One Day is Today!

I heard a growl and a great commotion coming from my backyard this morning.  Thinking that there was an intruder back there, I ran to the door, only to witness Mocha, my 50 pound Lab being cornered and bullied by Daisy, my Maltese.  I stood for several minutes watching as Mocha ran away, hid and cowered behind trees,  taking a few tentative steps, only to be pushed back as Daisy, all six pounds of her, charged towards her target.

It’s so obvious to everyone except for Mocha that she, with one swipe or a wag of her thick tail, can knock Daisy senseless….and still Mocha runs, hides and tip toes around her.  Daisy is running it!

And that, friends, is a picture of the believer who does not know the power of God in them.  Always running, hiding and cowering as the enemy lashes out and backs them in a corner, pounding away.

One day, Mocha will realize how strong she is, she’ll mature and won’t be so fearful.  She will exercise that power and the tables will at last be turned.

Is today that day for you?  Make today your “one day.”

“A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.” Ephesians 6:10-11

Daisy, the Bait

Have you ever had something really random happen…something that you know the Lord is behind somehow, yet you’re not sure about the why of it all, so you just go with it?  Yesterday, my kids and I (and Daisy) were in the car waiting for dad.  The windows were rolled down, the radio blaring our favorite song as we were bobbing our heads to the beat.  Daisy was where she always hangs out…perched at the window waiting for whomever has exited the car to return.  In the process, she always draws attention…always makes friends.  Yesterday was no exception.  Her tail and wiggle alert me to an oncoming fan, whose oooh’s and aaah’s begin steps before she reaches Daisy.  She was a talkative sort, who in the span of 15 minutes spilled out her dog and cat history (complete with pictures), her daughter’s school and work history, her own work history (she was a hair dresser who specialized in curly hair…of course she did since we all have curly hair) and her family’s weekend plans.

During the course of the conversation, which now includes  my husband who has since returned to the car and is patiently waiting for the conversation to wrap up, our new friend fires off some curse words and notices that my husband snickers at her choice words (he always does that when he’s uncomfortable, especially since the kids were present).  (Funny how I never felt the need to check her for her language…her exuberance was quite entertaining.)  Here’s the bizarre part of the story…She excused herself in order to grab a pen from her car so that  she could give me her information and while she was away my daughter asked me if I had ever met this woman before since we appeared to be chatting as though we were friends.  I said no and my daughter replied, “You don’t even know her name.  It’s probably Laura…she looks like a Laura.”  To that, I replied, “No, her name is Barbara.”  Our new friend returned to the car, handed me her card and I was startled as I glanced at it, looked at my daughter and placed it under my thigh.  We were ready to say our goodbyes when my husband asked her her name and my family wanted to fall out when she said “Barbara.”  She noticed our reaction and grew serious when I told her I guessed her name.  She asked me how I “did” that and then she told me she was psychic.  (I sort of picked up on a little tug of war in the spirit but I wasn’t gonna go there.)  We spoke for a few more minutes and this time when she was about to curse, she caught herself.  We wrapped up the conversation with her saying she enjoyed meeting us and as she walked away, I said “God bless you,” and her response….”thank you for that.”

Now I have no idea what the point to all of that was…why she lingered as long as she did; why the Holy Spirit revealed her name; why I felt peaceful, somehow knowing that I would see her again, so not feeling pressured to share the Gospel with her…just loving on her and listening.

This morning I prayed for Barbara and then I sent her a text telling her just that.  I prayed for her protection, for her peace and for her salvation.  I asked the Lord to let me know the purpose of that meeting….if He wanted to 🙂 and promised to be open to His leading.  I’m just so stinkin’ curious about the randomness of it all!

Perhaps Daisy and I are evangelists in the making.  🙂

My Daisy

My Daisy

I have found joy in the form of a bouncy white fur ball of a friend.  She’s deliciously rowdy, mischievous and super naughty.  My daughter asked me why I love her so much.  I responded simply, “Because she loves me.”  She pursues me, literally – underfoot, constantly…watching my every move, howling uncontrollably when I leave and shrieking hysterically when I return.  Her name is Daisy and of course, she has a story.

…And her name shall be Dazey and she will be dressed in pink. – Posted on 12/6/11

I’m one of those girls who is simple enough to believe that God cares about every single thing that I care about; that He delights in my joy; desires to bless me and because I’m simple enough to believe that I am His favorite, 🙂 He hears me when I cry, when I call He answers and when I ask, He responds.  And so it was last December, 2011 when I began talks with my husband about my desire to add to our family a “Daisy.”  He scoffed and
reminded me how busy we were; how big a responsibility a dog would be; how he would definitely be unavailable to dog sit, dog walk, dog feed…you get the picture!  He was not into it at all. Days later, he ran into someone whose grandmother raised ’em and I knew my honey was on the ropes when he handed me grandma’s name on a piece of paper.  I was gonna win this heavyweight fight…I knew it, I just knew it!  While he shook his head, later that day, I downloaded the above picture of my dog-to-be and plastered it everywhere…on every screen…mobile, computer, i-everything that I owned.  I posted her picture on Facebook with a proclamation on that day in December…”And her name shall be Dazey and she will be dressed in pink.”  Each time I logged on to anything, this picture would pop up causing me to want her more; to solidify my decision.   I contacted the breeder to test the waters and she informed me that she didn’t have any pups available, but would contact me as soon as she did.

Now, I know God probably has much better things to do than to hear my continual plea for a puppy, but as I said, I am His favorite and so I know it…I just know it…He heard my plea, heard my daughter and I come into agreement that should it be His will, He would bring us the perfect puppy and my honey’s heart would soften to the idea.  So it happened, on February 11, that long awaited text with a picture attached was received.  I opened it and she had me at the “ding ding” of the text.  I told Vali that I needed to seal the deal with my husband, but I wanted her.  I had already named her Dazey (I had to change the spelling when Vali dropped this next bit o’ info on me).  She was amazed at my choice of names and explained that my Daisy would be a third generation Daisy, since both Daisy’s mother and grandmother shared that name.  What????  She’s gotta be mine, I know it…I just know it!  Would my husband dare go against God’s will?  Nah:) 🙂 🙂

On February 26, 2012 Daisy joined our family and as she settled in, I thanked the Lord for my little blessing.  I noticed her birthdate and was once again reminded  how much He loves me…How much He is in the details…How He really cares about my joy. You see, Daisy was born one day after I made viral my desire in early December (see picture above).  Her birthday is December 7, 2011.  He is never late…always on time…His time!

I love my Daisy and she loves me…I know it, I just know it!! ❤