Welcome to My Blog
Welcome! Everyone needs a place for his or her heart. I remember well the day I first made that discovery and cried out to God to give it to me...
It was one of those beautiful late summer days high in the Colorado Rockies. It was as if the mountain knew that the dark cold days of winter were just ahead and was desperately trying to hang onto the last few days of summer warmth. As I visited the mountain that weekend, my heart felt the same way, for I knew the dark cold days of winter were just ahead in my life, and I was desperately trying to hang onto any last little bit of hope I could muster up within me. You see, I was in the midst of a broken and dying marriage. All my hopes and dreams had died. Hopelessness and fear had become my constant companion and even while sitting in a sunny green meadow watching my children play, the despair ran even deeper because I knew life ahead would not be easy for them either. Then suddenly, without warning, tears began streaming down my face as I found myself crying out to God: "If you're not going to heal my marriage, won't you please give me a place for my heart."
Backing up a bit, I was not born into a Christian home, but I was born into a good home. Both my parents, you see, were born into homes in which they were taught that the way to God was by being good, and so they did their best to provide a good home for me and my five siblings. There was no question they believed in God, however, aside from memorized mealtime and bedtimes prayers, God's name was rarely mentioned in our home, and we were a family that attended church two times a year, at best.
But the year I turned seven, everything changed. One afternoon, two college-aged girls went door-to-door in our neighborhood inviting all the children to attend a kid's Bible Club at a local church one day a week after school. My mom said "yes" we could go so my two sisters and I began attending that club and it soon became the highlight of our week. We played games, sang songs, had delicious treats and my favorite part, the Bible stories. I'd never heard them before, and we had a masterful storyteller who made them come alive. It seems almost like yesterday when I sat on that hard wooden chair waiting with bated breath for her to unfold another captivating story. The best one of all was that of Queen Esther. Our storyteller made it last about six weeks, always leaving us with a cliff-hanger, and I couldn't wait to get back to hear the next episode.
Little-by-little in that kid's club I began to see that life depended upon someone even greater than my parents, and it was there that I first began to sense my need of a Savior. Thus, it wasn't long before I did invite Jesus to come and live within my heart. My sister did too, and being a lot more outgoing than I, she told my parents that she no longer had to hope she'd make it to heaven, she knew she would be there because Jesus lived in her heart. Well, at this point our parents decided to check out what their daughters were learning, and they soon began to attend that little church and eventually they too, gave their hearts to Jesus. After that, our family was in church most every time the doors were open and as time went on, I learned more and more about God.
But somehow on the way to adulthood, I missed the message that Christianity is so much more than being assured of a home in heaven when we die, but it's a growing one-on-one relationship with the living God. And so by the time I was a young mom with two beautiful children and began facing the challenges of life, I looked around and saw that my life wasn't much different from those who didn't claim to know God, and thus I began to doubt if He was even real. If He was real, where was He? Over time, that doubt grew within me, and one night the conflict became so great that I knew I had to deal with it so I took my Bible, got on my knees beside my bed and asked God--if He was real--to prove Himself in some unmistakable way and if He would do so, I told Him I would follow Him anywhere.
I had no clue of the depth of my plea or even if God was listening, but after I finished praying, I picked up my Bible--I guess to make it official--and read through all five chapters of 1st Peter and nothing happened. But when I came to the first few verses of 2nd Peter, it was like a light turned on, both in my heart and my mind, and I knew God was speaking directly to me, deep within my being. His voice couldn't have been more real had it been audible.
Paraphrasing what I read that night, this is what God said to me: "If you want peace, then get to know Me better and better, and I will give you everything you need to live a fulfilled life." That is exactly what I wanted--peace and fulfillment--both of which had escaped my grasp. Suddenly, I got it! God was handing me these things on a silver platter, and I wasn't about to let them slip away. My part was to get to know Him better and better, the only way of which I knew was to read about Him in His Word, the Bible. So that very night I made a commitment to read a little bit every day, getting up just a little earlier every morning. Oh, I had read the Bible before, but now my purpose was different. I was reading, not simply out of obedience, I was reading to get to know God better and better.
I started in the book of Mark which is a book of action about the life of Jesus, and slowly but surely I began to fall deeply in love with Jesus as He began to heal my bruised and broken heart. Soon, I began to sense the need to join with others on the same journey, and one Sunday in church I heard about a women's Bible Study so I signed up. I must admit, it was one of the hardest things I ever did. Actually, that first day I drove around the block three or four times before I had he courage to go inside. It did take me awhile to find my place, but I knew I had heard the voice of God and I wasn't about to let anyone or anything dissuade me from pursuing Him.
I was in that study for a number of years, and along the way, through a series of events, I met one of my neighbors who eventually I was privileged to introduce to Jesus. That afternoon, after she had prayed to receive Him, she said something that put my life on a brand new course. She said: "I've never read the Bible before, and I don't know where to start." Little did I know what I was getting into, but I told her I would help her so one day a week she came to my home and while sitting at my kitchen table, over cups of hot coffee, she and I read together. No agenda, just reading the Scripture and talking about it. Soon another friend asked to join us and before I knew it I had 17 women meeting one night a week in my home reading God's Word and sharing our lives with one another and I found myself to be a Bible Study leader. Eventually, I started leading a women's Bible study at church, and now, in this stage of life, that's what I do. I read and study God's word and pass His truth onto other women.
You see, ever since that night when God spoke deep into my heart, my passion has been to get to know Him better and better, and along the way, He has also answered my prayer of long ago on the mountain when I asked Him to give me A Place for my Heart. In a thousand ways, he has done that! I've come to relate to the words of the prophet Jeremiah when he said to God in Jeremiah 15:16: "When I discovered your words, I devoured them. They are my joy and my heart's delight,..." It's true, you see, devouring God's word brings a joy and delight otherwise unknown. And that is the perfect place for ones heart!
It was one of those beautiful late summer days high in the Colorado Rockies. It was as if the mountain knew that the dark cold days of winter were just ahead and was desperately trying to hang onto the last few days of summer warmth. As I visited the mountain that weekend, my heart felt the same way, for I knew the dark cold days of winter were just ahead in my life, and I was desperately trying to hang onto any last little bit of hope I could muster up within me. You see, I was in the midst of a broken and dying marriage. All my hopes and dreams had died. Hopelessness and fear had become my constant companion and even while sitting in a sunny green meadow watching my children play, the despair ran even deeper because I knew life ahead would not be easy for them either. Then suddenly, without warning, tears began streaming down my face as I found myself crying out to God: "If you're not going to heal my marriage, won't you please give me a place for my heart."
Backing up a bit, I was not born into a Christian home, but I was born into a good home. Both my parents, you see, were born into homes in which they were taught that the way to God was by being good, and so they did their best to provide a good home for me and my five siblings. There was no question they believed in God, however, aside from memorized mealtime and bedtimes prayers, God's name was rarely mentioned in our home, and we were a family that attended church two times a year, at best.
But the year I turned seven, everything changed. One afternoon, two college-aged girls went door-to-door in our neighborhood inviting all the children to attend a kid's Bible Club at a local church one day a week after school. My mom said "yes" we could go so my two sisters and I began attending that club and it soon became the highlight of our week. We played games, sang songs, had delicious treats and my favorite part, the Bible stories. I'd never heard them before, and we had a masterful storyteller who made them come alive. It seems almost like yesterday when I sat on that hard wooden chair waiting with bated breath for her to unfold another captivating story. The best one of all was that of Queen Esther. Our storyteller made it last about six weeks, always leaving us with a cliff-hanger, and I couldn't wait to get back to hear the next episode.
Little-by-little in that kid's club I began to see that life depended upon someone even greater than my parents, and it was there that I first began to sense my need of a Savior. Thus, it wasn't long before I did invite Jesus to come and live within my heart. My sister did too, and being a lot more outgoing than I, she told my parents that she no longer had to hope she'd make it to heaven, she knew she would be there because Jesus lived in her heart. Well, at this point our parents decided to check out what their daughters were learning, and they soon began to attend that little church and eventually they too, gave their hearts to Jesus. After that, our family was in church most every time the doors were open and as time went on, I learned more and more about God.
But somehow on the way to adulthood, I missed the message that Christianity is so much more than being assured of a home in heaven when we die, but it's a growing one-on-one relationship with the living God. And so by the time I was a young mom with two beautiful children and began facing the challenges of life, I looked around and saw that my life wasn't much different from those who didn't claim to know God, and thus I began to doubt if He was even real. If He was real, where was He? Over time, that doubt grew within me, and one night the conflict became so great that I knew I had to deal with it so I took my Bible, got on my knees beside my bed and asked God--if He was real--to prove Himself in some unmistakable way and if He would do so, I told Him I would follow Him anywhere.
I had no clue of the depth of my plea or even if God was listening, but after I finished praying, I picked up my Bible--I guess to make it official--and read through all five chapters of 1st Peter and nothing happened. But when I came to the first few verses of 2nd Peter, it was like a light turned on, both in my heart and my mind, and I knew God was speaking directly to me, deep within my being. His voice couldn't have been more real had it been audible.
Paraphrasing what I read that night, this is what God said to me: "If you want peace, then get to know Me better and better, and I will give you everything you need to live a fulfilled life." That is exactly what I wanted--peace and fulfillment--both of which had escaped my grasp. Suddenly, I got it! God was handing me these things on a silver platter, and I wasn't about to let them slip away. My part was to get to know Him better and better, the only way of which I knew was to read about Him in His Word, the Bible. So that very night I made a commitment to read a little bit every day, getting up just a little earlier every morning. Oh, I had read the Bible before, but now my purpose was different. I was reading, not simply out of obedience, I was reading to get to know God better and better.
I started in the book of Mark which is a book of action about the life of Jesus, and slowly but surely I began to fall deeply in love with Jesus as He began to heal my bruised and broken heart. Soon, I began to sense the need to join with others on the same journey, and one Sunday in church I heard about a women's Bible Study so I signed up. I must admit, it was one of the hardest things I ever did. Actually, that first day I drove around the block three or four times before I had he courage to go inside. It did take me awhile to find my place, but I knew I had heard the voice of God and I wasn't about to let anyone or anything dissuade me from pursuing Him.
I was in that study for a number of years, and along the way, through a series of events, I met one of my neighbors who eventually I was privileged to introduce to Jesus. That afternoon, after she had prayed to receive Him, she said something that put my life on a brand new course. She said: "I've never read the Bible before, and I don't know where to start." Little did I know what I was getting into, but I told her I would help her so one day a week she came to my home and while sitting at my kitchen table, over cups of hot coffee, she and I read together. No agenda, just reading the Scripture and talking about it. Soon another friend asked to join us and before I knew it I had 17 women meeting one night a week in my home reading God's Word and sharing our lives with one another and I found myself to be a Bible Study leader. Eventually, I started leading a women's Bible study at church, and now, in this stage of life, that's what I do. I read and study God's word and pass His truth onto other women.
You see, ever since that night when God spoke deep into my heart, my passion has been to get to know Him better and better, and along the way, He has also answered my prayer of long ago on the mountain when I asked Him to give me A Place for my Heart. In a thousand ways, he has done that! I've come to relate to the words of the prophet Jeremiah when he said to God in Jeremiah 15:16: "When I discovered your words, I devoured them. They are my joy and my heart's delight,..." It's true, you see, devouring God's word brings a joy and delight otherwise unknown. And that is the perfect place for ones heart!
Meet Judy
Judy Rose Grubaugh is an author, speaker and woman of God. She currently leads weekly Bible studies at her church in Orange County. She has been married to Ron for 39 years, is the mother of Jonathan and Jennifer, grandmother of seven and great-grandmother of two. Her hobbies include red-work embroidery and reading, but her main interest is spending time in God's Word and passing His truth onto other women.