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 30, 2022

LIFE IN THE FOLD:

Recently I went to a birthday party for my nephew's 4-year old son. Of course, there was the time when he opened gifts. His 3-year old sister was having a bit of a difficult time seeing him get so many presents and her not get any; which is hard for little ones. Overall, she did really well.

After the presents were open, Malcolm was playing with some of his new toys. He had got a mesh bag of toys to play with in the sand, and his sister went over and got the little plastic castle piece that went with the set. She brought it to me and insisted that I take it outside. I told her no, they were Malcolm's toys. She asked him if it was okay and at first he told her no. She came back over to me and kept asking me to take it outside. Her dad overheard and told her that she needed to ask Malcolm. She asked him again and that time he said yes.

I wondered why she wanted that plastic castle piece taken outside. It was about 6-8 inches big and hollow inside, so she could have carried it herself. Then I thought, well she's still pretty short and has a hard time opening the door so perhaps she can't open the door and hold it at the same time. She kept telling me that I needed to take it outside. So finally I got up to go sit it on the back porch.

About the time I opened the back door to go out, I looked down and there was Mariah right behind me. She had grabbed the mesh bag full of sand toys and followed me out the door. Aha! That's why she wanted me to take the castle piece out; so she could grab that other bag and take it, too!

We got outside and she wanted me to go down into the yard where they have a sand table (that currently has no sand in it) and watch her play. I didn't particularly want to, but did anyway. One by one, she took each toy out of the bag, looked at it, and told me what she thought it was. She would then find exactly where she wanted to place it on the sand table.

Did she really need me there with her to do that? No! She was capable of getting the toys out herself and placing them on the table, and I wasn't doing anything other than watching her and listening to her talk. But it was important to her that I be there with her.

God existed long before the creation of the heavens and earth. He has always been, which is hard for our minds to comprehend. But there came a time when Genesis began with God creating the heavens and the earth... separated light from darkness, calling it day and night. We read of all that He did to form the skies and water and separated things so that there would be dry land. Then God spoke plants and trees into existence. He created all of the thousands of different species of animals.

God then created man in His own image, both male and female. He formed them and breathed life into them so that they would become a living person.

Adam and Eve lived in the garden called Eden. In the cool of the evening, God would come down and walk with them and spend time with them.

Did God do so because He was bored and had nothing better to do? No. He did so, because His desire was to create a people whom He could dwell among and have perfect fellowship with. Even though He is God and all-knowing, I believe that He looked forward to spending that time with them each day. I'm sure that they told Him about their day and Adam shared what He had named various animals that he'd come across since the evening before. They may have explored this place that was a perfect paradise, without sin or evil.

Adam and Eve may have had great anticipation for the time that God would come and walk with them each evening. They may have shown Him new discoveries that they had found that day or something of the beauty that they had just found. Even though God was the creator, I think He loved seeing this new world through the eyes of these two humans that He had created.

We know the story of how Adam and Eve both disobeyed God and sinned, which caused them to be taken out of Eden and God set angels as guards so that they could not enter back in. Their lives and world was forever changed. They entered a world that was filled with hardship and work and sweat and pain. God no longer came down and walked with them in the evenings. They could still speak to Him and He would guide them, but it is as we do today, through prayer. They lost the face to face encounters.

Throughout history, since that time, men and women have had divine encounters with God where He has shown up in their lives in a big way or did miraculous things that were obviously His hand at work. But never face to face.

In Exodus 33:20 God is speaking and said, "You cannot see My face, for no one may see Me and live."

Yet God still wants to spend time with us. He wants to teach us and show us His world and speak to our hearts and provide for us and so many other things.

Just as it was important to Mariah that I be there with her and listen to her and spend time with her, it's important to our Father that we spend time with Him and listen and just want to be in His presence.

Too often, we do all of the talking and never give Him a chance to say anything. We say everything that we have to say, then busy ourselves with other things or go to sleep. I think perhaps God may be a little like Mariah was when she so desperately wanted me to go outside with her. She used the excuse of having me carry that plastic castle piece outside as a way of getting me to outside and all to herself. It worked!

Sometimes when God tried to get our attention so that He can spend time with us and we ignore Him or look for excuses, He may allow something to happen in order to get our eyes back focused onto Him so that we will stop what we're doing and be with Him.

Let's never become so distracted or busy that we fail to take time to spend with Jesus. Let's not put Him in the position where He has to create a diversion to get our attention so that we will stop what we're doing and focus on Him. He loves hearing us talk to Him and bring our burdens to Him; as well as listen to our heartfelt thanks and worship. But Jesus also loves speaking to us and teaching us and showing us new and wonderful things that our Father has created for our benefit and enjoyment.

JON'S PERSPECTIVE:

Honestly, I have never heard the voice of God speak to me out loud. So how are we supposed to hear from God?

It can take several forms. One of the simplest is reading from the Bible. That is God's word to us. I recommend using a verse-a-day calendar (there are many websites that give suggestions each day), or simply starting with Matthew and reading through the New Testament, a little each day.

When you are used to reading from His Word, you might start to feel drawn to a particular book or verse. And that could be a specific word from God for that day. In time, I recommend reading a little from where you left off, so you can still read through the whole Bible. But then stop, and give God a few minutes. He may encourage you to read something specific. If so, be sure to read it, and try to see how it relates to that day.

As you learn more verses, and recognize them, God may speak to you through reminding you of verses you have read in the past. He can show you how His Word relates to each situation where you need Him.

The important thing is to give it time. Be open to where He will draw you.

ON THE MENEWE:

Strawberry Trifle Cake

(This is one of my favorite desserts!)

In a large bowl, whisk milk and pudding mix for 2 minutes. Let stand for 2 minutes or until soft set.

Cut cake into 1-inch cubes (you can used an angel food cake, pound cake from the grocery store; or I often bake a white/vanilla cake mix, let cool completely, then cut into cubes).

Place a layer of cake cubes in a trifle bowl or 3-1/2 quart serving bowl. Top with a third of the pudding, 1 cup sliced strawberries, 1 cup of blueberries, and a third of the Cool Whip spread over the top of the layer.

Repeat layers until two more times, with Cool Whip spread over the top for the last layer.

Garnish with slices strawberries and/or blueberries, if desired.

Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

**Note: When I bake my own cake, I usually don't end up using all of it, and have a little leftover.

You could also add in raspberries, if you wanted.

THIS, THAT AND THE OTHER:

At the birthday party that we recently attended, my 12 (almost 13!) year old nephew was also in attendance. His parents were out of town for the weekend and he was spending time with another nephew's family. My nephew had grilled hot dogs and everyone was fixing their plate, then going outside to eat. Jax came downstairs, where he had been playing, and I asked if he wanted something to eat. He fixed himself a hot dog while I was getting myself a plate. I turned around to go outside and saw Jax standing beside the dining room table, all alone. No one else was around or paying attention. He had set his plate down, folded his hands and bowed his head, and with eyes closed was praying over his food. Honestly, I hadn't even thought about praying over my hot dog! It touched my heart that he was not ashamed or embarrassed to pray, even though no one else was. He didn't make a big ordeal out of it or call attention to himself, but just quietly did this. There are still good kids in this world who love Jesus and have a heart for Him!

THOUGHT TO PONDER:

Don't forget to love the way you want to be loved, listen the way you want to be heard,

give the way you hope others give, care the way you want others to care,

because change doesn't start with them, it starts right here. - Madalyn Beck

OUR HEARTFELT THANKS TO YOU:

We love you!

Loretta & Jon

http://www.graysheep.org