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

November 10, 2021

LIFE IN THE FOLD:

I was looking for something in my documents a few days ago and ran across a dream that I had had about 2-1/2 years ago. I have dreams from time to time that I believe are God-given, but too often, I forget to write them down.

In the dream, a few others and myself were in a building near the small town where I grew up. It looked different than what it used to did, but was in a specific location that I know well, and sits by the highway. Down the road a ways there were police cars and I knew that something was going on. We had been told to stay inside for safety; that the police had pulled someone over and they had escaped and the officers were looking for him. I'm not sure what all was involved. I saw a man that I grew up with running towards the building and I knew that he was one of the people that they were looking for. My cousin was in the back and I knew that he didn't know what was going on, so I ran back to tell him to lock the door and not let this man inside. But I didn't get there in time and this man got inside the building. He was going to hurt us and I told him to stop; he could not hurt us! He came towards me. In real life, he is a pretty small man; not overly tall and slim. But in my dream, he was probably 2-3 times his regular size. It looked odd; like he was covered by a spirit that took the shape of his body and made him bigger. It made him look really tall and very big and bulky. As he came towards me, I knew exactly what to do to take him down. Each move was given to me (by God) as I needed it, until I had him pinned to the ground. People were standing around watching and I thought, "Why aren't you helping me?" But they were scared and didn't know what to do. I woke up with my heart pounding.

As soon as I awoke, I heard these words in my spirit: "Fear always takes a bigger shape and makes things appear much larger than they actually are."

Most of us probably know what 2 Timothy 1:7 says: "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."

I have heard and read and found articles that say that the words "fear not" is in the Bible 365 times! That's a "fear not" scripture for every day of the year. I think God is serious about wanting us not to have fear.

The reality is, fear does take a bigger shape and makes things appear much larger than they truly are; just as I heard in my spirit following my dream. In fact, the more we dwell on things that cause us to fear, the bigger they become. There may be times when those things become more magnified and larger than God in our life, because we are more focused on those things than on the promises and Word of God.

We worry and fret and become stressed and think about all of the "what if" possibilities, that likely will never happen. We try to think of every possible scenario and what we will say or do should each of those things occur. Our thoughts become so zoned in on that thing that is causing fear, that we neglect to acknowledge that God is much bigger and more than able to handle every detail of everything that ever happens in our lives.

How do we let go of fear and keep our focus on God?

By following the words in Philippians 4:8. "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."

When those are the things that we dwell and meditate on, then there is no room for fear. Worry and stress have to leave our minds. And we will have the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding. Regardless of what we face, the joy of the Lord will be our strength.

JON'S PERSPECTIVE:

One of my favorite philosophers of the 20^th century was Calvin. He and his best friend Hobbes were actually created by Bill Watterson, so I suppose he is the real philosopher. On one occasion, Calvin was visiting with his dad. His dad said that the sun was really small. To prove it, he held up a quarter, and the sun and quarter looked the same size.

How big something looks depends on our perspective (or, more specifically, distance). If we are close to the sun, it is huge. It is much bigger than all the Earth. But from here, it is the size of a quarter.

Our problems can be similar. If they seem insurmountable, back up. If you back up far enough, you may see that the problem is much smaller and is already being dealt with by God.

ON THE MENEWE:

Pumpkin Dump Cake

Preheat oven to 350.

Coat a 9x13 baking pan with nonstick spray and set aside.

In a large bowl combine the pumpkin, evaporated milk, sugar, eggs, and pumpkin pie spice. Stir to combine and pour into your prepared pan.

Sprinkle the entire box of cake mix on top; followed by nuts and/or toffee bits. Pour the melted butter over the top.

Bake for 45-50 minutes until center is set and edges are lightly browned.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

THIS, THAT AND THE OTHER:

This is a memory I just ran across from 4 years ago! Wow, time flies!! Now, Jax is 12 and Jovie is 7!!

A few days ago I was watching Jax (age 7) and Jovie (age 3). We were at the house of my sister, Janie,who is their grandma. I was doing home-school work with Jax, and Janie was working with her son and another student, whom she works with a couple days a week. During their morning break, Janie allowed Jax to go to the neighborhood park with the two older kids. Jovie was upset that she was left out and had to stay home. She laid down in the floor by the front door crying, with big tears running down her face. She told me, "I need my brother!" I told her that he would be back soon.... they wouldn't be gone very long. She said, "But I need my brother now. I'm lost without him!!" It was a little funny, but incredibly sweet, too!

THOUGHT TO PONDER:

Sometimes God does not change your situation because He is trying to change your heart. - TobyMac

OUR HEARTFELT THANKS TO YOU:

We love you!

Loretta & Jon

http://www.graysheep.org