To Love All

I have been pondering the love of Christ in recent weeks.  The love He has for ALL people.  If I am to be a light in the darkness... doesn't that mean I should love as Christ loves?

I have noticed how Christians "insulate" themselves from the world.  Pass judgment on those who are non-Christians.  Condemn them and count the losses.  What if Christ did that to us?  What if he just decided that none of the non-believers were worth His time, conversation, efforts, love.  Where would we be?  

We are commanded to love as Christ loved us.  Meaning, he loved us before we invited Him into our lives.  If we are to do what is commanded, that must include loving and being with those who do not live a Christian life.  Didn't Christ Himself talk to adulterers, whore-mongers, liars, and the self-righteous.  He led by example.  Disciples of Christ did the same.  They went out of the church and searched for people they could serve and give God the glory for all of it.  

It took many days of studying His word and searching for all that the Bible had to say about loving the non-believers and how we should love and serve them.  I believe with all my faith that God would want us to embrace those who do not know Christ and show them His love through our humble friendship and service.  I have had many Christians quote the Bible about shunning and removing themselves from the unrighteous.  In my study, it seems to me that those passages are referring to believers who are deliberately causing other believers to stumble and fall.  Then yes, you should remove yourself from those situations. 

But as far as those who have not come to Christ, hurting them with harsh words, attitudes, and judgment just causes more strife and drives them further from Christ.  How sad this happens all the time. 

If Christ came to you as a homeless, hungry man searching for acceptance and love, would you help him.  If someone was physically, emotionally, or spiritually injured, would you help them? These are questions that I hope to keep in my mind everyday so I remember to be in service to those who may need the love of Christ.

He's ONE!

Benji Karl has made it to ONE!  A great year!  Here are some photos from his one year celebrations!

What a Fabulous Winter!

It has been a pleasant two and a half months! Little snow, nice temperatures,  two growing kids and all around progress.  We did have a sad event happen when we found out that our sweet Zoe-Girl had under-developed kidneys and would soon pass away.  She died peacefully in mid-January and we brought her home to rest in her own yard.  

We struggled with whether or not we would adopt another pet.  We had a lot of grief from losing Zoe.  She was so young and we were sad there wasn't more that we could do.  She was a happy dog, but her life was cut so short.  
Yesterday, I took the kids on some errands and such since the weather was nice.  One of our stops was the Shelby County Dog Shelter.  We thought we would run in and say hi to the dogs there and see if there were any that we ""might" be a good fit for our family.  We toured the facility and gave some verbal love to the dogs and decided to hit the road once more.  As we were leaving, a young man asked if we found anything or had any questions.  I politely told him we were just visiting and were on our way out.  Then he very sweetly asked Olivia if she liked the dogs and if she had visited the puppies as well. "Puppies?!?" she exclaimed.  We had not seen the puppies as they were in another part of the building.  He escorted us back to a large room with four "little Zoes" in kennels.  
That was it.  I knew we were going home with a dog that day.  They got the puppies out to roam around and visit with us.  They were all so sweet.  And there was one little girl that looked so much like our Zoe-Girl.  The same sweet eyes that just hooked your heart and made you love her.  Olivia played and Benji Karl squealed as the puppies played hide-and-seek from us.  Olivia and I agreed on the "special girl" and I explained to her what responsibilities were required with such a young puppy (8 weeks!).  She was very excited and up to the challenge.  I made a quick call to our vet to ensure he could examine her right away (he was available) and found ourselves in the midst of an adoption.  
Olivia lovingly stroked her soft little head as I took care of the paperwork ($27 to adopt a puppy, tags included!!).  Olivia selected Keisha as her name (My parents had a very sweet dog named Keisha while I was growing up & Olivia wanted a dog "just like her").  Then we were off to our unexpected visit to the vet.
A couple of hours later, we were home with our newest addition.  She has been so very well mannered and adjusted to home in no time.  She loves Inzo and he seems to be perking up after his mild bout of doggy depression when Zoe passed.  Now on to the potty training and cleaning up messes.  And not to mention the double amount of "No!" outbursts being heard in our home as we now have TWO very curious "babies" roaming the house.  
What an adventure we will have this summer as we watch our little family continue to grow!