Lord, give me the heart of Jackson

Ever met a dog who is so perfectly loyal and obedient on your very command? A dog who is cuddly, sweet and attentive and understands what you say when you speak to him? How about when you understand his language too and you feel you can have a conversation with this pet and it's as if HE GETS IT and YOU GET HIM. For me this is Jackson. Erica, are you telling me you are writing a blog about a dog and somehow going to tell me that I would benefit from taking lessons from him? I can't tell you what to take from any lessons you learn in life but he's the most beautiful dog I've ever seen and has taught me respect for small things, thinking outside the box and taught me about immediate obedience. There are days I wish I had his heart and his devotion to his master.
God demands obedience to Him and how often do we hear him calling us to come here or go there and we just lay dormant on the rug on the floor? In Acts 5:29 it says, "we ought to obey God rather than man". For an actual dog his job is to obey man and be loyal to him but as christians we are to obey GOD not man. "Jackson, come here buddy".....immediately he is in front of me. GOD:"Erica, come here daughter"........dragging feet at times, asking why? standing around trying to decide if going there is worth the trip....by the time I finally get to God's side I've missed out on a lot of blessings and things he wanted to teach me. If God were to call me and I responded as Jackson does with an immediate movement to His side how much greater the rewards, treats, and blessings would be. I would not only be showing God that I trusted him enough to act immediately without questioning why; it would show me that with the heart of Jackson nothing is more important to me then to get up from what I was doing (which lots of times is nothing) and "pounce" immediately on my Master and be ready to listen fully to what He has to say, and in turn I would have a more confident and strengthened heart as well as realizing that the nothing I was doing that I thought was possibly something (a nice nap perhaps)was simply waiting and listening for that still small voice to call so that when it did I was ready to take off and approach His side. If we could train our children to obey like Jackson we wouldn't find ourselves hollering repeatedly, "come here, get down, come back, stop doing that NOW", they would come at the first call and thus possibly save themselves from a tragedy of not listening sometime down the road. In Psalms 128:4 it says, "A man who obeys the Lord will surely be blessed." does this mean a man who doens't obey will be cursed??? I'd rather not be the one to not obey and find out. I am choosing to obey and listen to his calling regardless of how off the wall it may seem. The other day God told me to get in the car and go to the dollar tree, not walmart or target, but the dollar tree. I didn't really know what I was going there to get but I went anyways. Got in the store and after having a conversation with an elderly woman about aging and wisdom that comes from that I proceeded up and down the aisles in prayer asking God to tell me what it was I was supposed to be getting. First was a card. Picked one out and then kept walking....OH God, you want me to go over there?? to that aisle? there's nothing in that aisle I could possibly need....Ok I will go. standing in front of the bubble baths and soaps and lotions I noticed many different scents to choose from but this one stood out at me and was the last one on the shelf and I picked it up and it said HEALING WATERS on it. I said, "are you sure God? " Yes Erica, put it in your basket. ok ok...done. now Erica you need to get that 5 pack of sponges down there and put it in your stuff too. hmmm...OK Lord. done. now what? next aisle please....stopped and prayed in the candy/food aisle not even knowing what I was doing in that one....I looked up and saw FIDDLE FADDLE popcorn and though oh how goofy, you want me to do what? yes...put it in your cart. hmmmm...OK Lord I will obey you. next aisle there was a note pad that said thoughts on it and at this point I knew it was what God wanted me to pick so I said, "I'm a step ahead here Lord it's already in the cart" what I didn't know was there was still something missing...but i had no idea what it was. I came around the corner and there was a whole shelf of plaques. I perused through each one thinking, Oh this one is nice, how abou tthis one Lord? NO PUT IT DOWN....ok ok Yes Sir....last one I picked up was a decorative hang on the wall plaque that said Faith can bring inspiration. It was confirmed once again after a prayer that this was the one . Now Lord, I do need something to put all this stuff in....oh, party aisle....which bag Lord? there are only two to choose from . this one is really cool God....hey God...this one right here...God??? where'd ya go. oh, you are over there ...THAT ONE? YOU SURE?? put my stuff in it to see if it fits properly. to a teee. Well done God. So can I now go pa for this stuff for these people I do not even know?? Go. pay. after I got it home I took the card out and said, "Lord you are going to have to give my the words to say in this card to let these people know what these items are and why it was so important we purchased those specific ones. I began my card speaking about restoration of a trial and burdensome time and how if she were to take this HEALING WATERS bubblle bath and soak in the Love of Jesus while spreading the soap on yourself with the new sponges you would feel a peace of embrace from God himself. Fiddle faddle t hough??? hm...ok, so sure Lord I 'll write that Satan is the fiddling faddling meddling being in the midst of all this good and the notes Lord?? are those for her to write her thoughts out on so she can more easily tear them out and then throw the at your feet? I will take my yoke upon you. so after she writes out her thoughts and journals them so to say shd wil feel a peace having done that. Packaged it all up as commanded and took it to church on sunday not knowing for sure if this woman I had never met was even going to be there. Wow God, there she is..sitting right behind us. Hi Brenda, I'm Erica nice to meet you. God told me I was to get this gift for you and you can open it at any time you deem fit! I am praying for you and your family and keep us posted if you need any other items or services rendered. ended up having a nice 30 minute chat with this complete stranger whom I had gotten those gifts and card for and after she opened it she began crying and saying what a blessed young woman who chose to obey God made such a different of hope and faith in their families life that night. I wasn't looking for a pat on the back just was happy to be able to give it to her and help meet some needs. Now, lets say I had been like that child who just kept standing there before leaving for the store and said, "whatever, I 'll do it later, I'm not in the mood right now. .the blessing of having God in my presence would have subsided if I had chosen not to LISTEN AND OBEY at that very moment. but, because I listened immediately not only did she and her family feel fully blessed by just a few little things but my heart was feeling ten times bigger after helping them out and allowing God to use me to be a witness/tool to them. We can't fix everyone's problems as we do have our own to stay focused on but when God tells you to COME HERE NOW or we telle Jackson to get up and get over here now we expect immediate response. We may never know when we are going to miss out on something so importantly vital if we choose to not listen to God or your master or your parent. God is the ultimate healer of all of our problems. no MAN or WOMAN can heal us completely. We live in a high tech fast paced world where we don't always have time to just sit on rugs like Jackson does but if we could carry his heart with us in the palces of hustle and bustle that we need to attend to we could make world of difference in so many hearts and lives as well as our own. OBEDIENCE IS THE VERY BEST WAY TO SHOW THAT YOU BELIEVE, DOING EXACTLY WHAT THE LORD COMMANDS DOING IT HAPPILY :) ACTION IS THE KEY DO IT IMMEDIATELY, JOY YOU WILL RECEIVE, OBEDIENCE IS THE VERY BEST WAY TO SHOW WHAT YOU BELIEVE....LETS SPEL IT...O-B-E-D-I-E-N-C-E Obedience is the very best way to show that you believe!!!
So next time you hear someone telling you to do something that sounds like God's voice then do not pass up that opportunity for anything. Let the loyal obedient trustworthy heart of Jackson be in you to drive you to listen and follow leading after leading. Just as you do one nice thing that God has you do does not always mean you are done. Often he will just ask us to plant a seed with a deed of kindness and then walk away, other time we do require follow up visits/calls, etc....anywhere you go from now on be watching with God's eyes and listening with his ears for His calling you to do something for someone. YOu will not be dissapointed. In fact, you will get many treats and rewards in teh end! ruff ruff!!