Category: Animals

Invite the Spirit

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There are so many opportunities to make the choice to allow God into your life. Although faith without works is dead (James 2:14-26), works without the intention of doing it for the glory of God, are just as meaningless. Don’t get me wrong…it is wonderful to do good deeds – don’t stop doing them! Just start adding meaningful purpose. Slow down to be conscientious of why you are doing what you are doing. God’s voice can be heard in silence so give yourself the right to have a “time out” so you can “paws to pray.”

“Lord, I invite your Spirit to guide me into your way, into your love. I will try to follow you all the days of my life. Amen.“ (Live Like Francis, 2016)

Today, my wonderful love nugget (a.k.a. my dog Grace) has had such ants in her pants, it seems like she’s about to crawl out of her skin. We’ve gone to the dog park the last two days while the weather was cooler and she ran her tuchus off – so she should be tired, right? Nope. Boundless energy. But most of it, I must admit, is that I am super boring to live with and she is just too smart.

An impish gleam in Grace’s eye kept being shot in my direction, and her growly way of talking was saying, “Let’s go out!” Being the inside bum that I am, I begrudgingly followed her directions (I’m a well-trained person) and we went outside just in case she really needed to go to the bathroom.

After standing my ground about NOT going for a full walk, Grace walked back toward me and plopped straight down on her belly in the grass. Ugh! It was hot out! I have stuff to do! For a couple of minutes I stood there next to her feeling perturbed and waiting for her to get over it. But when she rested her head on her paw I knew we were in it for the long haul. I gave in and sat down on the grass, too.

Head Down

But you know what happened then as my dog was doing her best interpretation of a solar panel? The heat made me uncurl my anxious body and stretch out. I started to notice the breeze that kept it from feeling too hot. I got to see a family of goldfinches fly by, hear frogs singing in the pond, and have the wind blow my skirt up inappropriately which made me giggle as I tried to inconspicuously look around to see if any neighbors had been looking out their windows.

And I got to thinking – if it weren’t for my dog, I’d have missed a lot of nice days lately. What starts out as an annoying nagging to go out, always turns into a pleasant, relaxing time. What seems like a hardship, ends-up being a blessing. Go figure!

So take your “paws to pray” by appreciating the unexpected ways the Spirit can guide your day. Make the intentions of your deeds to be purposefully in service to God. Take time to  look for the blessings hidden hardships by making a choice to allow God to bring you closer to His love through everything you do.

A Divine Connection

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No matter who you have the closest relationship with, it is obvious that there is a string of connection between living things. I don’t care if it is a person, a pet, or a plant, life is recognizable to other life. It is through the recognition of that connection where compassion and mercy are allowed to actualize because the “I” and “you” have too many commonalities to ignore.

During Catholic Mass there is a point where we all shake hands or hug or kiss and say, “peace be with you” – meaning the peace of Christ. My pastor, who is from India, says that their custom is to put the palms of their hands together at their chests (like traditional praying-style hands), bow, and say, “namaste,” to each other – which means, “the divine in me recognizes the divine in you.” No matter what tradition you use to express the sentiment, knowing and acknowledging that spark of life that can only come from God seems to be essential to making respectful community.

“Neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who causes the growth” (1 Corinthians 3:7)

Here are a couple of things I ran across today that I would count at least as a smidgen of proof  that there is a special bond at work between people and their pets. These focus specifically on dogs, but they could just as easily be any living thing who is special to you. When you watch the video, have some tissues handy because it is heart-wrentchingly beautiful. I just don’t know if anyone could deny that a bond so special isn’t due to a divine connection.

Denali from FELT SOUL MEDIA on Vimeo.

The Japanese Crab Apple Was Actually in Quite a Good Mood!

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When I taught 1st grade, I’d say to my kids on days that I was feeling a little less patient than usual that I was “feeling like a crab apple” so they shouldn’t infer anything personally if I seemed short-tempered. I’m not sure how that simile came to be, but a tree like this can only inspire a good mood.

Look how fancy pantsy this tree is! It’s in the front yard of my mom’s house. Granted, this is one of those trees that blooms quickly with delicate flowers that get blown away with the next stiff breeze or light rain shower but it is magnificent as it lasts. Last Saturday, my mom and I sat outside with her dog, Sophie, soaking up some rays since the weather was absolutely gorgeous. We were sitting near the front bird feeders so we made many red-wing black birds angry for blocking their drive-through restaurant but we had plenty of chickadees, house finches, cardinals, and goldfinches coming close to grab some grub. We even had a great blue heron fly overhead and a flicker rooting around the southern part of the lawn as we settled deeper between the wooden slats of the bench.

We decided to take some pictures of the Japanese Crab Apple tree while it was at its height of elegance (as we always aim to do each year) before the next spring weather shake-up blew through. Its transient beauty is part of what makes it so special – something to look forward to appreciating however briefly. It draws you to stand there and look however long you can in a few moments of meditation before you realize you are staring at a tree – taking a “paws to pray”, if you will.

How can I say that was a “paws to pray” if I didn’t actually have a mental conversation with God? Because the appreciation of nature is a praise to God. Taking time to notice it, to absorb its balanced energy, to share it with others – is a type of prayer. Look at the close-up picture below of the petals and leaves and see how an artist created that. It was made for us to enjoy and take part in the interconnections between living things (as the single bee going flower to flower proved).

Springtime in the Midwest is a great time to re-energize as new life abounds through not only the Resurrection of Jesus celebrated on Easter Sunday but as the Earth is painted bright again by the power of the life through God.

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Saint Francis did it, so can you!

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St. Francis of Assisi apparently preached to animals. I mean, why not? They’re good listeners and they’re great at looking like they’re interested. You can’t go anywhere without running into some animal – whether it is the dog at your feet, the cat on you lap, a bird in the tree outside your window, a resident spider in the corner of your room, or an earthworm on the sidewalk after the rain. So why not make them a purposeful part of your life?

Worried about feeling silly talking to animals or reading a bible passage out loud just so Spot or Bubbles (your fish) can hear? Think of it as a good first step to being more comfortable evangelizing to other people. We’re all called to talk about God to others – but, I don’t know about you – that can be pretty hard for me. I’m not sure how the other person is going to respond, I feel like I don’t know enough to be able to respond to their questions or critiques, I don’t want to seem pushy about my personal beliefs, then I get all shy and clam up.

But you don’t have to be a street corner, bible thumper to evangelize (not that I’m criticizing that method but there are many of us that are not extroverted enough to do that). My sister had babysitters who were students at the local Christian college. One time she made the comment that she couldn’t understand why they were always so happy! Like, ALWAYS! Yeah, my guess is that it’s probably because they have embraced their faith – and when you do that, there’s no reason to be UNhappy! And just with their attitudes, they evangelized. It wasn’t in-your-face; it wasn’t confrontational, but there was something noticeably different about them…in a good way!

So use the comfort of the solitude you have with your pet (or any animal nearby) to make yourself comfortable with being in your faith. As you walk to get your mail, notice the sparrow in the tree and say, “Why hello there! I see you are enjoying this fine day that God has made, too!” Well, for that one you might want to do it in your head so your neighbors don’t get concerned. But, seriously, can it hurt to say a before meal prayer when you put down the dog’s dinner bowl? I guarantee if you have small children they will LOVE this practice. Not only will it help to instill habits of appreciation, thanks, and praise but it will help to give them the language and comfort level to continue with it as they grow older – with animals OR people! And, really, the worst that could happen is that other people might look at you a little sideways but that just might start a conversation that both of you need.