back to doggie tales:IMMANUEL-GOD WITH US

ONCE AGAIN, i still wonder just why on earth God would use my incorrigible, rowdy, english bull terrier as an illustration of the type of relationship He would LIKE to have with me, as well as pointing out to me how I often relate to HIM. while i was sitting in church sunday, i heard a very key phrase...IMMANUEL...GOD WITH US. many idealists have always loved the idea
of sacrificing themselves for humanity,but when you try to attach an individual face to and behind their noble ideals, then suddenly, youre going into territory theyre not quite comfortable with. IMMANUEL-GOD WITH US is just that. he didnt just send His Son to die for the whole world. He sent His Son to die for each one of us on a very personal, intimate level. the message of salvation and personal relationship doesnt ever change with each individual, but how He communicates and illustrates it to us is very intimate, unique, and personal. injtimate, daily study of His Word is something we all must do, BUT........He doesnt just want us to memorize, and vomit up verses at the drop of a hat. to relate GOD WITH US to a lost, hurting world, we have to first see for ourselves, how his words are indeed timeless, and relate to our lives on a daily basis that is revelant to our individual, personal worlds. THEN, we take this, and share it with others.


and lets face it.........everyone loves a good doggie story. you try to thump a Bible upside alot of peoples heads, and theyll shut down on you like a clam. but illustrate Him thru the antics of your fourlegged buddy, youre bound to get a chuckle or two even from the most cynical hard heart. and you just TRY to describe that precious bond between your little fourlegged boy, and his human daddy, and you wont have a dry eye in the room. its a perfect picture of the type of love that God has for us, and wants us to have for Him. none of us are ever two old to waddle-run to Him just like that fourlegged toddler, whom you can practically hear crying DADDY, DADDY!!!!!!! Our personal stories of what God does in our lives, the revelation of that personal relationship comes from His going into OUR worlds, meeting us where were at, working with our individual talents and personalities.

HE WILL NEVER LEAVE US OR FORSAKE US!!!!!! He often drives that point home with me when i get too impatient with samson when he gets too whiny, too needy. like, there are times when ill have to stay up with him til midnight, holding and rocking him....that is, unless i want to hear him whining and yelping, and waking up the whgole neighborhood. and, the infuriating thing is, the little bugger knows this. he aint stupid..he KNOWS when he has his mommy over a barrel. or like, hell wait when mommy has to go potty..like any othet 18 month old brat..to get into everything. he knows the sound of mommys car, and, when he hears his mommy, then he decides to turn on the long drawn out wailing cry......mommy, MOMMY. im sure most of us remember GONE WITH THE WINDS memorable crying scenes where scarlett ohara is peaking thru her fingers at rhett butler to see if shes getting the desired reaction. well, thats samson..ill look outside, and hes sitting there as calm as you please..looking over at me to see if ive seen hes seen me. HE KNOWS HOW TO WORK HIS MOMMY. like most humans, there comes a time where i have to set boundaries, limits, and not give into him everytime he wants attention. i cant always give him the attention he needs.but whenever i think its a big deal to stay up with him til midnight, God will remind me how i can wake HIM up at THREE in the morning, and its no big deal to Him God has no boundaries with us, when it comes to us, wanting His time, his attention. just like there are times when our earthly children may need more attention, and love than at other times,i remember, when i first came to know HIM, i KNOW there were lots of times when i needed lots of love and reassurance. i will never be met with GO AWAY KID YOU BOTHER ME!!!!! he will NEVER LEAVE US OR FORSAKE US!!!!!
remembering this helps me not to get so mad at samson, when he gets so needy,even when i cant always give it to him. God never gets mad at us, does HE?

another time i see so much of my attitude towards God in samson is, like...for example, hey,, ill fess up, im alot of the reason samson IS so spoiled. ive got him trained to, whenever he comes in the bathroom, and he knows its his bath time, he sits right down and looks at me...OK, WHERES MY BEGGIN STRIP?????(he gets one before his bath, two after im done), and when i get him out of the tub, he sits down and its like OK..WHERES MY OTHER TWO????? and heaven forbid, if i makes him a peanut or soy butter sandwich, and i forget to cut it in half for him..hell look at it, them me, as if to say OH MOMMY....YOU FORGOT SOMETHING. or, if i forget to spray his bed with fabreze after i wash it, the list goes on and on. hes gotten used to certain things being done for him, and in a certain way. often, this is how I approach God. i develop an
attitude of expectation and entitlement.....of getting what i want, when i want it, and the same way everytime. and, i see now that whenever i do that, one i limit God to my own childish wishes. when i get mad and stamp my feet when i dont always get what i want, i dont stop and think that he may have something better in mind for me. or, if He does it one way one time, and im disappointed when He does it a different way the next time, thinking Hes holding out on me..when in truth, as i mature, he doesnt hold out, Hes upping the ante. i end up putting Him in a box, fixating on what i see as good, and missing out on whats excellent.

closing thought for the day, yesterday, when i was in praise and worship, i remember the passage talking like our praises going up like a sweet fragrance, His presence being like a sweet fragrance........a vision came to mind of samson...how often, when he puts his head on my shoulder, when im holding him, or he smells my perfume, he starts wagging his tail. he likes putting his head on mommy, smelling his mommy, because he can feel my heartbeat..its like me rubbing him. it was a pciture of the unnter contentment that comes from surrendering to God,trusting him, being surrounded with His presence.....nothing beats it.