Monday already and my coffee to start this week off will be some Door County Chocolate Meltdown.
Great Flavor but probably not the name to use to start a week. !!!!!!!
The two pictures below are to illustrate my thought today. See the puppy waiting patiently.
Now look at him go.
This past Saturday I went out to train my youngest hunting dog Gibbs. We train year round and this will be his first duck season. One of the finer points we are working on is to stay put once the gun fires and not move until he is told to. For dogs the prize is to get the bird. The ultimate experience is to swim or run hard and bring that bird back to the hunter. But many times there is more than one shot at a flock of ducks coming into the decoys. If the dog breaks early this causes the dog to be in harms way or stops the hunter from filling his limit of fowl. But mostly it is dangerous for the dog and hunter. A dog leaping from a canoe can tend to get the hunter a wet rear end or worse. So in training we practice on retrieving dummies scented like ducks. The duck call is sounded, a blank shot fired and a dummy launched on to the ground or water. You see the dog tense up and wait for his or her name to be called. That's when I drink a cup of coffee and talk gently to the dog or sternly if they release early. Then for behaving well they are released to retrieve their prize. (the retrieve).
God is like a patient trainer and we should be like a patient retriever. Let's look at how.
Psalm 40
New King James Version (NKJV)
Faith Persevering in Trial
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
40 I waited patiently for the Lord;
And He inclined to me,
And heard my cry.
2 He also brought me up out of a horrible pit,
Out of the miry clay,
And set my feet upon a rock,
And established my steps.
3 He has put a new song in my mouth—
Praise to our God;
Many will see it and fear,
And will trust in the Lord.
And He inclined to me,
And heard my cry.
2 He also brought me up out of a horrible pit,
Out of the miry clay,
And set my feet upon a rock,
And established my steps.
3 He has put a new song in my mouth—
Praise to our God;
Many will see it and fear,
And will trust in the Lord.
We are to wait patiently for God's commands and eventually we all see that His commands are for our own good. We learn to trust the Master Handler. Then the task or personal growth God desires from us becomes a prize that we strive for.
1 Corinthians 9:24-27
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus
Have a great week and think about this one.
Marty
Have a great week and think about this one.
Marty
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