A Good Shepherd's Dog

Meet Mudge. He's my Australian shepherd. In this photo he was just a few months old. He turns two this month.

That's a pretty typical pose for Mudge- waiting patiently and watching alertly for any signal from me that somethings' up.

If I move, Mudge moves. If I sit in a chair, Mudge sits at my feet. If I go into the other room, Mudge walks at my feet. If I lie down on the bed... well... yes, Mudge jumps up on the corner of the bed and sleeps at my feet.

I know some of you aren't "dog people." But that's not the point. The point is this. Mudge was bread to work in partnership with a good shepherd-- sitting patiently and waiting until he sees the shepherd make a move. Then he's "all in" for the duration until the sheperd sits down and then a good shepherd's dog lies down beside him and waits... indefinitely.

We serve not just a good shepherd, but rather The Good Shepherd. Would that I were more like Mudge- willing to simply sit at His feet for as long as need be; willing to wait patiently on His next move- then eagerly throwing myself "all in" to whatever I see the Good Shepherd doing. Never moving unless The Good Shepherd is moving, but never lagging behind once The Good Shepherd shows me what to do next- that's how I want to be.

Lord, give me the patience to not run ahead of you, not take on battles that you're not fighting and to keep my mouth shut when you're not speaking. Lord, give me the desire to simply sit at your feet until you move. And then Lord, cause me to run with all that I am until your good will has been accomplished- then lead me to sit at your feet once more. Amen.

That's what I need to become. At least that's the way Boompa sees it.

Turn Full Into the Wind

Ever watch a gull? They always turn into the wind to find the lift they need for takeoff. If they turn and run with the wind there is no lift over their wings. If the wind is strong enough takeoff becomes impossible. Even under the best of conditions it's infinitely more difficult for a bird to break free from the ground with the wind at its' back.

Why do we always want to run with the crowd? Whichever way the wind is blowing today, that's the way we want to run. If public opinion is flapping in the wind about the importance of training a child's mind in the finest Greek tradition, we all want to run that way.

If the latest child-rearing theory is to make sure our children are never allowed to encounter the fallen world into which they've been born... we're likely to get run over if we don't start running with the crowd quickly enough.

I suppose running with the wind isn't a bad strategy... if you're content to run. But for those who long to fly it's a recipe for failure.

God invites us to stand quietly... and then to turn full into the wind of the Holy Spirit, looking confidently to our Source rather than running with the latest homeschooling fad. And in that moment when we turn and lift our arms toward heaven... we take flight, rising gently at first-- then soaring above the angst-driven mob clamoring below like so many earth-bound gulls running, chasing and squawking after yesterday's stale bread crumbs.

Only then do we begin our ascent in earnest, climbing toward the heavenlies with amazingly little effort on our part. We were never meant to chase after crumbs in the wind. We were created to fly. At least that's how Boompa sees it.

Making Children Obey is a Cinch

So say several popular homeschool pundits and poets. "Just keep applying the pressure until they finally understand who's in charge. They'll obey all right!" And so they will.

He was a good horse with a soft eye and a heart as big as a Montana sky. But by the time I bought Dart he was afraid of all humans; head down, spirit broken, shying if you so much as raised a hand to stroke his neck. He'd been raised with that theory and he had learned to obey. He had learned who was boss. And he had the scars to prove it... a foot long on both sides and as white as bleached bones in the Arizona desert.

When the cinch was tightened down so tight he could no longer breathe or struggle he had become compliant and obedient for the proud rider to show off to all his friends-- the perfectly obedient horse.

But you know, the color never did grow back on his rib cage where that cinch had nearly carved the heart out of him; a cinch so tight it left permanent scars on the outside... and on the inside.

It took a lot of love and a lot of patience for Dart to regain his ability to trust anyone. You see, he had wanted to serve and to please all along. It was in his very nature to partner up and work together. But I guess he wasn't learning fast enough to please his previous owner.

Some of us still have scars from being cinched down too tight. Some visible... but mostly on the inside. And our children are just like us. Yep... making children always obey the first time and every time is a cinch all right- but at what price to their souls... and to ours. At least that's how Boompa sees it.

A Feast Fit For Kings and Queens

One of the subjects we deal with in our Real Life Marriage seminars is sexual intimacy.

Besides the obvious physical pleasures, there is a spiritual component through which the relentless, tugging separation that seeks to divide a husband and wife is pushed back for a season; the two are re-joined. That re-connection is a feeling we long for at the deepest core of our being- to be rightly connected to someone who loves us and accepts us as we are.

Yet we try to fill that longing with all sorts of substitutes; pornography, infidelity, perversion and more. God intended us to dine at the most luxurious restaurant in the world, eating delicacies set aside for kings and for queens. Yet we persist in trying to satisfy that appetite by dumpster diving.

This particular post is perhaps less a condemnation of dumpster diving, than it is a standing ovation for the miraculous gift of sexual intimacy between a husband and wife- a gift worthy of celebration and thanksgiving. At least that's how Boompa sees it.

Why did this little piggy have roast beef?

And perhaps more profoundly- why did that little piggy have none? I can't answer that, but I do wonder at the joy in the eyes of children as we play this and other silly little games with them. All they really want is a little of our time. When I take time to play with children, or even just to talk with them, their eyes light up like they've just spent time with (fill in the name of whoever you'd most like to meet; the President, or Oprah, or Elvis). That's good for the ego, eh? And it's good for them. I never cease to be amazed at how little effort it takes on my part to change a child's world. And you walk away feeling like the President... or Oprah... or Elvis! How cool is that?!? At least that's how Boompa sees it.