The Totally Disappointing Summer

If you live in the Midwest, specifically, northwest Ohio, your summer has been filled with rain.  And it hasn't been a little bit, it's been three inches in an hour rain.  When it's not raining, it's intolerable to be outside due to mosquito.  But just when it seemed like our attitudes couldn't sour more, we got the heat of summer.  To the tune of one hundred degree heat index.  With thunderstorms.

When  you live in a part of the country known for its brutal winters, you need every bit of beautiful summer you can get!  Honestly, who else has cabin fever in July!  Since the kennel has closed for the summer so that it could be enjoyed, I'm fighting abject misery, and yes, bitterness.

But at least someone is enjoying the summer:

Perhaps I need to take a lesson from Matilda, whose enthusiasm is never affected by the weather.  Freezing cold wind chills?  No problem - we can still play ball!  Rain?  What rain?  Let's play!

However, I've never been able to cheer myself up by spouting cheery slogans a la Hallmark card.  Cold, hard reality is my default mode.  But that doesn't mean I have to stay there.  Because there is a truth that is greater than my attitude.  "The joy of the Lord is my strength."  In other words, being joyful can not be manufactured by a simple "turn that frown upside down."  If it does for you, well, you are a fortunate (though I doubt  your sanity)!

About two weeks ago, the weather truly busted my spirit and I pretty much had a full on meltdown.  Since then, I've adjusted as we do in winter.  Perhaps it takes some additional creativity and changing of expectations.  That can be done. 

We can't control the weather, but we can control our reaction to it.  We can control our expectations.  We can look beyond what is trying our patience and remember that nothing surprises the Lord of Creation.  We may not be pleased with what we've got, but life is more than a season.  Today perhaps you are like me and need to express to God some serious disappointments.  Life may not be going the way you want it.  There is still forgiveness and most of all amazing restoration.  Run to Him.  There is solace there, no matter if the sun shines or the heavens open.

The Power of Pining

Last Friday I went out of town for many hours and Tilly stayed at a friend's house.  A few hours after I'd left her, I got a text with this picture:

The text read:  She only looks out the window, waiting for you, 65% of the time.  As you can see (maybe) is she chose to be away from the group, where she would have been warmly welcomed.  Instead, she chose to spend her time pining.

Wishing for things to be different than they are is a useless place to be. Sure, we can look backwards fondly, or even sadly.  We can look forward, hoping for changes and making plans for them.  But pining in itself has no reward except a feeling of emptiness.

When people say that God is always with them, that doesn't always mean a lot, especially when you don't know Jesus.  Jesus spent time with people who nursed deep wounds.  While he performed many miracles, people still experienced heartbreak.  But the solace He alone gives is not just for a hope of eternal peace and understanding.  Knowing Jesus now lets us experience the actual comfort of God.  Asking for His power gives us the ability to overcome and live above our personal tragedies. 

In ways I still can't understand, our pain itself can be redeemed for the glory of God.  I don't know if you've experienced that radical grace, but I have.  I look back at the disappointments and trials and can see how God was with me when others were not.  Through the changes God has made in me, I can relate to the pain others have, even if it is not the same pain. That crushing blow of tragic news feels like a punch in the gut of everyone.  And there's hope that is deep and reliable.  The best part is that God can be with us always, no matter where we are.

While I can't always be with Tilly - even though she wishes I would be - I'm glad that the presence of Lord is always with me.  I'd be lost without Him.

That's Not My Name

This is Mookie Lucy.  For some reason when I met this cute, recently rescued dog, I misunderstood his her name.  So for many days, I said how HE was a nice dog and, "Come on, Mookie."  Mookie Lucy was a good sport and went along with the program and didn't spill the beans even though I believed something about him her that wasn't true.

Sometimes we believe things about others that aren't true.  In fact, we probably do it all the time.  But often we believe things about ourselves that aren't true.  We call ourselves Disappointment.  Failure.  Worthless.  Or perhaps we go in the other direction: Perfect.  Superior.  Sinless.

But Jesus calls us His Own.  We have value and we can't disappoint Him when we trust.  When we look at the standard God sets, an honest assessment of ourselves reveals that we aren't perfect and are in need of a savior.

No matter how we see ourselves, God's opinion is the one that matters. When we seek Him and find Jesus, we are given Honesty, Love and Peace.  The identity we have in Christ is true and invaluable. 

Mookie Lucy was rescued and given a new life and a new name in her new home that she'll have forever.

You can have the same.

Confused and Helpless

Captain is four years old - I found him on June 1, 2011.  I was just getting ready to take a bike ride when I stopped because an ear bud popped out.  I was at the very edge of my property and then I heard it.

The dreaded, "mew."

I went to the other side of the road and there he was.

 

He was confused.  And he was helpless.  That's pretty much how I felt about seeing him too.  The last thing this animal circus needed was another cat.  But there was no place else for him to go.  Despite my attempts to bribe kennel clients to take him - even offering to reduce their bill - no takers.  He was completely unwanted.

 

Have you ever felt that way?  Feeling unwanted, confused, and helpless are unpleasant emotions, but I bet if we're honest more people feel them than are willing to admit.

 

When Jesus talked to the crowds, he had compassion on them.  Because they were confused and helpless.  He took them in, feeding them not with just physical food but the Truth.  And that truth would set them free if they only believed.

 

The Good News is the same today as it was then.  You are wanted by Jesus.  He provides light to dispel the darkness of our confusion.  When we feel helpless, Jesus is still on your side.  Run to Him.  You have a home with Him you can enjoy not just now, but through eternity.

 

Captain is still going strong at his age, very active and engaged.  He enjoys terrorizing the other cats and doing some seriously bad cat behavior.  Yet somehow I manage to forgive him anyway and let him back in the house.

 

That's good news for us too - God's grace covers a multitude of sins.

 



It's Bittersweet

This is Bugs (hi Bugs!)

Bugs was adopted after he was rescued from neglect.  When he was first boarded at the kennel, he had a learning curve as he got used to the new routine but he quickly figured it out.  He's come to the kennel for well over a decade and he's now a senior canine citizen.

As I go through the last few days of watching dogs (for the summer, maybe forever), I'm saying goodbye to wonderful dogs and owners, many of whom I will not see again.  But I'm immensely thankful to have understanding people who have even affirmed this decision.  It is indeed bittersweet to put something behind me that has been so meaningful.

And yet, it is the right decision, and the "sweet" part has offered glimmers of what is to come.

Trusting God with the unknown is hard in every area of our lives.  Yet that is what we are called to - setting out on the adventure He has for us, great and small.

It's Memorial Day, and one can't say enough about the brave men and women who set out on an unknown adventure for a cause greater than themselves.  Your sacrifice has my greatest admiration.

It's All Relative - But No, It Isn't

Look - it's Tilly.  In my car.  With deadly poinsettias.

Amazingly, she lived to tell about it.  She's lived to tell about many car adventures because - when the weather is right - she loves to go places with me and hang out in the car.

Yet this rather simple activity has recently been the subject of hot debate on local social media.  To spare you, kind reader, the details, suffice it to say that when you see a picture of a dog in a vehicle when it's hot outside, you assume the dog is suffering and may expire at any moment.  If you see the post on a cold day, you may think it's perfectly fine.

This post was taken on a day that started with frost on the yard and the highest the temperature got was in the low 60s.  However, this was enough to put the poster on the war path, as she posted the picture and wrote rather nasty things about the person who'd imprisoned the poor dog in the boiling hot car that - this poster believed - would easily sail to an internal temperature of 100 degrees.  Perhaps if the temperature had been a low of 60 and on its way up to 80, the person would have cause for concern.

I made the terrible mistake of saying that was not the case in this situation.  What happened?  Two people wanted to imprison me in a hot vehicle.  I so wanted to explain that I absolutely love the sensation of the interior of a car on a sunny cool day.  Despite the original poster advocating violence to free said pup, my rebuttal of facts seemed to confuse many.  Someone even accused me of being incompetent to care for animals when I mentioned my professional experience not only with a local humane organization, but with my kennel business of 17 years.  At one point, I wanted to list further credentials, but it seemed this wasn't good enough.  No, no.  It's better to believe the random person in the super store parking lot who took the picture, who commented that if she didn't have a felony record, she would have put a brick through the window of the vehicle.

On a sixty degree day.

There's just nothing like the anonymity of social media to make people brave and live out their adrenalin.  When I finally tried to refer to SCIENCE as the reason the dog was safe, I got no more arguments.

We can have opinions, but having them influenced with science over emotion is how a person has an INFORMED OPINION.

But what is the spiritual parallel?  I know  you're wondering.  There are a myriad of social issues that are influenced by emotion.  And while that is a factor, God's word tells us the Truth.  We can disagree all day, but that's not going to change what God says about a matter.  And because God is wonderful and full of grace, He allows us to disagree. He still loves us.  He knows what's best for us, but we can make our choices because He is no tyrant.

I appreciate a thoughtful discussion on a variety of matters.  I don't think God minds one bit when we ask questions and wrestle with complicated issues.  The important thing is to seek Truth.  And if a disagreement erupts, it's always best to keep the emotion out of it and part friends.  Sure, that isn't the easiest thing to do, particularly on social media.  Just remember who you belong to and make Him proud with words and demeanor.  That's how He treats us, but only so much better.

My House, My Rules

This weekend, Riley came for a visit.

At home, Riley is allowed on the couch.  When Riley comes to stay, he doesn't understand that the rules may be different.  Since my furniture isn't known for its high quality (or cleanliness), I let Riley on the couch. 

Tilly, is NOT allowed on the furniture.  However, when Riley comes to visit, I let her on the couch too, because the moment Riley leapt onto the couch, she did the same thing.  It irks her enough that the cats are allowed and she is not, but definitely if another dog gets up there and she can't.  With Riley back to his owner, it's back on the floor (littered with dog bed options) for Tilly.

Left to her own devices, Tilly's decisions on what is allowed for house living would be very different from mine.  The same goes for the cats, though their sneaky ways means they break the rules when I'm not looking.

Have you ever looked at life and wondered, "how am I supposed to do this?"  "Is there a better way?"  There are times when I veer off course, and I can sense it.  But how do I know what is "on" course?  God's word was valued as a gift when it was first given to the Israelites because they thought, "FINALLY, we know how to live!"  Maybe we think the Bible is a list of rules, but it is far from it.  It's an Owners Manual for life.  God has our safety in mind, and wants us to live happily and freely.  And those "rules" keep us safe.  If we choose not to keep them, it doesn't mean God hates us as much as it means, He allows us to make choices that may cause us harm (and others). 

The Good News is there is forgiveness that lasts eternally.  To get it, we have to run to God.  His arms are open to us, assuring us that his Son took the punishment, and when we trust this truth, a whole new world is available to us.  That world means our present life is better, but our everlasting one is even better.