Lost and Found

LOST AND FOUND (part one - the lost sheep)

Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him. And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them. And he spake this parable unto them, saying, What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost. I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.
-- Luke 15:1-7

Luke 15 is a chapter of pearls strung together by the common thread of lost things found . This first parable (and subject of this study) in the chapter symbolizes the sinner's need and the Saviour's love.

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A) The sheep lost.

1) Separated from the Shepherd;
For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd ...
-- 1 Peter 2:25

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B) The sheep sought.

1) The Shepherd's motive;
i) not punishment
For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
-- John 3:17
ii) not anxious for his loss but for the sheep lost
iii) selfless giving love
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
-- Galations 2:20

2) The Shepherd's method;
i) He takes the initiative. He does the seeking.
ii) He is persistent "until he find[s] it".

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C) The sheep found.

1) The Shepherd's tenderness as "he layeth it on his shoulders."

2) The Shepherd's care as "he cometh home" .

3) The Shepherd's joy as "he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; .

4) The Shepherd's means of salvation;
i) Grace: the only way to save a lost sheep. Grace is not salvation through character cut character through salvation.
ii) Repentance: "joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth."

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... Stay tuned for LOST AND FOUND (part two - the prodigal son)

For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.
-- Luke 15:24

inspiration

Ode to Inspiration

Inspiration is where you find it,
where you strain to gain
and wrap your mind around it.

It's here, there and everywhere,
sometimes elusive and others effusive
but everyone has their share.

slacker

A few months without a post.

Should I feel guilty for being a slacker?

Nahhh - I have been busy fishing.

But now that the colder weather is here I might try to find the gumption to make a post with some meat on it.

Until then ...

life in the Okanagan Valley

Saw another deer today. Almost ran it down. It was sleeping by the side of the road and as the truck approached it decided to jump up (that's when I saw it) but thankfully it ran beside the truck instead of crossing in front.

And I saw several magpies. And a couple quail. But no pheasants today.

Such is life in the Okanagan Valley.

And it is warm. 30 Celcius yesterday, 32 today. And we are supposed to reach 40 by the end of the week. But it is a dry heat and I handle it very well even when working hard in the sun. And I am getting a nice tan. A farmer's tan though. Mostly face and arms. But if I find some spare time I will bare the rest of the body to some rays and get brown all over.

We have moved lots of our stuff, with my pickup truck and my Dad's van, from storage on the first weekend here and will move most of the rest, the heaviest and biggest items, with a rental truck this weekend.

We have also started renovations to a few bedrooms. New carpet and we will be painting them soon (backwards ... I know ... but we will make do with drop sheets ... we had to put the furniture somewhere). Soon we will put the order in for the hardwood for the living/dining room, hall and master bedroom. My vote is for the custom made wide plank white oak. Lightly stained and oiled. Very beautiful and a little expensive but well worth the investment.

Working with my Dad is fun. We worked yesterday and today. Tomorrow and the next day we are doing a large job and we will take Friday off to make a long weekend. It feels good to do physical work on a regular basis.

My Mom has sold both her internet job center businesses. One deal is all done and the other is in the transition/consulting phase. Her workload is halved for now and soon she will be carefree as far as work goes. She is enjoying the lighter workload and the free time to putter around the house and yard.

The dog is doing okay. She is enjoying her new surrounding and the new things to smell. She buried a piece of kibble in a flower bed a couple days ago. The neighbours on both sides have 2 dog each so she has lots of diggie company even if relations are a little strained due to her need to be a top dog. Despite her advancing years she is still an imposing figure but it loses it's edge when her feebleness causes her to stumble and have a hard time getting up during a display of doggy daring do.

My sister was up here to visit for the first four days in the new house. It was nice to have a longer visit with her even if most of our time was spent moving boxes and furniture. We had some good laughs. She didn't handle the heat well. Blamed everything that went wrong on sunstroke and spent most of her time inside unpacking boxes and enjoying the air conditioning.

A friend of my parents has informally adopted me as a grandson and is making plans to take me hunting for deer and fishing for trout soon. There are over a hundred lakes within a couple hours drive from here so the fishing is plentiful.

pooty the 'puter

I have a new 'puter ... a laptop! His name is Pooty.

Pooty is a Toshiba with an Intel Centrino Core 2 Duo processor, Windows Vista, 2 GB of RAM, a 200 GB hardrive, 1.73 GHz processor speed, 15.4 wide XGA TFT with TruBrite screen display, DVD multi drive, wireless LAN, super duper graphics card and USB ports up the ying yang.

... and pretty blue lights.

wagons ho!

The deal is done and my home is sold. I have to be out before the end of the month. So this is my fare thee well ... for now at least.

It doesn't seem quite real yet but I am sure it will begin to sink in next week when I start packing. Soon the 'puter will be in a box but it may be soon that I invest in a laptop so I can better stay in touch.

It's exciting and exhausting at the same time ... even though it's just begun. Today I plan to tell my boss that I will soon be a memory. Then it will be arranging for disconnecting the various services and next I have to make all the change of address arrangements for the core services, even though I don't know where I am going yet (maybe a PO Box or General Delivery will do for now). Then it's the moving everything, finding a new job and a new home ... and so on and so on.

Whew! For someone who doesn't like change (mostly) I am in for some big changes all at once but I am looking forward to it. Exhausting as it may be it is mostly exciting!

coconut milk makes it better

Coconut milk makes it better ...

Good stuff and good for you.

I add it to everything I can now.
Like the chili I made a few weeks ago.
And like the soup I made the other day;

coconut milk
chicken broth
potatoes
celery
onion
2 drops of insanity sauce (to spice it up)
turkey
peanuts
salt, pepper, spices

I wanted big chunks of everything in a thin broth. And the peanuts was a last minute inspiration as I debated adding beans or rice I thought "why not peanuts" and in they went. And like all recipes it can be changed and made different.
And coconut milk will make it better!