"Their active minds constantly taking inventory…�

[clein]

I really liked this reading. I think it’s because it explains the way I think. My biggest challenge in going to sleep at night or taking a day off is thinking too much. Questions keep rising up to be considered, data comes in to be evaluated, possible decisions are weighed.

Even when I’m just sitting around I’ll often be thinking about possibilities, new ideas or untried solutions. I used to think that was a problem but from the lesson today it sounds more like a natural part of the shepherd. As Dr. Laniak describes it, “What animals need to be separated? Which ones should stay back tomorrow? Is it the final year for that buck?�

That sounds like the commentary in my mind. I'm starting to figure out that if the questions keep me from sleeping or from praying that they are certainly bad. But if they are just the “active attention� of the shepherd then maybe it’s okay. Indeed, maybe it’s what makes me the shepherd God wants me to be.