I was quite enlightened by my first trip to a dog show.  I love dogs but some people go a little over board.  I witnessed first hand: dog salons, dog jewelry, dog clothes and even a pet deli (a smorgasbord of juicy bones in a hundred flavors).  The pet deli was kind of like Baskin Robbins for dogs.  But my favorite was the pet psychic.  Yes, bring in Fido and we will tell his future.  We will see if he will have a long life and whether he will marry a Chihuahua or a poodle or whether he will end his life being caught by the dog catcher.  My amazement at this was that people actually spend money on this stuff.  It’s a dog.  Their future is to be man’s best friend:)

On another note: Pet Books.  I have been trying for several years to find a publisher for my second book. The manuscript is complete but the Christian Publishing World is hard to break into.  I decided that I will write a book on dogs.  If you want to be an author you have to go to where you can be published.  Dog book publishers will take about anything.  My favorite titles were, How To Raise A Jewish Dog; Animals And The Afterlife: True Stories of our Best Friend’s Journey Beyond Death; and Animal Reiki, Using Energy To Heal Your Pets.  Okay, the afterlife one kind of messed me up.  I am an admitted skeptic/discerner of alot of things.  Tell me how they knew what happened to the dog beyond this life.  I understand those (humans) who die and come back and share their afterlife experience, because they can actually talk.  How did they find out their best friend’s experience? Do they speak bark or did the Dog Whisperer translate for them? Wait maybe the pet psychic helped them out on this.  I wanted to buy the book just to see what it said.  Those were only a few of the interesting titles.

I thoroughly enjoyed the dog show.  Sonya watched me capturing pictures of the dog books and said, “I feel a blog coming on.”  I am not sure what she meant.  I guess she thinks I will find something to blog about in almost anything:)

Saturday we made our first trip to a dog show.  The Houston World Series of Dog Shows was at Reliant Stadium and we surprised Josh with tickets to go.  Josh loves dog and is on his way to becoming a dog expert.  He reads about dogs.  Studies the AKC regulations.  He loves dogs!

Josh’s goal in life, up to this point, was to pet a Mastiff.  Josh has tried to talk us into buying a Mastiff for a long time.  The problem with this impressive dog is that it weighs in at over 200 pounds and can get up to 300 pounds.  The largest dog in the world is an English Mastiff.  343 pounds.  I can’t afford to feed a horse/dog.  Josh’s dream came true; he got to pet a Mastiff.

We watched the judging of the Working Group dogs.  Mastiffs, Great Pyrenees, Great Danes, Siberian Huskies and more.  We also watched the flyball competition which was absolutely awesome.  It is like a relay race for dogs.  Then we watched the agility competition for dogs.  This is like steeplechase.  They have hurdles and obstacles to go through.  It was entertaining but also revealed how smart dogs are.  It also revealed that dogs are alot more trainable than cats:)

I felt the most sorry for the poodles.  Look at the picture:  They certainly have to have low self-esteem when they look in the mirror with the haircut they are made to wear.  I also couldn’t help but feel sorry for the Pekignese.  They were showing in the ring next to the Mastiff.  Can you imagine the pain they felt looking up at the Mastiff and then waddling around the carpet only 2 inches off of the ground?  🙂

Overall, our trip to the Houston Dog Show helped reassure me of how creative God is.  So many breeds of animals with distinct qualities and impressive grace, intelligence and agility.  That cannot happen by evolution.  We were able to see over a hundred breeds of dogs, which proves that God is diverse and plans creation. 

We did not, however, agree on the specific dog for the Cheney household.  Sonya likes the Old English Sheepdog.  My favorite is the Golden Retriever and Josh wants a Mastiff.  We will wait until we can all agree.  Maybe we will settle on a cat:)  Just kidding!

Sonya's Favorite

Many people have heard about the tragic crane collapse in Pasadena/Houston.  It happened this afternoon at the Lyondell Bassel plant where they were doing a shut-down.  My dad has worked at this refinery for over 35 years and was in the building about 200 yards from where the crane collapsed.  Four people were killed and 8 others were injured in this tragedy. 

He said that the mood was extremely somber at the plant this afternoon, as could be expected.  Please pray for the families of those who were killed as well as healing for those who survived.  Also continually pray for the safety of all those who work these dangerous construction/refinery jobs.

I’ve needed a little humor on this Friday morning and I was expecting a message from God, BUT.  Maybe He was trying to tell me something.  Maybe He was confirming His call on my life.  Maybe this means nothing.

As I was filling up with gas there was a piece of paper containing a work order with a post it note attached.  The post it note said, “John 1:6”  So I looked up John 1:6 in the Bible.  Now before you read it let me inform you that my official first name is John.  John 1:6 says, “There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.”  What do you think?

It may be a stretch to apply this to me.  Then again maybe God was simply saying, “John (aka. Danny) I have set you apart as My servant.  I have called you into ministry.”  No matter what any of this means I know that I am a child of God who is loved by My Heavenly Father.  If nothing else, it means that I picked up a post-it note that let me know that John the Baptist was sent by God to proclaim His Son Jesus Christ:)

It seems these days that everyone is raising prices.  The report out yesterday was that we are having the fastest rate of inflation in 26 years.  I went to Sonic for happy hour (it is truly happy for me) and experienced yet another blow to my monthly budget.  They went up on their Route 44 Iced Tea. This is the second time in less than 6 months. What is a man to do in today’s economy?:)

I just got back from filling up the church van and almost experienced a heart attack.  $125.00.  Everyone is raising prices what is the church to do?  As I pondered $4.00 a gallon and the economy and it’s effect on the church, I had an idea.  I wouldn’t say it is a God-idea but a Danny idea.  After little deliberation and thought, we have officially agreed to raise our required tithing percentage to 12%.  We hate to pass on the rising cost of inflation to the church customer but we have no other option.  So beginning this Sunday it goes up to 12% of your gross income. 🙂  This is only a joke!

What are we to do in hard economic times?  Trust God!  It is preposterous to think that God would require a raise in tithing.  I am glad to say that at Nederland First Assembly we are being blessed.  Though people face a crunch in their budget, we still find that people are trusting God and still giving.  We do not have to worry about what to do?  God always seems to make away.  My word to those who are worried about the economy and where it is heading.  Trust God, He owns a cattle on a thousand hills and He surely can take care of all of our needs.  The Psalmist said, “I have never seen the righteous forsaken, nor His seed begging for bread.”

This morning, I was reading in the New American Standard Bible and for the first time ever, I found a typo in a Bible.  Now note, it was a typo not an error.  It placed a b in the middle of a sentence and it made little sense.  It proves that man still makes errors.  Who would want the task of editing and reviewing the Bible for typo’s.  What a job!

Although I found a typo in my Minister’s Bible it proves that man makes mistakes, but the Word of God is still without error.  God’s Word is perfect.  It has the power to change lives.  Man makes typos in their everyday lives.  Mistakes in our relationships, on our jobs and in things we say.  Typos in just about every area of our lives.  God’s Word, however, stands!  It was written by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit inspires us as we read it.  We can rely on God’s Word to help us in every area of our lives.  The Bible helps us correct the typos in our lives.

*by the way, CBD is having a great deal on this Minister’s Bible.  $19.99 for Genuine Leather.

Everyday, I have a habit.  Sonic Drive-in offers me a palce to go every afternoon to get an ice cold 44oz tea.  I have been frequenting this establishment for many years and they allow you to pay for your meal/drink from the comforts of your own car. 

We went Tuesday night for their half-price burgers and I decided to pay by debit.  Debit is intended to be used with security.  Meaning, you must have a pin number to use it.  As I slid my card into the debit machine it asked me if I knew my pin number (see attached photo).  I decided to select no just for fun, to see what would happen.  I pressed no and it approved me. (See attached photo) 

Now, I know this might not be too big of a deal. After all who is going to steal your debit card and go to Sonic, but it is principle.  Not to mention, if you press yes, you have to enter your number.  If you press no, you get approved right away.  No big deal!  From now on I will just press no and get done quicker.  But so much for security.

Thanks for listening, I just had to get this off of my chest.

Recently Josh went to stay with my parents for a week and a half.  He has never been gone from home that long and we thought it might be a nice little break.  But a funny thing happened.  It wasn’t a day or two and I was missing him terribly.  By the end of the week I was ready to drive to pick him up.  On Sunday, he called and asked to stay another day and it nearly killed me.  I told him no and I made him come home.  Sonya and I missed our time with him.

This is the way it is in our relationship with God.  When we stay away and do not spend time with Him, He misses us.  He doesn’t want a break from His children.  In fact, the more time together the better.  He is disappointed when we choose to stay away or go another day without spending time with Him.  When we are preoccupied with our own lives, it hurts His heart.  I remember the old song by Larnelle Harris that was sung from God’s perspective.  The song simply said, “I miss my time with you.”

When is the last time you spent quality time with the Lord?  How many times have you neglected His presence because you were too busy?  How often do you make appointments with others before you keep your appointment with God?  He misses His time with you!  Run to Him! Draw near to Him and He will draw near to you.