Paws for Coffee Hour

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

Welcome to our final PAWS for Coffee Hour blog for 2015! We are delighted you took the time to join us! Grab your coffee for some interesting facts that just may help you know your four-legged babies better…and those people you love, too!

I often study the behavior of my animals and how it correlates to what the lesson I need to learn or simply to understand them better.  I also study people.  I am a certified Christian life coach and there are many tools that help us look and see inside of ourselves as we seek to understand what makes us tick (and become ticked off :-).

I stumbled up the below image and it made me laugh.  

Not only does it fit perfectly with what I have been blogging about the last few months, it also shows how uniquely we are all created (even our pets). 

In case you don’t know why this is amusing, let me give you a little background about the Myers-Briggs personality test or MBTI.  The MBTI helps you determine your personality type, which represents your preferences in four separate categories. Each category is composed of two opposite poles. Your score shows your preference between two types in the four areas. Based on your responses, the MBTI produces results to identify which of the sixteen different personality types best describes you. The four categories are:

• Where you focus your attention — Extraversion (E) or Introversion (I)
• The way you take in information — Sensing (S) or Intuition (N)
• The way you make decisions — Thinking (T) or Feeling (F)
• How you deal with the outer world — Judging (J) or Perceiving (P).

This test is pretty accurate in helping to understand how and why you are motivated.  For example, my husky Logan is an ENTP.  ENTPs are usually verbally as well as cerebrally quick, and generally love to argue--both for their own sake, and to show off their debating skills.  They are also innovative and ingenious at problem-solving. 

Knowing how unique we are humbles me. It makes me realize just how much God loves us. We understand that no two people have the same fingerprint. That blows my mind just to consider that there is no other one in the human population who has the identical pattern that I have or you have.

God wanted us to be uniquely different, and at the same time, have some of the same characteristics and traits of our parents through DNA. And as we grow older, we show some of the behavioral characteristics and mannerisms of our parents.

In Psalm 139, David wrote, "I will praise you; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are your works; and that my soul knows right well."

God did not make us on a mass production line. He took great care in making us who we were meant to be. He had a purpose in mind for us even before we came into being.

He knew we would sin and be helpless to live up to Old Testament Law, and the expectations of others. He knew we would fall. He knew we would fail, but He gave us a chance. Even though we have failed Him, He has provided us with hope and a way back to Him.

Psalm 100:3, "Know ye that the Lord is God; it is He that has made us, and not we ourselves. We are his people, and the sheep of his flock."

God has made us for His glory and to serve Him.

Paul reminds us in First Corinthians, "For you are bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which belongs to God."

You may not feel like a masterpiece. There are times when we feel anything but! The Lord wants us to know how much He loves us and that He is with us even in times of despair. If you feel abandoned today or like you have no purpose, please know that God is there. He may be just waiting for you to call on Him.

Love,

Jennifer

Paws for Coffee Hour

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

Thanks for joining us for PAWS for Coffee Hour. Can you believe it’s Christmas Eve? Oh, this season seems to come quicker and quicker each year! Grab your coffee and join me for Jennifer’s powerful reminders of the reason for this season!

This year my pastor has challenged us to really focus on “the reason for the season.”  Not in a flippant way but really celebrate our Savior’s humble entrance into the world and what it meant for us.  One of the traditions I have is to hang an actual size nail at the top of my tree as a reminder of why Jesus came to earth.

Another tradition is to read out loud on Christmas Eve a book called “The Crippled Lamb” by Max Lucado.  It’s about a little lamb that was left behind while the rest of the flock went out to a green pasture.  He couldn’t go because he wasn’t fast enough and was very sad he got left behind.  His best friend (a cow) told him that “God has a special place for him” and in the end it was him that lay close to the baby Jesus to keep him warm.  I love the story because each one of us, no matter how messed up or insignificant we may feel, has a special purpose divinely appointed by God.

Everything we do in our daily lives is a training ground for God’s assignment in our life:

“The Master, God, has given me a well-taught tongue, so I know how to encourage tired people. He wakes me up in the morning, wakes me up, and opens my ears to listen as one ready to take orders. The Master, God, opened my ears, and I didn’t go back to sleep, didn’t pull the covers back over my head. I followed orders, stood there and took it while they beat me, held steady while they pulled out my beard, didn’t dodge their insults, faced them as they spit in my face. And the Master, God, stays right there and helps me, so I’m not disgraced. Therefore I set my face like flint, confident that I’ll never regret this. My champion is right here. Let’s take our stand together! Who dares bring suit against me?  Let him try! Look! The Master, God, is right here. Who would dare call me guilty? Look! My accusers are a clothes bin of threadbare socks and shirts, fodder for moths!” Isaiah 50:7-9 in The Message Bible

I love how these verses prove that God will stand by us even when we feel opposition.  Allow God to give you an assignment whether you feel qualified or not.

God created us to worship Him but also to be useful in His kingdom.  “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire” Mathew 7:19.    “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do”  Ephesians 2:10.  “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart” Jeremiah 1:5. 

Be encouraged this Christmas Eve…. God uses those of us who feel the least to do the greatest things in His Kingdom.

Jennifer

Paws for Coffee Hour

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

Ahhh, it’s that time of the week again: time to PAWS for Coffee Hour and learn something from our furry four-legged friends! Grab your coffee and your Strand of Faith, cuddle up with your four-legged friend and let’s go learn yet again another lesson from these God-given and created beings through the eyes of Jennifer!

When did the “most wonderful time of the year” become the “most rushed time of the year”?  This week it felt like time accelerated and jumped from Sunday to Thursday.  As I look at my furry babies resting peacefully on the floor, I check my list (twice), and I think, maybe they have got it right.  They get excited when they need to – especially when a guest arrives. They run around to the door to greet them then demand a few pets of love, but then they settle back into a restful state and enjoy the moment.  Oh, to learn how to do this! I have decided I don’t want moments to pass me by because I am in a state of constant movement forward.

I need to pause to enjoy my kids, scratch my puppy’s belly, or just enjoy my gingerbread latte.  Most of all, I need to remember why we celebrate this season.  It’s not about the hustle and bustle.  Or about the giving and receiving.  It is about the gift our Father gave to us.  The gift that canceled the separation of God and man because of our sin.

One of my favorite Christmas carols is O Come All Ye Faithful.  It is a true worship song and, for me, really puts this time of year in its place.  My prayer is that on Christmas morning I will awake with the last verse on my lips and the song imprinted in my heart…

All Hail! Lord, we greet Thee,

Born this happy morning,

O Jesus! for evermore be Thy name adored.

Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing;

O come, let us adore Him,

O come, let us adore Him,

O come, let us adore Him,

Christ the Lord.

Take a moment in the next couple of weeks to reflect on what Christ’s humble birth has meant for you on your journey.  Rejoice and be glad that He was willing to come to this earth and walk in our footsteps. Greet your guest with enthusiasm, but take time to sit and be still…peaceably!

Until next week…

Jennifer

Paws for Coffee Hour

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

Welcome to PAWS for Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power! We are delighted you could join us today for another lesson to be learned and some wisdom to be gained from our four-legged children and Jennifer! Grab your coffee and come join us for some profound communication tips…from a dog!

My dog Logan has no problem letting me know what he wants.  Sometimes I feel he is a better communicator than I am :-). 

• When he is hungry – he carries his dog bowl around
• When I walk in the door – he shows concern (where were you, he says)
• He tells me no when he doesn’t want to do something
• He sits by the door when he wants to go outside

The list could go on and on.  He is a very smart dog and has learned what responses or interactions get corresponding reactions from his people.

Do I think that deeply about my communication?  I like to think that I do but sometimes I don’t believe I do.

When God created the first human beings—Adam and Eve—He created them in His own image (Genesis 1:26-27).  This likeness included the ability to engage in intelligible speech via human language.  In fact, God spoke to them from the very beginning of their existence as humans (Genesis 1:28-30).  They possessed the ability to understand verbal communication—and to speak themselves!

Last week I pondered listening and communication.  This week I have been focusing on why God created communication and how we are supposed to use it. 

God spoke the world into existence and we were created in His image, so that tells me how much power our words have.  So what do we do with that power?

I believe there are five standards of communication:

1. Care - Am I choosing my words carefully and weighing the consequences of them?
2. Praise - Is what I am saying tearing down or lifting up? (even conflict can build up someone)
3. Truth - Do I have all the facts or am I making assumptions based on what I am feeling?
4. Faith - Where am I placing my faith? In them? God? Circumstances?
5. Surrender – Am I holding back or putting up defensive walls?

Hurt people hurt people. Healthy people don’t hurt other people. People are dying for respect. When you treat people with dignity, and use communication standards, you treat people with respect. Stop and listen to what’s beneath the words they’re saying.

James 1:19 tells us: “Be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry”.  God gave you two ears and one mouth. He wants you to listen twice as much as you speak. But we get in a hurry. St. Francis of Assisi said, “Seek to understand before seeking to be understood.”

Until next week, PAWS and pay attention to what you may learn from your four-legged pet…

Jennifer

Paws for Coffee Hour

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

Welcome to our PAWS for #CoffeeHour @ Chicklit Power with Jennifer and friends…four-legged friends. I love Thursdays…. There is so much to be thankful for and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had such contentment sitting on the couch with our four-legged babies right beside us. There’s just something about the love from a dog…and, oh, the lessons they unknowingly teach us! Grab your coffee and come in for a few minutes, away from all the holiday festivities as Jennifer shares another spiritual analogy and insight gained from her dogs.

I live in house full of men.  I have a husband, three boys and two male dogs.  The only other female in the house is my cat, and that doesn’t really count! (LOL).  Some days I feel like everyone in my house suffers from selective hearing!  There are many days where I feel like I am talking to the wall.  Even my puppies act like that, though Corey at least wags his tail…as if to say, “I hear you but I don’t know what you are saying.”  Logan actively ignores me.  He darts his eyes away to tell me…yea, yeah; I can hear you but I’m not listening. 

We are all capable of listening effectively in different situations and to different people.  Listening effectively is, however, an active process - something that we have to do consciously and something that takes practice.  Communication is the same way.  I think what happens is that we get stuck in our way of communicating and those around us “listen” on auto-pilot.  We forget that God created our words to carry weight and purpose.  After all, God spoke the world into existence, Genesis 1.  We are created in his image and our words can build up or tear down!

Often we think that our words evaporate or carry no weight.  This isn’t true.  I still recall hurtful remarks from my childhood, and remarks which carry their sting of verbal abuse from my ex-husband, and yet, I am able to find joy in the exhortation of a friend.  

Sometimes things “slip out”….”Oh, I didn’t mean to say that.”  God’s word tells us that words flow out of what is inside of us.  “A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart” Luke 6:45.

As I ponder why I feel no one is listening, I have to reflect on what am I really saying.  Is my go-to response words of peace, joy, harmony…or something else? 

‘Tis the season….we can choose to “be Merry and Bright” or The Grinch.  My prayer is that my heart will grow in size this season and that the people around me will hear words of life, affirmation and love…instead of…well, the opposite! J.  One thing I do know for sure is that my dogs respond much better to “Good boy” than “Bad Boy.”

If you feel like someone’s not listening, maybe it’s time to check what you are saying…or better yet, how are you saying it?

Jen, Logan  & Corey

Paws for Coffee Hour

Thanks for taking a few minutes out of this special day, a day of family, friends, fellowship to celebrate Thanksgiving. Grab your coffee or hot cider and come on in for a very heart-felt PAWS for Coffee Hour blog from our friend, Jennifer.

Today is Thanksgiving…

“For everything God created is good and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving” 1 Timothy 4:4

I love the early morning of this holiday before the day gets too busy, the smells of baked goods and a slowly roasting turkey. What I love most of all is that this holiday isn’t about receiving; it is about being grateful for everything we have in our life; it’s about giving thanks.

I am thankful for….

• A husband that sacrifices his time and talent to serve our country
• Three healthy thriving children
• Family that never gives up
• Beautiful friends who stand by your side no matter what
• A church I love serving in
• My faithful and loving puppies

What are you grateful for?  Listing them out may bring a tear to your eye but it will fill your heart with joy.  Take a few minutes and name at least seven things you are grateful for. In Psalm 119:164 it says: Seven times a day I praise you for your righteous judgments. What seven things can you praise Him for right now?

And now to honor our furry friends on this gratitude filled day, please enjoy the following…..

Puppies enjoying their first Thanksgiving 

10 Costumed Dogs Celebrating Thanksgiving 

PUMPKIN PIE FOR DOGS 

11 Thanksgiving Staples That Are Hazardous To Pups

Enjoy…everything about Thanksgiving!

 Jennifer, Logan & Corey

Paws for Coffee Hour

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

Oh, it’s a great day to join us for a lesson to learn in the classroom of life from our four-legged friends…one with spiritual significance. Jennifer is so good at tying it all together, which is really what we’re supposed to do as we learn in this life, to remember we are made of mind, body and soul, physically, emotionally and spiritually! This one is incredibly profound! Please, grab your coffee and join us!

I saw something quite disgusting this week and it reminded me of a verse in proverbs.

“As a dog returns to its own vomit so a fool repeats his foolishness” Proverbs 26:11

Did you know that dogs will actually do that?  I have always wondered why.  Is it because it was a part of them?  Does it remind them of their last meal?  Who knows!  I know it sounds gross, but stay with me here! :-)

As I was cleaning up the mess I thought “I am sure glad humans don’t do this.” But then the Lord reminded me of the second half of the verse.  He nudged me and said, “Yes, they do.”  Let me share with you how:

We do this, not in a literal sense, but with other things:  Emotional things, temptation-type things, old habits that are negative in nature, self-destructive even.

How do we purge ourselves of these things we don’t want in our life, whether it is pain, suffering, hurt inflicted, any of the things we struggle with?

For me, it’s depression.

The weight of the world and my past grabs hold and I feel myself sinking…returning to its foolishness.

I push it off, pray it away and offer it up to the Lord.  I get freedom from it.  Then something happens.  A trigger, a memory or a new pain and I find myself sniffing around for what I had just let go of.

What I have recently grabbed a hold of is that these things in our past, present or future are opportunities for victory or to nose around in our muck.  It may not feel like it but we have a choice to make.  Do I seek victory or vomit? 

To seek victory I dwell on these scriptures:

“For the Lord your God is going with you! He will fight for you against your enemies, and he will give you victory!”  Deuteronomy 20:4

“You have given me your shield of victory; your help has made me great.” 2 Samuel 22:36

“I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from him.” Psalm 62:1

“I thank you for answering my prayer and giving me victory!”  Psalm 118:21

Speak the truth until you feel it…He will give you victory!

Jennifer and Logan

Paws for Coffee Hour

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

Oh, it’s a great day to join us for a lesson to learn in the classroom of life from our four-legged friends…one with spiritual significance. Jennifer is so good at tying it all together, which is really what we’re supposed to do as we learn in this life, to remember we are made of mind, body and soul, physically, emotionally and spiritually! This one is incredibly profound! Please, grab your coffee and join us!

I saw something quite disgusting this week and it reminded me of a verse in proverbs.

“As a dog returns to its own vomit so a fool repeats his foolishness” Proverbs 26:11

Did you know that dogs will actually do that?  I have always wondered why.  Is it because it was a part of them?  Does it remind them of their last meal?  Who knows!  I know it sounds gross, but stay with me here! :-)

As I was cleaning up the mess I thought “I am sure glad humans don’t do this.” But then the Lord reminded me of the second half of the verse.  He nudged me and said, “Yes, they do.”  Let me share with you how:

We do this, not in a literal sense, but with other things:  Emotional things, temptation-type things, old habits that are negative in nature, self-destructive even.

How do we purge ourselves of these things we don’t want in our life, whether it is pain, suffering, hurt inflicted, any of the things we struggle with?

For me, it’s depression.

The weight of the world and my past grabs hold and I feel myself sinking…returning to its foolishness.

I push it off, pray it away and offer it up to the Lord.  I get freedom from it.  Then something happens.  A trigger, a memory or a new pain and I find myself sniffing around for what I had just let go of.

What I have recently grabbed a hold of is that these things in our past, present or future are opportunities for victory or to nose around in our muck.  It may not feel like it but we have a choice to make.  Do I seek victory or vomit? 

To seek victory I dwell on these scriptures:

“For the Lord your God is going with you! He will fight for you against your enemies, and he will give you victory!”  Deuteronomy 20:4

“You have given me your shield of victory; your help has made me great.” 2 Samuel 22:36

“I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from him.” Psalm 62:1

“I thank you for answering my prayer and giving me victory!”  Psalm 118:21

Speak the truth until you feel it…He will give you victory!

Jennifer and Logan

Paws for Coffee Hour

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

Welcome to PAWS for Coffee Hour and thanks for stopping by! Grab your coffee and your four-legged friend and join us for another cute dog story with some powerful spiritual significance. I just love how Jenn does this!

I’m Being Tempted….Again?

Last week I shared about my dog Logan’s antics when he wanted something he couldn’t have.  Well, I’m here to say that as smart as he is….he just doesn’t learn sometimes. 

My church had a huge harvest party last weekend.  Needless to say we have human treats galore in our house.  Logan can get up on the counter so I have to be creative where I hide things.  Unfortunately my youngest son forgets this.  I started finding wrappers on the floor and scolded my son for not picking up after himself.   He claimed it wasn’t him.  All I did was look at Logan and he went running up the stairs as fast as possible.  In a few hours Logan had an accident on the rug…the result of eating candy. 

My second thought (won’t share my first) was maybe he will stop getting into the candy.  Well, Logan seems to be ruled by smell and taste.  Come the next day, he did the same thing happened! It made me think of how many times I do this with the things that aren’t good for me. Do you ever catch yourself doing this?

We return to things that will harm us physically, mentally or spiritually, like overeating, self-medicating, alcohol; you get the picture?  We rationalize “well, it’s not that big of a deal,” or “So and so at church does the same thing,” or “I’ll be better tomorrow.”  But this is where the enemy will sneak in to keep us trapped in what tempts us instead of focusing on what the Lord has called us to do.  The enemy wants us to isolate ourselves, be independent from God. 

In Logan’s case he knew he would get in trouble if someone was around so he waited until he was alone.  If we pretend we don’t need something we are powerless to prevent the need for it.  If you open yourself up to God and others about your weakness it is not a loss; it’s a win. It shows you can trust in God and allow Him to rule over that area of your life.  “When I am weak, then I am strong because I am not depending on myself any longer, but upon God Himself” (2 Cor. 12:9-10). 

Put your focus on the one you can depend on; every minute can be one more minute of victory! 

Fighting temptation,

Jenn and Logan!

Paws for Coffee Hour

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

Oh, my goodness! Do you have a four-legged friend? You’ve got to join us today; this is gonna be a good one! Grab your coffee…and your strand of faith and come check out how Jenn ties in yet another spiritual principle learned from her four-legged furry friends!

Temptation

If you have ever had a puppy then you know the look of temptation: That sly upward glance that says I know you are watching me but I can’t help myself. :-)  My puppy Logan gives me that look often.  Sometimes he avoids eye contact, as if he thinks that if he can’t see me, I can’t see him.  It is adorable but I know that I must make corrective action; otherwise, something of ours will be eaten, ripped up or played with.

As I watched him in action and I gave him a stern “No, Logan”, I thought …. Do I do that to God?  Are there little things (or large) temptations in my life that I give into?  Of course I know the answer to that question, large or small these things can derail us from our walk, kind of make us look the other way, take our eyes off of Jesus.

I began to study temptation and this is what I found. 

No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he’ll never let you be pushed past your limit; he’ll always be there to help you come through it.  1 Corinthians 10:13

While I know that I can overcome in all things through Christ, I have to examine why I am giving in (or contemplating) whatever is tempting me.  The truth is that temptation uncovers what we really want.  Often we believe that we can prove our convictions through facing a temptation but the very fact that we are facing it reveals our true character and convictions.  Where our heart is = where our treasure is.  If you feel a pull to something, then it is responding in your heart on some level.  What we love the most shapes us, good or bad.

For clarification….temptations can be anything from food, to stealing, stress, temptation to worry, too much T.V., other addictions… anything that leads us off of the God-designed path for us.

The bad part is that these temptations end up replacing truth with lies as we try to appear not to be tempted.  Many of us put on the mask of truth so others won’t see our weaknesses.  Our authenticity is covered up and instead of loving God, we love ourselves.

Daily we need to make the choice of “What do I love the most?”  Every action has a reaction whether we cover it up or not.  Take comfort in knowing that EVERYONE has to make these choices each day.  No matter how “arrived” they may seem in their faith, no one has fully arrived until they get before Him.  The difference with those who are more successful with thwarting the temptation is that they have discovered who they are, made adjustments to align with their convictions and walk tall in the presence of Jesus. 

What does temptation say about you?  What would you like to change?  See it nailed to the cross.  Christ offered himself as a sacrifice to free us from our rebellious ways.  He did it for me; He did it for you.

Learning from the gift of four-legged friends,

Jennifer

Paws for Coffee Hour

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

Thanks for joining us for our PAWS for Coffee Hour! Grab whatever you’re having and come on in and take a load off. We are going to be talking about something that doesn’t normally come up in everyday conversations, but oh, how I love the way Jennifer ties another knot in our Strand of Faith by bringing in the spiritual significance! Did you know we all have a spiritual fragrance? Come join us!

Our scent

Dogs have a keen sense of smell. They rely on this to interpret their world, in much the same way as people depend on their sight.  A dog's brain is specialized for identifying scents. The percentage of the dog's brain devoted to analyzing smells is 40 times larger than that of a human! It's been estimated that dogs can identify smells somewhere between 1,000 to 10,000 times better than humans can.

My dogs can sniff out a treat or follow random smells around the back yard.  It is amazing what they can smell.  They can sense fear and identify their humans by their individual scent.

God created every creature with such care and detail.  I know that each of us have our own unique scent (dogs too).  We also have a spiritual fragrance.  It is not made up of spices or flowers, it is made up of all of our life’s experiences, the Word you study, the prayers and the tears cried out to Him.  It is blended together with your God-encounters and the many obstacles you have overcome.  Your unique perfume also permeates the way you respond to others.  They may not be able to smell it but it influences them nonetheless.

How you respond to situations will become part of the other person’s fragrance.  “For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing” 2 Corinthians 2:15.  What is in your fragrance like?  Is it a fragrance that is sweet with peace, full of wondrous joy; or could your fragrance use some healing Frankincense?

Share your thoughts…

Jennifer

Paws for Coffee Hour

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

Thank you so much PAWS-ing  and joining us for Coffee Hour!  I love Thursdays as I sit and reflect on my four-legged friends.  Over the last couple of months there has been a lot of reflection, tears and joy shared about our furry children.   Today, I just want to have a little fun.

Most pet owners will agree that their animals have personalities.  Those personalities vary from breed to breed.  Often we select them for the personality traits that we like best.  I think to some degree we do that with our friends as well.  Whether canine or human, our personality is one aspect of our character that defines who we are. 

There are five distinct dog personality types.  I wanted to share the m with you briefly and then give you a fun little link to assess your dog personality.  Can you see yourself in any of these dog types?

The Confident Dog is a natural born leader of the pack. He’s a team player and more than ready to take charge of a situation.

The Independent Dog is more standoffish. This personality is perfectly happy being away from the crowd. He space, and trying to force him to do something he doesn’t want to do will backfire.

The Laid Back, Happy Dog is always ready to greet everyone he meets. He gets along well with other dogs and cats.

The Shy/Timid Dog doesn’t like being in uncomfortable situations. Yelling and harsh training methods or discipline can cause this type of personality to shut down, and you risk losing his trust.

The Adaptable Dog is eager to please, cooperative, gentle and affectionate.  Not as outgoing as the happy personality, this dog gets along well with other dogs, cats and people.

Now it’s your turn.  Click here http://www.playbuzz.com/johnny14/what-is-your-dog-personality to find out what kind of dog you are.

I took the quiz and found out I’m a husky (big surprise).  The website stated “You got the Husky! Gentle and dignified, you are a dog that prefers an equal partnership. You are fiercely independent”.  Those who know me shouldn’t be surprised.  Have fun with the quiz, and then post the results on Facebook or Twitter so we can all join in the fun.

Jen & Logan

Paws for Coffee Hour

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

Welcome to PAWS for Coffee Hour! I am so excited to share this one today which is from an amazing lady I met through an organization NAWBO-IE! She had actually posted on F.B. a little bit about this situation so I asked if she would mind sharing with you for our PAWS Hour! So, grab a cup of coffee, some tissues, and yes, your strand of faith because there is some spiritual significance here with which you can tie a knot in your strand of faith!

Good morning sisters. I know we can get caught up in trying to 'love someone to wholeness' and that should fix things. However, over and over and in my own life I've grown to understand until someone has a 'moment' of understanding, they can be stuck in low thoughts of themselves. My moment came when my dear dog, Kersee, of 15 years was attacked by another dog and sustained punctures to her throat and a broken neck.

Let me share a little bit about her first: When I met Kersee in the pound she had a pup with her.  The person at the pound gave her a treat then began talking to me.  That sweet dog waited patiently, then sighed and bent down and gave that treat to her puppy.  I could not get that sweet dog out of my mind and went back after the 14-day hold.  I knew the pup would be adopted quickly but older dogs are harder to place.   She was such a gift in my life during a time I was trying to figure out how to face each day with unrealistic fear.  Years later, I became a mother and on two different occasions, I went to the stairs for a time-out and to breathe because my patience was at its end.  Kersee met me on the stairs sitting straight in front of me then placed one paw on my heart while I calmed down. J

When I calmed down she buried her head into me as I told her I was okay now.

As the years passed, she began to really have trouble with her arthritis, especially when the weather got cooler and she also lost her hearing.     Now let’s go back to that horrible day of her mauling.

While at the vet’s I had to make the decision to say goodbye that morning.  Her wounds were just too much. When I had my last moments with her at the vets, I told her how precious she was and I knew she was a gift from God and I was so grateful for her love and care. I assured her that I was stronger now and I was going to be alright now.  She mustered strength to move her head closer to mine and closed her eyes as if to say 'I know' and 'I'm ready.'

Two weeks after, I was reflecting upon the events and missing her terribly and just blurted out “not one molecule of her had less value” and the still small voice chimed in, “just like you.”

Until that moment, no amount of words and/or actions by my husband, my daughters, my friends or family could penetrate the definition of “damaged goods” and how I was convinced no one could truly love me. But the situation of loving my precious dog and experiencing her mauling and never seeing her as less helped me to understand others could see me the same way.

It was a turning point in my life that was difficult but I wouldn't trade the turn for anything. I can let love in now, and it has been life-altering. I was praying for insight and change. Some walk through life having no clue that they have that underlying philosophy of worthless. Your love and words might not be able to penetrate their self-induced mental definition. Pray for them, and take care of your journey and growth. Blessings and have the best one possible,

Inger and Kersee