ManMade Evil Necessities.

Last night, we went to Chili's and had a great time with my family.

And then, on the way home, we turned on the Air Conditioner. Bad idea. The van has been acting up frequently the last couple of weeks and I have been putting it off getting it in. And the last night on the way home, it lost all power and began to sputter. Ugh.

That was frustrating.

Reminds me of how I sometimes sputter in my walk with Christ. There are things that are needed for me to maintain that relationship and often I neglect, forget, or simply choose not to do those things. And it's painful for me.

Is your car running well? How about your relationship with Christ?

Here's a picture...

Here's a picture of my new pup. She'll be a good retriever. She retrieves everything that is smaller than her...Now if i could just get her to stop chewing everything that she retrieves!

My Dog...and the new one.

This morning, my dog of three years passed away. Lexi was a great dog while we had her. I took her to the vet on Friday because she had a little bit of a cough and wasn't eating. This weekend, she began to pant vigorously and then this morning, we found her on the living room floor. Having a dog die really stinks because they are a part of the family. As I processed this this morning, the question that I had was "should I get another dog?" Well, I got one. I got another black lab. It's a little puppy named Maddie. She is 10 weeks old and has a great personality. She has only been home for a few hours and already goes to the bathroom outside and loves people. Cool stuff. She and Isaiah get along pretty well also.

I miss Lexi, but it is nice to have another dog in the house. She'll be a good one and I would love for her to live to the ripe old age that most labs live too...

I've said before that the relationships between dogs and their owners is much like the relationship that I have with my heavenly father. God asks me to lick his hand in complete surrender and worship to him and so often I choose not to...I want to do my own thing. Dogs tend to model this licking of the hand, this act of worship, in an incredible way. I have been impressed with the little puppy sitting here with me in my lap and how it just wants to please it's master...Oh, that I would want to please my master. That I would seek my Father's face each and every day and allow my response to be complete and total surrender and worship!

Father, Let me continue to learn through this dog ownership thing about your love and my response to who you are! -Amen.