Weekly Chat

 

Date: March 25, 2024

Weather: 41 degrees. It's supposed to be a cloudy day but no rain until tomorrow. Right now, as I type this, it's still dark.

Reading: "Words, Attitudes, Actions" by Barbara Arnold Linkous.  "The End" by Mark Hitchcock.

Funny of the Week: 

Thankful for: Another week, payday today, my DIL's mother coming through surgery successfully, and God's provision and grace.

Knitting: No progress whatsoever this week. There was too much going on to settle down to knit.

A Peek into my Life: 

Afternoon tea many years ago with Mom at the Garden View Tea Room - Grand Floridian Resort at Disney World. Mother's Day weekend, if I remember.

Pondering: Changes I need to make regarding my health. 

Quote:

Scripture:

"Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good;

Blessed is the man who trusts in Him."

Psalm 34:8

Wishing everyone a blessed Holy Week.

Weekly Chit Chat

 

DATE:    February 26, 2024

WEATHER:  57 degrees and sunny. A pretty day.

READING:   Shoes to Fill by Lynne Gentry. This the second in the Mt. Hope series. I was semi-impressed with the first book. This one I'm liking so far.

FUNNY FOR THE WEEK:

For those of you with cats, you know exactly what this means.

THANKFUL FOR: Good friends who you feel comfortable unburdening yourself to and they listen and care. 

KNITTING: 

I'm knitting this along with my daughter, or rather, she is knitting along with me. Using this yarn...

 A sport weight which is the smallest weight I've ever knit with and size 5 needles. Also the smallest I've worked with. 

A PEEK INTO MY DAY:

Not my photo, obviously but I have a special love for sheep, especially related to The Good Shepherd. Sheep don't always make good decisions. They need care and protection and need to be led. They are also very vulnerable to attack from enemies or even from their environs. They need a devoted, faithful shepherd to care for them. That sounds a lot like me!

PONDERING: The faithfulness of God and how He answers our questions and confusion. It may not be right away, and the answers may come little bits at a time. They may be a completely different response than you expected. But He's always faithful.

QUOTE: 

"Until Jesus is enough, nothing else will be."

SCRIPTURE: 

"But as it is written,

'Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,

Nor has entered into the heart of man

The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.

I Corinthians 5:9

Jesus as my Shepherd

 

One of the sweetest images I have of my relationship with Jesus is as His lamb. And often I feel like a lamb. I can be stubborn, getting myself in fixes that only my Shepherd can save me from. I rely on Him to show me where green pastures are. When I need to rest, He leads me to still waters where I can rest. If I stray, He gently, and sometimes, not so gently, leads me back to where I need to be. I've heard that the shepherd in Biblical times would intentionally break the leg of a lamb that continuously strayed into unsafe territory. Then, while the leg healed, the shepherd carried the lamb. How often has Jesus had to "break" me in some way to get me to where I need to be?

A shepherd is responsible for protecting his sheep even to his death. Jesus gave His life so that this lamb could live eternally with Him. Sheep also know their shepherd's voice. As it says in John 10: 3-5 - 

' . . . .the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.  Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”

Here is one of my favorite videos taken from You Tube several years ago. Let's see what happens when "strangers" try to call for these sheep.

Isn't that amazing? When we follow the Shepherd. . . when we begin to learn to hear His voice . . . then we aren't led astray by other "voices" that hinder us from the abundant life that God has promised us.  Is it easy to hear the voice of Jesus and the Holy Spirit's whisperings? Not for me it isn't. Often there are so many other voices speaking to me - sometimes yelling at me and I have to deliberately quiet myself to hear what my Savior is trying to tell me. I've often learned in my life that if a voice is "yelling" - it isn't God's voice. That can be one clue. It takes practice to discern God's voice from the others. It takes spending time in the Bible, in prayer, in thinking on scripture throughout the day. It takes quieting your life or your day. It takes quieting your mind. It takes consistency and practice. Most importantly, it takes a relationship with God. We get that in our salvation experience. We trust Jesus as our Savior to forgive our sins and then walk with Him throughout our lives. 

Sounds too simple, doesn't it? Jesus intended to make it simple. Simply repent of your sins and ask Him to come in and forgive you. Then - you are a Child of God, a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). You are then His and you can begin to hear His voice.  God made it simple. It's the humans that complicate things!

During this month when we focus on thanksgiving, let's think of what we have to be thankful for. Let's for awhile, live as a lamb, looking to Jesus as our Shepherd. There are some ravening wolves out there that would love to devour you. Our Shepherd is just not going to let that happen!