Get OUT of the Kitchen...

My dog - by "birthday dog" that is - has settled into our little strange home quite well. From a dog's perspective, we have a challenging home to live in. Not just being 'raised by Wolves,' the traffic is higher than many homes. We have people who live with us, from daughters (when not away at school) to nieces (this IS away at school for her) to friends who rent rooms and make the coffee. Over the years we have had nephews, sons, and a lengthy list of people in need and people who just passed through. Some even have keys - those are the very special ones.

Then there are the people who we love - friends and relatives alike - who we tell not to knock. While it is an honor of sorts, it is not as much of an honor as you might think. I just don't like to get up and answer the door, and since I already can't roam the house in my skivvies - see above - it doesn't bother us at all to have folks just walk right in. In fact, it feels good to know some of our friends and relatives are close enough to walk right in and say hello.

But it all adds a bit of excitement to the life of a dog who wants so badly to be the Alpha around here. I have explained in simple terms that I am perfectly happy to be the Alpha, that she doesn't need to take the burden of being a guard dog - we have gotten by for a long time without one, and I think we'll keep doing just fine. Plus there are so many people coming and going that any thief or burglar would be better off trying just about any other target in the area. Unless they just walk in, take my stuff, say hello and leave... Hmm. Hadn't thought of that - but in any event, I just want the dog to relax and soak up the love. Lot of that around here.

So one of the areas we would like her to stay out of - speaking once again of the dog here - is the Kitchen. I have watched "Dog Whisperer" enough to get some great results, and one of them was to simply tell the dog to "get out of the Kitchen." She backs up immediately, and stands just at the edge of the room looking in. Then she will heave a very heavy, very emotional sigh, and lay down without ever taking her eyes off of me.

But the funny thing is - she has no idea what a "Kitchen" is. So if I find her nosing about in my bedroom, I give the same command, and she leaves the room. In other words, that command makes her leave whatever room she is in. I was at work and she followed me into the bathroom. I turned and said, "get out of the kitchen," and she got out of the bathroom. But the people around me thought I was more than a little nuts... And they laughed all the more when the dog obeyed! "You're both nuts!"

So - when God tells us "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Why is it that we expect something less? If God says he has plans for us, I don't think it means, "only if the economy can support it." Or whatever else I may try to put there to limit that promise.

If my dog can understand a simple string of words, and apply it globally to her little life, why can't I do the same for a promise of God?