Eating Healthy

Take a look at the photo of Hunter the dog. See any fat? Me ether. His food is down for him to eat 24 hours a day 7 days a week and yet he eats only when he is hungry. On days when he works out a lot in the field chasing bumpers or making long swimming retrieves he will sometimes eat as much as twice his normal amount. Yet he is never over weight.

Hunter will not eat to keep from getting hungry or eat just in case he is not fed tomorrow. Each day is a new game, a new experience and he deals with every day as it comes along.

Why then do we over eat sometimes? Why am I in the middle of a diet to drop the extra 10 pounds I have put on since we started the restaurant?

Sometimes eating is more than God meant it to be by us. We are glutinous, eat more than we need and eat when we are not hungry. For me I know I eat more than I should on days I have not exercised. The end result I carry as a reminder of my bad behavior, each time I get dressed, God reminds me that it is not the dryer making my clothes smaller but my behavior doing it.

Yet all I have to do is again look to my gift from God to remind me that while dinner time is an important family time to be together, God is to be the center of the table, not the food. More is not always better and less can be so much more.

I love cooking and eating but what I need to remember is that portion control based on my activity level each day. Something Hunter can do but I struggle with.

Thanks again God for the live-in example of moderation.

Give God your Best

Give God your Best

Do your Best my parents always told me. Whatever you choose to do, do it with gusto.

All you have to do is watch Hunter take off for a retrieve in water and you get an idea what enthusiasm is all about. Focused only on the task at hand, running then diving with all his might to get to the bumper as fast as possible and return, tail wagging ready to “Do It Again!” No matter where we go or what we do, he demonstrates his best effort. Holding nothing back this dog is an example to us all to give our very best at whatever we do each and every day.

Have you ever heard of a couch having a halftime pep talk with his players saying, “Get Out There and be Mediocre?” Yet far too often we go through life doing just that, just getting by. Doing just what we need to do move on, get down the road. God again has sent me an instructor to be an example of what excellence looks. How to live every day with enthusiasm, pride and joy.

God expects and deserves our very best. We are instructed to give God the best fruit of our endeavors, the first pick, and our best sacrifice. When we worship can we do any less? Sing with all your heart. Give God the best you can with your songs of praise and do it enthusiastically. Like Hunter

Don’t Worry, Be Happy

Even as God provides the smallest of creatures with everything they need, so much more will he provide for his most loved ones.

During my latest Mission trip to a very remote village high in the mountains of Guatemala, I could not help but notice the abundance of dogs. Scrawny, little, tough looking dogs, everywhere. At first it looked like they were feral. No one fed them, no one claimed them and surely no one cared for them, yet they were everywhere.

The people of the village worked all day getting enough food to take care of their families so why are there dogs in the village? As we worked and played for the week with the wonderful people of Nuevo Santiago Esperanza Maya I started to notice the certain dogs would follow some of the kids and adults where ever they went.

I never saw anyone feed or even pet their dog but none the less it became obvious that they laid claim to individuals. Never were any of them aggressive toward anyone in the village or us. At night you would occasionally here one barking away at something. Perhaps this was the symbiotic relationship that had been developed between these dogs and the villagers over the many years together.

Somehow, each and every dog was getting what they needed to stay alive and continue the habitation with their human friends. They would sleep or relax every chance they got yet at a moment’s notice they would be up and ready to follow or sound an alarm at an intrusion.
Even in the midst of poverty, God has provided for these creatures and not one spent the day worrying where their next meal would come from.

What a great lesson in trust these dogs of Guatemala could share.

Hang Time

Ever wonder what it would be like to have a friend that was Always ready to do whatever you had in mind. Go out and play, take a nap, watch TV or simply just hang out together? That is an exact description of my companion Hunter (the dog).
If I have work to do he is always willing to sit in the office quietly moving with me any time I go up stairs or out to the stock room. When I need a break, he is always ready and willing to take a short walk outside to the field to retrieve as many bumpers or tennis balls I can throw. Go for a walk, take a nap, his response is always “I’m With You”.
In the house, food is always down so he eats only when there is nothing going on. When it is time for me to sleep, he is always at my side, ready to change activities at a moment’s notice.
How much more so is Gods desire to be with us. He is always with us whatever we are doing. Happy to join us if invited and even there when we do not. He sings with us when we rejoice, he sits by our side when we work, penitently waiting for a time when we return our attention to him. When we sleep, he is with us, ready to start the day when ever we awake.
Dog is God’s physical reminder that he is always with us, whatever we do, where ever we go. We are not alone, We live in God’s world and he just wants to Hang Out.

Why Dogs?

Throughout my life, God has never appeared to me in thunderous clouds or burning bushes. He must reserve those for special occasions like Moses and King Arthur in his search for the Holy Grail. Yet he presents himself to me every day of my life, if I am only willing to look and listen.
For me, one of the most remarkable ways God demonstrates his love for us is through the simplest of creatures, my dog. If you have ever lived with this noble creature you can easily see Gods love and grace (on a smaller, canine scale).

There is an old joke: If you want to see who truly loves you, Lock your dog and your spouse in the trunk of your car overnight and see which one is happy to see you the next morning.

God’s willingness to take us back, forgive us and care for us even when we do not deserve it in a small way is echoed in the love and devotion of a good dog. Few if any other creatures on this small planet have become such an integral part of our everyday life, and maybe, just maybe, God has put them in our lives for a very good reason.

A great short essay on life simple lessons starts “Everything I ever need to know, I learned in Kindergarten”. For me, many of my best lessons I learned from my dog. If I am only willing and able to pay attention, he has a lot to teach me.

And so my Blog begins, examining how we can learn from Gods other gift to Man, Our Dogs.