Golden Rule #004 - I'll be with you

Boon's Sunday Sermon #7 - Following Where the Master Leads

Isaac and Cosmo

Cosmo came to live with us when he was five and a half months old. He was a gift for Isaac’s 7^th birthday. We do not know much about the condition of Cosmo’s life before he came to live with us, but we do know he was not use to a lot of interaction with humans.
When we picked Cosmo up, we literally had to lift him into the van. No amount of coercing was enough to convince him to go willingly. We would try to throw a tennis ball for him to chase. His reaction was ‘no reaction’. The first time we put a leash on him, he thrashed his body around so wildly we were certain he would hurt himself or someone else. We unclipped the leash from his collar and vowed to try again later. From that point on when the leash came out, Cosmo froze with fear. He firmly planted his bottom on the ground and would not budge an inch.

We consulted a friend who is an award winning dog trainer. He evaluated Cosmo and reported that “this dog has no drive.” He went on to tell us that we’d never walk Cosmo on a leash and that Cosmo was ‘untrainable’.

Cosmo seemed to know from the beginning that Isaac was to be his master. He found comfort in Isaac’s presence, and Isaac spent hours reassuring him of his place in our home. Little by little Cosmo came out of his shell. Day by day he seemed to trust us more. He and Isaac now share a bond that most people can only dream of having with a pet. To see them together is truly a thing of beauty.

Now days when the leash comes out, instead of being afraid, Cosmo looks up at Isaac as if to say, “What grand adventure will you lead me on today?” I am convinced that the dog would follow Isaac to the ends of the earth.

Isaac gently takes hold of the leash and off they go. Cosmo doesn’t ask where they are going. Cosmo does not pull against the leash - not even to smell the ‘happenings’ of the neighborhood. Cosmo follows Isaac. His step is in perfect harmony with that of his master - all because he trusts Isaac and knows that Isaac wants only what is best for him.

In our lives it doesn’t always seem as easy to blindly follow. Problems arise that don’t seem to have a solution. Bills mount up. Relationships die down. Things are in constant need of repair. Often it seems that the path we are being led down will surely lead to our ultimate end. We have no hope, no faith, and no trust.

Yet when we allow God to take control of our lives, we learn that He is a Good Shepherd who will never abandon or forsake us. His intentions for us are good not evil. To walk in a relationship with Him - trusting His purpose for our life and having faith in who He is - brings FREEDOM.  You are no longer spiraling down a road leading to nowhere.  When we follow in The Master's steps, we can rest in the knowledge that He is leading us to where He wants us.  When we trust Him, our future no longer seems terrifying but rather satisfying because of the awareness that He who created the universe is holding your hand leading you to His best for your life.

Like Cosmo it sometimes requires taking a single step in faith and learning to trust - one step at a time.  Regardless of the road you are on when you call out to Jesus, he will give you rest. Won’t you follow Him?

The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.

Psalm 23:1-3

　







Beginning soon The Love Shack Pack will begin accepting submissions for Boon's Sunday Sermon.  If God has given you an encouraging, uplifting word that you would like us to share, please email us at Samantha@theloveshackpack.com .

Introducing: COSMO

Our next pup up as we continue introducing our pack is COSMO.  He's a cool dog that walks with a swagger and flirts with all the ladies.  I know y'all will love him.

Agape Golden's Cosmic Pluto

Picture taken the day Isaac met Cosmo.

Cosmo is our big brother. He just turned two at the end of March. He belongs to Isaac (our human's third born child). Cosmo was a gift to Isaac on his seventh birthday. Those two were made for each other and you hardly see one playing without the other. Momma says, "Every boy should have a dog - especially when that dog loves their boy like Cosmo loves his." I don't know about all that, but they do seem like a match made in Heaven.

When Cosmo came to live with our family, he was almost six months old.  He'd never been on a leash before and had no motivation to learn to walk on one.  He did not like playing fetch or with toys.  He seemed sad most of the time.  An award winning, dog trainer friend told mom that Cosmo had NO DRIVE and wasn't trainable.  He'd be fine for a pet, but not to expect much from him.  Mom loves a challenge and took his words as one.  Determined for Cosmo to be more than a pet, she made the commitment to spend every spare minute training with him.  He now prances instead of walks on a leash - prettier than any show dog you ever did see - and has better manners than any other dog in our family (except for Scarlet, of course).  Isaac hopes to have Cosmo tested for CGC and TDI in July. 

Isaac calls Cosmo his best friend and plans to start agility classes with Cosmo this fall.

AROOOOF!

Boondocks and Kudzu

Things You Should Know BEFORE Owning a Golden Retriever

Today we wanted to share a post from Mom's blog a while back when our siblings Cosmo and Rose Bud were youngsters.  We hope y'all enjoy it!   

Our oldest Golden Retriever turned seven on April 1st. We got Scarlet when she was just six weeks old and quickly fell in love with her. Within another six weeks, we had our second Golden, Rhett. (Rhett passed away three years ago.) It had been five (almost six) years since we'd had adolescent Golden Retrievers in our home. While I have often joked about the “first terrible two years” of a Golden Retriever’s life, I had truly forgotten just how trying a Golden puppy can be - that is until now. Cosmo will be one year old in a matter of weeks, and Rose Bud is six months old. Now all of the reasons we’d joked for so long over how hard it was to survive their puppy hood have come back to me. We’re learning again - the hard way.  (Cosmo is now well past two and Rose Bud will celebrate her second birthday in September.)

With that in mind, I would like to share some tips on owning a Golden. Retriever.

Here are a few things you need to know:

1. You do not own a Golden Retriever. The more accurate description is that they own YOU.
2. Golden Retrievers will chew. If you do not provide them something to chew, they will chew whatever they can find to chew. Amended: whether you provide chew toys or not, Golden Retrievers will chew whatever they can find to chew. *Furniture made from steel is recommended.*
3. People who choose to be owned by Golden Retrievers need to have the patience of Job. If patience is not a virtue that you possess, steer clear of Golden puppies. If it is a virtue in which you wish you had more, you definitely should acquire a Golden Retriever. They will teach you to have it by the boat loads!
4. Golden Retrievers need to be kept busy. If you don’t give them something constructive to do (play fetch, go for a walk, etc…) they will find something destructive to do.
5. Golden Retrievers will EAT anything. This goes beyond the chewing issue. Chewing just leaves your belongings unsightly. Eating involves digesting said object followed by the reproduction of the original object but not in its original form.
6. The whole “mine, yours, and ours” thing is not understood by a Golden Retriever. You should know up front that it is all theirs.
7. Unless you have the pitching arm of Nolan Ryan coupled with the patience of Job, a Golden Retriever is not for you. A Golden’s opinion of ball playing is “keep it coming”.
8. Golden Retrievers dig. My once luscious, green yard would now be a good host for a mud fight pit thanks to the multiple Golden Retrievers who spend part of their day in it.
9. Golden Retrievers LOVE water. Let me emphasize this: GOLDEN RETRIEVERS LOVE WATER. The only thing they love more than water is mud and when they can’t find mud, they make their own! Our dogs dig in their water bowl (as they are drinking and when they are not) then find the nearest pile of dirt and dig and roll and roll and dig until there is one pond size body of mud. (See above tip about digging. These two work together.)
10. Did you see the movie “UP”? (If not, it is a GREAT movie and you should definitely watch it!) Remember the scenes with the squirrels? Golden Retrievers love watching squirrels. We have acrobatic squirrels that spend the day jumping from tree branch to tree branch above our backyard. As they taunt our pups endlessly, our dogs stand “pointing” below while barking to one another what really sounds like, “SQUIRREL! SQUIRREL! SQUIRREL!”

While I could give many, many more examples, I will stop at ten. If you think that you can live through these ten things for at least the first two years: Congratulations! You should definitely get a Golden Retriever!! And if you do manage to survive those first two years, you really will be rewarded with the best dog in the world. These dogs truly do have hearts of gold!

(The above picture is Rose Bud and Cosmo. They were playing tug of war with one of my daughters boas.)



And Mom loved that stage so much as soon as Rose Bud and Cosmo matured, she got us and started all over again!!!!  BOL!!

AROOOOF!
Boondocks and Kudzu