Wake Up!!

Sorry to Doggie Blog two days in a row, but I've got to tell you about my crazy dog, Bailey.

Two mornings (or nights) in a row at 4 a.m. Bailey has jumped up and barked like a crazed lunatic. Cheryl and I both jump out of our skin and try to get our hearts back to a normal rythym.

I cannot figure it out for the life of me. I get up and look outside to see if there is something that may have caused him to go crazy, but both times, nothing.

If you have heard Bailey do his protective, "Get off my property" bark, you know it will scare the "you know what" out of you. Aaron loves and hates it all at the same time. He routinely copies it in his own little Bailey voice. We laugh - - until it happens again.

The only thing I can think to do when I am awakened a 4 a.m. by "Barkin' Bailey" is pray. No, I don't pray for Bailey (although since I want to kill him when he does it, maybe he does need prayer), I just start praying. Talking with God in the still of the night.

I often have moments in the night when I am awakened for no reason whatsoever. Most times a person comes to mind, so I just start praying for them. Sometimes I don't even know what I am praying for and sometimes I don't even know who. For some reason or another, God wakes me up.

As I started writing this, I realized that God is awakening all of us...

I was talking with Mike Rice yesterday. He is a pastor at Life Church in Canton. They are in the midst of a series and Small Groups track through the book God is Closer Than You Think by John Ortberg. He was telling me about how sometimes it's easy to see God and other times, we either have a real hard time seeing Him or we just don't want to be seen by Him.

The key to all of this is that we have to be looking for Him. We have to be aware of His presence in our everyday lives. Whether He wakes us out of a deep sleep or starts to make summer leaves turn to beautiful fall colors, God is here.

He stands at the door and knocks... will we let Him in?