Oh, Lord
I crave your Word today. Why?
It is the satisfier of my hungry heart, for I hunger and thirst for You
and find You on every page.
I need your Word today. Why?
It teaches, corrects, reproves and trains me in righteousness that I might -
walk right,
talk right,
and live right.
I search your Word today. Why?
It provides the light I need to find my way in a darkened World.
It reveals your plans and paths for my life.
How about you dear one? Are you hungry? Are you puzzled about which road to choose? Is there more darkness than light in you life? Would you run to the Lord within the pages of His Word and find the answers you need for all of life? It is my prayer.
Til next time,
Judy
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Tuesdays
Another Tuesday and my heart is singing. It's been 9+ years since the Lord called me into this ministry. It began with Naomi's Daughters a weekly program for single moms in the Tampa Bay area. Supper for moms and their children followed by age specific classes for the children and a a class for moms with a variety of life lessons from God's Word. We meet on Tuesdays.
Beginning in September it will be only twice a month for awhile. Many on the volunteer staff have had personal and/or health issues over the past 8 months. We believe this is God's best at the moment and plan to spend more time as a ministry team listening for God's voice as we set aside specific time to meditate upon His Word and seek Him in prayer.
As I put this on my blog, I'm buoyed by the encouraging response of the moms as they receive news of this adjustment. For some it is an absolute answer to prayer.
I will spend more time teaching for the next several months and writing...here, to those the Lord has placed in my life to encourage, and in my journal as He continues leading me over peaks and into valleys, teaching me with every step how to trust Him with every thing and every "body" in my life.
How about you..I'd love to hear what the Lord has been whispering in your heart recently and which verses He's impressed upon your heart.
Til' next time...Proverbs 3:5 & 6 are running through my brain! Oh, Lord draw us ever closer to your heart and teach us how to put your "tasty" Word into practice in our everyday lives.
Blessings,
Judy
Beginning in September it will be only twice a month for awhile. Many on the volunteer staff have had personal and/or health issues over the past 8 months. We believe this is God's best at the moment and plan to spend more time as a ministry team listening for God's voice as we set aside specific time to meditate upon His Word and seek Him in prayer.
As I put this on my blog, I'm buoyed by the encouraging response of the moms as they receive news of this adjustment. For some it is an absolute answer to prayer.
I will spend more time teaching for the next several months and writing...here, to those the Lord has placed in my life to encourage, and in my journal as He continues leading me over peaks and into valleys, teaching me with every step how to trust Him with every thing and every "body" in my life.
How about you..I'd love to hear what the Lord has been whispering in your heart recently and which verses He's impressed upon your heart.
Til' next time...Proverbs 3:5 & 6 are running through my brain! Oh, Lord draw us ever closer to your heart and teach us how to put your "tasty" Word into practice in our everyday lives.
Blessings,
Judy
Saturday, August 15, 2009
God was listening in
Saturday morning here. Listening to uplifting praise & worship music on a favorite CD. .."and we'll all bow down...kings will surrender their crowns..and worship Jesus, He is the love, unfailing love..He is the Love of God!....Oh my Jesus surrendering myself , again, this day bowing to you!!!
Yesterday, after a week of leaning into Jesus with every fiber of my being...one very dear to the Lord and to me phoned with some unsettling news. During our conversation phrases such as - "I don't understand...it seems like _____ never gets a break. Doing the right thing seems to bring difficulty after difficulty, etc. As we talked together we realized it was fleshly affection on our part for this one and others that puts that "want" in our hearts that hard times would not be a part of those we care so much about. Further we talked at length about how God stretches, melts and molds us in all our circumstances and that it is our experience that He builds strenth in us as we suffer in our struggles. For in our dark days we discover that He is the ONLY truth in our life that really matters.
Then this morning as I checked my inbox for my daily devotional mail the following was waiting - to encourage, comfort and strengthen . God was listening in!
Maybe you're facing a difficult trial in this season of your life. Maybe someone you love is struggling and it's so difficult not to jump in and try to do what only God can do. If so may this, from "Streams in the Desert" encourage your heart and strengthen your resolve to "let go and let God". May God's Word found in Jeremiah 32:27 fall afresh on you today -"Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh; is anything too difficultfor Me?"
Our Dependency on Christ from Streams In The Desert
"We are troubled on every side" (2 Cor. 7:5).
Why should God have to lead us thus, and allow the pressure to be so hard and constant? Well, in the first place, it shows His all-sufficient strength and grace much better than if we were exempt from pressure and trial. "The treasure is in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us."
It makes us more conscious of our dependence upon Him. God is constantly trying to teach us our dependence, and to hold us absolutely in His hand and hanging upon His care.This was the place where Jesus Himself stood and where He wants us to stand, not with self-constituted strength, but with a hand ever leaning upon His, and a trust that dare not take one step alone. It teaches us trust.
There is no way of learning faith except by trial. It is God's school of faith, and it is far better for us to learn to trust God than to enjoy life.The lesson of faith once learned, is an everlasting acquisition and an eternal fortune made; and without trust even riches will leave us poor. --Days of Heaven upon Earth
"Why must I weep when others sing?'To test the deeps of suffering.
'Why must I work while others rest?'To spend my strength at God's request.
'Why must I lose while others gain?'To understand defeat's sharp pain.
'Why must this lot of life be mine When that which fairer seems is thine?'Because God knows what plans for meShall blossom in eternity."
God bless, Judy
Yesterday, after a week of leaning into Jesus with every fiber of my being...one very dear to the Lord and to me phoned with some unsettling news. During our conversation phrases such as - "I don't understand...it seems like _____ never gets a break. Doing the right thing seems to bring difficulty after difficulty, etc. As we talked together we realized it was fleshly affection on our part for this one and others that puts that "want" in our hearts that hard times would not be a part of those we care so much about. Further we talked at length about how God stretches, melts and molds us in all our circumstances and that it is our experience that He builds strenth in us as we suffer in our struggles. For in our dark days we discover that He is the ONLY truth in our life that really matters.
Then this morning as I checked my inbox for my daily devotional mail the following was waiting - to encourage, comfort and strengthen . God was listening in!
Maybe you're facing a difficult trial in this season of your life. Maybe someone you love is struggling and it's so difficult not to jump in and try to do what only God can do. If so may this, from "Streams in the Desert" encourage your heart and strengthen your resolve to "let go and let God". May God's Word found in Jeremiah 32:27 fall afresh on you today -"Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh; is anything too difficultfor Me?"
Our Dependency on Christ from Streams In The Desert
"We are troubled on every side" (2 Cor. 7:5).
Why should God have to lead us thus, and allow the pressure to be so hard and constant? Well, in the first place, it shows His all-sufficient strength and grace much better than if we were exempt from pressure and trial. "The treasure is in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us."
It makes us more conscious of our dependence upon Him. God is constantly trying to teach us our dependence, and to hold us absolutely in His hand and hanging upon His care.This was the place where Jesus Himself stood and where He wants us to stand, not with self-constituted strength, but with a hand ever leaning upon His, and a trust that dare not take one step alone. It teaches us trust.
There is no way of learning faith except by trial. It is God's school of faith, and it is far better for us to learn to trust God than to enjoy life.The lesson of faith once learned, is an everlasting acquisition and an eternal fortune made; and without trust even riches will leave us poor. --Days of Heaven upon Earth
"Why must I weep when others sing?'To test the deeps of suffering.
'Why must I work while others rest?'To spend my strength at God's request.
'Why must I lose while others gain?'To understand defeat's sharp pain.
'Why must this lot of life be mine When that which fairer seems is thine?'Because God knows what plans for meShall blossom in eternity."
God bless, Judy
Thursday, August 6, 2009
God is Good - All The Time!
We're home after a wonderful time with our family at the beach. Manasota Key is nestled on the coastline between Venice and Englewood. It is a "jewel" that is virtually one long residential community with little evidence of your typical beaches. The quiet was delicious and refreshing to my weary soul. Each morning as I met with my Lord I drank in the stillness that surrounded us; a stillness interrupted only by the sounds of the surf as it lapped against the shore!
During the week we had wonderful meals .... cooking was shared by son Whitney and daughter Traci and the grands and two friends shared clean-up detail for the week. The bulk of our time was spent either in or by the pool and forays to the beach. Whitney led morning fishing and nightime crabbing trips with the kids. They loved it.
When we arrived at the beach we all were ready to be refreshed. The Good Shepherd as described in Psalm 23 was waiting for us - we lacked for nothing we needed; He gave us rest; He led us beside quiet waters and renewed us; He wiped away our fears with His loving comfort and He is still pursuing us with His goodness and faithful love. He filled us up to "overflow" readying us for all that might be waiting for us at home.
My heart rejoices as I recount His love and care as promised in His Word!!
How is the Good Shepherd caring for you?? Make a list. Would you share it?
Until Next time,
Judy
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