Sometimes it Starts with Believing You CAN, You WILL, You ARE!

So, ya, this is my DOG. Judge not! He is the most quirky and smart animal we have possibly ever owned. Now, why would you question that at this point?

When GMA introduced the concept of Designer Dogs on their morning show, my daughter Madison quickly squealed... "I want one."  "Oh, those Puggles are SOOOOOOOO cute!!!". One homeschool dog report later and we were buying this little/big pup for our daughters birthday.

He was SO adorable. {If you want to read more about Barkley, here is a post from awhile ago.}

Seriously, wasn't he the cutest? Yeah, I have no idea what happened. Somehow his ears quit growing and everything else widened. Now that I think about it.... this story seems similar to my own. Haha. Wuh....what happened?

This dog pays no attention to what he CAN do - or even what he SHOULD do. He, unlike most dogs, really couldn't give a rip about if we agree with him or not. We call him STUBBORN - if he were to speak English he would probably say, he is his own dog. He sees something he can do and he does it. He believes he can and therefore he will find a way. Ex: Pillow photo above. There is no way in creation he could fit his entirety on that pillow... and yet he found a way to stretch that toe just far enough to believe the average-sized pillow actually cradled the complete immensity of his stout form..and he rested in that. AND he rested quite well in that, for quite some time.

{Source: Pinterest}

Couldn't we all learn something from that? I mean, I seriously doubt he thought about what he looked like to everyone else when he plopped his hiney {almost} on that pillow. He knew what he wanted and he went for it, despite the odds. He may not have completely arrived and landed at his full destination, yet his efforts left him much closer in proximity from where he had started. He believed, he tried and he rested in that. 

Don't get me wrong, I wholeheartedly believe we need to fall under the authority of our Master, Jesus Christ. I believe we do this by being in a relationship with him. We listen, talk, learn and study Him. I also believe that we spend WAY too much time doubting our abilities, due to the fact we are looking through our "others" glasses. A simple way of putting that... We worry so much about what others will think of us that it hinders us from trying. Just try. It may not end up exactly how you pictured it, but still...try.

So start your day by asking God to give you a Barkley Size Dream... okay, maybe not. (Yeah, that was pretty much ridiculous) Ask for bigger vision, bigger belief, more God-sized confidence. Less looking around and more looking up.

God has so much to say to you - You ARE beautiful, smart and able. You CAN do all things in Christ who strengthens you. Don't ever forget it! 

AND yes... the absolutely terrific news is... you will never look as SILLY as Barkley does in that pillow photo, no matter what you try.

-Simply Sublime