| What are Sheep Tracks? |
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Sheep Tracks
are short articles or vignettes about my observations of sheep and
relaying to the reader what I personally have learned about biblical
principles through these experiences, and I make inferences about
how this relates to our culture. Training young people is a thread
woven into many of these writings. Shepherding was a common vocation during the period of time when the many books of the Bible were being written so there may be little reason to question why sheep are so frequently mentioned in the Bible. Needless to say, few Christians today have firsthand knowledge about sheep. In 1949 when I was eight years old Dad gave me my first sheep, a young ewe. I developed much interest in animals during my early years on our family farm and that background let to my decision to study dairy and animal science in college. After obtaining three college degrees I taught animal science in college for eleven years. When I left the college teaching profession in 1982 to return to the home farm and raise sheep, little did I know that God would use sheep to teach me volumes about why He uses the sheep to illustrate the lessons we need to learn. I had plenty of "professional" knowledge of sheep as a Professor of Animal Science, but I didn't really learn the important stuff about sheep until God spoke to me in the midst of sheep, in the pastures, in the barns, in the pens, and in the working chute. The use of Border Collie sheep herding dogs with our flock gave me additional perspective since the dogs are my undershepherds. I view this in much the same way Christians are undershepherds to Jesus Christ. In 1986 I wrote the first vignette called "Green Pastures". I called the publication Sheep Tracks and have been writing similar material about sheep and sheep herding dogs on occasion ever since. A few of these writings will use other examples in agriculture as observed on our home farm. It is my hope that some clarity of Scripture can be gained by those who read Sheep Tracks. My definition of clarity includes a better understanding of what God is saying, plus the application of that to our lives as we attempt to be obediant to His commands. Dennis Rowan Shepherd-In-Training
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