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!

As the Darkness Spreads…..

On By Judy GlasserIn FebruaryLeave a comment

we live in the light!

Just like the Israelites did in Egypt.Ex 10

As one of the plagues, Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky and darkness spread over  Egypt.  It was so dark that no one could see anyone else for 3 days.

Yet the Israelites had light in the places where they lived.

It’s hard to ignore the darkness spreading through our culture today, isn’t it?  Turn on your TV and the immorality literally jumps out of the screen at us.  Respect for human lives is crumbling as the bullets fly.  Parents refusing to parent are ripping apart the fabric of our families.  The list is growing.

Yet Christ-followers live in the light of God’s truth and his mercy and his love.

Our future is as brighter than the sun.  Heaven has no need of a sun because God is there.  He is the source of all warmth and light and good things.  There is no darkness there.  Hallelujah!

And it’s a challenge to live like one who is in the light when we are surrounded by our world, isn’t it? We’re tempted to be sucked into the darkness, the confusion, the chaos.  It’s all around us….everywhere.

But it can’t touch us when we are firmly anchored on our Rock, who is God.  We are safe when we’re being held tightly in His grip – he’ll never let go.  When we live closely to God, his light shines into our lives and lights up our paths. 

In the midst of the darkness.

Thank you, dear Father.

It Felt Like Years

On By Judy GlasserIn JanuaryLeave a comment

Two years, in fact!

Joseph interpreted the dream of Pharoah’s cupbearer and all he asked for in return was that the cupbearer remember Joseph when he got out of prison.  Just like the dream, the cupbearer was released from prison and given back his job,

but he forgot about Joseph for 2 years.Gen 41.2

Two years of sitting in prison, waiting to be remembered!  Will it ever happen?  Joseph had already experienced hatred, betrayal and treachery coming at him from all angles and now this!

Throughout Joseph’s story, we continue to hear that God was with him.  We know that God was with him in prison – he helped him interpret the dreams. God has told us that he has a plan and a purpose for everything.  So God must have had 2 more years worth of things to teach Joseph in prison – hence, the delay.

But we don’t like delays.  Patience in the face of diversity is a tough challenge.  We don’t like it.  It feels like God is not answering our prayers. 

It’s the trust factor, again.  It’s knowing that, contrary to my circumstances right now, God has the best planned for me.  He is working things out for me.

Right now……..even if it takes 2 years.

Driving a stake….

On By Judy GlasserIn JanuaryLeave a comment

into the ground.Gen 31

In this passage, we see Jacob taking a stone and setting it up as a pillar to commemorate the agreement between himself and Laban, his father-in-law.

We often see people in the Bible setting up pillars or altars to remind them of an event or an agreement.

From this day forward…..

and here is the reminder.

I think we might do a better job of keeping our commitments if we would set up pillars to remind ourselves.  Well, not exactly pillars :), but reminders.

When I decided that I was going to get serious about reading my Bible, I started putting it out in the family room where I saw it all the time.  It was a very helpful reminder and I ended up reading it a lot more often because whenever I saw it, I remembered my committment to God and myself.

Some people tape special Bible verses onto their bathroom mirrors so they see them every day and are reminded of God’s promises.

Simple, but effective.  What are some other things we can do to help remind ourselves of the committments we have made to God?

It’s So Easy…..

On By Judy GlasserIn JanuaryLeave a comment

to satisfy our immediate needs and give up something that would be a big benefit to us in the future.Gen 25

Esau does this when he sells his birthright for some food because he was ‘famished’.

What do we sell when we’re famished?  When we feel like we really need something…..and we really need it now.

Many of us have sold ourselves to our creditors when we get into a lot of  debt to buy things we really, really need right now.  As a result, we have to work too much and stress too much, losing our joy and sacrificing precious time with our family.

Many of us have sold ourselves to sports, hobbies and recreation to the point that we don’t have time for God.  We give up all the blessings God wants to lavish upon us when we make no time for him in our schedules.

Whenever we feel short-changed by life or are experiencing a  lack of joy in our lives, we need to remember that we can do something about it.  We can turn back to God and set our eyes on him.  We can choose the ‘better’ things that are available to us through a solid relationship with him. 

We won’t feel ‘famished’ when we have a strong faith in God.

Insanity

On By Judy GlasserIn JanuaryLeave a comment

Abraham  does it again!  He tells another king, King Abimelek, that Sarah is his sister!Gen 20.2

He got caught and was ejected from the town the last time he did this – why is he doing it again?

We would never do that, would we?

We would never make the same mistake over and over like Abraham…..

or would we?

If we’re honest with each other, we’ll admit that we do this regularly – especially when we’re dealing with relationship issues or parenting issues.  We just keep hammering the same nails over and over and wonder why the situation doesn’t improve.  We’re really in trouble when we blame the other person each time.  It’s really easy to blame someone else – then we don’t have to own our part.

I was told many years ago that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over yet expecting a different outcome 🙂  Realizing the insanity can help motivate us to spend some extra energy is thinking of new ways to approach an issue.

Try something different.  It might work!  At least it won’t be the same old mistake.  It might be a new mistake but we can learn from it and try something else.

Will Abraham learn his lesson this second time God told on him and he got caught?  We’ll have to read the rest of the story and find out!

Passing the Test

On By Judy GlasserIn JanuaryLeave a comment

Dear Heavenly Father,

We ask you to grow in us the faith and trust that our Father Abraham had in you.

You tested him and he trusted you.Gen 22

He knew you would provide….in some way.  He didn’t know how.  You gave him no clues.

But he obeyed.  He was willing to sacrifice his only son because he loved you.

Like your sacrifice of your only son, Jesus, for us……because you love us.

When we experience trials, dear Father, we want to trust you.  We know that you are working all things out for those that love you.  We can’t see the end.  You rarely give us any clues.  It’s so easy to become anxious and try to take care of things ourselves…..

Until we lift up our eyes and focus on you.  Then we know the answer.  Your word lights our path.  Trust paves the way to peace.  Your peace, dear Father.

We love you.  Please keep drawing us nearer.

Don’t Look Back

On By Judy GlasserIn JanuaryLeave a comment

No one in the Bible teaches us this lesson better than Lot’s wife.Gen 19.1

Out of his infinite mercy, God answered Abrams prayers to save Lot and his wife from the rain of fire and death coming down on Sodom and Gomorrah.  They were saved! 

Yet Lot’s wife disobeyed and looked back.  As a result of her disobedience, God turned her into a pillar of salt.

Can you commiserate with Lot’s wife?  I can. Isn’t it hard sometimes not to be tugged backward to maybe a time we felt safer?  A time we felt happier?  A time we were more comfortable or maybe our lives were closer to what we thought they should be?

Yet God has saved us for a purpose….and that purpose is always for now and  the future.  We won’t find it by looking backward.  And we definitely won’t fulfill that purpose by looking back.

How easily we can find ourselves comparing what’s going on today with how things used to be.  This is a pattern that become easier and easier as we get older.

What about if we start comparing today to how it could be tomorrow if we fulfill our purpose in God’s plan?  How much better could it be if we encouraged each other to be all that God wants us to be?  He has big plans for us – what would happen if all of us jumped into those plans with no holds barred?

The best if yet to be!

Not The Truth

On By Judy GlasserIn JanuaryLeave a comment

Abram tells Sarai to lie.  He tells her to say that he is her brother, not her husband.  He rationalizes the lie – she’s so beautiful that someone may kill him just to get her.

So Abram comp Gen 12.3romises his integrity and then tells Sarai to do it as well.

He’s worried…..he doesn’t trust God to take care of the situation.

Is this starting to sound familiar?

Unfortunately, this is also too true in our lives, isn’t it?

We worry.

We’re anxious.

We decide to take things into our hands – help God out a little bit.

We just can’t totally lay this issue at his feet and let him take care of it,

even though he’s often the only one who could possibly take care of it.

Let’s make a New Year’s Resolution to worry less and trust more!

Thank you, dear Father, for your promise to always work things out for our good.  We know that you always keep your promises.

In The Beginning

On By Judy GlasserIn JanuaryLeave a comment

It’s already started – another year!in the beginning

The last year raced by and I’m sure this next one will do the same.

You probably has some New Year’s Resolutions that you’ve started.  I know I do.

And this is one of them – I’m going to read through the Bible again this year.

Even though last year whizzed by, I was able to read everything God chose to write down for us.

And it was a blessing.

Every chapter.

Well, maybe not Lamentations 🙂

This year I’m reading a One Year Chronological Bible.  Several years ago I read it chronologically and it was a very different experience.  I especially enjoyed reading the books of Kings because all of the prophets (who are usually at the end of the Old Testament) are sprinkled throughout the books….like it was when it actually happened.

I’m inviting you once again on a journey through the Bible….a journey toward more of God’s truth etched in our minds and engraved on our hearts.

God has promised us that it will be worth it!

Test Me!

On By Judy GlasserIn DecemberLeave a comment

God promises in Malachi to bless us so greatly that we won’t have enough room for it all.Dec 31

He says that this will happen when we bring all of our tithes into his storehouse.

“I will open the windows of heaven for you,” he promises us.

And then he tells us to try it – to test him.

Have you ever tried this?

It’s true.  As we learn to tithe, we will start to experience these promises coming true in our lives.  As we learn to give offerings above and beyond our tithe, we experience even more of these blessings in our lives.

When we’re obedient in this area of our lives, we have stories.  These are stories about God’s supernatural provision in our lives.  Stories about times when he opened up the windows of heaven for us – in just the right way and at just the right time.  All as a result of  the bringing of our tithes and offerings into his storehouse.

Test him!  You’ll see!