The Lost Sheep

I read the following poem in a book I am reading right now on parenting. I thought it was very thought provoking.

It was a sheep--not a lamb, that strayed
In the parable Jesus told:
A grown-up sheep that had gone away
From the ninety and nine in the fold.

Out in the meadows out in the cold,
'Twas a sheep the Good Shepherd sought:
Back to the flock, and into the fold,
'Twas a sheep the Good Shepherd brought.

And why, for the sheep, should we earnestly long,
And so earnestly hope and pray?
Because there is danger, if they go wrong;
They will lead the young lambs astray.

For the lambs will follow the sheep, you know,
Wherever the sheep may stray
If the sheep go wrong, it will not be long
'Til the lambs are as wrong as they.

So, with the sheep we earnestly plead,
For the sake of the lambs today:
If the lambs are lost, what a terrible cost
Some sheep may have to pay.

--Author unknown

Great Insight from Another Blogger!

Check out this great blog entry. It really makes you think!

Trials and Tribulation

It must be a theme that many people need to hear right now! Here is another post from a different blog that also spoke to my heart today. May you be blessed!

Tribulation

I first want to apologize for being gone for over a month. We have had quite the time lately.

1. Our bathroom flooded which caused damage not only to the bathroom, but the hallway, master bedroom closet, under the kitchen cabinets, and hallway closet. We then had to deal with the insurance company to get that fixed.
2. We built an addition on the house to give us more space (not completed, but we can use it for storage).
3. Our goats were attacked by the neighbor's dogs and subsequently, the mama died. We are still waiting to hear from the prosecutor about if he will take legal action since our neighbor shows no remorse and still lets his dogs run loose (no animal control in our county).
4. Started our school year a few weeks ago.
5. Trying to preserve the bounty of fall harvest.

All these things have contributed to my lack of time to not only be on the computer, but do my own extra studies.

All that to say that this post on a blog I follow really hit home today. May you be blessed by it as well! I also read the following quotation today that fits:

Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors. African Proverb

Truly Free!

"For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death."--Romans 8:2

People always comment about how the life of a Christian is too strict, too structured, too boring. I'm hear to tell you that the life of a Christian is the only true, free life! Before I gave my life to Christ, I was enslaved to sin. I was "addicted" to pride, "addicted" to keeping up with the Joneses, "addicted" to self fulfillment. People can be enslaved to any number of things whether alcohol, drugs, money, or anything I listed above. Those are the true slavery of today. With Christ, I am free from all of those, Praise Him!

You might say that I have too many "rules" to follow, but those "rules" are guidelines to a better life. Let's just think about a few of the "rules".

No pre-martial sex--By not having sex before marriage, you are keeping yourself from a number of hurts: the hurt of disease, the hurt of a broken heart, the hurt of an unplanned pregnancy, and the list goes on. By not having sex before marriage, you have a special gift to give to your spouse. It will not only create a special bond between the two of you, but it will free you from thinking about how you "rate" against other people your spouse had been with. It will free you from wondering if your spouse is thinking about a previous partner while you are together. It will free you to be completely open and honest together without any pre-conceived ideas of what it is supposed to be like.

Tithing--By giving a portion of what God has given me back to Him and His minstries, then I am reminded that all that I have is not of myself. I am blessed beyond what I have given back. God provides for me when I see no humanly way possible (because there is no humanly way possible!). I am free from worrying about how something is going to work out because God is in control. I am free from the stress of "making ends meet" because I know that God already has provided for all my needs (and sometimes my wants!).

Not "partying"--I was never a big partier to begin with, but now I don't feel the "need" to go have a drink to have fun. When people decide to get "drunk" thinking it's the only way to have fun, they are losing so much more. They are losing control of their own senses. Some people go so far as to not even remember what they had done because of too much drinking. I can have fun just fellowshiping with my friends and the best thing is that I will remember all of it later! Another great side-effect of not drinking is the money that is saved!

I could continue to go on and on about the freedom one recieves when they accept Christ as their Savior, but I think you get the idea. Life with Christ is the true freedom!

"And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men"
--Colossians 3:23

This is one verse I need to remind myself of constantly. As mothers, we can often feel like we are in a thankless job. Our husbands and kids don't usually say "thank you" or give us compliments on things we have done. We need to remind ourselves that ultimately, we do what we do for our Heavenly Father and not for our earthly family. We need to do our best because that is what God has called us to do, not because we will receive praise here on earth. Although it is nice to receive praise from our family, let us not forget that we shouldn't let our emotions and future achievements rest solely on that. Give it all you have because God asks us to do our best!

Commanded to Serve

I received this devotion today and thought it was a good one to share.

One thing we need to remember is that serving starts at home. Before we get too busy focusing on serving those in the community (which isn't a bad thing to do in and of itself), we need to make sure we are serving our husbands and children.

Matthew 6:25-34

²⁵Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

²⁶Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

²⁷Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?

²⁸And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:

²⁹And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

³⁰Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

³¹Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

³²(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

³³But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

³⁴Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Legacy to the Next Generation

The following link was sent to me as a devotion via e-mail. I though it was good and wanted to share it with you.

http://www.purposedriven.com/article.do?method=articlePage&contentId=201676&trkid=ddnews

31 Days of Praying for Your Husband

I just found this today. I saved it and am printing it out to start using. I will do two a day until I get caught up. I think this is a great opportunity for us to not only grow closer to God ourselves, but to uplift our husbands. I've seen the power of prayer work in my marriage and this is just a great reminder of different ways we can pray for our husbands. Please join me in this endeavor and hopefully I will be posting back on how I see God working through this. You are more than welcome to leave comments as well if you choose to do this.

http://www.reviveourhearts.com/topics/downloads/index.php?id=9473