7 posts tagged “jesus”
I uploaded this to Flickr and thought I'd share it with those of my Vox friends who are semi-voyeurs like me. I love to see photos of where people live. Their decor and collections reveal part of their personality. My decor is obviously that of colorful cuteness. Japanese pop art is a heavy influence to the kind of art and toys I collect. It makes me smile. Now post a photo of your desk or work space!
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When I said, "My foot is slipping,"
your love, O LORD, supported me.
When anxiety was great within me,
your consolation brought joy to my soul. Psalm 94:18-19
Thank you Lord for giving me strength and reassurance.
I give all that I am to do Your will.
Show me the way.
she was diagnosed with congestive heart failure (enlarged heart) at the end of last summer and had been on heart and lung medication up until now. the medication worked wonderfully in the beginning as it curbed her coughing and breathing attacks, but it didn't take them away completely. it merely cut down on the frequency of them. sadly, there is no cure for an enlarged heart apart from a heart transplant - which isn't being done in animals. i wouldn't have put her through such a thing had it been available anyway.
after her diagnosis, her veterinarian, dr. dickie, didn't think she'd make it to thanksgiving let along christmas - oh how she prove him wrong. she was fighter until the end (that's my boopy!). her health was never 100% after being diagnosed, but it remained quite well up until the last few months. that's when her coughing/breathing attacks came more frequently and for longer durations. it, progressively, took her longer to recover from each episode. it broke my heart watching her gasping for air while just trying to do something simple like play with her favorite toys (plush froggy and ping pong balls). she never let it stop her though. she played until she was too tired to. she had such a beautiful, tenacious spirit.
it wasn't until the past month that we noticed a decline in her health. her coughing became stronger and she just had this sad look in her eyes all the time. she still had her moments where that spark would return and she'd act like the pup she used to be and ran around and played. the majority of the time though she was tired and that light in her eyes seem to have faded. the past three days is when she stopped eating. nothing could tempt her, not even her most favorite human foods. and with her not eating, we were unable to give her her medication - the medication that was more or less keeping her alive.
yesterday her breathing had become very labored and i think we all knew she was tired and couldn't go on any longer. she kept giving us this sad, scared, "help me" look which made my heart ache to the core. my mom and i had been crying since monday as we saw this day coming. we just couldn't let go. we didn't want her to go.
we took her to the same emergency pet hospital she had been prior. before leaving the house, we struggled with the decision of whether we were going to prolong her life a few weeks more with more drugs (if possible) or let her go. we all knew what we had to do, what would be fair to suni and in her best interest .. just none of us could make that decision. we decided we'd see what the doctors said first before deciding on anything.
upon arrival, the doctor said she was listed at being in critical condition. her lungs were filled with fluid due to her weak heart. she was given medication to help drain the fluids and was put on oxygen. the doctor then gave us a rundown on options of medication we could try to maybe extend her life for a week, possibly a month, as well at the option of euthanasia. she felt in suni's case that it would be a humane decision. after some time alone in the room and prayer, we made the decision to let her go. as much as we all wanted her to stay, we had to think of her and what was best for her since she couldn't make the decision herself. i loved her too much to put her through anymore.
she sat on my lap while we prayed over her asking God to take her into His arms and keep her safe until we were all reunited one day. we all gave her kisses, told her how much we loved her, and she died in my arms. as she took her last breath, she snuggled her snout in between my body and arm. just like she always did as a baby. as devastating as it was, a sense of peace and relief came over me when i saw that she was no longer struggling to stay alive for our sake. she looked so at peace and she could finally rest - something that alluded her for months. my baby is now pain free and happy running in fields and playing with sweet ava. i know ava will take good care of suni until my time comes to join them.
suni was such a sweet dog. she had the sweetest, most kindest temperament of any animal i've ever known. she was a girly girl who was polite and funny and had this over-abundance of love that exuded from her. she was my companion, my best friend, and taught me more than anyone about what love is and what is important in this life. she showed nothing but unconditional love at all times and i'll miss those almond eyes and her never ending kisses and her riding on my lap with me everywhere. God's unconditional love was shown through my precious, boopy, and i thank Him for blessing me with the honor of being her caregiver while she was here on earth.
thank you for being such a sweet, loving companion, suni!
you'll always be in my heart! i love you forever, my sweet girl!
25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies;
26 and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"
27 "Yes, Lord," she told him, "I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world."
John 11:25 - 27.
i love you, Jesus!!
i hope everyone had a wonderful day!
sadie and i send everyone *hugs*.
below is an excerpt taken from a daily devotional i receive each day written by bill keller of liveprayer.com. for those interested, it explains why good friday is celebrated and considered not only one of the most important days of the year, but most important events in human history.
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The Bible teaches us that tomorrow is promised to none of us and that each
day is a gift from God. When you die, your body will go back to the dust of
the earth as God mandated, but your soul, the part of man made in God's
image is eternal. Where your soul spends eternity is a choice each
individual who lives will make during their life. It is God's desire that
ALL come to repentance and none be lost. He sent His Son Jesus to die for
the sins of all mankind so that thru faith in Jesus man could be reconciled
back to God and have the assurance of everlasting life with his Creator.
My friend, nobody who is honest will dispute that they will die one day, and
nobody who is honest will dispute they commit sin. We ALL sin and fall
short of God's glory and it is our sin that separates us from a holy God.
GOD LOVES YOU! He is willing to forgive you of your sins if you will simply
ask Him. There is nothing you have done in your life that God won't forgive
you for if you ask Him. He does not want to see your soul perish for
eternity, but wants you to spend your eternity with Him.
Please, take a few moments, the most important few moments you will ever
spend and read the following few paragraphs. These words can literally
change you for all eternity. I am praying for you!
For God so loved the world, HE GAVE. Today is the day that we celebrate one
of the greatest events in human history. We celebrate today the death of
our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, God's gift to the world. Today is truly a
day of rejoicing. Because of this gift from God, we can be forgiven of our
sins and reunited with our Creator for eternity. So much of what I deal
with each day in this Devotional is to help you walk through this short
journey here on earth victoriously and productively. But we must never
forget that our time here is very short, and there is an eternity waiting
for us when this journey is completed.
I want to focus for just a minute on this most special day, to that split
second when our life on this earth is finished and we are launched into
eternity. Do you have the assurance this very moment that when your life is
complete, your eternity is going to be spent in Heaven with God your
Creator?
If the answer to that question is anything but a resounding YES, then let me
just share this simple truth with you. You see, our God, our Creator so
loved this world, so loved His creation, that He sent His Son, His only Son
to be part of this world. Jesus had one mission in this life. It wasn't to
be a great teacher, though He was a great teacher. It wasn't to be a great
prophet, though He was a great prophet. It wasn't to be a great miracle
worker, though He did work many great miracles. No my friend, Jesus came to
this world to perform only one job...to die.
You see, the reason it was vital for Jesus to be immaculately conceived by
the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin was so that He was not infested with
the same problem you and I are born into this life with, sin. Otherwise,
the best He could have done was to die for His own sins. Jesus lived on
this earth for some 33 years before it was time to complete His work.
That work was finished on a cross on the hill called Calvary where He hung,
and then died as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of this world. That is
why, whosoever believes in Jesus, shall not perish, but have everlasting
life!
Believing in Jesus is the only way to be saved because it was Jesus who died
for our sins. There are no other ways to be saved, no other roads to God,
there are no other plans of salvation!!! This is God's one and only plan to
reconcile His fallen creation back to Himself. This is the only way that
you can escape eternity apart from the God who created you in His own image.
It is through His grace and by your faith in Jesus Christ!
There are many incredible mysteries in the Bible. There are many doctrinal
issues that will never be fully understood until we are in Heaven. But God
made the most important decision of this life very easy and simple to
understand. He gave every one the same opportunity to have their sins
washed away and be assured of an eternity in Heaven. That is why we
celebrate Good Friday today. That is why we put our faith and trust in
Jesus Christ.
fall semester began this past monday. i've been looking forward to it until it arrived. that's when nervousness set in. i've always gotten the "first day school jitters" but it seems to have gotten more acute as i've gotten older. of course waiting years after graduating high school to finally start college didn't help matters. i think anyone who has taken any extended hiatus from schooling finds it a difficult transition. but the core of my nerves stem from my disability. it's very challenging (to say the least) not being physically able to participate in class activities that require you to use your hands. and to be honest, what class doesn't? i require assistance for every class i take no matter the subject. however, this semester i'm taking "fundamentals of two dimensional art" (it's a prerequisite for digital art courses) and it's all hands-on. talk about being nervous. thankfully, kristin was here and went with me to my first class to act as my interim notetaker even though it wasn't exactly how she wanted to spend her last day at home. i completely understood seeing that it's a three hour class, but i couldn't help feeling slightly hurt when she mentioned she might want to leave early. i kept these feelings to myself though (as i always do) and was just grateful that she was sacrificing her time and going with me at all. i would've been a mess without her since the DPS center hadn't yet appointed me a notetaker. however, i had no reason to be nervous because my instructor is awesome! she's really fun, energetic, understanding, compassionate, and seems to actually enjoy her job, unlike most instructors/professors. she couldn't have been more accommodating and did everything she could think of to help me succeed in every activity. her willingness to take the time to think of alternative ways for me to complete each assignment not only eased my nerves, but also warmed my heart and renewed my faith in humans. for every few jerks out there in the world, there are people like shari wasson who are the complete polar opposite whom live their lives in a way that Jesus commanded/spoke of in the bible time and time again - to help and love one another. i have a feeling i'm really going to enjoy this class. God is good!
with the TADO opening last week and my sister being home, i totally slacked off on my bible reading. i was doing so good reading a minimum of three chapters a day and then BAM! i missed an entire week of reading. what is wrong with me?? i really need to pray (daily) about being more disciplined in this area of my life. i'm really frustrated with the ease at which i blow things off.
focus celena, FOCUS!!
*on an unrelated note* ... ben & jerry's ice cream is the best! it has become my favorite brand that outshines it's competitors by a long shot. i've always been a cake/donut person mainly due to the fact i'm lactose intolerant. lactose and i have been bitter enemies for years and i avoided it at all costs .. until this past year. ben & jerry set up shop near us and i could no longer resist. i decided i'd deal with the consequences. you can deprive yourself of deliciousness for just so long. my reigning favorite is "bananas on the rum" but recently discovered a new favorite called "american pie." it's vanilla ice cream mixed with chunks of real apple pie! could anything be any better!?
thank GOD for high metabolism!
now listen to my favorite elliott smith song.
islamic fascists are pathetic. what a waste of human life to spend it scheming and plotting ways to mass murder innocent people. how can a person have so much hate in them that their entire existence revolves around killing those who aren't of their faith and therefore regarded as evil infidels? i can't wrap my brain around their warped way of thinking. it's incredibly sad.
i hope marion made it to london okay. her departure was early this morning. i'm sure heathrow airport was an absolute mess by the time she arrived; that is, if she arrived at all. from what the news was saying, several flights were canceled. poor thing. she had this trip planned for months. figures something like this would happen the day of her departure. she's nervous about flying as it is. this had to have jumbled her nerves somewhat.
all we can do is pray for these people. pray that God will soften their hardened hearts, help them change their evil ways, and serve the one true God - the God of the Bible.
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son." John 3:16-18
i've been watching the history channel on and off all day. every show has been about the middle east. earlier there was a program on about how the U.S. aided the taliban with weapons and whatnot in the 80's during the reagan administration to help them defeat the soviets. what the hell? talk about things coming back to bite you in the arse. our government has done so many underhanded deeds in the past, it's no wonder we're hated and despised by numerous countries. the more i educate myself on the history of our nation concerning foreign affairs, the more i'm disgusted by it and have a better understanding of how we're viewed by other countries.
with the current situation with iraq and now the conflict between israel and lebonon, i'm convinced it's a preface to end times revealed in the bible. end time prophesy has always intrigued me and everything that is happening is definitely pointing toward what's described in the bible, mainly the book of revelation. what most people don't understand is that everything that is going on is about faith and religion. on the surface it may look political, but what it really boils down to is muslim beliefs vs. jewish and christian beliefs. so while many idealists out there think everything can be settled (and wars avoided) by talking and negotiating, that's just naive. extremists and terrorist don't negotiate. it's their way or no way at all. period.
the sad thing is israel is always going to be hated and picked on solely because of their race. there doesn't have to be any other reason than that. that is something i've never understood until becoming christian. but they're God's chosen people and He said they would be hated most amongst men. it's hard to believe israel, as tiny of a country as it is, will withstand to the end. it doesn't seem possible considering they're surrounded by enemies on all sides. but God will see them through!
speaking of the Lord, my bible study today was interesting. i'm in leviticus and it's talking about what the israelites were to do if they were unclean due to disease and viruses. also about sexual immorality. very interesting stuff. i'm just so incredibly thankful for Jesus' sacrifice. i don't think i'd bode well having to slaughter animals as a sacrifice for my sins. just reading about it makes me nauseous, ha.
i'm excited my hunger to study God's word has returned. i feel revitalized.
