Choose Joy

The past week and a half have been somewhat of a trial for me, and emotional rollercoaster with it’s fair share of ups and downs. Tuesday was probably bottom for me, I was overwhelmed and living in the world in not trusting the my savior. The shelter is full to capacity all the time. Overwhelmed with the reality that there are too many animals and not enough cages or adopters to save them all I broke down. But what do you know God had a plan and it was good. Several dogs transferred to Michigan Humane and this Thursday we find ourselves with ten open kennels! Once again he has made a way out of no way. We are still overwhelmed with cats but we are trying to do better. I woke up Wednesday singing Chris Tomlin’s Our God.

“Water you turned into wine, opened the eyes of the blind there's no one like you none like You!
Into the darkness you shine out of the ashes we rise there's no one like you none like You!
Our God is greater, our God is stronger, God you are higher than any other.
Our God is Healer, Awesome in Power, Our God! Our God!

Into the darkness you shine out of the ashes we rise there's no one like you none like You!
Our God is greater, our God is stronger, God you are higher than any other.
Our God is Healer, Awesome in Power, Our God! Our God!
Our God is greater, our God is stronger, God you are higher than any other.
Our God is Healer, Awesome in Power, Our God! Our God!

And if our God is for us, then who could ever stop us.
And if our God is with us, then what could stand against.
And if our God is for us, then who could ever stop us.
And if our God is with us, then what could stand against.
What could stand against.

Our God is greater, our God is stronger, God you are higher than any other.
Our God is Healer, Awesome in Power, Our God! Our God!
Our God is greater, our God is stronger, God you are higher than any other.
Our God is Healer, Awesome in Power, Our God! Our God!
And if our God is for us, then who could ever stop us.
And if our God is with us, then what could stand against.
And if our God is for us, then who could ever stop us.
And if our God is with us, then what could stand against.
Then what could stand against.

Our God is greater, our God is stronger, God you are higher than any other.
Our God is Healer, Awesome in Power, Our God! Our God!
Our God is greater, our God is stronger, God you are higher than any other.
Our God is Healer, Awesome in Power, Our God! Our God!”


There is so much power in that song and it just reminded me that nothing is too big for the God of the universe as long as you trust in him and his perfect plan.

So my challenge for you is to choose joy. Be an optimist. Choose sunshine and rainbows over rainclouds and storms.

Find happiness in the beautiful people around you. The people who love and support you for your unique personality. The people who hold you accountable and inspire spiritual growth. Go for a walk and take in his creation. Trees and flowers are always beautiful to me. Snuggle a kitten and stand in awe of the happiness it brings you as they race around the room learning how to purr and pounce from one another. Pray with a group of friends about anything and everything. Share life with others. Cry for the injustices of the world but do not be overcome by them. Choose joy because God is good and his love endures forever.

"Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." Romans 12:21

Tests and Trusts

So the past few days have been very interesting for me. I love my job at the shelter but sometimes it gets overwhelming. That was the case this week. On wednesday we had 16 dogs over capacity and no place to put them. I was more than a little stressed out by this. Then we had a dog fight in the morning and the day was quickley becoming more and more stressful. I had a conversation with God that went something like, "I don't understand why you have placed me here or how I am suppose to accomplish the task at hand. Lives will be lost this week and that really hurts. Please show me the way." Shortly after this little chat I remembered Joshua 1:9 the verse that I tell all of my friends when they face trials. Joshua 1:9 says, "Be strong and courageous; do not be terrified; do not be discouraged for the Lord your God will be with you weherever you go." As soon as I thought about Joshua 1:9 and what it means I felt a little better and then it was clear to me that today's lesson from god was both a trust and a test. He was trusting me with several animal lives and he was trusting me to set an example for my co-workers. He was testing my trust to him and my obeience to his will, even when the outcome seemes to be horrible. This realization helped me clarify exactly what it was I needed to do. So with that my co-workers and I started calling people to see about moving dogs. After several phone calls and many people's genorosity we were able to send 9 dogs to rescue and one of our long term residents finally got adopted!!!! God saved ten dogs lives and gave them a chance at a future. He made a way out of no way and all that it required was trust and obedience to his will. The shelter is still extremely full but the important thing is that 40+ dogs have been given another week to live, to be seen by the public, to find for ever homes, and most importantly to love and be loved on. PRAISE God. It was such a big lesson and he met me where I was and used things that would speak to me to teach me his lesson in a big way. But the lesson didn't end there. That night I had dinner with some very dear friends and I couldn't help but be thankful for the beautiful people he has blessed me with. Strong, encouraging women of God that I absolutely love:) After this dinner I lost my keys which was an adventure that took up a day of my life lol Then I headed to life group to grow in God and fellowship with some wonderful ladies. We read Galations 5 and 6 and boy is that some very powerful stuff! So many good verses that spoke right to my heart. Two verses that I thought really spoke to me and to the day's events were Gal. 5:6 "The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love." and Gal 6:9 " Let us not become weary in doing good for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." So there you have faith expresses itself through love. Loving is often times hard but if we do not give up we will spend eternity with a savior and until then we just might impact some lives, animal and human alike. Love until it hurts, and then love more!