Why Adopt A Rescue Pet?

I have a new family member. She is the sweetest little thing and cute as can be. She is an 8 year old Beagle mix named Luna.

Luna

Just as I did with Marcus, I found her on the Pet Finder web site. She had been rescued by the same humane society that took Marcus in, Colonial Capital. I debated on whether I wanted to adopt another dog. I mean, it's not like I don't have any pets already (O'Malley, O'Connor, and Maximus-cats & Marcus-dog). I felt Marcus needed company when I have to be away from home for a few hours at a time, the cats are getting really tired of Marcus licking their faces, and I knew I have more than enough love to go around. So I began my search. It did not take long. Just as with Marcus, I was drawn to a picture.

What was I looking for? A smaller dog than Marcus. He weighs 54 lbs and is as gentle as can be, but I knew I would never find another dog his size with his temperament. After my fixation on the picture, I checked out the details. Age 8 - hmmm a little older than I expected to adopt but she needs a forever home, too. Spayed - yes. House broken - yes :) . Then the most important information. Good with other dogs - yes. Good with cats - yes. Good with children - yes. I then checked out the past history. Rescued from an animal hoarder. Oh, poor baby.

I filled out an adoption application and it was arranged for me to meet Luna. Her foster parents brought her to my home. She came right in and licked Marcus in the face (now he knows how the cats feel). Great start!! To my delight, the foster parents told me she loves to ride and go walking at Union Point Park! Perfect since Marcus and I do a lot of both. It was not easy for her foster parents to leave her here for they had grown to love her. Within a few hours Luna was at home and stretched out on the couch. Marcus spent the afternoon pouting but that did not last. She has shown no anxiety at all (except today at the vet's office where she sat her 27 trembling pounds on my lap). She is healthy, maybe a little chunky, minds well, needs a little more leash training but we are working on that.

So why adopt a rescue pet? Because we need them as much as they need us. Some have been treated horribly, neglected, or abandoned. My mother use to tell me as a child that I would take every stray that came along if she would let me. She was right. I have always loved dogs and cats. I know some people are "dog people" and some are "cat people". I am both. My son found my oldest cat, O'Malley, in a corn field when he was just a kitten. The others, O'Connor and Maximus (brothers), were feral and I trapped them as kittens. As I posted in August, 2012 after adopting Marcus, he was rescued from the flood waters of Hurricane Irene. So all my animals are rescue pets. They fill my home with unconditional love. Now my little family is complete.

Many people prefer specific breeds and purchase their pets or receive them as gifts and there is nothing wrong with that. For those who may be thinking about a pet, I only ask you to consider a rescue pet. The price of adoption is usually far less than you would pay anywhere else and the money goes to support the animals who have been and will be rescued. It warms your heart when you look at them and know you have given them a better life than they have ever known. It's so worth it!

Sometimes, But Not Always

Recently someone put a short video on Facebook. It truly moved me. It was of a group of people who live in a country that is hostile to Christianity. The people had received Bibles. Their reactions brought me to tears. Not just because it was such an emotional time for them, but because it made me ashamed of my own lack of appreciation for the Word of God. They cried. They kissed their new Bibles. They held them tightly to their hearts. Others were immediately reading. There was a question under the video. "Do you respond the same way when you open yours?"

Well, that question sure hit me right between the eyes & right in my heart. How we take for granted the ability to hold God's Word in our hands! I don't just have one Bible. I have many-Thompson Chain King James Version, my New American Standard Inductive Study Bible, The Names of God Bible, The Complete Jewish Bible, the Interlinear English Hebrew Greek Bible, and several older Bibles which just fell apart but I kept. Blessed beyond belief, as so many of us are. So how do I respond when I open one of my Bibles? Do I hold it close to my heart? Do I kiss it? Do I cry? Do I immediately delve into the knowledge God has left for me?

I will say that I do love to read and study the Word. I believe that the best resource for understanding Scripture is Scripture itself. Not a new concept, but one I learned through the inductive study method. But do I take for granted that it is so accessible? Yes, I do. We discussed this tonight in our ladies Bible study. Persecution will come, even here. The only way to prepare for it, is to be immersed in the Word. To be immersed in the Word, you must study. The beginning is to open your Bible.

The answer I posted to that question, "Do you respond the same way when you open yours?"?
'Sometimes, but not always - and that is not good enough.'

"Be diligent to present yourselves approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth." II Timothy 2:15 NASB
"Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." II Timothy 2:15 KJV

Waiting For Harrison

In November, 2013, I posted on my blog that my son & daughter-in-law are in the process of adopting a little boy from China. It is now March, 2014 and we are waiting. Finally all the paperwork has reached China. We were all hoping they would be able to bring him home the end of this month. However, they were told it would take 4-6 months for approval to travel into China. I must admit I am so disappointed, but that doesn't come close to how his parents feel. There have been Harrison showers with loads of toys, books, & clothes given by friends and family. Everyone just wants so much to be a part of his life.

I know that God has a purpose in all things. Therefore, I know He has a purpose in this delay. I also know that He can choose to open this door sooner. Of course, that is what the mother and grandmother side of me is hoping for. I have to stay focused on His Word and trust His will. I also have to pray. This is what the Lord wants & expects us to do, during the good times and the difficult times.

'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.
Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.'
Jeremiah 29:11,12 NASB

"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."
"What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?"
Romans 8:28,31 NASB

So we carry on till God removes the obstacles that keep us waiting for Harrison.