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    Paws for Praise: Lessons learned from our dog about a relationship with God
    Paws for Praise: Lessons learned from our dog about a relationship with God
    Paws for Praise: Lessons learned from our dog about a relationship with God
    Ebook130 pages1 hour

    Paws for Praise: Lessons learned from our dog about a relationship with God

    By Carol Casale

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    About this ebook

    Have you ever learned a lesson from a dog or pet? Can a scruffy puppy teach us about God? Are all pet owners crazy? Can dogs be spiritual guides? “Paws for Praise” is a delightful set of stories, a pet devotional, written to introduce the reader to Cassy, an adorable Westie-poo terrier mix, who not only captured the author's hear

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherCarol L Casale
    Release dateSep 27, 2017
    ISBN9781937355425
    Paws for Praise: Lessons learned from our dog about a relationship with God

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      Book preview

      Paws for Praise - Carol Casale

      Chapter 1

      Day One

      After being married for almost 27 years and raising three children, I thought it was about time to get a puppy. All I had to do was convince my husband Joe! Now, Joe loves hot dogs, especially with mustard and sauerkraut, but real, live, eating, pooping, barking dogs is another story. I really had my work cut out for me. Joe always wants to please me, but convincing him that we should be pet parents wouldn’t be easy. Just getting him to come with me for a look at the pups was something that I had to carefully plan out. After all, was bringing a dog into our lives a good decision? Was I using my head or my heart to decide? Joe is so logical whereas I’m the sensitive motherly type. Could it be that I am lamenting over becoming an empty nester?

      I didn’t want the decision to bring a dog into our home to be solely mine, so I waited to broach the subject with Joe at just the right moment. Before we retired that night, I brought up the topic again.

      My heart pounded in my throat as I organized my words. Well, what do you think? Can we get a puppy? A faint smile outlined his lips. He looked right at me and said, How about if we go and take a look and then decide. Sound like a plan?

      After Joe graciously agreed to go look at the pups, we scheduled a visit for the following Sunday. As you can imagine, the next four days seemed eternally long. Like an overanxious child waiting for the big day to arrive, that day couldn’t come quickly enough.

      At 2:00 p.m. on that following Sunday afternoon, we anxiously walked into a room of squealing newborn puppies. We both felt nervous, like first-time parents. Should we really do this? After all, we had raised three children, but do we know how to raise a puppy? What if we get home and change our minds, or suppose our puppy gets sick or hurt? Will I know what to do? Who do I call, where do I go? AAH! Should I leave right now and go back to our dog-free life? After all, it’s been fine just the way it’s always been. Right?

      Wait! Look at that little one over there? I said, frantically pointing at the sweetest little champagne-colored pup. Joe’s eyes followed my lead. As I bent down on both knees and gently scooped her up into my jittery hands, I thought, is this the long-awaited pup that would capture our hearts and become our new little family member? I glanced over and saw a wide grin on Joe’s face. He had the look of a proud new papa. I gently placed the pup into his calm loving hands. Why am I so nervous? Then the doubts began; Do I have what it takes to meet all the needs of a new puppy? Should we turn around and go home empty-handed hoping someone else might choose to give this playful precious pup a forever home? No! This feels as right as rain. Joe and I had found our girl.

      It was her scruffy little face and brown button nose that not only put a smile on our faces, but instantly tugged at our heart strings. We both knew she was destined to be ours. We did not adopt her from a rescue center, but we did adopt her into our family. We gave her love and correction when needed. We fed and watered her and taught her how to relieve herself outside. We did all this for her because we loved her from Day One.

      Did you know that God loves us from Day One? He tells us that He knit us together in our mother’s womb (Psalm 139:13). Can you imagine that? He formed and shaped us into who we are today. In Jeremiah 29:11, God tells us that He has a plan for our lives, a plan for good and not evil, to bless us and to prosper us. Just knowing this comforts me. Just as Cassy was adopted into my family, God chooses to adopt us into His. I admit, it was Cassy’s cute little face that really made me want her, but God doesn’t choose us based on how we look or act. He chooses us to be His because He first loved us and died for us. He looks at our heart, not our outward appearance. He takes us in, cleans us up, loves us, gives us correction as needed, feeds us with His word and shows us how to cleanse ourselves of bad habits and sin through prayer and forgiveness.

      1 John 1:9 says, If we confess our sins, He is faithful and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

      We had a lot of work ahead of us when we first got Cassy. Did I mention that she was our first dog? Yes, that’s right, our first dog. Help!! Is anyone out there? May Day, May Day!

      With lots of advice from books, friends and Cesar Milan, The Dog Whisperer, we were committed to train her and help her grow into a well-behaved doggie. Since Day One, Cassy has blessed us with love, joy and faithful companionship. There is nothing she could do that would cause us to stop loving her, abandon her or mistreat her. We love Cassy the way God loves us. He adopts us into His family for the same reason we adopt our doggies into our families. To provide a loving, secure environment. Our Master desires that we develop trust in Him, be obedient to Him and learn to walk with Him. Isn’t this what we all want from our pets? They do a great job of walking with their master. Are we as willing to walk with ours? Let’s be committed to sit and stay at His feet and learn how to walk with our eyes on Him.

      Chapter 2

      The Chew Stage

      The first few weeks as pet parents were definitely life-altering. Notice I said life-altering and not life-changing. Becoming parents to our three children was indeed life-changing. Bringing Cassy into our home altered our routine for several months, but slowly we got accustomed to having a pet.

      In the early weeks of her training, we needed to provide her with lots of chew toys and bully sticks. If we hadn’t, she would have soothed her tender gums and growing teeth on my furniture, shoes, and baseboards. She wasn’t a bad puppy; she was just a puppy and puppies chew—A LOT! Thankfully, she never destroyed anything in our house. Although we worked hard to prevent chew accidents, there was one encounter on which Joe and I now look back on and laugh.

      One evening while we were eating our dinner, we wondered where Cassy was. It was a typical midweek evening after a busy workday. We finally sat down to eat, relax, and enjoy good food and conversation. Cassy is usually underfoot with one of us or at least within several yards of where we are, but not this night. She was unseen and unheard. This should have been the first red flag. Joe called her name, Cassy, Cass, come here girl. Out she came from our bedroom. Good girl he said as he petted her lovingly on her head.

      A few minutes later, she was again nowhere in sight. Joe lifted his voice a little louder and said, Cassy, come. Out she came, this time her tail was wagging with excitement, and she had a real bounce in her step. Good girl, he said and even rewarded her with a treat for her quick obedient response to her master’s call. She quickly disappeared again after munching her crunchy puppy biscuit.

      I suddenly thought, I better see what she is up to.

      I meandered into my bedroom hoping to see my puppy girl curled up with her special doggy blanket. She was in my bedroom alright, but she was not curled up sleeping. Cassy was having a good time chewing a pillow sham that she had been able to pull onto the floor from my bed. And to top it off, we had been unwittingly telling her, good girl and rewarding her with treats. She must have thought, this is great; I get to chew the pillow and get rewarded for chewing

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