Dear Ones,
Hope you have a great weekend. Yesterday afternoon, after Bible Study, Al and I went to see “I Can Only Imagine” and it was an excellent movie, especially for fathers and sons. Worth seeing! Today I plan to do food prep and Lars is coming for lunch and we’ll celebrate his birthday!!
Devotions from Judy’s heart
I was reading Peter Scazzero’s book, Emotionally Healthy Spirituality, and he asks the question the struck me, “Do we have an intentional, conscious plan to keep God at the center of everything we do?” It is otherwise known as a Rule of Life, which is a tool that helps us remember the Lord in whatever we do. I can too easily go on autopilot, but my desire is to be intentional to grow in the Lord and be aware of His presence throughout my day. We can get distracted doing many things, but how do we include prayer, spiritual practices, rest, silence, solitude, etc. in our day? Of course, we can start by eliminating some time-consuming things that need to go in order to grab hold of more important things.
Let us ask ourselves what is most important, as we desire to be transformed more into His image. Your list may be different than mine, but I like to start my day in scripture and prayer, spiritual readings, etc. followed by prayer together with Al.  If you have little ones, that may not be possible and you have to take what works for you. Since I write daily devotionals, I like to spend a few moments getting a sense of what the Lord would want me to say and see if it follows a theme of what I read in my devotional time. I also just like to sit in silence for a few minutes and just try to listen to the Lord. After that I like to get to work and accomplish things on my mental check list.

As I read from Scazzero’s book, I think I want to incorporate times during the day in the midst of my work when I just stop and pray the Jesus prayer, and spend some moments just focusing on the Lord. Maybe take time for a cup of coffee and just sit and enjoy being in His presence. My Sundays need to be more times of rest, and thinking of how the Word I heard at the church service applies to me; also time focusing on what would please the Lord and what things He has for me to serve others.

Carlo Caretto with the Little Brothers of Jesus said, “I can only say, “Live love, let love invade you. It will never fail to teach you what you must do.”

Challenge for today: Ask the Lord to help you listen well to His voice and show you any changes that are needed for Him to have first place in your life. (Matt 6:33)
Blessings on your weekend and prayers and love, Judy