And the First Will Be Last

He always wants to be first. It doesn't matter what it is. He wants to be fed first, to go out the door first, to come in the door first, to get a treat first. He is the youngest and, by far, the smallest. His attitude more than makes up for both.

Though he has reached the age of 18 months, he remains a puppy. Well, at least when it comes to destruction. Baby gates abound. One day he got impatient as I reached to move a baby gate. In his attempt to be ready to dart through the opening, he managed to knock another baby gate down. It landed on top of him. He panicked and, rather than wait for help, frantically tried to get from under it. That caused him to run into the very scary vacuum cleaner, toppling it to the floor and sending parts of it everywhere. 

His brother and sister scrambled up the stairs. I could only watch the destruction unfold. He finally freed himself and almost knocked me down as he rushed to safety. 

After I got him calmed down and after I stopped laughing, I told him Jesus' parable about the workers in the vineyard.  I reminded him that Jesus said, "The last will be first, and the first will be last."  When you insist on pushing forward to be first realize that, sooner or later, you're going to be last.

All Kinds of Mischief

The Apostle Paul once said that he knew the things to do but still he did the things he knew he shouldn't do. Fendley could say the same.

Though he has passed his first birthday, he's still filled with puppy energy that he can't always control. He knows he is not supposed to chase the calves. But, well, it's just so much fun.

Timeout isn't so much fun but, in the moment, he forgets the consequences of his actions.

We aren't much different, are we? Actions have consequences. We'd all be happier if we remembered that.

Love Is A Four-Legged Word

I'm a firm believer that God gives us what we need. It might not always be what we want, but it's what we need. One day God decided we needed a puppy. And that puppy needed us.

He was on death row. Literally. He was next in line at the kill shelter. There were no other takers. He was just so cute.

He is like a super-active toddler. One eye must always be on him. Always. He loves to get into mischief. My older dogs and I were in a season of deep grief. This puppy refocused our attention to the present. We laughed at his antics. We started to play again.

God knew exactly what we needed.

Love Is A Four-Legged Word

I sure do love my three dogs. They're all rescues from kill shelters in our area.