Category: Sister Judy (Page 85 of 277)

Dear Ones,

Hope you have a grace-filled day! We just had a shower and everything looks very fresh and green. Al is at a men’s group and I will spend the day on retreat in our apt as you will be reading why…I look rather scary!  

Devotions from Judy’s heart

   Patience is a fruit of the Spirit and it is a beautiful fruit that comes often through some hard knocks in our lives. I have heard people say, “Be careful if you pray for patience as you will be tested on it!” If we are honest, we probably all have prayed often for patience when we feel irritated by negative words or behavior of others, when praying and not seeing answers right away, or going through difficult things ourselves.

   I am in the middle of such a situation as I had two teeth extracted and thought I would sail through it and be ready to socialize the same day. But the truth is, I kept bleeding and swelled up and would rather no one saw me with my big lip, swollen cheek and jaw. I have to be patient as the nurse called yesterday and said it would swell for another couple days, so I have to give it time to heal, and for the stitches to absorb.

    Patience comes from the Latin root word, to suffer, and patience is caring suffering. We need patience with our own failings and also to support others in their weaknesses. St. Benedict said that “we should support the physical and moral defects of one another with the greatest patience.” How that plays out in each of us is different. What causes us to want to lift up our hands and loudly say, “I can’t take this any longer!” is different for everyone. The big area I lose patience is when the computer goes on the fritz. It makes me either want to scream or cry. Recently I wrote a devotion and it disappeared 2 times. I had to write it a 3^rd time, and I wondered if the enemy didn’t want it put out for you to read or was my patience being tested.

  Patience is the martyrdom of the self in situations when we have to die more. That is not easy but there are rich rewards. When the Lord puts us in situations that severely try our patience, we have to choose to die to self and depend on Him wholly. We may be in work situations where the boss is difficult but we can either complain when things don’t go the way we think is best, or we can pray and offer suggestions if the door opens. But the bottom line is    a continual practicing of patience with others and ourselves.

  Challenge for today: The next time you are tempted to complain, give it to the Lord and patiently wait for what He is showing you through it.

Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

Dear Ones,

Hope your day is full of sunshine. So beautiful out my window as the tree is full of white blossoms and birds .  I slept 9 hours  and woke to quite a sight in my mirror as my jaw and cheek are all swollen. I look like I have been in a fight. It should go down todayand I am thankful that the bleeding has stopped from my extractions yesterday. Thank you for your prayers. 

Devotions from Judy’s heart

  As I was having my devotions one morning, the simple song played through my mind,

     “You are my hiding place/  You always fill my heart with songs of deliverance/  Whenever I am afraid/

       I will trust in You/   I will trust in You/  Let the weak say I am strong in the strength of the Lord.”

 I had just finished reading a devotional on Crosswalk.com by Victoria Riollano, about ways Satan wants to destroy us. She shared how the enemy wars against us and will do anything he can to cause us to turn from the Lord. He loves to put doubts in our minds about God’s word and will question us if God really said that or if He really meant that for a different day!

  The enemy also wants to paralyze us with fear, keep our minds racing about  “what ifs”, and causing us panic attacks. But instead, we can pray and go to the Word and in faith rest in God’s promises. 

  Victoria also mentions how Satan likes nothing better than to quiet us from sharing the gospel with others who do not know the Lord. Today we are quickly silenced when we mention God or pray in public places but we must not shrink back from sharing the Good News. How else are people going to come to the Lord if we keep silent?

    The enemy is very sly and tries to cause us to live in shame. He reminds us of our past and tries to tell us we are disqualified to talk to others about God. But we are not to dwell on our past for the Lord has forgiven us if we have confessed our sins and He looks upon us as if we have never sinned.

   Satan is especially shrewd about tempting us with idols. Anything we place before God is an idol so it can be such things as social media, material things, and even good things that we can get obsessive about. He wants our focus off the Lord and to be on other things.

  He often tries to get us to accommodate the Word to fit our lifestyle rather than our lifestyle to fit into what the Word says.  The enemy is a great deceiver and tells us there are many ways to God but there is only one. Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, no man comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) Let us live victoriously in Him and not give an inch to the enemy who is out to destroy us.

Challenge for today: Share the Lord whenever an opportunity comes your way today.

Dear Ones,

Hope you will have a peace-filled day.  I made soup to have when I get back from the dentist.. There was a cancelation so I will be getting 2 teeth extracted this morning. Prayers appreciated. Then this afternoon I have my mammogram that is way overdue and a Dexascan.  And hopefully it won’t take long as we are invited to friends for coffee and fellowship. 

Devotions from Judy’s heart

   How good are we at accepting advice and counsel? Do we bristle when someone tells us of  a better way we could be doing something? Or perhaps criticizing something we have done?

Our response says a lot! If we have a fragile ego, we may get hurt and respond with anger, and justify why our way is best and probably ignore their advice. But hopefully we are open and will give it consideration and even thank the person.

   I was reading in my devotions from Exodus 18 about Moses and how he responded to advice, and on that same day Mark Roberts also wrote on Crossroads. Com of exactly that. Moses was on overload as he settled disagreements from morning until night among the people. His father-in-law, Jethro, observed how he was overworked and gave him unsolicited advice. He first asked Moses a question of why he was doing this and then went on to say if he kept on, he would wear himself out. In other word’s he couldn’t do it alone and needed help.  He suggested a solution that he choose capable God-fearing men who could settle the lesser disagreements and Moses would go on handling the more difficult ones. He also added, “If God commands you, and you do this, you will be able to continue your work…” Now Moses could have gotten defensive and told Jethro to bug out, but he listened and did everything he said.

  It appears that Moses was humble and received criticism and was open to advice. He didn’t get offended and it paid dividends as Moses’ burden was lifted. How about us? Do we get defensive when someone offers a suggestion to us? Or maybe we don’t want to delegate things since we won’t get the glory associated with the job. We may be struggling and God sends others to help but we say “No thank you. I’ve got this!” I remember feeling overwhelmed by calls from women in the Bible Study that I led. The phone seemed to ring every time I put it down. But one gal suggested that I tell the whole group to call one another and minister to one another when needs came up in their lives. I did that and it was a great help and also taught them to minister to each other.

   Let us all be humble and open to accept the help God sends us, in whatever way it comes!

Challenge for today: The next time someone gives you advice, thank them and tell them you will pray about it and ask the Lord. 

Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

Dear Ones,

Hope you had a wonderful weekend and what a beautiful sunny day we had for Mother’s Day. We enjoyed time at the lake with Ann’s family and had delicious steaks. Today I just finished making a raspberry/blueberry dessert, and a veggie stir fry and am going to my exercise class.    

Devotions from Judy’s heart

   We hear it said that we are loved by God from birth to death and although that is true, He loved us even before we were born. I read today from Psalm 22:9-10 where David says, “Indeed, you are the One who brought me out of the womb, the One who made me feel safe at my mother’s breasts. I was placed in your care from birth, from my mother’s womb you have been my God.” God loved us when we were conceived, in our mother’s womb, even before we were birthed and it will not end at our death but goes on for all eternity. So awesome!

  Just before Mother’s Day I asked the question of many of you of what you are especially grateful for in your own mother. I got varied responses like her kindness, her generosity, patience, endurance, humor, faithfulness to the Lord, humility to admit her mistakes, wisdom, and especially her sacrificial love. For so many, it was her caring love that stood out in putting aside her own wants and needs to do what was best for us. Only one  said her mom’s hard work, although I would assume most mothers worked tirelessly just meeting the needs of us as children. Mothers give us our first glimpse of what God’s sacrificial love is like.

  By the door on Mother’s Day, along with others in our apartment complex, was a bag with chocolate kisses and a note that said, “God made woman so that we would always have unconditional LOVE, shoulders to lean on, hands to hold and lots of HUGS and KISSES that are HEALING. Thank you for ALL the lives that you have ‘touched’!”

  Some moms did not have a very good start in life themselves but overcame the odds because of God’s love for them. One wrote that her mom had a terrible childhood and was abused but persevered and loved, making a home with her hubby and raising 6 children with love. She gave what she never had as a child because of God’s love for her.

   No matter what kind of a start each of us had, no matter what we are experiencing now in life, we have the greatest sacrificial love offered to us in Jesus. He gave everything for us, and he wants to pour His unconditional love into the depths of our hearts. Let us be open to receive and love Him in return.

Challenge for today: Open wide your heart to His love in new ways and share His love wherever you go!

Blessings on your week and prayers and  love, Judy

Dear Ones,

Hope you have a wonderful weekend, and also give thanks and remember the mother who gave you life. 

I read a prayer for mothers on Crossroads.com by author Rebecca Barlow Jordon, and I would like to share her words with you as Mother’s Day is celebrated tomorrow.

 Dear Lord,  

  “Bless every mother and every grandmother with the finest of your spiritual blessings today. Confirm in her heart and spirit the work of her hands and the love that she has so freely given to those children under Your care. Validate her worth daily so she has no reason to doubt whether she is loved, valued, and cherished in the eyes of her Heavenly Father.

  Create in her a deep sense of your protection and trust, so that worry and fear will disappear as she places her loved ones into Your care. Let her know that every prayer she has prayed and every encouraging word she has spoken on behalf of her children/grandchildren has been transformed into sweet, fragrant offerings before Your throne.

   Whisper deep within her spirit the sweet words she longs to hear from You—that nothing can ever separate her from Your love. Help her to nestle daily into the promises of Your Word, standing with faith on the things You declare are true. Let her know that You reward faithfulness, but that true success doesn’t lie in her accomplishments or accolades. Let her rest in the knowledge that she has done all she can—and that she and those she loves—truly belong to you. Bless her with a servant spirit so she can teach her own the joy of hearing one day, “Well done!”

Teach her that she cannot meet every need of her child’s life, but that You can. Give her wisdom and guidance to train those precious children in Your path, and then to leave the results to You, Lord. Help her to love without limitations, to pray without ceasing, and to live without regrets. Bless her with such a sweet dependency on You that she will acknowledge her inadequacies, yet recognize and accept Your reward of praise—and Your sense of pleasure in having her as Your own beloved child.

  Where prayers may still seem unanswered, and dreams are not yet realized, open her eyes to see beyond this world to a Hope that never disappoints, and to a Father who will never leave or abandon her. Give her the courage to persevere even in the most difficult moments of her life. Bless her with honesty, integrity, and a playfulness that shows her children she is human, yet unswerving in her desire to know You.

Let her joy be contagious; let her passion be pure, and let her life overflow with all the blessings she deserves—on special days, and on every day of her life.

In Jesus name Amen” 

Blessings on your weekend and prayers and love, Judy

Dear Ones,

Hope you have a peace-filled day. Today is Donut day here and fish day as a friend here gave us fresh caught and cleaned Sunfish, which are my favorite. Al has been sick and has someone doing Bible study today so as not to spread germs to others. He is feeling better and we are thankful. 

Devotions from Judy’s heart

  How we treat others is a good indicator of our relationship with the Lord. If we love Him, we will treat others with the same love that He loves us. I was reading today in the Message translation of Jesus words to the crowd in Matt.5. A few words to ponder were, “Don’t hit back at all…If someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life. No more tit-for-tat stuff. Live generously…I’m telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves…Live generously and graciously towards others, the way God lives toward you”

  A living illustration of this type of living is found in our granddaughter who is in college and a very kind and gracious person. She seems to know just what to say to help others feel better and accepted. On the weekends she works in a very large Nursery and has so much knowledge about plants and trees. Of course, not every customer is easy to work with or polite, and not long ago she got a challenging woman who was rather paranoid. The woman came into the Nursery upset as she felt the tree she had set aside was not the original one she had chosen and planned to buy. Instead of questioning her further, our granddaughter said, “Well let’s do something about that!” So she took her to look over other trees and pointed out the best looking ones and before long the woman was more than happy with the replacement. When she left she put on reserve a plant she would later buy and our granddaughter satisfied her by putting her name on all sides of the pot so no mistake would be taken. The woman went home happy and said she would always ask for our granddaughter when she shopped there again.

  It made me think of how we try to influence others for the Lord. Do we argue with them, like our granddaughter could have done and said to the lady that it was ridiculous and of course was her tree! Instead, when we witness to others, we can ask them questions and find out where they are coming from rather than pushing our viewpoint on them. In time we can point out that Jesus is the Way and give personal testimony but it is good to prepare the way first.

Always be gracious and love and pray for others, knowing you may be only one link in leading them to the Lord.

Challenge for today: When tempted to argue with others, first find out where they are coming from and be gracious and loving as you share your viewpoint. 

Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Jud

Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

Blessings on your week and prayers and love, Judy

Blessings on your weekend and prayers and love, Judy