Canaan's Rest

Dear Ones,

Hope you wake to a day of spontaneity! We are having friends over today and I made a banana split dessert that we already sampled!

Devotions from Judy’s heart

Don’t we all want to live freely and that our life would speak volumes of Whom we serve. So wonderful when we know who we are and live transparently, not trying to be someone else but letting our light shine for the Lord. I smiled today when I read author Robert Wicks, description of a Lutheran Pastor whom he went to lunch with and asked the pastor to pray before they ate. In his words about the pastor: “He smiled, nodded, and then proceeded to belt out a grace before meals in such a booming voice that everyone stopped talking and put down their knives and forks. I even think that a couple in the corner who were planning on having an affair at that point changed their minds!) He obviously knew who he was and lives out of the knowledge without a concern for image or success.”

I hope we all want to be free and spontaneous and live transparent lives, enjoying who God made us to be in an open way. Maybe we struggle with self-consciousness and are always trying to read how we are coming across to others. Even if they don’t understand where we come from, we don’t need to be apologetic but enjoy the freedom, seeing ourselves as the Lord sees us. Recently we had a new couple come to our church but since we sit on the far right, I had never seen them before. But Rose showed up for the baby shower we had at church and sat next to me at our table while we ate. She was a delight and full of laughter and fun and just herself. Even though we had never met before, I felt like I had always known her. I told my husband about her as I was impressed at how free she was, and I described her to him since he is a greeter. So, the next day when she came to church, he met her by the door and greeted her by saying, “Welcome Rose!” She had no idea how he knew her name and asked who he was etc. We had coffee with her after the service and she said in a joshing way that she wondered if the Holy Spirit had revealed to him her name! Lots more laughter and sharing of her spiritual journey and others said they wished they had sat at our fun table!

When we accept who God made us to be, it has a way of prompting others to walk in freedom too. May we show gratitude for His workmanship in us and accept others also where they are at. As Paul said in Eph. 2:10, “God has made us what we are. He has created us in Christ Jesus to live lives filled with good works that He has prepared for us to do.

Challenge for today: Share with a friend how you see God’s workmanship in them.

Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

Dear Ones,                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Hope you had a wonderful and relaxing weekend. We are enjoying our walk on the Paul Bunyan trail, and it seems like everyone was out walking yesterday. Today I am going to make a new dessert and go to my exercise class. etc.                                                                                                                   Devotions from Judy’s heart                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   We all go through hard times of suffering and who endured more than Job. He lost everything including his family, livestock, servants, health, reputation, wealth etc. and yet he passed the test and did not renounce his faith in God. Even though everything was taken from him, he still had God! As we know, later in his story, everything was restored but what can we learn for it? How do we face suffering and go through those hard times when things don’t even make sense to us? What is our response?                                                                                                            From scripture we are told we will go through times of trial and testing, and just because we know the Lord doesn’t give us a free pass. But we can glean good from our trials if we look to the Lord in them and we can grow and become stronger in our faith. I have spent quite a bit of time in Job, and I also remember going with Al to a class at Fuller Seminary on Job and I think we can learn much from him. If you are going through a big trial right now you may also be asking God, why is this happening to me? It doesn’t mean you have committed a grievous sin and God is punishing you; in fact, God may be working on your behalf right now. Like Job who answered his wife when she wanted him to renounce God (Job 2:10), “We take the good days from God—why not the bad days?” We get both and what do we learn from them?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     One thing we learn is patience as we may not be able to get out of the situation. We are in it as long as the Lord says. We may have to make a choice at times if we are going to let our heart get hardened or if we are going to endure with His grace. We may find if we don’t learn what He is trying to teach us, there may be another lesson down the line. What we are going through could be preparation for something bigger God has for us, and He is preparing us now. We also get understanding of what others are going through in their hard circumstances and have empathy, not like Job’s friends who made accusations of him. We may gain understanding more of what Jesus also went through for us. The bottom line is that God is enough, no matter what we suffer. We are here on earth such a short time and all of us, like Job said, will go through good days and bad days, but He is with us.

Challenge for today: Share with someone who is going through a hard time what you learned from a situation God took you through.

Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

Dear Ones,

Happy Weekend to you! Hope you have time to relax and get renewed.   We had strong winds and some snow yesterday and hoping spring weather is back today so we can walk the trail.

Devotions from Judy’s heart

Do we travel light through life or are we weighed down and feel heavy? When I look out my window as I write there are often birds at my eye level that flit around from one branch to another, unencumbered and enjoying the day. Jesus said in Matt. 6:26, “Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to Him than birds.” When we think back of our parents and grandparents, most seemed to live life being satisfied with the necessities but not weighed down with what was not needful. They enjoyed what they had and trusted the Lord to provide. In our day, so many have such abundance and yet find it difficult to trust God.
There are those who don’t realize they are enslaved to the culture that is always wanting more and miss the freedom of living light and freely. We can ask ourselves the question, what do we feel we need to be happy? It could be a tangible item, or something to happen in the life of a loved one before we can have peace etc. But that is a lie of the enemy for we have a big God who loves us and when we know Him, we have found the Pearl of great price, the One who is peace.

When we are pre-occupied and feel out of sorts, we need to ask ourselves what is it we are hanging onto rather than trusting the Lord? What is God trying to show us about our motives and possible idols in our life” If we want to live freely, we need to address those things so we can let go of all that holds us back and weighs us down. It is a gift to be able to see what things hinder our walk with the Lord so we can release them  and change. This should be a continuous desire and action on our part that we begin each day as a new beginning and walk lightly and freely.

Challenge for today: Ask the Lord to show you what things to let go of and His grace to begin.

Blessings on your weekend and prayers and love, Judy

Dear Ones,

Happy weekend. Hope you wake to a sunny day. Each morning as I look out my window the trees are budding and everything is starting to green up. Today Ann’s family is taking us out for lunch!

Devotions from Judy’s heart

The Lord is after our hearts and wants us to know Him in a deep way. We can pray and ask Him for decisions about who to marry, what field of work we should go into, or whether we should move etc. But those things, though they are important, they are not the most important for first it is to really know the Lord. The more intimate we know Him, the more we will be able to discern what He wants in our lives. Because I know Al so well, I can almost predict in situations what He will do. There are many times I could finish his sentences and he mine. It’s because we spend time together and share together and know each other well.                                                                                                                                            As we spend time in the Word and prayer with an openness to the Lord, the Holy Spirit will reveal more of the Lord to us. Some of the questions we are asking may be answered specifically in the Word and we don’t have to wonder if it is His will, for it is only a matter of obedience. Through our times with Him, we may find our hearts are being enlarged and softened and we come away with a desire to express His love to others around us. It is not something we feel we have to do, but it becomes something on our hearts we want to do.

One thing we discover as we draw closer to the Lord, there is no room for unforgiveness towards anyone. Jesus forgave those that put Him to death, and we must also forgive everyone who has hurt us. We are going to need His power to do that, as it is one of the most difficult things He asks of us. But if we do not forgive and become revengeful, it is much like poison in our bodies. It may show itself in depression, anger, bitterness and anxiousness. But as Paul told the Colossian believers, “Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” (Col. 3:13) If we do not forgive our Heavenly Father will not forgive us. (Matt. 6:15)

Let us give our hearts fully to the Lord and let us be known by Him and become like Him.

Challenge for today: Open your heart in new ways to the Lord and to others.

May you have a wonderful weekend full of blessings and prayers and love, Judy

Dear Ones,

Hope you wake to sunshine after all our rain. Eager to walk the trail again. Al will be going to men’s group early this morning and later we have Bible study. We take turns using his computer and hoping it won’t be long until mine is fixed.

Devotions from Judy’s heart                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Marriage is sacred and as God planned, it is to be the joining of one man and one woman for life! It needs to be protected today as the divorce rate for marriages is now 40%. The latest polls show that 76% of those in first marriages now live together beforehand, and yet that makes them more likely to divorce than those who keep themselves for each other until their marriage.

Marriage comes from the Latin word “to unite”, and couples unite with their whole beings, including two bodies, minds, souls, and emotions, and ideally it is permanent and exclusive. In Ephesians 5 Paul says for husbands to love their wives as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her. He goes on to say a wife should respect her husband and regard him, honor him, and praise him. (Amplified version)

Of course, the enemy is out to destroy marriages for it is the very picture of Christ and His church. We need to protect marriages and Satan will attack in big ways and even the smallest ways to get us to drift apart and become bitter and apathetic. Marriage is to be exclusive in the sense of having healthy boundaries and safeguards to protect us from temptation. Al made it a practice when counseling women to have another person present. Today it could be simply texting another of the opposite sex frequently, and soon a door is open to more. In marriage but also in all relationships, we need to constantly practice forgiveness. We forgive others as the Lord has forgiven us, which is constantly and daily. We need to exercise patience with one another and to show tenderness in words and touch. Apologize often and extend forgiveness!

Praying together often and regularly is so important and less than 1% of couples that pray together get divorced. Prayer helps us get our eyes off ourselves and to the Lord. Going to church together and being accountable to another can also help keep our marriage intact. Let us fight for our marriages and encourage the marriages of our children and grandchildren!

Challenge for today: Bring a word of praise to your mate and encourage your loved ones in their marriages.
Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

Dear Ones,

Hope you wake to a day of restoration.  We got lots of much needed rain yesterday, so everything is so fresh and green. Today I have exercise class, craft class (much like a coffee clutch) Bible study, Etc.

Devotions from Judy’s heart

When we look into the mirror, how do we see ourselves? Do we see blemishes, double chin, wrinkles, saggy skin, protruding stomach etc. We may say, “It is not a pretty picture!” But what about when we look into the Mirror of God’s word? What do we see there? Do we see ourselves as sinful and decrepit and full of selfishness and pettiness? Or do we see ourselves as a new creation” Paul says in II Cor. 5:17-18, “Whoever is a believer in Christ is a new creation. The old way of living has disappeared. A new way of living has come into existence. God has done all this. He has restored our relationship with Him through Christ and given us this ministry of restoring relationships.

Jesus has done for us all that we can’t do for ourselves. He has made us a new creation, and instead of seeing all the blemishes of our selfish lives, He makes us new in Him. We can’t be good enough on our own or ever earn our way, but He did it all if we will receive it from Him. It’s not about us trying hard and hoping to measure up but rather that we receive what He has done. We don’t need to let what we have done in our old life effect what we see in the mirror now. No, it is all about forgiveness and the Lord transforming us and making us new.

Of course it is all His grace to us. The enemy wants us to live with the old person in the mirror and tells us that is who we will always be. But the Lord tells us we are redeemed, we are made new, and forgiven as He sees us as if we have never sinned. We have only to look in the mirror of His mercy and give Him thanks and glory. Let us no longer let the lies of the enemy rob us but celebrate that we are recreated and have begun a new life.

Challenge for today: Don’t ruminate over your flaws but look into the mirror of His Word that tells you again that you are made new.

Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy