samuel.

my brother.

yes, samuel is my youngest brother 

and this blog post is not really about him

but it relates to him in my life.

confused, well read on.

{church}

so in church today, we learned about

samuel. it is a wonderful sunday school

story that most of us hear while growing up.

for those of us in my family

it was always a little more special of a story

because of our brother samuel. for us, the david siblings,samuel, our brother really did live up to his name:

[samuel]:"God has heard".

samuel, in the bible, always was taught to have this wonderful

connection to God in his ability to hear God and speak with 

Him even at a young age.

i always just assumed that samuel was just one of 

those "chosen" ones that God decides to reveal himself 

very intimately too.

however, this may not be news to any of you, 

but samuel, even at his young age, was not just going

about his business hoping that one day God

would talk to him. no, he was definitely laying at the foot 

of the ark of the covenant, in the tabernacle...as my

pastor said "thats definitely setting yourself up for

success to hear God...dont you think".

so i know this is probably common sense

but i like when things are just re-stated

simply and plainly for me...

how are you going to hear from God if you dont know him?

samuel was setting himself up for success {i also believe God can speak to us at anytime, he is God after all, right?}...

but if we want to hear from Him

we actually need to get to know Him.

for example, we often dont need to look at who is talking to 

us if it is family or close friends...we know them...we know 

their voice....through practice and experience.

the same would definitely be true of God.

im sure i am stating the obvious

i was just so shocked that samuel was not just some

random kid God chose to hear his voice,

yes, he was special...and a listener of God...

but he was doing everything, and in a position to hear God.
well thanks for listening ..or reading my thoughts.

so random picture of life in paso.
mark has trained the dogs to sit in the 
living room while jesse eats
[so much temptation for jesse to feed the dogs...
which he loves to do, of course}
so the dogs obey...but like kids...leave just their front
  paws on the kitchen floor
"im obeying just not the complete 100%"
...says the dogs.

...by the way it is Mark's 30th birthday tomorrow!.
oh and ps...

 i think i changed the settings, so now you do not need a google account to leave a comment...but please dont feel like you have to.                          we'll see if this works.