Good Dogs. Becca Anderson

Matthew 28:19

       Luke 11:9

Foreword

      Everyone I know who has a dog is one step closer to heaven. First of all, dogs are simply the best at unconditional love. When you have the companionship of a canine, you experience love at the highest level. My friend Nancy has suffered a lot of loss in her life and was abandoned on a doorstep as a child. When you suffer the most primal of rejections (in her case, from both parents) without ever knowing why, you will have the kind of emotional wound that can almost never be healed. She always had lots of cool cats as pets but, until she got her Jack Russell terrier, Lizzy, she never knew truly unconditional love.

      Turns out, Lizzy had also been abandoned and was at a shelter and deemed unadoptable: she was an older dog and no one wanted the aging canine, despite her winsome gaze. A neighbor told Nancy about Lizzy and she went over and fell in love. The feeling is very much mutual, and they are a sweet pair that just exudes love everywhere they go.

      I was lucky to have grown up with dogs on the family farm. I have never known life without dogs and I think no one should! My Uncle Wilbur was a beloved preacher and one of his maxims was that “dogliness is next to godliness.” He said that dogs protect their flock, even if it is just one person. He also thought that dogs like to be in a group to help keep each other fed and safe and that a dog’s ability to express love is a direct gift from God.

      If you know a lonely person or someone who needs a big dose of love in their life, suggest that they get a dog. It will absolutely change their life in the best possible way.

      Let Dog be your copilot!

      xoxo Becca

FAITH

      The Lord is the one who is shepherding me; I lack nothing. He causes me to lie down in pastures of green grass; he guides me beside quiet waters. He revives my life; he leads me in pathways that are righteous for the sake of his name. Even when I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will not be afraid because you are with me. Your rod and your staff—they comfort me.

Psalm 23:1-4

      Like wandering sheep, we are prone to lose our way when faced with difficult choices. God is always there to guide us back and nurture our souls.

      “For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for well-being, and not for calamity, in order to give you a future and a hope.”

Jeremiah 29:11

Everyone has the ability to live a virtuous and fulfilling life. The choice to do evil rather than good is not God’s plan, but human fault.

      “Look! God—yes God—is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid. For the Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.”

Isaiah 12:2

Fear can take hold of your mind and keep you from being open to loving others and experiencing life fully. Embrace the unknown, the Lord will look out for you.

      For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor anything above, nor anything below, nor anything else in all creation can separate us from the love of God that is ours in union with the Messiah Jesus, our Lord.

Romans 8:38-39

God is there in good times and times of despair and oppression. There are no barriers to His love and guidance—He is always with you.

      The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I received help. My heart rejoices, and I give thanks to him with my song. The Lord is the strength of his people; he is a refuge of deliverance for his anointed.