He maketh me to lie down in.......

[heartstrings]

.......Peanut hay?

My Wife and I worked 125 sheep today. We recorded everyone's weight, checked their eye membranes for anemia, and sprayed them for mites. Kelley's lamb, a ewe, weighed 25 lbs; she has more than tripled her birth weight in about a month. When we were finished, we turned everyone out onto a supper of peanut hay which I had already pitchforked out in scattered piles. Nikkie's lamb choked on some hay, was foaming at the mouth and nostrils, and was jumping in the air as they commonly do to dislodge something. After awhile, I went back to check on him and found he was OK.

On the way back, I noticed Molly and her twin lambs lying snuggled together in an uneaten pile of the peanut hay. I guess she had eaten until she was satisfied and decided to use it as a bed. I was reminded of something I was told about shepherds not letting their sheep bed down in the  green pastures because good grass was too precious to he wasted. I do know from experience that the sheep soil their bedding areas so this may be the case. Perhaps Psalm 23 is showing us, among other things, that the Lord has enough "green pastures" that it's OK to lie down and rest in them. Maybe someone would like to elaborate on this?

[John81]

Sounds like a fun day with the sheep!

Good theory too. We know God's supply is endless and we can never use up the abundance He has for us. We can rest in His unlimited provision.

[MountainChristian]

Written by Don Baker

Green pastures don't just happen."

If ever you've walked over the rolling hills of Israel, you've noted that the ground is rocky, barren and brown.

Lack of rain between May and October means that vegetation is either withered in the heat or non-existent. In the shepherds' fields near Bethlehem where David grazed his flock, the earth is dry and scorched by the sun.

Green pastures are non-existent unless someone—usually the shepherd—has already gone to the trouble of clearing the rocks, plowing the soil, planting the seed, irrigating the land and carefully tending the grasses to be certain that his sheep have what they need.

When it comes time to lie down, sheep need green pastures.

Green pastures don't just happen—they're caused.

Green pastures are the shepherd's provision for the flock when the lambs are small and the milk demand on the ewes is great.

To a shepherd, there are few things in life more rewarding than to watch his sheep sprawled beneath the summer sun with bellies full from a morning of munching on the rich green grass.

By skillfully managing the soil, it is possible for lambs to gain as much as 100 pounds in weight during their first 100 days of life. All they need is rest from trailing and lush pasture that allows them to fill up quickly and then lie down to rest and chew their cud.