{"id":277,"date":"2016-08-30T11:33:57","date_gmt":"2016-08-30T16:33:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/musings.splanescorner.us\/?p=277"},"modified":"2016-12-06T19:38:44","modified_gmt":"2016-12-07T01:38:44","slug":"freedom-in-bondage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/splanescorner.us\/musings\/freedom-in-bondage\/","title":{"rendered":"Freedom in Bondage?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>We have four cats, and a huge fenced back yard where they can go out and roam around. We don\u2019t let them roam free in the neighborhood. A couple of months ago, a baby rabbit somehow squeezed in through an opening in the fence. Ken thought he had them all closed up, but there was a small one he missed.<\/p>\n<p>We tried to get her to go out. We would put all the cats inside and then open both gates, and try to get her to run out, but she would always run away from us. Finally, last week, one of the cats got her and injured her. We took her to a wild animal rescue, but they were not able to save her and she died.<\/p>\n<p>She thought she was safe, I guess. She had plenty of clover and dandelions to eat, and she probably thought she could outrun the cats. But she really was trapped, and didn\u2019t realize it. And she eventually died because of it.<\/p>\n<p>It made me think of us sometimes, when we are trapped in some kind of bondage, or bad habit. We think we are okay. We kind of get used to it, and almost get comfortable with it. But we are still in bondage and trapped. We are so good at justifying how it doesn\u2019t matter, and it\u2019s not so bad. We can live with it. But is it really okay for us to stay that way? Is it really God\u2019s best for us?<\/p>\n<p>Is it sin to stay in bondage to something or a habit that isn\u2019t good for us? I think so. And sin brings death, and it can come in many forms, not just death that ends our physical life. Perhaps death of a calling that God has for us, or a blessing He has for us; but we will miss it, because we are not willing to get free of the bondage we are in.<\/p>\n<p>I was so sad when the bunny died. It seemed kind of weird that I would be so upset by a wild animal that died. But I had grown accustomed to seeing her every day. And I think it made me see a spiritual application as well. Sometimes God does use object lessons to teach us.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>Are not two <strong>sparrows<\/strong> sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father\u2019s will.\u00a0 Matthew 10:29<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Therefore, if the Son makes you <strong>free<\/strong>, you shall be <strong>free<\/strong> <strong>indeed<\/strong>. John 8:36<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We have four cats, and a huge fenced back yard where they can go out and roam around. We don\u2019t let them roam free in the neighborhood. A couple of months ago, a baby rabbit somehow squeezed in through an opening in the fence. Ken thought he had them all closed up, but there was [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":383,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-277","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-musings"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/splanescorner.us\/musings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/bird-1423168_1280.jpg?fit=1280%2C838&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8a3GA-4t","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":516,"url":"https:\/\/splanescorner.us\/musings\/tammany-a-k-a-putter-cat\/","url_meta":{"origin":277,"position":0},"title":"Tammany a.k.a. Putter Cat","author":"Lea Splane","date":"June 7, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"I remember the first time I saw Putter Cat. She was at the Humane Society all alone in a cage. I noticed she was a really large cat for a female. She had silky black fur with beautiful green eyes. I had finally agreed to adopt a cat after 10\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Musings&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Musings","link":"https:\/\/splanescorner.us\/musings\/category\/musings\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/splanescorner.us\/musings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Putter2.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/splanescorner.us\/musings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Putter2.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/splanescorner.us\/musings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Putter2.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/splanescorner.us\/musings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Putter2.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/splanescorner.us\/musings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Putter2.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":49,"url":"https:\/\/splanescorner.us\/musings\/cat-hair\/","url_meta":{"origin":277,"position":1},"title":"Cat Hair","author":"Lea Splane","date":"June 20, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Have you ever visited someone and left with your clothes covered in pet hair? I have and I was convinced I did not want any pets in my house. I am also very allergic to dogs and some cats. So when Ken and I married, he wanted a cat, but\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Musings&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Musings","link":"https:\/\/splanescorner.us\/musings\/category\/musings\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/splanescorner.us\/musings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/e835b70621fd013ecd0b470de7444e90fe76e6d318b2154094f8c6_640_Cat-Hair.jpg?fit=640%2C454&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/splanescorner.us\/musings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/e835b70621fd013ecd0b470de7444e90fe76e6d318b2154094f8c6_640_Cat-Hair.jpg?fit=640%2C454&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/splanescorner.us\/musings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/e835b70621fd013ecd0b470de7444e90fe76e6d318b2154094f8c6_640_Cat-Hair.jpg?fit=640%2C454&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":53,"url":"https:\/\/splanescorner.us\/musings\/a-valentine-gift\/","url_meta":{"origin":277,"position":2},"title":"A Valentine Gift","author":"Lea Splane","date":"February 14, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"I work for a very large company in the Midwest. Every Valentine's Day there are several tables at the Security entrance to the buildings to hold all the flowers that are delivered to employees for Valentine's Day. They even have them labeled by alphabet. It's nice to see that when\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Musings&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Musings","link":"https:\/\/splanescorner.us\/musings\/category\/musings\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/splanescorner.us\/musings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/e830b10d2ff31c3e81584d04ee44408be273e4d41ab5114492f3_640_Valentine.png?fit=640%2C427&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/splanescorner.us\/musings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/e830b10d2ff31c3e81584d04ee44408be273e4d41ab5114492f3_640_Valentine.png?fit=640%2C427&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/splanescorner.us\/musings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/e830b10d2ff31c3e81584d04ee44408be273e4d41ab5114492f3_640_Valentine.png?fit=640%2C427&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":74,"url":"https:\/\/splanescorner.us\/musings\/best-friends-forever\/","url_meta":{"origin":277,"position":3},"title":"Best Friends Forever","author":"Lea Splane","date":"April 1, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"There is an acronym young people use today in texting called BFF (Best Friends Forever). I wonder if they really understand the meaning of best friends? Twenty-five years ago I ended up in Frederick, Maryland. I thought it was just another stop in the crazy quilt that was my life.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Musings&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Musings","link":"https:\/\/splanescorner.us\/musings\/category\/musings\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/splanescorner.us\/musings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/4749145213_5213e5e9ca_Best-Friends-Forever.jpg?fit=500%2C375&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":135,"url":"https:\/\/splanescorner.us\/musings\/one-thing-leads-to-another\/","url_meta":{"origin":277,"position":4},"title":"One Thing Leads to Another","author":"Lea Splane","date":"August 12, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"I have a coffee cup that says \"Crazy Cat Lady\" on one side and \"One Cat Leads to Another\" on the other side. Six years ago Ken talked me into adopting a cat and now we have four, so I have proven the point; hence, the cup. But this isn't\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Musings&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Musings","link":"https:\/\/splanescorner.us\/musings\/category\/musings\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/splanescorner.us\/musings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/2570946012_9c59301283_Crazy-Cat-Lady.jpg?fit=313%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":106,"url":"https:\/\/splanescorner.us\/musings\/whatever-happened-to-modesty\/","url_meta":{"origin":277,"position":5},"title":"Whatever Happened to Modesty?","author":"Lea Splane","date":"June 1, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"As I was standing at the information booth at church on Resurrection Sunday, a young teenager (I believe she is 15) came out of the restroom with her holiday finest on - a dress that looked like it belonged in a nightclub somewhere, off one shoulder and very short! I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Musings&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Musings","link":"https:\/\/splanescorner.us\/musings\/category\/musings\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/splanescorner.us\/musings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/14597133980_ba8996e607_Modest.jpg?fit=345%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/splanescorner.us\/musings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/277","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/splanescorner.us\/musings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/splanescorner.us\/musings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/splanescorner.us\/musings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/splanescorner.us\/musings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=277"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/splanescorner.us\/musings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/277\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/splanescorner.us\/musings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/383"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/splanescorner.us\/musings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=277"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/splanescorner.us\/musings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=277"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/splanescorner.us\/musings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=277"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}