S5 E36 - Tracking Dirty Paws Through The House

Our newest dog, Rusty, has grown far bigger than we ever dreamed. He also loves to go outside and get filthy, so bringing him back inside is always a process. If one of the kids lets him in before we can clean him up, he will track dirt all through the house and destroy the place in a matter of minutes. 

The home is to be a sacred and safe place, according to Scripture. We must be careful not to go out into the world, and then come home and track dirt all through the house through the cares and stresses of this world. Our families deserve our best - and we should make sure our homes are a place of peace and security, not chaos and stress. 

#SetYourMindAbovePodcast

Transcript

What if I told you that God could be seen in the most ordinary things every day? 

What if I told you that every day, ordinary events could teach us extraordinary eternal truths? Would you believe me? 

 Welcome back to season 5 of the Set Your Mind Above Podcast! My name is BJ Sipe, and I am a Christian, a preacher, a husband, and a father. And I’m excited to share a few moments together with you learning some important lessons from the simplest things. Let’s grow together! 

We love our pets here in the Sipe household, maybe a little bit too much. We currently have two dogs and one cat, and every day the kids are always inquiring about what other animals we could bring into our home. We’ve capped it off at three, if the kids want a rabbit or a chinchilla in the future, they’re going to have to wait for a little while. While we knew what we were getting into having so many animals in the house, we didn’t exactly know what we were getting into with our latest addition in the newest dog, Rusty. When we got Rusty, he was itty bitty – five pounds at the very most. Like our first pup Ollie, he is a miniature golden doodle. So when we saw him, we assumed that he would grow to be roughly about Ollie’s size, which is 15 pounds at the most. That has not turned out to be the case with Rusty. Apparently, there is a great amount of variation with miniature doodles – they can be anywhere from 15 pounds on the small end to 60 pounds on the large side. Well, Rusty is very much on the large side. He’s huge, coming up nearly to my waist at this point – and he’s not just tall, he’s filled out. So picture this if you will, for a moment. A big old golden doodle with massive paws and a ton of hair. Thick, curly hair. He doesn’t shed, mind you, but he does go outside…and rolls in the dirt…and digs in the mud…and then wants to come inside. 

In times past, this has never been an issue with Ollie, our first puppy. He’s not one to roll around outside, he simply goes out, does his business, and then wants back in. Cleaning his tiny paws is a simple, quick task and then he can roam wherever he so desires inside the house. Rusty, on the other hand, is a whole different story. He loves to dig, loves to roll around on his back, and loves to get dirty. Now that we are through summer and at the end of fall, we have entered the wet, muddy months – and every time this dog goes outside, he gets absolutely filthy…and then wants to come back inside. The cleaning process for Rusty is long and extensive. We’ve got to wipe his paws with a large towel because so much mud gets caked on them. We’ve got to pull clumps of dirt and grass out of his hair as he’s rolled around outside. We’ve got to dry off his wet fur all over. However, sometimes one of the kids – doing their best to be helpful – will see Rusty at the door and recognize that he wants to come back in, so they open the door for him before we can get over to clean him up. Within a matter of less than a minute, that dog can destroy a house as he tracks all that gunk in with him. Paw marks will litter the floor, furniture can get soaking wet as he brushes up against it, and the worst is when he will jump up on the bed – forcing us to have to wash our bed spread immediately. He’s a sweet dog. He’s a cute dog. But he’s a messy, messy dog too. If we’re not careful, he will track all the dirt from outside and bring it into our home. 

The home is spoken of in Scripture as one of the most special and sacred places that is to be kept with all diligence. It is a place we are to protect as a place of peace, security, and righteousness. However, if we are not careful, we can track all the dirt and garbage of this world that we encounter back into our homes in a multiplicity of ways. 

If we are not mindful, we can allow the stresses and concerns of work or daily life to impact our homelife. Those stresses and pressures get transferred to our spouse or our children, and instead of walking through the doors full of love, peace, and joy we walk through the door full of irritability, frustration, and impatience. The Proverb writer will warn about this throughout the book. In Proverbs 11:29 we read the following, “Whoever troubles his own household will inherit the wind, and the fool will be servant to the wise of heart.” To “inherit the wind” means essentially to gain nothing, but rather to bring chaos as a consequence of our disruptive actions. When we allow the cares and stresses of this life to build up inside of us, and we carry those with us into our home in how we treat our family, instead of fostering peace we foster trouble and chaos. We can do so much unintentional damage as we track our dirt through the house. Again, consider the warning of the Proverb writer in 17:1, “Better a dry crust with peace than a house full of feasting with strife.” In other words, poverty with peace is even better than security with stress. This is the value that Solomon, the wisest man to ever live, places upon protecting the home. Solomon was not only a wise man, but a very rich and affluent King. And yet despite his riches, some of his actions led to strife in his own household. None of the gold, comforts, or blessings of his day-to-day life were able to compare with the value of peace, love, and joy in his household. We must learn the same for our own households. I have known some men who work their fingers to the bone in order to give their children everything they want, but in doing so they have allowed themselves to become so worn out that they bring all that stress and weight home with them. As a result, children grow up with every comfort and temporary blessing this life could offer, but they are robbed of one of the most important things: a steady, present and gentle father. Fathers, don’t work to give your children everything they want and in doing so rob them of everything they need: your peaceful presence in the home.

Staying in Proverbs, we read in 24:3-4, “A house is built by wisdom, and it is established by understanding; by knowledge the rooms are filled with every precious and beautiful treasure.” This is the standard that we strive to establish in our homes – to fill each room with that which is truly precious and beautiful. These treasures are not purchased with money or composed of any item; they come from a house that is built on the fear of the Lord which leads to wisdom and knowledge. It is the house that is filled with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control (see Galatians 5:22-23). These are the fruits of the Spirit, and they describe the ideal household – what our spouse needs, what our children need, and that which is truly precious and beautiful. We must work diligently to protect our homes and create this kind of a homelife for all. The Proverb writer, again, will say in 14:1, “Every wise woman builds her house, but a foolish one tears it down with her own hands.” My friends, you have the power to build up your household or tear down your household. With your own hands and your own words, you can create a place of safety, godliness, and love or you can create with your own hands and your own words a place of insecurity, godlessness, and strife. Don’t track dirt through your house. Fill your house with the precious and beautiful treasures that can only come from our Father above. 

This has been the Set Your Mind Above Podcast, season 5 episode 36 – and I’m so thankful that we had this time to grow together! A new episode is dropped each Friday, so be sure to tune in next week.  Also, if you’re able to, go ahead and like and subscribe to the podcast, give us a good rating or most importantly share it with someone else – it would help to reach others that I never could alone.  And more than anything, always remember the following: know that I love you, that God loves you, and may we all each and every day set our minds above.