God speaks through puppies: Kibbles vs. that other stuff

God speaks through puppies: Kibbles vs. that other stuff: "I have been noticing a new trend infiltrating society: schools, churches, politics, corporations and families as of late, and it's been very..."

Kibbles vs. that other stuff

I have been noticing a new trend infiltrating society: schools, churches, politics, corporations and families as of late, and it's been very interesting. At first, I thought it was just a leadership style, a change in how people manage or led others so to speak - you know, a shift from autocratic to democratic kind of. Have you heard about it? It's pretty neat actually, its premise is more of a relational type leading verses the more traditional "yes Boss" attitude.

This new style appreciates the gifts, talents and experience of every person; suggests that every one is a leader and would run more like a team, than a government. There's not much not to like about it, happy people are productive people. It's basic morale boosting 101. I for one find it refreshing, and see it as a real good thing - as it empowers every individual to give their best shot, to be valued and have significance.

However, when I started to notice how this attitude was infiltrating all of the different areas above, I started to really weigh the above pros with the cons - in light of the different scenarios that I had heard of recently.

I wondered what its worst would look like? How it would affect people in terms of the direction they'd be heading? And what pace they'd move ahead at, if they moved at all?

I mean in a perfect world, it would totally work! People would naturally just respect one another, understand the need for direction, realize that someone would have to take the lead and work together to accomplish their goal. However, what happens when things don't go that way? When no one is willing to step up to the plate and take charge, provide direction? What if the fear of being disliked or coming across as being authoritative dominated instead? What if everyone decided to do their own thing as long as it didn't seem to effect others? And nobody stood up for any morals for fear of being labelled as 'negative'? What if everyone just wanted to be on every one else's good side? And didn't speak their minds for fear of having a confrontation or disagreement? Now, I know that these may be a lot of 'what ifs', but don't we already see a lot of these things happening? 

• Parents who want to be 'friends' with their kids, that they forget their role as parents.
• Colleagues who look to each other for direction, but nobody really wants to take a stand and initiate anything new or for the better, or get mad at the person who does
• People that are so fed up with their experiences at church, that they all decide that the answer is to just not go, not believe, or eliminate the structure as a whole.
• Citizens who decide that their current government needs some serious change, and decide to vote for groups that just want to appease the crowds - not realizing the possible outcomes or instead, starting some kind of uprising instead.

I even heard from a friend that she's seen this similar attitude in elementary schools as people seem so clueless and unwilling to provide clear instructions.

Don't get me wrong, there's a time and place for everything, and I'm not saying that there were no cons to the old way of doing things either. It bred a lot other problems - pride, making others feel small, and even abuse in some cases, etc. 

Change (although many don't like it) is often a good thing. It gives us a fresh start, the opportunity to change the way we think, or have done life previously: a chance to grow.

In terms of the new trend/style/culture, whatever you want to call it, the prior may have had its set of down-falls when abused, but when used appropriately it led to good things like standing for morals, conserving the family, corporations, churches, the welfare of a country, established some ground-breaking dreams led by one man or woman (and there were many of them). While the new establishes a sense of self worth, recognizes that those dreams accomplished took more than the one man/woman - those that believed, and followed them. It states that we are on level ground (as we truly are).  But at it's worst, it can also create a disdain or ungrateful attitude for things that were, trying to build from scratch when a rich heritage is available as a foundation.

So why not have the best of both worlds? We have so much to learn from our past, it could give us a head start as new generation - where we can learn that equality is important, but that we don't need to be afraid of leading and helping others accomplish things. We can take responsibility for our actions and yet be productive people that honour others. So what am I really getting at? In other words...

"Be careful not to throw out the baby with the bath water," "Eat the meat and leave the bones" OR in Chloe's case, 'eat what's placed before you - but separate the kibbles from the pedigree' (she sorts them!). 

As with everything, Balance is possible, attainable and healthiest! :)

God speaks through puppies: Stop & smell the....weeds??

God speaks through puppies: Stop & smell the....weeds??: "I was inspired to write as I noticed Chloe's behaviour yesterday- during the rainy and gloomy weather - to today - where there's blue skies ..."

Stop & smell the....weeds??

I was inspired to write as I noticed Chloe's behaviour yesterday- during the rainy and gloomy weather - to today - where there's blue skies and it's nice and sunny. I know that she dislikes the rain and it being wet outside, and like most of us enjoys the sunshine. However, there was something very interesting in her behaviour yesterday, come to think of it, she's been doing the same thing during the snowy weather too!- I just hadn't paid attention to it earlier.

Every day, as soon as she's let outside (after ringing her bell to ask permission - yes, it works for those trying to figure out a way to train your pet), she stops and sniffs the air.

The fresh air that's filled with fragrances from flowers and plants (mostly the neighbours!), the dandelions in our garden (yes, we stink at gardening, and need to work on it), the aromas of food floating around, and probably little treasures of food or the perfect toy - dried leaves! She spends at least 10 or 15 minutes doing this before she heads down into the yard to do her 'business' or enter back into our home.

I know, she's a dog, dogs have a very keen sense of smell, so this seems like normal behaviour for her of course. But what I found interesting was that despite her preference to the sunshine, her reaction remained exactly the same in the gloomy weather yesterday and everyday for that matter. And I thought, wow! wouldn't it be great if we all were so grateful with the life that was given to us - I mean all of it - the rainy, snowy, sunny days and moments in our own lives?

There are ups and downs, but through the strength we have in Christ, we are able (should we choose to) to remain constant regardless of what is going on around us; to continue onwards with life rather than recoil in pain and isolate ourselves during difficult times, we are able to think of others and how they may be less fortunate and need help, even when we are going through hardships in our lives. As I ponder on this, I recall two movies that I've seen recently that further illustrate these points: Soul surfer & Flipped. I didn't even notice the recurring theme within all the above mentioned until now! Who says God doesn't speak?!

Let's challenge ourselves to be thankful, for every little thing especially when we don't understand things that are happening around us - For Thankfulness truly guards our heart from Bitterness.

God speaks through puppies: The Teacher becomes the Student

God speaks through puppies: The Teacher becomes the Student: "When people say that it's like raising a child, they weren't kidding! Chloe is just growing in her 'adult' teeth - just when I thought that ..."

The Teacher becomes the Student

When people say that it's like raising a child, they weren't kidding! Chloe is just growing in her 'adult' teeth - just when I thought that she had finally outgrown her chewing stage, it has gotten even worse! 

Stronger teeth = more damage

It's at these times and a few others where she does not respond the way I'd like her to, that I find that I can get quite upset  and ('run away') distance myself from her. But the more I think about it, I realize that she doesn't understand what she's doing is wrong, and will not -unless - I train her to know so, and find a better way to communicate it to her so she understands. Furthermore, it's gotten me to thinking...how often have I 'run away' from ugly situations - in whatever form it may be - thinking, distancing, leaving etc?

I have found that in this entire process of me having to 'train' Chloe, I have indeed become the student! I have had to read, speak to others, and view countless videos to understand how to relate and figure out Chloe's needs in order for her to function at her fullest. I have had to change the way I behave, speak and even physically move to get my point across. Never before have I been so conscious of my actions. And sometimes, (which is one of the reasons I started this blog) these situations lead to learning a life lesson, or something (either positive or negative) about myself - like this time. 

^"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, FAITHFULNESS, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law." - Galatians 5:22-23

So guess which one out of these has really struck me recently? Clue...it's in bold! Now, it may sound a bit cheesy to some, but I have found that the above truly mark strength of character in a person's life. They are also however, not something that is easy to come by. We require God's supernatural ability to live this way. However, I have found though that like all things, good and bad, our personal choices to live these attributes out play a huge role in all of this.

I've been pondering a lot on Faithfulness lately. Contrary to what most believe, this does not just end at being full of faith in God but rather, it's an action word. For Faith without action is not faith at all. What does that mean? Faith in the line of fire, when things are tough, just as much as when things are all roses. Sticking to your guns despite what it may look like around you, choosing to fulfill your responsibilities and commitments despite how you may be treated. It means, believing God to work all things for good even when we don't understand why things are happening the way that they do. It means when the going gets tough, the tough get going! Refusing to throw in the towel despite the pressure. It is at those times that we discover what a person is truly made of: we certainly did with Jesus as He was persecuted, beaten & executed. How fitting that God would show me this as we celebrate Jesus' death and resurrection in a few days! 

I suppose another word for Faithfulness would really be Perseverance. Truly digging your heels in. Setting your face as flint towards your goal as Jesus did.

From another perspective, I have also found that it is those who possess this trait (that seems very close knit with patience doesn't it?) are the ones who see God's faithfulness for what it truly is. They pass the test, they reap the rewards, and they are usually promoted in life! I think of the stories of Abraham, Joseph, David and many modern day ones, including a friend who recently shared his story with me.

So I challenge you, as I do myself, to hang in there knowing that God will indeed see you through, and we will all be better for it!

Chloe's First Haircut

Chloe has finally been filling out and growing up, and her fur and nails are in on the race as well.
In the past, she would tire out so fast and nap, so it was easy to deal with any of it while she was asleep.  However, as she gets older and faster, this has proven to become more difficult.

When her long fur, especially around her paws started to make the whole ordeal dangerous (as we couldn't see anything once you factor in her fidgeting and gnawing), we began to think of other ways to get her to cooperate - treats, holding her a certain way, two of us grabbing her, scheduling it at different times of the day, etc. Needless to say, we grew tired of it quickly, and it was proving useless! You would swear that she was being tortured as she let out high pitched screams, & gnashed her teeth before the clipper even got near her nails, or the brush even touched her fur! Then, she would jump out of your grip and grab everything that was removed from her as if to say, "that's mine, you can't have it!"

So the time finally came to take her to the pros - they'd know how to produce results and deal with this crazy behaviour!

As I dropped her off to be groomed, I started to wonder about what the whole ordeal would be like for her: you know, how she'd react? and if she'd drive the groomers nuts too! And then I had a thought, how do I react when I've found myself in uncomfortable circumstances in life? We've all had them or are going through them right now. Do we realize that they have the possibility to  shape us in some way? and further more, that contrary to popular belief, they were not meant to ruin us?
I laughed at Chloe trying to grab her fallen fur back from the floor, but how many times have I gone through circumstances and tried to grab back the pain, or hurt and the habits that have resulted from them when God was trying to set me free from them? Why? Because they made me feel comfortable. Because they were a part of me.
At what point in our lives do we accept the bitterness, the unforgiveness, the wrong words that were spoken to us, the wrong things that have happened to us, or that we've done to others, as a part of ourselves?
I have noticed one thing with all of the above, as much as I attempt to pray them away or avoid them, they continue to rear their ugly heads - sometimes at different times, sometimes all at once - and usually in different circumstances. In the past,  that was my cue to complain, "why me?" (either angrily or miserably) to God.
However, recently, I feel that I finally see the answer to that clearly. It was right there, before me all along. They are God-given reminders and opportunities to allow Him to help us get rid of these things from our lives. I realized that His MO is not "let me take it away", but rather, "I want you to face it, and defeat it with My help. You can do it."

The recurring difficulties you face in your life are probably no coincidence. Neither are they meant to be classified as vicious cycles in your life that merely victimize you. If it's something that keeps coming up, it's because whatever is holding you back, is still there. And here's the news flash in case you didn't see it coming, it will continue to be there until you face it. It doesn't matter if you run from it and hide,  cover it up with a mask or illusions of grandeur, drown it with tears or alcohol, candy-coat it and pretend it doesn't exist, pick the scabs to rehearse the events, or continue to replace people in your lives because you think they are cause of the problem. It or they, will still be there.
But I want to tell you today, that they don't have to continue being there. That as long as you are alive, there is Hope. But the decision will always be Yours. Only yours.

There is One who can help you heal. He says that you are beautiful without these leeches that have attached themselves to you. You can be free to be the 'real' you. Perhaps it's time for you to finally allow yourself to be groomed by the Professional Himself?
And this time, you won't go and pick up what falls to the ground....because you've realized that it was never really a part of you anyway.