"Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?" -Job 2:10c, NLT When we got our black Labrador Adi, our family grew to include her family. Over these last five years we’ve watched as her mother Lady and older sister Diamond aged with grace. We’ve also watched her littermates …
As my Dad and I hike with Adi, he'll every now and then express his pleasure at how she stays so close- rarely beyond eyesight, most often by our side. Contrast this to the hikes of my childhood with our Brittany Spaniel. As soon as the leash was unclipped, our Brittany shot off into the …
To bark or not to bark? That is the question at the heart of my current work with our six month old Lab mix puppy. Summer has an acute sense of hearing and awareness of her surroundings. As soon as something sounds or looks out of the ordinary, she responds by barking. Now in my …
Tis the season to harvest sugar peas. The warm weather has brought a bumper crop to my small garden. My Labrador faithfully follows me as I pick them. She knows that for every handful I drop into the bucket, I will drop at least one pod into her mouth. One morning, while peering at me …
“O Lord, You have searched me and You know me. . . For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” - Psalm 139: 1, 13-14 Adi & Nova are sisters- …
Spring is my favorite season for hiking. The air is pleasantly cool. The wildflowers are at their peak, and the forest’s undergrowth has not yet grown up to hide the mosses and ferns. Already, my kids, father, and I have ventured out for numerous hikes to enjoy spring’s grandeur. Our Labrador gleefully traipses alongside us …
“Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.” -Psalms 150:6 Today marks the first calendar day of spring. Yet the evidence of spring began to arrive in our neck of the woods several weeks back. The Phoebe bird, who perches on our deck announcing his presence, has returned from his wintering grounds. The robins now …
"Satisfy us in the morning with Your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days."- Psalm 90:14 I am a night owl. Years ago, I learned the value of waking before the household not because I want to but because I am a better mama, wife, and overall person …
“Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” -1 Thessalonians 5:18 Enter our home and you will be eagerly greeted by a Labrador Retriever. Greet her and she’ll trot off and return with a gift just for you- a shoe. When Adi began bringing us shoes as a …
"...Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy- think about such things." -Philippians 4:8 Sometimes it takes owning a Lab to realize how many twigs, sticks, and branches a tree sheds on a daily basis. For Adi, tree debris is a source …
Lessons from a Lab 