We have an American Bulldog named Chyna. On November 6th she will be 9 years old. She's been a good dog but the years are wearing on her. She walks real slow, lays around most days and sleeps. She occasionally rears her head to bark and growl at passer-bys just to remind everyone that she is still there. But, in her younger days that dog was something else!
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She has always been very protective over our family and I believe, in my little mind, that she looks at us as her pack. There's an order in our "pack" and she knows just right where her position is. In her younger days she was a force to be reckoned with. I would take her everywhere I went and she would sit in the front seat of the car on alert. I remember one time stopping to get gas on a day when it was freezing outside. The kids and Chyna were with me and the pay at the pump thing wasn't working. The kids were in elementary school and normally I would drag them into the store with me but I figured Chyna could protect them. So, after pumping gas I opened the door and looked at Chyna and said "Watch 'em girl..." and walked off. As I walked into the store and stood in line I watched as cars pulled up to the pump on the OTHER side of where I was parked to only quickly get back in their car and pull to another pump. When I got back to the car Chyna was perfectly perched in her seat looking out the windshield. Kristina and Gabe were laughing so hard and began to tell me that every time a car pulled anywhere near our car Chyna let her presence be known and would scare the pee-turkey out the person who would quickly move on.
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How many times do we protect our God like that? When we hear someone use his name in vain; do we growl and let them know that is wrong? What about when people question if our God even exists; do we bark in defiance to let them know they need to move on to another "pump"? It is so easy to go through life living a quiet Christian life but that isn't what we are supposed to do. We are to go out into the world and tell others about Him! We are to shout from the mountain tops! We are to preach to the multitudes!. We are to let the world know that we are His child!
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We are going to suffer. We are going to have bad days. We are going to go through rough patches but that doesn't mean we are to be silent. When life gets tough that's when we need to growl a little more. "And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering." Romans 8:17 (NLT). The thing about Chyna is no matter what the circumstance, no matter what her mood, she is always ready to do her job. She is always ready to let the world know that we are her pack and she is our protector and if you don't like it she just might bite your butt! (Maybe I should bring her to work with me...heehee). Growl a little bit today...bark if you have to...just make sure that you don't snarl, snear or attack... At-A-Girl....
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