A little insight into my world

I am obsessed with Geoff and Max. I am obsessed with solitude. I am obsessed with my friends, sheep, clouds, sunrises and sunsets, flowers and dirt, birds in the backyard and the songs they sing, blogging which I justify as relational, blogging friends, my small group, crossword puzzles which I justify as exercising my mind, young people and where they are right now, what they're going through and how to reach them, the number 29 and scripture - the words of God.

But today I'm thinking about sheep. I look at pictures like this and I see Jesus carrying me while all of you follow along.In reality, the lamb he carries is each one of us. It represents you and you and you. I collect sheep because they remind me that I am his and also that he became a sacrificial lamb for me. I collect them because I identify with everything I've ever read about them and their behavior. I collect sheep because they look soft and cuddly and they're really not. They're dirty and dumb and they have to be led or they'll most likely do somthing completely stupid and end up dead. You see, I can relate to that. The part of this picture I love so much is the Shepherd. He is the saving grace in the life of a sheep.

I have a bobble head sheep on my dashboard named Baaahb (much to my husband’s chagrin). That particular sheep in my collection has a great story. I was in Fredericksburg shopping once with some friends and I found this little bobble head sheep. It was the last one in stock – but its head didn’t bobble anymore. I thought and thought about buying it but it was broken, so I didn’t. (Now I wish I had.) The day after we got home my friend, Tracy, called and asked me to meet her for lunch. When I got there she told me she had a gift for me. I opened up the bag and in it was a sheep exactly like the sheep I’d seen in Fredericksburg two days before. I could not believe it. This sheep represents God reaching out and loving me, meeting me where I am, carrying me in his arms. This is how he transforms me through his love and attention into the person he wants me to be. How can I ignore that plea? I couldn’t. So, the bobble head sheep has a place of distinction on the dashboard of my car as an ever-present reminder of the love of my Shepherd. (I hate to break it to Geoff but if we ever get a new car Baaahb goes with me.)



Did I mention the big ol' boys I drive nearly every day love my sheep, too? Baaahb literally bobs his head to the music we listen to - whatever music it is, he's in time. It's the most amazing thing.

"Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you." Romans 12:2 – The Message