Message 10: Enjoy the Ride

Peanut and Biscuit love car rides. Just say the words and they’ll drop what they’re doing to dance around with excitement. As soon as the door opens, they’ll race out to the car with complete exuberance. But sometimes, not long into the car ride, one of them starts to whine. And not long after, the other one joins in. My theory is that they’re worried the destination will leave them trapped in the car.

One Easter Saturday, a pet store nearby was having an Easter egg hunt for dogs. It sounded like fun, so I loaded up the dogs in the car and headed to the pet store. But about halfway there, the whining began. I tried to soothe them, telling them they were going to have fun and that I had a plan. It didn’t help.

But I couldn’t really blame them. I often forget to enjoy the journey because I focus too much on the destination. And in those moments of worry, I forget to trust that God might just have a plan for that destination. A good plan. As fun as an Easter egg hunt for treats.

Life’s too short to focus on the destinations God has for us. Stick your head out the window and enjoy the journey. Leave your worries behind and trust that wherever you’re going, God will get you there.

What's one way you need to slow down and enjoy the ride?

Message 9: Be Patient

“But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.” – Romans 8:25

Peanut is about the most impatient creature I have ever met. Pretty soon after we started running, she learned the word run. So if I told her we were going on a run, she had no patience for the time it took me to change, stretch, do my hair, and put shoes on. I solved the problem for a bit by waiting to tell her about the run until I was all ready to go. But it wasn’t long until she learned which pants were my running pants. So I started stretching and doing my hair first, and waiting until the end to change. But now she’s at the point where she just knows whether or not we’re running before I even start anything. I’m not sure how, but she just knows.

And so for the ten minutes or so it takes me to do all my pre-running tasks, she whines. She jumps at me. She runs to the door and back. She makes no effort to hide the fact that she thinks I am so slow.

And sometimes I’ve said to her, “Peanut! It’s ten minutes! Stop being so impatient!”

At one point, I was dealing with a few big could-be possibilities in my life. I was wondering what God had in store for me and when the things I was expecting would happen. And although I wasn’t literally running around frantically, my thoughts were doing all the same things Peanut does when she is ready to run.

That ten minutes to Peanut probably feels like a lot longer than it feels to me. (Perhaps 70 minutes?) Likewise, a few days, a few months, a few years is a blip on the radar for God…yet it can feel like such a long wait!

At the same time as all this was going on, I was working on memorizing Psalm 40. I often reminded myself of verse 1, “I waited patiently for the Lord.” But another verse really struck me was verse 5: “The things you have planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare.” God has so many great things planned for me and you. Far better than a run around the neighborhood. We can have great hope in these things—but we wait for them patiently.

On a scale of 1-10, how patient are you and why?

Message 8: Stop Comparing

Biscuit gets jealous pretty easily. Usually because whatever Peanut has is obviously better than whatever he has (he thinks). So if they each have a toy, a dental chew, or a Nylabone, it isn’t long before Biscuit decides Peanut’s must be better than his, so he wants hers. Even if they have two Nylabones that are identical.

So he abandons his bone and steals hers. Peanut, who seems to recognize they are the same, doesn’t mind and just picks up the one he abandons. Then Biscuit, who is happily chewing on his prize, sees that Peanut has his original, and decides that one must be better. And on and on the cycle goes, Peanut picking up the abandoned item and Biscuit always vying for what he perceives as the best one.

The thing is that it doesn’t just inconvenience Peanut. It makes for a less pleasant experience for Biscuit. As long as Peanut is playing or chewing, he is constantly trading off, trying to get the better item, and not enjoying his treat. In fact, on one occasion when I accidentally dropped three pieces of cheese, Peanut ended up getting all three pieces because Biscuit refused to look at the ones I was pointing out to him, focusing instead on trying (and failing) to take each piece after Peanut had gotten it.

Sometimes we aspire to more wealth, more fame, more status. Usually this is because we’ve seen someone with it and we want what they have. It must be better than what we have. But the problem is we end up in a cycle just like Biscuit. Always seeing something better, and never appreciating what we already have.

What about you? What comparison games keep you from enjoying what you have?

Message 7: Don't Go Too Far

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”—Jeremiah 29:13

Peanut loves to play a version of hide and seek where I throw a toy down the stairs, then quickly hide while she fetches the toy. Given the fact that I have about three seconds to hide, she is very good at finding me and quickly learned the possible hiding spots I have. It’s a lot of fun, and I think it helped build our relationship quickly when I first got her.

But usually after a few rounds—sometimes ten, sometimes two—Peanut is sick of me being hidden. She wants to keep playing fetch down the stairs, but she doesn’t want me to hide anymore. Sometimes when we set out to play a game of stairs fetch, she is concerned right off the bat that I’ll hide.

She expresses this concern by boycotting fetching altogether (even though she looks after the toy longingly) or by looking behind her every couple of steps to make sure I haven’t left my spot. And I know I can usually boost her confidence by talking to her as she runs.

There are times when we’re so confident in our faith that it’s OK that we can’t see or feel God in our lives. It’s OK when it feels like he’s hiding for a while, because we know he’s not hard to find. There are other times when we feel like we need to check every couple of steps and make sure he’s still there.

I think God knows the difference. Just as I do my best to help Peanut know I’m there, and I never play hide and seek when she’s acting like she doesn’t want me to hide, I think God reaches out to show us he’s there when we need him the most. He also knows that it’s good for our faith when sometimes, he’s just behind the bedroom door. Not far, not hard to find, but it takes a little faith to know he’s still an active part of our lives.

What helps you know God is there in your life? Do you feel more like he is hiding or present right now?

Message 6: Slow Down

“He says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.’”—Psalm 46:10

There’s something about stillness that's very hard for me. Even when I’m sitting around doing nothing, my mind is racing with a million jumbled, incoherent thoughts. It is very difficult for me to just sit and enjoy my surroundings.

Peanut, despite all her crazy energy and frantic run-around-the-house mode, knows how to be still. She often just sits outside in the sun or on a cool night, enjoying creation. It’s different than when she’s in guard mode, barking and growling at the oh-so-suspicious eight year olds riding their bikes past our house. When she’s in stillness mode, she doesn’t bark at all. She just enjoys life.

One gorgeous starry night, I caught Peanut doing this. She just sat calmly in the grass as Biscuit sniffed around. The temperature couldn’t have been more perfect. A light breeze was just the perfect amount to feel soft on my skin. The sky was so clear, you could see as many stars as you’ll ever see in the suburbs. And as I watched Peanut soak it all in, I realized she had caught something I was missing.

So I sat down in the grass next to her. She was so caught up in enjoying our setting that she hardly even noticed me. And we just sat together, looking up at the stars, enjoying the breeze, and sniffing the warm breeze (I’m sure she caught a million more smells than I did).

It took a crazy, high energy dog to get me to be still. Even for just a few minutes. But if that crazy girl can find it in her to sit and enjoy God’s creation, maybe I can take a page from her book.

How about you - what helps you slow down and enjoy the moment?

Message 5: Spend Time With Me

“You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.” – Psalm 51:16-17

I love a good puppy snuggle. Sometimes I initiate them. I’ll see one of my dogs sleeping and scoop them up for a snuggle, or curl up next to them. And I love those snuggles.

But the snuggles I love the most are the ones they initiate. When I’ll all settled in and they come up and lay right on my lap, or find a crook in my arm to cuddle in. 

I love either kind of snuggle because I enjoy being close to my dogs. But feeling close to them and knowing they wanted to be close to me? Those are the times that fill me with delight. Those are the times I feel the most loved, the most special.

God is in our lives whether or not we’re making an effort. He’s everywhere. And if you’ve committed your life to him, he’s there in your heart. He’s walking with you every step of every day.

But the times when you intentionally focus on him…well, I imagine those bring him so much more delight than just being a passenger of our hearts. The times when we curl up on his lap or take refuge in his arms must be so precious to him.

God loves you. He delights in you. And he delights when you take the initiative to make him a forethought, not an afterthought.

What is it that motivates you to put your focus on God?

Message 4: Confess

“For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.” – Psalm 51:3-4

One day, I was sitting in bed when Biscuit crept into the room. He had a guilty look on his face and appeared to have something in his mouth.

“Biscuit? Why do you look guilty?” I asked. He came up to me (I’d stood up), and dropped three kibbles at my feet. Peanut’s kibbles, from her bowl, I realized.

Biscuit knew he’d done something he wasn’t allowed to do. And he felt guilty. So guilty he just couldn’t go through with it. When he dropped the kibbles, it was clear he was giving them back to me, and he looked at me with sorry eyes.

We all have those Biscuit moments, when we realized we’ve started on a course we shouldn’t have gone down. We can keep going, knowing God will forgive us eventually, or we can make it right with him right away, laying our transgressions at his feet in surrender.

Biscuit could’ve enjoyed those kibbles. But he would’ve felt a rift between us. He would’ve missed out on the accolades I gave him for returning the kibbles. I loved his repentance, his sweet little heart that just couldn’t disobey me. And God loves that in us, too.

How does your conscience measure up to Biscuit's? What do you typically do when you've done something wrong?

Message 3: Accept Help

When Peanut was new to our home, she wasn't big enough to get onto the couch by herself. So she'd let us know that she wanted to be on the couch by dancing in front of it, pacing back and forth, or attempting to jump and failing. But whenever we'd bend down to pick her up, she'd back away from the arms that could get her where she wanted to be. Then as soon as we'd return to normal, she'd start asking for help again.

Peanut was asking for what she wanted, but she was so resistant to our help. It's easy to get that way with God. After all, his answers aren't always what we expect them to be. Maybe Peanut wanted us to grant her the ability to get on the couch, or make the couch lower. Maybe our answer wasn't what she was hoping for either. And yet it would have gotten her where she needed to be - with us.

What makes it hard for you to accept help from others or from God?

Do you believe God answers prayers, even if it's not how you wanted?