They say that the beagle is one of the harder dog breeds to train.
However, despite this reputation, the beagle is consistently in the top 5 popular dog breed taken home as pets. Maybe their good looks and friendly personality more than make up for “bad rep” they get for being “un-trainable”. Beagles are great pets. Our family owns a 2 year-old male beagle who we call Russell.
One of the challenges is to get Russell to walk without pulling the leash. He prefers to lead than follow. If you understand the traits of this breed you will know why they pull. For a beagle, the nose always rules! Beagles are scent hounds, developed primarily for hunting small prey like rabbits and squirrels. They locate target animals by tracking their scent. The beagle loves to smell and they just cannot help going after any scent their nose catches. They easily get distracted by the scent they catch. Because of this distraction, following their master usually takes a backseat.
When God created man, He wanted man to follow him. He gave Adam a specific list of DO’s and DON’Ts. God wanted Adam to follow the list because God knows what’s best for him. God wanted man to follow because He loves man. However, because of the distraction of the serpent, man disobeyed and you know what happened next.
To this day, man continues to disobey God. God loves man un-conditionally. God wants man to follow because knows what is best for man. Unfortunately, like the beagle, man wants to lead instead of follow. Maybe man cannot help it. He easily gets distracted by what the world offers. He gets distracted with worldly things like acquiring a bigger house, a cool sports car and others. So, the instructions of his Master also takes a backseat.
Who are you following? Are you leading or following God?
I’m ready to be a dog anytime as long as Jesus is my pack leader. Never hesitate when it comes to following Jesus.
Luke 9:57 As Jesus and his disciples were proceeding on their journey someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”
Follow Jesus now. It would be best decision you will ever make.
Well, “not ONLY you” at least.
When did you last pray? What did you pray for?
Maybe you prayed for your dream house or your project’s upcoming deadline. Perhaps you requested God to cure your on-going sickness. Or that you win the lotto so you can pay-off your growing credit card debt. But after a couple of week, months or maybe even years nothing happened. Is God selective when it comes to granting our prayers?
My friend Albert was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth. They became so poor I don’t think they can even afford a spoon. His father died due to cancer when he was only 8 years old. The only inheritance which Albert got was the high hospital bills which accumulated while his dad was confined. The situation forced Albert to work at an early age to pay the hospital bills and provide for his family. He took on a variety of work in the following months which included selling of condiments in the wet market, a service crew in a burger food outlet, working overseas and salesperson in a mall. He even accepted a job offer as a lifeguard even if he did not know how to swim! One day, someone fell on the deep side of the pool. He tried to save the victim by asking him to hold on to the end of a long pole so he can pull him out of the pool. Maybe you know how that story ended. Management had to let him go right after they saw his lifeguard saving techniques.
Albert got tired of how his career was going which was going nowhere. He wanted to put up his own business. He found the right business franchise and all he needed was the funding and the right location. He was determined to push thru with his business plans and he prayed to God about this. He prayed that his own business may enable him to buy his own car and house. There is nothing wrong in having the desire to have your own car and house. But maybe God had other plans. Because, after several months, his dream remained a dream.
After a couple more weeks, he decided to change his prayer.
He prayed that God may grant him the right business so that he can support his family, especially his mother who was becoming sickly. Guess what? He found a good location for his business a week after saying his “new” prayer.
Maybe God did not want to bless him only. God wanted Albert to be channel of blessings for his mother and siblings. God granted his prayer only when Albert changed his motivation. God granted his prayer when his prayer was due to his love for his family.
This reminds me of the story of King Solomon. The newly crowned king immediately got his prayer request when he told God that he wanted wisdom not for himself. He asked for wisdom so he can the best king for God’s people.
1 Kings 3:5 That night the LORD appeared to him in a dream and asked him, "What would you like me to give you?"
9 So give me the wisdom I need to rule your people with justice and to know the difference between good and evil. Otherwise, how would I ever be able to rule this great people of yours?" 10 The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this…(and God granted what he prayed for)
What did you pray for today?
- Don’t ask for financial blessings only. Ask for financial blessings so that you may help out people are in need of cash.
- Don’t ask for health only. Ask for good health so you may remain strong and healthy as you serve God.
- Don’t pray for a good job only. Pray for a job that will allow you spend more time with your family and serve your Church also.
Remember, you exist because of God’s grace. Live for God, follow Jesus.
I heard that phrase a couple of times already.
I read it in some self-help books. When I attended a seminar recently, the speaker uttered the same phrase several times – “Your thoughts become things”. It is one of those principles that is universally accepted regardless of religion, nationality, race, etc.
Do you believe it? I do.
This leads me to the point of this article. If you believe that you become what you think, then why spend a significant amount of your time on negative, useless thoughts.
How do you start you day? What’s the first thing you “feed’ your mind when you wake up?
I know someone who is so “news-hungry” that upon waking up, he immediately looks for the newspaper or turns on the TV to catch the morning news. Another friend listens to his favorite CD or MP3 track. Others start the day by tuning on the AM radio frequency to catch a commentary on the latest political news. Some read their horoscope while others say a short prayer and read the bible. Are you the type who simply stares at the wall, calmly waiting for a vision of how your day should go?
How you start your day affects most of your decisions throughout the day.
We know that news tend to focus on the negative aspect of any subject. Maybe negative news sells more. Maybe, consciously or unconsciously, we demand for negative news more than hearing good news. We regularly hear about the economy not improving or going worse. We hear about U.S. recession and their credit rating being lowered. You hear about some countries defaulting on their debts. What happens after you hear about these?
You may not admit it but these types of news affect you. You become tentative with your financial decisions. During the day, you decide to defer or even cancel a well thought investment you were supposed to place that day.
Conversely, what if you saw on TV how a cab driver returned a huge amount of money left in his car? That would be inspiring! That would motivate you to practice honesty in all aspects of your life. That story would lighten up your day and make you focus on what’s good for others than yourself.
My point is simple. The first thing you feed your mind is quite important. Breakfast is considered the most important meal of the day. In the same way, what we feed our mind at the start of the day is also vital. It affects you mental and spiritual disposition throughout the day.
Every time you wake up in the morning, thank God for another day and feed your mind with the “right” stuff. This routine will help you make better decisions throughout the day. As you lay down to sleep in the evening, find time to thank Him again for the blessings you received.
Philippians 4:8.- Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
Have a blessed day! Make a decision to follow God.
