God speaks through puppies: Your Every Sigh

God speaks through puppies: Your Every Sigh: "Well, it's about that time again. It looks like this is turning out to be more a monthly blog, which is okay as I'm sure that most of you ge..."

Your Every Sigh

Well, it's about that time again. It looks like this is turning out to be more a monthly blog, which is okay as I'm sure that most of you get bombarded with information and tonnes of optional reading on a daily basis!

Since my last blog, we have moved to the beautiful city of Burlington. It has been quite an adjustment and Miss Chloe-as I like to call her-was quite confused by all the various people and places she's seen, that's for sure. There were moments where she even seemed quite depressed and we've noticed that she seems to finally-for the most part-recognize who her owners are! A bit of a relief as she was quite content going home with anyone who gave her significant attention prior to! Haha!

Asides from ceramic floors throughout the home (which Chloe and I don't really like - let me add), we were having some issues with the plumbing at the kitchen sink a week ago. It got to be quite frustrating as I used every ounce of Grace given to me to remain calm and not totally flip out. "All I want is a clean plate to eat on, is that too much to ask for??!!" I thought, as I kept washing dishes and putting them to dry in the sink to my right where they'd  get dirty AGAIN! How you ask? Well....somehow the water kept rising in the side it was supposed to be drying in & I of course, kept removing the dishes and putting them back in the other side to wash again. So I tried the plunger - quite an ordeal for a pregnant woman (oh yes, I probably haven't mentioned that before in my blogs - I'm pregnant!! Yay!) and then tried again. Eventually, I realized that my right sink wasn't the only problem, the water seemed to be flooding in the left first and then into the right!! I was at my wits end. The amalgamation of boxes and plastic bags, and unpacking etc was already waking me up from my sleep as I desperately would keep unpacking and thinking of where to put things - Even in my dreams!! Aaaahh!! I had had enough! I let out a big sigh and decided that Chloe and I were going for a walk.

The fresh air was beautiful and I had a good opportunity to admire God's beautiful creation and calm down. Something that I have learned to do and appreciate from Chloe actually :) And then it happened. We met a nice Scottish gentleman with a Don Cherry type dog - I have no idea what it's called - but he was kinda cool looking. I'd had seen him & chatted very briefly before about our dogs once before. However, this night, he actually seemed to be in the mood to chat. It wasn't very long before I asked him what he did for a living. And guess what? Yes, out of all the people I could've met at 7:30pm that night, I had met a 'plumber'!!! Yay!!! I asked my questions about clogged sinks, Drano and plungers and he was able to provide me with directions to solve the problem in a minute or so!

As I walked back home, a sense of peace and joy came over me, as I was overwhelmed by God's love for me and my silly flooding sink. I thought "Wow, I know that was You. You heard my weary sigh and totally set that up for me. I didn't even take the time to talk to you about it, but You are faithful all the time!"

I remembered as I did the dishes that night how attentive I am to Chloe's every whimper and cry. I know her normal and abnormal behaviour and I'm aware of what she can handle and where she needs some assistance. I realized that if I as a human could do this with a little dog, (and my child too who's on its way), how much more Our Creator God, Our Heavenly Father who cares about our every need?

He's so much bigger than us, outside of time and space, Creator of the galaxies and heavens that continue to expand beyond our measure...and He stopped to listen to my sigh about my sink!

Can you feel His Love? He certainly wants you to.

God speaks through puppies: Back to the Basics

God speaks through puppies: Back to the Basics: "It's about the time for a new blog and on queue, Chloe's mischief has taught me yet another lesson. The escape into the neighbour's yard co..."

Back to the Basics

It's about the time for a new blog and on queue, Chloe's mischief has taught me yet another lesson.
The escape into the neighbour's yard continues - despite our attempts to watch her and stop her. In some ways, it seems to be less threatening; that is, when she responds, and returns when called.
However lately, Chloe's picked up a little 'sass' and will literally look us straight in the face and pretend like she didn't hear us or see us at all. Kind of a tough problem to rectify when you're hollering for her without being able to go over and grab her because she's on the other side of the fence! You are literally at the mercy of her just growing tired of sniffing around, and eventually returning when she feels like it. A little scary and definitely unacceptable behaviour. It was time to get back to the basics of her training, and remind her why she's better off obeying and coming home.

So,  what did I do? Well, I figured, it's a nice warm day. Chloe is going to get dehydrated and hot eventually, and will then want indoors where the temperature is cooler and her bowl of water awaits her. Not to mention, there's always the possibility of picking up some scraps indoors, and who could ignore the joys of 'belly-rubs'!
So, I cranked the door open so she could smell the food while I made lunch, but shut the screen door. And when she did return, before I so willingly let her in or scolded her, I left her out to miss being inside a little. It was hard, she cried and whined but eventually realized that not responding to the invitation to enter when it was an option was not a wise decision as the door would not always be 'open' so to speak

We so often get distracted by the different ideas, images, and thoughts that the world constantly bombards us with. Billboards, music, videos, games, movies, the idea of getting rich quick, not having enough, not being skinny enough, the weight of the bills, emotional burdens, etc etc. It's so easy to let it all get us down. To feel like failures. To feel hopeless. To feel like we're not successful or just not good enough. But that is not the Truth. The Truth sets us free from social expectations, family expectations, and sometimes, even our own expectations. We can be so hard on ourselves even if no one else knows we are. But God says that you are precious to Him. Jesus paid the price of His blood so that you could be free, be whole, be filled with Life and enjoy it. Live with a purpose, a unique design. You were awesomely (if that's a word) and wonderfully made! Made in His image, with a desire for the supernatural, to know Him, deep inside of You. A Unique Master piece, created for Greatness!
But it's so easy to forget or ignore all of this in a world that is constantly screaming at you with an array of voices - all at the same time!

And that's when it's time. Time to get back to the Basics. Time to take some time alone away from the pressures and screaming voices of the world, and find a quiet place. Time to connect with your Creator who loves you and adores you, and let Him lavish His love upon you. Allow Him to remind you that you were created for so much more than the so-called pressures of your own little world. Remind yourself of what He says about you in His Word. You have the opportunity to leave a mark, a legacy, an opportunity to be like your Heavenly Father and give. Live to make a difference in others lives, and enjoy life to the fullest.

You see, He will often let us wander around till we decide to come home. Till we realize that we were better off in His love.  The world can be a hot, cruel and lonely place,  but know that when you decide to walk into His doors, His water of refreshing and grace are always there for you. The time is now, while the door is still open. For none of us can guarantee our tomorrow. Once you're in, you'll wonder why you ever left at all :)

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 ..."