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

December 6, 2023

LIFE IN THE FOLD

My sister, Janie, got a new puppy. He is an early Christmas present from a couple of her kids. They knew that she has been wanting a new puppy for a long time, and ran across this one that was needing a home.

The puppy is so cute and sweet! He is an Irish Doodle; half Irish Setter and half Poodle. He is very smart and I fell in love with him when I saw him.

Our dog is 11 and is half Bichon and half Poodle. We never thought we would be dog owners, until we saw him as a puppy and couldn't resist him! We have talked throughout the years that when something happens to him, we probably won't get another dog. Then last week we were picking our car up from the auto repair and a lady with two really cute dogs was sitting outside.... and we both thought, "Hmm... if we get another dog after Sammie dies, maybe that's what we want!" Jon even did some research on the dogs and I was looking up pictures and information.

Janie's dog isn't the kind we had been looking at, but when I found out that there were two puppies still left, I had the thought that maybe we should go ahead and get a puppy since it was a lot cheaper than what you'd normally pay for this type of dog.

Last night before going to bed I just said a quick prayer, "God, what should we do? Should we go ahead and get a puppy now or wait?"

I immediately heard His response! "Just because you want something or find it at a good price, doesn't mean you have to have it. When Sammie dies, do you not think that I can provide the right dog for you and Jon at a good price?"

I started thinking of all the reasons why this wasn't the right timing to get a puppy and why it wouldn't be good for Sammie, who is 11 now and used to having our attention..... and how it wouldn't be fair to Sammie.... etc. In my heart, I know what the right thing to do was - and that was to not buy a new puppy. I had peace about my decision and knew it was the right one for us to make.

That phrase has been running through my mind today, "Just because you want something or it's a good deal doesn't mean you have to have it." Another way to put it is just because you want something doesn't mean you need it; and just because you can afford it or it's "a good deal" doesn't mean it's for you.

That can be applicable in so many different areas.

Last week Jon took a vacation week and the two of us spent a lot of time at home. He worked on various projects, we napped, and I did a lot of online shopping - for Christmas, Jon's birthday, and a little for myself. There were a lot of really good sales happening! Here's the problem: I would order something from a business... then next thing I know, I get an email from them with additional promotions and discounts and coupons! Some of the deals seemed almost too good to pass up. Finding bargains, using those discounts, and seeing how cheap I could buy things became a challenge... and I had to tell myself, "STOP! You have everything you need, you don't need to spend any more money; and just because it's on sale and a really good deal doesn't mean you have to buy it!!" I stopped opening those emails and looking at them. I wasn't buying on credit and we had the money to spend; but that doesn't mean that I needed to continue ordering. Our money can be put to better use! I'm proud of myself for getting good sale prices on everything I bought and I wasn't wasting money; but I knew that I needed to stop looking at the sales and spending.

Sometimes we can do that in relationships. We see someone who looks "good" and think if we don't try to snatch them up then we may never get another chance. We fail to ask God what His will is... and may even ignore those nudges that He is giving us telling us to back off. That's how people often end up in bad relationships that God never intended. Waiting for the one that God has for us can seem like an endless wait at times; trust me, I know! I was 38 when I went on my first date - true story. It wasn't like men were beating my door down asking me out. But I had someone tell me, "Maybe you should stop being so picky!" I thought, "Picky with who?! Nobody is asking me out!!" But I also knew that I didn't want to get involved with someone that God didn't intend and end up in a bad relationship or marriage. I came to the point of thinking that I would never get married and had made my peace with that. Then God showed up and brought my husband into my life. I'm grateful that I waited for His timing and His mate for me.

There may be times when we think if we don't grab onto something or the opportunity that we see, then they will pass us by and never come our way again. Even though we feel that nudging that says, "NO!" we try our best to hold onto it or pursue it.

Like the example I gave with the puppy - thinking that we better take advantage of this opportunity and buy a puppy now, because it's too good of a deal to pass up. We don't need another dog - we have a dog. We don't need to buy in advance, anticipating that Sammie will die in the next few years. We don't need to get a puppy just because it's available to us.

We don't know the future and what our life will be like down the road. In a few years when our dog dies, if Jon and I need another one, God can provide what we need at that time at a price we can afford. And it may end up being an even better fit for us than this puppy would be. If we're at a place in our life at that time or have something going on where we don't need another dog, then God knows that, too. We can trust Him with all of the details of our life, even regarding pets!

God has good plans for you! God has good things for your life! God may even bless you with the desires of your heart and give you those things that you want. But there may be other times when He says, "No" or "Not now" or "Wait." Trust Him when that happens!! He may have something much better for you than you could ever dream of or imagine. But you may have to be patient in the waiting time. Sometimes He may say no and you not get it later, because He knows you don't need it or how it could affect your life. Regardless, know that He loves you and is a good, good Father!!

JON'S PERSPECTIVE:

More and more often I keep returning to the idea that when I feel rushed into something, it is probably wrong.

There are times when an opportunity comes with a time limit. Some of those opportunities are good.

And sometimes God does tell us (like he did Joseph, Jesus's father), "Get up, and leave." When He does, don't wait around.

But those cases are rare.

Satan commonly wants us to be pushed into something without thinking it through. He wants us to react out of fear and panic. He will tell us we will miss out if we don't buy now. We won't have our heart's desire if we don't commit to buy it now. If we had time to think about it, we might realize that thing isn't our heart's desire--we never even knew it was an option before, and if we had it, we wouldn't really like it. If we have time to think it through, we will see that the actual price is higher than what we would pay for it if we hadn't heard it "normally cost 10 times as much". And we might realize the whole thing is too good to be true.

I Kings 19:9~13 tells about God speaking to Elijah. There was a strong wind, an earthquake, and a fire, but God's voice wasn't in any of them. Then Elijah heard a soft whisper, and that was the voice of God.

Most often, God's voice isn't a rushed panic. It is a still, soft voice encouraging us in the path we should take.

ON THE MENEWE:

Twice Baked Potatoes

Bake potatoes until tender in 400 oven; about an hour. Do not wrap in foil when cooking.

When done, cut potatoes in half lengthwise. Hold them with a cloth and gently squeeze to loosen the potato inside. Scoop out most of the potato and put in a bowl. Leave the skin intact and place on a baking sheet.

Mix all the ingredients together. Stuff potato skins to overflowing.

Bake in 350 oven about 20 minutes or until heated thoroughly.

THIS, THAT AND THE OTHER:

I'm sitting here looking at my pretty Christmas tree and it reminded me of ones we had when I was growing up. We always had a real tree and they generally looked a little scraggly. I have a picture of my sisters and I standing beside our Christmas tree when I was probably 4-5 years old. The tree had some colored balls, one strand of old silver tinsel draped around the middle, silver icicles, a homemade star that was wrapped in tinfoil on top, and those big bulbed colored lights; and it really wasn't that attractive. But I never remembered thinking that when I was a child. I was always excited when we decorated our tree and thought it was pretty.

My oldest sister said that she always thought that one of our uncle and aunt's Christmas tree was so pretty. A few years ago she saw a picture that had their tree in it and she started laughing when she saw the tree. It, too, was pretty scraggly and not nearly as pretty as she had always thought it had been. She said she wondered why she had always thought that their tree was so special when she was growing up. She decided that it was probably because theirs had a fancier decorations that were store-bought.

It's all about perspective from being a kid to becoming an adult!

THOUGHT TO PONDER:

We ask God to change our situation,

not knowing He put us in the situation to change us. - TobyMac

OUR HEARTFELT THANKS TO YOU:

We love you!

Loretta & Jon

http://www.graysheep.org