God thinks he's funny

First, I gotta say. You guys rock! You amuse me, make me laugh, make me think and really make me enjoy blogging!

Our very dear friend Aus left this comment tonight:

"It's all I can do to not grab the phone and call you guys - but I'm being good. If this is what I think it is then I feel a long blog post about God's Grace and Guidance when you really open your heart and let go.....We're waiting with baited breath!"

I gotta say. You impress me! A lot of you do! It's scary how you're beginning to think like me! heh!

I do want to apologize for making you guys wait, and worse yet, for making you jump to all sorts of conclusions. You know I love you all. You do know that, don't you? ::smile::

I'm going to share about the little boy in this post, but more importantly, I prayed a lot before writing it because for whatever reason, I feel God wanting me to share what he's laid on my heart. Maybe it is meant for one of you reading this. I have no clue, but I'm being obedient. You see, I originally posted about the little boy as joke, because I knew you'd immediately think adoption since I would love nothing more than a human little boy to add to our family. I guess the joke's on me. God pulled me back into class. He said, "Yep, Ohilda! Time for some more learnin'."

What started out as a "feeling" on Friday morning when I awoke, (remember this tweet? "Have you ever felt something AMAZING was gonna happen that day? I'm feeling that today & lovin' it. Not sure what...or why, but it's good!") turned out to be a huge lesson from God, actually many lessons rolled into one big one.

He knows I'm a slow learner. A very slow learner at times. He knows I sometimes require fireworks and big neon signs to really capture my attention. To really make me get up and shout to the world, "OUR GOD ROCKS...AND THIS IS WHY!" Don't get me wrong. I think that all the time. I even think about blogging about it all the time, but lots of times I get sidetracked by worldly things. Many times I give up on praying for the desires of my heart because I figure, "Ok. I've prayed. I've asked. He hasn't answered. It's not happening." and then the praying stops. Oh, ye of little faith! Yea, me.

This is where the story begins.

You guys all know Kiefer, right? No. Not Kiefer Sutherland. My real Kiefer. THIS guy!

Well, after seven months, lots of tears and frustration beyond belief, we decided to disrupt our adoption of this little rascal. I seeked professional input. Books were read. Even pleading with some prayers thrown in didn't resolve the issue.

Kiefer, much like his namesake, is a rebel. He believed with his whole heart and soul that my white living room was his bathroom. Yes. Daily. In fact, two and three times a day he would sneak off (after consistently being taken out to relieve himself) and find spots on my white carpet/white couch to do his business. He knew. I got tired of the shampooing carpets and furniture psychological game we were playing . I already clean enough bottoms and change enough diapers to have to pick up another breathing creature's poop and pee. So, we found him a home. A family with 2 other doxies that had the same issue. Their master was OK with it. Sorry, I was not.

I was sad. Very sad. I love dogs. I was deprived of growing up with one when I was kid and I want my kids to love dogs, too. So, after a couple of months, the urge began. I tried to resist it. I thought about the expense. The work. The commitment. But the sacrifice to me was okay if we ended up with a great family member and buddy for the kids.

The search began. I, of course, visited the local animal shelter's website daily. Too big. Too small. Too old. Too young. Our local shelter is pretty small and can't hold many dogs. Then there are the rescues in the area, which ask an outrageous amount of money to adopt out a pet. And finally, there's Craigslist. My personal little escape where I can sit for hours pouring over each ad. Nothing. It seems like it wasn't meant to be.

Friday morning, as mentioned above, I awoke feeling exhilarated. I just knew something good was gonna happen. God's been really playing tug with me for the past few months in another area (you can breathe...that'll be another post) and I thought that's where he was gonna show up.

While we were killing time before taking the kids to school, I sat on the computer and was going over the new Craigslist entries. I saw an ad that read: "need to rehome Maltese". I opened it up and he sounded perfect. "7 months old, housebroken, neutered, up to date on shots, and LOVES kids! Is AKC registered and has papers."

I immediately wrote back asking how much the rehoming fee was. I know these pups, especially ready to go, can sell anywhere from $600. to $1500. I was looking for something really, I mean REALLY, inexpensive (notice I didn't say cheap? Just sounds better).

I took the kids to school and ran back in the house and into the office to see if the owner had responded. She had. Her email said, "How much are you looking to spend? We purchased him in a pet shop and he was quite a lot. But, our interest is finding him a good family home. Can you please tell me more about your family?"

Yikes! I knew he had to have been purchased for at least $800. if he came from a pet shop. I thought my measly offering I had discussed with Scott would probably be less than what she spends on food and his expenses in one month. But, I prayed. Wrote back, explaining a bit about our family and included my embarrassing offer. To which, a couple of hours later, received this response. "You sound like a really good fit for our doggy and that's important to me. So far I like your response the most. But, in the 4 hours since the ad has been up, I've received over 100 emails. Honestly I was hoping to get more for him. We have spent a lot of money on him, but we don't want that to be the only deciding factor. I will review all of the emails and get back to you this evening."

I knew it was over. One hundred emails responding to her ad? I know it's definitely possible because I received close to that amount of emails for our Kiefer when I listed him. Out of all those people there must've been many perfect families, especially ones who could afford to pay more than peanuts.

I prayed some more and then I called Scott in tears. I said to him that we'd just have to see if the power of prayer would be stronger than the power of money. I cried. And then I made a deal with God. He laughed. Well, I don't really know whether he laughed or not, but if I were God, I would've laughed at me. I told him that if we were turned down for this dog. My quest for a dog would be over. It wasn't the right time.

When we picked up the little ones from school we went to run some errands and grab something to eat. I had given the woman my cell number in case she had questions, or if she decided for some crazy reason we were the ones. (I didn't actually tell her the latter.) I held the phone as if I were waiting for a referral call from China, checking it often to make sure it was turned on and the ringer was on HIGH. Nothing.

When we got home, I again ran to the computer. THERE IT WAS! AN EMAIL! I was so nervous to open it that I asked a hovering Amanda and Scott to read it to me while I stood next to them with clenched eyes. Scott read it. It said, "We can do your offer, in cash. Not sure why, but I kept coming back to your family. I think your family is the best fit for the pup. Do you want to meet him today?" I immediately knew "why". GOD arranged it!

I thought Scott was teasing. I couldn't believe it! I opened my eyes and read it myself! I still couldn't believe it! That feeling in the morning was real. Very real. God was creating a miracle. You can look at it and question it as my sweet friend Peg said, "Hmmm... a Maltese puppy...but is that miraculous?"

The answer to that is a loud, resounding YES! The puppy itself is not the miracle. It's how God used the puppy to remind me again since I am so dense teach me that NOTHING is too big or too silly or even too crazy to ask God for. That's what he wants. He wants us to give Him control of everything in our lives, for His glory.

Don't be afraid to ask God for the desires of your heart. Give him details. He wants that intimate relationship with us. Talk to Him as if He were sitting at the table having a cup of coffee with you. He is your maker. Your Abba. Wouldn't you speak to your own physical father like that?

God creates miracles in our lives all the time. We just need to stop and realize that there are no coincidences. There is no such thing as luck. God wants the best for you. Open your eyes, heart and arms and say, "Lord, I am here! Ready to receive your miracles!"

By the way, the woman gave me all of his paperwork. She purchased him for $1200! After speaking to her tonight, I learned she had offers of $750.00. What we paid is not even worth mentioning. I consider our new little guy a gift from God.

Here's our new completely housebroken and trained sweet little boy:

FREDERICK VON BOMBARDIER, II

(Affectionately called "Fred")