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

September 6, 2023

LIFE IN THE FOLD

For probably the past 4-5 years, Jon and I have been stuffing bills and receipts and papers that needed to be shredded in a trashbag in a closet. We fully intended to shred those papers... when we got around to it. But it was kind of one of those things -- out of sight, out of mind. When I opened the door, I'd think, "I need to shred that one of these days;" but the pile grew from one trash bag to two.

Finally, a few days ago Jon had to bring home some papers from his office to shred. He decided since he had the shredder out that we should work on shredding those two trash bags. We had no idea that it was going to end up being such a huge project! We both worked on it for a few hours and it seemed as if those full trash bags weren't getting any emptier. But we kept working on it a little at a time.

On Tuesday, I was determined that I was going to finish up and get the mess cleaned out of the living room. I worked consistently on it for a couple hours and finally got it all done. It felt like a huge accomplishment! But it also made me aware that we can't do that again, but need to stay up with it.

No one, except for Jon and I, knew that we had two big bags full of papers that needed to be shredded. We kept it hidden inside a closet where no one ever looked. In fact, we could justify it by saying that it didn't affect anyone other than us, so was no one else's business.

Honestly, it didn't bother anyone other than us and had no affect on them. And even more to the point, it didn't really even bother us for a long time.

The day that Jon brought the papers home from work to shred, I had tossed some more papers onto an already full bag. That did cause a problem for me! The bag began to tilt sideways and papers spill out all over the floor. I had to clean up the mess and had decided that it was time to clean up and shred those two full trash bags... but I would do it "tomorrow".

There are times in life when we begin to stuff things away inside of us, thinking it doesn't affect anyone and no one's business but ours. It may not feel as if it's a big deal and unimportant. But instead of dealing with it, we build upon that, a layer at a time. Our heart becomes full and there will come a point when it's going to overflow. Whatever it is that we've piled into our heart and mind, without dealing with it, will eventually spill out. There are many different ways that it may happen, and may be different for each of us.

It may overflow in anger, in self-loathing, in hurting someone with our words, with us becoming bitter or feeling worthless, show up in our actions, criticism, etc. But it will spill out and touch whatever or whoever is around us. We won't be able to keep the door closed and keep it hidden forever.

We all have our own struggles. We have our own thoughts that we battle. We have our insecurities. We have those pet peeves that bug us. We have those people who drive us crazy. We have our own likes and dislikes. We are all unique and different and have our quirks.

Not everyone is going to be our favorite person and best friend -- that's okay. We have different personalities and some are more sensitive than others. Some are more soft spoken than others. Some are more tender-hearted and some more blunt. There are those who get their feelings hurt more easily, while others can let things roll off them without offense. All these things don't make one person better than another -- it just makes us different.

Yet, we all can hide things internally and feel as if we can handle it. The truth is, we can't handle it. We all need Jesus in our life! It's when we think that we can handle it or that it doesn't affect anyone else that we tend to hold onto things. We need to give it to Jesus ASAP and let Him take care of it for us -- let Him shred it up and get rid of it.

Even when we've allowed things to accumulate, it's never too late to hand it over to God. The more we allow things to build up, the more burdened we will feel. And if we refuse to confess those things and repent and deal with them, it can separate us from God. It can spill out onto others and cause harm.

If you're carrying around baggage that needs to be shredded up and thrown away, take it to Jesus and allow Him to lift the load and free you. Don't live with bondage and the heaviness of trying to keep things hidden.

John 8:36 says, "If the Son sets you free, you are truly free." Jesus has come to set us free from all sin and bondage. What you're holding onto may not feel like sin or you may think that it's not that bad, but if it enslaves your thoughts or causes you to be angry or hold onto unforgiveness or become bitter or draw you away from Christ, then you need to experience the freedom that only Jesus can bring.

Give your burden to Jesus and leave it with Him. Don't try to carry it around or keep taking it back, but receive the freedom that comes only from our Father.

JON'S PERSPECTIVE:

I'm sure everyone knows lead is poisonous. And I'm sure no one in their right mind would shave off a chunk of lead and eat it. But tiny amounts aren't dangerous. If you handle lead, you might see your hands stain with the black of lead-oxide. But probably wouldn't think much of it. That tiny bit isn't dangerous, and wouldn't hurt you, even though a very tiny portion of that tiny bit does get into your body. Our bodies are designed well enough that they can eventually get rid of minuscule amounts of almost any poison.

But someone who handles lead frequently day after day, eventually builds up the lead in their bodies. I experienced that myself. I used to work with solder for hours every day for years. Solder is usually at least 30% lead. After years of that exposure, I could see a definite blue tint at the base of my fingernails, which is a sign of lead (or similar) poisoning. At that point, I wasn't in any danger, but was heading in that direction. I quit handling solder with my bare hands for several months or was careful to wash my hands more often, and eventually, the blue faded back to the natural pink.

Even though it is possible to work the lead out of our systems, it takes a long time. And if we don't give it that time, it builds up.

Sin can be the same way. We may believe a tiny portion of sin done a tiny portion of our time is too minuscule to matter. But if we don't separate ourselves from it, it can build up until it does become dangerous. And sin doesn't just work its way out of our souls. Jesus does that for us, if we ask.

ON THE MENEWE:

Strawberry Jello Cake

Mix the cake mix according to the box instructions; bake.

After taking the cake from the oven, mix the jello according to the package directions.

Poke holes all over the top of the cake (use a fork or end of a wooden spoon); pour jello over the top of the cake. Let it set for a several minutes to allow the cake to cool.

Topping instructions:

Mix the package of pudding with milk and vanilla; fold in Cool Whip and stir together until smooth.

Spread over top of cake.

You can slice fresh strawberries to add to the top of the cake, if desired.

Refrigerate until ready to serve.

THIS, THAT AND THE OTHER:

More church bloopers!

My joke is easy and my burden is light.

When parking on the north side of the church, please remember to park on an angel.

The pastor is on vacation. Massages can be given to church secretary.

The choir invites any member of the congregation who enjoys sinning to join the choir.

Our next song is "Angels We Have Heard Get High."

Brother Lamar has gone on to be the Lord.

THOUGHT TO PONDER:

The biggest communication problem is we do not listen to understand;

we listen to reply. - Dr Laura

OUR HEARTFELT THANKS TO YOU:

We love you!

Loretta & Jon

http://www.graysheep.org