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

November 8, 2023

LIFE IN THE FOLD

Jon and I recently took a vacation with some family members. This was a bucket list trip for us all. We drove to Niagara Falls and took the Maid of the Mist boat ride, made a quick stop at Lake Erie in New York, bought maple syrup in Vermont, drove across New Hampshire, went to Acadia National Park in Maine, saw Plymouth Rock and went to a small village set up as it would have been in the days of the pilgrims, ate fresh lobster/lobster rolls and clam chowder, went to Cape Cod, drove across Connecticut and Rhode Island, drove across Pennsylvania to Ohio, stopped at an Amish community for a couple hours and ate delicious food, then on to Springfield, Illinois before heading home.

We saw beautiful countryside and gorgeous leaves on the trees! It was a wonderful trip that was enjoyed by all!

Our last stop was in Springfield, Illinois where we toured the home of President Abraham Lincoln and his wife, Mary. It was where they had lived for seventeen years and had raised their boys. It was very interesting and had a lot of furniture and things that had belonged to the Lincoln family. Some of the rooms were set up as they would have been when they had lived there.

This is where they were living when Lincoln was elected president of the United States. In his bedroom was the desk where they think he likely wrote his inauguration speech.

There are two things that I'd like to share with you that I learned.

First of all, Mr. Lincoln had bought his boys an expensive toy (for that time). It was a stereoscope that cost $20, which was the equivalent of a laborer's monthly wages. He loved spoiling his boys!

At that time, all the cooking was done outdoors or in an open fireplace. He later bought Mary a cookstove with an oven for $22.... but bought his boys the toy before buying his wife a cookstove! That would not have made me very happy, as a wife. She loved the stove so much that when her husband was elected president and they were getting ready to move to Washington DC, she wanted to take the stove with her! Mr. Lincoln somehow convinced her to leave it; but I'm sure they had interesting conversations about this.

Sometimes peoples' priorities are very different! What seems important to one may seem pointless or of little value to another. There have been times when I've heard of choices that people have made and wondered, "Why would they do that?!" It makes no sense to me, but to them it is how it should be. That's not to say that they're wrong and I'm right, or vice-versa, but we perceived things very differently and don't always agree on what should be important or priority. Perhaps Mrs. Lincoln was totally fine with her husband spoiling their children and spending that much money on them, while she continued cooking in an open fireplace. To me, that seems backwards; that the priority would be a nice cookstove and oven for his wife.

Also, there are times when we get something that we cherish and have wanted so badly that we want to hold onto it tightly. Perhaps we've waited for it for a long time, and upon finally getting it, we cling to it.

Can you imagine if the Lincolns showed up at the White House with that heavy kitchen stove from their home? I doubt that Mary cooked very often, if at all, during their presidential term! Their new home had a large furnished kitchen, with a full-time staff, to cook for them and wait on them. All they had to do was show up for meals and have it served to them.

There may be times when our Heavenly Father is saying, "Let go of that and stop trying to carry all those things that you consider so valuable and precious around with you! I have something so much better for you!" We sometimes have trouble just sitting at His table and enjoying all that He has prepared for us. We feel as if we need to contribute or work for what He blesses us with. We think we have to earn it. We wear ourselves out trying to do enough good works to feel as if we deserve a seat at His table, when He's telling us that we just have to come and enjoy being in His presence.

Secondly, when they moved to the White House, their intentions and plans were that they were going to move back to their home in Springfield, IL as soon as his term as president was up. They left many of their belongings in the house and rented it out, thinking they would be returning in a few short years. As you know from history, President Lincoln was assassinated and that didn't happen as they had thought.

In fact, the only thing they had sold was that bed that had belonged to Mr. Lincoln. The buyer lived in Chicago and the bed was destroyed in the famed Chicago fire, that started in the O'Leery's barn.... when supposedly a cow kicked over a lantern.

Proverbs 16:9 says, "We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps."

James 4:13-15 says, "Look here, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there for a year. We will do business there and make a profit.' How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog -- it's here a little while, then it's gone. What you ought to say is, 'If the Lord wants us to (or if it's the Lord's will), we will live and do this or that.'"

Is it wrong to make plans for the future? No, absolutely not! But we need to be willing to trust God and know that He is the one who ultimately orders our steps and whose will will be accomplished. Sometimes those things that we plan will come to pass... sometimes God has other plans that are better... sometimes His plans are totally different from what we thought they would be and it's not always easy to understand why things happen as they do. But throughout it all, God is in control.

JON'S PERSPECTIVE:

One of the biggest motivations for going to New England was for the fall foliage. It really was beautiful. But honestly, Pennsylvania was more breathtaking. We also wanted to try good, fresh lobster from people who knew how to make good lobster. We asked around for a good restaurant, and tried one, but they were out--at about 4:00! It turned out to be a bad week for lobster, probably because of the weather. We did get some lobster. It was good, but I doubt I'll ever try it again.

I wanted to take a lot of photos, so took our camera. It probably isn't much better than our phones, but was supposed to hold a lot of pictures. I brought the wrong memory for it, so only got a few. I tried buying another memory card, but it didn't work. So, I got a few on my phone, till it filled up, and lots of memories.

Over all, it was a very good trip, and we were all glad we went. But it didn't always go the way we pictured it in our minds. That's true with a lot of things in life. We plan and prepare for something, and then get something else instead. Fortunately, we went into this trip with a few hopes, but we weren't really hinging the success of the vacation on anything in particular. We were flexible, and enjoyed what we found along the way. Like the old story goes, the destination wasn't really the vacation, the trip was.

ON THE MENEWE:

Joggin' in a Jug

Mix the ingredients together. I used Braggs apple cider vinegar, when I made it. Store in refrigerator.

Drink 1/4 cup per day.

**I got this recipe from an Amish cookbook and it says that drinking this daily will help lower cholesterol. I don't know if this is true, but I am trying it to see if it will help.

You may need to stir the mixture occasionally. To me, the taste isn't bad at all.

THIS, THAT AND THE OTHER:

Today is Jon's mom's 80^th birthday. We would like to wish her a blessed birthday and pray God's blessings upon her life. We are thankful that she has lived near us for the past few years and that we've been able to help her out, when needed. Well, we actually helped her out before she moved nearby; but having her close makes it more convenient.

If you still have your parents or a special relative still with you, cherish the moments that you have together. Let them know that they are loved and what they mean to you. After they are gone, all the words spoken about them really have little meaning; so tell them while they are here.

THOUGHT TO PONDER:

You may think you can live fine without Christ,

but you cannot afford to die without him. - Charles Spurgeon

OUR HEARTFELT THANKS TO YOU:

We love you!

Loretta & Jon

http://www.graysheep.org