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.

I've Been Blessed

In less than 1 hour a new year will  begin. When we are young we seem to think time stands still. It doesn't. We think we will never get older. We will. We think (or hope) life will always bring joy. It won't. I'm not being a defeatist. On the contrary, I am grateful this is how life goes.

It has been a hard year emotionally. March 24, 2013 marked the 1 year anniversary of my husband's leaving this world and entering his eternal home. I am sure to him it seems but a moment since he was welcomed there. I miss him more tonight than ever before, but I am happy he is rejoicing in the presence of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. There have been disappointments, illnesses and/or deaths of friends, and financial challenges through this year of 2013. Through it all I have had and still have the assurance that God is in control. As I said in a previous post, He is enough.

I have been blessed in 2013 in more ways than I could ever begin to list. No huge miraculous occurrences in my life that I am aware of. Not saying there weren't any, just saying I wasn't aware of any. I know God intervenes many times when we never realize it. There have been some miraculous events in the lives of friends. An automobile accident that destroyed a car and the occupants were unharmed. There has been healing. There has been strengthening & remissions. For all of these I thank and praise Him.

The next few paragraphs will be filled with I's. Not as a means of boasting, but as a testimony to the grace of God.

I have a warm place to lay my head. I have food for my table. I have the love of children and grandchildren.  I have friendship. I have the most loving church family anyone could ever ask for. I have cats who want my attention. I have a dog who loves me unconditionally. Not bad so far, right?

I can hold the Word of God in my hands! I have Christian music to listen to, Christian movies to watch, and Christian books to read. I have the freedom to go to church and worship without fear of imprisonment. Thus far I have the right to share the gospel with anyone willing to listen. I have lived on this earth, in this free country, for 64 years. I have been a born-again, child of the One True God for almost 49 of those years. I awake each morning and go to sleep each night with the knowledge that my heavenly Father will never leave me nor forsake me.

I look forward to what God has planned for me in this new year. I am eagerly awaiting the adoption of my soon-to-be sixth grandchild, third grandson. It's been 11 years since there was a 2 year old in the family. I am excited. I am sure their will be ballgames to attend for my granddaughter, birthdays to celebrate with family, graduation for one of my grandsons, activities and ways to serve at church.

So - you are almost here, 2014. I'm ready.

This Place Called Home

If you had asked me, back when I was 11 years old, what I thought of this town, I would have told you it was the most boring place on earth. My maternal grandmother lived here but my family lived 65 miles away. We visited here about every other weekend. Unless my cousins happened to be over at the same time, I was bored stiff. Not that I didn't love my grandmother or enjoy seeing her, because I did. But at 11 listening to adults talk was not my idea of a good time. Much to my horror my parents announced to my brother and me that we would be moving here over Christmas break. I was painfully shy. It did take about 2 years before I had really close friends and this truly became my home but from that point on I could not imagine living anywhere else.

This town has a rich history and is the second oldest in North Carolina. It stands on the banks of two rivers, the Neuse and the Trent. It was founded by Baron Christopher de Graffenried, a Swiss who had immigrated to England. In 1710 he brought a group of Palatines (Germans) and Swiss here and called it New Berne. However, others had been here as far back as 1705 and there were, of course, Tuscarora Indians here long before that. New Bern (now pronounced with the accent on New and the final 'e' a thing of the past) survived the Tuscarora Indian Wars between 1711 and 1715, but not without tragic losses of both settlers and Tuscaroras. The old St. Luke's Hospital is located on a parcel which was not within the early town limits. The parking lot behind the building was the site of a homestead in which the occupants were massacred.

Old St. Luke's Hospital

New Bern was the colonial capital of North Carolina and has a beautiful restored palace named after the British governor, Lord Tryon. If you are a fan of the TV series, Sleepy Hollow, you have seen the palace and one of the historical homes near it in several episodes. On 8/25/1774 the North Carolina Assembly met in New Bern without consent of the governor, Josiah Martin, and elected delegates to the Continental Congress.

Tryon Palace (filming site for Sleepy Hollow)

John Wright Stanly House (filming site for Sleepy Hollow)




New Bern Academy Museum (side/back view)

New Bern Academy Museum (front view)

The town was captured by Union soldiers led by General Ambrose Burnside during the Civil War. The New Bern Academy is the oldest public school building in North Carolina and one of the oldest in the United States. It was used as a hospital during the Civil War. It now houses a museum. When I was in 7th grade I attended what was then called Central Elementary School. It consisted of 3 buildings. The Academy Building housed the 6th grade. The Bell Building housed the 7th grade. The 8th grade was housed in a newer building. The more recent building has been demolished and a beautiful home stands in its place. I remember going into the Academy Building as a 7th grader and being fascinated by the stairs. They were wooden and worn in the center. I was in awe of how many feet had been up & down those stairs to form those dips. Of course, you didn't attend Central School and not know it's history. For safety those steps have been replaced.


Bell Building

Downtown New Bern/Lady in Period Dress

New Bern is also the birthplace of Pepsi Cola. Downtown on the corner of Middle and Pollock Streets is the former home of Bradham's Pharmacy. You can still visit & find about every kind of Pepsi souvenir you would ever want. Did I tell you we have some pretty neat bridges, too?

Bradham's Pharmacy

 

Double Bridges (Photo of bridge silhouette with draw bridge in foreground)

Union Point Park

Gazebo at Union Point Park

Now that I am retired, my dog and I go walking most every day along New Bern's waterfront and down it's historic streets. Union Point Park is my favorite place in New Bern.



There are many beautiful old homes and churches here. Some of these I share here in pictures.

Tour By Horse & Carriage

Temple B'nai Sholem

Centenary United Methodist Church

First Presbyterian Church

I am so blessed to call this place home!  Come see us sometime.





Adopting Harrison

My son & daughter-in-law are in the process of adopting a little boy from China. We are so very excited! His name will be Harrison. A big name for such a little boy. 

Let me tell you a little about him. Of course, there is a lot about him no one knows. He was abandoned in a train station at the age of approximately 2 weeks. So many of us ask ourselves how a mother could just abandon her child not knowing who might take him. I believe he was and is very much loved by his birth mother. He was born with a condition called ectrodactyly. He has malformations of his hands & feet. I feel his mother was not prepared to care for him, most likely financially. She placed him in a public area where she knew he would be seen and where many law enforcement officers would be present. He was taken to the Child Welfare Center, in other words an orphanage. There he waits for his new parents to come for him. He has just turned 2 years old.

My son is a firefighter with our local fire and rescue department. He also works a second job on his days away from the fire department to help meet their needs. My daughter-in-law has completed law school and has recently started working with another attorney in our small town. Her field of choice is family law. Contrary to what most would believe, her salary is not a substantial one. Like most graduates today, she is paying off  huge student loans. They have worked very hard to save for this adoption and have been able to basically fund it themselves. Now as the paperwork is almost completed and the time nears, we hope early 2014, to bring Harrison home, they are facing a deficit of funds. If any of you are familiar with international adoptions, you know how expensive they are. Not included in what they were required to pay is airfare for 2 to China and for 3 from China, as well as the expense of remaining in that country for 3 weeks. This amount is what they are now working on.

Some may ask why adopt internationally and not locally. That is something I believe God puts in the hearts of those who adopt. Just as God has a particular child intended for birth parents, He also has a particular child for adoptive parents. Thus far, God has shown us all that Harrison is a part of our family.

I can tell you that our family is not use to asking for help. My husband was a proud man, a generous one to those in need, but one who did not want or expect things given to him. My son is very much his father's son. However, pride aside for the sake of a child, we are asking for help in raising travel/temporary resident funds. I am attaching a secure sight where anyone who can and would like to can view pictures of Harrison and if you are able and feel led to do so, donate to this fund. Please share the link with your friends to help us reach as many people as possible. Your generosity will be so appreciated and you will be blessed for your sacrifice.      http://www.gofundme.com/59qyfc

This is quite a turn from my normal blog posts, but this is what God has given me today to share. My husband went home to be with the Lord on 3/24/2012. He loved children & would have loved to have Harrison ride around with him in his old truck. But I know he is looking down at that little boy and telling everyone in heaven, "That's my grandson!"

Excuses

Several things pinging around my head I want to write about. Deciding which will be first is the great decision. Here goes. Warning! This may be offensive to some.

Does your church have revival services? I know not all churches do, but especially in the south usually a couple of times a year we have at least 4-5 consecutive services with a guest speaker. It is a time for us to refocus, rededicate ourselves to God and to living for Him. We are not a huge church. We have a seating capacity of 665 people, about 200 more than we average on Sundays. So we have room to grow. Tonight we had our last of 4 services for this series. The messages were great. Spirit filled and definitely what we needed to hear.

When I was a teenager (long, long time ago) revivals were popular. The host church had almost all its members present and area churches attended on the nights they weren't having services. At 64 years old, I have seen revival attendance dwindle to less and less. There are many legitimate reasons people miss a service or two. Sickness, work schedule. some who can't get out at night because of age, etc. However, there are many who can attend, but choose not to. For weeks leading up to this series of meetings, we learned of the great revivals in the United States, England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland in the past centuries. Unfortunately, there has not been a repeat of those services for 200 years.

I looked around the church each night, thankful for those who were there and yet wondering where the others were. Again, many had legitimate reasons they could not attend, but what of all the others? I don't mean to sound judgmental, but I was saddened. I thought of all the excuses people use, many I have also used at one time or another myself. So I am not guilt free in this. "I worked all day and I was really tired." "It was so cold I didn't want to get out." (And it was cold the past 2 nights). Can you imagine telling your employer that it was just too cold to go to work? Or that you were out late at a party and didn't feel like coming to work? Feel pretty certain no one would try that. I have a friend that says why not just say "peanut butter, because one excuse is as good as another". He doesn't really mean to use that; he's just making his point. Pretty good one. How many sit on bleachers, wrapped in blankets to watch a football game? How many go out to dinner with friends after a long hard day at work? Do you see where I am coming from? I am not talking to the unsaved. I am talking to people who profess Christ as their Lord and Savior. Do we have the right to ask why our children don't want to go to church, when we don't make an effort to be there ourselves? Please do not think that I believe every wayward child is the fault of the parent. I know better than that. I also know we should take every opportunity to be the example God expects. I think we have a real priority problem. That means there is a heart problem. Not a physical one, but a spiritual one.

I believe the American church as a whole has this priority problem. Churches in hostile nations seem to thrive in the face of persecution. They would love to have the freedom to meet publicly any time they could. We have the freedom but do not exercise it. So until you are willing to truly return to God, back to where it all began, what is your excuse?