About Me

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Puppy Love



I found myself flipping through the channels the other day when I came across the ever-popular tearjerker flick, “Marley and Me.” The effect a dog has on a person is nothing less than impressive. There I was, sitting in my room, tears streaming down my face (I share this with the utmost honesty and see no shame in showing emotion outwardly). Any pet can bring joy into a person’s life. Cats are debatable, but dogs have such a love for humans. Despite the dog’s incessant behavior to dig up the trash or mark it’s territory in the house when an unwelcome dog comes to visit, we, as owners and dog lovers, still find a special place in our hearts for these adorable creatures.

I’ve been missing my dog a great deal recently. Tessa is a labradoodle and a big lovable white fur ball. We often think she is a human being in a dog suit. Her eyes are expressive and her feelings can get hurt very easily. Now, in all honesty, when I read blogs about other people’s dogs, I can get a little bored. I mean, who wants to hear about someone else’s dog when you know your dog is far better than anyone else’s? But here I am, missing my dog and wanting to talk about her. Feel free to tune out, but be advised, she’s a unique character.

I’ll tell you, she’s not perfect. She farts, on average, about 15 times a day. And they smell about 15 times worse than any human flatulence. On the upside, whenever one of the family members rips one, if Tessa is in the room, we blame her. She’s a wonderful excuse. Another imperfection is her fu Manchu. This Asian-looking mustache always is a little moist, so a person must maneuver their hand around the moving muzzle in order to dodge her wet nose and pat her on the head. Because she has the appearance of a dread-locked sheepdog, she requires frequent grooming and the occasional bath to remove the smelly lab odor.

With all these imperfections, you would think that having a dog like this would be a chore. And it is. But Tessa is one of the most caring, engaging, and endearing dogs. She treats you like her puppies. When she sits under the table at dinnertime, if your feet are close to her, she’ll tenderly lick you in between the toes with her warm tongue. Yes, it’s gross, and sometimes I hate it. But I know she loves us and it’s her way of showing it. She’s getting to be an old lady, so she’s falls asleep easily. You can always hear her little happy sighs as she dreams about a field of puppies, all for her to care for. She’s such a mother, and we love her.

While I’m at school, I miss being around dogs, so in order to get my puppy fix, I look at pictures of adorable dogs on pinterest or Katelyn James’ new cuddly puppy, Bokeh. Man, I can’t wait to live in my own house and get a dog of my own! For now, I’m just a hopeless puppy lover.

With her Christmas present,
or more like our Christmas present


Monday, January 16, 2012

A Bad Day Prayer

Do you ever have those days when you wake up with the intent of having a really great day? You have a really great breakfast with the Greek yogurt you love, match together the cutest outfit, have all your books together, and head out the door to class. One thing, you skipped your quiet time. You step out only to find that five minutes later it begins to rain. Great, you left your umbrella in the room. You get to class and find out you forgot to print out your reading response that was due at the beginning of class. The rest of the day, you only think of the negatives and forget everything great that happened earlier that day. Oh, and no one complimented you on your cute outfit. Guess you’re not wearing that shirt again. You become Debbie Downer and your day suddenly becomes self-centered and just an overall bad day.

As a woman, I get these days frequently. I make all the bad things that happened that day define how good I felt that day or just exactly how popular was I. I don’t know if males experience the same good-day-bad-day rollercoaster feelings women do, but I think a few girls can commiserate with me. When my day does not consist of some sort of interaction with the Lord, my spiritual growth slumps. The truth is, when we face negative feelings or thoughts, we feel inadequate to receive God’s blessings. But in reality, God’s blessing does not depend on our performance.

As human beings, we think that God’s blessing on our lives is somehow conditioned upon our spiritual performance. If we performed well and had a “good” day, then we feel like we can receive God’s blessing. Oh of course we know God’s blessings some to us through Christ, but we also have this notion that they are also controlled by our behavior.

Thinking like this is even more evident when we experience our “bad” days. We convince ourselves we’re not good enough. And when we think like that, we’re doubting God’s power and falling into sin.
Whenever I experience these “bad days,” I repeat this prayer to myself. I know it looks long, but I encourage you to read it and reflect on your own life.

Father, I have sinned against You. I’ve been negligent in the spiritual disciplines that I know are necessary and helpful for my spiritual growth. I’ve been irritable and impatient toward those around me. I’ve allowed resentful and unkind thoughts to lodge in my mind. I repent of these sins and claim Your forgiveness.
You have said you justify the wicked. Father, in view of my sins today, I acknowledge that in myself I am wicked. In fact, my problem is not merely the sins I’ve committed, some of which I may not even be aware of, but the fact that my heart is sinful. These sins I am so painfully conscious of now are merely the expressions of my sinful heart.
But despite my sins and my sinfulness, You have said, “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). Given my awareness of my sin just now, that seems to be an incredible statement. Ho can I be without condemnation when I have so willfully sinned against you today?
O Father, I know it is because Jesus bore the sins I’ve committed today in His body on the cross. He suffered the punishment I deserve, so that I might experience the blessings He deserved. So I come to You.

Adapted from Jerry Bridge’s The Discipline of Grace

(note: I really didn’t want this to sound like a sermon, but please know that this is more like a note to myself, so I can always look back whenever I feel like I’m having a “bad” day.)