Favorite Tweets 2018 Religious

 Religious  

 

 Joel Osteen

 

 You can run but not hide from God. THIS IS THE ONE HE LIKED.

 

 You can be pitiful or powerful.

 

 Rise up and walk. It's your time to be free.

 

 We are asking for the possible when God wants to do the impossible.

 

 That wasn’t good luck. That was a good God.

 

 I have a history with God.

 

 It’s not to defeat you. It’s to establish you. #TheFurnace

 

 Don't let people talk you out of what God put in you. Story of his mom wanting a pool and dad said no. But she    bought floaties. She measured. Guy did it for free.

 

 What God has ordained for you won't go to anyone else. You can't override him.

 

 When it doesn't work out your way, it's because God is working it out his way.

 

 Their no doesn't cancel God's yes.

 

 God has already lined up your life.

 

 Whatever God has turned around for you is an opportunity to strengthen others. Make it your mission.

 

 If you are not going to be a blessing, he may not bless you. Give and it will be given to you.

 

 Cancer. Divorce. Addiction. Abuse. Grief. You can help others if you experienced these. You've been healed. Help  someone else.

 

 God calls you what you are before it happens.

 

 Your case is under appeal. New verdict on the way. #overruled

 

 I have pitched my tent in the land of hope. David

 

 You don't have to go after the blessing. The blessing will come after you.

 

 Proving years bring due season.

 

 Praise causes the creator of the universe to show up.

 

 After the pit comes the palace.

 

 Quit taking the bait.

 

 On the other side of a difficulty is a new level of your destiny.

 

 God has ordered my steps. No one can stop me.

 

 In the valley is where room enough is.

 

 The trouble is temporary. The joy is permanent.

 

 You don't have to fill God in.

 

 Don’t let people contaminate your soil. Get rid of them. God will give you people that will push you up and not down.

 

 God is surrounding what is surrounding you.

 

 Everything you went through deposited something on the inside.

 

 God is recalculating your route.

 

 Take your seat and God will work. Be still. Lean not on your own understanding. Put your feet up. The enemy will do everything to keep you from being seated.

 

 Lame people can’t help lame people up. Stay away from enablers.

 

 Feed your history or your destiny.

 

 Don't keep swimming across an ocean to help someone who won't cross a puddle for you.

 

 Look up and listen up.

 

 I am reaping a harvest from seeds I didn’t plant.

 

 Home court advantage is 15 points. Knowing my father was there made me play greater.

 

 The saints of old cheer us on.

 

 Seeing your faith activates His power.

 

 You will come into suddenlys.

 

 Don't have a limited vision.

 

 A slingshot with a blessing is more powerful than a tank without.

 

 God's delivery service is active and on time.

 

 Pray and follow up with expectancy.

 

 The healing is en route. The miracle is in motion.

 

 In buffering, reconnect to your source.

 

 God knows how to make you unappetizing to the enemy.

 

 Reign is in your forecast.

 

 You've got to keep your lid on.

 

 God will be your vindicator.

 

 Trouble can be transportation. God will move you where you need to be.

 

 When you are good to people who are not nice to you, your foundation is going down deeper.

 

 I am under construction.

 

 God has it all. He makes streets of gold.

 

 In silent times, God is getting me prepared.

 

 David Jeremiah

 

 I am under the spout of blessings.

 

 Don't curse, rehearse or nurse evil. Reverse it.

 

 We are living in the parentheses of his patience.

 

 God created the earth in seven days. He’s been working on heaven for a very long time. Can you imagine what it will be?

 

 The Lord never says well done good and FAMOUS servant.

 

 Busy can stand for Busy Under Satan's Yoke #MakeTimeForGod

 

 God is never in a bad mood. Hebrews 13:8.

 

 Family promise box is so cool. Joshua 1:9. Psalm 50:15. Isaiah 41:10. James 1:5. 1John 1:9. Give me a promise on which I can stand. God does not change.

 

 He steadies our nerves and purifies our motives.

 

 Gabriel did the ultrasound. Told Mary she would have a son. I'd rather be Gabriel than Michael. He always brought good news.

 

 Switch power sources and rely on God's transformer.

 

 He is preaching on Joseph. Begins with child was to play him at school, but got the flu. They wrote him out because it was late. Few people noticed.

 

 Christian comedian kept annual silver dollar from grandpa because: it was the best that he had to give.

 

 Use the what interrogative. What are you trying to teach me?

 

 God calls and equips.

 

 God sits on a throne in heaven but dwells in all. The throne is always occupied.

 

 No such thing as luck. Everything must pass through His fingers first.

 

 We need to walk around with our hands up in the air, victorious.

 

 The narrow way has speed limits and guard rails.

 

 Face a need and you will get a provision.

 

 The Bible describes Goliath by physical strength, but David by spiritual strength. Goliath was 9 feet tall. Can you imagine his voice?

 

 Before you close your Christmas card note, mention the greatest thing God did for you this year.

 

 Jesus loves to speak about being a shepherd.

 

 They found the Bible of Desmond Doss. He was an overcomer. We are not undercomers. We are overcomers.

 

 I'm going to sign the bottom of the paper. You fill in the top part.

 

 Our perspective of faith needs enlarging.

 

 We have trusted people we never met. Think airlines.

 

 We belong above the circumstances. Not under the circumstances.

 

 The past and future are thieves.

 

 Progressive is dumping prayer and proactive is relief.

 

 Peace occurs 400 times in the Bible. With and of God.

 

 God doesn't increase you to increase your standard of living, but your standard of GIVING. If you give more to the Lord, you give less to the government.

 

 Storage facilities didn't exist in the 60s. Look at them now--50,000. Billions of catalogs are sent out. #YouCantTakeItWithYou #BeAGoodSteward

 

 Mark Twain’s daughter on a trip they took : “Papa, you know everybody but God, don’t you?” My heart just sunk. He took his name because it meant 12 feet deep.

 

 Go through life with the son, not under the son.

 

 When you hit a hard situation, you can’t google spiritual warfare. Satan doesn’t say I’m coming on Tuesday.

 

 Dope and alcohol leave you empty. Stuff Jesus in your being.

 

 If parents are not monitoring the Internet, movies, music and friends, you are setting the enemy free.

 

 Present yourselves to God.

 

 The bible is a paradise of glory, river of pleasure.

 

 On the way to heaven you are going to get an extreme makeover.

 

 Jesus is the greatest overcomer who ever overcame. Whatever he says he'll do, he does.

 

 Let me be Easter for you. Soldiers, seal, stone, sepulcher empty, shroud remains, scars, sightings.

 

 As Baylor chaplain, he learned in two years that Christians have strength that puts sorrow in a different place.

 

 The stone was 4,000 pounds. How was Mary going to move it?

 

 Mark is a man of action. Immediately is used in his writings everywhere.

 

 God is able.

 

 You are not a self-made man. God gave it to you.

 

 There aren't any pockets in a shroud.

 

 Stand-up people get promoted.

 

 Has God given up on America or has America given up on God? The latter.

 

 Cemetery comes from the Greek word for sleeping place. In a way it’s like you are at an inn until you go Home. You expect to get up and continue your journey.

 

 God has more info than we do.

 

 Don’t let things pile up like when you were little and your parents had you clean. Take care of things every day. #ToGetToHeaven

 

 The birth announcement of Jesus outdid all of ours. An angel was used.

 

 Know that you need it. Hunger for wisdom. Seek it. Desire it. Listen to it. Do it.

 

 We give awards for speaking, but not for listening.

 

 We all have as much of God as we want.

 

 Doing the right thing without a precedent.  That's wisdom.

 

 Victors over confusion. Not of confusion.

 

 Thank you for what you put in my hands and what you take out of them. #tithe

 

#700Club God owns 100 percent and you get to keep 90 percent.

 

#700Club Pat says go play football in China.

 

#700Club Don't get in a wrestling match with God.

 

#700Club A ring from a bullet as a reminder. Yeah, God.

 

#700Club Forgiveness is not about keeping score but losing count. #70x7

 

#700Club How often do you pray? Just once, but it’s all day long. A doctor.

 

#700Club #ScottRoss wife says I'm a daughter of the king. Makes her husband the king's son-in-law. :) He says the C in cancer stands for Christ, cross, Calvary, commitment and covenant. Wife says one holds up the other when the other is down.

 

#700Club Did not know #DarrylStrawberry was a minister. He said God will rescue, redeem you with his blood and restore you.

 

#DoveAwards Saw all inspirational films except cartoon one.

 

#DoveAwards Take our jackedupness and turn into something beautiful. Cory Asbury

 

#PLUS The value of consistent prayer is not that he will hear us, but that we will hear him. William McGill

 

#BillyGraham Jesus never said PERHAPS this is the way.

 

#GodFriendedMe On hold for 911. That’s sad.

 

#LivingBiblically If anyone tells you this is not a cult, it's a cult.

 

#LivingBiblically I'm pregnant dude. I'm calming up.

 

#LivingBiblically You are so late you might want to take a pregnancy test.

 

#LivingBiblically Who are you, Kramer? Wait outside.

 

#LivingBiblically I should get some more expensive sunglasses so I’d care about them.

 

#LivingBiblically You got lalalanded.

 

#LivingBiblically Aren't parts of the Bible fun? Isn't there like a water park section? Well, there was a flood.

 

#KLove He died for your enemies, too.

 

#KLove Broken colors still color.

 

#MiraclesFromHeaven It's all right, Mom. Not everyone's gonna believe. And that's okay. They'll get there when they get there.

 

A longtime married friend who lost her spouse says she has never been to church without him. How wonderful to have that.

 

Pastor Bill Sutton of Trinity Baptist in McAllen, Texas, says elected officials are ministers of God for the righteous. “I don’t believe any person is in any office that God has not allowed it to be there.”

 

God draws close to us not necessarily vice versa. It's like friends. They want and like the same things.

 

Jesus sees through us and he sees us through. Adrian Rogers

 

Grandstands of Heaven!

 

Just saw TNX God license plate. Love.

 

Waiting on God is active, not passive. It involves prayer, counsel, study, patience and faith.

 

He has the power to satisfy our needs. He always enters in abundance and can give us more than we expect. Sermon

 

My spirit becomes dry when it forgets to feed on you. Sermon

 

St. Ignatius -- Give me only your love and your grace. With this I am rich enough, and I have no  more to ask.

 

Prayer is asking for rain. Faith is bringing the umbrella.

 

Put your money where your faith is. Love it.

 

You’ll be asked were you you? Father Leo

 

Parents say priest told mourners that son may be kept out of heaven over suicide.

 

#LeaveItAtTheCross

 

Who is the Man of the Shroud Episode 2 says there were 372 wounds on the back of the body.

 

St. Francis tamed a wolf. He had foot wounds, but endured. The Pope ordered that his blind eyes be operated on, which meant cauterizing his temples with hot irons. Francis claims to have felt nothing at all when this was done.

 

On the value topic, a rosary may not be so in the way the world measures it, but a priest said it was a keepsake from his dear grandmother. He left law and things thought valuable to serve God after tugging the cord. Gave up material pursuits. Received much more in spiritual benefit.

I always leave a funeral with a message

 

I have attended more funerals and visitations this year over any other. Or was one degree away from the death of someone. The average age of the these 25 males under 72 who passed away was 61.8. It was 66.8 for six women--mothers of friends and three friends.

I always leave a funeral with a message.

--The disciples had a journey during the Great Commission. The Israelites left Egypt. Ours is eternal life.

--Perhaps my time seems too brief. Don't lengthen it now with undue grief.

Both are lines from the death of two friends' mothers.

I've listened to I Believe by Ronnie Dunn and heard the "When Tomorrow Starts Without Me" poem by David Romano.

I've heard scripture. Sometimes the time of death is confusing to us like someone making plans he was unable to fulfill, but he isn’t disappointed. Heaven has trees, rivers, cities of gold and radiant light. If God were to give us all a view of heaven as clear as that which people are seeing now, we wouldn’t hang on to this life the way we do. Nothing on this earth can compare--Corinthians 2:9. People who have seen heaven don't want to come back. In that eulogy, someone said his mom didn't see her brother in her near death experience. Revelation 21:4 played a part in this message. Why would there be tears in heaven? That's why. Only two things in this life should remain important: To know Jesus. To make sure those we love know Jesus.

I learned about Welcome, Sister Death. St. Francis devised a ritual for friars to follow (Transistus or Passage celebration on Oct. 3).  By calling death sister, Francis reminds us that Christian faith has a sacred message about death. Because of our sharing in the death and resurrection, death is not the absolute end of life, but the end of life in the world and the beginning of life in the next.

I've mused over "I've never been to church without him" from someone who lost her husband. And how President George H.W. Bush and Barbara have shared Christmas together for 73 years.

I've read obituaries. This one I love. The kids recall times on the family boat that broke down regularly. The dad, an optimist, placed a sticker on the boat that said, "Nothing about this sucks." And he has submitted an address notification with a forwarding address of Pearly Gate Way, Heaven.

From celebrities and philosophers on how they handle death:

Jaclyn Smith said tears put you in contact with that person. She cries every day over her mom after eight years and doesn't even go to Houston, her birthplace.

Teddy Roosevelt lost his wife and his mother on the same day when he was 25. He went to the Badlands to escape his depression by riding his horse 15 hours a day.

Chris Hurst ran for office after his TV reporter girlfriend was gunned down on the air.

Ann Graham Lotz said her husband's death was not an accident. It was God's foreordained time for him to move to his father's house.

For Brandon Burlsworth, the subject in "Greater," this message is summarized in the final scene - his headstone. The epitaph reads: "Our loss is great, but God is greater."

Lauren Daigle describes her earthly loss, but heavenly gain is in this video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3t2Tf1Dqf7w&fbclid=IwAR2zmIsR-cwlfYtzSNrliB8jrvKPi4ndh1_auuTRm5sB2mnxwGyQ97ObsUs&app=desktop

Don't you wish they could beam down, Sandra Bullock asked, thinking of her mother who she feels like had a hand in her adopting children. You can't bring them back, but they are not erased.

You have to honor that memory and keep it alive, Luke Bryan explained on his family losses.

I heard it said that Robert Kennedy still lives in every courageous politician who seeks a newer world and enters the moral conflict. He still lives in every ripple of hope and every blow in the walls of oppression and resistance.

Some of our best living is done through the people we leave behind. Della Reese

You don't have to be famous; you just have to make your mother and father proud of you. Meryl Streep

Dak Prescott does the things his mother told and taught him.  The Ready. Raise. Rise. cancer campaign initiative his mom envisioned lets her goodness live on.

                Skier Jon Lillis wears his brother's shoes every day and a pendant with his ashes.

Food can be a wonderful thread through time, says Jennifer Nettles. It is living history. When she makes her great-grandmother's hoecake, she feels connected to her. It is transportive, a time machine. She remembers the kitchen, her hands in flour and her skill at flipping the pan.

Roma Downey went to her mom's grave and saw a butterfly the first time. Now, it's a reminder of God's love.

Friends show their love in times of trouble, not in happiness. -- Euripides (Their right words cushion you with love).

The hour of departure has arrived, and we go our separate ways, I to die, and you to live. Which of these two is better only God knows. Socrates

Grief is an excruciating emotion. What you have lost will never come back. A part of them goes, a part stays here. How can you put those qualities of that person in your behavior? Embody those you appreciated.  Try not to suppress your pain; it will only heighten it.

Grief is somewhat like major surgery. In time, the pain will lessen, but the scars will remain. Eventually you will laugh as you laughed together. Pray for the deceased. My mom encouraged me to have friends in heaven. Let the deceased be spoken without a shadow of a ghost.

There is in Christian faith the antidote for sorrow. You loved. Why don't you entrust the loss to His love? They could no longer be in our arms, but they were in someone’s arms; their own angels in heaven hold them for the time being.

Grief is unity or disunity. Love or hate. Peace or war. Healing or pain. Embrace or exclusion. One family did a shrine for their daughter at the dining room table with photos, flowers, baby booties and a jar of sand from her favorite place. That is active remembering. A widowed husband still makes his wife breakfast and buys her Valentines. Hope that grief is comforted by the goodness of life and not the reality of death. Do good things. Preserve a loved one's handwriting. I've done this for my parents and grandparents and framed it.

A lady put together an anniversary photo of wedding bands, hearts, his watch, books, love letters and a candle.  She kept a journal noting a funny email, times she helped someone at work, the changing seasons.  She sorted recipes and travel articles he collected.

From Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) magazine: grief takes a lot of energy out of you. Find something that is replenishing to recharge your battery. Have a Memory Bash--at hospitals, hospices, funeral homes, religious groups with those in the same boat. Grief brain is like being drunk. It's hard to be in the moment. Energy is redirected to the new normal. Empathy is the person who is in the hole with you and sees the world from your perspective.

Download the goodgrief app to communicate with others.

In the second year, you become aware of the smaller, daily concerns. No couple friends call.  You will always miss your husband, but you will soften. You need to find something to reinvest in, a counselor said.

A Wall Street Journal article said don't clam up when life brings you down. There is no point in trying to save face by pretending the problem is not there. Don't flash out an emotional Morse Code that all is well. Risk some candor. You'll find it a relief and others will respect it.  Don't playact and invent stories. Have a good-natured conversation. Connect. Be forthright. Be in grief's presence.

Lay aside chronos and embrace kairos. There are two different words that the ancient Greek language used to describe the idea of time. One is chronos, which is the linear time we measure with a clock. The other is kairos, which has less to do with the measurement and quantity of time and more to do with the quality of time. Modern cultures tend to focus on chronos, but some cultures still understand the value of kairos. America, with all of our focus on chronos, has lost track of kairos. We rarely inhabit the moment we’re in because we’re focused on the next moment, the next thing we have to do. 

You cannot get away from who you are or from how you've shaped your experiences. As Salman Rushdie overserved,  those who do not have the power over the story that dominates their lives, power to retell it, rethink it, deconstruct it, joke about it and change it as times change, truly are powerless because they cannot think new thoughts. You must integrate your past into your present. 

A story told is a life lived. Bodie Miller said drowned daughter Emmy will work through him.

Grief is a doorway to the opening of the heart, said Paula D'Arcy, who lost her husband and daughter to a drunk driver while three months pregnant.

Before she died, my world was vivid, safe and full of hope, said a father about his daughter. I had to forge ahead. I had to become more than my former self, despite grief and in honor of love. He has to tackle being there for his son and being asked how many children he has, knowing one is deceased.

A mother had an interesting reply to how she was after her addict son's death. I've never slept so good in ten years. There is something worse than death. Staying up at night after worrying about the whereabouts and well-being of a son who is controlled by addiction. He is resting in peace and so am I.

Petty grievances of irksome co-workers, a child with the sniffles, flat tires pale in comparison after experiencing grief. Not everyone can start a foundation to cure cancer or get a medical degree.  But I try to be less judgmental, a little more forgiving and generous, a little more grateful for the small moments in life. Tracy Grant/Washington Post

Some inspire out of tragedy.

On a Steve Hartman story, a man had a lamp like an eternal flame, a picture on his wife's pillow, visited the cemetery five times a day, and hands out pictures of her tombstone.

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is a top destination in Russia. They take photos and sip champagne while the bride and groom pay their respects by laying flowers at the grave.

Sackcloths were a symbol of mourning in biblical times. It showed heartfelt sorrow for the loss of a person.

While many nursing homes have the funeral home enter through the back door, one did an honor walk. The staff formed a line along the walls to the entrance. This was honoring a deceased resident. This was embracing death. This was sacred.

Though you want the world to slow to a pedestrian pace, the world will be busy on the day people die. Calendar posts are still relevant to others. Material things are left. Arguments won will not serve. Regrets will be resigned to the past. Time is finite and fleeting. --paraphrasing John Pavlovitz

It may not sink in for a while. Some people are going in circles.  It's OK to feel like the shell of the man you once were. These words will come to mind: Hollow heart. Crisis mode. Forlorn, bereft, devastated, jarred, broken, corrosive, empty, crushing, inconsolable, stinging, crushing. Lights are off. You don't have to be a granite cliff, strong and rugged.

Imagine an old-fashioned handcar that railroad workers used in the 17th and 18th centuries to traverse train tracks. Two people would stand on either side and take turns pumping the seesaw-like lever back and forth with muscle power. The back and forth of grief of resilience and vulnerability actually has no rewards for speed. If your handcar moves at a snail's pace, so be it. If it goes backwards sometimes, so be it. Also think of a teeter totter, up and down.

It helps to steer into the wild emotions of grief, as if driving in a skid, purposely setting your course toward them. Grief is a difficult road to navigate, but the detour could be worse.

The above is from a TAPS story, which also mentions grief being compared to winter, dark, overcast, bleak and cold. People withdraw indoors in isolation. But our bodies are not designed for storage of feelings, but expression. Do get ample rest, nutrition, hydration, exercise and health care.

President Abraham Lincoln in a Guideposts story said perhaps his depression may have given him coping skills that helped him accomplish. He lost an infant brother and his mother at 9. When he was 18, his sister gave birth to a stillborn child and died. At 22, friendless, penniless and uneducated, he left the Illinois farm to carve a career as a lawyer. One friend said his melancholy dripped from him as he walked. An artist recalled he had the saddest face he ever attempted to paint. He lost his two sons and dealt with the Civil War. Because he spoke of suicide, he didn't carry a pocketknife for fear of using it. Friends removed razors from his room. What strengths may have been bestowed from this? Jokes and storytelling were his refuge from despair. "I laugh because I must not weep." Knowing his own failings, he could forgive others. He was dedicated to a cause. He was dependent on God. "I am driven to my knees by the conviction that I have nowhere else to go." His treatment included starving, bleeding, dunking in icy water, purging with black pepper drinks, swallowing mercury and applying mustard rubs. He emerged emaciated, exhausted and worse.

But you don't have to. Just remember in heaven, your loved one's crown is overladen with jewels. And your next year can bring you healing and growth, giving and love.

Make No Bones About Dogs, They Are Pawsome Furever

 

Ruby Thomas, 8, the beloved bulldog of Mary Ann Van Osdell and David Thomas died suddenly March 13 at the emergency vet at 1:45 a.m. when she had trouble breathing and a mass was found in her airway that had presented no symptoms. Her temperature was 105 degrees. They sedated her and intubated her. We left from 3:30 to 5 a.m. One of their first memories is Logan Calhoun saying he loved her puppy breath and a video called Hungry Puppy of how quickly she ate that we posted on youtube. She had a spot on the top of her head that we called the on/off button. She loved picking on her much bigger sister, Zoe, a Lab, who preceded her in death. Ruby drooled, farted and snored, sometimes sleeping straight up. Our favorite picture is her tongue curled up where she won second place in The Times Bark Madness contest. She has also been to the Mardi Gras pet parade with a Really A Tiger sign and a pet blessing at St. Joseph's Catholic Church. She was loved by all except the mean man who was walking his dog when she was about six months old and tried to meet his puppy. He called the police. She would get between Mary Ann and David whenever they were side by side. David said she truly missed Mary Ann whenever she was out of town, looking all over for her. Mutual feeling now. Mary Ann took her to obedience classes at Pet Smart where we used a clicker and a loud "aahhhhhttttt" and motion they taught. She didn't mind too well, but knew not to get on the carpet. She would listen at the louvered open doors when Mary Ann played Christmas carols on the piano. She had cherry eye as a baby and had started going deaf. She loved barking at the vacuum cleaner and was in an ad for Oreck because of that. Hours before her death she wanted to attack the edger. She also barked at a Christmas decoration that played music. Once at the vet, they thought she had dental work because she ate part of a gutter spout. She chased neighbor dogs up and down the fence and while boarded, got out of breath apparently doing the same and had to be rushed to the emergency vet. She never met a stranger. She acted like she was looking at ghosts often. She is also affectionately known as Scooby, Rue Rue, Ruester, Pretty Face, Girl Whirl, Ruby Tuesday, Ruby Don't Take Your Love To Town. It was a kinship beyond words.

 

Sean Dietrich wrote a touching piece about his camping partner, truck passenger, fishing buddy. "My girl."  He was giving a speech in Birmingham after finding about the death and felt like he was going to puke. He cried in front of a lot of people. It was not his finest hour. The next day, he woke up feeling sick. His head hurt from crying. He hadn’t eaten in 24 hours.

 

Dave Ramsey "has been owned by 10 dogs." He says: We think we select them. We see them at the shelter, the pet store, the breeder, or as a stray, and we think we are giving them a home. We think we’re caring for them, feeding them and paying their vet bills. But that is not how it really works. They select us. Somehow, they send a dog email to God saying, “That human needs a dog exactly like me.” And God says, “I agree, but we will let the human think he picked you.” So, I have been picked, or owned, by 10 dogs in my life. Maggie, the Golden Retriever, died. It was not a predicted death. It wasn’t a violent death. They just woke up, went to the garage to get her, and she wasn’t breathing. A family member gone. We baby talk with them and shorten our syllables to make our point.  He has been owned by dogs that were pretty, dumb, hyper, shed, didn’t, dogs that would chase a ball, dogs that would catch a Frisbee. And out of all 10, only one was mean: a crazy Dalmatian that only liked him—no one else. He has been owned by purebred dogs and pound dogs, and they all chose him and loved him. Dogs are better than some people. They don’t ask much, they aren’t mean, they care about your feelings and they can sense when you’ve had a bad day. If you have had a bad day, it is their job to make it better. He wishes he was more like that. Truth is, Maggie would do anything to be petted. He wish he had done that more Saturday. There is a lesson in a life like Maggie’s: wag more, bark less. Be others-centered instead of self-centered.

 

Brittany Moore captured her dog's final days. Playing outside, pats, feasting. So sad.

 

If you knew your dog might die, there are bucket lists.

 

God Made A Dog--As a companion, cuddler, snorer, slobberer, to put costumes on, pull sleds, find bombs, to lead the blind, protect, chase squirrels, fetch, be a pretty face, lay by a coffin, wait by the train.

 

Take a Lesson from Them--Sniff, plunge in; you can always shake it off. Don't be afraid. Stand your ground.

 

Man Van Dog--Former Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers center Joe Hawley earned over $13 million during his eight-year career. After being released by Tampa Bay, he retired at 29 and travels with his dog.

 

Can I Be Your Dog? book-- A floppy-eared mutt on Butternut Street is on a mission to find his forever home. He writes a letter listing all of his admirable attributes (he is potty trained and has his own squeaky toy) to the people in the yellow house. The mail lady delivers Arfy's letter. Unfortunately, the people turn him down. Arfy keeps trying, writing more letters delivered by the mail lady. All write him back and decline his offer. Feeling sad and dejected, Arfy cries himself to sleep in his soggy box. When he wakes he finds a letter from the mail lady asking to be Arfy's person. Arfy, full of glee, sprints to the mail lady with his reply letter.  Arfy's letters are written in crayon and signed with a paw print. The last page lists ways readers can help a homeless animal.

 

Lost Dogs--Did he run off from a place that held no joy for him--only pain and deprivation? Did you hope someone would take him? Did he think at all? If put to death, the good thing is his belly was full and loving hands held him.  The bad thing is he was much too young and they weren't even your hands.

George Graham Vest served as U.S. Senator from Missouri from 1879 to 1903 and became one of the leading orators and debaters of his time. He gave a delightful speech while representing a man who sued another for the killing of his dog. Vest won the case.

Gentlemen of the Jury: The best friend a man has in the world may turn against him and become his enemy. His son or daughter that he has reared with loving care may prove ungrateful. Those who are nearest and dearest to us, those whom we trust with our happiness and our good name may become traitors to their faith. The money that a man has, he may lose. It flies away from him, perhaps when he needs it most. A man's reputation may be sacrificed in a moment of ill-considered action. The one absolutely unselfish friend that man can have in this selfish world, the one that never deserts him, the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous is his dog. A man's dog stands by him in prosperity and in poverty, in health and in sickness. He will sleep on the cold ground, where the wintry winds blow and the snow drives fiercely, if only he may be near his master's side. He will kiss the hand that has no food to offer. He will lick the wounds and sores that come in encounters with the roughness of the world. He guards the sleep of his pauper master as if he were a prince. When all other friends desert, he remains. When riches take wings, and reputation falls to pieces, he is as constant in his love as the sun in its journey through the heavens. If fortune drives the master forth, an outcast in the world, friendless and homeless, the faithful dog asks no higher privilege than that of accompanying him, to guard him against danger, to fight against his enemies. And when the last scene of all comes, and death takes his master in its embrace and his body is laid away in the cold ground, no matter if all other friends pursue their way, there by the graveside will the noble dog be found, his head between his paws, his eyes sad, but open in alert watchfulness, faithful and true even in death.

Poem of a Dog: waits for your car, has your imprint on its senses, your steps have a magic timbre, your voice is music to its ears, your scent is the best, your gaze is a ray of light, your hands are a lightness of peace. I am empty when you go out.

There is so much suffering, pain, fear, loneliness, desperation, wars, disasters, panic, disease, death. Give us one reason we should want to go on. The love of a dog. Pearls Before Swine comic strip

Dogs add spirit to a family. Girl who didn't want one, but got one in COVID.

The dog or five good people? Rex Huppke asks. We don't deserve them. They train us. Love people. Love playing. Love food.

The Family Circus: Daddy goes to work, Mommy takes care of the house, everyone has a job except the dog. But he is a garbage collector, night watchman, referee, exterminator, baby sitter, valet (slippers) and dishwasher.

Woman buys aging mother a puppy. They protect and greet each other. When the human world turns away and others are busy and distracted, a dog is steadfast. The bond is pure and constant. It is emotionally rewarding to love your pet, but we don't have pity for animals we don't see. Cows killed for eating, mice in labs to study for medicine.

Man convinces family to adopt the runt. Names it Rudy like Notre Dame player. He barks after dusk so the vet said to cuddle him before bedtime. A similar scent and touch would reorient him. He plays songs that remind him of the dog hoping they won't be impossible to enjoy when he is gone. Like Feed Jake. It's choosing to give and receive love.

Some people never want to take a walk again.

After a man lost his dog to a car, he was torn apart. He went and adopted the oldest dog at a shelter, the most in danger of being put down. His dog's death meant another could live. His death would have meaning. He took home a 12-year-old chihuahua with a heart murmur and four bad knees. On the ride home, the dog was just a wagging his tail. The cloud lifted. He now usually has about nine dogs. 

They are completely dependent on you. They sleep by you. They wait at the front door. They know if you are worried, upset or sick. They snuggle at your feet. They are protective.

I know someone who gave a friend who dogsat a plaque that said You were my favorite hello and my hardest goodbye.

Four friends have never replaced a deceased dog yet. PV, HH, SO, LF.