OHHhhh Lilly

I have been learning some important lessons in motherhood. I didn't realize how much time, effort, and patience it takes to potty-train and discipline a 4.5 month old puppy!! She is not a bad dog by any means,  she is very smart and sweet and really well-behaved BUT there are those moments which can now be dubbed her Princess moments.

When i first brought Lilly home she was only 1 lb 10 oz awwww she was so stinkin' cute!! Just a little black furball with big eyes -- now she is a hefty 3 lbs and her hair is turning grey but she is still stinkin' cute :) Having been so tiny it took her a while to learn how to climb up the stairs but lemme tell you she is now Wonderdog the way she leaps and jumps and runs around like a rocket. Unbelievable. She's learned how to use me as a catapault to get up onto the couch and I in turn have learned to never let her off her leash because it's nearly impossible to catch her! She barks at birds on the t.v., at her reflection, at my hair dryer, at the pool fountain, and at golf carts but that's about it. Lilly is particular about eating - she will not eat from her dog bowl and instead she will transfer a mouthful of kibble to the carpet and eat them one by one. When I give her little treats she will prance around them and play Attack! before she gobbles them up. When she is snacking on her rawhides she will paw at me to hold it for her and then further paw to show me exactly how to hold it so she can get a better chewing angle. She loves to chew on my shoes, steal my socks, and tangle up my hair.

Lilly has learned to climb stairs but has yet to learn how to climb down them....last week she managed to find a small opening in the gate that is blocking off the stairway and squeezed her way through. She ran up the stairs and wouldn't you know it couldn't figure out how to get back down so she spent 4.5 hours upstairs by herself without food, water, or pee pads. When I got home from work I expected her to come running up to me but there was no Lilly! "Lilly where are you???" I thought someone had burglurized my home only to steal my little furball but then I heard a small frantic "yip" from upstairs and i knew what happened. She was SO excited to see me and wouldn't stop licking me or prancing around -- and the best part of that welcome was finding a big ol' dump on my sister's bedroom floor. My sister is the biggest perfectionist and clean freak on the face of this planet so I couldn't help but laugh hysterically. Ahhh sweet revenge after all the years of her pestering! 
I am dealing with her Princess moments more than ever which have resulted from being spoiled. She has to have her belly rubbed first thing after she wakes up and what is really irritating me right now is that she has to use the front yard for peeing. I live in a townhome which means my "front yard" is 20 other people's front yard and I have to look semi-decent. That doesn't happen at 6 a.m. so Lilly gets sent to the backyard but for some reason she doesnt prefer the back of the house and will come running inside and unashamedly pee on the living carpet in front of me. Patience is a virtue, right?

Despite all of her diva-ness I can say that Lilly has brightened my life with her sweet nature, her personality, and her love. There's nothing like being greeted at the door after a long day at work with kisses and prancing and sheer excitement. She has provided companionship and laughter to my home.

Update:  I'm very excited about the goals I've set for myself, I've already crossed two off my list! Tonight is the first night for the women's Bible study group I'm attending and i'm looking forward to meeting everyone and fellowshipping with believers my age. The second goal which i'm still working on is starting up a ministry at church for the needy. It's still "talk" right now but i'm excited that there are a few others with the same heartfelt desire and I'm praying that we will be able to organize something within the next couple of weeks.
God continues to use me as a mode of encouragement for others and I pray that He gives me even more opportunity to be used by Him.

I love this song by Phil Wickham:

To the one who's dreams are falling all apart

And all you're left with is a tired and broken heart

I can tell by your eyes you think you're on your own

But you're not all alone

Have you heard of the One who can calm the raging seas?

Give sight to the blind, pull the lame up to their feet

With a love so strong He'll never let you go

Oh you're not alone

You will be safe in His arms

You will be safe in His arms

'Cause the hands that hold the world are holding your heart

This is the promise that He made

He will be with You always

When everything is falling apart

You will be safe in His arms

Did you know that the voice that brings the dead to life

Is the very same voice that calls you to rise

So hear Him now He's calling you home

You will never be alone

These are the hands that built the mountains

the hands that calm the seas

These are the arms that hold the heavens

they are holding you and me

These are the hands that healed the leper

Pulled the lame up to their feet

These are the arms that were nailed to the cross

to break our chains and set us free!

I've never really stopped to think about the fact that the God who holds the earth and the heavens in His hands is the very same God who is holding me. The same Jesus who performed miracles is the same Jesus that is with me this very moment. It's humbling to think and comforting to know that He cares about me this way and that He is capable of creating this universe and holding everything together yet at the same time capable of being tender and compassionate towards a fragile soul like me. I've been learning what it's like to be safe in His arms and there is truly no other place I would rather be....thank you, Lord, for finding worth in me.