Author: Judy Elmer

I’m still amazed when I think of how seeds and dry bulbs grow by placing them inside the ground in dirt! Recently my sister Carole sent me some lily bulbs as a gift. My track record for flowers staying alive is not good. So when I got those bulbs I wasn’t counting on actually seeing lilies. As I put those dry hard bulbs inside the ground I said to myself, “It’ll be a miracle if these things live.” The more I placed the bulbs in dirt, the more I realized that growth is the evidence of God…a miracle! That made me think of this scripture. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. 1 Cor. 3:6 The growing process takes time. Just like growing closer and closer to Jesus is a lifetime process. I’ve discovered that sometimes growing is painful. But God uses those growing pains to help us break out of ourselves and grow closer to Him. God is a Miracle Worker who grows us from the inside out.

God is in the business of removing stones of past hurts and stones of lies that are deeply embedded in hearts and minds.

A life changing event God used in my life was when I became a mother. God used that groundbreaking time to begin to remove my stone of lies. One big hard stone was the lie that went like…”You’ll always be a worrier. You can’t change.” I didn’t want our boys to grow up learning from me how to be a worry-wart. One day I heard someone say that in order to recognize a lie you need to know the truth. I wanted to know the truth from God’s perspective. I made the groundbreaking decision to begin studying the Bible. Piece by piece, little by little, God used His Word to remove the lies of the enemy with the truth of His Word. I’m still being transformed and not finished. But now when I begin to fret or gasp I’m reminded to run to God’s Word, because God can’t lie. His truth gives comfort and guidance in the middle of hurts and confusion. No stone is too hard or too deep for God to blast and remove over time. Cling to Him. Get to know Him more fully. He is Our Stone Remover.

And they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?” But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. Mark 16:3-4

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. Psalm 119:105

God’s Word is the voice of truth. God cannot lie. Lying is not in His character. God keeps His Word to guide, teach, encourage, convict and save. God guarantees everything that was written to be accurate. So in faith we choose to believe that the Holy Bible is the living, inspired and authoritative Word of God.

I never get tired of hearing the words “I love you.” In fact, whenever I need to hear those words, I take my hand and gently tap my husband on the chest over his heart. That’s our silent signal for him to say once again, “I love you.” One Sunday morning at church I heard a speaker share that he would give his grandchildren candy in hopes they would say, “I love you Papa.” I had to smile because I sure could identify with that. After the church service I told the speaker about our silent signal. I shared that I gently tap my husband’s chest to remind him to say “I love you.” Later on, our friend the speaker, came up to me and said…”I saw your husband awhile ago and hit him in the chest 3 times, and all he did was look at me!” (I’m still laughing!) God never gets tired of saying He loves you. His love story, the Bible is proof of His sacrificial, everlasting and extravagant love. Can you imagine how delighted Jesus is when He hears you say to Him, “I love You.”

I love you, O LORD, my strength. Psalm 18:1

Father God, we want to thank You for Your unfailing love for America. You have freely blessed us in many ways. We stand in awe of Your mercy and power. Forgive us for not placing You as Number One. Help us to cling to Jesus. Create in us a desire to turn back and come closer to You…Our First Love.

“Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.” Rev. 2:4-5

Father God, Your love is unfailing, never-ending and extravagant.

You don’t love me one day and not the next.

No matter what comes my way, You are FOR me and NOT against me.

Knowing how true Your love is brings joy…that sense of well-being even during hard times.

Help me to see the evidence of Your presence in my life.

You are my Joy-Giver.

“You will fill me with joy in your presence.” Acts 2:28

I have always felt protected by my husband. But things changed when he had a massive stroke and was gone from home from August to January. Those were difficult days that included hospital, skilled rehab and nursing home care. It was hard for me to come home to an empty house, especially at night. I remember how scary it was to get the mail in the dark. The mailbox was at the end of what seemed the longest driveway in the world. Our driveway had tall shrubs that lined one side of the driveway. One dark night, as I was walking down the driveway to get the mail, I said to the Lord, “I’m scared. I don’t like this. Somebody might be hiding behind these tall bushes and hurt me.” Immediately the Lord brought to my attention my shadow. In the dark, God used the light from the porch to cast a shadow of me. The closeness of my shadow was a visual reminder that God was also close like a shadow and protecting me. My trips to the mailbox changed. My shadow continued to encourage me that God is near, step by step, just like the shadow.

I love the sound of handbells and decided to give the bells a try by joining the handbell choir at our church. Keep in mind, I don’t read music and I have no musical background.

My fellow bell ringers were very kind and patient with me. Needless to say the songs got harder and harder. I quickly found out that counting to four and color coding my musical notes was not enough. Proof that I was in way over my head was that Sunday morning worship service when I was ringing those bells and on the wrong song! I was intensely embarrassed. I wanted to quit so badly, but God reminded me that “It’s not about your performance.” I continued making music in the handbell choir for a few more months until I sensed the Lord saying, “You can stop now.” It was a hallelujah moment!

“Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7

This is one of my favorite pictures of my grandchildren. They are brother and sister. They’re kissing each other through the window that separated the older children from the younger children at their daycare. At play time they would often run up and kiss each other through the window. Not even the glass window could stop them from expressing their love for one another. This picture reminds me that nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Jesus.

Neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:39

I love to hear stories over and over again about my Daddy. He passed away when I was two years old. My only memories I have of him is what others have said about him. I really never knew him. He must have been pretty special because when others describe him it’s all been super good. Here’s a story about Daddy that always makes me smile.

“Get the smelling salts. Find a chair. Sit him down.” These were the words echoed when Daddy was told he was the Father of twin girls! Back then there were no ultrasounds to prepare Daddy for me and my twin sister. We were a big surprise! My older sister and brother, and now twin girls, made Daddy surprisingly the Father of four children instead of two. I sure understand why Daddy almost fainted.