Dogs.
I'm overrun with dogs. They are consuming my days, taking over my life.
About a month ago, our chihuahua Maddey was diagnosed with canine diabetes. She had been developing cataracts, losing weight, guzzling water daily, and peeing all over the house. It was awful. So now, we give her insulin shots twice daily. A dog, taking insulin shots. Crazy.
Then about two weeks ago, we began seeing a brown female pit bull hanging around, befriended by Dexter, our 3-legged dog that had adopted us a little over a year ago. I found myself running off this dog every day. I even got up one morning, and caught her in the outside doggie bed on the front porch, with him!
Then one early Friday morning, after we had let Dexter out, we heard barking, fighting, and pain-filled howling out back. I turned on the back flood light, and I saw a large black dog on top of Dexter, just biting him up mercilessly. I rushed outside, and that dog was gone in a flash. We saw him around the property several times daily over the weekend, then on Sunday morning, while the girls had let Maddey out to briefly pee, they came in to get their coats, and in an instant, Maddey was viciously attacked by the black dog, this time accompanied by the pit bull. The girls ran off the rogue dogs, and Maddey was bloodied and crippled, unable to walk the rest of the day. We took her & Dexter to the vet on Monday, getting Dexter a rabies shot as precaution, and Maddey was found to have been wounded in her lower back, resulting in nerve and back leg damage. She might never walk right again.
I was furious. We spent the next week guarding our three dogs every time we took them out, under seige in our own yard, and I kept my handguns loaded and cocked, hoping for a chance to kill them both should I get a good shot at them. They stayed elusive, showing up and then disappearing before I could get to them. Turns out, neighbors down the street had seen the mongrels themselves, one even saying they had killed two of his chickens.
Animal Control could not catch them, but several of us were determined we would eventually get them. Finally, this past Sunday, I heard a fusillade of small arms fire, coming from down the street. We have not seen the dogs, either one, since. I hope someone killed these dangerous dogs- after what the black one had done to my dogs, I just wish it could have been me. That sounds bad, I know. I just wanted to avenge Maddey.
Yesterday, we got another surprise. Kelsey and her boyfriend bought a 9-week old teacup Yorkie, for their 2-year anniversary. That's the last thing we needed, was another dog! We told Kelsey, "This is your dog. We are not taking care of another dog. She is solely your responsibility and expense." And now Ansley wants one....
Like I said, I'm overrun with dogs. God certainly made them to be "man's best friend", I just don't need any more 4-legged, furry friends!

As I try to focus my heart more on Christ this new year, and "walk humbly before your God" like Micah 6:8 says, I've asked God to give me His eyes for other people, and grow my compassion for them. I get so hurried in my life, and so focused on my schedule, my agenda, etc., that I can easily pass people by, brush them off, without stopping to invest the love of God in them. I want to change that.
Well, God put me to the test right away, and gave me opportunities to be compassionate. And I failed miserably a couple of times. First, a young man who used to be in our children's ministry came by to visit me in the RockiTown room early Sunday morning, while I was working to get everything set up for the morning worship hours. I was less than glad to see him, and was not as friendly to him as I could have been. After some small talk, while I was still working away, he quietly said goodbye, and slipped out of the room. Then at the end of the morning, as the last of the kids had left for the day, a dad came through, who serves in the Army reserves and got back from Iraq in the past year. He asked for prayer in reconnecting with his 8-year old son, and for wisdom in dealing with some rebellion & respect issues they were beginning to have with him. I was finishing the process of putting everything away, and was tired at the end of a long morning (7am to 12:30pm), and gave him the customary "I'll pray for you", with some words of "every parent deals with these, welcome to parenthood" platitudes.
I was later so convicted over both encounters. I missed two opportunities to show compassion. It bummed me out for a couple of days.
Then today at the gym, I saw this lady that I had seen there before, and recognized from somewhere. She had looked at me before like she recognized me as well. As I saw her again today, I realized she worked at the gym, but instead of hurrying back to the office, and rather than passing by her and just saying, "Hi, how are you, good to see you" like we so often do, I stopped and asked her if we knew each other. Turns out, her family had attended my former church back in the 90's, and her two older kids had come up through my children's ministry there. Wow, that was how we knew each other! I asked her how the family was doing, and she proceeded to confide in me that her marriage fell apart about 8 years ago, she had struggled to provide for her 3 kids over the years, had lost a job in nursing that she had trained for, and only recently began work at the gym. I asked if she was attending that church still, and she said she had not been back since the divorce. She told me that she used to teach in preschool there, was involved in Adult Sunday School ministry, went to visitation every week, and never missed a worship service. Yet when her marriage and family was in crisis, no one ever contacted them to find out what was happening, or to say that they were missed. She relocated her kids up to Dacula, but had not plugged back into any church since.
So here is this woman who I had once ministered to her children, dealing with the pain of a divorce and the pain of neglect from a church she had once faithfully served, coupled with the ongoing struggles of being a single mom. God kept me there listening to her, in the lobby of the gym, while she confided these things in her kids' old children's pastor from years ago. She finally had to get back to work, and only then did I say I'd pray for her and her family, and that we'll talk again sometime.
I left there today praying for her, and asking God, "Give me your eyes for the broken-hearted, and the compassion to not pass them by." Jesus would be in a crowd of people, and notice someone to the side who needed His touch, or someone who needed His attention. He always stopped, always made time, no matter who or what was pressing Him to keep moving.
Father, I want to stop for people more, and give them the love and life they need, from Your heart, through mine, to theirs.
Fill me with compassion.

Its hard to believe 2009 has arrived. I'm sitting here watching football, and reflecting on 2008. Time seems to fly by faster, the older I get. It was a great year in so many ways- reconnecting with old friends, deepening ties to family and current friends, and some big successes in ministry, with VBC, 5th grade Adventure Trip, etc. 2008 was incredible. I grew in Jesus Christ as well, and I hope I've been able to pass on to others what I've gained.
After our annual New Years celebration with the Jimmersons & Brantons, I was reading Scripture and a devotional guide the morning of Jan. 2, asking God, "What do You want me to be about in 2009? What should be my 'New Years Resolutions' for this year?" It just so happened my devo guide referenced Micah 6:8- "...and what does the Lord require of you, but to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly before your God?" I've reflected on that for a couple of days. Such a simple statement of purpose, but so all-encompassing. If I seek to make wise choices, "do the right thing"...if I look for opportunities to show love and compassion... if I humbly focus on knowing, loving, and following Christ- that is what He wants my life to be about, in 2009 and beyond. So often we look for deeper meanings, deeper truths, greater knowledge, when our Father simply wants us to follow Micah 6:8. And yet, when we seek these things of God, everything else will follow.
So what's my New Years Resolution? To look for more opportunities to "act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly before your God." What else is there?