Bring on the Rain by Jodee Messina

A few years back, I went through a very rough emotional time. I also started listening to Jodee Messina then. I can remember the day that this song came on the radio and I almost wrecked my van. I mean it. It was actually raining outside and in my heart the day I heard it. I heard it and thought, " That is MY SONG!". I can't do the song justice by just printing the words, so you need to find it on the internet and listen to it. This song is such an example of how our faith in God can change our attitude from " What am I going to do?" to " Go ahead, I've got God, bring on the rain, I can take it!!!" Julianna and Emily, bless their hearts heard this song over and over and over when they were 5 and 3 and 1/2 and it became ingrained in their minds- it's still one of Julesy's favorites and she can BELT IT OUT. Emily told me recently that I should include this on my blog, so I am. :) I hope someone out there can benefit from the spirit of this song, and enjoy the tune as well. It's AWESOME!!!




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How do they find me???

Well, we've got another cat. He is an uneutered male (soon to be neutered) and young- probably a year or less. My memory card is full or I'd include a picture. He is beautiful in a very unboyish way. He has longer hair with green eyes and a beautiful ruff of fur around his face. Very striking boy he is. He showed up a few days ago and at first just wanted food. Now he could care less about the food, he wants LOVE. He is thin, so I am sure he needs the food, but he will leave the food bowl if you come out into the garage and he will beg to be pet. I told Jon that he was sticking around and Jon said, " Is he sweet, will he let you pet him?" "Yes, he's a sweetie, I said." "Cool", was Jon's reply. I said, "He's not fixed." Jon said, " He will be soon, right?". This is our little "dance" of new animals. It is understood between us that no animal that comes to us will be turned away or put to sleep, unless it is very sick. It is understood that if the animal is healthy and gets along with the others, he will be vetted (yes, we get a discount) and taken in. So, tomorrow I am off to the vet to make sure he's not sick with some awful disease and get his reproductive parts taken care of and then a name for the pretty boy. It's always hard to do that because all of our male cats have female names, so I am sure this one will be no exception. It's the price you pay to become a Trinkle cat- you're gonna have a pretty name. Sigh......................... I don't know how they know to come here, but they do, and they must know somehow that kindness lives at this house.

The pool is open!!!-

Oh what a wonderful day yesterday was! Yesterday was the day that we officially turned on the pool heater for the summer. "What's the big deal about that?", you ask? For me it is a symbol of the time to come and a delightful reminder of the freedom of summer. Here are some of the many reasons that this time of year is a sigh of relief for me.

We can get up when we want and sleep in when we want and stay in our jammies as long as we want.

I don't make breakfast.

I can spend hours of time with my little girls- whether going somewhere fun or just vegging out here.

I CAN READ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (don't ask me why I feel like I can read more during the summer, I just do)

In a pinch, I can jump in the pool, shampoo my hair, jump back in and I am DONE- the quickest clean in the world. (Yes, we do this, don't comment on how "gross" it is- it's just a bit of shampoo, folks).

I hate cold weather. HATE IT. Summer sympbolizes me coming out of the cave, literally and figuratively.

I love going on walks in the cool night air.

The dogs can have baths outside without freezing to death. (When you have 13 dogs, that is a VERY BIG DEAL!)

The birds can stay in their outside cages most of the day, on the pool porch and sing to their hearts' content.

POPSICLES!!!!

PAPER PLATES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

July is the month when we go to the beach for one week and rent a condo- the kids catch fish in the little nets (Em is demonstrating in the picture) and we go hunting for fiddler crabs and eat dinner at Saltwater Cowboys. We spend hours on the beach and in the pool and catch up on sleep and eating and reading. All of these things are memories we savor and traditions my kids treasure each year.

I am so happy and I am so glad I live in Florida- I don't mind the heat- and I love the freedom of the summer.

No guile in their mouths

Why God has chosen animals to teach me some of my most important spiritual lessons, I have no idea. Perhaps it's because they don't talk. There are no words to interfere with what they SHOW ME. I was petting my cats tonight and thinking about the dogs and a scripture came to mind. Not the EXACT wording, but the thought, and then I looked it up on Bible Gateway. "There is no guile in their mouths." (This was the thought that came to my mind, which is not the actual scripture, mind you.) Guile, is defined as duplicity- contradictory doubleness of thought, speech or action. John 1:47 says, " When Jesus saw Nathaniel approaching, he said of him, "Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false (guile). In Isaiah, Jesus is described in Chapter 53, verse 9 as " He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was there any deceit (guile) in his mouth." Jesus did not say one thing when he meant another. What an amazing quality- how many of us can say that of ourselves? Not me, that's for sure. But one of the things I respect and love MOST about my animals is that they have no guile in their mouths. They might eat poop or roll in dead things, but they will NEVER "say" one thing when they mean another. If they are happy, they exude HAPPY. If they are scared, they exude FEAR. If they are angry with another dog, they show it, take care of the problem, and get on to other things. If they don't want to be pet because they are hurt (sometimes the first clue that someone is not feeling well), they walk away or shy away from your hand. They always tell the truth. They are not duplicitous. How many of us see someone that we despise, and yet we smile and say hello anyway? How many times do we not feel like speaking but we pick up the phone and "fake" a conversation? Now, I am not condoning being RUDE, but just saying that too often we say things we really really don't mean. We are doing one thing and saying another, or thinking one thing and doing another. If Jesus wanted to tell someone they were wrong, like the woman at the well, he didn't coat his real words with lies. He told them what the problem was, and then lovingly told them how to solve the problem. He didn't walk into the temple and say, " Well I'm not sure, but I don't think this is how you should use my Father's house. " Jesus was a man of few words unless he was preaching to the masses, so I find it interesting that he commented on Nathaniel's lack of guile. He must have found it a rare quality or an important one, to comment on Nathaniel's quality of truthfulness. When we get a new dog, they are often terrified or sad, and there is no question about that. The picture above is of Rocco, our newest surrender. He was very afraid and sad for the first week he was here and it was VERY EVIDENT. He followed me from room to room and shook violently when left alone. He was so sad and didn't know who his new owner was and he SHOWED confusion, fear, and sadness. Now, he is totally in love with our family and me in particular, and his happiness is VERY EVIDENT- he wags his tail, lays his head on your shoulder, and licks your face with such enthusiasm. God used him to remind me today that I should do what I say, say what I mean, keep my mouth shut if I am mad, (until I have prayed about the right thing to say) and let no guile be in my mouth. I think Jesus would approve of the lesson that I was reminded of today. I hope I will practice it as diligently as my animals do.

Twisty, aka Truffles

Alot of times, the stories behind our animals are as interesting as the animals themselves. If you look carefully at the top picture of Truffles, you will see that her left hind leg seems to stick out a bit. Her original name was Twisty, but we hated the name (you'll find out later), so we renamed her Truffles. Twisty was in a cage at Animal Care and Control with a big laminated sign on her cage that said, " Twisty"- and then it told her story. It seems that the kitten got caught on the twisted part of a barbed wire fence by her back left leg. She was seen hanging there for three days before someone decided to see if she was still alive. She was. So they took her off the fence, and treated her for her very severe wounds and her near death dehydration. Julianna wanted a tiny kitten, but I talked her into getting this cat instead. I knew that she would be a very special soul. And she is. She craves attention, loves to sit on your lap, and gets along with all the pets here, especially the birds. Since she is an indoor kitty, that is important. She walks a bit oddly and when she eats, that back left leg always splays out in back of her. I am so glad we have her.