Category: Sister Judy (Page 96 of 270)

 

Dear Ones, Alzheimers

Hope you are having a great day! We are glad to be safely home again and I am sending a more detailed account of our trip back. This morning I did food prep, washed clothes, went to my exercise class; this afternoon is a coffee party and time to view all the Alzheimer’s quilts that we made these past weeks. 

Devotions from Judy’s heart 

  There are times we just have a vivid sense of the Lord’s presence with us and we find ourselves leaning into His strength. We may feel needy and call out to Him for help and there is great power in the very name of Jesus. Like the song goes that many of us learned at an early age, “In the name of Jesus/ In the name of Jesus/ We have the victory/ In the name of Jesus/ in the name of Jesus / demons will have to flee/ Who can tell what God can do/ Who can tell of His love for you/ In the name of Jesus, Jesus/ We have the victory.”

  Such was the time when we went to our son’s home in North Carolina. We prayed before we took off on our trip and then committed each day to the Lord’s leading. We never knew what was in store for us but our desire was to follow His leading. After a wonderful time with Mark’s family, we took off at 2:30 a.m. for home and traveled 953 miles to a hotel in Iowa. But we encountered what was probably an accident on the freeway as traffic was at a standstill and we got off on side roads, as some others did. It began to rain and was dark and very hard to see on narrow roads. As Al drove, I often said the name of Jesus and we asked for His help. I recalled the verse in Jer. 33:3 (Message), “Call to me and I will answer you. I’ll tell you marvelous and wondrous things that you could never figure out on your own.” Tell us Lord where to go, we are lost and tired and hungry and the road is so narrow and dark and hard to see.  I also saw a car that had just been hit by another. After quite some time, all of a sudden, Al took a turn and we saw lights ahead and got back on the road exactly where it led to our hotel. We couldn’t believe it. The gal at the hotel desk said we have 5 minutes to get our food before the buffet was over and told us to just unpack later. As we sat at our table, eating, our hearts were so grateful and Al and I kept saying to each other, “It was the Lord! It was the Lord!” Our hearts were so thankful and aware of His presence and power.

   There are times we all experience that are dark and difficult and we wonder how we are going to get through. We feel helpless and alone but we must remember He is there in the midst and will get us through. Let us call to Him and who can tell what He will do!!!

  Challenge for today: When going through a tough circumstance, make your first response to call on the name of Jesus and watch for what He will do!!

Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

Blessings on your week and prayers and love, Judy

 

 

Dear Ones,

Hope you are enjoying the weekend. We had a wonderful day yesterday as Al had the morning with Mark and I had time with Andrea to really catch up. The whole afternoon was spent playing games outdoors with John Mark and A.j. Then we had a scrumptious steak dinner and rich evening of fellowship and prayer with their pastor’s family. Tomorrow we will go to their church and out to a Mexican restaurant they love. By the time you get my next e-mail we will be heading back to MN and would appreciate prayers for a safe and well journey. 

Devotions from Judy’s heart

  I pray daily for the Body of Christ to be bound together in unity and love, for the days ahead are going to get more difficult for all of us. We need one another and the Lord will strengthen us as we gather in unity of Spirit and stand against all that the enemy is pouring out against us. Does that mean we all agree on everything interpreted in scripture? Or that we politically agree? No, but we are not to major on the differences but stand together in oneness of Who we serve. I woke today with a song going through my mind of how it is in the cross we can hide and it is His grace that is sufficient so we can stand together at the foot of the cross.

  In war, we need others around us to protect our back, and we don’t care what color they are, what political party they are, or what their view is on the rapture. We are in a spiritual battle that is getting more intense and need to fight together but with spiritual weapons. That means we won’t have to argue about who is right on issues but humbly lay down our pride. Like it says in II Tim 2:24-25a (NRSV), “And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kindly to everyone, an apt teacher, patient, and correcting opponents with gentleness.” We can count on God to defend the truth of the matter and we can let it go. That may mean we are quick to ask forgiveness when we insist our way is the only way and fail to listen to others.

   The enemy loves to bring disharmony and cause us to look at fellow Christians as the enemy rather than him. Let us not use our swords on one another but only use the sword of the spirit to quench the enemy’s fiery darts.

   This should be a time when the fruit if the Spirit will be evidenced more. When we are put near others in the Body of Christ, we love them no matter what. We express joy even in our struggles and live together in peace. Also, we show kindness, goodness. Patience, gentleness and self-control.  May the Holy Spirit empower us to be faithful to the Lord and to love Him as He binds us together as His followers in a culture that doesn’t embrace truth.

  Challenge for today: Be willing to be closely knit with others in the Body of Christ and respond in humility and love.

Blessings on your weekend and prayers and love, Judy

Dear Ones,

Happy weekend! Our weekend is already a joyous one as we arrived at Mark and Andrea’s in N.C. early yesterday afternoon. So thankful for the safe journey here! It’s great to be together, we played games and lots of laughter, and went to see John Mark’s basketball game last night. Today Al is going out with Mark for father/son time, boys have home schooling, and tonight their pastor’s family is coming over  

Devotions from Judy’s heart

  How big is our God? Do we believe He can do anything? Like the song goes by Pastor James Cleveland, that I learned as a youth: “God can do anything, anything, anything/ God can do anything but fail…He’s the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end/ He’s the fairest of ten thousand to my soul/ God can do anything, anything, anything/ God can do anything but fail…He can save, He can cleanse/ he can keep, and He will/ God can do anything but fail.”

    God can do the impossible but do we believe that? We read of all the great miracles and signs that Jesus did when He walked on earth, like healing the blind, raising the dead; but do we believe that He still does miraculous things today? Absolutely!!

   Rather than wasting the day in worry about things that concern us, we can pray and ask God for His will in everything. As it says in Jer. 33:3 (Amplified), “Call to Me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things, fenced in and hidden, which you do not know (do not distinguish and recognize, have knowledge of and understand).”

   Our concern might be like Keneesha who applied for a job she really wanted but that she was not as qualified as others: she prayed before sending in her application, “Not my will but Thine be done!” God surprised her and gave her the job and she didn’t doubt that it was His doing. God can do anything!

   Or we might have concern for a loved one that has been given bad news from the Dr. and a set number of days to live. But then God does a miracle and when returning to the Doctor, no trace of cancer can be found. That happens today and we praise Him for God can do anything!

   What is it today that we need to trust God with? Maybe a child that has gone astray or a lingering illness etc. But whatever it is we can give it to the Lord and in faith, believe that He will answer according to His perfect will. Nothing, absolutely nothing is too hard for Him. 

Challenge for today: Give to the Lord something that weighs on your heart and wait in faith for His answer.

Blessings on your weekend and prayers and love, Judy

Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

Dear Ones,

 May your day be filled with joy and song! Soon we are leaving to go on our way to North Carolina to see Mark’s family! We have had a wonderful time here at Kurt’s and loved seeing Grant play football yesterday afternoon. Very cold so bundled up though. Just good to catch up with Kurt’s family and now we look forward to doing that with Mark’s. Appreciate prayers for a safe trip and wellness. 

Devotions from Judy’s heart

  How do we see ourselves and others? Is it through our own lens or is it from God’s perspective? Perhaps we feel so ordinary and not nearly as gifted as those around us; but maybe we need a new lens, His lens.                                                                                     I was reading on Crosswalk.com what Suzanne Eller had to say about how God knows us and sees us. Just as Nathaniel was puzzled and as to how Jesus knew him, it says in John 1:48 (NIV), “How do you know me?” Nathaniel asked. Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.” Jesus saw who Nathaniel was just as He knows and sees who we are and what we are becoming. He looks past the outward and sees who we really are on the inside and what we are meant to be. If we can grasp how Jesus sees us through His lens our lives would be radically changed.                                                                                                                                

   Each of us is created uniquely and is an original, for no one else is like us. We need to celebrate that and not try to be like someone else. We can embrace that we are known and seen and ask Him to help us see ourselves as He sees us. We can start by thanking him for the unique things about ourselves and how He can use those things for His glory. Maybe some of those qualities seem so ordinary that we miss realizing that God is using us…like bringing an essence of joy when we enter a room, or having a way with words that bring comfort, or identifying with those in need etc.

   As we begin to see our uniqueness, we may also see others through God’s lens and help them celebrate who He created them to be. In our Women’s Bible study on women of the Bible we are to write the names of 3 women who have influenced our lives in a big way and then list specific ways they have inspired us. I was just writing of a friend’s qualities when she e-mailed so I responded by sharing the qualities I see in her life that has impacted me. Let us do that for one another and let them know how we see them through God’s lens that they can also rejoice in how God is using them celebrate.

  Challenge for today: Thank God for your uniqueness and also look at others through His lens and celebrate.

Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

Dear Ones,

Devotions from Judy’s heart

    We were made for God and the desire for God is engraved on our very being. Those who have not received Him are left with an unfulfilled longing that they try to unsuccessfully stuff with other things; but it won’t work because only the Lord can feed the deep longing of our souls.

    But we must choose God rather than self. Our ego wants its own way and to satisfy our own desires but it doesn’t work. We must come to grips with our own poverty and living for self, and in faith come to God and allow Him to direct our lives.

  Only a life lived for God will fill that void that is within all of us. He feeds the hunger of our soul and helps us live out the unique life He has planned for each of us. He will give us whatever we need to become that person we were created to be.

  In many ways it also brings relief that we don’t have to figure it all out for we can’t see into the future; but instead, we can by faith entrust our lives into His hands and let Him direct it. When we place our dependence on Him that is the very best place to be.

    I think of Mary and her response to the angel who told her she would carry the Son of God in her womb. In Luke 1:38 (ESV), she said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” In other words, let Him do what He will with me! Later she magnifies the Lord and we read of Mary’s beautiful song of praise in the Magnificat.

   When we also choose to let God have His way in our lives and to call all the shots, our souls feel full to overflowing. The more emptied we are of self the more room there is for Him to fill. We come to the realization that it is Jesus that matters and our only goodness is Him living in us.

   Let us be done with living our lives on our terms and trying to fill the void; instead may we set our hearts on the Lord and live in total dependence on Him.

  Challenge for today: Seek the Lord and let Him direct every aspect of your life.

Blessings on your week and prayers and love, Judy

Blessings on your weekend and prayers and love, Judy

Dear Ones,

Happy weekend to you! When I looked out my window this morning there was snow on the ground and reality hit. Burr! Today will be spent cleaning and packing the car as tomorrow we leave to go to my nephew’s wedding in Prior Lake. After spending the night, we are going to try to make it to our former church in D.M. for their Sunday service and then on to Kansas and N.C.  I will e-mail as I am able on our trip! Appreciate prayers for our safety and for us to stay well. 

Devotions from Judy’s heart

   Our friend that we walk with on the Paul Bunyan trail writes poetry and doing so has helped his own heart heal as he deals with his wife’s Alzheimer’s. They have a creative room at their home on the lake and in the evening his wife colors pictures in adult coloring books while he writes what is happening in his heart. Last week David wrote about how God is giving him a new heart like it says in Ezekiel 36:26 (KJV) “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you; and I will take away the stony hearts out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh.” He said God is taking him from a place of self-centeredness and transitioning him to loving others.

   I love the how he describes the journey of his heart and in his introduction, he says, “As we age, many individuals look at the aging process as linear. The time clock becomes a trap for our golden years, but the aging process is like fruit ripening. When fruit is young and not ripe, it is hard and bitter. When it ages, it becomes sweet and flavorful. If we look at our spiritual journey as one that desires to become mature fruit, the aging process takes on a dimension of developing as God intended. I believe God wants us to become low-hanging fruit. Fruit that is mature in love development. St Francis of Assisi is an excellent example of this concept. He was not well educated, certainly not in theology. He spent long hours in prayer in places of solitude. I believe St Francis’s pursuit of love and not knowledge allowed him to enter a more profound experience with God.” If want to become low-hanging fruit, we also must focus on the Lord and let our hearts ripen in love.

  David goes on to write a poem of his early fruit basket and then the journey of beginning to ripen and go on to maturing with low-hanging fruit. He references John the Baptist who said that He must increase and I must decrease. Isn’t that really the key? May we draw closer to the Lord and let His love fill us and mature us into fruit that brings glory to Him.

  Challenge for today: Humbly seek the Lord and let His love mature you into luscious fruit for His kingdom.

Blessings on your weekend and prayers and love, Judy