The Lost Sheep

(From the mind of he)

Luke 15:4- What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?

I was walking Zaba down at the Black Mountain campus today. Our usual routine is that I throw the lacrosse ball and he chases it and brings it back. It is a great location because usually the place is absent of people or other dogs. Today however was very different.

I threw the ball and Zaba was on the way to retrieve it when another dog came out of no where. Zaba's ultimate weakness is other dogs. He wants to play with them and all other thoughts are gone from his mind when another dog is present. Zaba was chasing the ball and then spotted the dog. He proceeded to ignore the ball and go after the dog. Well, the other dog ran and Zaba pursued. He would not listen to my voice. I ran after them but their speed is obviously way too much for me. They stopped for a minute about 50 yards away and when I neared they ran into the woods. When I rounded the corner of the trail they took into the woods they were gone. I called for him but once again he didn't come. I started running and calling for Zaba but all to no avail. He was no where to be seen.


I continued to search the area but once again he was gone. This whole time I was crying out to God. I was in an impossible situation. There was 80 acres of land to search not counting if they ran to the road which led into the town. The whole time all I could think about was how I let him down. He is my responsibility and he was missing. He's also my buddy and the thought of not finding him made me very sad and emotional. I'm not one that cries often, but tears found there way to my face very easy in this situation. So the whole time I'm praying and crying and running and just trying my best to trust in God and trust in His hope.


After walking around for about 40 minutes I decided to get in my truck and drive around and look for him. I was driving toward the town in an attempt to loop around and continue my search when I saw a lady walking down the street. I pulled over and asked her if she had seen a yellow lab, and miraculously she had. She said she believed the lady who owned the black dog had Zaba at her house. So I turned back and drove to where she instructed and there was Zaba standing outside of the fence waiting for his new friend to come back. When I pulled up and got out of the truck I called him and he came. He seemed genuinely excited to be found. I got him back in the truck and went home. I praised God for yet another act of grace and mercy.


In this situation I was able to learn many things about God and catch some glimpses of the way He views the world. (1)God wants His children back, He calls to them and many do not hear His voice. For Zaba the temptation of the other dog outweighed my voice, the voice that cares for him and loves him. (2) As I would not give up on looking for Zaba, God never gives up on us. If anything it is us that gives up on Him. (3) I also learned that this was the first time in my life where I cried out to God. I prayed before about some serious issues, but I always tried to keep my own calm while praying. I learned that God wants me to be real, be true and heartfelt. I need to cry out in prayer for the broken lives, the hurting marriages, the many that do not know His hope and salvation. I need to care so much that I will not give up trying to reach those in need. This situation of losing Zaba for 45 minutes was horrible, but God was with me through out the whole thing. He helped me let go of myself and trust in Him. The Bible says that He will never leave you or forsake you. I felt that presence of His today in a situation that I had absolutely no control over.

Luke 15:5-6- When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!'

When the Wife's Away

(From the mind of he)

My wonderful and beautiful wife went to see her friend Sunday night and stayed until Monday evening. This seems to never work out well for me. I tend to go on somewhat of a sugar binge. It was no different this time.

Zaba and I had some great bonding time, but sleep and overall health tend to suffer somewhat when the wife's away. One of the main things that happened while she was gone was the pizza incident. I decided to eat some food that was warm, instead of just candy, so I made a pizza. I had a hard time getting the pizza out of the oven and slightly burned two of my fingers. Nothing serious but it didn't feel good. Then to distract the dog while I ate I prepared a peanut butter treat for him. So I was carrying a tray with the pizza, a peanut butter treat, and a towel for Zaba down the hallway. It was at this moment that the dog saw a opportunity and lunged for the peanut butter. The tray teetered and a piece of pizza flew off on to the wall and proceeded to slide down the said wall, sauce side facing the wall. I also was going to enjoy some ranch dressing with my pizza and that hit the wall as well. Fortunately the Zaba was there to help me clean up. I think I did a decent job of cleaning because the only way the wife knew where the event occured was when she saw the dog licking rest of the ranch out of the floor board heater.

She is back now but I had another incident this morning. I believe I may be going through withdrawals and I have the shakes. I was eating cereal this morning and once again the Zaba lunged. I didn't drop the bowl but it did tip slightly and I spilled some milk and cereal on myself and the rug. Once again the Zaba was there to help clean.

Keeping the Focus

(From the mind of he)

Uncertainty in life seems to come from no where at times. Just when you think you have it all figured out, something unexpected occurs. I believe uncertainty is what faith is all about. If your faith is there no matter the situation, big or small, the focus will remain unchanged. Your purpose and direction will remain narrow. Your faith will only grow the more you trust in someone other than yourself. Faith is the key to peace. Being someone who brings peace can change lives.

My New Bed

(From the Paw of Me)

Hey everyone! I'm sorry it's been so long since I have left my print on this blog site. I have been very busy vacationing, entertaining, and perfecting my new strategies of obtaining human food.

Today was very exciting- my new bed came in the mail. After destroying one and protesting about another, I finally got the one I wanted: an oversized L.L. Bean super comfy dog bed-it's everything I dreamed it would be and more! I have included a few photos of me opening my prized possession and enjoying it to the fullest.
Now let me give you a few quick tips on obtaining human food before I go. First: pretend to chew on your 'owners' shoes. When they get up to put the shoes away, jump up on the counter and steal the toast! It's a perfect diversion and they never realize they have left the food unguarded until they get to the closet -by then it's too late. The second technique is a similar tactic but requires a faster follow through than the first. Pretend that you need to go to the bathroom by scratching on the sliding glass door. When the 'owner' gets up to let you out, do a quick 180 and lunge for the plate. Be warned that this calls for a quick burst of speed.
I hope these tips will help. Please enjoy the photos of my new bed-and remember: you can have all the finer things of life if you will just get yourself some 'owners'!

I'm Open

(From the mind of he)

This one is gonna be random.

I felt it was time for your monthly dose of Pearl Jam. These lyrics come from a song called "I'm Open". Here goes.

A man lies in his bed in a room with no door

he waits for a presence, something, anything to enter

after spending half his life searching, he still felt as blank

as the ceiling at which he's staring

he's alive, but feels absolutely nothing

so, is he?

When he was six he believed that the moon overhead followed him

by nine he had deciphered the illusion, trading magic for fact

no tradebacks...

so this is what it's like to be an adult

if he only knew now what he knew then...

Now I'm going to treat you with my interpretation of these lyrics. I believe everyone is searching for something. I also know that only one thing can stop the searching. That being Jesus Christ. I've spent many years searching. The more I tried to fill my life the emptier I felt. You start reaching for anything that can fill the void. The problem this creates is the more you fill your life up, the harder it is to hear God. He's always present. The problem is the only way we will be able to hear Him is to quiet our lives and listen. When our lives are full, they become very noisy (as mine is at times). I need to remember that for me the searching is over and my life should only become full through Christ.

I feel the next part has to do with faith. Children have this amazing faith. It's pure. As I grow in God, my faith increases, but it also has to battle against the world and all the temptation that is out there. I have to take back everything I learn to the Bible to understand what is true and what is not. I, unfortunately, am not as consistent as I need to be in this discipline. Children will believe whatever they are told up to a certain age. This can be good or bad. If children grow up in a solid home then they will most likely have self-confidence, and a positive outlook on life. The opposite of this is also true, unfortunately more times then not. The point is this. God wants us to have that kind of faith. The kind of faith that trusts Him and relies only on Him. The kind of faith that Jesus demonstrated while He walked the earth. The problem is the world's idea of right and wrong is not God's. So as we grow and when children get to a certain age the world becomes loud. It makes it hard to hear what is true and what is not. Trading faith, a pure faith for our interpretation of faith. I know for a fact there is too much of myself and not nearly enough of Christ in my personal faith. So the final lyric says, "if he only knew now what he knew then". I feel I must relearn what the faith of a child is, and somehow copy that child's faith in my own life. I know this can only be accomplished by looking only to Christ and never to myself.

Lyrics from Pearl Jam's 4th album No Code

Craziness

(Heart of She)
Does anyone else feel like life is just one big rush of craziness right now? I often find myself wondering, "Do other people have time to call their friends on the phone, visit family, go to the grocery, go to the doctor, buy a birthday present, put away their Christmas decorations?" -Because I don't! And I don't even have children. I have one dog and granted he is a bundle of energy, but how do you do it all? Or am I the not the only one that feels this way? What is the secret?-Sacraficing sleep maybe, lots of coffee. I don't know. I guess the key is just living one day at a time and asking God to use me each day, to make each day count, and to not worry about tomorrow. (and if I haven't said it before- you moms out there amaze me!)

Blunt Trauma

(From the mind of me)



I was walking Zaba yesterday on a trail, all by our lonesomes. Zaba was leashless and running free and he started to get a little bit too far away from me. I called him back and he proceeded to charge me. He now weighs 60 pounds and is very fast- so him jumping into me at full speed was not a happy thought. When he neared I picked my knee up to discourage the jump. This only partially worked. He did a half jump, while at the same time turning his head. This caused the side of his face to hit my knee. He was moving pretty fast and that stopped him completely. He was apparently not hurt and continued to run down the trail.

When we got home I noticed that his right eye looked kind of funny and his third eyelid was coming up from the bottom of his eye. It returned to normal somewhat quickly so I thought nothing of it. Sometime later, after I returned from Asheville, Zaba's eye was looking bad again. I became worried and took him to the vet. At this point I hadn't connected the knee to the face with the eye problem. The vet talked me through possible causes of his pupil being constricted and the third eyelid rising up. He then said the most common cause is blunt trauma, which helped me remember that I did in fact knee my dog in the face (although it was partially his fault). To make this already long story come to an end soon, the vet gave me eye drops with some antibiotics in them. We only used them once and his eye has returned to normal.

The amazing thing I learned from this is that I was very concerned about him. I had been frustrated with him earlier that day, but all that was gone as soon as I saw his eye. I can only assume this is what it would be like to have a child. I'm sure they can be extremely trying at times, but when something important happens you put aside your own self to do everything you can to help them. God continues to teach me many amazing things through the Zaba.

Marley and Me

(From the Heart of She)

We went to see Marley and Me last night...I cried. They did a good job with the movie... Zaba and Marley do have many similarities...the end really gets you (especially if you have your own personal Marley at home.) I hope all of you had a wonderful Chirstmas break. We had a great time in Ohio visiting family. It was a very special and relaxing break. Zaba also had a wonderful time at the Bed and Biscuit. He had lots of play time and he even got a compliment from the people that work there...they said he was well behaved! Our little boy is growing up! I wish all of you a very happy new year. Right now I am trying to focus on the verse Jeremiah 29:11 " I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "Plans to prosper and not for harm, plans to give you hope and a future." I am just trying to focus on each day. Remembering that God has plans for me (and you)...if we just follow him one day at a time He will continue to guide us down that path He has planned for us. And I am asking God to help me trust His perfect plan and timing. I pray for all of God's blessings for you and your family this new year!