I remember reading that when NYC serial killer David Berkowitz was captured that he told the police that a dog conversed with him and told him to do his evil bidding.
Hmmm… I wish some of my friends would converse with my pup Cooper so he could tell them to quit being negative, cheer up, cease worrying, and stop chasing phantoms.
Cooper gets up the same time that I do, which varies, but my range is usually from midnight ‘til around 3 a.m. Regardless of the time he gets up, Coopie is always in a good mood and when I let him out of his crate he stands there grinning from ear to ear with tail wagging as I gently rub his back and talk baby talk to him and tell him how good looking he is.
Every day I too wake up and start my day in a sterling good mood, and I’m very optimistic. I wish I could say the same for everyone else. Lately I’ve been bombarded with negativism and naysayers. They all seem to have an opinion about my undertakings and most are dismal.
I try to stay positive, but it definitely has a negative effect on me and by the end of a long day I’m kind of grumped up too.
We are going to have the grand opening for the Honey Lake Church and Worldwide Ministry on January 20th beginning at 10 a.m. My friend, NFL football legend Bill Glass, will be the featured speaker and all American FSU linebacker, Nashville singer/songwriter Terry Warren will sing, as will the Thomasville Georgia Christian group Root 316.
I think it will be a great day, but some of the folks I know are less optimistic. They worry about everything under the sun. One would think we were experiencing the Cuban missile crisis instead of planning a worship service led by a man who began a ministry that resulted in over a million lost and tortured souls making decisions to follow Christ…
“We are too isolated and remote way out there in the country, it’s too ambitious, we need to slow down, too complicated, not enough resources, I don’t think many folks will show up, we won’t be through in time, everything will not go off as planned; we are an all-volunteer force and cannot rely on them, it’s too complex to tackle all of this at once, not enough money, it might rain, What if? Yeah but…What if? Yeah but…What if?”
Bah!
I’ve heard this crap about every project that I’ve ever undertaken including when planning to begin Bear Claw Taxidermy Studio, Master Paint Systems, WASCO Distribution, WASCO Manufacturing, Breakthrough Magazine, Williamson Publishing, Serious Sportsmen, Weight and Shape Company, Horizon Software International, Miracle on Luckie Street, and Honey Lake Plantation Resort and Spa.
Lately it’s been the Honey Lake Church and Worldwide Ministry, the Honey Lake Summer Youth Camp, the HLP Sporting Clay Course, the Sunday Gospel Brunch, etc. etc.
I’ve heard the negative-naysayers rail about my impending doom all of my life for virtually every project that I’ve ever dared to take on. One guy who never doubts me is my buddy Cooper. He trusts me implicitly and never questions that I will succeed.
So what is my pup Cooper’s secret for staying positive?
He isn’t afraid to fail…
And he doesn’t worry about anything. He trusts that he will have plenty of food, water, play, and nap time; (heaps of nap time) and he is content.
Maybe I’m too ambitious; maybe I push too hard; maybe I won’t accomplish all my goals; maybe I’ll go belly up… You will notice that I did not mention fail because one thing is dead certain:
I cannot fail!
Because merely attempting to achieve my dreams is success. The overwhelming majority of the people on this planet will not even attempt to make their dreams come true because they are afraid of failure.
Ahem…that is the very thing that makes them failures. They fail to try, because satan has them convinced that they will fail. It’s a paradox.
As you plan your goals beginning this brand new year, think of Coopie. Be optimistic, wag your tail, and don’t worry. God is with you…always… Have faith that you can accomplish the things within God’s will for your life. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” I don’t know about you, but I believe that verse.
It begins with “I can do”, so get busy…
As for our first church service I hope you will come. It won’t be perfect and we’ll probably mess some things up, but what the heck, we’ll have a good time and best of all, God states in Matthew: “For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.”
Yes!
If this column has not helped you this fine morning and you are still struggling with worry, negativism and naysaying, and would personally like to meet with Dr. Cooper instead of your shrink, be advised that you must pay at the time service is rendered. He doesn’t take insurance due to ObamaCare and since our debt is so astronomical and the U.S. economy is on such shaky ground, he has what he considers valid concerns about the stability of the dollar; therefore he only accepts bacon treats; (his reduced rate is two treats per hour of listening to you whine – It’s reduced because he is on a diet after the holidays)…
And even after talking with Dr. Coopie you still believe that just maybe the Mayans are right and the sky is falling, you might try the Bible cure for anxiety:
Matt. 6:25
I tell you not to worry about your life. Don’t worry about having something to eat, drink, or wear. Isn’t life more than food or clothing? Look at the birds in the sky! They don’t plant or harvest. They don’t even store grain in barns. Yet your Father in heaven takes care of them.
Aren’t you worth more than birds?
Can worry make you live longer?
Why worry about clothes? Look how the wild flowers grow. They don’t work hard to make their clothes. But I tell you that Solomon with all his wealth wasn’t as well clothed as one of them. God gives such beauty to everything that grows in the fields, even though it is here today and thrown into a fire tomorrow. He will surely do even more for you!
Why do you have such little faith?
Don’t worry and ask yourselves, “Will we have anything to eat? Will we have anything to drink? Will we have any clothes to wear? ”Only people who don’t know God are always worrying about such things. Your Father in heaven knows that you need all of these.
But more than anything else, put God’s work first and do what he wants. Then the other things will be yours as well.
Don’t worry about tomorrow. It will take care of itself. You have enough to worry about today.