Lost and Found

   One of the things I've noticed about sheep, since we've started raising them, is that they are not very good at figuring things out. Last night, one of the lambs got seperated from his mother by a fence. He was on one side baaing loudly and she was on the other side baaing loudly. All he had to do was walk down the fence line a couple of yards to the gate to be reunited with his mom. Neither one of them could figure this out and that little lamb was hopelessly lost.
   I've been hopelessly lost in my life, too. I couldn't figure out how to get from the place of captivity my life was in to a reunion with The Shepherd of my soul, Jesus Christ. I floundered around for years until I took a step of faith and started attending a Bible study. There, in that study of Matthew, I fell totally in love with Jesus Christ and He proved to be the way out of my captivity.
   I've seen the lambs get lost from their mothers this way numerous times. They just can't figure it out. Sometimes we have to help them. I continue to make the same mistakes over and over, too. Trying to figure it out proves fruitless until Jesus shows up and saves me from my stupid self.
   I praise Jesus that when I am ready to give up, He isn't; that when I've hopelessly lost my way, He shows me a way back; that when the chaos and terror of the world deafens my hearing, His voice sounds clear and true; and that when I want to let go, He grabs hold of me with His powerful right arm.
"All of us, like sheep, have strayed away, We have left God's path to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on Him the sins of us all", Isaiah 53:6.
"For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost', Luke 19:10.

Possibility

 We decided we needed some color on our little sheep farm so last Saturday we spent all day planting

seeds and some flower bushes.  It is beyond amazing to me that you can plant a tiny seed, not as big as a pinhead, and a few months later it has grown into a large lovely flower. How is that possible?

To me, it's a small pciture of the Gospel. A picture of Jesus being buried in the ground, then rising to new life in glorious splendor. It is also a picture of our lives as Christians, I think. We die to ourselves, our old natures buried with Jesus, and by His power we rise as new creations who are becoming more and more like Him. It's amazing. How is that possible? The Bible says"For nothing is impossible with God", Luke 1:37. The Bible also says "The Kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed planted in a field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but it becomes the largest of garden plants; it grows into a tree, and birds come and make nests in its' branches", Matthew 13:31.

My deepest desire is to have the kind of faith that grows into a tree like that. Or a tree like this: They will be called oaks of righteousness, plantings of the Lord for the display of His splendor", Isaiah 61:3. Jesus is amazing. He is the reason everything is possible.

 

The Guardian

   Before we bought the sheep to get our little sheep farm started, we bought possibly our most important purchase, a guard dog. Her name is Delilah and she is beautiful with the spirit of an old soul. She's a six month old Pyrenean Mastiff. She's 75 pounds and growing, a solid mass who can inexplicibly wiggle under the smallest fence spaces.
   She walks our fence line and instintively knows that all inside it are hers to protect. She lets us know, by the timbre of her bark, if anything unusual comes in, including the arrival of baby lambs. If one of the lambs gets seperated from her mother, we hear about it. We have no doubt that if a predator came after one of the sheep Delilah would defend it to the end. That's who she is.
   When I think about Delilah I think about my guardian, The Guardian of my soul, Jesus Christ. He has already given His life for me. And I have no doubt that He will be with me, guarding my path and pretecting me from harm, until I see Him in my heavenly home. That's who He is.
"Let those who love the Lord hate evil, for He guards the lives of His faithful ones and delivers them from the hand of the wicked", Psalm 97:10.
"He guards the paths of the just and protects those who are faithful to Him", Proverbs 2:8.
  

A Successful Day

   "A successful day is one in which you have stayed in touch with Me, even if many things remain undone at the end of the day."  I read this yesterday in "Jesus Calling" by Sarah Young (which is written as if Jesus is speaking to you), and it has filled up my mind. Wow! What a perspective! That's so freeing!

 If I keep my focus on Jesus all day, I'll have a successful day:
*even if the dishes don't get washed.
*even if that million dollar deal doesn't get closed.
*even if my son doesn't get his homework done.
*even if the sheets don't get changed.
*even if the house sale falls through.
*even if I don't make it to the grocery store.

And also,
*even if that million dollar deal closes,
*even if my son gets all A's,
*even if my house sells for more than I'm asking,
those things don't make a successful day. A successful day is one in which I have stayed in touch with Him! I've seen that principle before:

"But the Lord said to her, "My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details. There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her".

Black Sheep

   My husband and I recently moved to the country. It had been a dream of his to raise sheep when he retired. Although he dragged me, heels dug in, into his dream, I am absolutely loving this lifestyle. We've had five little lambs born this week, a set of triplets and a set of twins. One of the triplets is solid black except for a little comma of pink for a nose and a pink crescent mouth. I'm in love!
   This got me to thinking about the term "black sheep". In the English language," black sheep" is used to describe a disreputable or odd member of a group. You may have a "black sheep" in your family: an eccentric aunt, a wayward cousin, an alchoholic brother. I was the "black sheep" in my family. But my mother never stopped loving me and praying for me.
   This ewe, Big Mama, doesn't see any difference between this black lamb and the other two. She lets all three nurse as much as they need to. She head butts anyone who comes close to them. She doesn't  see the black lamb as an anomoly but as one of her babies to take good care of.
   I thought of how this is a picture of our Good Shepherd, Jesus. He doesn't see some of us as black beacuse our sins are greater. He sees all of us who believe in Him as white as wool and lovingly takes care of us all the same.
"So there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus", Romans 8:1. NLT 

Self Is A Slippery Slope

   What a slippery slope self is. I've been desperate for Jesus for as long as I can remember and in love with Him for a very long time. I've gone, over the years, to a lot of Bible studies and Christian conferences in order to know Him better. I've learned about grace, and mercy, and forgiveness, and unconditional love. Lately, I've spent time sitting alone in His Presence and I've been feeling good, victorious, like an overcomer. But still-self is a slippery slope.
   It only takes one morning when I have to rush off somewhere and I don't take the time to read my Bible or pray, and I've lost my footing. It doesn't take but one day of my family visiting and the old triggers ignite, and I'm starting to slide. It doesn't take but one afternoon of black storm clouds moving through and my body aches all over and I'm tripped up.
   You get the picture. It doesn't take much at all to make it all about me. "I don't feel good. I shouldn't have said that. I want what she has. I don't belong there. I'm too old to do that".
   It's time. I know it's time. Jesus has shown me it's time. Time to grab hold with both hands. Time to center myself in His Presence each day. Time to keep my focus on His love and grace. Time to make it all about Him.

"The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand", Psalm 37:23-24. NLT

Living Like It

   Today is a beautiful spring-like day where I live. I'm thankful that we have had a mild winter. Except for a few snow flurries and a strectch of frigid weather last week, I can't complain about the cold. I'm so sorry for those of you who have had one major snowstorm after another. I know how difficult it can be to dig out from just one snowfall and I'm praying for you.
   I have felt really good this winter. January and February are usually the hardest months for me. I barely can drag myself out of bed; leaden with a heavy blanket of depression. But this year has been different. I don't attribute it to the mild weather we've had. I attribute it to the forced time of sitting because of my severe back pain a year ago. With nothing else to do as I sat, I turned to Jesus and spent more time in His presence, praying and reading the Bible.
   This may sound crazy, but even at Christmas I noticed a change. It was a feeling of being in the stable, kneeling at the feet of Jesus, worshipping Him with the shepherds. All of my life before, I had merely watched the Christ Child from a long distance. I have been praying for a while that Jesus would make me into a new creation. Recently I have realized that I already am that new creation. I just need to start living like it.
"For you are children of the light and of the day; we don't belong to darkness and night. But let us who live in the light be clearheaded, protected by the armor of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet the confidence of our salvation", 1 Thessalonians 5:5, 8. NLT