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

April 27, 2022

LIFE IN THE FOLD

My next to the oldest sister had two cousins who were close in age to her. The three of them were good friends and when young, enjoyed playing together. I remember hearing my parents reminiscing about the three girls, when I was growing up. They said that when two of them were together, they got along well; but when all three were together, two of them would buddy up and one would always get left out and end up mad or with hurt feelings. They said that the three girls could never get along when they were all together, so it was better when there was only two at a time.

That seems to be how it often is with kids. Two get along fine, but add a third child into the mix and one ends up being left out.

I witnessed that last week when I went with my 8-year old great-niece on a field trip. The two of us spend the morning together looking at the different displays at the aquarium. For lunch, we all met outside at a picnic and playground area. Jovie and I sat at a table with two of her friends. After lunch, Jovie asked them to go play with her. The three girls took off; but a few minutes later, the other two came back, leaving Jovie alone at the playground. A while later, she came back looking for them and they didn't want to play with her. They were on a phone or something, discussing things that they wanted to shop for and buy.

I felt bad, because Jovie really wanted to play. They told her to go look for another friend, so she did. Jovie told me what the other girl looked like, in case I saw her. I did a little later and asked if she had seen Jovie. She said no, but she was busy playing with someone else.

Jovie does pretty well at entertaining herself, and ended up playing alone.

Later, back inside the aquarium we were in an area where those two friends were. They played with Jovie for a while and one of them had a pad of paper and a pen and she and Jovie were taking turns drawing pictures of the sharks and other fish. Apparently, the other little girl started feeling left out, so she wanted the other girl to go with her for just a minute to go look at something else; so she did, leaving her purse and jacket there for Jovie to watch.

I thought, "No, this isn't fair to Jovie! It's not right that they treat her like this; only wanting her around if it's convenient." So when the girls came back, I made sure the girl had her things back and Jovie and I went elsewhere to look at other things. We had a fun day together, regardless of these little incidences.

Friendships are important in life. In fact, there are many scriptures that speak to how important friends are. When we find a good friend, we find something very special.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 speaks about the advantages of companionship. "Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken."

This scripture is speaking specifically about marriage, with God being the third important strong One who holds the couple together. Yes, a marriage can last and be strong with just two people; but it can be even better when God is the focus and priority in both the husband and wife. Can a marriage be broken when a couple are believers? Yes, it happens more than it should. But it generally occurs when they try to do it by themselves and start leaving God out of their marriage and lives.

When a couple begin allowing other people, a third person, into their relationship and marriage, they are opening themselves up to anger and hurt. Sometimes that third person breaks their connection with one another and with God. Hearts can begin thinking more about the other person than they do their spouse, imagining how life would be married to them instead of their spouse, and begin to have ungodly feelings that lead to divorce or affairs.

Marriage was God's idea from the very beginning of creation. In Genesis 2:18, "The Lord God said, 'It's not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him." Verses 23-24 go on to say, "'At last!' the man exclaimed, 'This one is bone from my bone and flesh of my flesh! She will be called woman, because she was taken from man.' This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united as one."

It was God's plan for one man and one woman to make a covenant, a vow, before Him, to one another to join themselves together as husband and wife. It was His plan for Him to be involved in their lives; just as He was with Adam and Eve. He walked with them, talked with them, had a relationship with them, being their Father. He loved them and wanted to be involved in their everyday life. It is the same for us today. God wants to be involved in every detail of our lives. He wants to walk and talk with us, be our Father, and be the strength that holds our marriage together.

I'm not suggesting that three children or youth or even adults can't be friends. But it's something that takes work. Even two siblings tend to play better together than three. It's hard for three to come into agreement on what they want to play or do. Generally, two will agree, and the other ends up compromising or being left out or upset.

Even strong believers can have controversy; even though they are doing good things.

In Acts chapter 15, verses 36-41 we find an account of this. Paul and Barnabas were traveling together, preaching the word of the Lord and ministering to many people. After some time, Paul said to Barnabas, "Let's go back and visit each city where we previously preached the word of the Lord, to see how the new believers are doing."

Barnabas agreed, but wanted to take John Mark along with them. Paul strongly disagreed, because John Mark had deserted them earlier and had not continued with them in their work. Their disagreement was so sharp that they separated. Barnabas took John Mark with him and sailed to Cyprus. Paul chose Silas, and they traveled throughout Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches there.

Earlier in Acts 14:24, it says that Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and strong in faith. He and Paul had traveled together for quite some time. Mark had traveled with them on several of their missionary journeys, acting as their assistant. I believe that Barnabas saw the good in Mark, knew his heart and usefulness in the ministry, and wanted to give him another chance. Paul had a difference of opinion. Mark had left them once before and he didn't want to take that chance on him again. Barnabas and Paul were both godly men, doing godly work, yet this argument caused them to separate in their missionary work.

In 2 Timothy 4:11, Paul asks Timothy to bring Mark to him, saying that he would be helpful to him in his ministry. So apparently, there was forgiveness and healing in the rift between the two men.

Even the best of friends don't always agree and see eye to eye. Your spouse can be your very best friend and you have a strong marriage, with God in the center of it, yet there are times when you have differing opinions and don't always agree on everything. Siblings can be best friends, yet not always agree and see things the same. Churches can have disagreements. Childhood friends that have stood the test of time can sometimes have occasions where you may not agree with what the other person says or does. Yet you remain friends and choose to love one another and stay close.

Truly, we only have one friend who is unchanging and consistent -- always! Jesus is a friend like no other. Whether it be a spouse, sibling, acquaintance, ect.... no matter how much you love them and feel close to them... it still doesn't compare to the friendship that we can have with Jesus. I think that is difficult for our minds to comprehend.

In John chapter 15, Jesus speaks of that friendship that we can have with Him. "This is my commandment: love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends. You are my friends, if you do what I command." "Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me. You didn't choose me. I chose you."

Jesus chose to love us! He chose to be our friend. He is always close to us and ready to have conversations with us. He loves sharing His heart with us, as well as hearing what's on our heart. He always wants what's best for us. He doesn't play favorites and won't leave us for someone else; nor does He think more highly of His other friends than He does us. He is faithful! He loves us whether we're at our best or at our worst. He will lift us up when we fall down or fail. He freely forgives. What an awesome friend we have in Jesus!

JON'S PERSPECTIVE:

Little kids can do some very insensitive things. They don't do it to be mean. They just see something or someone else they want to play with, and go. They don't think about how the other kid might feel being left alone.

Even as teens, that doesn't stop. But by that age, they know how it feels to be abandoned. It doesn't mean they won't ditch one friend to hang out with another one when something comes along to change their whims. It can hurt worse just knowing that they know the hurt they cause.

I have a cousin who is about 3-4 years older than me. When I was around 10-12 years old, he didn't especially want to hang out with kids so much younger than him, but he commonly made an extra effort to make sure I and other kids my age got included in baseball games, and a few other activities. It was a rare and comforting thing to experience.

Jesus always makes the effort for us. He will never ditch us for a friend with a better car. He won't abandon us to go hang out with Israel and Moses. He will include us. He may want us to meet others who don't really know Him well, and have us help introduce Himself to them. He is great at bridging that gap between groups. Sometimes we don't stop to appreciate how rare and comforting that is.

ON THE MENEWE:

Stuffed Mushrooms

Wipe off mushrooms. Remove stems and chop mushroom stems and set aside.

Brown and crumble sausage. Set aside on a plate to cool. Using pan that sausage was cooked in, add onion and garlic. Cook for 2 minutes medium low heat. Add in mushroom stems and cook until browned; about 2 minutes.

Salt and pepper, to taste. Allow to cool on same plate with sausage.

In a bowl, combine cream cheese and egg yolk. Stir together with Parmesan cheese. Add sausage and onion/mushroom stems to mixture.

Refrigerate for a short time to firm up.

Put mixture into mushroom cavity, creating a sizable mound.

Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

THIS, THAT AND THE OTHER:

Instead of March winds, we've definitely had a very windy April! Lots and lots of pollen blowing around.... lots and lots of things blooming and trees leafing out..... lots and lots of people dealing with allergies and sinus issues. Jon and I have both been dealing with these type of issues. On warm weather days, we want to be outside enjoying the sunshine; but it's been a tad difficult with it being so windy on most days. But this too shall pass! Winds will calm, things will get bloomed and leafed out, and warm weather and sunshiny days are ahead! I hope that you are finding ways to enjoy the warm days and seeing things blooming out and turning green, while staying healthy and allergy free.

THOUGHT TO PONDER:

Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future. - Paul Boese

OUR HEARTFELT THANKS TO YOU:

We love you!

Loretta & Jon

http://www.graysheep.org