let the Lord be your light

Rudely awakened from a deep sleep by our border collie, Jasper. Startled by his black and white face, illuminated by the flash of light in the bedroom - suddenly looming over my own in the darkness. He sat perched on the narrow ledge of bed, between me and the edge, almost on my face! Panting, nearly hyperventilating. Eyes bulging in fear of the lightning and thunder raging outside.

It is the second time in three days that this has happened. The older he gets, the more terrified he becomes of the storm outside.

Whispering words of reassurance, hugging him tightly to my body, in the hope of calming Him down. But the more I try to console him - apparently completely unaware of my attempts - he seems to be growing ever more frantic. Restlessly moving about the bed and over me. All hope of sleep abandoned. 

Until I manage to hold him down on his side, in my arms. Soothing. Stroking. He hesitantly gives in. Sighs and lays down his head. Calmed somewhat.

I find myself thinking that sometimes I must make God feel this way.  

He knows what is good for me. He planned my life long in advance. He knows what is coming. And what is not.
(Psalm 138:16)

But still - I struggle ahead with my own plans, frantically searching. Trying to make things fit. To calm my mind, my soul. And the more He tries to draw me close, to bring me near, to give me rest... The more I struggle and strain! Fighting for control. 

And I find the Spirit urging me to read the story about the lost sheep again. (Luke 15:3-7)

I have read it countless times. I know it by heart. But still the gentle nudge...

it's a dog's life - part 2 (Luka)

A while ago I wrote a post about Jasper, one of our two border collies. Ever since, I have had the knowledge in the back of my mind that I had to write something about the other one, Luka too. After all, I can't write about the one and not the other...

But what to write...

Then the other day, I came across a verse in Psalm 36. I wrote about the rest of this passage (verse 5-9) in another post, in the shadow of Your wings. But this little verse somehow did not seem to fit. At odds with the rest of the passage. Standing out. It stuck:

"You care for animals and people alike, O Lord."

Alike. That says something about the importance of animals to God. They are of the same value to Him that we are. God created us in His image. And He gave us authority over animals. To care for them. (Genesis 1:27-28)

This verse made me think of Luka. At 12 years old, she is not the lively little pup she used to be (sadly, I never got to meet that little pup - although she may just have been a bit much for me to handle, by the sound of it). But she certainly is not letting age get to her!

One handicap that she does have is arthritis. Her back legs and hips are the worst affected. It is heart breaking to see the once extremely active dog struggle to get up after laying down for a while, when it's cold. Snap when you accidentally touch a sensitive spot. Not able to do the things she used to.

All because an insensitive, careless human being threw her with half a brick. For barking. The most natural response for any dog. I don't know how anyone can be so cruel, so heartless.

Ironic to see that man now walking with a limp of his own...

God cares for animals and people alike.  

it's a dog's life - part 1 (Jasper)

Our dog, Jasper, is not a typical border collie. In fact, he is quite unusual. Unlike Luka, the other furry member of our family, who is a border collie in the extreme sense of the breed.

Jasper (apparently that was the only name he would respond to) - or Jassie, as I like to call him - is a runaway. We guess that he was about 1 year old when my husband, Waldo, found him. Malnourished, frightened and most likely abused. Oh but had he known the royal life that was awaiting him!

The sad reality is that, even though they are declared to be the most intelligent of all canine breeds, border collies are often abandoned or neglected, as they are very high energy dogs and need a huge amount of attention. They are not typical family pets and are not generally known to be very child friendly, since they have a tendency to want to herd little children!

I do not really think this was the case with Jassie though... 

sitting for his sip of water

lazy day dreaming

just breathe...

It was raining as I woke up on Tuesday morning. Winter is creeping up on us. It was chilly and still black night outside the window. When the world outside is still sleeping, I find it extremely hard to wake up. But I knew that I had to take the dogs for their walk - rain or shine. I haven't walked them for 2 days and (as border collies tend to get without exercise) Luka was becoming increasingly hyperactive and restless. Throwing sad glances my way each time she realized that "the walk" wasn't happening.

And I just felt like pulling the duvet over my head and staying in bed. But walk we were going to do...

Before the dreaded walk, still warmly tucked under the covers, I read a chapter from the book, Unmerited Favor by Joseph Prince, called Practicing the Presence of Jesus.

The chapter starts with the following: "Let's look at some practical keys on how you can begin to experience God's manifested presence in your life by practicing His presence. It is one thing to know theoretically that God is with you, but to experience His presence, you have to increase your consciousness of His presence by practicing His presence! This is not something difficult. In fact, it should be rather effortless..."

As I am reading this, my heart sinks.

I have read and heard and been given advice about my walk with God - by many well meaning Christians. The thing that usually gets me down is that, most of the time, you are given a message but are not told how to implement it. 

Maybe that person doesn't know how to do this. Maybe you are expected to know how to do it all by yourself. But I usually end up feeling discouraged and defeated because it just seems like another idealistic theory that seems impossible to apply in your life.

Immediately I think: Off course I want to experience God's presence, but HOW do you practice it??

The fantastic thing about this book is that it is written as a practical guideline and the author actually does give you realistic, everyday examples of how you can practice God's presence.

puppy love

I have often wondered what it would be like if we could be more like our dogs when it comes to our faith.

I know everyone out there are not dog people. To be honest, I don't get it. Yes, I know that they are a big responsibility. They bark, they are messy, they don't clean up after themselves. And don't even mention the hair!

But I love dogs. Two in particular. They are drawn to me - all shapes and sizes and breeds. I think they sense how much I adore them. For years I have had this deep longing to have one (or two) of my own. I just knew that it would change my life.

When I met my husband Waldo, I didn't think that he was my type, at first... Little did I know. But he had these two adorable border collies. They stole my heart before he did. Jasper was mine from the start - he is easy like that. Luka made me work for it - but now I am one of her select few. God knew my heart.

These dogs and I adopted each other. Absolutely.