Back to School Bonus

Our dog Sweet Justus loves elementary school days.

I am not talking about MY school days-- because for me, working on my masters online, everyday is a school day-- and I don't have to go anywhere. (Praise Jesus!) But Justus loves little kid school days. Brandon and I obviously don't have kids of our own yet, but  there are passels (flocks? gaggles?) of small little school children all throughout our neighborhood. Fortunately for our lil baby dog, we usually time our morning walk-jogs just right for the kids to be waiting at the multiple bus stops to head to school.

There are two primary reasons why Justus loves these early morning school-day walks:

Reason #1: He gets excessive attention from small children screaming in a shrill voice across the street "OOOOOOHHHHHH LOOK AT THE PUPPY!! I LOVE YOUR DOG!!" followed by their mothers awkward look and under-the-breath-comment about Justus' ears. (It doesn't matter to the dog... He likes attention regardless of present sarcasm)

Reason #2: The children throughout our housing complex seem to follow the pattern of children-esque habits... They are messy eaters. Justus always seems to find some "special treat" dropped on the ground from either a lunch, an afterschool snack, and sometimes an entire portable breakfast. (Today he snarfed down three pretzels before I noticed what he was doing.)

So what can we learn from this little dogs intense focus for food and attention? Just like Justus is searching for acknowledgement and the occasional on-the-ground- pretzel, we should be searching daily to find those God-given gifts of Goodness. Unfortunately for us, our nose/eyes/ears are slightly less attuned to the awesome gifts around us... especially when you are huffing and puffing on mile 3 with your iPod in.

God is the ultimate craftsman. There are so many things that are incredible gifts from God, but our society and flesh drives us forward in such a quick speed we sometimes forget. I know I can't meander every day, taking a slow romantical stroll through the neighborhood with my pup... but there ARE days where I can stop, take a deep breath, tune out the distractions and thank God for the glorious gifts that he has placed in our lives. Ahhhhhhhh... "I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living." --Psalm 27:13

So are we looking for God's goodness everywhere? Or are we blinded by the urgent/important (or unimportant) stuff in front of us?  How can we reduce those distractions? What small amazing things are present in your life today that is a gift from God waiting to be unwrapped?

Unwrapping His Good Gifts Today,

SGK

"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness." -- 2 Peter 1:3