Me.... a grandmother!!!

I just love to catch your attention and I am sure that if I didn´t catch you with that title, the foto definitely did!!!!

Yes I have become a grandmother!!!! How? Through our dog Lady, who is now owned by dear friends who live in the North of Spain (click here for the whys and hows of THAT story!) She had four puppies: 3 girls and 1 boy! I just wanted to sahre the news and fotos with you!!!

Wordless Wednesday!

This is our dog "Lady" in her new habitat....Galicia, northern Spain. Our friends who adopted her sent us these and well it says it all doesn´t it!!!!

Letting go III

She´s gone.

Just an hour ago her new family came to pick her up. As Shakespeare said, "Parting is such sweet sorrow...." It is rather a a bitter sweet experience. Lady was a dear dog, but also a very nervous one with not all wonderful traits. But as much I got frustrated sometimes... I miss her... I really do. I´m in a real letting go phase... the animals are just a reflection of this I guess.

Next I have to face saying goodbye to the cats... oh boy...then the house will REALLY feel empty.

More of Him Mondays

I know that this should have been for yesterday, and even though I started it yesterday, I just didn´t get to finish it as I had planned so you will just have to pretend (like we did for Bonnie on her blog the other day!!!!) that it's Monday... okay guys...

I´m am taking part of Diane´s initiative called "More of Him Mondays" where she encourages us to share a specific piece of scripture that has spoken to your this last week. Share what you feel God is telling you through that passage and how you wish to apply it to your life. If you wish to take part, just click on the link and let her know.

New American Standard Bible (©1995)

"You shall have no other gods before Me."

Wesley's Notes

20:3 The first commandment is concerning the object of our worship, Jehovah, and him only, Thou shalt have no other gods before me - The Egyptians, and other neighbouring nations, had many gods, creatures of their own fancy. This law was pre - fixed because of that transgression; and Jehovah being the God of Israel, they must entirely cleave to him, and no other, either of their own invention, or borrowed from their neighbours. The sin against this commandment, which we are most in danger of, is giving that glory to any creature which is due to God only. Pride makes a God of ourselves, covetousness makes a God of money, sensuality makes a God of the belly. Whatever is loved, feared, delighted in, or depended on, more than God, that we make a god of.

God has been speaking to me about the fact that I have given some people, and what they think and say, a higher place that they ought to have... and sometimes I have feared, delighted and depended on them more than in God. God in his mercy showed me this recently and I was prompted to ask forgiveness and felt that God has replaced this "fear of man" with a new found freedom.

Please don´t misinterpret here that therefore I am not in agreement with the need for counsellors and looking to those respected in the faith for wisdom, just as it teaches in Proverbs. But I think you can all relate to my struggle that moment when I knew it had passed a limit where it concerns me more what these men think that God himself. It´s the Holy Spirit that reveals this to you and you do know it when you have crossed the line.

This also reminded me that God says that the reason for this is that he is a JEALOUS God.... he doesn´t want to share this intimacy he has with me with anyone one/thing else.

This reminded me of my dog Lady who now is in her last days with us before she leaves to go with her new family. She is so funny ...like all animals we often see things reflected in their actions that make us laugh or, believe it or not, teach us something.

Lady is our nervous Fox Terrier who is overly excitable and affectionate about everything. She likes to know that she is loved and cared for and literally fights for attention both in good and negative ways! She likes to be in my face and on my lap....she likes to be WITH me.

She has a interesting habit of whenever I call or love on any one of the cats she perks up and chases after the "named" animal as if to say to me, "Hey...don´t forget me...!!! I am the one you like best...remember? You don´t want to love them... !!"

She is highly envious if I give even a smidgen of attention of love to anyone else...even my kids get this treatment! If she see us hugging or kissing she wants to be right IN there knowing that she is special too. She feels threatened and insecure if she sees me directing any attention to others.

God, unlike lady, is NOT insecure or threatened in himself, but the bible does say He is IS Jealous of my affections being put in anybody or anything else. Also because God in His love, KNOWS that when I have HIM as number one in my life and affections (where your treasure is..there will your heart be also) I am complete and at peace with myself. There is nothing as freeing as being one with God and with yourself.

I saw this cartoon on my travels and although God´s jealousy has nothing to do with envy I thought it was funny!

Allergies

Over the last three years my honey has been suffering with an allergenic cough and although he has submitted himself to a battery of tests nothing had come clear until this summer when the diagnosis revealed that it could be the cats & dog.

Upon discovering this and wondering why it had never shown up before (which the doctor couldn't really answer well, except just say sometimes these don´t show from one year to the next! and then all of a sudden yes!...lovely explanation eh!!) the allergies specialist (would that be called an allergist...hahahah!!!)said that she would conduct another test just specifically for cats and dogs.

Stephan new that this news would cause an uproar in our house and that´s why the doctor suggested to do this test and not to take any drastic action until we got the results, but we wisely did mention it to the kids back then that this was a possibility so they could be prepared.

Stephan´s allergenic cough has been complicated by the development of asma, which has shown a 23per cent decrease in his lung capacity . He now is using a "puffer" as part of the treatment (which is somewhat costly one I might add). The use of the inhaler will be re-evaluated again in 2 months time.

Monday evening was "D" day and the long awaited test came back and sadly confirmed our suspicions. We now had the daunting task of finding new homes for our lovely pets!

I started to get the process going and wrote an announcement for a local paper and started sending out a few emails. It´s been really hard for the kids because now this situation was no longer just a possibility ....it was a reality.

But God in his goodness has begun to answer our need in such a special way... it´s almost unbelievable. Just a day after receiving the news a real good missionary friend of ours got word of our predicament and was just "LONGING" to have a fox terrier like "Lady"!! He called me up yesterday morning and came over and got her that very evening!!!! He and is wife are over the moon and excited to have our Lady and we know that she in turn has found a wonderful new home with them. Isn´t God good?

Although it´s been a perfect solution, this morning felt a sadness and longing for Lady... all the kids are feeling it too. It will be a bit of an adjustment for sure, but I believe it will be worse when the cats are gone too..... but I´m sure that if God helped with the dog...He will do the same with the cats.

I am blessed that God is involved in the details of our lives even with these things!!!!

http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54485/301/1361143315D4BEBDB4EB8BB114A8D846.png

Hey Karolee...why does it not show the pic but this? I did exaclty what you said ...any ideas??? Anyeone???

Zeal without Wisdom

It is not good to have zeal without knowlege,
nor to be hasty and miss the way.
Prov 19:2

I knew when we got our Fox Terrier, that the only elegance about her would be her name: LADY! Renown for their hunting instincts and nervous character, Lady fits the bill of the breed to the letter.

This morning as I took her out on her iniciations to walking with a leash, the above verse came to mind.

What Lady does not lack is zeal. Zeal to discover the world, smells and naturally other K9's! She has already developed an amazing distain for a family of 3 dogs 2 houses down from us, and pulls with the strength of 10 horses to get in front of their faces and tell them how stupid they are for being behind the fence!(At least that is my human interpretation of the events!!)

Lady is 7th months old and still very much in the process of being trained. She has acquired the sit position and laying down position quite well, although any sign of training seems to go out of the window as soon as someone new walks on the scene, i.e. visitors! Lady cannot seem to contain her zeal of meeting someone new and have them "experience" her excitement too by consequently jumping all over them, whether they like it or not!!!

Zeal: excessive fervor to do something or accomplish some end

Yes , Lady is another reminder to me of the Process, and that Process involves time and energy. It is often true that the process involves more time and energy than we would care to dedicate to it!

Not only that, Lady has a natural zeal on the onset of her discovery of life that will dissipate as time goes on. It will dissipate due to training and learning what good dog manners are, but also because of maturity.

Lady's zeal expressed itself in full apparel this morning as her nose led her bounding (or at least as much as I allowed it as I continued to firmly yank her backwards saying "heel" whenever the leash tensed more than I wanted it to.) towards the gate of a neighbour, where obviously another K9 aboded.

Her nose tucked under the gate as much as possible, trying to make somekind of a statement, but to Lady´s surprize was met with what I assume to be a much larger dog, who literally scared the fur off of Lady´s back and she jumped away as fast as lightening! Her zeal had lead her somewhere where she didn´t want to be!!!! Wisdom and knowledge learned from this and other experiences, will teach Lady to curb her zeal and not be so quick to investigate another K9's territory next time!

For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. Rom 10:2

So like Lady, my zeal needs to be based on knowledge. There has been many a time in the past that it has just been based on zeal itself...

Lady is beginning to show signs of responding to the training (process!!!) and the rest of the walk was done at my pace rather than hers! But due to her breeding, I don´t think Lady will ever loose all of her zeal. She will always be a bright and nervous creature. Like the saying goes, she even makes coffee nervous!

Likewise, the Bible says we also should not loose our zeal. So even though we mature, may the traces of our breed, that of being in Christ, be that we never loose our zeal in knowing Him.

Never be lacking in zeal,
but keep your spiritual fervour,
serving the Lord. Rom 12:11

Do not let your heart envy sinners,
but always be zealous for the
Fear of the Lord.
Prov23:17

Separation

"...a peculiar people, zealous of good works." Titus 2:14