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

June 7, 2023

LIFE IN THE FOLD

After Jon and I first got married I planted a garden for a couple of years. My dad was so proud and would call me to ask how my garden was doing. He always had a pretty garden and he was my go-to person for advice. He passed away in 2007 and I miss him in so many ways.

My garden did well... things grew.... but I had one big problem. Birds would peck holes in my tomatoes and ruin them before they were big enough to pick. A raccoon or squirrel was eating my corn right before it was ripe enough to pick. I tried various things to keep them out to no avail. I decided that gardening was too much work to do it for the animals to enjoy!

Throughout the years I've planted a few things and had success on some things and not so much on others.

Last year I tried using a raised garden bed. I planted a few tomatoes, squash, and banana peppers. My tomato vines grew large, but I never got one single tomato. My squash plants got huge and flowered and looked so pretty, but I didn't get one single squash. My pepper plants also did nothing. I also planted watermelon (outside the garden box) and the vines grew long and I got about 3 watermelon, but they didn't taste good.

So this year I really worked the dirt in the raised garden and added in some fertilizer before planting. So far, my garden looks pretty and the plants are doing well. My tomatoes plants look healthy and are starting to flower. My squash are flowering and I'm starting to see the flowers turning into tiny squash. I've picked two banana peppers so far. So I have hope!

John 15:1-8 speaks about Jesus being the vine and we are the branches. The Father cuts off every branch that doesn't bear fruit and He prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. How do we bear fruit? By being attached to the vine, Jesus. We abide/dwell/live in Christ and He in us. If we separate ourselves from Him, then we can do nothing and we are useless and wither away. But if we stay attached to the vine, Jesus, then we will produce much fruit and are His true disciples. This brings glory to the Father!

There are those who look "pretty" and seem to be doing all the right things, but they never produce spiritual fruit. Why? Because they aren't truly rooted in Jesus. They may say all the right things and are trying to be good and do all the right things, but they're doing it in their own strength. When that happens and drought or storms come or something happens where they're tested, they're going to wither and die because they're not truly attached to Jesus. Anger, bitterness, fear, doubt, worry, unforgiveness...... will fill their life, because they weren't fully rooted and connected to God.

It's possible to go through tough life situations and bear fruit in the midst of it. How? Because the person is continuously abiding in Christ and He in them. They don't disconnect from the Vine, just because circumstances are difficult or they don't understand why things are happening as they are.

Satan will peck away at us, at times, and try to steal our spiritual fruit. He tries to destroy the harvest of any fruit in our lives. At times it may look as if he is successful. But if we remain attached to Jesus and don't allow Satan to sever us away from the Vine, then we will remain spiritually fruitful and there will be a harvest.

Galatians 5:22 tells us what type of fruit the Holy Spirit produces in our life: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

I can pick and choose what type of vegetables I want to grow in my garden. But we can't pick and choose which of those fruits we want in our life, but we are to produce them all.

Just as I used to call my dad for advice and could talk to him about various issues in my garden, we can talk to our Heavenly Father about the fruit, or lack thereof, that our "garden" (our life) is producing. If there is a problem with weeds cropping up in our life, we can ask Him how to get rid of them. If we aren't producing in certain areas, we can ask what we need to do. We can talk to the Father about every detail regarding our life and He will always know exactly what needs to be done. Sometimes He may need to do some pruning, which can be really uncomfortable and seem really hard at times. But God wants to get rid of those areas where we may be weak, where we may be withering, where we may be unproductive, where we may be dying due to "pests" and "disease" that are trying to destroy us. He wants to give us abundant life that is fruitful and has an abundant harvest.

Stay attached to Jesus, regardless of what happens and how difficult it may seem. Stay deeply rooted in Him! Let's be fruit-bearers and light to a world that needs Jesus!

JON'S PERSPECTIVE:

Also last year, Loretta's raised garden had a thick weed cloth under it. We didn't remove it, but I'm sure it has decayed quite a a bit since then. So, the new plants can probably burrow their roots right through it, and get deep.

We also have pecan trees with incredibly deep roots. They are big, and incredibly strong. They have survived every wind, every flood, and every drought that has come along. They are old, and some of them have finished their lives on their own. But no outside force has been able to hurt them.

We can't grow deep roots by simply reading the cover or a summary of the Bible. We can't even grow them very deeply by hearing someone else talk about Jesus. We have to do the work to get to know Him by reading and studying His Word. And then we need to study how His Word relates to our own lives. Then our roots can grow deep and strong.

ON THE MENEWE:

Sushi Bake

Cook 1 cup of sushi (short grain) rice according to package directions.

Bake or cook salmon, then use a fork to flake into small pieces.

Place flaked salmon, flaked imitation crab, chopped onion, cream cheese, and mayonnaise in a mixing bowl. Mash/stir together until well combined.

Drizzle cooked rice with sesame oil, Mirin, and sprinkle in furakaki seasoning. Spread in a 8x8 pan.

Scoop salmon/crab mixture on top and spread evenly.

Sprinkle with more furakaki seasoning. Drizzle top with kewpie mayo and siracha.

Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

Eat on seaweed, topped with slices of avocado.

THIS, THAT AND THE OTHER:

This past Saturday there had been rain in the forecast for most of the day. As the day went by, they kept pushing the precipitation out further and further and the chances kept lessening. Late in the afternoon I decided that I needed to go ahead and water my plants, because they were getting so dry, and it looked as if they weren't going to be naturally watered by the rain. About an hour after I watered, Jon looked outside and commented that it was really clouding up and looked as if it would rain. About that time, my sister, who lives about 10 minutes from me said that it was pouring at her house and had been for some time. I told her that I had been praying for rain all afternoon, but we still hadn't got a single drop. On the radar it looked as if we were right on the very edge of not getting rain. She said that she had just prayed that God would send the rain our way. About 5 minutes later, here came the rain!! Jon and I went out on the back porch to watch it and smelled it as it watered the dry ground. We heard some kids next door outside laughing and playing in the rain. All of a sudden, it was a complete downpour and was getting us wet on the covered porch, so we went inside. We also got a little hail. But we are so thankful for God hearing and answering our prayers and sending up some good rain!

THOUGHT TO PONDER:

A word of encouragement during a failure is worth more than an hour of praise after success. - unknown

OUR HEARTFELT THANKS TO YOU:

We love you!

Loretta & Jon

http://www.graysheep.org