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Minute Meditations-9

9 Jun

SUNDAY MEMORIES

 Judy Wills

CONNECTION…

How do you connect with people?  If you are in a business, you probably have some sort of “plan” to connect with people who could be your customers.  We see ads in the newspaper and on the TV all the time for businesses selling their particular product.  We see ads looking for people to work with a specific company, or in a specific position.

I’ve heard of people who attend benefits or parties or some such event just so they can “network” the system, and benefit themselves or their company.

But what is your connection to the one and only true living God?  Is it an Easter and Christmas connection?  Is it a once-a-month connection?  Or is it a genuine, life-sustaining, personal relationship with God?

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My brother Bill wrote about this recently.  Here are his thoughts:

Our connection to God is, quite simply, the only way we can live this life with any purpose or satisfaction.  It allows us to walk upright without staggering or tripping or falling down.  There may be bumps in the road, but if we keep our eyes on that connection to God, He will keep us from falling flat on our faces.  He will help us see the direction we need to take – to be His children.

We are blest, indeed.

~~~~~~~~~~This Concludes Bill’s thoughts through his Minute Meditations~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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Minute Meditations-8

2 Jun

SUNDAY MEMORIES

 Judy Wills

REST…

What gives you the most rest in your life?  Is it just a good night’s sleep?

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Is it vegging in front of the TV after work?

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Is it sleeping in that lawn chair after a hard day’s work?

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Is it doing something other than work?

Fred and I have often agreed that, doing something different from your normal work day is a type of rest for your body and mind.

When I was working for a company in Virginia, one of my six (count them….SIX) bosses was a young man, very skilled in finance.  It was a small company, and he was tasked to do a lot of things for the company.  In his office, directly across the room from his desk, was a very large picture of a mountain scene, complete with snow, ski lift, and a bunch of skiers swooping down the mountain side.  Snow skiing was his passion.  I understood that, in a very stressful day, he had only to look at that picture for a few minutes, visualize himself in that picture-setting, and have a moment of rest.

Have you ever “rested” in the Lord?  Have you ever just let yourself know that God is in complete control of whatever situation you find yourself in, and sit back, relax, and REST in God’s capable hands?  WOW!  Talk about rest!!  That’s the ultimate.

My brother, Bill, wrote about this one time.  Here’s what he said:

I’ve written about God’s perfect timing before, and it still stands.  It’s when we can allow God to have complete contl of our lives that we experience true rest.  The peace that comes with that rest is the best and most refreshing we will ever have.  And if we wait upon the Lord, we will see that, indeed, His timing is perfect…and so is our REST in Him.

I am grateful.

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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Minute Meditations-7

26 May

SUNDAY MEMORIES

 Judy Wills

POSSESSIONS…

What is your most prized possession?

Your car?

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Your house?

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An instrument you’ve scrimped and saved for, for so long you wondered whether or not you would ever be able to afford it?

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That big-screen TV?

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That stereo system?  That computer?  That ipad or iphone?

What about a pet?  Is that considered a “possession” to you?  

How did you feel after you acquired that prized possession?  Did the possessing of it complete your life, like you thought it would?  Or were you “let down” now that you had it in hand?

My brother, Bill, wrote about a woman who desired something – something she considered more than life itself:

In acquiring those prized possessions, if we consider how that possession can be used to God’s glory, then we can use it – “give it back to God” – and know that we have fulfilled God’s desire for us in that instance.  We can give God the opportunity to bless us with our use of the possession.

The “essence” of this thought is that, what God gives still belongs to Him – to be used for His glory.

I had never thought about my possessions in that light.  God really DOES want to give us the best, and to bless us with it.

WOW!

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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Minute Meditations-6

19 May

SUNDAY MEMORIES

 Judy Wills

Reblogged

POWER…

…..What’s your first thought when you hear/see that word?  Power:  electrical?

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  hydro? 

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 aircraft takeoff or landing?

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  a violent electrical thunderstorm?  

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What about the power of a word?  A judge can, with one word, sentence a prisoner to life in prison or the death penalty.  That same judge can also, with one word, set a prisoner free.

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What about the power of God?  I wrote about my feelings on God’s power in an Easter blog last year:  God’s power is so tremendously great that He actually raised Jesus from death back into life!  Amazing!!  It’s so easy to just say…He arose.  But just think of it – He actually rose FROM THE DEAD BACK TO LIFE!  That never happened to anyone else, that didn’t physically die again.  

I sometimes have a really hard time wrapping my mind around that thought.  Raising someone from death to life.  I know that many people have been declared clinically “dead” and through CPR or some other method, have been brought “back to life” again.  But not after they had been dead for three days, as Christ was!  WOW!

Photo Credit Judy Wills

God’s power is unlimited.  Have you ever had your electricity go off?  Have you ever heard of airplanes crashing because of loss of power?  God’s power just doesn’t have that kind of limitation.  Well ….because He’s GOD!

My brother, Bill, wrote about the Israelites in Biblical times, who didn’t understand God’s complete power.  Here’s what Bill wrote:

Praise the Lord indeed!  God is truly on OUR side.  And as Philippians 4:13 says, “I can do ALL things, through Christ, who keeps pouring POWER into me!” 

Woohoo!

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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Minute Meditations-5

12 May

SUNDAY MEMORIES

 Judy Wills

REBLOGGED

Perfect Timing…

Every once in a while, everything just seems to fall into place, such as: you’ve had the house on the market for months and months….and then all-of-a-sudden, the right buyer appears, the house is sold, and you move out.  Just like that.  Click…click…click, just like clockwork, the timing is perfect.

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Or, when you are writing a blog to post, nothing seems to be forth-coming. 

Then, all-of-a-sudden, an idea pops into your head, and you can’t get the words out fast enough. Click…click…click, just like clockwork, the timing is perfect.

Coincidence?  Hardly.  That’s God’s hand at work.  And it’s amazing – and I’m sure frustrating – that we don’t recognize it for what it is.

My brother, Bill, wrote about that:

So when we do take advantage of that opportunity, and recognize it for God’s perfect timing, then we can express our thanks to Him and know that He has blessed us, indeed.  

There is absolutely NOTHING in this life that feels so right as being in the perfect timing of God’s Will.  ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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Minute Meditations-4

5 May

SUNDAY MEMORIES

 Judy Wills

Reblogged

OBEDIENCE…  What a hard word that one is.  We have to obey our parents when we are young.  We have to obey our teachers in school.  We have to obey our boss.  We have to obey the rules of the road – that one can be really dangerous if we don’t obey them!! 

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There are rules in the military. 

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There are even rules in the games we play!

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We keep thinking, “I’m the master of my own self!  Why do I have to obey anyone?”  But it just doesn’t work that way, does it?  No man is an island… isn’t that what the bard said?  Well, it’s true.

So many people criticize Christianity as being a “crutch” for life.  I hate to disappoint them, but they have some sort of crutch as well.  Their crutch can be a job, a spouse, a significant other, money – or love of it, booze, drugs, etc.  And if depending upon God and His love requires my obedience to survive in this world is my “crutch” – then I’m all in.  Fortunately, God’s “yoke” is very easy and light.  He gives us so much leeway in what we do, and all He asks is that we let Him take our heart’s desire and turn it His way.  Have you noticed that, when you become God’s child, that your desires change?  You no longer want to do those things you did before.  They frequently become distasteful to you, so you stop doing them.  You want to please God with your actions.

My brother, Bill wrote about obedience.  Here are his thoughts:

Obey His commands.  What does that mean?  Jesus was asked that very question in Matthew 22:37-39.  Jesus answered the Pharisees:  Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it:  Love your neighbor as yourself.

In other words, if we keep our eyes on God, then everything else falls into place.  Obedience to God becomes easy.  Not that everything we do on this earth will be easy, but with God’s help, obedience to Him becomes our life’s goal.

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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Minute Meditations-3

28 Apr

SUNDAY MEMORIES

 Judy Wills

Reblog

TRUST…..

What does that word mean to you?  The New World dictionary defines trust as:  firm belief or confidence in the honesty, integrity, reliability, justice, etc. of another person or thing.  A secondary definition is:  confident expectation.  How does that fit your definition?  

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Have you ever trusted someone with a “secret” only to have that secret spread around and get out of control?  How did that make you feel?  Did you feel like you could “trust” that person with anything personal again? Most likely not.

My brother, Bill, wrote his thoughts on this:

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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Minute Meditations-2

21 Apr

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

Reblog

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What is happiness?  Or better yet…..what is your IDEA of what happiness is?  Is it just a state of mind?  Is our happiness determined by our circumstances?                          

A pastor said once, that when we are God’s child, happiness is what resides in our hearts and minds always, and that joy or sorrow can’t really touch it; that the circumstances where we find ourselves do NOT determine whether we are happy or not….we have God’s abiding happiness within us.

Joy
Sorrow

Filling our hearts with God’s love gives us permanent happiness, that allows us to be happy, or content, in whatever situations we find ourselves.

My brother, Bill, wrote about this very thing.  These are his thoughts:

Can we see just how God wants us to look to Him for our happiness?  No matter what happens, with God in our hearts, we can depend upon Him to give us the answers we seek to ALL our earthly problems.  He is true and faithful to His word.

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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Minute Meditations-1

14 Apr

SUNDAY MEMORIES 

Judy Wills

Reblog

Back in 2015, my brother Bill, gave me permission to publish some of his “Minute Meditations” he had written following the Challenger disaster. I would like to re-blog them for the next few weeks.  They are as appropriate today as they were when he wrote them, and I submitted them in 2015.

I would like to do something a little different for a few weeks.  Hope you like my musings.

As I have mentioned before – and he has posted – my brother worked in the space industry all of his career.  He has shared so many interesting stories of his work.  Recently, one that has impressed me the most is that, whenever one of our space shuttles docked with the International Space Station, it would “nudge” the ISS back into its orbit.  

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If that didn’t happen, then eventually the ISS would fall into the earth’s atmosphere and burn up.  Did you know that?  I didn’t.  And it seems like such a waste to have spent all that time and money to make the ISS, and then stop the space program.  Oh well.

In any case, if you are old enough to remember the Challenger disaster,

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Bill wrote a “Minute Meditation” about it, and I would like to quote it here:

So, even in tragedy, as Bill stated, we can know that God is there, is in control, and we can trust Him in all our ways.  That is such a hopeful and reassuring thought for me.  For you, as well, I pray.

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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Forgiveness

7 Apr

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

FORGIVENESS…what a word…what a concept.  And such a difficult thing to wrap our minds around, let alone our actions.

Do you have a difficult time forgiving someone?  Something someone does?  I think it comes with human nature – and after all, we have our pride, right?

One of my very favorite books is called Cafenova, written by S. Jane Scheyder.

It is the first book in the Clairmont Series.  If you are a reader and haven’t yet read any of Ms. Scheyder’s books, I encourage you to do so.  Wonderful Christian author and book series.  In it, Ms. Scheyder has an older gentleman (Otis – 80 years old), giving his neighbor (Maddy – 29 year old B&B owner) his excellent definition of forgiveness.  I have Ms. Scheyder’s and her publishers permission (Andres&Blanton) to quote from Cafenova here.  And you’ll just have to find the book to read “the rest of the story.”  It’s well-worth your time.

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            “I don’t know,” she said as they finished their sandwiches.  “It sounds easy, the way you talk about it, but it’s really…hard,” she finished, for lack of a better argument.

            “Forgiveness came at quite a price.  I figure God has the right to tell us how to do it.”

            “I can’t argue with that,” Maddy said softly.  She hadn’t forgotten everything she’d learned in Sunday School.  “But what if you feel like part of your issue is with God?  I mean,” she hesitated, struggling to express herself.  “Sometimes I feel angry with Him for letting this whole thing happen.”

            She knew she wasn’t alone.  Many of her friends were disillusioned, and had abandoned any religious practices that they’d grown up with, and God along with them.  Some of them, if they were honest, didn’t actually reject the concept of God, they were angry with Him.

            “The trouble is,” Otis replied slowly, “people have this idea that God owes them something, as though creating them, redeeming them and promising them a perfect eternity weren’t enough.”  He shook his head.  “Jesus never said that life on this Earth would be easy.  In fact, He assured us that it would be hard.  Most of us have it so good that we can’t comprehend suffering, and when it happens, we’re shocked and angry with God.”  He stopped and looked out over the water.

            “Somehow we’ve come to believe in this image of God as a sort of genie figure who grants our wishes when we pray.  That’s fine, as long as everything goes our way.  But as soon as something goes wrong we get angry, because that doesn’t fit our image of how we think God should behave.

            “People don’t take the time to get to know God the way He chose to reveal Himself, and that’s through this,” Otis put his hand gently on his Bible.  “The truth is all in here, and everything we need for sorting it out when life hurts,” Otis sighed.  “I guess people don’t want to work that hard.”

            “….He [Otis] turned earnestly to Maddy.  “I know that you feel like something was taken away from you.  I don’t know what you went through with that boy in Seattle.  What was his name?”

            “Phil.”

            “I don’t know what that Phil put you through, but it must have been pretty bad…..”

            “But as long as we’re talking about God giving and taking, did it ever occur to you that God took you away from Phil, and for good reason?”

            “….Again, I don’t know the fellow,” Otis pressed, “but knowing what you know about him now, can’t you at least acknowledge that maybe God did you a favor by taking him out of your life?  Maybe it didn’t happen in a very nice way, I don’t know, but did you ever think that God allowed that, so when you finally healed up inside you would never second-guess whether that boy, that Phil, was really the right man for you?”

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God wants us to forgive any and all wrongs done to us.  It’s not to help the one who did the wrong – it is to free US from that weight of grief and sorrow.  After all…look what Jesus did to forgive us – He hung on that cross and died, and asked God the Father to forgive them – and that means you and me!

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”

Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times

Matthew 18:21

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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