This is the news I’ve been waiting to share with you!
If you ever loved a dog, owned a dog, or just wondered why they are so beloved, we have something we (Doug Jackson and me) created with a lot of love.
And it’s not just the book you see below coming soon, there will be a lot of extras coming too. Stayed tuned in August for more details and please join us as we get going at Facebook.
Portions of the proceeds will benefit 2 non profits we’ve selected that care for canine companions.
So here’s some details:
1. If you want a pre-launch Review Copy, let me know.
(There will be a limited number released, with special consideration for those who have a tribe and want to help us get the word out.)
2. If you’d like a sample, cool! Sign up for the free stuff in the popup window, or by going to the Free Stuff page to register.
When I decided to adopt Luna, a five year old chocolate lab 2 days ago, I knew I had to jump in with BOTH feet.
You can’t halfway care for a dog and love it halfway or something bad can take over. Resentment.
The truth is that dogs smell really gross to me. Their fur gets on to everything and they’ve seem ridiculously emotionally needy to me. The constant caring for them can feel like such a never-ending chore. But the reality is also that they need people. These pack animals get neurotic and socially dysfunctional without a predictable caregiver who serves as pack leader. (Yes, I’ve been learning for the Dog Whisperer, Cesar Millan.)
They easily sense apprehension. They need a non frustrated, calm leader–and I admit when she shoves me out of the way to barge out into the rain after school kids I get tense!
Having grace for her problems and retraining her to be a better fit in our family is the new mission of The DeLay Pack.
I’ll keep you posted. Soon.
In the meantime, what good advice do you have for me?
For the last 4 days I’ve been living with my husband, son, and daughter in a rustic cabin. Camping they call it.
Here are 5 things I learned:
1. Campers come in two classes: The Haves and The Have Nots.
The have nots are trying to scrimp on vacation costs, enjoy the outdoors, and try not to get eaten alive by insects…or get heat stroke. (That’s where you’ll find us.)
The haves perk out with things like air conditioning, satellite tv, shower/bath, running water, microwaves, and so on…and so on. I’ve decided that they’re sissies with money.
2. A 9 foot black snake can make a quick exit even with its head half lopped off. (The backstory is too long for this format. But, yes, I had a few nightmares.)
3. When you are camping eating Ice Cream 2-3 times per day seems normal, if not obligatory.
4. A shower at the camp washhouse leaves you feeling wonderfully fresh and clean! …for 49 seconds, no make that 4 to 9 seconds.
5. People who camp with dogs and loud people should be sequestered to their own camping island…about ten miles away. Downwind. And Downstream.
Cool cats used to say, “See you on the flipside.” Apparently when you flip a day onto its back you get another day, not the nighttime.
A cat (yes, I’m talking felines now) works the same way. If you flip a cat over it doesn’t hit its backside, but it’s flipside. The right side. The same side it should be on. A dog? Forget it. It’s a trip to animal hospital.
The flipside of a coin doesn’t work the same as a cat. The flipside of the coin is the other side. It’s the head or the tail: the opposite. Most people want money and not cats.
Is the flipside like the Kingdom of God?
I went to my first Special Olympics to cheer on my son in the swimming event. Backstroke and freestyle. I saw the flipside. The Kingdom of God is like the Special Olympics. Those who are always last in life get a chance to be first. It’s actually fierce competition, in case you’re wondering.
Athletes train for months. 70% of the swimmers would have bested me in the pool despite possessing Downs Syndrome, mental retardation, autism, and so forth. Counted out in every other point, but no more. It was a day of winning and accomplishment.
Athletes are grouped according to skill level, and sometimes, age. Poor swimming form meets with disqualification. Did you get that? You can be disqualified! I was stunned.
So, not everyone gets a medal in S.O.? Nope. Only one athlete gets first place. This makes the victory legit. A first place medal really means something. It really means #1. It really gives an athlete something to fully celebrate and gives a family something to truly cheer about.
The huge difference between the Special Olympics and the typical Olympics and most other sporting events, is that each athlete is treated like a winner. Everyone is acknowledged. No one is a loser. No one puts a mic in their face and says, “What went wrong?” If one flounders in the water…well, like a cat…one still gets a participation ribbon. Everyone is accepted no matter how they do.
This is how we can enact the Kingdom of God right now. Find someone who’s usually last. Economically, socially, culturally, mentally, and then find a way to make them first, to offer and enact true acceptance. It’s the flipside. It’s the righted way of the world as God’s wants it to be.
Will I see you on the flipside?
What are some ideas to reveal the Kingdom of God flipside?