Sometimes I think there is confusion over Who God is and what prayer is. God is the Creator of the universe, the One in charge. God is not a Genie in a bottle, a fairy-godfather or mother, a wish granter or magician. God is God and there is no other.

So, when I pray, I am communicating with the Creator of the universe. I share my trials and joys with Him. He already knows them, but I share because I have relationship with Him and that's what you do in a relationship.

And, when I pray, yes I ask for things. Things like healing for self or others, safety, protection, hope, joy from sorrow, maybe even no sorrow, abundant life for self and everyone . . . etc. And when I ask, just as my children always knew, I may get one of three answers; yes, no, or wait. Because I trust God, because God is God, I will accept the answer, even if it is not the one I sought, even if it seems like it must be the wrong answer.

Faith, my faith, means accepting God's answers, no matter what, and knowing without a doubt that God, the Father, has nothing but abundant life in mind for me. And, while there are times-and there were several of them this year-that my trust trembles, my faith never falters. It's easier to trust and believe through my trials than to think some obscure universal nothing is in charge.

And, when I pray it is with total reliance upon the One who authored all of life, including mine.In Proverbs 3:5-6 He tells me to trust Him, lean not on my own understanding, and he will make my paths straight. The order is important. Trust comes first, because I am not going to understand everything and there will be things in my life that make my path go off course.

So, I choose to trust.

The Thing About Dogs, part two

In college the 101 classes are usually the Freshman or lower level classes. I guess another title for this series could be Dogs 101! The next few weeks I will share what I consider the most important things dog owners need to know. We’ll look at puppies, adults, rescues and even older adults.

Today, let’s take a brief look at behaviors. Almost all behaviors can be explained but that does not make them excusable. From birth to a year old your puppy goes through very distinct behavioral stages. It helps when new owners understand these stages.

You have probably heard the adage, "Dogs age seven years to our one." While mostly true, that statement is an average over the lifetime of a dog. In addition, for this series, we are looking more at the behavioral maturity than the physical. The first year a puppy matures about twelve of ours. The second year around nine, but by the time he is ten years old he’s aging about four. With these facts in mind, look at the first year of a puppy’s life.

2-4 MONTHS OLD = In  behavior he compares to a 2-4 year-old child. He plays hard, sleeps hard, chews everything and tries everything. "NO" is a big part of his world. He usually comes when you call him and does not stray far from you. He needs to be taken many places and socialized at parks and playgrounds and pet stores.

4-6 MONTHS OLD = Now he starts branching out in much the way a 4-6 year old child does. He challenges your authority a little more. He may not always come when called. He should NOT be outside without a leash until you know he won’t run away. The teething will wind down but the chewing will last a while. (Three to Four months is the perfect age to start obedience class.)

6-9 MONTHS OLD=  I call this the age of rebellion. The chewing may wane some. But this is the age of the 'runaway dog' and the belligerence of not wanting to obey anymore. (Think back to when you were 9-10 years old and beginning to try your own way with your parents.) He is pre-pubescent! Getting him neutered will help minimize the rebellion, but it will not end it. He still has to go through the stage. It helps you deal with the little or big rebellions if he’s already in training.  

9-12 MONTHS OLD= Adolescent behavior hits full swing. He acts like a 12 year old child! While he is physically an adult, mentally he’s more like an eighth-grader. Many people expect their one-year-old dog to act like an adult and when it’s still immature they get rid of it. They really needed to just take charge, be the master and let him grow up.

 While not extensive these guidelines should help you understand your puppy more. Next week we’ll look at housebreaking and right verse wrong play. See you then! 

The Thing About Dogs, part one

If there was one piece of advice I could give a new puppy owner, it would be USE COMMON SENSE. Dogs are loyal, intelligent, and adaptable. But they are not complicated. If you approach your human/canine relationship from a complex place you set yourself up for failure and your dog for confusion.

To a canine, things almost always boil down to cause and effect. Whether you look at housebreaking, obedience training, right play vs. wrong play, behavior issues, or pack rules, keep the cause and effect in mind. That’s what I mean by common sense.

This morning I watched cause and effect at work. There were squirrels under the bird feeders when I let Penny out. Now, keep in mind she is a Bull terrier mix. The operative word here is terrier. All terriers were originally bred for some form of rodent hunting. So, the door opened and Penny took off after the squirrels. They scattered and she chased one. She got close but not close enough. It raced up a tree. Penny ran around the base of the tree, walked up the side of the trunk, circled some more, then sighed and came back to the house. She actually pranced back to the house. I believe the chase is as satisfying to her as actually winning is.

Here is the simple cause and effect of this situation. See the squirrel. Chase the squirrel. Squirrel goes up tree, can’t get it. Sigh and run back to the house happy for the chase. Penny didn’t pout and moan or get angry when she missed the squirrel. She went to the next thing, which is curl up in a tight warm snuggley circle at my feet. Life is not complicated to our best friends.

Make your dog ownership common sense and cause and effect. Go potty outside, get a treat. Accident inside, get scolded. Obey on first command get praised. Ignore a command and get corrected.

The other day I watched a man repeat the SIT command no less than ten times. He didn’t make his dog sit, just kept saying the command. When the dog finally sat, he gave it a treat. I cringed. Cause; ignore commands as long as you want. Effect; obey when you are ready and get a treat. In the common sense world of the dog, this man taught his dog rewards come from disobedience.

Don’t overthink. Know what you want from him, teach him how to do it then praise him when he does. Cause and effect, and common sense works. See you next week for part two. 

Who Needs Coffee to Wake Up?

I am a morning person. Most mornings I am out of bed and having my coffee and quiet time by 5:15. This morning, I had not gotten my coffee yet, and, at 5:15 I sat at my desk pondering if maybe today I wanted to just go back to sleep for a while.

Something fluttered above my head. I looked up and saw nothing. Within seconds there was another flutter. This time I looked up and discovered my dogs and I had company in the house. There was a BAT flying around. Not a small bat either. One of its trips around the room came quite close to my face and I'm pretty sure its wing span from tip to tip when outstretched was over a foot long!

Many questions came to mind in a matter of seconds. How did it get in the house? How long had it been there? How could I get it out of the house without myself or my dogs actually tangling with it? Of course, none of those questions had answers and in the meantime the bat continued flying from room to room, darting and dipping and barely missing crashing into me on several occasions!

I opened the doors and tried "encouraging" the creature to fly outside. I'm sure it was only a matter of minutes, but it felt like hours passed. The bat flew onto the porch and I quickly slammed the doors. At least it was out of the house. But the new dilemma was that it was trapped on our back porch with the dogs who had followed it out there. Things were crashing around as the dogs tried to catch the bat. I'm pretty sure that bat was more than a little frightened.

So, I opened the door enough to squeeze onto the porch. The bat was flying back and forth, hitting windows and walls as the dogs jumped to try and catch it. I opened the screen doors on each side of the porch. I wasn't sure what it would take for the animal to figure out it could fly outside. I decided I might have to try and chase it out so I was going back inside when I guess it finally figured things out and flew straight at me!I ducked just in time to prevent the thing from crashing into my nose!

It flew away.
My dogs calmed down.
And, I was not the slightest bit sleepy anymore--even without a coffee fix!

Wanna Be Like My Dog

In March 1988 I got my first dog training customer. At the time, I was working as  Veterinary Technician for Dr. Fawcett at Conewago Veterinary Clinic and figured the dog training would be additional income. If someone had told me that very first client was the start of a business that would rapidly become full time and still be going strong thirty-one years later I probably would have laughed at them.

But, here I sit on August 8, 2019, one of the blessed people to have successfully turned a hobby and a passion into a business. Since that first dog, a Weimeraner, I have trained at least 15,000 dogs. Folks, that’s a lot of sloppy kisses and doggie cuddles, and more than a few growls and snaps. To be honest, I’d say that in some ways I have been as much a student as the dogs and owners with whom I’ve worked.

Recently, I watched my sweet Golden Retriever, Gracie, do something that touched my heart. Gracie is four years old and still a puppy at heart. She is, of course, a retriever and retrievers are not particular about what items they retrieve. Our first Labrador, Daniel, once brought Don a brick and dropped it on his foot—but that’s another story.  Gracie pulled the fold-down tab from the cardboard of a twelve-pack of sodas. Instead of running with it because she knew she wasn’t supposed to have it, she brought it to me.

Now, if you have dogs, then you know what I mean when I say I knew what she was asking just by her actions. If you do not have a dog… you need one! Gracie approached me with the cardboard in her mouth, her tail wagged lazily, her head was slightly lowered and her eyes smiling. Yes, her eyes smiled. She delivered the cardboard to me, set it at my feet, sat herself beside me and waited. In dog body language she was asking, “Mom, I got this thing. Is it okay? Can I have it?”

Of course the answer was no. But she had done exactly what she was supposed to do. Gracie brought Mom the item, showed it to me, and asked if she could have it. I’m pretty sure she knew the answer. I’m pretty sure she knew she could have carried it the other way and chewed it to oblivion before I even knew she had it. But she brought it to me.

So, why did she do that? Because Gracie is a good dog. She’s loyal, she trusts me, and she respects my authority. Instead of fussing at her for getting into the cardboard I picked it up, thanked her for bringing it to me, and gave her a big hug. In the end, we went into the living room, got one of the dog bones and I held it while she chewed. She was a happy girl.

 I think when I grow up I want to be like my dogs. You see, my nature—and  I venture to say it is probably all of our nature—when I do something wrong is cover it, or rationalize it, or even run away from it. I know I would rather not have to face the consequence of my mess. Yet, what if I emulate my dog when I mess up? I run to God and say, “I got this thing, or I did this thing. I apologize.  Is it okay?”

The answer would most likely still be no. There would still be a consequence. But, there would be no shame and guilt. And, I know from past experience the hug God gives my heart is much better than whatever I thought I wanted.

Yep, I want to be like my Gracie when I grow up.

My Thoughts Today

I registered to vote immediately after I turned 18. The privilege and responsibility of voting was instilled in me. I proudly registered as Democrat as was my family tradition. There came a point in my life that I decided to change my party affiliation and registered Republican. I have my reasons.

I have voted in every primary and general election since I turned 18 in 1977. I have seen my candidates win and seen them lose. There have been times I was pleased with things elected officials have accomplished. I have also been greatly disappointed. I am proud to be an American but sometimes not the slightest bit proud of choices my countrymen, elected officials, and government have made. There are things about my nation that break my heart. Thus I vote at every election. I have watched Presidents make wise and godly choices for my nation and others not so much. Thus I vote at every election. I have sat through single and double terms of Presidents I did not vote for and of Presidents for whom I did vote. Thus I vote at every election. And I encourage everyone to vote their conscience, their beliefs and if they are unwilling to vote, then they should also be unwilling to complain.

I do understand the difficulty in sitting through the term of a person for whom you did not vote. But, I do not understand slamming and hate mongering. I have never and I will never bad mouth the President of the United States. And, believe me, there have been many policies and many presidencies over the past forty-two years that broke my heart deeply and I could not support in any way, shape, or form.

I tire of the constant anger and hate spewing from one party to the other. I tire of myself or others being judged and called hurtful things just because of my or their party affiliation. That is the reason I do not comment on or re-post any type of political junk. Our country does have laws. I am expected to obey them or suffer the consequences. I expect the same of everyone else. I firmly believe we should expect that of everyone citizen or guest.

To quote a song I love “I am brave, I am bruised, I am who I’m meant to be, this is me.” 

Have a blessed day, everyone, Chandra

p.s. If a comment on this post ends up spreading the very angry, hateful, hurtful things of which I have been speaking, I will remove the comment. Just sayin’.

Summer With Your Dog, part one

It’s sum, sum, summertime and as wonderful as summer is, we must always be mindful of the hot weather and our best friends’ safety. Here’s part one of summertime with your dog. Here are clear guidelines for having the best summer with your dog.

1.)        Walk your dog in the coolness of morning or evening. On the hottest days, evenings are not even cool. There is nothing wrong with slowing your pace into a more casual walk. You still get exercise but don’t overheat as quickly.

Always remember a dog’s normal body temperature is 102.5F. If it is hot for you to walk, your dog is even hotter. And a dog’s risk of heat exhaustion and heat stroke is always greater than a human’s. Please DO NOT walk them in the hottest part of the day.

2.)        PAVEMENT GETS HOT, DANGEROUSLY HOT. If the humidity drops and the air feels comfortable for walks, the pavement will still be too hot. Even if the day is not oppressively hot, pavement, especially asphalt is. For example, if the air temp is only 77F, the asphalt temp may be 125F (At 125F skin destruction can occur in mere minutes). At 87F, the asphalt temp can be as high as 143F. That’s hot.

Your dog’s pads are protective, but not against that kind of heat. If your dog is used to walking on gravel, cement or asphalt his pads probably are nicely calloused, which offers some protection, but not enough. Do the ‘5-count test.’ Place the back your hand on the pavement. Hold it there for a slow count to five. If it is too hot for you to keep your hand there comfortably, it is too hot for your dog’s feet. Walk on grass in the cool of the day instead.

3.)        Never underestimate the power of a good swim! When possible, swimming is as great an exercise for dogs as it is for humans.

4.)        Provide your dog with easy access to water.

5.)        If your dog spends a great deal of time outside, be sure he has shade. And, honestly, if it too hot for you to enjoy sitting outside, it is too hot for your dog also. Bring him inside.

Let’s keep our dogs safe and healthy this summer! See you next week for a look at summer training tips

From 2008 until January of this year I had a weekly column in the local newspaper titled Letters From the Doghouse. It was a sort of advice column for dog owners.  I currently am compiling years of said column and my photos of dogs I've trained over the past 31 years into a book I am calling Life in the Doghouse. As I work on the compilation in addition to my current fiction project I plan to share some of the advice I've given dog owners over the years. Feel free to send my blogs to anyone in your life who is a dog lover.

Love Them Enough to Make Them the Best Pets

I believe every puppy is born with the potential to be the best pet you've ever had or the worst nightmare. Each breed of dog has unique personality characteristics. Mixed or designer breeds combine characteristics. It is true some breeds tend to be more or less affectionate, dominant, aggressive, protective, or playful. But, I do not believe there is any one breed that is the best, nor is there one that is the most dangerous.

Since I began training dogs while in college in 1981, and certainly since I began my business in 1988, I have seen dogs of all sizes, breeds, shapes, ages, that were darlings and others that were downright mean.

Puppies are not born aggressive. Some are born with the desire to be the alpha, or leader. Some back down from confrontation quicker than others. But even that is not what makes a dog dangerous.

The most dangerous dog is an untrained dog. Without training, dogs do not learn the humans in their packs are the loving masters. And, at the most basic level, that is the source of a dangerous dog’s behavior. Please note: Saying the humans need to be the masters or the dominant ones NEVER means abuse a dog. And, yes an abused dog is very dangerous. But again, it wasn’t trained, it was mistreated. Training a dog is never abuse.

The best pet you will ever have will be a trained one. Period. Any dog, any size, any age, any breed, or any mix must know its role in the human/dog relationship. Humans must grasp this too. The day you bring your dog home please understand he is your dog, you are not his human.

Training your dog means housebreaking him so he learns self-control. Believe me, for all the wonders those dog litter boxes advertise, they will create huge behavior issues. And smells. And messes. Training him also means teaching some simple obedience commands, teaching him what ‘no’ means, and that he must respect all of the humans with whom he lives humans. Even if the dog essentially belongs to one family member, he must obey everyone his pack.

We are not talking about tricks or agility or games right now. Those are fun to teach and do, but they are not what make the best pet. Mutual respect between you and your dog is imperative. You must respect he is a dog, he will think, feel, and act like a dog. You must love him for that fact alone. And he must respect that you are his master and will always be in charge.

Your dog, whether he’s a puppy, rescue, purebred or mix, deserves the chance to become all he can be. And when you love him enough to teach proper behavior he will be your best pet ever.

I'm sure each of us has at least one person in our lives who has no filters. They say what's on their mind, no matter what it is. At times this can be comical, others frustrating, and sometimes downright disturbing.

I saw a meme recently about three filters that anything I say should go through. Today I want to share my insight on this subject.Whenever I want to speak something, reply to something, and even if I am reacting to something I need to remember to put it through three filters:

1.) Is it true?  This seems like a 'no-brainer' or at least it should be. But sometimes, in the middle of truth there can be an exaggeration, stretch, or even a little untruth. My words, whether written, spoken, or posted somewhere should always pass through the TRUTH filter first.

Once they pass through that filter, then they must be stopped by the second one.

2.)  Is it necessary?  This filter is more fine than the first one. There are things that make it through the truth filter, and, while they are completely true, saying, writing, or reacting to them is not necessary. This filter is a tough one at times. I may try to convince me it is necessary when it's not. I must pray and seek wisdom. Even if I want to say it, if I determine it's not necessary, I mustn't say it. And, if I cannot determine the necessity of the comment, that means it is not necessary.

Once my words pass through this filter and I'm sure they are necessary, there is one more, very fine, very difficult filter to get through.

3.)  Is it kind?  What I want to say or share may be total truth and necessary, but this final filter is imperative. And, when I don't slow down long enough to really use this filter my words may appear without compassion, love, or grace. That means they are without healing.

When I write or speak from my deep emotions, passion, or convictions I can skip right past the kindness filter. There is a right way and a not-so-right way to say, write, post, or do things. The Is it kind? filter is the most fine and, when used properly, allows only the correct things through. Something can be both true and necessary, but if it is not kind, I have no business saying it in any form or fashion.

Sadly, this is one of  my biggest battles. I must slow down long enough for my words to pass fully through or be stopped by the kind filter. I know I fail at using this third filter often. So, I am adding something to my third filter. In Exodus 4:12 God says, "Now, therefore, go, and I will be your mouth and teach you what you shall say."

When all is said and done, God is my absolute guide and if I work harder at using my Is it kind  filter with God's help I will be a better person and my life will be a better witness.

When Emotions Cause the Block

Last week, I posted a blog on the American Christian Fiction Writer's(ACFW) blog. I wanted to share it on here this week

https://www.acfw.com/blog/when-emotions-cause-the-block/

God bless you all!

I have four sons. And because I say it, most of you probably believe it. But none of you were there when I had those C-sections. The scar on my abdomen is physical proof something happened, but only my husband, my doctor and the nurses who were present each time can truly verify that, yes, those babies were delivered from my uterus.

There are four amazing young men alive, and there are birth certificates that say when they were born and that Don and I are their parents. But those birth certificates were filled out by a nurse and submitted by a nurse and someone somewhere in the courthouse signed whatever had to be signed to approve those birth certificates. A human wrote and approved those birth certificates. And yet, from the time we received them every agency that has ever required them for SS#, work permits, driver's licenses, passports, etc, etc has accepted that the information on those birth certificates is valid and true.

I imagine anyone who reads this post most likely believes it and does not question the truth of my words just because they were not present when it happened or because a fallible human created the calendar system, the years and dates and told me those days were the dates they were born.

Was I there when Jesus lived, died, was buried, and rose again? No. But thousands of people were. Hundreds of people saw him alive after He was dead. When the gospels were written many eye witnesses were still alive. Human nature has never changed. If the gospels had been lies you can bet the authors of them would have been called on it and the scrolls would never have survived.

I have four sons. And, you can choose to believe or deny that those birth certificates written and approved by fallible humans are true or not. Your choice does not change the truth. In the same way I can choose to believe the accounts of Jesus' life or not, we all can, we all will. But my choice to believe does not affect the truth of His life, His love, His sacrifice, His grace anymore than another person's choice to not believe does not.

I choose to believe Jesus Christ is my Savior. My choice. And I will stand for the truth of Jesus all of my life and even when my life ends and I actually stand before Him for real.

Amen.

My Source

I think it comes down to what your 'source' is. My source is the Bible. I follow Jesus. Jesus said he did not come to abolish the law, but to complete it. Jesus said it is not what goes into a mouth that is unclean, it is what comes out. Jesus said all food is good. I believe all humans-adult, child, infant and unborn- should be treated with respect and love. I believe animals should be treated as animals, not humans. That means not abused, but also not revered. I love all of nature. And, I thank God for providing plants, animals, and water for our nourishment.If anything I ever do appears out of sync with what I believe, and with what Jesus would have me do, I would ask you remember that I am a sinner, living in a sinful world and I mess up. I am thankful I have a Savior I can run to when I mess up, Who always welcomes me back.I am NOT perfect and never will be in this earthly life. But I follow the One who is perfect. And that is a good place to be.

Today is one of my days to be the blogger at the ACFW site. Today my blog is featured on the ACFW website. Go on over and read, comment, and stay a while and read other's posts also.