One Good Turn Deserves a Chihuahua Bite

By Hally Franz –

One recent rainy day I headed home after taking my kids to school, and crossed paths with my friend at our subdivision’s entrance. She was on her way out, but had stopped for a wet and ragged canine in the middle of the street. The little guy wasn’t budging, and she was on a schedule, so I agreed to take him and try to return him to his owner.

His build and form were that of a Chihuahua. I scooped up his sopping, shivering body and returned home. Once home, I checked his tags and secured him in a warm kennel. Recognizing the name on the tags (a benefit of life in a small town), I started making calls. It turned out that “Paco” had changed owners, and the tags didn’t reflect the new owner information – a slight complication.

As the morning progressed, I released Paco for a potty break. After a lap or two around the yard, I turned to find the dog morsel nowhere in sight. Panicking, I called for him and discovered Paco at my back door. By now, though, Paco was not as cold and vulnerable, and his saucy nature had surfaced. When I attempted to pick him up, he spun around and bit me squarely on the hand. Paco was now testing my patience!

The rest of the day included veterinarian calls to ensure Paco’s shots were current, another disappearing act on his part, more yelling and searching in the rain, and an eventual safe return home for my feisty friend. While Paco didn’t make my day pleasant, I was glad things turned out okay for him and his owner.

Sometimes helping animals and people isn’t easy. Sometimes, it isn’t appreciated. There are times when those whom we reach out to help, feed or simply give a preverbal lift, return the favor by biting us in the hand. Like a child who ignores parental advice, some individuals make it hard for others to help them. They are unpleasant, ungrateful or unable to recognize what might be good for them.

God doesn’t tell us helping and serving others is easy. In fact, we know it often is not. Further, we often make it difficult for our Father to help us. Perhaps we should show grace to those who don’t readily and thankfully accept our gestures of goodwill. Certainly, the Lord has done the same for us.

PRAYER: Gracious God, instill in me the desire to serve others, and, in doing so, You, even when it is inconvenient and unnoticed, burdensome and without thanks. Inspire me to resist walking away when someone is in need, but be glad to help in the opportunities You provide.

“But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.” (Hebrews 13:16 NKJV).

Home

By Janet Morris Grimes –

I used to wonder if it was possible to have a relationship with a building. An inanimate structure. Four walls made of brick and mortar. They don’t move. They don’t feel. They don’t respond. Or so I once believed.

But now I know better.

Home. If anything, the past four years have taught me that ‘home’ is one of the most powerful words in the English language. Home is the last place our family resided together. Home was the place the friends of our kids gathered with an open invitation. Home was the place we grew up; learned to be a family, let our guard down to renew our strength to face the challenges of each day.

Defined as ‘the physical structure where one may live; a house or apartment, I realized that when painted with laughter, love and cherished memories, ‘home’ becomes much more than a physical structure. ‘Home’ is a point of reference reserved in the heart that means completely different things to different people. This is proven by the countless songs written about the winsome nostalgia and belonging of ‘home.’

None of these are more powerful than the recent hit by Miranda Lambert entitled The House That Built Me. She tells the story, perhaps her own, of a person who has left home and longs to make one last visit to her childhood home.

I thought if I could touch this place or feel it
This brokenness inside me might start healing.
Out here it’s like I’m someone else
I thought that maybe I could find myself.

If I could just come in I swear I’ll leave
Won’t take nothin’ but a memory
From the house that built me.

We have lived in two different apartments since we left our home behind. And those have been fine. And to be honest, God has used this entire experience to sever my ties to things, and for that I am thankful.

But still, there are moments that my heart hurts and I truly miss it. I miss the harmony I felt when I walked through the door. I miss the way I thought it was part of the forever plan for our family. I miss decorating it for Christmas or baking chocolate cakes in the kitchen. I miss the friends who would drop by unannounced.

And then I remember Heaven, and how no structure here on earth was meant to be a permanent dwelling anyway.

How wonderful that home will be for all of us.

Pushing Buttons

By Jane Thornton –

You’re trying to help. You’re trying to explain. Your point is crucial to your students’ success. But, the room full of teens blithely ignores you. Their conversation about who threw the paper wad looms more vitally in their psyches than tomorrow’s test.

You remind them they must pass this class this year to graduate with their peers.

You conspicuously jot names of the top offenders for disciplinary action. The chaos increases as fellow students jeer at your targets.

You calmly point out that time wasted in class engenders more burdensome homework.

A mouthy youth smarts off, “You just want us to fail.”

What do you do? What do you do?

My reaction was not effective. Frustration stewed. Anger rose. Bile in the form of truth erupted.

“I am so irritated with you.” I ground the words out through my teeth.

Mild bile, it seemed to me—an understatement, in fact. Perhaps my tone implied the more cutting remarks brewing in my brain because the response I gained echoed my words in a belligerent, disrespectful timbre. “Well, you’re irritating me.”

A similar incident occurred within the week.

This student had mastered the art of pushing my buttons. She knew how to shut down my brain and my training and, from my jaundiced perspective, set out to do so purposely on a daily basis.

I added her to my prayer list. I tried hard for sincerity to pray for her success and not just ask God to have her transferred out of my class. I forced myself to request wisdom in dealing with her instead of entreating Him for her deserved dire days.

God sent me a Bible class on confession and a sermon on controlling my tongue.

Yes, she was sassy. Yes, she was disobedient. Yes, she was defiant. But my response was attack not leadership. Therefore, last Sunday when the lessons sparked the idea to apologize, I believe the Holy Spirit was lending His guidance.

I sought my student out. Without excusing her behavior, I apologized for mine. Her eyes watered along with mine. She explained some of the stress she was experiencing. And when class time rolled around, she told her noisy classmates to get quiet.

On God’s prompting, I think I pushed the right buttons.

“A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger” (Proverbs 15:1 NIV).

Comment prompt: How has an apology soothed rough seas in your life?

Dangerous Miscommunication

By Jennifer Slattery –

Have you ever been fuming mad at someone, only to find out you totally misread the conversation? In our world of rapid-fire communication, faulty perceptions, and misunderstandings, it’s easy to get our wires crossed. Sometimes this is funny. Other times it’s downright painful, and has the potential to destroy relationships and lead to bitterness. If not dealt with.

“For Whoever would love life
and see good days
must keep their tongue from evil
and their lips from deceitful speech.
They must turn from evil and do good;
they must seek peace and pursue it” (1 Peter 3:10-11, NIV).

What do you think of when you hear the word peace? What does it mean to “seek” and “pursue” it? Does this mean avoiding conflict? Holding our tongue? Is peace at all cost truly peace? In our effort to seek peace, are we smiling on the outside while our insides fester? And if so, how long before those bottled-in and swallowed-down emotions blow?

I believe biblical peace runs deeper than a ceasing of war. Biblical peace speaks of wholeness, of restoring things to how they should be.
Biblical peace implies authentic conflict resolution. Honesty, not superficiality. Speaking the truth in love and getting to the root of the issue. When deep hurt has occurred, this may take time. We may even need a third party to help us out.

Other times, we may find that what we thought was an issue wasn’t really an issue after all.

A while back, I received an email from someone I had hurt. Twice. I hadn’t intended to hurt them, wasn’t even aware I had … until I read the email. We realized it was a misunderstanding—a misreading between the lines. The person felt silly for sending me the email, but I was so glad she did. Had she not, her hurt would’ve remained, creating disunity. By honestly expressing her feelings, she gave me the opportunity to apologize and explain.

Afterward, my daughter, her friend, and I had a lengthy conversation on communication errors, and they shared with me similar stories. Times when someone they cared about hurt them deeply. Unintentionally. Only many times, they hadn’t gotten to the truth until weeks or months later–after weeks of hurt, of disunity. We decided it’s best to communicate openly *before* forming our conclusions, giving the “offending” party the benefit of the doubt.

We decided to “seek peace.” The kind of peace that holds tight to relationships, seeking restoration and intimacy.

It is so easy to read between the lines, to assign feelings, judgments, and conclusions to words and actions. But what if our interpretations are wrong?

Let’s talk about this. When have you unwittingly caused someone pain? When have you been hurt by someone else, only to find out you assigned faulty meaning to their words and actions? How can we avoid this communication jumbling?

The Twelfth Day of Thanksgiving

By Janet Morris Grimes –

On the twelfth day of Thanksgiving, my family gave to me:
A less than thankful turkey
2 football games
3 rounds of refills
4 rolls of Tums
5 photo sessions
6 men a snoring
7 naps a waking
8 unknown cousins
9 ladies cooking
10 extra pounds
11 potato casseroles
12 deviled eggs.
We truly do have much to be thankful for. May God bless you all richly this holiday season.
From the Devotional Team at The Christian Pulse

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