Good Neighbors Matter !

 This is the view outside our trailer parked at our son's home in eastern Washington. His neighbors are a Mennonite family . When our son & his wife first moved into their home this farm next door was run down and sad. A severe winter storm a few years ago left so much freezing snow on this barn roof it collapsed. The previous family abandoned the farm and it seemed doomed to fall apart. It was definitely an eyesore.

Then a good thing happened, the farm was bought by Mennonites and their whole community seemed to come together to literally raise the roofs of not only the barns but the houses you cannot see in the pictures. Fences were repaired , out- buildings were made to house well kept farm equipment. Everything about this farm tells you this family cares about their farm, their family, their community, their animals, and God .

 I loved watching the sheep as I drank my morning coffee. ( This is the view from the window over the dining table.) You cannot see most of the lambs because the rich grass is so high and lush and they are still small. When the sheep grazed though you could spot the little lambs jumping , kind of looking like popcorn popping...jump, jump, boing boing boing ! So much fun to watch.

 I think this family has about 10 acres just in pasture ! (I am so jealous. ) The sheep would sometimes run from end to end as I watched them, and they'd be snatching big hunks of the grass in their mouths as they ran. If you know even a little about growing hay or keeping nutritious pastures, you know there is a lot of hard work invested in this lush patch of green, and all to feed a flock of sheep. This family also has hay fields, and they hay for many in the community.

I thought long about the kind of neighbors that consider their community and their neighbors in their daily lives. People who live honorably as they tend their homes knowing that being good neighbors DOES matter. People who really do sacrifice self-interest in order to do what is right. I do not know this family personally, but our son and the surrounding neighbors do, and the Mennonite family seem to practice what they preach , they have a good reputation for being hard workers, honest people . Their farm & flocks show this.

The back end of the pasture was just as lush as the rest of it. I think this has to be the most perfect life on earth a sheep can have. Endless green grass, well-kept strong fences protecting the sheep from the many predators lurking in the hills nearby ,shepherds that tend them as they ought. "The Lord is my shepherd , I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake." Psalm 23:1-3

Good neighbors are a blessing, often rare , and do matter . A lot !

Saint Patrick ~ As A Shepherd !

 

"Patrick, however, was not an active believer ( at time of capture). According to the Confession of St. Patrick, at the age of just sixteen Patrick was captured by a group of Irish pirates.^[35] The raiders brought Patrick to Ireland where he was enslaved and held captive for six years. Patrick writes in The Confession^[35] that the time he spent in captivity was critical to his spiritual development. He explains that the Lord had mercy on his youth and ignorance, and afforded him the opportunity to be forgiven of his sins and converted to Christianity. While in captivity, Saint Patrick worked as a shepherd and strengthened his relationship with God through prayer eventually leading him to convert to Christianity." Wikepedia

 

^[35]

" For you were continually straying like sheep , but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls." I Peter 2:25 (photo of Gudrid and her new lamb )

What does a good shepherd do ? "I am the good shepherd ; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep." John 10:14  Who is the "good shepherd" referred to here in the book of John in the Bible ? It is Jesus. Saint Patrick proclaimed Jesus as his Savior and Shepherd, and in turn Saint Patrick, of Roman birth in Great Britain, slave of the Irish, converted by Christ and returning to Ireland after escaping back to his home , became a humble shepherd of those who turned to Jesus in the land of his former captors .

There are many stories, myths, and miracles attributed to Patrick, but all history, stories, and tales end up bringing it down to this ~ Patrick was a man of deep faith , saved by Jesus Christ.

 

Happy Saint Patrick's Day to you ! May you know the Shepherd of Saint Patrick.

Shepherds & Sheep ( Wee Little Ones Too )

 I have been very busy making and shipping Wee Little Sheep *. Often , while making the little sheep I place them around my little shepherd boy. This little flock seemed to be gathered around him as if they love him and my little shepherd seems sad to see them go.

 Now I know neither the little sheep or the little shepherd are living beings, but for some reason this gathering seemed very real and the little flock was packaged and sent off to new homes throughout the U.S. shortly after I snapped the pictures. Sometimes I am surprised by the emotions inanimate objects evoke and this makes me glad I am making more sheep for my shepherd. Hmm... I think I need to get outside with my real flock and my real shepherd.

 Yes, I do have a real shepherd, and her name is Whimsy. She is my German Shepherd puppy, now 5 months old. Yes indeed, I am allowing her to help me with my sheep and after the holidays intend to take her to sheep herding training. I think she is a natural, but since I have never before had a herding dog , what would I know ?

Whimsy follows me into the sheep pens as I feed and tend my sheep. Here she is facing down a more aggressive ewe lamb in my lamb pen. Thus far, Whimsy has behaved herself quite well, and when she gets too excited I call her away from the sheep or command her to "SIT!" and she obeys. She is sleeping by my feet as I write this post. She & I are becoming very good friends and I hope she will be a companion to my husband & I for many years, and a good sheep dog too. ( The reddish blob in the picture is our Vizsla who is more interested in the alfalfa pellets that dropped from the feed bucket )

"Shepherd :to tend as a shepherd; to gather, guard, herd, lead, or drive sheep, as a shepherd. " Webster's Collegiate Dictionary

 

"Like a shepherd He will tend His flock, in His arms He will gather the lambs, and carry them in His bosom; He will gently lead the nursing ewes. " Isaiah 40:11

 

"I am the good shepherd ; and I know My own, and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep." John 10:14,15

A Sheep's View

I was tending my sheep and glanced at our front porch from the sheep pen. The picture above is the view my sheep have of our home. From this view our sheep see our comings and goings, but only from this view. The sheep do not see the rest of our acreage, nor what goes on inside our home. As much and as often as my sheep see me, they could not possibly fathom my life or thoughts beyond the care I give them. They know my voice and react to my voice as no other human voice moves them, yet as sheep, they are unable to be concerned about anything beyond themselves and the sheep pen. My sheep would not know how to behave in our home, or comprehend the every day aspects of my life, the life of their shepherdess. I realized then how very much this reflects my life as a sheep of God's pasture. God has given me His Word, and His Holy Spirit that I may know Him and learn His ways. His voice calls me and the more familiar I am with His voice, the less likely I am to succumb to the false teachings and promises of voices imitating Him to deceive and devour me, yet I am as unable to even begin to fully comprehend or appreciate the majesty, the Holiness, the sovereignty of God as a sheep is to comprehend me. As stupid as my sheep may seem, they do know I am their shepherdess and protector, and I will do with them as I see fit.I decide which sheep stay , which are sold, which are culled. My sheep really do not have a say in the matter because I know what is better for them than they do. My sheep are precious sheep to me, but they are just sheep. To give my sheep free reign over themselves would be a death sentence for them and show me to be an uncaring shepherdess. Hmm, could this be my answer to the many times I have asked God, "Why God...?"

"As for you, My sheep, the sheep of My pasture, you are men, and I am your God" declares the Lord God." Ezekiel 34:31 "Can you discover the depths of God? Can you discover the limits of the Almighty?" Job 11:7 "But as for me, I would seek God, and I would place my cause before God;Who does great and unsearchable things." Job 5 8,9 "Oh the depth of the riches both of wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable are His ways!For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor? Or who has given to Him that it might be paid back to Him again? For from Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen." Romans 11 : 33-36

Delilah Has A Little Lamb

I am so happy with my newest lamb, she is sooooo cute! I am so thankful for her too. Last year Delilah's lamb died. I believe it was my fault, I should have been home. I had noticed her showing all the signs of lambing but as usual we had obligations away from home and in spite of my reservations , I went away for the day and came home to find a beautiful, full term lamb, dead on the ground with Delilah guarding it. She had not cleaned the birth sac off from around the lamb's face. Had I been home I could have easily done this and also made sure the lungs were clear of fluid, and the little lamb would most likely have lived. This was one of those times I got frustrated with so many aspects of my life conflicting with one another. Friends and family are important, but to me, my flocks are too. I cannot do a good job shepherding my sheep if I take them no more seriously than a casual hobby...to drop it when it is inconvenient and then pick it back up when I FEEL like it and it fits into my busy schedule. The little lambs are the fruition of months of planning, waiting, feeding and caring for the ewes when they are pregnant...joy when the lambs are born and then the new year of watching the lambs grow and deciding which lambs I might keep. Lambing time comes for a brief time every year, what kind of a shepherdess am I if I take this too casually , and what does this say about my stewardship of the flocks God has blessed me with? I am thankful and comforted my Shepherd, THE Shepherd, is not at all conflicted about His care for me and you ; "Like a shepherd He will tend His flock, In His arm He will gather the lambs, and carry them in His bosom. He will gently lead the nursing ewes." Isaiah 40:11

And look, my husband made fudge this weekend, it is delicious! Don't you just want to reach into the screen and help yourself to a piece of this?A very nice weekend, a new lamb , lots of yummy food to eat while we watched the Super Bowl, and fudge!

Letter From Iraq about Shepherds in the Middle East

Goth and His Harem ( above)

~A glimpse of shepherding in the Middle East, not much changed over the centuries.This is an excerpt from a letter I received in 2006 from our oldest son who was in Iraq, courtesy of the U.S.M.C. Knowing I love my sheep and am interested in sheep and shepherds he wrote......."one night I was looking through the thermals and about 1200 meters away there was a flock of about 1000 sheep down in a wadi and three huge hyenas were charging towards the flock and out of the middle of the flock came four dogs and attacked the hyenas. As soon as the hyenas took off about 20 dogs ( wild, feral ) came in to attack the sheep. The four guard dogs attacked them ( wild dogs ) but two of the wild dogs got a sheep . When the guard dogs got done with the pack of wild dogs they went to save the injured sheep and chased the last two wild dogs off. Meanwhile, the shepherd woke up and was standing there. It was pitch black out so he probably did not know what was going on, but he went to find the wounded sheep and all four dogs started to follow him. The shepherd pointed at the flock , it was too far for me to hear what he said, and if I could have heard him I wouldn't be able to understand him, but three of his dogs went back and posted and one followed him as he went out to look for his sheep. They never did find the sheep. I watched as the sheep limped off to the east, but when the shepherd got tired of looking he came back to his sheep and lay down in the middle of the flock and went to sleep.I guess it was warm in the middle of the 999 sheep, no...I don't know how many sheep there were, but when the shepherd lay down all four of his dogs posted. One to the north, one to the south, one to the east, and one to the west. Pretty neat to watch....." ~This shepherd, unlike The Shepherd, was unable to save the lost and injured sheep. "I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. He who is a hireling, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, beholds the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hireling and not concerned about the sheep. I am the good shepherd; and I know My own, and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep." John 10: 11-15 ~Just a comment about risking life for the sheep. My son told me some horror stories about the wild dogs and hyenas in the Middle East...and they are a threat to people, beyond anything we here in the U.S. are familiar with. So really, the shepherd and his dogs were shepherding at the risk of harm to themselves. Alas, there is only one perfect Shepherd!

~"And I have other sheep which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they shall become one flock with one shepherd." John 10:16~

Spot on The Lamb and The Shepherd

~The days are growing near for my ewes ( girl sheep ) to lamb, and Goth the Destroying ram will have to be re-located into his ram pen. I get pretty excited about lambs, and since Goth has been with his harem since mid-July, there is a chance we can have lambs this month. From my observations of my flock, if there are no lambs this month, it will NOT be for Goth's lack of pursuit and conquest. He is a happy ram. Ewes, alfalfa, what more can a ram want except for a tree or fence to destroy as the mood strikes.~Do you see the ewe looking towards me as I take this picture ? This morning as I hurried off to another bazaar, she was off by herself, not eating like the other sheep. I was certain we would come home to lambs, and I do not like to be away from home during lambing even though my Jacob sheep are very hardy and I have had only 1 lambing problem with my Jacob sheep in 20 years of keeping them.... ~So when Hubby and I came home late tonight after the bazaar AND Hubby's work Christmas party , a very big, and very healthy coyote ran right in front of the car , running out of our orchard which is right next to our sheep pen ! (the picture below was taken by me at Northwest Trek which is a few miles form our home). All of a sudden I realized in spite of all the family gatherings and festivities and obligations of this wonderful month long celebration, I have sheep to protect. Sheep need a shepherd , or shepherdess. I am the shepherdess of Cedar Pond and my sheep need ME for protection from predators. I called to mind all the scripture verses and Christmas songs about sheep, shepherds, lambs. "And in the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields, and keeping watch over their flock by night." Luke 2:8 ~During lambing I am up very , very late, checking on my sheep. We have a LOT of coyotes and a few cougars that frequent our area and a neighbor told me at the bazaar today they have seen a bear several times around their place. When lambs are born, though the mother can run away, the lambs are pretty defenseless. They need a shepherd. ~At the bazaar today, the man we commissioned to make a cane for Hubby brought the finished cane. It does not photograph well because the ram on the cane goes all around the cane. But the gentleman who made this actually pulled a picture of Goth from my web site and drew and worked him into the wood. It is a beautiful walking cane with carved in hand grips for Hubby. ~ Here is Goth, my single ram destruction crew. Can you spot the resemblance ? Anyway, as usual, my sheep cause me to think about Jesus. He was born even more defenseless than a lamb,and John the Baptist, on seeing Jesus coming toward him while he was baptizing in the Jordan said ,"Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" John 1:29 ~Jesus is referred to as a lamb, and in Hebrews 13:20 "Now the God of peace who brought us up from the dead, the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord." He is our SHEPHERD too ! We are always the sheep. I just have way too much thinking going on in my brain when I watch my sheep, and see the lambs, the rams, the sheep as a group. They are so dang stubborn, and often so defenseless, and resist my care and protection..no wonder we are called sheep. And yet, Jesus, GOD, became as a lamb, helpless and led to the slaughter, was crucified, then resurrected and is our great Shepherd. And I really, truly know , sheep NEED a shepherd! I need THE SHEPHERD ! This is the reason I am so happy to celebrate His birth, in a manger, ( there were probably sheep there ) in a stable, and His first visitors were the lowly shepherds who were out in the fields late at night. ( Notice, the shepherds were tending their sheep LATE AT NIGHT , night owls in the Bible!) I am a night owl sheep who the Shepherd that became as a Lamb led to the slaughter , tends and cares for in spite of myself...thank-you Lord. ~So,to all you sheep out there today, have a blessed Sunday..and rest of the week too ! Seek the Shepherd and hear His voice, and receive His care and protection. It's for your own good, as I tell my sheep while tending them and saving them from themselves!