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 22, 2023

LIFE IN THE FOLD

When Jon and I went to Germany several years ago, I would get out and walk around the old town center every day while he was working. One thing I quickly learned was that it would rain at least once a day; and would often catch me off guard. The sun would be shining, then suddenly it would cloud up and begin raining, then a few minutes later the sun would be back out. The temperature seemed to always drop a few degrees while it was raining.

I hadn't taken a rain jacket with me, but was able to find a lightweight jacket with a hood to buy there. It wasn't really a rain jacket and would absorb water if it got very wet; but it was enough to keep me dry until I could get inside a building or stand under an awning until the rain passed. After buying it, I began taking it with me every time I went outdoors.

One reason that I like having a jacket with a hood when it rains is to keep my eyeglasses somewhat dry. I dislike getting water spots on them. I'm not that fussy about my hair or clothes, unless I'm dressed up to go somewhere, but don't like getting my glasses messy.

When it's raining, I have a choice to either wear a hooded jacket or use an umbrella -- or to go without and get wet. I can even choose to keep an umbrella in my car, so if the rain catches me unaware, I'm prepared. If it's nothing urgent, I can even choose to stay inside my home where it's warm and dry and wait for the rain to stop before going out.

During our life on earth, there are times when we go through personal storms. Hardships, sickness, death of a loved one, financial difficulties, job loss, family upsets...... are storms that we will have to endure from time to time. Sometimes we have warning that a storm is coming, while other times they hit unexpectedly. We may have an opportunity to prepare ourselves at times, while other times they catch us unaware. Either way, they can be difficult to navigate.

There are times when the weatherman can warn us of storms headed our way. We have time to bring plants or other things that could be harmed indoors. We can take precautions and prepare as best as we possibly can. Sometimes the forecasted storm isn't as bad as what they were anticipating and we feel like our preparations were a waste of time. Then we hear reports of others who were in the path of that same storm who were hit hard and suffered devastation.

Other times, a storm may come up with very little warning, especially in the middle of the night when we are sleeping, and catch us by surprise. We didn't have time to prepare, so pray for protection as we hear the hail and strong winds. It's dark, so we can't really see what's going on. We have to wait until daylight comes to see what our yard or roof look like.

Regardless of what life's storms may look like, we can always choose stay under the protection of our Heavenly Father. He will be with us and can give us peace, even when things look their worst. He will hold us close in His strong arms and offer safety and protection. God loves us so greatly and desires that we run to Him for safety and shelter. He is our place of refuge.

Psalms 46:1-2 says, "God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. So, we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea."

I love the picture that we see in Psalms 91:4: "He will cover you with His feathers. He will shelter you with His wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection."

Psalms 17:8 says, "Guard me as you would guard your own eyes. Hide me in the shadow of your wings."

There are many species of birds where the parents will tuck the young babies under their wings to protect them. A mother hen watches for danger. When she sees an animal that could hurt her chicks, she clucks to warn her babies. The chicks often will run under her wings for safety. The mother hen keeps her chicks under her wings until the danger has passed.

That's a picture of how God is with us, His children. He is our refuge! He will cover us with His feathers, with His wings, to give us shelter and protection. He is constantly on alert for an dangers that may try to harm us, and will call us to run to Him when He sees the enemy coming towards us. We can choose to run to Him and the safety that He provides, until the danger has passed by, or we can choose to stay out from underneath the cover of His protection and try to fight the enemy on our own.

If you are facing difficulties or feeling attacked by Satan or feel overwhelmed by hardships, run to the Father and allow Him to cover you with His wings! Let Him fight your battles for you. Let Him shelter you from the storm.

JON'S PERSPECTIVE:

I have spent about 9 months working to build a new shed to replace a rotten one. I'm very close, but haven't blocked in the soffits, yet. That means birds can still get in and out.

About 2 weeks ago, I noticed a finch inside. I tried to shoo it away each time I saw it. I didn't want it to have any eggs or babies in the shed when I blocked it in.

We also have a weed-eater that runs on batteries. It was stored in the shed, but we won't need it for a few more weeks, and I've been keeping the batteries for it in the house to avoid freezing.

You may already see the connection here... I finally found where the bird was hiding. It had built a nest inside the battery compartment of the weed-eater. And in the nest were 5 eggs. Each time I would get close, the momma bird would get very angry and would try to draw me away from her eggs.

The thing is, she was trying to be protective, even before her eggs were hatched. God tries to draw us to Him and protect us before we even know Him. He formed us in the womb, and watches over us before we are aware of it.

ON THE MENEWE:

Stuffed Cabbage Soup

In a large stock pot, brown ground beef; drain.

Add onion, garlic and seasoned salt and cook until onions are translucent. Add back in the browned ground beef.

Add diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and chicken broth. Bring back to a simmer.

Stir in chopped cabbage and cook covered on medium/low heat about 20 minutes until cabbage is wilted and softened.

Stir in rice and cover 5-10 minutes until rice is cooked. 3 cups of rice soaks up a lot of the juice, so you may either want to add less rice, or you can add in more broth.

NOTE: This soup reheats really well. But this recipe makes a lot!! If you don't want this much you can either half the recipe or put soup in freezer containers and freeze; but if freezing, do so before adding in the rice. Then when you reheat from the freezer, add in the rice at that time.

THIS, THAT AND THE OTHER:

My two oldest nephews, Greg and Brian, had some "adventures" as boys. The brothers are only a little over 10 months apart in age, so were always into something. Greg was generally the instigator and could talk Brian into trying things. When Mama was sick they lived close by and were around 7 and 8 years old at that time. They found an old metal barrel and Greg talked Brian into getting inside and letting him roll him down the hill. That was fun until the barrel rolled under an electric fence, which was turned on. Brian got quite a shock there for a split second as the barrel hit the fence; then it kept on rolling. Too late, Greg saw the barrel spark as it ran under the fence. Afterwards he and Brian came up to the house and didn't know whether to laugh or cry. They thought it was funny, but it had scared them a little, too.

THOUGHT TO PONDER:

Pray about it before you overthink it! - TobyMac

OUR HEARTFELT THANKS TO YOU:

We love you!

Loretta & Jon

http://www.graysheep.org