Chip

Chip
For Chip: He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion. —Unknown

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Pets are a Gift from God





There was a banging on the window.  It was late Friday night and Julie opened the door.  It was her neighbor Petra.  The neighbor was excited and perspiring.  Breathlessly Petra pointed at the street and shouted that there was a black cat in the street.  Julie ran out into the dimly lit street where trees look like umbrellas and cover both sides of the street.

Julie cried as she saw her beautiful black cat in the middle of the street.  He looked perfect except for blood dripping from his mouth.  She grabbed him and took his limp body into the house.  She kept telling him that everything would be alright, but the cat was limp in her arms. She laid him on the floor and then determined that all life was gone.

The neighbor was nervous and kept comforting Julie but to no avail.  Julie’s tears fell on the black shiny cat as she noticed he appeared to have no external injuries.   She grabbed the cat’s favorite blanket and toys.  She wrapped him gingerly in the blanket as she held him in her arms.  She took him to the back room and laid him on a futon.

The neighbor returned two more times that night to check on Julie.  Julie walked into the shower and let the warm water cover her body.  She thought the soothing touch and sound of the water would make the hurt go away.  It did not and she cried until she could cry no more.

Morning came and the nightmare did not go away.  Julie decided to bury the cat outside, but the ground was so hard she did not have the strength to make a dent in the soil.  She finally took the cat to the vet to allow a cremation service to take the cat.

It has been weeks now and Julie cries all the way to work when she is alone.  She cannot get over the loss.  She sees him everywhere.  The gorgeous cat was her best friend and baby.  She has little family so her pets are her life.   Some people do not understand the loss of a pet, but for animal lovers it is on the same level as losing a family member.  Pets are a gift from God, and like everything else they really belong to him.

 

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Lungevity "Breathe Deep DFW" Lung Cancer Walk 2011 (+playlist)





Her family had this to say: 
Laura Elizabeth McCracken - Dec 23, 1976 – April 11, 2014

"We have lost the beautiful and mystically wonderful Laura. On Friday, the seven year battle she has fought against the demon cancer came to a peaceful and painless end.

I will remember my dear daughter as the young lady that could talk to animals. My favorite memory, among many, was when she sat down under a tree and chipmunks came out of the underbrush and climbed into her lap.

I am reminding myself that we almost lost her when she was originally diagnosed with stage 4-D lung cancer and given four months to life. We had her for an extra 7 years. I believe that the last 7 years were the happiest of her life. She never stopped smiling and she never stopped fighting.

When told that the chemo she would originally have to endure was only 10% effective, she looked the oncologist in the eye and said “someone has to be in that 10% and I am going to be.”

As a child, when she first started to talk she could not say L’s or R’s, so her she called herself “Wawa”. It is impossible to describe how much we will miss Wawa’s glorious attitude and energy. Everyone that knew her was blessed by having been a part of her life.

The attached photo was taken the day she got married to Trey Smith, this past June. This is the way we should always remember the physical Wawa. The spiritual Wawa was even more beautiful."

~ Laurin McCracken, her Dad





Laura McCracken on her wedding day







Tuesday, April 15, 2014

World Vision water: Meet Violet and the other children of the Zambia Pro...


"Happy" Makes Pharrell Williams Cry


Good Times

This is a picture in one of my favorite restaurants.  The picture is of three close friends enjoying life to the fullest.  My first thought was "Where are they now?"  Do they exist in heaven?  Are there souls floating in a better place?  Are they enjoying each other's company in an different dimension?  It is one of those times when the afterlife seems a bit confusing. I hope they are there, and I will see them again having a great time. 
 
 

Compassion

1 John 3:17

Love One Another
16We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 17But whoever has the world's goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? 18Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.…