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

August 4, 2021

LIFE IN THE FOLD:

This week I'd like to write about being intentional; meaning doing things deliberately or on purpose.

My niece's four kids love it when I plan a "date" with each of them individually. The last year or so has been a little crazy with COVID, shutdowns, and busyness; plus for the past 3-4 months, their family were trying to pack up their home so that they could put it on the market to sell, getting things put into storage, moving in with my sister during the transition, and finding a new home to buy. We've only seen one another for short periods of time.

The kids asked if I would please take them each on a date. So I deliberately have been setting aside time to spend with each one, so that they could get my undivided attention.

The kids love it when I make time for them. Honestly, sometimes it's not always convenient or what I want to do right then, but I love that they want to be with me. And I love having those special moments with it just being the two of us. It's important that I not allow busyness and activities to interfere, and I make time to give them my undivided attention. It makes them feel loved and important.

I was visiting with my sister recently and she was saying how easy it has been having her daughter and family living with her. She told me that one thing that really makes her heart happy is that every single night, my niece and her husband have devotionals and prayer together as a family. They, also, intentionally make time to do things with their kids.

Giving of your time isn't always the easiest thing to do. If we aren't careful, we allow "things" to interfere and we allow days, weeks, or months to go by without seeing loved ones and friends. We often say, "I intended to do this or that.... or to call.... or to get together with them." But we come up with excuses on why we didn't do so.

Many years ago, back when I was younger and single, I lived about 20-25 minutes from my dad. I worked five days a week, was involved in my church, and often several days would go by without me taking the time to go visit him and my stepmother. Occasionally, Daddy would call and jokingly say, "Well, I thought I'd call so you'd know I was still alive!" I'd joke back and say, "I figured that June or someone would call and let me know if you weren't." Now that he's in heaven, I wish I had of been more intentional! We can never get those moments back.

The truth is, he was healthy and drove and went places. My thought at that time was, "The road goes both ways! You could come to see me sometimes, too. The phone, also, works where you can call me instead of waiting on me to always be the one to call you!" We did see each another fairly often, but honestly, neither of us were intentional about purposefully making sure that we spent time together.

Jon and I used to have weekly date night; until last year when everything shut down for so long. But then, we were home together 24/7 during those many weeks; and truthfully, we both loved it! But since Jon has gone back to the office to work every day, and I'm busy with whatever it is that I need to do each day, we've been less intentional about making sure that we have dates. We see each other every day, we sat in front of the TV every night, but sometimes forget to plan that one-on-one time together, without electronics, a priority. We forget to intentionally do things to show the other that we love them; which is often easy to do with day to day life. It's easy to become lax and forget to consciously put forth an effort with those whom we love most.

I've heard people comment that their families are so busy, that they rarely get to see them. They will excuse it as everyone having so much to do, but often that feeling of loneliness can begin to lean towards self-pity. They are waiting for others to call and make plans or contact them about getting together; but they, themselves, never purposefully try to reach out and plan something. They are always waiting for someone else to be the one to contact them, when they have time, but never intentionally call or text or email and say, "Hey I miss you and would love to see you! Next time you have some free time, please let me know so we can get together."

Being intentional takes work and time! But there is never a good excuse for not reaching out to others and making time for them; or for not contacting someone who is on your mind that you would like to spend time with. We never know what tomorrow may bring, so need to recognize the importance of intentionally making that call or asking someone to come for a visit and keeping in touch.

We, also, need to be intentional about time spent with God. If we wait until it's convenient or we have nothing else to do or it's quiet or we're not busy, then days can go by without us making time for devotionals and prayer. We have to decide that our relationship with God is going to be priority and make time for Him in our daily life, on purpose.

Choose to be intentional in life in your relationship with God, in your relationship with others, and in taking time for yourself.

JON'S PERSPECTIVE

I've had some difficulties myself with making sure I spend at least a little time reading my Bible every day. It gets easy to set aside, and not come back to it for a long time. When I do think of it, I usually don't have the time. When I do have time, I don't think of it. There are some tricks that might help.

Set your Bible on your pillow. Even if you go to bed really tired, you can at least read a verse or two before going to sleep. You can think over those verses as you nod off.

Load a Bible app on your phone or other electronics. There are lots of them, so they're easy to find. When you don't have time to read, just open the app, and leave it there for the next time you use it.

When your playing on the internet, you can open a web page to a Bible, some devotional, or a church that records its services.

Bookmark several web pages for Bibles, devotionals, etc. Then when you open your web browser, they will be some of the options you see first.

ON THE MENEWE:

Frito Salad

Mix all ingredients together, except for the Fritos. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Add in Fritos before serving. If you want salad dressing on top, each individual can add whatever they prefer.

THIS, THAT AND THE OTHER:

My sister's daughter and her family have been temporarily living with my sister during the transition of of selling their house and buying a new one. Each night the parents have devotionals and prayer with their kids. They also make sure that they intentionally make time to do activities together.

One evening the dad had something that he needed to do, so the mom was playing Bible charades with the kids; with my sister playing some and helping the youngest (age 7), when needed. It was the 7 year old turn, and she got up and was moving her arm up and down, with her fist clenched. They couldn't guess, so told her to go ask grandma if there was something else she could do. So she went over to my sister and whispered that she doing "the battle of Armageddon". So she was pretending to have a sword in her hand, fighting. My sister laughed and told the others that there wasn't anything more she could do. They never got it! Later, my sister asked my niece, "How in the world did Jovie know about the battle of Armageddon?" She had no idea; other than they listen to bible story tapes almost every single night after going to bed.

Another time when playing charades, Jovie was just standing straight when her hands down to her sides. Her mom and siblings kept telling her, "Do something!" Jovie said, "I am!" She was "standing still". Pretty smart cookie for a 7 year old!!

THOUGHT TO PONDER:

Some of our life experiences should be looked upon as stepping stones, needed in order to cross the stream at large, but not meant to be lingered on forever. - Jan Turano

OUR HEARTFELT THANKS TO YOU:

We love you!

Loretta & Jon

http://www.graysheep.org