I added a new article this morning to the Articles Section. It’s by one of my favorite online publishers, Jim Edwards. It (e-mail) addresses a subject that pokes us all in the side. See Is E-Mail Ruining Your Life?
Christian Book Reviews, Self Improvement, Positivity
I added a new article this morning to the Articles Section. It’s by one of my favorite online publishers, Jim Edwards. It (e-mail) addresses a subject that pokes us all in the side. See Is E-Mail Ruining Your Life?
by Joi 2 Comments
Last night this 5’2″ mother of three chased, wrestled and rolled with a pit bull. My body hurts. I wasn’t cut out for this sort of thing. I had the first asthma attack I’d had in years and a few of my cats have post traumatic stress syndrome.
I’m a cooking in the kitchen, hanging out at the coffee shop kind of gal – decidedly not a pit bull tamer.
The dog in question – (during the ruckus I named him “Dang Dog!”) – somehow found our very quiet, fence-enclosed bird, raccoon, possum, rabbit, cat and deaf dog (little Wednesday‘s hearing isn’t what it once was) sanctuary. Normally, it’s just the 5 of us humans, a small, almost totally deaf and nearsighted, older dog and five precious cats. We have plenty of wildlife visitors but DangDog! was particularly interested in the cats.
It’s puzzling how he even got back here. We live on the outskirts of town, behind a business that’s protected by a metal, password-protected gate. He either knew the code or has discovered a LARGE hole in one of the fences. Or he can fly.
We first saw him when a few of my girls and I got back from the store. Wednesday (our little dog) came out of the garage, par usual, to greet us. Then something par unusual happened – out came a large, muscular dog behind him. None of the cats were around at the time – and D.D. really didn’t seem interested in causing problems for Wednesday….until my smart little boy growled up at him. The pit bull wasn’t too happy about that. He was, however, happy about me – he wanted to be my best friend.
He kept standing up with his paws on my shoulders licking my face. Fortunately, of all the things I’m scared of, dogs aren’t one of them. He was a sweetheart to me and never posed a danger at all (to me). I’m the biggest animal lover in the world and I think animals pick up on that.
But, like I said, we have 5 cats and a much smaller, disadvantaged dog, so my oldest daughter and I lured him away – on the other side of the mechanical gate. I took a package of hot dogs for him which he ate before we even got out of our driveway.
Big ol’ mouth.
I couldn’t help noticing that mouth. I finally got him on one side of the gate and me on the other…which took some doing because he was convinced that he was my dog and I was his… I dunno…. mom?
After a while, when I looked way up at the main gate, I didn’t see him – so I thought “Good, he went home.” I wanted more than anything for him to get somewhere safe – I felt for sure he was someone’s dog. He was the picture of health and wasn’t the least bit afraid of anything. Or anyone.
So, much later I’m out in the yard in the pitch black darkness – putting Wednesday’s sweater back on him, fresh from being washed in Woolite.
I have some lovely pink pajamas and pink fuzzy house-shoes on – just in case you’re trying to picture the scene – there’s lots of pink.
I saw our smallest cat, Alexa (she was an outdoor cat at the time) in the driveway and was I walking toward her to oooh and ahhhh, tell her how beautiful she is…you know that sort of thing. Then, out of nowhere Dang Dog! comes flying at Alexa (this is where I name him) and like a scene from a nature show… or a nightmare…. he chases her, snapping at her tail. Of course, I’m running after them, in pink fuzzy house-shoes that really sort of “complete” the picture, through the wet, cold yard – screaming his new name, which he refuses to answer to.
Off come the fuzzy shoes and my bare feet meet the cold wet ground.
I launch onto the dog’s back and down we go. Alexa takes flight up a tree, reasoning that she still has 8 lives left. D.D! starts licking my face – it at least lets me know I’m still alive. By now, my asthma’s pretty angry and breathing isn’t coming easily. I put my arms around his neck and try to convince him to let me help him along – to my van. I figure I’ll drive to every house within a mile and ask if they’re missing a large, cat chasing bundle of strength.
Man was this dog strong.
Just as we’re edging along in the dark, with Alexa watching from on high – another of our youngest cats, Bo, thinks it’s the perfect time to come creeping over to see what all the fuss is about. He sees Double D at the same time Double D sees him….and wer’e off again!
Once again, the dog is right on the home team’s butt….once again I dive onto the dog’s butt and Bo propels himself up yet another tree. Thankfully, God’s a cat lover and we live in a yard with lots of trees. Bo scampers up a tree and I just lay there with everything I have TO wrap wrapped around this crazy dog.
By now, I’m totally amazed that this dog hasn’t eaten my face off yet. He just kept licking it – and doing the paws on the shoulder thing that really didn’t amuse me much anymore. Fortunately, my husband heard the yelling from inside the house and came out to help. We put him (the dog, not the husband) into the van and off we went to find his home.
Bo and Alexa are pretty jumpy today, and I can hardly move. Seriously, every bone in my body hurts. The knees and elbows are understandable – crashing onto a hard cold ground will do that. The back is understandable, too, since this was a very heavy and strong dog. But my chin?! I don’t even remember hitting it. Oh, well. My babies are all okay and the dog’s safe. He has quite a story to tell about a crazy cat lady with coffee on her breath and pink house-shoes.
The picture at the top of the post is Bo looking up at the tree that saved his life. He’s nothing if not dramatic. Alexa’s eyes seem fixed in a wide stare. She jumps at every little sound – convinced that evil’s lurking behind each tree. My little buddy Wednesday doesn’t seem to know anything went on – he’s pretty much in his own little. oblivious world. But I’ve given him strict orders, no more entertaining friends while were away.
To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded.
This is often attributed to one of my favorite authors, Ralph Waldo Emerson. In fact, in my own collection of quotes and poems, I had it in his folder. But I recently read that it is actually an adaptation of a poem published in 1905 by Bessie Stanley. No version of it has ever been found in Emerson’s writings.
At any rate, it is an absolutely beautiful assessment of what success truly is and I love it muchly.
by Joi 2 Comments
The day we STOP learning is the day we STOP growing and if that thought, alone, doesn’t convince you to open your eyes to being more “teachable,” nothing will.
Below are 12 “self test” questions to help determine how teachable you are. They were devised by Marty Williams and can provide you with a wealth of insight.
If you’ve come up short – and let’s face it, we all will in at least one area – simply vow to work on becoming more teachable. More times than not, that involves just one thing: Realizing that we don’t know everything!
by Joi 2 Comments
I posted earlier this morning on Office Freaks about an exciting and brilliant author , Jean Chatzky.
She has appeared on talk shows from Oprah to Regis, and has written for Time, USA Weekend Magazine, Forbes, New York Magazine, Working Woman, and countless other publications. She has also written several amazing bestsellers. The lady knows her stuff, and we’d all do well to take notes. Below is a little sampling of her knowledge….
By actually doing something over and over again, like reducing your spending in an effort to save, you’ll gain a feeling of accomplishment — even power. That’s why it’s so important to do just what will help you conquer what’s getting you down when you find yourself feeling frustrated and overwhelmed by something. When you’re feeling fat, for instance, you should hit the StairMaster instead of the refrigerator. And when you’re feeling poor, you should sit down with a pad of paper and figure out just how much your new habits are saving you. Saving two dollars a day by walking to work rather than taking the bus may not sound like much, but it adds up to more than $500 a year. Once you write it down, focus on how the accomplishment makes you feel. Concentrating on the change will make you feel energized. Think of it as insurance for how you’ll behave tomorrow.
If you take your eager-to-learn self to her website, Jean Chatzky.com, you can see more AND can subscribe to her newsletter.
The GORGEOUS Dr. Tony Evans Study Bible (Amazon affiliate link) is exactly what you need if you want to get more from your Bible reading. He makes the Bible come even more alive and, in a way uniquely his own, makes each chapter easy to understand… even Revelations!