Starting Right
Starting Right is a 5 minute Day Starter to help keep you motivated, encouraged, and focused throughout your day. DannyMac is a pastor, teacher, motivational speaker, husband, and father. His years of leading and training people have given him vast experience in helping individuals to accomplish change in their lives and meet their goals. He can help you set the course for your day by offering practical advice from God's Word in a positive and fun way. There is no better way to begin your day than by Starting Right with DannyMac.
Starting Right
Two Horses Walk into a Field—Only One Has a Bell
Start your day with a clear mind and a grounded heart. We explore what it means to be led, not driven—drawing on the Good Shepherd picture from Scripture and a vivid story of two horses, one blind and one wearing a bell. Together, they show how steady guidance outperforms constant striving, and how small, consistent cues can bring us back to safety, nourishment, and peace when life feels loud.
We break down the power of recognition—“My sheep hear my voice”—and offer practical ways to build that habit in real time: short, focused moments in scripture, honest prayer that calms the nervous system, and everyday pauses that help you tell the difference between urgency and wisdom. You’ll hear how protection isn’t just about escaping danger but also about being led toward green pastures and still waters—inputs that actually feed your soul. The two-horses story anchors it all in a memorable image: you don’t need perfect vision to take the next right step; you need a trustworthy sound to follow.
If you’re navigating decisions, facing subtle pressures, or simply craving a gentler start to the morning, this five-minute reflection offers practical guidance and spiritual encouragement you can use today. We keep it simple, sincere, and actionable, so you leave with a clear question to carry: what voice am I following right now?
Good morning and welcome to Starting Right with Danny Mack. I'm going to be here every Monday to Friday to help you get a great five-minute start to your day. So grab your cup of coffee, sit back, relax, and let me help you start your day right. Throughout Scripture, God is called our shepherd, and in the New Testament, Jesus is referred to as the good shepherd. Shepherds were very cool guys. They would give everything they had to look after the sheep. They would sacrifice their own welfare, their own well-being, they would put themselves in harm's way to fight off bears and wolves and lions, anything that came to get the sheep. The shepherds were there to protect them. But the shepherds were also there to guide them to places where they could be fed, where they could be watered, because the shepherd wanted the sheep to grow. They wanted them to be safe. And the problem was the sheep couldn't figure out how to do that on their own. Left to their own, they would get devoured by the predators or they would wander around and starve or die. They needed the shepherd to look after them, to protect them, and to guide them to get to the places where they would have the nourishment and safety that they needed. And in the New Testament, Jesus comes to look after us who are the sheep because we need to be led, we need to be guided, we need to be protected, because quite frankly, we can't do that on our own. Sometimes we don't even know who the predators are that are coming into our lives against us, and God's there to help us with that. He is there to guide us to the still waters and the green pastures that we need in our lives so that we can be nourished. He is our God and our protector as our shepherd. In John chapter ten, Jesus is teaching the people about him being the shepherd. And we get down to verse 27, he says, My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. Part of the relationship between the shepherd and the sheep is that the sheep know the voice of the shepherd. When he starts to call, they hear the voice and they come towards him, even if they can't see him. I want to tell you a story this morning. It's not a story about sheep, it's actually a story about a couple of horses. Out in the countryside, there were two horses in a field. At first, when you looked from a distance, they they looked like any ordinary kind of horses. One was a little bit larger and one was a little bit smaller. But that was about it. But once you got closer to them, you noticed that the large horse was blind. And yet the owner of the horse had decided to keep these animals, and a beautiful stable had been built where they could be warm and safe and fed. Some people who owned a blind horse, the natural response would be to put it down, to get it out of the way. But not so with this farmer. He had provided the best of care for this horse. If you were to wander down towards where the horses were and got close enough to them, you would also start to hear a bell. That sound comes from the small copper-colored bell attached to the halter of the smaller horse. This horse helps the blind horse who has become his very best friend, to know where to go, when to go, and how to be safe. If you watch what these two horses do, and it's it sometimes gets quite amusing because the horse with the bell will will start to go back to the barn because it's time to go in, and if the blind horse is not following him, the small horse will stop and he'll shake his neck and ring the bell, and the larger horse will come walking along, and the small one will wait for him until he gets caught up, and then he will continue to lead his friend into the barn. While this is not a story of sheep, this is a story that I think we can understand. Because the horse who could not see understood the bell. He knew what the bell was, he heard the bell, and when the bell was ringing, that was the direction that he needed to go. And when he started to go the direction of the bell, he knew he was going where he needed to be, and ultimately he would get back to safety in the barn to be looked after and cared for. Our walk with God is so beautiful, and that Jesus says if we hear his voice, all we have to do is follow. And he will lead us. He will guide us, he will take us to that place of safety, he will make sure that our needs are met, we are provided for. So today, my friends, here's my encouragement for you. Listen for God's voice. Let him lead you, whether it be through his word, through your devotions, through your prayer time, or even just as you're going through the day when he speaks deep down, that still quiet voice inside of you. Let God's blessing and strength guide you today. Have a great day, my friends. We'll talk again tomorrow. Thank you for listening today. And I invite you to join me Monday to Friday right here on Starting Right with Danny Mack.
