The “labor day” weekend had officially begun for us and we were looking
forward to some R and R (rest and relaxation).
In preparation for the holiday we needed to run a few errands,
pay bills, do banking and get in some groceries before the onslaught of shoppers hit the
aisles at rush hour.
With our goal
accomplished we headed home and were prepared to shut ourselves in for the next
36 hours.
Pulling into the driveway we were home … home, a place of
safety.
Welcome new friends this week from:
See if your city/state/country made the list.
New on DFB – Moncton & Dieppe, NB, Canada; Saint
Albert, AB, Canada; Nasik (Nashik), Maharashtra, India; Sheffield, England,
United Kingdom; Copenhagen, Denmark; Seoul, South Korea; Newcastle West, NSW,
Australia; Mexico;
Japan; Ethiopia; Malta; Peru; Serbia;
USA
– Dixon, IL; Modesto, CA; Collins Center, Binghamton
& Camden, NY; Dartmouth, Fall River, Westport & North Grafton, MA;
Cedar Springs, Sanford & Albuquerque, NM.
I am so thankful for your visit and hope that you come
back each week to participate in the weekly challenges. Join us in our new series as we spend time in
the study of Daily Favor Relationships.
You are welcome to leave comments or prayer requests below. All are private. I would love to hear from
you and how Daily Favor has worked in your life. Contact me by leaving a message in the box at
the bottom of this week’s post.
Don't miss out on this week's challenge
(below).
The Great Escape
Suddenly Labor Day was officially on hold! We had just returned home from grocery shopping and were
retrieving items from the trunk when I noticed our neighbor Burgy walking
toward us. He was mumbling something (I
couldn’t make out what it was because of the distance) pointing to a bunch of
puppies that were having a great time running free from yard to yard up and
down the street.
The owners of the lot weren’t home and these seven week
old babes somehow escaped their enclosure.
I didn’t know what he wanted us to do, but knew it wasn’t safe for them
to be out and about on the road.
So much for a quiet beginning to our holiday; labor was
definitely about to begin, but the day of rest was soon to become part of the future.
The three of us headed over and counted four little
bundles of energy bouncing everywhere. I’d
swear to it that they had smiles on their pudgy faces mocking us as we attempted
to gather them.
Puppy Love
Trying to catch the pups was like herding camel back
crickets! As soon as you think you have
it the bugger jumps out of your grasp making you look like an idiot.
Getting his attention one of the precocious pups came running,
allowing me to scoop him up tucking him under my arm while trying to catch
another. He was a smart little guy
thinking I’d take care of him. He was
right.
Immediately I fell in puppy love! It was the first time I held a pup this young and didn’t want to let him go.
All I wanted to do was take him to a place of safety where he couldn’t
get hurt and would always be loved. My husband had other ideas!
The boys insisted on putting the puppies back in their
yard, but I refused and held tight to the little brown sweetie I had in my
arms. If they got out once, they could
do it again and we wouldn’t know it after going inside for the evening. Who knows how long their owners would be
gone; perhaps they were away for the weekend as most of the people on our
street who head to the shore for a last hurrah of the season.
While the two men continued their quest to round up the
others, toting my bundle of joy I headed into the house to see what food I could give them. It had been several years since we stopped
taking in dog rescues, but we usually have some snacks on hand for our neighbor’s
pups that visit quite often.
A Taste of Freedom
Burgy and hubby collected the other three and headed to
their enclosure in the back yard. To their surprise they discovered another pup
was still in the pen. Either that
one was a very obedient baby or couldn’t figure out how the other four escaped.
The guys set them back in their pen figuring surely
the owners wouldn’t be gone very long with seven week old puppies left alone
outside. No sooner had I come out the
door when I saw the thundering herd racing out to us in record time.
This time all four were on the run (I held onto mine). They had no intention of staying cooped up after their
taste of freedom.
The men wanted to find a way to get them to stay where
the owners left them, but the mother in me said no way, I’m taking them to our
yard for their safety.
Like a bunch of little flies they stayed ahead of us and
just out of reach. Certainly we were concerned
with their being safe but if you have any kind of imagination you know how hilarious
this was trying to catch them.
Hosting a Garden Party
Our house was down the street from where the dogs
lived. The outer area is fenced in
completely for our pets, and inside the yard there is another restricted area
reserved for our gardening needs. It can only be accessed if we open the gate.
Knowing that we couldn’t bring the puppies inside the
house since they weren’t vaccinated, I insisted that the safest and best place
to put them would be in the garden. The
boys reluctantly followed suit and did as I requested.
To alieve their anxiety I suggested hubby call the police
and inform them what happened so that we weren’t charged with theft. The authorities agreed that it was a good
idea especially since the animal warden was off duty until the following
Tuesday. We promised to notify them when
the owners returned home.
After we got the puppies in the yard somewhere along the
way Burgy disappeared! I think he knew
what was about to happen and “it weren’t
gonna be no part - ee”.
Getting the five squirmers in our garden was another monumental
task. Let me share how things went. I
wish we had a camera on this! Open the
gate put one in …pull it back then add another and the first one escapes. One
in, one out … two in, one out … three in, two out … you get the idea right?
When dealing with puppies and trying to get them to do
what you want, the only tool you have is the ability to distract
them. Finally I used a shaker of food to
get their attention so my husband could get the gate opened and closed.
We repeated this relay action for the next twenty minutes
until they were all inside the garden. You
couldn’t help but laugh even through the frustration. Hubby and I were
exhausted but those little rascals were enjoying every minute of it.
Provision in the Garden
Puppies that age need to be fed three to four times a day
and the owners hadn’t been home for at least six to eight hours. Looking at their size it's hard to believe they were so young.
Our first task after making the round-up was
to give water and feed them. They squealed and yapped devouring the food. I don’t know
how long it was since their last feeding, but they were absolutely the
hungriest litter mates I have ever seen.
After a good feeding and clean fresh water they curled up
on one another and went sound asleep.
They found it so much easier to sleep on their siblings full belly.
Even though our potatoes were ransacked by the puppy
invasion, the garden truly was a haven of rest and safety. Everything they needed was provided for them
in the garrrr -"den".
A Place of Blessings
“The Lord God planted a garden eastward in
Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed.” (Genesis 2:8 NKJV)
When I was studying for this post I asked the Lord to
give me something to help relate the favor of God through blessings that were
established in the Garden of Eden. Jokingly, hubby suggested I make my requests
to the Lord without us having to go through the experience!
The escapade with the puppies was draining, but watching
them fall asleep in an unfamiliar place I knew it was a revelation from the
Lord. For hours we kept watch over our
furry friends and lovingly brought them into our life without question.
“A righteous person cares even about the life of his animals,
but the compassion of wicked people is nothing but cruelty.”
but the compassion of wicked people is nothing but cruelty.”
(Proverbs 12:10 GW)
God placed the mini canines before our eyes to show them
favor and be a blessing. The Bible says
that a righteous person cares about the life of an animal. A righteous person is one that is in right
standing with God. So a person right
with God will want to do what God would do as His image bearer.
We were given the opportunity to be obedient to His Word
in caring for God's creation as an act of righteousness. The Lord expected us to take dominion over
the situation and form a relationship (although temporary) between man and
animal. We were blessed just having them
in our presence; feeding, caring and loving them came easy.
Puppies certainly weren’t what I had in mind, but it
turned out to be a labor of love. After
the entire ordeal was over it was clear as day what the Lord did in the garden
not only for mankind, but for the animals.
Moving the foundlings into our garden was something I
felt led to do. It provided shelter, a place of safety and blessings for the
pups and us.
Think on This Challenge:
Why move Adam to the Garden?
I did a lot of thinking while those pups were roaming
around our garden getting into all sorts of things. We could have left them in the yard where
there was plenty of water, but decided it would be safer for them in the
garden.
God made it clear that He literally “put” man in a
different place from where he was created.
This intrigued me.
Our think on this challenge asks: When God formed man the
world was already prepared for him, so why did He move Adam into the garden? Think about it and share this with someone.
Next week we’ll look at “Life in God’s Garden.”
All Creatures of Our God and King - Fernando Ortega
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post.
Until next time, God moves us into
places of favor!
“There is favor where I put you.”
Jesus Christ
*Unless
noted, the names in articles are changed to protect the individual(s) privacy.
Note: Emphasis
is given in some scriptures to show clarity or understanding and is not to take
away from the inspirited Word of God.
When used,
the words satan or devil are not capitalized deliberately, because we give him
no place in our lives.
Disclaimer:
Article information is not meant to be used as treatment for mental or physical
issues, but geared toward spiritual awareness.
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Animals, Challenge, Christian Living, Daily Favor Blog, Daily Favor Relationships, Favored1, Garden Party, In the Garden, Puppy Love, Genesis, Adam and Eve, The Great Escape
Animals, Challenge, Christian Living, Daily Favor Blog, Daily Favor Relationships, Favored1, Garden Party, In the Garden, Puppy Love, Genesis, Adam and Eve, The Great Escape