Author: Judy Glasser

Life is a journey. Sometimes I'm coasting downhill and, other times, its a tough road uphill. My journey has been straight uphill since May 19, 2016 when my son, David Glasser, who was a Phoenix Police Officer was killed in the line of duty. When my life and dreams blew apart, I only had one option - to hold on tightly to my Rock, my Father God. I have a new understanding of just how short life is and how important it is to take loving each other seriously. God is love and all love comes from him. I have seen love do supernatural things since my son was killed. I have published a book, "Then I Looked Up: Losing a Child, Finding His Legacy of Love." about my tough and painful journey since my son was killed. You can order it from Amazon or you can get an autographed copy by contacting me on messenger. I am sharing some of my experiences as a survivor of a line of duty death in MYFAMILYBLEEDSBLUE.COM. Please feel free to share these blogs with anyone you know who might find them helpful. My other blog - JOURNEYTOWARDSTHETRUTH.COM - has been a work of love for many years as I read through the Chronological Daily Bible each year and share what I hear from God when he stops me. I am inviting you to come along on one or both of my journeys. Please share as often as you'd like. Thanks so much for reading!

How Did I Get Here?

On By Judy GlasserIn October5 Comments

We can spend all of our lives just reacting to whatever happens to us.

Our days quickly fly by as we focus on taking care of the urgent.

Meanwhile, we totally miss the important.

God tells us several times in the first couple of chapters of Haggai that we should give careful thought to our ways.

Where are the decisions we are making going to take us?

If we give careful thought to our choices and plans today, we should not be surprised by where we end up.

In Haggai, God told the Israelites that they had done a lot of planting but they had harvested little.  They ate but they were still hungry.  They drank but it was never enough.sept-26-2016-give-careful-thought

Do you ever feel like that?  It’s never enough?

Do you lack contentment and peace and fulfillment?

I think we all do at various times…..but is it an everyday thing for any of us?

God tells us to give careful thoughts to our ways…..

because our choices are going to determine our destination.

Take a look….sept-26-2016-give-careful-thought-b

if you don’t like where you’re headed, you can change your direction.

And the best direction you can choose is to turn towards God.

He is always ready

and willing

to help.

Thank you, dear Father.

Don’t Focus On It

On By Judy GlasserIn September2 Comments

Look around – there are so many things happening around us that can be very discouraging.

All around us families are crumbling – very discouraging.

Our politics – extremely discouraging.

An overall lack of respect  – very discouraging.

We can easily lose our motivation for being agents for God in this world.

Agents for good.

Agents who are pushing back the darkness so God’s light can shine through.

Yep – we will become very discouraged by all the craziness around us if we take our eyes off of God and focus on ‘what’s wrong with the world’.

This is not a new problem.

In the Bible, Ezra tells us about the joy of the Jews as they resettled in Jerusalem after returning from their exile in Babylonia.  They rebuilt the foundation of the temple and then held large celebrations.sept-24-2016-dont-look

These parties attracted the attention of their enemies who offered to ‘help’ them build the rest of the temple.  The Jews were smart enough not to accept their ‘kind’ offer so their enemies decided to find ways to discourage the Jews from finishing the temple.

They tried to scare the Jews so they would be afraid to continue their building.

They tried to make it very difficult for the Jews to continue to build.

They even got the officials on their side, trying to stop the Jews from finishing the temple.sept-23-2016-dont-look-b

But nothing stopped the Jews.

Because they kept their eyes on God.

He gave them courage to continue.

He gave them the strength they needed to continue.

And God even  worked it out so that the pagan Persian Officials paid for the rest of the temple’s construction as well as the first sacrifices that were made in it.

There was no need for the Jews to be discouraged.

God was in charge then –  just like he is in charge today.

He is working out his plan today…

and every day.

Thank you, Abba Father.

 

 

Persistent Knocking

On By Judy GlasserIn SeptemberLeave a comment

Our conversations with God are often filled with requests.  And, throughout the Bible, God tells us over and over to come to him with all kinds of requests.  He tells us to lay our cares at his feet and leave them.

One of my favorite parables is the story of the Persistent widow.  She knocked and knocked and continued to knock on the door of the unjust judge until he finally took care of her issue and gave her justice so he could get rid of her.  As Jesus told this story, he then tells us ‘how much more’ our heavenly Father loves us so we should have no doubt he will take care of our concerns when we ‘knock on his door’.

I have used this ‘persistent widow’ method in the middle of several stressful situations in my life.  These were times where I needed to make a decision and I needed an answer from him so I knocked on God’s door until he answered.  This meant that I prayed about this issue every time it entered my head – easily 50 to 80 times in a day.

I found that many of these times, God changed my perspective as I prayed and listened.  He has actually changed my perspective in the middle of these stressful times more often than he gave me a direct answer.  By the end of some of these days, my understanding of what was going on was drastically different at the end of the day from when I started that morning.  That’s so ‘like’ him, don’t you think?

So now I don’t usually pray for a specific answer- I pray for understanding of what is  going on and directions for how to move forward.

In Chapter 9, Daniel reminds us in his penitent prayer that we don’t make requests of God because we are righteous.  We don’t make requests because we have done a lot of good things so now its God’s turn to pay us back.

We don’t make requests because we’re ‘good enough’.

We’ll never be good enough on our own.

We can make our requests of God because he is merciful.  We can make requests because he is full of grace.

We can make requests because he loved us first and sent his Son to die for us.  Jesus makes us good enough.

Thank you, Abba Father.

The Writing on the Wall

On By Judy GlasserIn SeptemberLeave a comment

A human hand appears in the middle of King Belshazzar’s great banquet and it writes a message on the wall.

This would definitely get my attention.sept-21-2016-writing-a

And this is where we get the saying, ‘ I can read the writing on the wall’.  Many of us don’t know that this comes from the Bible.

King Belshazzar could not read the handwriting on the wall so he consulted with Daniel who was well-known for being able to interpret things when no one else could.

Daniel read the writing on the wall and told the king that God was bringing his reign to an end because the king had not acknowledged God as sovereign over all the kingdoms on earth.

That very night, the message on the wall was fulfilled and Belshazzar was killed.

One part of the message on the wall was ‘Tekel’ which means you have been weighed on the scales and found wanting.

The bad news for all of us is – our scales don’t look any better.  Our rebellion.  Our need for control.  Our self-centeredness.  Our busyness which causes us to ignore God – not have enough time for him.

The writing on our wall would have the same message…..

except for the fact that God loved us so much that he gave us an ‘out’.

He sent his perfect son, Jesus, to save us from the eternal separation from God which we have earned.  The entire Bible is a love story about how God created us in his image and desires to have a close, personal relationship with us.

God offers a gift of grace to each one of us which we first have to accept in order to get the scales moved in our favor.

Through Christ’s sacrifice, we can become precious children of God who are never ‘found wanting’ because Jesus did it all for us….

for all time.

It is finished.

Thank you, Jesus.

 

Psalm 89A, 2016

On By Judy GlasserIn SeptemberLeave a comment

I will sing of the LORD’s great love forever.

I will tell everyone about your faithfulness to me.sept-18-2016-psalm-89a

I am confident that your love for us has no end.  You say in your Word that we, as believers, are your chosen ones.  We are a part of your church which is the Bride of Christ.

We join with all creation to praise you, LORD!

No one and nothing compares with you.  You are more awesome than all who surround you.  You rule over the sea and the waves.  The heavens and earth are yours and everything in them.

You created the north and the south.sept-18-2016-psalm-89a-b

You are powerful and strong.

You define justice and righteousness as well as love and faithfulness.

We are blessed when we walk in your light and truth, LORD.

We rejoice all day long because we know you.  You are our strength and our protector.

We will sing of your great love forever, Abba Father!

How Great!

On By Judy GlasserIn SeptemberLeave a comment

How Great is our God!sept-16-2016-how-great-a

We can’t understand him!  His existence will never end.

Raindrops fall at his command – purified as they pour out of the clouds.   His thunder rolls out of the heavens and he scatters his lightening – sending it down to the depths of the sea.

His lightening hits its mark.  His thunder announces the approaching storm so that all creatures know its coming.

His majestic voice roars with the thunder – resounding out over the earth.  His voice is marvelous – beyond our understanding.

He sends the snow and the mighty downpour of rain to stop people from their labor so they can see and know his mighty work.sept-16-2016-how-great-b

‘The breath of God produces ice and the broad waters become frozen.’ (Job 37: 10 ).

He loads the clouds with moisture and his lightening flashes through them as they swirl over the face of the earth according to his commands.  His clouds can punish people.  They can also water his earth and show his love.

How Great is Our God!

We love you, Abba Father.

 

It Has Been Decided

On By Judy GlasserIn September31 Comments

As many of you know, our son, David, was a Phoenix Police Officer who was killed in the line of duty on May 19, 2016.  These last 4 months have been the most difficult and painful time of my life.

One of the ways God has comforted me is through this truth – ” A person’s days are determined; you have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed.” Job 14:5.dave-and-grandma-at-northwestern

God has already decided which day will be the last day of your life here on earth and mine.

Knowing this helped me let go of my mother when she passed away 11 years ago.  We had a very close relationship and she was my role-model for how a Christian woman lives her life faithful to God – all the way to her last breath here on earth.  I realized, if God wanted her in heaven with him, then that’s what I wanted for her.

Ten years ago I found myself in ICU with twelve blood clots in my lungs – a life-threatening situation.  God told me clearly that I wasn’t going to die from that and I didn’t – even though 5 doctors told me the blood clots should have killed me.davey-and-grandma-rolls

It just wasn’t my day.

I know that God has reasons for picking May 19 as Davey’s final day here on earth. I may never understand those reasons but I trust God.   And, since God wants him in heaven, that’s what I want for him.

Knowing that this date was determined before Davey was born helps me avoid needless regrets…like –

  • I wish he hadn’t gone on that call.davey-and-mom
    • It wouldn’t have mattered.  This was his day.
  • I wish he hadn’t gone to work that day.
    • It would have happened no matter what he was doing.
  • I wish he hadn’t been a police officer.
    • He was born to be a police officer and he died honorably, serving his community and doing what he loved to do.  He wouldn’t have wanted to live or die any other way.

It was decided.  There is no ‘wishing’ something else had happened.  God decreed the number of Davey’s days here on earth and then he took Davey home.

Now, standing a foundation of God’s love and strength and grace, the rest of us are left on the earth to figure out how to move forward.  We need to figure out why we’re still here – what is God’s purpose for keeping us here?  And then we need to do it….until the day arrives that is already decided for us.

Meanwhile, through the tears, we focus on loving God and loving each other.

A bigger chunk of my heart is now in heaven with you, Abba Father.

He Is Roaming the Earth

On By Judy GlasserIn SeptemberLeave a comment

Why is there so much evil in the world?

sept-8-2016-he-is-roaming-the-earthWhy are our families being torn apart?

Why are addictions the plague of our century?

Why are innocent children being abused and killed?

Why do bad things happen to good people?

Satan takes the credit for all of this in the first chapter of Job.

He tells God that he just got back from “roaming the earth, going back and forth on it.” (vs 7 )

And Satan leaves a wide path of destruction wherever he goes.

That’s what we’re seeing – the work of Satan.

Satan smiles whenever we lie.

He smiles when we do anything that wrecks a relationship or a marriage.

He smiles when we are impatient.  (Oww!  These all relate to me but this one hits the bullseye).

He smiles when we are self-centered and focus on #1 (ourselves).

Satan smiles when he can do anything to distract us from our relationship with God.  He’ll even bring good things into our lives if they will lure us away from God.

Satan is roaming……

today…..

everyday…..

going back and forth……

back and forth.

We need a full set of your spiritual armor each day, Abba Father.

 

Then There Were Four

On By Judy GlasserIn SeptemberLeave a comment

It’s a well-known Biblical account.September 4 2016 then there were 4

Three men refused to worship the evil king’s golden idol so the king threw them into a blazing furnace.  The furnace was so hot that it killed the solders who got close enough to throw the men in.

Here’s a detail of the story that I missed until I started reading the entire Bible.   Not sure why I missed it – maybe it was left out of the children’s version of this story 🙂

The king looked into the furnace and saw 4 men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed.

4 men – not 3.

The king called the 4th person an angel.  I’ve heard others say it was Jesus.  Whoever it was, he was sent by God to protect Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in a personal way – they walked in the fire together.

There wasn’t a long magic wand waved in heaven.

The furnace didn’t break when they were thrown it.

The fire didn’t turn to ice.

God had an unimaginable number of ways he could have saved these 3 men.

And he chose to send his rescuer personally into the fire with them.

To walk with them- just like he walks with us when we are in the middle of a fire in our lives.

Our fires can look like failure….

grief……

disease……

disappointment….

betrayal…..

and so much more.

Our God walks in the fire with us – protecting us and guiding us.

We often don’t get right out of the fire.  We end up living in it and walking around in it for awhile.

When we remain faithful in the fire, God uses this time to grow our character, grow our perseverance and grow our faith.

In our lives, God doesn’t always take the fire away – but he gives us peace in the fire.  And he gives us opportunities to share with others what we are learning about God’s faithfulness as we walk together in the fire.

Great is your faithfulness, oh God, my Father.

Rebuilt and Replaced

On By Judy GlasserIn SeptemberLeave a comment

The bright light of restoration regularly weaves itself through the bloodshed and violence of the Old Testament.

God’s restoration…..of us.Sept 2 2016 a new spirit - this one

Ezekiel’s words of condemnation  for idolatry and rebelliousness suddenly morph into a love story (Chapter 36) as God promises to sprinkle water on us to clean us from our impurities.

God promises to give us a new heart and a new spirit.  He promised the Israelites that he would put his spirit in them.   Today, he does that immediately when we accept salvation through Jesus Christ.  God’s Spirit lives in us, helping us to obey when we listen and respond to his directions.

God promises to rebuild the things that are ruined in our lives.  He promises that the desolation of our souls will be replaced by a fruitful, beautiful garden like the Garden of Eden.  The destroyed pieces of our lives will come back alive.sept 2 2016 a new spirit b

Then those around us will know “that I, the LORD, have rebuilt what was destroyed and have replanted what was desolate.  I, the LORD, have spoken and I will do it.” (vs 36).

The ruined rebuilt.

The desolation replaced.

Does any of this sound good to you?

Thank you for your restoring love and grace, Abba Father.