Lessons from our dog, Dakota.

Most of the time we call our dog, "fat boy," or "dumby" to be frank. It takes a special kind of dog to be so stupid! We also say, "Oh yeah, he's SPECIAL alright!" I must give some background for you to possibly understand. This dog has eaten not one, but TWO, small notebooks containing my computer sign in names with passwords! He has eaten 2 medium pizzas from Dominoes and one of the boxes! He has eaten almost $75 bucks of which I was able to retrieve and tape back together almost $60 of it, don't ask, you don't want to know! This leads me to the profound lesson I learned from this stupid, dumb, special dog!

We do not have a fenced in backyard so we put him on a tether. This tether only reaches so far around the yard and nearby is a trampoline and a bluebird house on a tall metal pole. Daily he has been entangled around one or the other upon which he stands there and barks. No, he doesn't try to find his way back around, he just freezes and barks. Did I mention he is a male and barks the most pathetic high pitched bark possible when in these situations? It's quite hilarious and I wish I had a recording for you. You might not want to play it though. As he once again tied himself around the trampoline posts I took hold of the tether and tried to walk him around in the correct direction to set him free. I had to yank quite hard for him to follow me he wanted to head towards the backdoor. In order for him to do this though, he had to walk around the posts of the trampoline. Finally, I was able to guide him so he would actually obey and to his surprise, he was free! He ran off, with tail wagging toward the back door.

Does this sound familiar at all to how we can react to the circumstances of our lives? I can relate very much. Much more than I care to admit. Even as I was tugging on him and saying to him, "This way first, THEN you can go to your destination," immediately it hit me, OH yeah, this is what I so often do with God. I am in an uncomfortable situation and striving to reach my goal and for some reason I am stuck, at a stand still and can't go any further! I have to hang out for some reason, go around the same "bush" for another season in my life. All I want is to move forward to reach my goal, but something is holding me back! It could be numerous "things" and I'm glad I don't need to know what they are, most of the time. If I would just trust God to lead me and follow HIM, even though it might not make any sense to me, through obedience, I will THEN be set FREE! Sometimes us "people folk" can be dumb, can't we? Like sheep! Profound! And all from our stupid dog who got caught around the posts of the trampoline!

I LOVE how God so gently speaks to me through such tiny scenarios in life! He is such and amazing and kind God.

Thank you Lord for your blessings and lessons in life, especially the small things that seem so insignificant!

This was my Kiss from the King today,

Cara