Category: Whispers (Page 114 of 164)

Dear Ones,

Hope you had a wonderful weekend! Today I made egg dishes and smothered porkchops and went to my exercise class. This afternoon we have an appointment before our walk on the trail. I am wondering if Al is going to suggest going to Culvers for ice cream too! 
Devotions from Judy’s heart

It is important as followers of Christ to be faithful in how we live our lives. We are all far from perfect but hopefully it is our desire to live more and more like Jesus. Recently

I read what Tim Tebow had to say in living a mission possible life and he used Daniel’s life as a model for us.

Tebow is a two-time national college football champion, Heisman Trophy winner, author, former professional baseball player etc. When he interviews employees for his foundation, he said he looks for those who want to learn and grow and be stretched. He shared some practical ways to live a life of excellence and how to be faithful in even the little things in our lives (Luke 16:10), for then we will be faithful in much.

He says we need to remember to live with integrity, even when no one is watching.

Of course, the eyes of the Lord are always on us, so even if we are not aware of the eyes of others, we are never out of the Lord’s sight. When he was a young boy, he did many good things to win Daddy dollars that could be redeemed for actual money or special privileges. But he discovered that it was more fulfilling to do things to please the Lord, even if no one else was watching or that he got rewarded. 

Tebow also said that it is also very important to do things with a heart of gratitude. We can get bitter when we think of an outcome that is not what we had hoped for or we can choose to think of how faithful God has been to us.  When we are grateful, we will find we are in a better mood, healthier and more optimistic. Some find that keeping a gratitude journal helps them to remember what God has done in their lives and their attitude is more positive and they relax in a better mood.

Tebow also says to do our best and do everything with excellence. Whatever it is that we are doing, we can be intentional to not just do it to get by, but make every effort to do it well. 

Let us not do things half-heartedly but rather with integrity, gratitude and excellence.

Challenge for today: Whatever you do today, do it well and for the glory of God.

Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

 

Dear Ones,

Happy Weekend to you! The snow is quickly melting again and hoping spring is around the corner. This morning I made bars and we went to Costco to pick up the birthday cake. This afternoon we have our monthly birthday party here so need to set up for that. 

Devotions from Judy’s heart

We all experience loss throughout our life and sometimes it seems like we have lost everything. At such times tears seem to flow endlessly and we wonder will we ever recover; will we ever feel happy again? I know it must feel that way for a friend who has lost her husband and dad and have two other loved ones who are struggling to recover.

Recently, I read Jennifer Maggio’s devotion who felt she lost everything. She got a call at 3:30 in the morning that she needed to get out of her house immediately as her neighborhood was flooding. It took her only 20 minutes to load her car and get out during the Great Louisiana Flood of 2016. Everything was gone, and she had to fight Satan’s lies that God had left her too.  She felt hopeless.            

The Apostle Paul experienced so many trials, so many losses and yet he said in II Cor. 4:8-9 (Message),  “We’ve been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we’re not demoralized; we’re not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do; we’ve been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn’t left our side; we’ve been thrown down, but we haven’t broken.”                                                                            Yes, we need to grieve our losses and take all the time needed for them to heal but let us never believe Satan’s lies that God has left us. No, He is right there with us, even when we are not able to feel His presence. We can’t base truth on feelings that come and go, but on what Jesus said in the Word. It helps to defeat the enemies’ lies with scripture for he is out to destroy us and rob us of our joy and hope.                                                                                                                                                                                             Today if we feel all alone and that we have lost everything important to us, let us pray the prayer that Jennifer prayed:                                                                                                “Lord, I’ll just be honest: I feel like everything good has been taken from me. And I feel like You’ve let it happen. Can I admit that to You? Thank you for being big enough to handle all my fears, angers, and uncertainties.                                                            

Lord, thank you for this truth: I am afflicted in every way, but not crushed, perplexed but not driven to despair, struck down but not destroyed.                                                              

  Lord, help me- give me Your Spirit, help me know Your goodness even in the midst of this pain. Help me out of this pit, Lord, and onto steady ground. Thank You, God for never leaving me. Help me only have hope in you. In Jesus’ Name,                            Challenge for today: Sit quietly in God’s presence and let Him comfort you with His love.

Dear Ones,

Hope you are having a joyful day! I cleaned the apt this morning and made a Blueberry Crumble and went downstairs for Donuts. This afternoon we have Bible Study and then good friends from college days are coming after that. Always lots of laughter when they come! Kurt is also stopping by on his way to the Lake so a fun afternoon in store! 

Devotions from Judy’s heart

As I watched a health video one day, I noticed how the speaker was so full of joy and enthusiasm. She was talking about bone health, and how our bones will be stronger when we are not stressed but have a joyful outlook. We might also say joy and laughter is good medicine, good for our whole body.

Does that mean everything in our lives is peachy great? No! But it does mean having joy in the One who is love, who is Joy and who gives us deep peace. He is the Joy giver! If we have a lack joy, we cannot blame it on the Joy Giver but the problem is with us as the receiver.

If the Lord is not first in our lives, then we can get our focus on seeking material things, on worldly pleasures, on having a life of comfort etc.; but in the process we will be robbed of our joy. We have all known people with lavish houses, huge bank accounts, and who go on exotic trips all over the world, and yet they feel empty. Riches don’t satisfy and pleasures fade.

Joy is in a person, and when we neglect Him, we are left with an empty feeling that we are missing something, missing “Someone!”.

Today if we have lost our joy we can pray as David did in Psalm 16:11 (ESV) “Restore to me the joy of your salvation and uphold me with a willing spirit.”  We can find joy in His presence by walking close with Him and by spending time with Him, sharing our hearts. As we read the Word and listen to what He is speaking to us and follow in obedience, we will experience deep satisfaction and joy. That means getting rid of secret sins, and being expectant of what God wants to do in our lives. We can also ask in Jesus’ name and it says in John 16:24 (Message translation), “Ask in My name, according to My will, and He’ll most certainly give it to you. Your joy will be a river overflowing its banks!” 

If we want a fresh start and overflow with Joy, let us draw close to the Lord and ask in faith that His joy will overflow in us.

Challenge for today: Pray David’s prayer in Psalm 16:11, that He will restore your joy and giving you a willing Spirit to go His way.

Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

Dear Ones,

Hope you are having a wonderful day. The scene out my window has changed as the trees are all laden again with snow. Spring has disappeared for now. This morning I did food prep and went to Aldi’s and my exercise class. This afternoon is Crafts and then an appointment and later is the soup supper and service at church. 

Devotions from Judy’s heart

I love to sing to the Lord, especially when I am by myself in the car or out in nature. I have even sung to deer in the woods who stood still while I sang. I also love to sing together with other believers in worship, as we all praise the Lord in harmony. We are told in Col. 3:16, “Let the word of Christ dwell in your richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God.”

When we sing to the Lord, we are the performers and God is the primary audience. It isn’t really how much we get out of the experience, but it is rather for God’s glory and His pleasure. Our main concern should not be for a certain worship style that we like best, but Paul is saying to the Colossae believers that we are to be open to a variety like singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.

Singing scripture songs is especially meaningful and it is a wonderful way to memorize scripture. When our children were little, we played tapes of catchy scripture songs that helped us all memorize the verses and gave us greater recall.

One of the men from church, along with his wife, has put scripture to music, whole chapters at a time. We sang part of Colossians 3 as a congregation in church last Sunday. It is a beautiful way to let the Word get inside of us and to remain with us. Many of the Psalms are put to music, and also hymns, and songs given us spontaneously by the Holy Spirit.

Our focus is to be the Lord and we need open our hearts to embrace many kinds of worship expressions for His pleasure. Let us not be only thinking of what we prefer but remember we are singing to the Lord and come with hearts to worship.

Paul also says we are to sing with grateful hearts, remembering all that the Lord has done for us.

Challenge for today: Sing a song of praise to the Lord today and do it with a thankful heart of worship.

Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

Dear Ones,

Hope you wake with the awareness that the Lord has your day all planned. What is hardest for you to give the Spirit control? 

I hope to do some baking and get downstairs for coffee. The Paul Bunyan trail is now clear and it is wonderful to walk it with our friends again.

Devotions from Judy’s heart

Are we aware of how important it is to let the Holy Spirit have free reign in our lives; to be open to Him to listen to what He has to say and to follow in obedience? Or do we often find ourselves asking forgiveness for times we have not followed through when we have had a prompting and not responded? Of course, sometimes we wonder if it is just our own thoughts or if it is really the Lord speaking; other times we just know and act immediately and are left with incredible joy.

There may be a time we are in line at the grocery store and the person ahead of us doesn’t have enough to pay; but the Holy Spirit whispers to us that we have more than enough and we quickly hand the person what is needed. Or it could be someone is grieving and the Lord tells us to set aside time to just be with them and to listen and to pray. We are His hands and feet and we never know how He will lead us when we get up each day, but that also makes life rather exciting. Today I woke with the song by Magnolia Lewis Butts,

“Let it breathe on me, Let it breathe on me

Let the breath of God now breathe on me

Let it breathe on my, Let it breathe on me,

Let the breath of God now breathe on me.”

We need the breath of the Holy Spirit to breathe on us and move through us and fill us anew every day.

Sometimes we may wake up thinking that we are not able to handle what is before us but the Holy Spirit whispers that God’s grace is sufficient. Or we tell ourselves that no one loves us but He says that He loves us with an everlasting love. Maybe we feel all alone but He whispers that He will never abandon us or leave us. (Heb 13:5)

The Holy Spirit is our helper and counselor, and gives us wisdom and understanding. He makes Jesus real to us and we need to daily invite Him to freely move in our lives.

Challenge for today: Pray that the Holy Spirit would make your eyes to see, your ears to hear and your heart to overflow with His love.

Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

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Blessings on your weekend and prayers and love, Judy

Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

Dear Ones,

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Will you be celebrating in some way today? We have a supper party planned for here tonight.

This morning I went downstairs for Donut day and decorating, and this afternoon we have Bible Study. 
Devotions from Judy’s heart

A life lived for the Lord and others is a life of joy; but one lived for ourselves will leave us wanting.

Have you noticed how those that are busy helping others seem to bubble over with joy. Paul writes from prison and says in Phil. 2:4 (God’s Word), “Don’t be concerned only about your own interests but also be concerned about the interests of others.” The Message puts it this way, “Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.”  We are to humbly think of others as being better than ourselves and to think of ways we can help them. Now if I were in a cold dark prison, I can imagine myself writing of my pressing needs and to plead with others to pray that I get out of my situation!  I suspect that might be my first request before thinking of how I could be of help to others!

Many people who are busy helping others do not have an easy life and yet they put the needs of others before their own. We have a friend here in our apartment complex that seems to always be busy joyfully meeting the needs of others. She recently organized a card shower for a friend’s birthday who is temporarily in Rehab and went to visit her on her birthday, along with all the cards. Other times she is praying for someone or bringing food to their door, or putting treats on all 60 doors in our apartment building. She volunteered to help us with the Birthday parties each month and she and her hubby help at Teen Challenge. Life seems very rich for her, but it is not centered on herself but how she can serve the Lord.

One of the best ways for those who feel depressed and down is to find a way to help others. The attention is off of ourselves and our hearts open wide to needs others have. Let us make the choice to serve others out of our love for God!

Challenge for today: Ask the Lord for an opportunity to serve some unsuspecting person in a hidden way today. 

Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy