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 6, 2024

LIFE IN THE FOLD

Have you ever noticed that Jon's part of this newsletter is titled, "Jon's Perspective"?

What is perspective? It's a particular attitude toward or a way of regarding something; a point of view. Some of the words that the thesaurus uses for perspective are: outlook, viewpoint or point of view, stance, attitude, way of looking or thinking.

I'm pretty convinced that no matter what we do, think, say, or believe, there will always be people who have a different perspective. Except for the matter of salvation and repentance, most things are really subjective.

I get my nephew's two first-graders on the school bus in the mornings. There's a total of around ten kids who get on the bus at that stop. The bus stop is next door to my nephew's home. Most of the parents drop their kids off, then leave, so I feel like I'm kind of like the bus stop grandma. I don't like leaving the kids there without and adult, so I keep an eye on them. The kids on the bus are from kindergarten to 5^th grade.

Recently, some of the kids were talking to me and they asked if I had to go to school when I was their age. I answered yes, but my thought was, "How old do you think I am, that I wouldn't attend school when I was a little girl?!" They asked how many grades I went to and I told them kindergarten through 12^th grade. Their eyes got big and they said, "Wow!!" I was still a little puzzled at their responses! I told them that it doesn't seem like it now, but time would go by quickly and they would be out of school before they knew it..... and that one day they would be as old as I am. I'm not sure they believed that they would ever be that old. One little girl said, "Next you'll die and go to heaven!" I told her that was true.

Perspective! From their viewpoint, it's hard to imagine that they will ever be as old as I am. They look at a woman with white hair and find it hard to believe that I was once their age and had to go to school every day. They think of me as being so incredibly old, and death is the next big thing that will happen to me.

At 59 years old, I don't feel quite so ancient and my perspective is that I have a lot of good years ahead. I look at them and remember being their age and having to go to school every day and riding the school bus. In my mind, it's hard to believe that it's been over fifty years ago that I was their age. I realize how quickly time passes by. I know that I've lived more years than I have left; and I'm okay with that. I'd hate to be their age, just now starting out and having so many years of life ahead of me. Perspective!

Early on Sunday morning a severe storm with strong winds hit our area. Around 4:15 we were awakened when our electric went out and we could hear the force of the wind, as well as loud thunder and constant flashes of lightning. The storm was so loud, it took us a few minutes to be able to hear the tornado siren going off. The worst of the storm passed through fairly quickly. We went back to bed around 5:30 and slept a while longer. All day we kept expecting our electricity to be restored, but that didn't happen. In fact, our power didn't come back on until 1:15 on Monday afternoon.

Limbs, from our neighbor's trees, had fallen on the lines. The lines were sagging low and the electric pole was leaning to one side. It took them a few hours on Monday to get everything cleaned up and repaired. It was a happy moment when our power was restored.

Yes, this was an inconvenience, but we realize that we have so much to be thankful for and it could have been so much worse. There were some, in other parts of Oklahoma, who experienced tornado damage. We really can't complain about having no electricity for 33 hours, when our home was protected and we suffered no damage. We are healthy and well. It's all about perspective!

Have you ever been in a situation when God's perspective is very different than yours? I have! Perhaps I think God is going to do things one way, then He does something completely different. I may pray about something, thinking God will answer like I want and I have faith, but He doesn't answer like I thought He would. Something happens that makes no sense to me and I can't figure out why.

Isaiah 55:8-9 says, "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts."

Many times, I've had to remind myself of the above scripture. I know that there are going to be things happen that I will never understand or be able to explain. That's where faith and trust in God comes in. God doesn't have to explain Himself to me. I need to align my perspective to His; even if I don't understand. And that is an ongoing challenge!

JON'S PERSPECTIVE:

There is an old story, over 2,000 years old, about some blind men. The story is told in many variations. I'll ad-lib it here, but this version has probably been told before.

Some blind men were making their way down a road. They were very good friends. One of them ran into something, and stopped. "What is this? It must be a wall. Why did someone build a wall in the middle of the road!?". The others groped around to find what he was talking about. One felt something leathery, but flexible. It pulled away from his touch. "Wall? It's just a snake. A huge one, but it isn't a wall." Another one felt something long and rough. "It isn't a snake. It's just a rope. Not a very good one at that." One dropped to the ground and felt around. "I found it. It's just a tree. Odd bark, but it's definitely a tree." And the last one felt something flat, and tough, but not very thick. "It's just a tarp. It's even flapping around like it hasn't been tied down well." They kept arguing and arguing, and parted as terrible enemies. Each one was certain the others were exaggerating what they felt.

What they had found was an elephant. The first one ran flat into the elephant's side, and it felt like a wall. The second grabbed its trunk, and when the elephant pulled away, he thought they had found a snake. The third grabbed the elephant by a tail, and thought it was a rope. The fourth felt its leg, and was sure they had found a tree. And the fifth felt the elephant's flappy ear, and insisted it was a tarp.

What each one felt was real, and honest. But each one was sure that what they felt was all they needed to know. So the conclusions they came to were wrong. If they had taken the time to change places, and try to fill in the gaps, they would have understood the elephant for what it was.

Compared to God, we are like blind people. We do see what is visible around us, but God sees what isn't visible. He sees our hearts, and our true feelings, and the hearts of all others. He sees the past, the future, and all our potential. And all he sees is right. Compared to that, we are like blind people groping around.

ON THE MENEWE:

Pumpkin Dump Cake

Preheat oven to 350.

Coat a 9x13 baking pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

In a large bowl combine the pumpkin, evaporated milk, sugar, eggs, and pumpkin pie spice. Stir to combine and pour into the prepared pan.

Sprinkle the entire box of cake mix on top; followed by chopped nuts and/or toffee bits. Pour the melted butter over the top.

Bake for 45-50 minutes until center is set and edges are lightly browned.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

THIS, THAT AND THE OTHER:

Church Bulletin Bloopers:

Thank you, Steve, who once again has worked hard to clean the pastor off the basement floor.

Attend and you will hear an excellent speaker and heave a healthy lunch.

A cookbook is being compiled by the ladies of the church. Please submit your favorite recipe, also a short antidote for it.

Life groups meet on Wednesday evening at 7:00 PM for food, fun, and fellowwhipping.

Jean will be leading a weight-management series Wednesday nights. She's used the program herself and has been growing like crazy!

Maundy Thursday service: The ladies of the altar guild will be stripping on the altar.

Visitors are asked to sing their names at the church entrance.

The sermon this morning: 'Contemporary Issues #3 -- Euthanasia.' The closing hymn: 'Take my Life.'

The class on prophesy has been cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances.

Illiterate? Write to the church office for help.

THOUGHT TO PONDER:

Our King is seated.

He's not frantically pacing. He's not anxious or nervous. He's not unsettled or scared.

He is seated. Settled. Secure. - TobyMac

OUR HEARTFELT THANKS TO YOU:

We love you!

Loretta & Jon

http://www.graysheep.org