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

January 4, 2023

LIFE IN THE FOLD

Jon got me a new iPhone for Christmas. Something that should have been simple, ended up being a bit of a hassle to buy.

Our long distance carrier wouldn't let him purchase a phone for me before Christmas, because he was not authorized on my account. We both have a cell phone and on the same bill... but apparently are not authorized to do anything on the other's account.

So after Christmas we went back to our carrier and they would not sell it to us outright, but would only allow us to buy it on a monthly payment plan -- adding the cost to our monthly bill. We didn't want to do that. So we went to a store, that they recommended to us, to buy the phone. We got there and found out that they didn't have the phones in stock, but would have to order them and we would need to wait an additional four days to get it.

Finally the day arrived when I was to get my new phone; only I got an email saying that they were having issues activating my phone. I called... was on the phone for probably half an hour... was transferred to 4 different people... and was finally told to go into the store, pick up my phone, and they would take care of it at that time.

Jon and I went to the store, picked up my phone at the service desk, then was directed to the electronic department. We were there for an hour, while one of the employees (who thankfully knew what he was doing) was on the phone with our cell phone carrier, trying to get the issue with activating my phone cleared up. Finally, success!!

On Sunday, I tried to pair my Apple watch, which I've had for a few years, with my new phone and again ran into issues. After some research, we found that we had to unpair it from my old phone before we could pair it up with my new one. After software updates and a long waiting period while the devices paired... that was resolved.

Sometimes in life we can think something wonderful is coming our way and get excited at the possibilities. We often think, "if it is God", then everything will go smoothly and there will be no hiccups along the way. That sometimes happens, but there are times when the path isn't always trouble-free and smooth. That doesn't mean that we are out of God's will or that we are doing something wrong, but it may be that God is teaching us a needed lesson or trying to strengthen us or mature us in a specific area. It may just be a matter of us learning patience. It could be that we need to learn to stop leaning on our own understanding and trust God more fully. It may even be that we need to learn to be more appreciative of the blessings that God bestows upon us.

Occasionally, we run into bumps in the road of life, due to.... well life. Things break, sickness happens, finances are stretched, situations don't work out like we expected, etc. It is not God punishing us or because He doesn't like or love us anymore. We live in a world where negative things occur. That doesn't mean that life is bad or we should become fearful or worried; but we choose to trust God and allow Him to walk with us, regardless of what comes our way.

When we are using things built by man, then we know that there will be times when those things will need replaced or repaired. Cars will break down, home repairs will need done, new clothes bought, etc. But we can trust God to provide work and finances so we can take care of those things when they occur. He will grant us wisdom in making decisions and guide us when it comes to making choices.

Jon and I got into our car a few days ago and the gauge that reads the outside temperature was messed up. It is stuck on -22F (yes, that is minus 22 degrees!). As a feature, the car kicks up the heater when it 'knows' it is really cold outside. So in order to be comfortable, we have to run our car A/C and turn it down to about 60, and it is still blowing out warm air. It is trying to compensate for the negative temperature that the gauge is stuck at. We didn't do anything wrong to cause this to happen to our car. When you choose to purchase something, then responsibility comes along with it, which includes repairs. It's a part of ownership that we don't like; but it's a part of ownership that we have to deal with. We can trust God to lead us to the right place to have the car repaired and provide the finances needed to get it fixed. He cares about those things that we face throughout life.

One of my favorite hymns is 'Tis So Sweet To Trust in Jesus'. The first verse says: "Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus; just to take Him at His word. Just to rest upon His promise; just to know 'Thus saith the Lord'".

We can rest upon the promises of God. But in order to rest on those promises, we have to read His Word and know what those promises are. If you are struggling with knowing what God's promises are, then read His Word. Get to know Him better through reading the Bible and spending time with Him in prayer. Strengthen your relationship with Him, so that when difficult times come, you know what His promises are and have the faith and confidence to stand firm in your faith.

Regardless of what the year 2022 held in store for you, don't rue or dread this new year. Don't fear or worry about what may or may not happen. We live in a fallen world filled with sinfulness and evil. But God has not forgotten us or taken His eyes off us. We can put our full faith and confidence in Him at all times.

May we each look to this new year with hope and expectation! None of us know what lies ahead for us or our family or our nation; but we do know that God will be with us and be by our side every second of every day. I pray God's favor and blessings upon you in 2023!

JON'S PERSPECTIVE:

In the last couple decades, I've lost my last grandparent, my dad, a brother-in-law, and a cousin. The first two had enjoyed their lives and were ready to go home. The other two were still needed at home, wanted to stay around to see more grandchildren born and for other reasons. There were many prayer warriors praying for each of them to be healed. But they passed on to heaven.

That has been hard on my faith. It was even harder on some others. I don't really understand why they weren't healed.

I'm convinced they got sick in the first place because humanity has invited sin into the world, and so sickness and death came into this world along with it. The sickness and death fills the world to the point that we can't completely avoid it.

I expected both of them to be healed, though. Even though they weren't, I still hold onto faith that God is a healer. He can, and will heal. But even stronger than that, I hold onto faith that I will see them again, and when I do, I will be able to understand why they passed away before we were ready. I will understand some kind of wisdom behind it, maybe even agree that it was the better path in some way.

Faith isn't always about getting wishes fulfilled. Sometimes it is just being able to hold on no matter what is going on.

ON THE MENEWE:

Chicken Gnocchi Soup

(Looks like a lot of ingredients, but this is a delicious soup and easy to make.

At the end of the recipe, I'll give you some tips.)

Place the butter and olive oil in a large saucepan or stockpot over medium heat. Add the onion, celery and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion becomes translucent.

Whisk in the flour and cook for about 1 minute. Stir in the half-and-half. Simmer until thickened.

Whisk in the chicken broth. Simmer until thickened again.

Stir in all the seasonings, carrots and chicken. Simmer until heated through. Add in the gnocchi and spinach. Continue cooking until gnocchi is softened (can read the instructions on package to get an idea how long they need to cook.) Taste to see if soup needs more seasonings and adjust according to your taste.

**Note: You can either use rotisserie chicken or boil your own chicken, then shred.

Instead of using all the various spices, you could use an Italian seasoning blend, as a shortcut.

Either frozen or dried gnocchi will work. Or you can look up how to make homemade gnocchi (which is basically a potato and flour mixture) and make them yourself.

THIS, THAT AND THE OTHER:

My niece and her husband have four kids who attend a private christian school. My niece convinced her oldest daughter, who will be 16 next month, that she is teaching a dance class as an elective at their school this next semester. She's not, but just having a little fun pranking her teenage daughter. The thing is, my niece has never even taken dance classes and is not qualified to teach dance! But she showed her daughter this video of this "dance class" she will be teaching (which the dance is crazy, silly, and fun to watch; but would be so embarrassing for a teenager to watch their mother do) and the daughter is mortified, because it would be so humiliating to have her mom do that! She has been begging to home-school. On the other hand, the 12 year old daughter is begging to take this non-existent dance class and thinks it would be so much fun!

After showing her daughter the "dance" that she had choreographed for the class to 'Flight of the Bumblebee', she fessed up that she really wasn't teaching dance as an elective at the school.

THOUGHT TO PONDER:

Our hope is not in the New Year.... but in the One who makes all things new. - TobyMac

OUR HEARTFELT THANKS TO YOU:

We love you!

Loretta & Jon

http://www.graysheep.org