• Dene's Blog
  • About Dene
  • Contact Dene
  • Dene's Recipes
  • Dene's Books
  • Dene's Classbooks
  • Gallery
  • Recommended Sites
  • FAQ & Tutorial
  Flight Paths

Discerning Taste

4/9/2013

2 Comments

 
If you were to ask the boys what their dog’s name was, they would name Bart, the big yellow lab.  Bart was born in our dog pen when they were 10 and 12, and all three of them grew up together.  Eleven years later, when we finally had to put him down, it was a sad day for all of us, but Lucas put it most succinctly when I asked how he was. “Today my dog died.”  It did not matter that we already had another one.  It did not matter that we had one when he was three, who lived five years, nor did it matter that we had Bart’s mother nearly as long as we had him.  Bart was the one they played with, the one they rolled around on the ground with, the one they hiked through the woods with, the one they lay their heads on in the field when they were gazing up into the sky at the clouds, talking, dreaming, and planning their lives.

Bart was a good dog, sweet and lovable, and I knew my boys were safe with him.  But he was hands down the dumbest dog we ever had.  Even his mother (his dog-mother, not me!) got a kick out of tricking him. 

Once we laid out a pan of rib bones for them both.  If Bart saw anything come out of the house in our hands, he immediately thought it was good food, and usually wolfed it down before he could possibly have tasted it.  His mother was well aware of that.  As soon as we laid down that pan, she stood up with her ears pricked, and started running down the drive barking.  Bart, of course, fell in step beside her and, being bigger with longer legs, soon outran her, heading for the gate, a couple hundred yards away.  His mother stopped and watched to make sure he was still going all out to get the nonexistent boogey man, then calmly walked back to the pan of ribs.  By the time Bart figured it out and came back, Mom had had her fill and she left the remainder for her “little boy” to finish up, which he did in about thirty seconds.  He never really seemed to understand what she had done to him, even though we all stood there laughing until our sides nearly split open.

That was Bart for you.  Once I threw out some sweet potato skins just to see what would happen.  He gulped down three of the four before he realized he didn’t like them and quit.  Lucas, who could go through a quart jar of my dill pickles in two sittings, once poured the leftover brine into a bowl and took it outside.  I am sure this was not just his idea.  His little brother seems to be the prankster in the family, and I do recall that Nathan was out there watching too, laughing the most as Bart slurped up about a cupful of the salty, vinegary concoction.  He finally stopped and looked at what he was drinking.  The worst part was that he also looked at the boys like he was thinking, “You gave this to me, so it must be good.  Why don’t I like it?”  Instant guilt trip!  

And then there was the time I threw some trash into the burn barrel and lit it.  Bart was so sure it must be good food that he licked the side of that red hot barrel, as I was frantically screaming, “No!”  He ran around in circles trying to make his tongue stop burning.  I gave him some cold water to drink, but I doubt he really quit hurting for a day or two.

And that is exactly how we do with sin.  Our friends are involved in it; society accepts it; it must be okay, and we wolf it down without a second thought.  So why is my life falling apart?  Why do I feel so bad about what I am doing?  It cannot possibly be that this stuff does not taste as good as everyone says it does.  Are we being as gullible as that big dumb yellow lab of ours?  The answer is probably yes.  Unfortunately, we sometimes don’t even have the sense he did to finally realize sin does not taste that good and quit.  And also unfortunately, one can develop a taste for things that really don’t taste very good at all.  And sooner or later our tongues will be burned on the garbage we have tried to ingest into our souls. 

God does have your good at heart.  He will not play any tricks on you.  Listen to what He says about how to live your life, and you will find that everything will taste a whole lot better.

Oh taste and see that Jehovah is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.  Oh fear Jehovah, you his saints, for there is no want in those who fear him.  The young lions lack and suffer hunger, but those who seek Jehovah shall not want for any good thing, Psa 34:  8-10.

Dene Ward

2 Comments
Mark Beans link
4/9/2013 08:43:24 am

Great article Dene. You are an excellent writer.

Reply
Dene
4/22/2013 04:50:10 am

Thanks, Mark. I hope you will continue to follow the blog.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Picture
    Author
    Dene Ward has taught the Bible for more than  forty years, spoken at women’s retreats and lectureships, and has written both devotional books and class materials. She lives in Lake Butler, Florida, with her husband Keith.


    Categories

    All
    A Wives Series
    Bible People
    Bible Study
    Birds & Animals
    Book Reviews
    Camping
    Children
    Cooking Kitchen
    Country Life
    Discipleship
    Everyday Living
    Faith
    Family
    Gardening
    Grace
    Guest Writer
    History
    Holiness
    Humility Unity
    Materialism
    Medical
    Music
    Prayer
    Psalms
    Salvation
    Trials

    Archives

    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly