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

October 13, 2021

LIFE IN THE FOLD:

My heart has been heavy this week. Our elderly neighbor man passed away Sunday evening in their home, and I know that his wife of 60-plus years is deeply grieving at this time.

There have been many such moments throughout my lifetime, when either I've been grieving the death of a loved one; or my heart has ached, knowing that someone I know is dealing with grief and heartache.

Death is hard! Even though we may know that the one whose life ended on earth is experiencing the beginning of their eternity in heaven; it changes our lives and we deeply miss them.

This morning as I was praying for our neighbor lady and her family, I was sitting at the piano playing and the song that I began playing was, "Peace, peace, wonderful peace; coming down from the Father above."

Whether we are grieving, or going through other difficult circumstances, we cannot manufacture peace on our own. We often feel overwhelmed, heartbroken, worried, concerned, fearful, angry, or saddened (or perhaps a combination of different emotions). Yet, we can still have peace! Not just a little dab of peace, but peace that surpasses all understanding. We can still trust God; even when we don't understand the why's.

Job is often used as an illustration for such circumstances; but really, he was a real man who experienced great loss. He lost all of his children and everything he owned. He was afflicted with boils all over his body. His wife's response was, "Curse God and die."

Yet Job's response was, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will return there. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the Name of The Lord." Then the next verse says, "Through all this, Job did not sin nor did he cast reproach on God." (Job 1:21-22)

In Job 13:15, Job states, "Though He slays me, yet will I trust in Him."

When you read through Job, there are times when Job had arguments with God. There were times when his friends rebuked him. Yet Job stated, "Yet I know, that my Redeemer lives, and even in the end, He will stand on earth." He went on to say that even after his flesh is destroyed, he will see God with his own eyes.

In the last chapter, God rebukes Job's three friends because they had not spoken correctly about Him, as Job had.

The Lord brought restoration to Job's life and blessed his latter days more than he had been blessed in those former years.

Even when Job felt discouraged, He still trusted. Even when he didn't understand, He still blessed God. To do so, he had to have been filled with an overwhelming peace. It was a peace in knowing Who he had a relationship with and served. It was a peace that came from knowing that everything that he had in life was because of God's blessings and had been given to him by God. "The Lord has given and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord."

Even in our most difficult circumstances, we can worship. We worship God, knowing that all we have and all we are is due to Him. We worship, knowing that His wisdom is far greater than ours and He knows what is best; even when we don't understand and it doesn't make sense to us. We worship, knowing that in Him is our hope and trust. And as we choose to worship and acknowledge the Lord and place our trust in Him, that peace that surpasses all understanding will fill our heart and mind.

We still may grieve or not understand why things are happening as they are, but we rest in the Father, knowing that He is good and that He loves us and will always be with us. We hold onto hope, knowing that life is really very fleeting and short, compared to eternity. We know that whatever we go through or have to deal with during life on earth, it will one day be forgotten as we begin our eternity in heaven. If we only knew what heaven was really like, I truly believe that it would bring us greater comfort and peace in every circumstance.

There's an old hymn that says, "It will be worth it all; when we see Jesus. Life's trials will see so small when we see Christ. One glimpse of His dear face; all sorrow will erase. So bravely run the race; till we see Christ."

JON'S PERSPECTIVE:

First, I'd like to share how much I appreciate the emergency responders Sunday night. They administered CPR by hand in a cramped space between the van and a wall for a long time before the van could be moved, and continued afterward for a total of 17 minutes before they were able to get him into an ambulance. I'm sure they continued CPR all the way to the hospital. There was no real sign of life in him. But the EMT crew did everything they could to save him. His wife needed to see that. She was already sobbing before they left, but had the peace of mind that everything possible was already being done to keep him in her life.

Second, I'd like to share how bad I felt watching him, knowing he was most likely gone. I had tried a few times to discuss God or church with him. But I was never really successful. He was always pleasant, but changed the subject. While I watched the EMT crew working on him, I had a horrible feeling that I had failed him, and he may not have been saved. I was relieved to hear later that he and his wife were long time church members, and it was safe to trust he was saved already.

I don't ever want to feel that way again. And I hope I never miss a chance to share the good news of Jesus with someone. If they don't want to listen, then I'm not responsible, but I don't want to think I never tried.

ON THE MENEWE:

Tamale Pie

Filling:

Tamale Top:

Preheat oven to 400. Spray two 9-inch pie pans, one 9x13 baking dish, or a 12-14 inch cast iron skillet with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.

Place a large saute pan (or the large cast iron skillet) over medium heat. Add the ground beef (I've also used ground sausage instead of ground beef) and break into small pieces with a wooden spoon. Brown the meat, then push it to the sides of the pan. Add the chopped onion, bell pepper, and garlic. Cook until the onions have softened. Mix in the frozen corn, crushed tomatoes, green chiles, cornstarch, chili powder, cumin, salt and cheese. Stir until well mixed, then turn off the heat.

Meanwhile, mix the corn meal, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Add in the chicken broth and butter. Whisk until smooth. Then stir in the cheese. NOTE: Masa corn flour mixtures have a way of seizing up, making them un-spreadable, if they sit too long. If needed, add 1/2 to 1 cup of additional chicken broth to loosen it before spreading on the top.

Pour the meat filling into the prepared pans. (If you cooked the filling in the 12-14 inch cast iron skillet, you can leave it in the pan.) Pour (or scoop) the corn batter evenly over the top and spread to the edges of the pans. Bake for 30-45 minutes (if cooking in the cast iron skillet, it may be closer to 45 minutes), or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the corn batter comes out clean. Serve warm!

THIS, THAT AND THE OTHER:

Having good neighbors are such a blessing! Growing up in a small rural country town, everyone knew everyone. Of course, most of our neighbors were relatives. But we were a community where everyone truly cared for their neighbors; whether they lived next door or 10 miles down the road. People helped one another and looked out for each other.

Jon and I have been blessed with good neighbors. For the past 13-14 years, an elderly couple has lived next door and have been great neighbors. We've tried to help out when needed and keep an eye on them. For many of those years, Don loved mowing and keeping his lawn looking pretty. If we didn't mow at the same time, many times when I did mow, he would go out later that same day to mow his yard. Last year, he could no longer mow, due to health issues and dementia. I mowed for them a few times, to help out. I knew how much he liked having his lawn looking nice. He also told us over and over again that he thought we should cut our pecan trees down, in our front yard, and get rid of them, due to the limbs that fall from them. We would laugh and tell him that we liked the shade while doing yard work. I think that having to stop mowing was probably harder for him to give up than driving his van was. On Sunday evening, Don passed away. We will miss having front-yard chats with him. His wife has always been so sweet and nice. We suspect that she may be moving in with their daughter, due to health issues of her own, so may be moving away; but don't know that for sure. We have appreciated having them as our neighbors for these past years! I hope that we are good neighbors to others who live around us, and that people will look at us and say, "They are good neighbors to have!"

THOUGHT TO PONDER:

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable -- if there is any virtue and if there is anything worthy of praise -- dwell on these things. Philippians 4:8

OUR HEARTFELT THANKS TO YOU:

We love you!

Loretta & Jon

http://www.graysheep.org