Trick Or Treat

The dogs I house-sit for often teach me meaningful spiritual truths.

When the two dogs are out playing, running or wrestling, and it's time to come in, I will start by calling for Henry. Henry is the youngest and most apt to listen to my voice. 

The dogs have long since understood that I am the master, the alpha dog, and obedience is rewarded for those that respond. Yet even with that understanding, the dogs seem to wrestle with the decision to obey, much like we, as humans, struggle with that on a regular basis. 

When I call Henry, I do so by name and tell him to come. He stops what he's doing and looks right at me. That immediate response raises my hopes for a return. But then he looks at Cassie, the older larger dog, who is bounding off through the grassy acreage in pursuit of greater pleasures. Henry will then look back at me and then again at his older mentor and then bound out to meet her.  

After a few attempts he finally responds to my commands and he and Cassie come inside. But it is not without taking a few moments to decide if he wants to obey or not. 
 
There is a lure for independence and the desire to be the one to call the shots in even the animals we seek to govern. We house them, feed them, love them, accept them, want them, and have rules for them to follow because we want to protect them. There is a treat that awaits them upon obedience. But they often see my call to them as a sort of trick to lure them into my control and away from their freedom and enjoyment.  
 
There is a decision to be made here for more than just the animals in our care. What would you choose?  To believe God's care for us is a trick or accept the benefits of obedience?   Trick or treat...



copyright 10/25/2015

Confounded Laws

The universe is made up of laws in order for it operate harmoniously. Correct?

when I choose to jump from my house top I expect to hit the ground. If I brake my legs in the process, I don't blame God for breaking my legs because I know I violated one of the universal laws, the law of gravity.

When I choose to violate one of the moral laws set up for man to live in harmony with each other, I expect, or at least hope to get away with it. why is it we blame God for the losses and pain we experience as a result? What's with that anyway?

When I choose the action, I'm also choosing the consequences.



copyright 10/26/2015

Expect Great Things

As a child I would love to go to town with my mother. I wasn’t very interested in shopping, but was utterly fascinated with the people I saw walking down the street. I wanted to know who they were. What did their faces tell me? What about the way they walked?  What did their eyes reveal about the kind of person they were?  What kind of mood were they in?  What story lay beyond the externals of their appearance? 

Early on, my explorations revealed an understanding that expectations greatly affected people’s relationships and how they chose to act.  Those expectations also affected the way they ultimately presented themselves to others…sweet and lovely, or sour and cantankerous.  Their attitudes determined by perceived and unfulfilled expectations were evident even as they walked down the street.

I have a saying I often use — expect great things — driven by a firm belief that God is pleased when we come to Him expecting great things.  This expectation we have for God’s goodness is quite the opposite of the pressure we place on our human relationships.  Grand expectations from spouses or friends will result in unfair demands or strained relationships because of failed expectations.  What we expect from each other can be unfair or insensitive or unbalanced because every one has experienced a different life story that has shaped their limitations or ability to give of themselves.  But our God is different.  His story is written in the Bible for all to read.  His gifts; His abilities; His limitations; He’s an open book.  

I envision a smile across the face of God when we trust Him completely with the greatest of all of our desires. Webster says that to expect is “to think something will certainly happen.”  When I pray to my God, I certainly expect Him to act.  And because He is faithful, He always acts.  No matter what we’re praying about, He will move, for our good and for humanity’s good.

Now comes the consummate question: Do we expect God to work as we expect, or as He understands that we need? You can see that the earlier definition of “expect” gives us the answer. “To expect is to think something will certainly happen.”  It doesn’t say that we should expect a specific thing to take place, but simply something.  God is working toward answering our prayer for help, not toward giving us whatever we want or demand.  

With human relationships, if we are not receiving what we feel is what we deserve, we are tempted to walk away from that relationship and maybe never return.  If we treat God in the same way — by walking away for good — we end up robbing ourselves of a great blessing.  We will never know what our Lord had in store for us, something better than what we were expecting because He knows what will ultimately make us happy. Yes, there are scenarios that would seem to belie what I just said, such as the loss of a child.  But we cannot see the end from the beginning as Jesus can.  We do not see what lies just around the corner that would be far more devastating if we only knew. 

We cannot always expect people to satisfy our every need, but we can always expect our Savior and Friend to satisfy our every need! 

Expectations.  What a complex word. Or is it?

Prisoner At Large

I wrote this piece about 20 years ago. As you can see, I was in a very different place than I am now. I wish to share this  with all those who feel trapped in a place they see as impossible. When we finally allow our heavenly Father and best Friend to the governing of each day, each obstacle, each overwhelming circumstance, we will find what we are looking for. We think we have to find a solution, we have to decide, to do, to set goals, we have to make something happen. But we don't, He does, and will!

There is a road I've never taken;
There is a way that seems less sure.
Reports are not exciting
with struggles to endure.

Is it possible to let go of me,
and let another be in charge?
I'm afraid of what might be;
afraid of what I cannot see,
yet something keeps on calling me.
I'm a prisoner at large.

Is there a word that can be spoken,
Is there a prayer that can be said
to loose this bound-up heart of mine;
breath life into the dead?

Let me hear the voice that whispers,
Let me reach the hand that saves,
I am longing for peace,
I am poised for release.
Will this fight ever cease?
I'm a prisoner at large.

I'm a prisoner at large,
Trapped inside of me.
Moving around, working the crowd,
Looking to be free.
I'm just a prisoner at large.

What Love Is

               

Wandering your world

in search of love? 

Let's speak of its meaning.

Let's ask What is love?

It is the tree in winter, 

ever holding its green,

The bloom in the desert,

with fragrance unseen.

It is the voice of peace

along darkened streets.

The hope of tomorrow,

for the wayward and weak.

It rises from valleys,

and rests in the storm;

it is balm for the weary,

and strength for the worn.

Love brings wanderers near,

makes cloudy skis clear;

believes everything possible

for trust without fear.

It will never be found

when you selfishly seek it.

But will be waiting for you, 

when you graciously give it.

What more can I tell you?

what more can I say?

Love is the picture

of God and His ways.

copyright 10/4/2015