Bark for Life!

I attended a very cool event today as the Premier Jewelry lady, Bark for Life! It's an American Cancer Relay for Life-type of event, only gone to the dogs.
This wasn't your ordinary walk for funds. There were vendors (me one of), the walking, speakers, rescue dog demonstration, and doggy contests: musical sit, favorite trick, and king & queen. Yes, king & queen! It was the coolest thing. I highly encourage you to participate if you are a dog lover. Bring your own or do like I'm going to do next time - borrow one!

And it was amazing how all these dogs came together and behaved so well! There were breeds of all kinds and sizes. Rescued dogs, carried dogs, cute-as-a-button dogs, all kinds! I'm including some pics here, but I will post the full album on facebook!

This is Diesel...I want one just like him!

Not sure this lady's name, she did win the Queen of the large dog category.  Must have been the pajamas that put her over the top.

First encounters

 The Collie is Merlin.  He won the musical sit AND King of the large dog category!

 This is Sandy and her owner Kelsey.  Kelsey rescued Sandy after seeing her being thrown from the 2nd Street Bridge.  Sandy happens to be part pit bull, but not once did she bear fangs today. Kelsey does animal rescue now. For more info:  www.savingsunnyinc.org. 

This is what I call the Pug Patrol.  Couldn't really get them all lined up at once.  There were about six there!

This little guy is up for adoption!  Contact www.savingsunnyinc.org!

Don't Just Count The Blessings, Enjoy Them!

I've been in a funk the past couple of weeks.  Ever been there?  Just not feeling like yourself, feels like there's a cloud hanging over everything?  I even had an anxiety attack, thought I was going to pass out at the greenhouse. In a flash I thought, " This is perfect, at least the flowers aer ready for my casket."  It was that bad in that moment.  Ever been there?
All I could do from there was rest and really try to not think.  This morning I reviewed my journal entry from last week and remembered something I learned about that morning.  It comes from this obscure little section in Luke 11 about a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace but loses everything to one stronger. Which would make sense the other one is stronger, duh. But there's also this phrase, "...he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides the spoils."  The strong guy trusted in his armor (and not the armor of God kind). 

Fine, but then Jesus goes right into teaching about a man who had an unclean spirit.  The unclean spirit left the man.  The man tidied up, put everything in order. But then the unclean spirit comes back with seven others!  What's up with that?!  Didn't the guy think to lock the door, or did he have a welcome-vacancy sign hanging out?

This morning I learned more about that.  It's like cleaning the house. Everything gets put in its place, all neat and tidy. The dust is gone, clothes & dishes put away, space is created, all is well.  But then that also leave space to fill, so we fill it with more knick-knacks to dust, more papers to file, more junk we don't need.  Or even better, just buying a bigger house to fit all our stuff in.  There's more floor space, so why not fill it with furniture!  The big question here is, "What am I filling my space with?"  Well, the Sunday School answer is it should be Jesus.  But what in the world does that look like?

I've been given such an amazing opportunity of space the past couple years to really evaluate who I am.  I know whose I am, I know what I'm purposed to do, now...who am I beyond the foundation of being a child of God?  What am I filling my space with? 

I chatted with a friend this weekend about my funk.  What I took away from our conversation was to not just count my blessings, but enjoy them.  Me being the list making kind of person, I started a list of all the things I enjoy.  I filled a couple of pages in a short time. I learned something from that too, but that's another post for another day.  But if I make Jesus my focal point in my space, and fill the rest with things I enjoy - isn't that living life to an abundant level? To overflowing! Then I'm helping others live life abundantly too!

So I encourage you dear reader, fill your space with good and perfect gifts from above and your heart will overflow with joy!  Don't just count your blessings - enjoy them!

Easter for us all

This is a very holy weekend for so many of us.  It's the celebration of Jesus' death and victory over it. Yesterday was Good Friday. Good only because we know that Sunday's coming.  And regardless of what my days are like, this Truth is what we cling to as Christians. This is the hope we live by. The hope that is available to everyone.

Enjoy the message and music,

and Happy Easter everyone!

He's Alive!

I love my mommy!

Maestro here.

Who doesn't love a good cat-nap? 

I love to sleep with mom.  Even when she's working at her desk.  There's not enough room on the desk for me and the computer, so to the floor I go.  If I can fall asleep in mom's arms or her lap, her foot makes a great pillow.  Time for my nap, and I encourage you all to do the same. Take it from me, the world keeps spinning even when you don't.