{"id":13248,"date":"2013-10-31T05:27:40","date_gmt":"2013-10-31T10:27:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lisadelay.com\/blog\/?p=13248"},"modified":"2013-10-24T12:46:18","modified_gmt":"2013-10-24T17:46:18","slug":"evangelized-by-a-rat-terrier-communicating-faith-with-a-bared-belly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lisadelay.com\/blog\/evangelized-by-a-rat-terrier-communicating-faith-with-a-bared-belly\/","title":{"rendered":"Evangelized by a Rat Terrier: Communicating Faith with a Bared Belly"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today is Halloween and this book is a murder, thriller, in the\u00a0religious\u00a0dramatic fiction….hum.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Spook-tacular!<\/p>\n

\n

\"erin\"<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Today’s post is part of \u00a0a blog tour Erin McCole-Cupp!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Erin is a talent writer and a helpful friend of mine. I got a copy of her new book that has done amazingly well on Amazon!<\/div>\n
I was thrown back to the 80s—like in a totally awesome way. <\/em><\/div>\n
(ya catch that!)<\/em><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
She’s stopping by today on her interweb book tour with a great story about her doggie superstar Sigma and a bit about her new book.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
View her bio here<\/a>.<\/div>\n
Now–Enter, Erin…<\/em><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

Thanks for hosting me, Lisa!\u00a0 See, dear reader, Lisa and I go way back\u2014way back to the 1990s, when the internet was something viewed on a black screen in tiny pinpoints of green light.\u00a0 Lisa knew me through my first conversion, the one where I became a Christian, but I\u2019m not sure she knows about my second, far more recent conversion:\u00a0 that from cat person to dog person\u2014and more specifically to a small dog person<\/i>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In Lisa\u2019s latest (and wonderful) book Dog in the Gap<\/i><\/a>, <\/i>she wrote a chapter called \u201cTaming,\u201d in which she discusses how we humans are tamed by dogs. She writes that the mutual process of caring and being cared for by a dog, \u201c\u2026can, if we let it, carry over into our other relationships\u2013this sacred act of taming each other.\u00a0 Instead of tolerating each other, we go further in.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I experienced this, more specifically what Lisa identifies in that same chapter as \u201cmutuality,\u201d starting this past Spring.\u00a0 We were thinking about getting a second cat\u2026<\/p>\n

\"nastycat\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2026because this one doesn\u2019t like us.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

When we arrived at the local shelter, we were shocked to find their cat residence virtually empty.\u00a0 Apparently we\u2019d arrived before the bumper crop of abandoned kittens was due.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWell, let\u2019s go say \u2018hi\u2019 to the dogs,\u201d my husband said.\u00a0 We went through the kennel and one of the residents made our youngest stop in her tracks.\u00a0 She pointed and shrieked with delight.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cTiny dog!\u00a0 Tiny dog!\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ugh.\u00a0 I\u2019d always called small dogs \u201chors d\u2019oeuvres\u201d or \u201clight snacks,\u201d good for nothing but barking at all hours.\u00a0 And who on earth would want a tiny ball of noise called a rat terrier<\/i><\/b>?\u00a0 No. Thank.\u00a0 You.\u00a0 Still, for the sake of the kids, I gave in to a \u201cvisit\u201d with the little guy, assuming he\u2019d annoy them so much that they\u2019d see some sense and we\u2019d come back in a few weeks for our kitten.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

When the shelter volunteer brought him in to us she warned, \u201cNow don\u2019t expect too much, because he\u2019s pretty shy and takes a long time to warm up to–\u201c<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The little blur dashed in, threw himself down in front of us all, belly up for scratching.\u00a0 His tongue lolled out.\u00a0 He was smiling<\/i>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201c\u2014new people,\u201d the worker finished.\u00a0 \u201cWow!\u00a0 Look at that!\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We did not choose Sigma.\u00a0 Sigma chose us.<\/b><\/p>\n

\"sigma\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What did he do next that won me over?\u00a0 Funny enough, it was the barking.\u00a0 He barks less than I expected a little dog to bark, but when he does bark, it\u2019s because he is trying to protect our pack.\u00a0 Stranger at the door?\u00a0 Get away!\u00a0 <\/i>\u00a0\u00a0Stranger approaching while the kids walk him?\u00a0 Stay back!\u00a0 <\/i>\u00a0Is a friend yelling near me, his Mommy?\u00a0 Yowwowwowwowwow! You\u2019re not allowed to bark at her! <\/i>Rat terriers are known for being wary of strangers and protective of their territory.\u00a0 We belong to him.<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The most precious example of this I can give is the time a relative stranger accidentally tripped over my middle child\u2019s feet.\u00a0 Before he could apologize, Sigma jumped up, tapped the guy\u2019s shins with both front paws, and gave a low warning bark.\u00a0 Do not hurt her!\u00a0 She is under my protection!\u00a0 <\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As I apologized, the perceived \u201coffender\u201d said, \u201cDon\u2019t apologize.\u00a0 That\u2019s the kind of dog you want taking care of your kids.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I\u2019ve had a dog before<\/a>.\u00a0 I\u2019ve never before had a dog who would clearly give his life for mine and my family\u2019s.\u00a0 I\u2019ve read about heroic dogs before<\/a>, but part of me always thought those were melodramatic stories made up to fill dead air on morning radio shows.\u00a0 Now that I\u2019ve seen the active loyalty of a dog, I can believe that those stories are real.\u00a0 Siggie believes that we are worth heroic effort<\/b>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sigma chose us.\u00a0 We belong to him.\u00a0 He believes we are worth heroic effort.<\/b>\u00a0 If \u201cevangelization\u201d means at its root \u201cto bring a message,\u201d Sigma has done just that.\u00a0 He won me over specifically, not because of anything he demanded of me but because of my value to him, just as I am.\u00a0 He was the first pet with which (with whom?\u00a0 hm) I\u2019ve experienced the \u201cmutuality\u201d that Lisa talks about in Dog in the Gap.<\/i>\u00a0 Yes, we feed him, walk him, rub his belly, anoint him with flea and tick preventative, and throw tennis balls around for him.\u00a0 But he does for us, too.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know about you, but when I think of \u201cevangelist,\u201d someone on a stage comes to mind.\u00a0 Someone with a podium and a microphone, slathering at the mouth with the Fire of the Spirit, hair gone wild with all the thrashing about he\u2019s done, all in the name of igniting in his listeners the furious love of Christ.\u00a0 Cerebrally, I know that\u2019s not the only way to share the faith, but my tiny human brain didn\u2019t have room for any more concrete image\u2026 until a \u201cTiny dog!\u00a0 Tiny dog!\u201d came into my family and made us a pack.\u00a0 Our \u201cSiggie Baby\u201d is not powerful or smart or eloquent.\u00a0 His evangelization of me was never about him; it was about showing me what I was worth to<\/i> him.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

That\u2019s such a small way of reaching out, but it\u2019s a genuine way that you don\u2019t need a degree or an agent or a microphone to share.\u00a0 We can\u2014no, we must<\/i> show others that someone on earth thinks they are worth choosing, worth claiming in love, and worth heroic effort.\u00a0 Wouldn\u2019t that be a wonderful, charming way to entice others into seeing that the Body of Christ is a pack worth joining?\u00a0 After all, don\u2019t we Christians occasionally find ourselves perceived as slobbery, barking hors d\u2019oeuvres?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

So how do you<\/i> dash out of your shelter and show others the vulnerable, bared-belly love of Christ?\u00a0 Lisa and I tend to bare the bellies of our imaginations:\u00a0 we write, thus inviting you into the very brains and hearts where we (try, at least) to make a home for Him.\u00a0 I took particular delight in writing the character Cate Whelihan in Don\u2019t You Forget About Me<\/i><\/a> specifically because she espouses so many things that I think are, well, not so good for us.<\/p>\n

\"dyfam\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I love Cate because she\u2019s part of my pack, and, just like so many real humans I love just because they\u2019re loveable, not because they agree with me.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I know I need to do that more in my real life, outside of my head.\u00a0 I need to show, not tell, the people I love that I choose them, that they are part of my pack, and that they are worth heroic effort.\u00a0 If the Son of God can do that for me\u2014for every single one of us\u2014and I\u2019m supposed to be following Him, then I kinda don\u2019t have an excuse to keep it in all my head anymore.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Do you?<\/p>\n

# # #<\/p>\n

Thanks, Erin!<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
If you are interested in the book, and gosh, you should be!\u00a0Purchasing info is here<\/a>. \u00a0The Kindle edition is available now. \u00a0The paperback will be available on November 1st (2013).<\/strong><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/strong><\/div>\n
There’s also a Goodreads giveaway running now through November 15, so you can enter to win a paperback of\u00a0Don’t You Forget About Me<\/i>\u00a0at this link<\/a>. \u00a0<\/strong><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If \u201cevangelization\u201d means at its root \u201cto bring a message,\u201d Sigma has done just that.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,9,76],"tags":[4376,166,4951,434,451,453,459,6536,482,4584,619,12,14,825,4665,4377,1011,1015,4697,1132,4786,1204,1222,1291,5298,1369,1388,1460,1472,1503,1538,1572,1672,1736,4716,1763,1796,4081,1921,5645,1925,2016,2046,2077,2089,2521,6221,5651,4770,2759,4527,2779,2784,5358,4433,5646,4628,5717,3141,3142,5048,3257,5611,5768,5926,3421,4241,3439,3444,4624,3578,6048,3630,6003,3711,5465,3765,3768],"class_list":["post-13248","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-authors","category-books","category-spirituality","tag-act","tag-agent","tag-awesome","tag-blog","tag-body","tag-body-of-christ","tag-book","tag-books","tag-brain","tag-care","tag-character","tag-christ","tag-christians","tag-copy","tag-dead","tag-do","tag-dog","tag-dogs","tag-down","tag-enter-to-win","tag-example","tag-faith","tag-family","tag-fire","tag-following","tag-friend","tag-funny","tag-giveaway","tag-god","tag-good","tag-green","tag-halloween","tag-home","tag-hurt","tag-if","tag-in","tag-internet","tag-just","tag-kids","tag-kind","tag-kindle","tag-life","tag-lisa","tag-love","tag-loyalty","tag-people","tag-pet","tag-post","tag-process","tag-radio","tag-rat","tag-readers","tag-real","tag-running","tag-sacred","tag-share","tag-show","tag-small","tag-son","tag-son-of-god","tag-stories","tag-story","tag-taking","tag-talent","tag-tamed","tag-things","tag-thinking","tag-tick","tag-time","tag-tour","tag-value","tag-volunteer","tag-walk","tag-wild","tag-will","tag-worth","tag-writer","tag-writing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lisadelay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13248","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lisadelay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lisadelay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lisadelay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lisadelay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13248"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lisadelay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13248\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13255,"href":"https:\/\/lisadelay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13248\/revisions\/13255"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lisadelay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13248"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lisadelay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13248"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lisadelay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13248"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}