Lessons from Tucker

This is Tucker. He's smelly and hairy. He loves to drop a drool covered tennis ball in your lap so you'll throw it for him--at least 100 times or so. If he so much as walks across the floor, he leaves black hair behind. Did I mention that he's stinky????  Anyhoo...Tucker is our 4 year old, much adored black lab. My family loves this dog.  Really.

A couple of days ago, I bought Tucker a new bed. This thing is nice, people..comfy, not hot and fleecy, big enough for him to stretch out.  Last night we put him in the laundry room, on his nice, new, comfy bed. Due to the whole hair thing, he's not allowed to roam around and spends the majority of his life outside, but we like to let him in at night. This morning Jay informed me that Tucker had spent the night near the base of the stairs--not on his nice, comfy doggie bed in the laundry room. I have to laugh.  He never could've gotten away with it, you can see the black hair on the tile. Oh, Tucker.

You see, Tucker cannot stand it if he isn't near his people.  His love and devotion for his family is so complete, his joy at being in our presence overflowing--his entire body wagging, not merely his tail. This dog personifies joy, devotion, and love. It may sound a tad cheesy, but it is entirely true.  Tucker left the laundry room to lie down by the stairs as we slept upstairs. He knows he isn't allowed up there so he chose the very closest spot to us.

My thoughts this morning?  Well, as I was reading in James about my Father of Lights, I looked down at the black dog hair spotting my floor and realized that I want to be that devoted to my Jesus, to find my joy in His Presence, to love and trust him so completely that nothing of this world's troubles matters as I draw into His grace and  find my rest in Him. Wholeheartedly devoted. Loving with everything in me. Real joy.

 Life lessons from Tucker...who knew?! :)

(Had to add a puppy picture because, well, what's cuter than a black lab puppy???)

Unity

After the last post poking a little fun at some of the churches we've visited, I thought it might be a good idea to share something that I've found to be most wonderful. Houston area churches are so full of diversity...people of every possible skin color, ethnicity, culture, language. It does the heart a world of good to enter a place of worship with all of these peoples of the world together in one place.  Unity in Christ. So incredibly beautiful. 

A Different World

Moving from the Northwest to South Texas is quite the experience. I love the scene in Sweet Home Alabama where Reese Witherspoon's character says, "People need a passport to come down here!"  My family is navigating this sea of change fairly well, though sometimes they just shake their heads in wonder and confusion. It's truly a different world.

Part of the whole moving gig for us has been visiting area churches to see if perhaps one might be a fit for our family. This alone has been interesting, including one Sunday when, after the service, we all got in the car and started laughing.  Kyra and I both began to sing different songs, but both described well what we'd just experienced. We are probably bad people, but it hit us all as pretty darn funny. I'll share the songs with you...

Conviction

A couple of years ago, as I was practically jogging through Target to get to the toilet paper aisle--feeling overwhelmed, tired and too busy--I was stopped by a book.  Transfixed from page one, I stood in the aisle at Target and read this book from cover to cover...Night by Elie Wiesel.  Beautiful, haunting, convicting, powerful, so very very sad.

This morning I once again find myself convicted by Elie's words...

"I swore to never be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation.  We must always take sides.  Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented."

There are passions in my heart for the oppressed. Those passions may be for different causes than yours, but they all matter. I am convicted today to get out of my little world, to look beyond the difficulties in my own life as of late, to do my best to see. Open the eyes of my heart, Lord. Help me to see, to be unafraid, and then, to do.