The Book:
Lessons from a Sheep Dog - A True Story of Transforming Love by Phillip Keller. {Published by Thomas Nelson.}
From the Back Cover:
When Lass the sheep dog came to live on the sheep ranch at Fairwinds, she was anything but. She was gaunt, angry, and seemingly untrainable - a product of years in the hands of an unloving master. In this newly revised edition of the classic bestseller, Phillip Keller tells of those first tense weeks with Lass and allows us to see Lass's dramatic transformation from a scrawny, enraged animal into the strong, vibrant worker she was bred to be. Through Keller's unwavering patience and love, Lass learned the lessons of trust, obedience, faithfulness, and discipline. Woven throughout this simple parable is the profound spiritual truth that, just like Lass, we can be transformed into the magnificent beings we were created to be, if we will simply listen and obey the Master's voice.
My Thoughts:
When I drew the brightly-colored wrapping paper off this book at Christmas-time, joy filled me. My mama knows me well; if you want to give me a gift I'll love, give me a book! :-) While I'd glimpsed Lessons from a Sheep Dog in the past, I'd never read it and set it in my TBR pile for 2015.
I picked it up again last week. It's a short book, less than 100 pages, and divided into bite-sized chapters, too, so I figured that I could make a dent in that pile while also providing a respite for myself between bouts of writing.
Once I began it, however, I knew that this was the kind of book that I would finish quickly, think about long after I'd closed it, and return to re-read over the years to come, Lord willing. Keller's simple but lovely writing style combined with his obvious humble love for the Lord God to give life and breath to a story - a parable, really - that speaks to several hard things that continually rise up in the believer's life - well, in this believer's life, anyway! :-)
I'll be brief and just mention one of the several wonderful chapters that strongly stuck out to me. In "The Test of Faithfulness," Keller talks about how crows who nested on the borders of the grazing fields delighted in vexing Lass by swooping down and taunting her with their calls over and over again. Finally tested beyond what she could bear, Lass sometimes "broke faith" with Keller and, disobeying him, chased after the fast-flying "black rascals bent on mischief." Keller tells how, after Lass had snapped and chased them all over the fields, she would return to him and flop down at his feet, entirely spent but seemingly satisfied that she'd put the birds to flight. Keller says, "In the contest with the belligerent birds I saw clearly a parallel that we face in our service for God. We are often distracted from the Master's highest intentions for us by extenuating events in our lives. Circumstances which are not part of His purposes for us intrude themselves into our experience. At first appearance, they may seem harmless, even somewhat entertaining. The difficulty is they distract us from our most important responsibilities to Christ. They call us away and tempt us to take off in hot pursuit. In the process our energies are wasted, our strength is expended - yet the benefit either to God or His flock is nil."
How easy it is to become distracted - How easy for someone or something shiny and dark - or, as Keller talks about in a later case involving brush fires, bright and sparkling - How easy for someone's "cawing" to block out the voice of our Master in our ears! Keller's story of Lass and the crows came as a blessed confirmation of something God has been impressing on my heart - If I am striving to obey the Master's voice {not if I am merely walking in my own way}, then I must - must - must keep my eyes and ears steadfastly fixed and attuned to Him alone. It will not do to engage the distractions that tempt, even if it seems necessary. Better to block them out, focus on the job He has set before me, and spend my energies entirely in the work He has entrusted to me.
I highly recommend this book. Though it isn't intended as one, Lessons from a Sheep Dog could be used as a week-long devotional; it is broken up into several short chapters. It would also make an excellent part of family devotions, if read aloud, as it is appropriate for all ages and would surely lead to some wonderful discussion.
My mama's gift of a book so blessed me... I would like to pass on that blessing to someone else. :-) Therefore, I'm giving away a brand-new copy {not mine... I'm keeping that!} of Lessons from a Sheep Dog by Phillip Keller. Enter below and feel free to share the news! :-)
I might share this post with these link-ups:
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