Monthly Archives: March 2015

It’s “Dog~Gone” Time!

Looking out my kitchen window just now I watched Pixie and Joy, the small dogs that live next door to me, running around outside; tongues out, panting and their little tails wagging as fast as their little legs were moving.  Having their pen expanded this past weekend has given them a lot more room to frolic in.  The funny thing is, Joy was running with great abandon, from one end of the pen to the other enjoying her new found space.  Pixie however, didn’t venture past the old fence line.  She stayed behind the tufts of grass that had grown along her former boundary.   For a moment, she stepped tentatively over the grass and almost immediately hopped back to the area she was familiar with despite seeing Joy having a grand time in their new expanse.

Oh how like Pixie I am!  Here it is, time for me to explore new territory but I’m so afraid to step out of my familiar confines of life even though I know there may be exciting opportunities waiting for me.  What holds me back?  Probably the same things that are holding Pixie back.  She must face the unfamiliar sounds and smells of new dogs who are closer to the enlarged yard area just as I, while exploring new possibilities, may have to meet and interact with people I don’t know, something that makes me extremely nervous!   Pixie and I both seem to find change intimidating.  We’re more at ease with what we are accustomed to.   Stepping over the mound of grass is risky for Pix and stepping outside my comfort zone, putting myself out there, sets me up for a chance to falter or worse yet, fail.  Finally, the first step is always the hardest, whether it’s a leap for a small pup to enter new play ground or this ole gal taking a walk on the wild side of trying something new,  getting started is the biggest hurdle to reaching the other side.

Pixie will come to enjoy her wide open space sooner rather than later.  The question is will I follow suit?  Will I approach the boundaries I have set for myself in the past, pause, wag my tail, and take a leap of faith into new regions of life?  It may take me a few tries, but I hope I’m about ready to discover a place for myself with a little more room to frolic!

image

Plumbing 101

"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-think about such things.'  Philippians 4:8-9

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-think about such things.’
Philippians 4:8-9

It’s been cold, no frigid here lately! There’s been snow, wind, and ice! Our furnace has run overtime and the house still isn’t warm. It’s been so cold that we’ve had to leave the water in our faucets moving so the pipes wouldn’t freeze. The song of drip, drip, drip filled the house and it also got me thinking. My husband likes to tell me; “you’ve got to watch that thinking”, even so I do a lot of it these days. Anyway, in the midst of churning thoughts in my little mind, I wondered how we can keep our own pipes from freezing?

In today’s world it’s easy for me and I would guess for you too, to let our hearts become hardened, frozen if you will. We help others only to find it was a scam. We need help but no one comes to our rescue. We do our best yet our efforts go unnoticed. People we respect disappoint us. We disappoint others. Senseless violence and hatred fill the news and maybe our lives. Little by little our defenses go up, our enthusiasm diminishes, the flow of love and compassion slows as our heart slowly solidifies.

The Bible warns us about having a hard heart. Having a hardened heart clogs up our ears so we don’t really listen and shuts up our eyes so we don’t clearly see . Our lives lose joy and we move through our days on autopilot. Our feelings become frosty and backed up. No longer do we function as we were designed to. It is a bleak, bitter place to be.

So, back to my question. How do we keep our own pipes and hearts from becoming frozen? Believe it or not, I think the answer is the same for us as it has been for the plumbing in my kitchen sink. First, we must keep moving in the right direction. Even when everyone and everything around us tells us to stop, we must continue to drip, drip, drip:
Do right
Resist quitting
Invest in others
Pray, Praise, and find your Passion.

In addition to keeping the water dripping, I also opened the cupboards so that warm air from the furnace could surround the pipes. We too, must be open to the warmth around us. Whether it’s generated by the love of our family, caring friends, the beauty of nature to name a few, we must not close ourselves off from the glowing possibilities around us.

Finally, in my attempt to keep the water running, I closed all the blinds to put a barrier between the rooms and the threatening temperature outside. Pulling a blind is easy compared to turning a blind eye to the grim side of life, but I find when I’m focused on the cold, harsh happenings around me I tend to develop a frosty attitude, freezing me in my tracks and making it pretty much impossible to accomplish anything worthwhile. I was blessed today to hear an excellent sermon on this very thing. (I love when God does that!) The message of the sermon was to seek out the positive. Look for the good in people and situations even when they are small and hard to find. The message also included the importance of acknowledging our blessings and expressing our gratitude for each one. And maybe most importantly, sharing our positive attitude with others. The lesson isn’t an easy one. It’s something I’ll have to work at everyday but I truly believe it’s the secret to keeping our hearts on fire and being able to radiate that warmth into a chilly world that desperately needs it. And who knows? Maybe our spark will ignite a flame in those around us and before we know it, we’ll feel the hope of Spring and our plumbing problems will be solved!