Cold and Heat

The last few days here in the southeast, have been brutally cold!  Temperatures at night going down in the single digits in some places with a wind chill making it almost unbearable!

Remember what I wrote about getting a new puppy for my Birthday, "Christmas Noel"?  Well, puppies need to be taken outside a LOT to learn to be housebroken.  One must act quickly too, as soon as you see the "signs" or their urge!  This means quickly grabbing coat and scarf and gloves and my "Clicker" and "Doggie Treats" all in one swoop in order to get her outside quickly enough!  Then she, being the three month old puppy that she is, once outside, decides it's play time instead of potty time!  She wants to eat every rock and leaf and twig she can find instead of doing her business. 

I've been told by a medical professional and friend that I show classic signs of ADD.  Well, this pup makes me look good! She gets distracted by literally everything she sees and every sound she hears and has to repeatedly be reminded that we're out there freezing in the cold, so she can do her business!  Many times, after I just can't stand the cold anymore, I give up and bring her back inside to try again later. It then takes me several minutes to thaw out, only to have to quickly repeat this routine again a few minutes later until she "finally" decides to do her business.  Remember what I said about "I must be crazy!"? 

This afternoon the sun was shining so pretty and it had warmed up just a little bit so I thought I'd take both dogs out to the back yard to get some play time and exercise in.  It was fun watching them romp around the yard chasing each other and playing "keep away" which is Sarge's favorite game, bar none!  As I watched them play, the wind and air still felt very cold after just a short time, but as I stood in the yard, I could feel the penetrating rays of the sun seeping into my face as I turned it upwards to the sky and just soaked it in.

Is there anything that feels better than the sun soaking into your skin

and penetrating deep down inside,

on a cold and chilly day? I think not! 

Call Me Crazy!

Right before Christmas, my daughter called and asked us to help her find a puppy for our Grandson.  He is an only child and she thought that having a puppy would give him some companionship. So the search was on!  Our middle daughter found a Miniature Schnauzer breeder online and called us. We made an appointment to go and look at the puppies. The one thing I did that was not too smart, was I went with her, as did our middle daughter!  You know how it is when you see a little puppy! Oh they're so adorable and cuddly and cute and you pick them up and hold them and that's IT!  It was love at first sight for all three of us!  We walked out of there, each with a puppy in our arms! Two little girls and my youngest daughter with the only boy left of the litter.

I had to be crazy!!  We already have a 55 lb., 3-year old Boxer!  Did I REALLY want to start house-breaking and training all over again??  I wasn't thinking clearly about that though when I was holding this cute little puppy in my arms!  My husband kept saying "Are you SURE you want to do this?  why don't we just wait a little longer until Sarge (our Boxer) is older?  Then we can think about getting a puppy!"  no..... I HAD to have this puppy!  She was just SO CUTE and SO CUDDLY!  She LOVED me!! What could I do?

We brought them all home, and I decided in the car on the way home what her name should be....  there was no other choice!  It was a few days before Christmas; her new name would be "Christmas Noel" and we'd call her "Noel" for short.  I was very pleased with this ingenious stroke of creativity in choosing a new name.

Well, we've had Noel now for almost three weeks.  When we brought her home we discovered why she was so cuddly and so calm:  she and her siblings we very, very sick.  She had a very bad upper respiratory infection and very bad congestion in her lungs. Her brother, had pneumonia!  They both had to stay overnight at the animal hospital to be treated.  Since they were so young, the Vet was concerned that the aggressive treatment might be even harder on the little boy, since he had it the worst.  Thankfully, we have a very good Vet and they both pulled through after another ten days of antibiotics and tender loving care.

Now, we have this little "demon dog" on our hands that has so much energy and orneriness that she's a handful, even for our Boxer!  I decided to pay the fee and take her to puppy training classes at PetSmart.  She can now "Sit", "Down" and "Leave It" as well as "Come" when called. We're still working on the housebreaking thing, although she's starting to get the idea.  She still has mistakes in the house.  It's more "owner training" and "owner quick reactions" than it is pet training though!  And every time she is outside, she wants to eat every rock, stick, leaf and twig she finds!  She ends up getting lots of treats for "Leave it!!"

I just have to ask myself some days though,

WHAT IN THE WORLD WAS I THINKING???  I'M GETTING TOO OLD FOR THIS!"

Until she sits pretty and looks up at me with those adoring eyes!

I'm a Goner then!  Call me a Soft Touch! Yep, that's what I am!

Maybe a little CRAZY too!

But then, who would blame me?

Isn't she just adorable?

Meet Christmas Noel:

Our First Snow of 2010

We had our first snow of the year yesterday and today the temperature is so low that everything is frozen!  My Family and Friends up north laugh at us down here because they see this and hear that all the schools are closed and everyone is making a big deal out of it, when they have 6 inches and it's still coming down!  My Nephew said they don't close the schools up north until it's 20 below with 8 or more inches of snow! Funny how different areas of the U.S. are!  I told them that "Abscence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder!"  :)  We never GET snow but once or twice a year and then just a light dusting!  So when we hear "SNOW" --- WE get excited! Excited and worried!  We're not set up down here for heavy snow removal or management like they are in other areas; plus, we had HILLS and MOUNTAIN roads.  People hear snow and they all panic beforehand (just in case!) and clean out the grocery store shelves!  My husband stopped by Wal-mart yesterday on his way home because we heard it was going to snow and then turn to ice.  We were out of a few "essentials" (like bathroom tissue!! and bread of course!).  He said that it took him forever to even find a parking space, let alone get out of the check-out lines!  Funny!  So here we are, with all the schools closed this morning and parents that either had to take time off work or find something to do with the kids because most of the businesses will be open.

I just want to leave you with one thought; a quote from the character Jerry Espinson on "Boston Legal":

"Friendships are like backyard gardens: we plan to attend them, but we always manage to put it off until next week."

May we all make a concerted effort to tend to our friendships and family relationships this year!

God bless you and Happy New Year!

New Year's Resolutions_Again!

 

Things to keep in mind as the New Year approaches us!

Four things that can never be recovered: 

• 
  

  The stone after it's thrown

  
  
• 
  

  the word after it's spoken 

  
  
• 
  

  the occasion after it's missed 

  
  
• 
  

  and the time after it's gone.

  
  
  
  

The "Secret Blessings of God"

This morning, I received an Email from my Sister in Indiana, and I'd like to share with you what she said:

"we are always thankful for our health but more than that, the secret blessings God gives always come in our greatest times of trial. So when we need, you know as well as I, that our greatest gifts come from God."

This got me thinking!

 

"The Secret Blessings God Gives"!  Have you ever been aware of the secret blessings from God in your time of need? 

For instance:  My Nephew and his wife have two small children.  He has worked in a trucking company as the Administrative Office Manager, keeping track of all the traffic coming in and out of the company; he has worked on the Loading Docks and on heavy equipment as well as in the office as Dispatcher.  He's done this for the past 10 years and now, right before Christmas, he was called into the office by the higher-ups and told he was being let-go for financial reasons.  The company is hurting right now and they have to trim the payroll.  So they trimmed his payroll!

In a situation like this, with two small children at home, one would have a tendency to get down and depressed and wonder "WHY GOD?" 

Not my Nephew and his wife!  They are Christians and trust God!  They know that He has never let them down in the past and won't let them down now.  They just went to church as usual on Sunday and in their Sunday School Class, shared a prayer request, asking for prayer for him to be able to find another job quickly. Without them knowing anything about it, this group of Christians did more than pray! 

They put their faith into action as James talks about in the Bible: 

 James 2:17-20  "Even so faith if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.  Yea, if a man say, "Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils believe, and tremble.  But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?"

So we see that just 'having faith' is not enough!  It's what we do with that faith that matters!  We can't sit in our church week after week, like a sponge, just soaking it all up and not giving anything back in return.  Do you know what happens to a sponge if it just keeps soaking up water? Before long, it is water-logged and just oozes out.  We as Christians were meant to soak up God's blessings and then 'squeeze them out' over others in return.  Not trying to keep it all to ourselves.

This small family, found themselves the recipients of "the secret blessings of God" in their time of need!  This Sunday School class got together, unbeknownst to my Nephew and his family, and collected boxes and boxes of food to carry them through this time!  They not only gave food, but a GIFT CARD so that the would be able to take care of their children's Christmas gifts!  Their sensitivity to the Holy Spirit caused them to think what would be the greatest hurt for a parent at this time of year without money.  Children don't understand the worries that their parents have; they just know that Christmas is coming and they've always gotten gifts in the past.  This would hurt a parent more than anything; to not be able to give gifts to their children.  God made us that way because HE is a GIVING GOD and loves bestowing "gifts" on His children!  This group of Christians were sensitive to that and wanted to alleviate this concern for one of their group. God will bless them abundantly because you 'can't out-give God'!  He sees each kind act that we do and because He loves us, He will not let that go unrewarded.  These giving people will experience a joy that others will not, this Christmas. Giving truly is better than receiving!

One would think that coming on 'hard times' in this world, would be a bad thing!  But instead, it opens up an opportunity for our wonderful LORD to show us how HE can take care of us and bestow those wonderful "secret blessings" in our time of need! This builds our faith!  Each time we place our trust in God in times of great need, our faith is strengthened to continue walking with Him and doing even greater things in the future.

It's wonderful to walk with the Lord day by day and see Him work in our lives!

Malachi 3:10  "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it."

And again in James 4:8  "Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you."

When we walk in obedience day by day with the LORD, and seek His face, we can be in no greater place and in no better hands!  We will be daily recipients of the "secret blessings of God", whether they be actual physical blessings or spiritual.  Either way, there's no better place to be!

Psalm 5:12 "For Thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous; with favor wilt thou compass him as with a shield."

Psalm 37:39 "But the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord; He is their strength in time of trouble."

Psalm 46:1  "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in time of trouble."

I wish for you that you will walk with the Lord this Christmas and into the New Year; holding His hand and following in His steps!

For myself, I plan to read, study and meditate on His Word more; trust Him more; and try to be a blessing to others, sharing His secret blessings on my life and letting them spill over onto others!

From our Home to Yours,

Merry Christmas!