THE NEW EWE

"What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!'"

Luke 15:4-6

March 17, 2021

LIFE IN THE FOLD:

I am very sentimental. I cherish things that have special meaning or that were made by or belonged to family. Everywhere I look around my house, I love it that I see many items that have a story.

Here are just a few treasures from my living room: For many years we had an old wooden chest sitting in our garage filled with tools that once belonged to Jon's grandfather. So a few years ago, I had a man from our church build a display case for many of those old tools, and that is hanging on one of our walls. Jon's cousin, Luke, was multi-talented for speaking, writing, and drawing cartoons and caricatures.

One Christmas I sent him a picture of Jon's family when Jon was maybe a couple years old. He drew a caricature of that photo. For Jon, his mom and siblings, I framed that caricature drawing, with the original photo below. Luke passed away a couple years ago from lymphoma cancer, so this has extra-special meaning now. That is hanging in our living room.

We, also, have a special duck print which a good friend of Jon's dad had given him several years ago. That is hanging on the same wall as the framed picture that Luke drew.

We have a bookcase with glass-front doors that had belonged to Jon's parents. We have many special treasures displayed in that cabinet. There are things that belonged to my parents, items that we bought on trips that Jon and I have taken together, and a few items that belonged to me and Jon when we were a baby.

I have a quilt ladder that was built for me by one of my nephews. Hanging on the rungs are a couple lap quilts that was made by myself and one made by one of my sisters.

We have a stained-glass Tiffany lamp that was made by Jon and his parents, with a little help from his siblings back when Jon was a young boy. According to his parents, Jon was the one that kept them on track and made sure that they continued working on it, until they got it finished.

Throughout our home, we have other items with special meaning. In my sewing room I have a couple items that mean a lot to me. My sewing table once belonged to my brother-in-law, Jimmy, who passed away several years ago. He was a pastor and had used this table as his office desk at the church. Then one year for my birthday Jon made me really nice cutting table to use when making quilts. It's the perfect size for laying an entire lap quilt on when pinning it for quilting, cutting, etc. He did good!

Jon and I started out our marriage with all used furniture; mostly things his parents had left in the house when they moved out. Over the years we have picked out our own bed, living room furniture, etc. One thing that we had never had new was a dining room set. There were always other things that were more important. So when we knew that we were going to pay our mortgage off the beginning of this year, the one thing I really wanted to celebrate was to buy a new dining room set. Jon agreed!

The thing is, I didn't want just any dining room table, but wanted one that would be special. I didn't want to go to the store and buy something that other people could get, that was made in a production line in a factory somewhere. A few months ago, I went to the home of one of my nephews and saw so many items that he had built. I had no idea that he was such a talented craftsman! So Jon and I approached him and asked if he would be willing to build us a dining room table and a bench to go alone one side of it. He agreed. This past weekend, he and his wife delivered it to us and it is absolutely beautiful!! It is solid hickory and we chose to leave it the natural wood finish, with a protective coating over the top, so that we could see the pretty wood grain. It is so incredibly special, having been built by my nephew and we both love it!

The truth is, all of these things that mean so much to me very likely wouldn't mean nearly as much to anyone else. After I die, these "treasures" will be given away or sold in a yard sale. Oh, I may have a few items that family members would want for themselves, but most of these things won't have the significance to anyone else that it has for me and Jon.

There is a saying that "one mans junk is another mans treasure". It will probably be the opposite for us and our family will say that "one mans treasure is another mans junk". That is probably true for most of us. The things that we hold dear doesn't hold the same value to anyone else.

There are spiritual treasures that we all need to hold onto and recognize the value. They never lose their value and are eternal.

2 Corinthians 4:7 says, "We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves."

2 Corinthians 5:1 says, "For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands."

The light of Jesus shining in our hearts is the greatest treasure mankind can ever have. We are just fragile earthen vessels that will one day die and pass away, but yet God chose us to be carriers of His Son's light. That's amazing! That light that gives us great power is from God, and there is nothing that we can do to generate it ourselves.

Even though our bodies will one day die and return to dust, our spirits will live on forever. We have an eternal body made for us by God himself, as well as a house prepared for us in heaven. Those things far exceed any earthly treasure we could ever buy or be given.

It's okay to enjoy earthly gifts and to treasure things that are dear to us. I believe that God intends for us to have a good life on earth and to appreciate those things that have meaning and value to us. But let's not get so wrapped up in those things that we neglect what's most valuable; storing up treasures in heaven.

Matthew 6:19-21 says, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in or steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

Let's never allow the value of earthly things be greater than spiritual and heavenly treasures. If our focus is on earth and seeing what all can be gained while here, while neglecting our souls, then there will be no treasures stored up in heaven for us. Let's focus on not only keeping ourselves prepared to meet God and living lives that are without sin, but also on allowing the light of Christ to shine through us so that we can win others for His kingdom.

JON'S PERSPECTIVE:

So, how do we store up treasures in heaven?

In Matthew 25:35,36, Jesus said, "For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me." Someone he was speaking to asked when he had fed Jesus, and Jesus explained that if we show kindness to any of God's children, it is the same as doing it for Jesus.

James 2:17 says, "So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead."

1 Corinthians 13:1-3 says if I do a list of mighty things, but have not love, it is all useless and gains me nothing.

There are more verses along the same lines. In short, we build up our treasures in heaven through kind works for others. But we must do the kindness with faith and with love. It may look like a contradiction. Giving food to someone who is hungry might build up treasure for us in heaven, but if we are only doing it for that treasure, then we don't actually receive it. If we do it because we see that Jesus loves them, so we can't help but love them and if we have faith that God will bless them through our gift of food, then it does build up treasure for us.

Matthew 6:33 says it again, "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." It doesn't say to seek treasures for yourself, and do it by seeking God's kingdom.

ON THE MENEWE:

Easy Pumpkin Muffins

Mix cake mix and pumpkin. Add chips, if desired. Spoon into muffin cups.

Bake at 350 for 15-18 minutes.

Note: I was told that this is also good using a Devil's Food chocolate cake mix in lieu of the spice cake.

THIS, THAT AND THE OTHER:

I had gone back to read some of our old newsletters and found this story from January of 2014. I read it and thought, "Hmm... I wonder which nephew and mama this was!!" It's fun to go back and read some of the memories I shared!

(From January 2014) My 4-year old nephew and his mama were playing David and Goliath recently, with mama playing the part of Goliath. When "David" killed "Goliath", she fell on the floor and was somewhat surprised when her son tried to saw her head off with his Black and Decker toy saw! Despite his creativity, his Mama has banned that story from being re-enacted for a while!!

THOUGHT TO PONDER:

You were created by God on purpose. You were created by God for a purpose. - Christine Caine

OUR HEARTFELT THANKS TO YOU:

We love you!

Loretta & Jon

http://www.graysheep.org