Discipline

DISCIPLINE. This is the word that took me out of bed at 3:30am this morning. I woke up thinking about my dog, Bowser, who is away at training (aka doggy boot camp). My mind was swirling with all of the lessons and DISCIPLINE he is learning and struggling with. Why is he so stubborn? Why isn't be learning faster? He could have so much more peace if he would just learn to trust "his humans". (Maybe doggy yoga would have been better??:))

But the truth is, he most likely learned these bad habits from me. Just like a child learns bad habits from their parents, dogs do the same thing. 

One year ago I thought we were on the right track to training. Kyle & I signed Bowser up for "Basic Obedience" to teach him to "come", "stay", "heal" etc. (Wouldn't it be nice if they had this class for parents??) He was head of his class. Bowser is a very smart dog indeed... his mom on the other hand got an F in this course!  (that's me:-p) I got an F for FAILING to practice obedience, leadership and discipline with him. 

Just like kids, dogs do not prosper without practice. I got lazy. Letting him on the couch to snuggle was too enjoyable. Letting him "take me on a walk" was just "easier". And all of this lead to him running the house and stepping up as "pack leader". 

In the animal world dogs need their humans to be the pack leader in order to create a balanced environment. They need to be able to trust that you know what is best. Dogs also react to energy, so if I was ever nervous or anxious Bowser picked up on that. Like I said- put a BIG FAT F on my forehead.

And so just like everything else in life God puts these things on our plates as an opportunity to learn and grow. If you don't see it that way, you will never learn and grow. It is clear to me that I need to learn discipline. Not just for Bowser, but for God...for my family...for my future...for everything. Bowser is not the only one that needs "boot camp"!

This is the reading that God lead me to this morning:

Living on the Ragged Edge by Charles Swindoll

I've thought about what the Scriptures are teaching on Wisdom and I've come up with this: Wisdom is the God-given ability to see life with rare objectivity and to handle life with rare stability. 

When we operate in the sphere of the wisdom of God, when it is at work in our mind and in our life, we look at life through the lenses of perception, and we respond to it in calm confidence. There's a remarkable absence of fear. We are not seized with panic. We can either lose our jobs or we can be promoted in our work , and neither will derail us. Why? Because we see it with God given objectivity. And we handle it in His wisdom.

 
We can dip into an unexpected valley or we can soar to the pinnacle of prosperity, and we can cope with both extremes. His wisdom provides us the necessary objectivity and stability. That's the way life is when it is lived in the palm of his hand. This is not some dreamland fantasy. It is reality. It is the ability to live above the drag of human opinion and horizontal perspective. It is what happens within us when wisdom goes to work.

Proverbs 3:5 was also very helpful this morning.

Trust the Lord with all of your heart, and don't depend on your own understanding. Remember the Lord in all you do, and he will give you success.