Butterfly Days

  “Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon His name.”                                                -Malachi 3:16     In 2019, I took some time to visit my dad’s birth country, Guatemala. My friends and I were hiking down Volcan Pacaya, a fiery active volcano, when I heard something remarkable. One of my friends wa s witnessing to the tour guide as he hiked. To him, talking about Jesus is as natural as breathing.      We live in a culture that says, “it’s okay to be a Christian. Just keep it to yourself.” If you google, “what topics should I not talk about,” Google has the answer! It says, “Never ask people about finances, politics,  religion , death, age and appearance.” Anoth...

      One of the great joys of my life is little dogs. Since 2004, my family has owned 8 dogs, and I’ve also done a lot of dog sitting over the years. We’ve been surrounded by chihuahuas, yorkies, and malteses, to name a few, and it has been a lot of fun!       The day I met Penny, you could see fear all over her face. Drool was dripping from her mouth, and if we reached for her, she would flatten herself to the ground crying, “Ooooo, Oooooooooo, Ooooo!” It was obvious to me that she had been abused at some point in her past life. I couldn’t understand how anyone could purposely hurt the beautiful little tricolored beagle!      As we continued to dog sit Penny, her confidence grew. She very quickly stopped drooling. Soon, we could reach for her without causing a panic. Then came a day when I took Penny out with me, and she laid down in a public walkway, belly up. Anyone could have stepped on her soft tummy, but she was confident because she w...