Puppy Dog Lessons

 Last weekend we loaded up and headed out to a nearby park for some unplugged down time, much needed and much enjoyed.  Besides vehicles packed with what we needed for staying in the cabins, we had all the packing for bringing all three of the dogs with us.  Two labs and one labradoodle came along, much to their delight.  They spent time splashing in the lake, sleeping in the sunshine, and stretched out on blankets.  We packed everything they would need.  And they packed in a few lessons along the way.

Jumping In

My sweet labradoodle pup is more a girly girl than not; more pillow than puddle.  So, while the labs jumped into the lake with abandon, she decided that sitting on the dock with me was just fine.  But, they must have looked like they were having such great fun.  I could see her wanting to join in, but she held back.  Unexpectedly and at a full run, she took off and launched into the water.  Sometimes, you just have to acknowledge the fear and jump in anyway. 

Oh, and she didn’t jump back in later, but she did manage to wade in up to her belly.

Dragon, Pillows, Air Conditioners – Gotta’ Lean into the Little Joys

Don’t leave home without your dragon (a.k.a. safety blanket).  My pup simply will not go to bed without her stuffed dragon.  So, dragon of course went along with us.  Pillows are our friends.  And for many of us, they are kind of an expected part of our bedroom set.  But, just because we are used to it, we don’t want to lose the joy of the feel of a pillow under our heads.  And, when you are in the car, it can feel good to lean into the air conditioner and really soak in the cool air.  Of course, not when you are driving…  It isn’t always the big things that are joys; it is a myriad of little things.

Be Happy To See Loved Ones

Whether I’m gone five hours or five minutes, I get a wonderfully enthusiastic greeting from my pup.  She is so happy that I am back with her.  Don’t forget to show others how happy you are to see them too!

Focus on the Stick

Before a dog can swim out and get a stick in a lake, they have got to know where the stick is.  So, they get focused and wait for it to be thrown, watching for the splash for where it lands.  If they get distracted, they would have no idea of where to look.  It is easy to lose focus, but when we need to keep our eye on the goal, it is time to look at the goal and don’t look away.

 

Don’t Just Notice – Do Something

An evening campfire was feeling better and better as the cooler night temperatures set in.  As we moved our lawn chairs closer, I noticed that my pup was showing signs of getting cold.  Getting ready to leave the fire and take her in, I reached down to pet her and noticed that I was touching two pups.  One noticed that the other was cold and moved over to cuddle in.  Next thing I know, they were both sound asleep and warm and comfy.  I often get so busy, I miss that someone else is having a rough moment.  And, if I miss it, I certainly can’t lend a hand or warmth. 

The dogs went on vacation with us, and taught a few lessons along the way.

Twelve Pages

   Every year, when I take down my calendar and put up the new one, I like to take a few minutes to peruse the last twelve pages of the calendar. I flip through January and see visits with sledding and snowman building. The visits with sweet friends in February leads up to the beginning of spring fever and March seed picking. April sees the beginning of the local garden centers being restocked, the smell of dirt starts to come back as the ground starts to thaw. May shows a trip back home to Ohio and Kentucky, with little smiley faces leading up to the date I needed to leave. Birthdays in May and then birthdays in June, days of cake and cards with plans to celebrate. July celebrations of patriotic independence and summer days, complete with sunshine and sun block. August leads to school starting, school supply sales and the feel of autumn as a hint to be. September finds me counting down anxiously for an October trip to Florida. November and Thanksgiving fly by as Christmas is coming. I love looking back at the year and as I see dates marked out on my calendar of events, lunch plans, trips, birthdays, doctor and dentist appointments, I remember many different moments of the year.

   It is only then that I am ready to really close out that calendar, say good bye to 2010 and welcome 2011.

Winding Down the Clock – Winding Up the Fire

This week kicked off a life changing event for around four thousand teens and their youth leaders in Columbus, Ohio. It is called Challenge, a national youth event put on by the EFCA church denomination every two years. Imagine a conference/concert/mission trip/team building event packed into one week and you have a glimpse of Challenge. I went to something similar in high school, called Life. Life was a yearly event brought by the Christian Missionary Alliance denomination. These events are intended to be more than just a big youth party, a frenzy of speakers and stuff – they are intended and purposed to be life changing moments for those in attendance.

Imagine that life goes along and then something pivotal happens. You can choose to what angle it will move you, to a large or small degree, but you are in a moment where movement can occur. And not just any movement, but big movement, this is the moment that all of those who have worked so hard in speaking and performing and preparing are really striving toward.
Saturday, they are heading home. Packed into buses, vans, airplanes, and cars, all of those who spilled into the city to partake of this time are now leaving. As the group I know moves back across the US in the vans, I have been thinking about their prayer requests and about how they will have a life change.
A substance used to exist, for the most terrible of battlefield tools, Greek fire. Greek fire was a chemical reaction; put a series of materials together, mix, add air, throw it onto something and it would catch into a brilliant flame of searing heat. It was not put out with water, but burned until it was out of fuel. As the teens and leaders come back, they will have a new life and enthusiasm with them. How could you not with that kind of environment? For a whole week, speakers, helpers, and leaders have poured themselves into you, with the express purpose of loving you as God loves you.
The return home is the time when you start finding out if the fire within you is a regular fire or Greek fire. You start facing daily challenges, must now decide to put changes into practice, deal with adversity, face disappointments and frustrations, and experience life. Along the way, there are buckets of water and various other substances that are thrown onto your fire. Other methods are tried to put you back as you were. Don’t be fearful of running out fuel for the fire, God is the ultimate provider and is the creator of all. The fuel will not be removed, though it certainly may change over time.
I am so looking forward to hearing the stories of this week. I want to hear about the songs and stories, the hotel and city, the unexpected and delighted. But even more, I am looking forward to hearing the stories in five or fifteen or twenty five years. I want to hear stories of what the changes were in a life from pivotal change, what kind of fire was lit, and how life was altered, altered forever.

Preparation

I can be a bit geeky at times. No really, I mean it! But, trip planning for me is normally the time to kind of let my inner geek have a field day. I blame it on all of those years of travel with my mother who diligently read the guide book to me, instructing me and insisting I had the history of each town we came to. But, for trips normally I have a three ring binder with all of the maps, confirmation numbers, contact information, location information, and budget information all neatly three hole punched and put together. A pocket that is also three hole appropriate normally resides in the back – or rather two. One for pens, pencils, sharpees and any other miscellaneous small item and another for receipts and perhaps the unwitting seed I might find and want to save.

As I prepare for a trip home, the preparation this time has been a bit different. Business of life has led me to gratefully rely on my mother, for this girl’s trip, to take care of all the minutia of planning. I know she has done a fabulous job and it has been an enormous stress relief for me. All I have to do is get some clothes, the camera of course, and various plant gathering tools thrown into the van between now and our departure. The preparation for a trip is part of the fun of a trip, as you build anticipation of what you will see and who you will get to catch up with.
My three ring binder will be staying at home this time...       maybe.