Stupid Dog Part 2

Annie is constantly giving me new material to write about. I keep hearing promise of how she will grow up and the puppy phase will pass. I like the puppy phase in most ways but it's the out of control stupidity that makes me crazy. She can be so sweet and loving in one moment and then the next, it's like someone takes over and she turns into something else. All that training I've been doing with her goes out the window. Literally in this last case. 

But when I think about it, it's her natural tendency to be wild and out of control. I mean she's a dog. A hunting dog no less. So why am I surprised when a squirrel, bird or cat walk by the window she goes nuts? 

I love having her around. She is a great companion and as a running partner, she gets me out the door most days when I don't want to. She typically follows me around the house watching my every move to see what we will do next. Is a game of frisbee in her near future or some snacking from the kitchen involved? Those are two of her very favorite things. She knows which pair of shoes I wear will mean she gets to go with me. So I know she's  smart. And yet, she can be so very stupid. 

The other day I was changing the sheets on one of the beds and she had to follow me and of course be involved some how. And because she likes to be involved she just has to touch and smell everything. So that meant putting her smell on the fresh sheets that I just put on the bed. 

She can look so sweet and lovable it's hard to get mad at her. And really I do love her and I love her just hanging around me. 

Then the other morning. I'm sitting in my study reading and because there was a lot of activity on the street, I closed the blinds on the window so Annie wouldn't be distracted. I don't know why she can't control herself when something goes by but she feels it necessary to jump up on the window while barking and causing a huge scene. She has broke the wood blinds once already that Jim had to repair. So I try to keep her contained. I command her off when she jumps but she doesn't always listen. 

Apparently she had a small view between the blinds the other morning or very good hunter instincts because something got her. She came up out of her bed at record speed ( and heights) and a bark that sent me out of my seat as well. Before I could say "Annie, off" she hit those blinds, smacking them into the window in just the right way that caused the window to shatter. I was sort of in shock. I mean how could this sweet lovable dog shatter a window? And what is it that she wants so badly that we don't give her? 

I love this picture of Jim and what I would like to think a remorseful Annie, both looking at the shattered glass. I imagined Jim asking her, "what could we do differently next time?" 

She is one very spoiled pooch. When we come in the door with bags from Target she is right there looking for whatever might be in those bags for her. And there usually is a new frisbee or some other treat. We love treating her and spending time with her. 

This made me think about how spoiled I am. I truly am. I have everything I need and yet I can be just like Annie. I see or smell something I know  isn't good for me, I lose control, jump up and try to go after it. I know better and I also know that I will want that moment back. I'm learning. And thankfully God is so patient with me. 

The good news is that God loves me still. Even we I am behaving like a stupid dog, God's love is unchanging and everlasting. He does however want better for me. He has so much more for me and this life than anything off limits could ever provide. God is in the transformation business. So I guess you could say that I too am in training and still in somewhat of the puppy phase. But He calls me to be obedient which involves self control. Sort of like asking me "what could we do differently next time?" It's for my good and His glory. 

And He truly wants to spend time with me. He desires I follow Him around room to room anticipating what we will do next. Do I know Him so well that I take notice and can see what is in store for me next in order to grow me? Am I willing to listen? Can I stop being that stupid dog going after temporary stuff that isn't good for me leaving shattered glass in my wake? 

Yes, I can. Because I am not in this alone. He is with me and He is for me. He wants me to live victoriously. So what can stand against me? 

-Pressing On

“What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”

Romans 8:31 NIV

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,”

Hebrews 12:1 NIV

“In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.”

1 John 5:3-4 NIV