Category: Sister Judy (Page 76 of 270)

June 16, 2023

June 16, 2023 / Judy Hendrickson / 0 Comments

Dear Ones,

Happy Weekend to you! Hope you have a time to relax and regroup. Tomorrow we are going to the funeral of a friend who battled leukemia and is now with the Lord.

Devotions from Judy’s heart

Time marches on and we can’t hold it back. It passes so quickly that we have to cherish it by the moments in each day. I wonder how I got old so quickly, and I wish I had savored more moments along the way. Like a river we can’t hold back the flow while all the time the water of the river carves out a coarse specific for each of us.

What if God let us choose where the water would flow, I wonder how different our lives would be. At one time in my life, I was wishing the water flowed in a different direction and yet later I praised the Lord that it was exactly as it should be. My heart was full of thanksgiving.

But as the clock ticks we must ponder what is really important so that we embrace it and don’t come to the end of lives with regrets that we have no time to correct. As the days go by and Al and I become yet older, we are more playful, laugh more together, and take more time to share how much we treasure our days together. If one of us leaves this world before the other, we have a storehouse of shared memories and realize that we knew our mate more intimately than any other person on this earth; only the Lord is before each other for He is Number One.

When we think of the clock ticking away, we are prompted to race through life quickly, but we should do the opposite…simply slow down, put our phones down and take notice of what is happening around us, and what is going on within us. We need to drink in the beauty around us, cherish those we love, and listen to the music that touches our soul deeply. Rather than live a scattered life because of fear of missing out, we gravitate towards what is most important and build true relationships with others, and we put the Lord first.

Let us celebrate every day God gives us, as we open our hearts to His love and embrace those around us. As it says in John 10:10, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”

Challenge for today: Slow down today and cherish some quiet moments with Lord.

Blessings on your weekend and prayers and love, Judy

June 15, 2023

June 15, 2023 / Judy Hendrickson / 0 Comments

Dear Ones,

Hope you are having a joy filled day! Al is at men’s group and I just put a dinner in the crock pot as I am trying a new recipe. We have Bible Study this afternoon and then I have Women’s Bible study at church tonight.

Devotions from Judy’s heart

Prayer is powerful and able to move mountains! It makes a difference in our lives and for those whom we pray. It can change the very outcome and bring victory but the enemy would whisper that our prayers have no effect. Don’t believe him for we have a direct line to the Lord.

Scripture is full of prayers and Jesus told us to pray and to never to give up or lose heart. (Luke 18:1) We can pray for encouragement when we are struggling and ask that He would lift our spirit. We can pray when we need guidance and are unsure of which way to go. When we feel guilty over sin in our life and need forgiveness and to be set free, we can bow in prayer. Maybe we are sick and need healing, we can come in faith for His healing touch. Or we have concern for loved ones that don’t yet know Him; we can ask that he send people into their lives to point the way. Other times we might be so overcome with gratitude for all that He has done for us, that we lift our hands in prayer and thanksgiving. We could go on and on, but prayers can cover everything.

I wonder why we often try to solve our problems on our own before turning to the Lord. It should be our first response so we can know if we are to be even a part of the answer.

Jesus lived a perfect life and yet He took time alone with His Father and asked for strength etc. Surely, we who are so imperfect, need to pray and seek the Lord all throughout our days.

Perhaps you remember reading in 2002 about the 50 Christian truckers who got together to pray that the sniper would be caught that was causing terror in Washington, D.C. One of the truckers, Ron Lantz, was soon to retire and believed God would answer their prayers. I read how he told others that God was going to use him to catch the sniper. One day while driving he felt led to pull into a rest stop in Maryland, which was only a couple miles from where the truckers had prayed. He could hardly believe it as the Chevie car that was being described on the radio was right before him. He read the license plate that matched and dialed 911 immediately. While he waited, he drove his truck across the exit ramp so there would be no escape route. The police arrived and apprehended the murders without incident. We can be assured the 50 truckers who prayed knew that their prayers were powerful.

Challenge for today: Pray throughout your day and watch for God’s power to be unleashed.

Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

June 14, 2023

June 14, 2023 / Judy Hendrickson / 0 Comments

Dear Ones,

Hope you have a peace filled day! I just finished making cookies and sweet potato rounds and soon going to Aldi’s before my exercise class. Tonight is Bible Study and we are in a good series called, Now We Live.

Devotions from Judy’s heart

When we went to the lake recently, Al picked up 12 different looking rocks to use for his meditation for the residents at Assisted Living today. Our daughter collects rocks, polishes them, and hopes to make jewelry and other things from them. Rocks seem to portray a message of strength, solidness and firmness, and of something that won’t change. When I see a large rock, I am reminded of Hannah’s praise song to the Lord as she was thankful for the God’s sovereign control, and especially for her son Samuel. She says in I Sam 2:2: “There is no Holy One like the Lord, no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.” Rocks are mentioned in scripture in many ways. Al will use the example of the rocks as those being taken from the middle of the Jordan River to be a sign of what God had done. Joshua had 12 men, (one from each tribe) carry a rock to their camp site after they crossed the river on dry ground as a reminder of God’s saving power. Then when their children asked what those stones meant, they would share the story of God saving them and the Egyptians being drowned in the sea. Al is going to also tell the residents that they also should be ready to answer the questions of their children and grandchildren and point them to the Rock of Ages. Rocks can speak a message of protection, a place to hide, a refuge. On Palm Sunday the Pharisees wanted Jesus to hush the crowd’s praises of Him and He told them that if He were to silence them, that even the rocks would cry out. Today we can find rocks with scriptures engraved on them in the bookstores. When looking at rocks, they can remind us to focus on the One who is our Rock, our fortress, our safe place.

Challenge for today: Pick up a rock today and put it in a place where you will be reminded of God’s saving power.

Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

June 13, 2023

June 13, 2023 / Judy Hendrickson / 0 Comments

Dear Ones,

Hope you have a great day! It looks to be a beautiful sunny day. We are soon heading to the Dr. to have our ears checked and later having friends over for coffee and fellowship.

Devotions from Judy’s heart

How solid is our foundation of faith? Is it built on the rock of Truth or is it built on sinking sand? The Lord wants to build us into a house that will bring glory to Him and that others would seek to know the Builder. We need to have a foundation that is firm, so we won’t be swallowed up by the floods of our culture or sliding down the slopes of forbidden pleasures. King David wrote how the Lord was his rock and said in Psalm 62:6 (ESV), “He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken.”

You maybe know the hymn that Edward Mote wrote in 1834. He grew up mostly on the streets in London as his parents ran a pub. He was not aware there was a god until he was 18 and heard the Word of God preached. It totally changed his life and he accepted the Lord and was baptized. He became a cabinet maker and while walking to work one day, he wrote the words to the song, On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand. His life was completely given to the Lord and he became a pastor of a small church at the age of 55 and preached for 21 years, never missing a Sunday. A few of the words of his song are:

“My hope is built on nothing less/ than Jesus’ blood and righteousness./ I dare not trust the sweetest frame/ but wholly lean on Jesus’ name. Refrain: On Christ, the solid rock, I stand;/ all other ground is sinking sand/ all other ground is sinking sand.”

He goes on to write that his anchor will hold in the storms of life, for Jesus is his hope and stay. He can rest in God’s unchanging love and one day he will stand before the Lord clothed in his righteousness. Nothing can move us when our lives are anchored in the Lord. We are safe and secure when the storms of life hit, for we have solid rock under our feet.

Challenge for today: Check that you are firmly footed on the solid rock.

Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

June 12, 2023

June 12, 2023 / Judy Hendrickson / 0 Comments

Dear Ones,

Hope you had a great weekend. We enjoyed the beautiful wedding of Taylor and Ethan even though it turned out to be quite cool. We also had a picnic after church yesterday with lots of relatives and more time to catch up. Even the bride and groom came for a short time!

Devotions from Judy’s heart

We walk the trail most days with our friends, and we refer to our time together as church of the Paul Bunyan trail. What seems to be come to attention most often is that simple scripture that He must increase and I must decrease. It’s another way of saying that our old self must continually die with Christ daily and the new person resurrected as God created us to be. Those words are easy to write but not always easy to practice.

Life is not all about us, but about the Lord and His kingdom. When we give up and no longer hang onto our own lives, we gain a full life of joy. But if we hold onto our lives and refuse to decrease then our life is wasted, and we miss God’s call. John Michael Talbot writes, after a decade in a monastic community, that he felt like a ragdoll with all its stuffing knocked out; the stuffing was his ego and letting go of his own agendas, ideas, projects and people. But he ended up saying that when we allow our old selves to be trampled, then the new self in Christ can come forth. Simply put it means embracing the cross…not our will, not our way but His way.

The more we die to self the less we care what others think of us but rather if we are doing what God is asking of us. He does not force surrender, for it is our choice. I must confess, sadly there are times I resist by my objections, at first at least, and even though I may end up doing it, I miss much of the blessing the Lord had intended for me. As Jesus said in John 15:14, “You are my friends if you do whatever I command you.” Maybe we all have trouble with the whatever when we have to embrace the cross and it is not what we want but what He wants. But if we desire to be His close friend, we need to be careful to listen and then quick to obey. Let us keep saying yes to the Lord for then we will experience life at the fullest as we become a new creation!

Challenge for today: Embrace the cross daily and say yes, yes, yes to the Lord.

Blessings on your week and prayers and love, Judy

June 10, 2023

June 10, 2023 / Judy Hendrickson / 0 Comments

Dear Ones,

Happy weekend to you! Today we are going to the wedding of our nieces’ daughter, Taylor, who many of you have prayed for, especially when she was on her 9- month mission trip. We thank the Lord for the wonderful godly man that God has brought into her life, and we will be going to Hackensack today for the wedding. We plan to stay at our daughter’s and go to hear Leif preach tomorrow before the family picnic.

Devotions from Judy’s heart

Al and I often remark, “We are getting old!” Tomorrow we will celebrate our 58^th anniversary of married life together and we thank the Lord for each day. Where we live at Northern Lakes, many have lost their mates and look forward to joining their spouses in heaven one day. But in the meantime, we must make each day on earth count. Like David said in Psalm 39:4-5, “O Lord, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am! Behold, you have made my days a few hand breadths and my life is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath!”

Life is short and fleeting and David goes on to say his hope is in the Lord. When we know Him, then death is just the beginning, and we have an eternity with Him and all believers. Each day we live should be for His glory and to show others the way. Our lives are to be living examples of those who love Him, which will be expressed in the way we live. Mercy and grace will flow from us to others, and a humble attitude of knowing how much we need God’s forgiveness. Compassion and kindness should be expressed in our relationships and patience for others, as well as for ourselves. No matter what is going on in our world, we have hope for it rests in Him and not in circumstances or the government. We have confidence and expectation that rests in God’s promises and character.

Let us not be shaken by what happens around us but cling to the Lord. David says in Psalm 62:2, “He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.”

Let us live in His peace and share His love until our last beath when we join the angelic chorus in glory and life begins.

Challenge for today: Ask the Lord for an opportunity to share Him with another today.

Blessings on your weekend and prayers and love, Judy

June 9, 2023

June 9, 2023 / Judy Hendrickson / 0 Comments

Dear Ones,

Hope you are enjoying the weekend. I just cleaned the apartment and did food prep and packing for the lake. Tomorrow is Taylor’s wedding, and we look forward to that; thankfully the weather looks good as it is on the beach.

Devotions from Judy’s heart

Haven’t we all said at one time or other, “How did that couple ever get together?! They are total opposites!” Quite often we are attracted to someone who is so different from us. In the beginning we admire certain qualities about them but then when it comes to living with them, it just may take lots of adjusting. I smiled as I read Joyce Meyer’s comments about how her and her husband are so different from one another. She is extroverted and a talker and an upfront person who likes action and things to happen preferably right now. He is introverted, quiet and usually behind the scenes, patient and able to wait for things to happen. But isn’t that just a perfect balance for both? It’s important to let God choose our life partner and closest friends for He knows those who He will use to shape and polish us. We all have rough edges and are in the transformation process to conform us to the image of Christ. That is a big project and takes a lifetime. Al is an extravert and I am an introvert, and the hardest adjustment for me has been those extroverted times upfront when we spoke or taught together. I would much rather preferred being unseen and part of the audience. Here at Northern Lakes where we live, he leads the Bible study and I just fill in as I am led, and it is far more comfortable. Those who are totally different from us may irritate us and we wonder why they don’t change. But instead, we need to accept them, and appreciate them and ask God, what is He trying to teach us through them. If we don’t learn through one of them, He is likely to bring another one like them into our lives. His goal is that we reflect His glory and are being changed into His image with ever-increasing glory. (II Cor. 3:18) Let us be open to those the Lord has chosen for us to learn from.

Challenge for today: Welcome those who are different than you and be teachable and open to change as the Holy Spirit directs.

Blessings on your weekend and prayers and love, Judy

June 8, 2023

June 8, 2023 / Judy Hendrickson / 0 Comments

Dear Ones,

Hope you are having a blessed day! Al is home from the Men’s Group and I have been busy in the kitchen making egg dishes and chicken teriyaki, and doing food prep. We have Bible Study this afternoon and a walk on the trail. Kurt’s family is on their way to the lake and lots of relatives will be gathering this weekend for the wedding!

Devotions from Judy’s heart

Our pastor has been preaching a series on the fruit of the Spirit and I have given extra thought for the fruit of kindness. It seems we live in a dark world today with violence, hunger, and cruelty and more than ever kindness is needed and can make a difference. To someone lonely and feeling empty, an act of kindness can beam a ray of light into their darkness and lets them know they are seen and counted. Our actions of kindness should not be done because we feel we have to but more out of a caring heart that focuses on the other, rather than oneself. The Holy Spirit wants to give us such a heart and as Paul said in Eph. 4:32, “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” We are to be thoughtful, desiring to see the real needs of another and seeking to sow kindness into their lives. How does that look? We can show kindness in friendship, by welcoming someone into our lives in a climate of understanding and love. It may be a simple act that opens the door and brings hope to them. It takes sensitive ears and hearts open to the Holy Spirit to know what act of kindness is needed. Sometimes it is just a word that gives them hope, a scripture that they can hang on to. It could be simply paying for an item that is needed but they can’t afford. Or could be a word of gratitude to a person who is serving us in some way. I am reminded of my niece’s daughter Taylor, who was led by the Spirit to walk over to a stranger and give him the word that God wanted him to know he was forgiven. Later she found out that he had been driving a car and was in an accident in which his fiend was killed. I’m sure Tylor’s obedience to share this word of kindness and forgiveness meant everything to that young man. Another wonderful way is to actually give someone a blessing. We find this often in scripture and we can also place our hand on a person and impart a blessing in His name. “The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you.” May our kind words and actions be like a poultice that helps remove hurts and brings healing to wounds.

Challenge for today: Share a word of thanks to someone who has expressed God’s kindness to you.

Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

May 7, 2023

June 7, 2023 / Judy Hendrickson / 0 Comments

Dear Ones,

Hope you have a peace-filled day. I just finished baking two kinds of cookies and soon off to Aldi’s and my exercise class. This afternoon is Crafts and tonight is Bible Study. I enjoyed yesterday so much at my former Bible study group in Hackensack! Great gals who love the Lord!

Devotions from Judy’s heart

If I wake in the night, I often ask the Lord for a word for the day. What do I need to live the day for Him as His plan unfolds? What is important to hold on to? For today it was simply to seek him first… that means above all things, including what others may try to sway me to do. In my dream before waking, people were coming into our home and taking over in some areas without permission. I needed to speak up and say No! I woke up remembering the dream and the word for the day. It is so important that God is first in our lives and that we follow His plan. He has a unique plan for each of us every day and it is not like others, so we have to be watchful and listening. There is a peace when we flow with how He is leading us and at the end of the day, we just marvel at how He fit everything together. As I write this our son texted us for prayer as he has to fly to Denver and then has a meeting in Wyoming and giving a presentation at 2, fly home tonight, pack and leave with his wife and son for the cabin tomorrow morning. His plan depends on the airlines and many things but ultimately it is in the Lord’s hands. Of course, the enemy is out to destroy the Lord’s plans for us, so we must be watchful, and recognize the Lord’s voice and not give heed to the enemy. Often the Lord surprises us as He is working behind the scenes. We may suddenly notice a door He opens to us and we need to be alert and ready to walk through it in faith. Then at the end of the day, we may feel like David when he said in Psalm 53, “As I lie on my bed, I remember you. Through the long hours of the night, I think about you. You have been my help. In the shadow of your wings, I sing joyfully. My soul clings to you. Your right hand supports me.” He recalls God’s help to him and how He was so present. Then David closes by saying that the king will find joy in God. May our joy be found in seeking the Lord first, and then following His plan for our day.

Challenge for today: Upon waking, give your day to the Lord and ask for a word to carry with you.

Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

May 6, 2023

June 6, 2023 / Judy Hendrickson / 0 Comments

Dear Ones,

Hope you awaken to a day full of joy and sunshine. I plan to go with a friend to Hackensack to the Bible study I went to for all the years that we lived at the lake. I love this praying group of gals who love the Lord and know the power of prayer. There is a luncheon afterwards and then I have to be home for my dental appointment!

Devotions from Judy’s heart

Are we in a growth season in our spiritual lives right now or do we find ourselves in a dry dormant season? I think we all experience both seasons at different times in our lives and would prefer being in the growth and blossoming one; but if we are honest with ourselves, it seems like we experience both seasons and perhaps grow deeper even when we feel rather dormant.

A while ago I sent out a picture of the beautiful planter I received with red and white tulips, tall yellow daffodils, purple flowers, lavender flowers etc. I enjoyed them for a long time and was surprised as more flowers seem to keep opening up every few days. Now they have since wilted but I gave the planter to our daughter to put the bulbs in her basement to be planted next spring. They will go through a dormant stage and will rest until planted again. Even now I can envision them blossoming and taller and even more beautiful. I live in hope!

Maybe today, we sense we are in a dry dormant time, and that not much is happening in our lives outwardly. We may feel rather cold spiritually and not seeing much fruit. In fact, we may be depressed and going through a dark time of winter, wishing it was spring and that we could be hopeful and joyful and upbeat. But that doesn’t mean that nothing is happening. Perhaps we are realizing more than ever, how dependent we are on the Lord. We can’t force things but wait for Him to lead and to direct our lives. It could be a hidden work He is doing in our lives at this time, as He knows what is ahead for us. We need to submit to Him and be deeply rooted into Him.

Paul said in Col 2:6-7, “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.” The bottom line is that we need to be connected to the Lord, rooted in Him and draw our strength from Him. He nourishes us and pours His Spirit into us, and surprise…..beautiful blossoms will be seen at His appointed time. For now, we simply trust Him and rest in Him and wait for Spring to come.

Challenge for today: Thank the Lord for the season you are in now, and let your roots go down deep.

Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

Category: Sister Judy (Page 76 of 270)

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