A Blog About A Dog

Let me let you in on a little secret. I like dogs. Truth be told, I may actually like dogs more than I like people. They don’t back talk, they never share your secrets, they don’t even judge you for having a lions mane for hair when you wake up in the morning. In fact, they seem to love you more
because you are clearly embracing the animal kingdom on a new level. Seriously- how can you not love them?!?

And I had a dog I loved very much. Her name was Izzy. When we thought we were moving out of the country we gave her to a family that was looking for a dog. They grew very attached to her and so did their kids so we knew we could never ask for her back. My daughter would cry for her almost every day and finally at thanksgiving, my husband gave in and gave us both what we wanted- another dog.

This is Nala the week we got her.

 

I know- she is so adorable. Our last dog was a boxer so when we got Nala we thought we knew exactly what we were in for. And oh my freakin goodness were we wrong. When I say this dog is terrible, I am not even scratching the surface.

One week into having her we were painting our bedroom. She decided at the very moment we filled

the pan with paint she needed to dart through it and then circle full speed through our room so she could track the paint all over our carpet. I know- sweet isn’t she?

On Christmas she “helped” the kids open all of their presents. See exhibit A

Exhibit A

One day my sister in law had to put her outside and she was very reluctant. Finally Nala followed her out, waited until she stopped and then stood above her foot and peed on her. I didn’t even know this was a thing dogs did. I guess ours is special.

We have a fence with slats in it and she figured out how to squeeze herself through and eventually broke free one day. She ran full speed 4 doors down, went into our neighbors yard, through their doggy door and was running through their house. No we didn’t know them- but we do now.  I’m sure she was just trying to help us meet new people.

So yea- she is seriously the worst.

In an effort to gain some control over the madness in this house (because in case anyone forgot I also have an almost 4 year old and almost 2 year old who bring all kinds of other crazyness to the table) I figured Nala and I would learn to walk together. She is terrible on a leash. SHOCKER. But somewhere deep down in my pre kids brain I remember a very wise man saying you needed to be the pack leader for a dog to respect you. (thank you Cesar Milan) So I did something I never thought I would do- I bought a gentle lead collar. This is the one that looks terribly cruel because it goes around their mouth. It forces her to keep her eyes on me so she can see which way I am going, and she can never get too far ahead of me without being jerked back.

This is Nala on our walk tonight. 

She looks thrilled doesn’t she? It has been a week of us working on this. At first she wouldn’t even walk because she was too busy trying to rip it off her face. After 3 days I found it in the backyard where she had tried to bury it. But I pushed through and kept working with her. She is now finally starting to listen. I can give her commands while on our walk and she actually does them. And she is rewarded greatly for listening.

Tonight as we were able to make it a whole mile in the neighborhood without her even pulling me, I let her do what she loves most- run free. She barreled through the open field by our house without a care in the world. And when I called her- she came. WOHOO.

I was instantly reminded of the scripture that says “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” John 10:27. And I realized that Nala in her gentle lead collar is me with Jesus. Learning to keep my eyes on him, not getting ahead, and learning to listen for his voice. Slowly it is getting easier. I am finally starting to understand that it will hurt if I rush ahead. I will get lost if I don’t know his voice. And how greatly I am rewarded when I follow His commands.

Thankful tonight that God can and will use anything to speak to me. Even this dog. Who may be up for adoption soon if anyone is looking for a great gift for your Easter Basket.

Perspective

Several years ago we found Ransomed Heart Ministries. Our family has experienced so much growth, healing and restoration through their books, events and podcasts. One of the simple truths that I have personally learned over the last several years of studying their material is this:  “God is for you!” So easy right? And I am sure I have heard it in different ways over the years, but something shifted for me when I started to actually believe it. To really believe that God is for me in the good, in the bad, in the big decisions, and in the every day life. What happened is that my perspective changed. How I interpreted the events of my life changed. And my love for God and trust for him deepened.

About 2 1/2 years ago, Tony and I felt like God was calling us to Australia to help some friends plant a church. We had no idea how it would all play out, but what we did know is that we would follow Him and trust He would lead every step of the way. After several months of prayer- we knew God wanted us to sell all we owned to prepare for the move over seas. The only thing he didn’t ask us to sell was our home. Which made absolutely no sense since we didn’t think we would move back and if we did- for sure not to this small house of ours. But we did what he asked and within about 3 weeks sold everything and had leased our house out.

So here we are, 5 boxes to our name and I am 7 months pregnant with Beck. At this point we still had no visa to leave, no job offer to go- nothing. And on top of it, we now have no place to live. It just so happened that after 14 years of living in Bastrop my mom was moving to a rental home just 5 miles from us. My step dad was sick and needed to be closer in town for doctor appointments. And just like that- we had a place to live. God was for us.

Little did we know that from when we moved in with my mom and Rodger it would be the last 2 months of Rodger’s life and we got to spend each of those precious last days with him. Rafi got to make him laugh and he got to teach her to play the harmonica. God was for us.

Beck was born just in the middle of the chaos and it made no sense to me why all of this would be happening at once. My mom was off work for a year after Rodger went to heaven and she woke every day to a very sweet and cuddly new born and a witty and hilarious 2 year old. What a gift God sent us in Beck during that very hard season. God was for us.

After realizing that God’s plan was more about the process than the actual move, we knew we were to stay here. And oh my goodness were we thankful that he told us to lease this house out. We had a place to move back to after a year and suddenly the house didn’t look small but instead like a great opportunity to be creative with our space. God was for us.

And it’s not just in the big life changes. It is in the small. Last night I was going to visit a church with a friend. We clearly did not do our research just assuming all churches meet every sunday- but this specific church doesn’t have corporate gatherings the first Sunday. I could have said “God didn’t have anything for me there.” or “Wow- what a waste of my time getting ready” and gone home. But instead we decided to go have dinner. A dinner without kids is coveted time in this season of my life. I have had a hard week of very sick kids and lots to get done. What my heart needed was 2 hours with my friend that I rarely ever get. We were able to share all that God is doing in our lives and stories of his love, grace and mercy. God was for me.

This morning I woke to a picture of my best friends baby girl who was born just moments earlier. She has suffered through 2 miscarriages, but we prayed that God would give her the desires of her heart. And as of today- she is a mommy of 2. God is for her.

I say all of this as a reminder to myself and to anyone else who may need it today. God loves you. He is for you. And he does want the absolute best for you!

(To learn more about Ransomed Heart ministries you can visit their website at www.ransomedheart.com )