Basic Obedience

   I'm taking my Border Collie, Grace, to Basic Obedience classes. My husband has mowed a walking path around our six acre pasture. When I walk Grace, she literally pulls me around, occasionally leaping into the air to catch a flying insect, while almost pulling my arm out of its' socket.
   Something had to be done before I got hurt so I looked into Obedience classes.  I was so nervous before the first class, afraid that Grace would not be obedient at all. But she was so good, and all because of a little metal collar with prongs called a choke collar. It supposedly mimics a mother's tug on the neck when they are puppies.
   Grace is a different dog with her choke collar on. We start off walking; she starts to pull me; I stop; she feels the tug; she walks beside me. It's nothing short of amazing.
   That's sort of how the Holy Spirit works with me. I start to do something I shouldn't do and I feel a tug, kind of like a nudge in my heart.  The more of these nudges I get then the more I learn that it is best to walk in God's way and not my own. I give thanks to the Holy Spirit for teaching me Basic Obedience. It's nothing short of amazing.
"If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive Him, because it isn't looking for Him and doesn't recognize Him. But you know Him because He lives with you now and later will be in you", John 14:15-17.

No Running Start

   We're getting our sheep ready for breeding season in October and November. We are feeding grain to all the ewes to get them big and healthy. My husband went to Oklahoma last week and bought a new ram with better bloodlines. We've sold our other ram.
   When my husband went to pick the ram up, he was in a pen with three other rams. There were tires laying all across the floor of the pen. He was told that this was so they couldn't get a running start.
   If left to their own devices, the rams will fight each other. They do this by butting their heads. If they can start running and build up speed, then the butt will pack a wallop. The tires in their pen will keep them from doing this.
   You wonder what this has to do with anything. That picture has been in my head ever since my husband told me this. When I start to have negative thoughts, I see them surrounded by Jesus. This hems them in and they can't get a running start. So I can think positive thoughts instead.
"And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, He will show you the way out so that you can endure", 1 Corinthians 10:13.

IT'S ALL GRACE

  I confess that I'm having a hard time dealing with these shingles. As the red blisters have popped out on my back, the negative thinking has popped out in my mind. "I don't feel good. I'm in pain. I'm never going to get over this. Why has this happened to me?? Me?!? ME!!!"
   I just need to gaze out my kitchen window as I eat my breakfast. Mister house finch has brightened up the feeder with his jaunty red cap and vest. I'm in awe over the Creator who fashioned his feathers that way.
   I just need to walk out my front door to water my black-eyed susans. A painted lady butterfly is basking on a petal. The intricacy of her design takes my breath away.
   I look around our little sheep farm and I see the sheep and the dogs and our neighbors' cows. Life is precious in all the forms it takes. I thank God again for my life, for life.
   As the evening settles over us, I look out my back window. The sky has turned a pinkish-purple as the sun says goodbye to the day. I ponder the wonder of the One who spoke the sun into being.
   I just need to take my mind off of myself and my puny messes and focus on the One whose specialty is cleaning up messes. There is nothing I can do or think that will keep Him from loving me.
   I just need to remember that IT'S ALL GRACE.
"Yes, and the Lord will deliver me from every evil attack and will bring me safely into His heavenly kingdom. All glory to God forever and forever. Amen.", 2 Timothy 4:17-18.

Victory

   I've got Shingles. It is painful. I was going to post about how hard it is to deal with this pain and about how easy it would be for me to slip into depression. But I'm not going to. I'm going to post about the victories Jesus has given me over this pain as he has walked through it with me. I'm going to post that He is never more than a prayer away. I'm going to post that because Jesus lives in me that I have the strength to bear anything. Because of the power of Jesus I can live in victory no matter what the world throws at me.
"Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time He said "My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness. So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me", 2 Corinthians 12:8-9. 

A Short Leash

   I've written before about my Border Collie, Grace. I'm crazy about that dog. We got her when she was 7 months old, from an abusive situation. I need something to love on and she needs lots of love, so we make a good pair.
   When we first got her, if we put her in the backyard, she would climb the walls of the dog pen and climb the chain-link fence. Since then I've kept her on a short leash. I've been afraid that she'll run off. When I walked her around the pasture, she would strain hard on the leash, literally pulling me around.
   One day, my husband said "Just let her go. She can't get out of the pasture fence".  I wasn't so sure. I was afraid to do that but finally I let her go.
    She ran like the wind across the pasture and leapt high in the air, chasing butterflies and bumble bees. Over and over she would run and leap, then she would come back to me. It does my soul good to see her running free, using the skills she has been bred to use, then coming back to me.
   Jesus doesn't have me on a short leash either. He lets go of me to make my own choices. I don't run very far away from Him anymore. I know that I can trust Him. I know that I can find peace and security in Him. Just like Grace has found security in living with me.
"Because You are my helper, I sing for joy in the shadow of Your wings. I cling to You, Your strong right hand holds me securely", Psalm 63:7-8.
"So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free", John 8:36.

The Gift of Grace

   When I began writing this blog I thought I would write about the damage caused by childhood sexual abuse and the steps I took in healing from it. But in the 2 1/2 years I have been writing it, God has transformed me from a woman depressed and fearful of life to a woman with rest and peace and joy. And it's all because of Grace.
   Of all the gifts God has given me, Grace has been the hardest to accept. Because I felt unworthy and Grace is free and undeserved. It doesn't require an apology or a thank-you. It doesn't need to be wrapped or reciprocated. I can't work hard enough to earn Grace; no amount of money can buy it; there will never be a vote deciding who receives it. Grace is the pure, untarnished favor of God formed in the figure of Jesus Christ.
   God knew me before I was shaped in my mother's womb. He looked down through the ages and saw a little girl ravaged by abuse. There was no hope for fixing that broken child-no self help books, no support groups, no sanctimonious preachers. No hope except for the love of a Savior carrying out the plan of God for Grace. It's the best gift I've ever been given. 

"For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God's wonderful Grace and His gift of righteousness for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ", Romans 5:17. NLT

"This I Know"

   I've been an infant in my Christian walk for a long time. I've been teething on "Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so". It has just been for a year or so that I have believed that Jesus loves me. I had always thought that I was too bad for Jesus to love.
   Now that I've graduated from that basic truth, God wants to take me a step further. He is trying to teach me that "Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world". I have been selfish, self-absorbed, and self-indulgent. It's as if the only word I can speak is "Me! Me! Me!".
   God is opening my eyes to the fact that there are many people in the world, our country, my city, that do not have all that I have. Like choking on my first taste of solid food, I don't like the taste of greed and excess.
   I have so much more than I need. My house is filled with things I merely wanted. It's time to take a few steps to reach out to someone who needs what I can give.
"You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God's Word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food", Hebrews 5:12.
"Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others", I Timothy 6:18.