Stormy solutions

There's a storm brewing on the horizon. I can hear the thunder and the wind is picking up.  When I was growing up, I loved listening to the gentle patter of rain on the roof.  I loved playing in the shallow ditch out front of our house - feeling the mud squish up between my toes, picking up crawdads, and just splashing around.  What does that have to do with now?  Well, even a great rain storm produces thunder and lightening and that's where the problem begins.

We have this German Shepard, Lady, that most everyone is intimidated by.  She will stand at the door when someone enters the yard, she lets UPS and strange trucks know that she would rather they go away by barking fiercely and the hackles will raise on the back of her neck... Really intimidating...

What most people don't know is she is a most loving and loyal dog, tender and patient with babies and small children, can smell a juicy rib bone or burger before it passes the front door.  She believes that styrofoam is the means to getting a rib bone.


This fierce looking dog has a secret.  She is fiercely afraid of storms and strong winds. I think she can smell one before it hits the radar and the thing she wants most is to escape.  She usually starts by jumping on our bed, which is not a good solution at all.  So I usually end up sleeping on the couch with her on one end curled up behind my legs - shaking the WHOLE couch.  If I try to climb into bed and shut her out of our room, she will scratch on the door and make the awfullest racket. 

We have tried so many things and I've grown so tired of sleeping on the couch.  We've tried giving her Benadryl via our vet's instructions - even 3 fast acting caplets do not touch this fear.

Quite by mistake we discovered the only thing that calmed her down....  Putting her in the laundry room, on her pillow, with the DRYER on Air, throw in a towel or two, and close the door almost shut.  We use Dryer Balls, so the noise of all this, calms and relaxes her more than anything we could ever do.  I'm even able to sleep in my own bed!

This post is part of Works for Me Wednesday at We are That Family!

A sprinkle of rain, staving off a downpour...

This week I felt a few sprinkles of the rain I wrote about earlier. I've actually felt the sprinkles and a few downpours since November, but now I need to learn to dance in the rain. Why do I let a little bit of rain pull me down? I actually love those gentle Spring rain showers, it's the torrential downpours that causes me to tremble. As a child, my mother would let us go out into the rain and play. We didn't care how wet we got. We were glad to get out into it. I remember we used to catch the rain in barrell and use it to wash our hair - thinking it would make it softer. I'm not sure if my hair was ever any softer, but Brrrr! Was it ever cold! There are things that I know. With rain, comes renewal, refreshment, and life. Now, mind you, this is not the total scope of my knowledge. But then again, my family may agree. I tend to associate the torrential rains with devestation and defeat, but also determination. The determiniation to rebuild and regrow can be slow. The haunting reminders can be there for years. I could go into long and boring details - let's face it, my life isn't THAT exciting! Tomorrow I'm having surgery for a deviated septum, and while that will be painful, I'm excited about getting the chance to really breathe - to smell the sweet spring rain. Who knows, maybe some of my brain cells will return and I won't seem so ditzy to others. We have some other decisions to make. The pulmonologist said one spot on my lung (mind you I've never smoked) doesn't seem to be cancerous, but they found a place on my hilum on the lung, that they're not sure about. He said we can either just do another CT scan in 3 months or have a consult with a surgeon immediately. To be honest, there are days that I just want to curl up in a ball, hold my children just a little tighter, hug my husband a little longer... So what's a girl to do... PRAY, PRAY, PRAY... and learn to dance. We're holding fast to God's promises... We know that life is not filled with only moutaintop experiences, but after we go through this valley, we are looking for the rainbow after the rain.

James 1:2-5 (New American Standard Bible) 2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. 5 But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

1 Peter 1:6 In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials,

Rain and mercy

Mercy is falling

Is falling - is falling

Mercy, it falls

Like the sweet spring rain

Mercy is falling

Is falling all over me

Hey-oh

I receive your mercy

Hey-oh

I receive your grace

Hey-oh

I will dance forevermore

These last few days, I've been so much reminded of this song by David Ruis that we've sang in church before . After the 100+º temps we've been having, it is absolutely wonderful to sleep with the windows open, turn off the air conditioner, and just enjoy the sweet smell of a cool summer rain throughout the day and night.

When it rains, there is a little girl that I think of, Gracie, that told me it is important that she gets to dance in the rain. She made me think about so many things, but mostly about priorities, grace, and mercy. I just wonder... when God pours out his mercy, will I be dancing and rejoicing or will I be too busy to realize what a sweet gift He has given.

There have been other times that when it rains it is not so sweet. We've personally watched the stream rise, the waters seep into our home, and the aftermath of clean up. At those times, I've stood at my washer and just cried out to God to stop the rain. I wonder if Noah did that (not that he had a dryer)? After the rain, there is opportunity for healing and rebuilding. So I guess my question is: Will I dance in the rain knowing there is mercy and grace or will I spend my time mourning the time that it is falling. Please gently remind me the next time that rain starts to pour on our humble home that I need to dust off my dancing shoes, lift up my hands and accept His mercy and grace.