Dear Ones,
We just got home after being gone since 6 a.m. this morning to Bemidji. It’s good to have my nose surgery behind me now and it was more complex than I had anticipated. I had a great Dr. and nurse and I had quite a few stitches and now a big bozo bandage on that has to stay there for a week. Emoji Can’t even wash my hair! I think I better hole up in our apt!!! Thank you for prayers as I was lifted by them and felt His peace. Hope your day is going well!
Devotions from Judy’s heart
The Bible is inspired and powerful and also full of wondrous surprises. The words are alive and come from God through the Holy Spirit. The Word can change and transform us if we are open to what is written in it; and even though we may have heard certain portions of it many times, it is always new and can speak to us. Yesterday I changed the sheets on our bed and when I went to put the clean ones on, out popped a sock. Where did it come from? I missed it when I pulled the fitted sheet from the dryer and it got tucked away in the fold of the contour. I never saw it and now it suddenly appeared and I had a matching sock to the one I thought was lost. How many times do we read scripture and it is an aha moment when all of a sudden, a verse seems to pop out of the pages and speaks to what we are going through at that time? It can bring comfort, or praise, or a sense of conviction; other times a verse may describe exactly what is going on in our hearts and holds a promise we can cling to. When I was pregnant and soon to deliver, my mom gave me a scripture that I hung onto when I was in labor. Many who go through surgery have a verse that they carry with them to give them peace. Others have said a verse pierced them like a sword and they saw how they were going the wrong direction and it brought conviction and a desire to change. Heb. 4:12-13 (The Message) says, “God means what He says. What He says goes. His powerful Word is as sharp as a surgeon’s scalpel, cutting through everything, whether doubt or defense, laying us open to listen and obey. Nothing and no one is impervious to God’s Word. We can’t get away from it—no matter what.” God’s Word is so powerful and we are encouraged to meditate on it day and night. May we let the Word speak to us, surprise us and change us by the power of the Holy Spirit!
Challenge for today: Spend some time alone reading the Word with an open heart and let God surprise you. 
Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy