Some more thoughts about my dog...

I got to hang out with one of my dearest friends on Valentine's Day again this year and we spent some time talking about our futures and discussing some big dreams that we both have. I won't reveal yet which big dream brought this blog to mind because that is going to stay under wraps for a bit while things are in development. But in the meantime, I want to share this little piece I put together for a friend's baby shower several years ago.

A good friend that I worked with at the time was expecting and our department threw a shower for her. We put together a book of advice for her and since I do not have any children of my own, I shared advice from my own unique perspective. See what you think!

Everything I know about parenting, I learned from my dog...

1) Pee and Poop in the appropriate places. 

The diaper will do for now, but as you progress to more advanced training, the potty is a much better choice.

2)  Come when called.

This one is hard, but food is always helpful as a motivator.

3)  Sleep in your own bed.

As the saying goes, “There are no one night stands with a dog.  Once you let your pet into your bed, it’s hard to get him out.”  I believe the same holds true for a child.  Decide now how much you value the space in your bed!

4)  Practice good manners when meeting new people. 

For the dog this means not jumping up on visitors, but since your little one won’t be able to stand yet, I would stick to making sure she doesn’t spit-up on new guests.

5)  Show off with fun tricks.

In the dog world, one of the favorites is lay down.  Your child will have this covered immediately.  Try to shoot for something more challenging, like speak.

6)  Walk nicely on a leash. 

Well, maybe you should pass on this one with a kid. 

7)  Get along well with others. 

The dog owners call this “socialization.”  For your child you will probably call it something like a “play date.”  No matter what any of us call it, it’s really just an excuse for Mom to have some time with her friends!

8)  Love unconditionally. 

This one is easy with dogs and babies.  They will both give you enough love and smiles to last a lifetime.  Enjoy it now because unlike a dog, babies can forget this training once they get a little older!

A sweet gift from my Father...

Y'all, this fast has been hard, like monumentally, trying to break me kind of hard. Please hear my heart on this - I am so thankful for this time of fasting and prayer and what I am learning. So, I say this not to complain, but to clearly express a few things...

1. My flesh is WEAK! I crave TV like you might crave a drug. It is sad and I am so thankful for this time to get real about that and break my dependency on the television as a companion.
2. When you commit to a time of prayer and fasting, a time of intentionally seeking God's heart, the enemy comes at you with both guns blazing!
3. In the spirit of being brutally honest, being ALONE is my biggest fear and I have been confronted with it HEAD-ON during this fast!

So, all of that brings me to today when I basically laid in my bed for the majority of the day feeling completely overwhelmed, ALONE and unable to stand up under the weight of it all anymore. I felt miserable and I was probably also miserable to be around, but there was no one to tell me that except for my dog - and she has yet to master the ability to speak.

Even when it came time to head to church - which is a place I LOVE to be - it took every ounce of energy to convince myself to get out of bed, take a shower and head out the door. But I did and even when I got there, I was still pretty miserable. I was angry and sad and still lonely, even though I was surrounded by loads of people.

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Now bear with me and follow me off this other side path for a moment while I share a small story with you. When I get home at night, the first thing I do is greet my dog and then head to the back door to let her out. If it is particularly dark, or cold, or windy or scary out there, she will go halfway out the door and then turn around to make sure I'm there. And on some nights, like tonight, she won't go out at all until I come and stand at the door to watch over her. 

My dog KNOWS that she is loved. She KNOWS that I am here and that I am not leaving her, but sometimes she just really, really needs to know FOR SURE that I am really there. And so, I take the few extra steps to the door to let her KNOW, KNOW that I am here.

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Now, back to my story. At church tonight, our worship pastor asked if anyone had a prayer request to share and my heart began to beat out of my chest. I am normally very good with brutal honesty and sharing what I am dealing with, but tonight I did not want to. I was embarrassed to admit that something that seems so trivial - giving up TV - for three weeks has nearly wrecked me. But I really felt that I was being urged on to share my heart and my story truthfully and bravely. And so I did. I shared that I was feeling utterly alone and I asked them to partner with me in praying against this spirit of loneliness and fear.

And when I did, nearly the ENTIRE room - more than 30 people - immediately stood to their feet and surrounded me and laid hands on me and prayed with me and hugged me and scheduled dates with me. And even after I left church people were calling me and messaging me and texting me to check on me.  

In other words, God got up and walked the few extra feet to the back door with me and let me know, like REALLY KNOW, that He is here with me.  I KNOW that I am loved and I KNOW that God is with me and He will NEVER leave me. But sometimes, when I get extra lonely, I need to KNOW - KNOW that He is there for me. And He never hesitates to take the few extra steps and stand at the door with me to let me know that He is there. 

My dear friends, please know tonight that YOU ARE LOVED, that GOD IS WITH YOU and if you need it, just ask - He will take a few extra steps just to remind you that He is really there!