Sunday 16 December 2018

Junk Food


As Shy and I took our usual walk this morning she suddenly disappeared behind me. I’m quite used to this as there are still quite a few things that spook her and make her nervous. I looked around to see what it could be, there were no other dogs about, no other people, no dustbins, or pizza boxes. As I continued to look and ponder she came from behind me with a chip in her mouth, my response, “No Shy, put it down” which she did.

Shy doesn’t normal pick up food from the street, I guess this morning she didn’t want to wait for her breakfast. I wonder how many times in my spiritual life I have picked up, or gone after spiritual food that in fact was not good for me but straight away the Father has said, “NO, put that down.” We must be so careful in these days, not everything with the label “Christian,” is sound doctrine from God’s Word, in other words rather than being nutritional it is junk food, and apt to harm our spiritual growth rather than help it.

If what we read and hear doesn’t line up with Scripture, then it is best being put in the bin.

When Shy got home she enjoyed a very nutritional meal, one that will keep her healthy, and full of vitality. If we remain within the confines of God's Word then our spiritual health and well being will be good, and we will continue to grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus, and love and serve Him as we ought. 

Friday 26 October 2018

Introducing Shy


At the beginning of July, I went to the RSPCA in Derby, and there I met Shy. She wouldn’t come near me, but I just knew we were right for one another. It took Shy three weeks before she would come near me. It would be another two weeks before she would go outside on the lead, it seemed alien to her.  

 please play with me

It was going to be slow process, I didn’t have any history for Shy other than they said she was four years old, and she had a puppy with her, which was re-homed. So, it was to be a learning process for us both, I had to be patient, she didn’t understand simple commands, and she was nervous of everyone and everything. Walking past certain cars was traumatic for her, but over the weeks she slowly overcame that fear, but she still has so many others. She is a little trouper, it is such a short time that I have had her, and she has come on in leaps and bounds, but there is still a long way to go before she completely trusts me. All the while this little Chihuahua is on the alert whilst we are out, she was like that in the house too for a couple of months, but now she is relaxed in the house, and very playful.

Being a dog, she has no awareness of personal space and so the closer she can get to you the better. She has been very pesky this past week, whilst I was pup sitting at my daughter’s house. She managed to get under the decking, I did manage to block off the place where she got through, 

Now, how can I get under there?

and then when I came home, she was upset because I was in the front garden weeding, and she managed, to get through to next doors garden, so I have to put something in place to block that too.

She enjoys chewing up paper and so I can no longer leave my card making craft things out. She is at this moment resting her head on my arm as I type. 


She doesn’t like the cold weather and at every opportunity will lie in the sun. If we go out in the rain, she walks as closely as she can to me, I think she hopes I can shield her from the rain and the cold.

no thank you, the sun's not out

Her reaction to this made me stop and think about my relationship with my heavenly Father. How, when things are at ease, if I’m not careful, I’ll tend to forget. But come the storms of life, the struggles, hardships, sorrow and pain, I draw so close to Him who is ever faithful. We are not promised ease all the time, we’re not promised that we will never experience sorrow, pain, and heartache. We’re not promised that we won’t suffer for the sake of the gospel, and that we won’t be mocked, scoffed at, and persecuted. What we are promised is that our Father, and the Lord Jesus, won’t leave us alone, but will always be close to us, in joy or in sorrow.




For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we may boldly say: “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”