maybe each one of us can think of how we feel about money…are we generous to a fault, or are we stingy and worry if we give away money or goods, we will not have enough for ourselves?  We see a little bit of both sides of the coin in Scripture for Jesus said we shouldn’t be so concerned about money and what we eat and drink but be like the birds and flowers who don’t toil. But then on the other hand, he also speaks of sloth of the servant who doesn’t make a profit for his master. Or throw in the example of Mary who pours a whole bottle of expensive ointment on Jesus feet, that would have been enough to feed many poor and yet He commends her. Then there is the question of how much do we need, and what else is simply wants or luxuries?

   Sometimes we have a hard time letting go of our money as we don’t believe God will take care of our needs, as if it all depends on us; but we forget we have a very rich and generous Father. How about tithing and giving at least 10% of what we have been given? Jesus said, “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” Luke 12:48. I am always so astounded at the many times when we gave to others and how the Lord returned it to us in other ways with more than we gave. We can never ever out give God! Let us remember our security is in the Lord, not in our money or things!

Challenge for today: Give as the Holy Spirit prompts you and renew your trust in the Lord to provide all that you will need each day.

Dear Ones,

Hope your day is full of joy and kindness. It appears it’s going to be another very warm day, so we may walk early. I am going to Aldi’s and doing lots of food prep.

Devotions from Judy’s heart

As the days are getting darker in our culture, the light of Christ seems to shine brighter in His followers who have made love for Him and others their aim. We have only to watch the news to see how rampant evil is and then contrast that with those who put others before self and overflow with kindness and love.               

   Here where we live at Northern living there is good evidence of kindness and caring for others. Just recently one of the gals had a stroke and others were alerted; two friends stayed with her and one was on the phone with the ER, another watched for the ambulance, and one was at the hospital almost to midnight with her; even when she was recovering, one of the friends stayed the night to be sure she was okay. All acts of kindness. If someone here at our apartment needs to get to an appointment, there may be offers for a ride, or food brought to someone who is sick etc. Of course, for all of us whereever we live, there are so many needs around us every day if our hearts are open to share God’s love in a variety of ways.                     

We who have received so much from the Lord are told to “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another as God in Christ forgave you.” Eph. 4:32. That can cover a lot of circumstances and extend to not only friends but strangers and even enemies; maybe especially enemies. When we reach out to those who have done us harm and show them kindness, it can begin a process to bring peace and unity.                   

 Of course, we don’t meet every need around us, or we would be quickly worn out and our own families would suffer too. But we need to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit to respond when He directs us to meet a need. When that happens there can be deep down joy in our obedience even if the person doesn’t seem grateful for our help. It’s nice to get fulfilment from helping others but it is most important to draw our strength from the Lord and to spend time with Him. He is our ultimate fulfilment and let us spend time with Him and get refueled for whatever He has for us next.

Dear Ones,

Hope you had a lovely weekend!  As you will read in today’s devotion, we enjoyed time with our former Board and felt the presence of the Holy Spirit with us. Today I am going to my exercise class, and then my cousin is coming from the Lake, and we are going to the Assisted Living to see our dear friend who is in the Alzheimer’s unit and bring chocolate chip cookies on a stick and have coffee with her.  

Devotions from Judy’s heart

  Our lives are forever changed by love. When we open our hearts to the Lord and others to let them in, something beautiful happens. We grow, we change, we become more of who we really are. Both Al and I felt so blessed as we came home from our annual gathering of our former Board of Canaan’s Rest. Eight of us gathered to share together from the Word and then from our lives over the past year. It is our favorite time for these couples have known us for many years. The youngest member has known us for over 40 years as he was in college at the time and later on our Board. 

Challenge for today: Ask the Lord for trusted people who love Him and that you can share with.

Dear Ones,

Hope you are enjoying this weekend. I just made 2 zucchini cakes and Al’s favorite cookies and the apartment is full of aroma. Kurt and Brenda are on their way to the cabin with friends from back in KS. I cleaned the apartment and this afternoon I am getting my hair cut and going to the Dollar Store. 

 Devotions from Judy’s heart

    A friend said to Al and me that he was excited that his next poem was going to be on patience. I told him be careful what you pray for, as you will be tested on circumstances in your life that develop more patience! It is a beautiful fruit of the Spirit and Paul speaks of Love, Joy, Peace first before Patience in the list of fruit recorded in I Cor. 13. I can see why! The next day our friend said that he was “impatient with trying to write about patience” and seeking to get it together! We all need patience and another word for it is long suffering or to endure. An author, Ajith Fernando, wrote about patience in dealing with the weaknesses of others and also in dealing with sins of others.  I liked what he had to say.                                  We all have weaknesses but as it says in I Thes. 5:14 that we are to ”admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.” Some weaknesses are part of our personality make up and other weaknesses may result from wounds that we experienced and left us shaped in a negative way. But whatever our weaknesses, Fernando is careful to remind us that the Holy Spirit will come alongside us and help us bear whatever burden we carry and struggles we have, for He understands our weaknesses. Some of us are scatterbrained, some perfectionists, others may be impulsive or slow etc., all of which can lead to sin if not disciplined. But we are to learn to get along, and be patient with others, even if they irritate us. We can’t just cancel them out, for I often wonder what behavior I have that irritates others also. Perhaps we married someone that is opposite of us, it will take extra patience and understanding. Instead of trying to change them, we choose to show patience and love, and remember the good in them outweighs their weaknesses. We may even be asked to help them overcome and improve in weak areas. Some need inner healing from hurtful experiences they have endured. It may take time and prayer and listening and patience while they get healed. Never let us forget that we are to help the weak and one day we will give account if we lived a life of love and patiently endured.

Challenge for today: The next time someone’s quirks irritate you, ask God to show you how to see the good things about them and be patient.