Tim Harlow

All Dogs Go to Heaven

We lost our 14 year old poodle this week to congestive heart failure. We still have Zachy (Zacchaeus – the wee little man) at home and he’s a bit lost, but we’ll all be okay.  Life goes on. 

It’s probably harder for us all because it’s just another reminder of this change of life time that we’re going through.  Peanut was the family dog we bought when Becca was 4 because she was afraid of dogs.  She became the real dog lover in the family and now she’s gone and Peanut is gone and it’s just us and this mentally challenged boy dog at home now.

It was harder to let go than I thought it would be.  Pets become part of the family.  And there is something about them, especially dogs, well okay – especially dogs and definitely not cats – that allows them to love you unconditionally.  They don’t care what kind of a bad day you had, or how you treated them last week, or how much love you give them – they always just love you.

I need to be more like Peanut.  We should all be more like Peanut. 

It is reported that the following edition of the Book of Genesis was discovered in the Dead Sea Scrolls:

And Adam said, "Lord, when I was in the garden, you walked with me every day. Now I do not see you anymore.  I am lonesome here and it is difficult for me to remember how much you love me."

And God said, "No problem!  I will create a companion for you that will be with you forever and who will be a reflection of my love for you, so that you will know I love you, even when you cannot see me.

Regardless of how selfish and childish and unlovable you may be this new companion will accept you as you are and will love you as I do, in spite of yourself."

And God created a new animal to be a companion for Adam. And it was a good animal.  And God was pleased.

And the new animal was pleased to be with Adam and he wagged his tail. And Adam said, "But Lord, I have already named all the animals in the Kingdom and all the good names are taken and I cannot think of a name for this new animal."

And God said, "No problem!  Because I have created this new animal to be a reflection of my love for you, his name will be a reflection of my own name, and you will call him DOG."

And Dog lived with Adam and was a companion to him and loved him. And Adam was comforted.  And God was pleased. And Dog was content and wagged his tail.

After a while, it came to pass that Adam's guardian angel came to the Lord and said, "Lord, Adam has become filled with pride. He struts and preens like a peacock and he believes he is worthy of adoration.  Dog has indeed taught him that he is loved, but no one has taught him humility."

And the Lord said, "No problem! I will create for him a companion who will be with him forever and who will see him as he is.  The companion will remind him of his limitations, so he will know that he is not worthy of adoration."

And God created Cat to be a companion to Adam.  And Cat would not obey Adam.

And when Adam gazed into Cat's eyes, he was reminded that he was not the Supreme Being. And Adam learned humility.

And God was pleased.  And Adam was greatly improved.

And Cat did not care one way or the other.

That’s funny right there; I don’t care what you say.

R.I.P. Peanut – thanks for the love.  All dogs go to heaven.

Tim 

50 - Where's my AARP card?

Seriously, I don't have it yet.  I'm disappointed.  It's one of those milestones you look forward to, like getting your driver's license. Who do I need to call?  I NEED DISCOUNTS!

I've been saving this thing from Dave Barry for years.  I'm finally 50 and now I can agree with him.

THINGS THAT IT TOOK 50 YEARS TO LEARN By Dave Barry

Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.

If you had to identify, in one word, the reason why the human race has not achieved, and never will achieve, its full potential, that word would be "meetings."

There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."

People who want to share their religious views with you almost never want you to share yours with them.

And when God, who created the entire universe with all of its glories, decides to deliver a message to humanity, He WILL NOT use as His messenger, a person on cable TV with a bad hairstyle.

You should not confuse your career with your life.

No matter what happens, somebody will find a way to take it too seriously.

When trouble arises and things look bad, there is always one individual who perceives a solution and is willing to take command. Very often, that individual is crazy.

Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.

Never lick a steak knife.

Take out the fortune before you eat the cookie.

The most powerful force in the universe is gossip.

You will never find anybody who can give you a clear and compelling reason why we observe daylight savings time.

You should never say anything to a woman that even remotely suggests that you think she's pregnant unless you can see an actual baby emerging from her at that moment.

There comes a time when you should stop expecting other people to make a big deal about your birthday. That time is age eleven.

The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status or ethnic background, is that, deep down inside, we ALL believe that we are above-average drivers.

The main accomplishment of almost all organized protests is to annoy people who are not in them.

A person who is nice to you, but rude to the waiter, is not a nice person. (This is very important. Pay attention. It never fails.)

Your friends love you anyway.

Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark. A large group of professionals built the Titanic.

Amen.

Turning 50 hasn’t been bad.  Empty nest is good.  Becca is loving her new college and that helps. We spent my 50^th birthday weekend with Rachel and Ash in their home in Nashville.  It was pretty cool to be there and know that they are good.  And we’re so thankful to God that Ash got a job with Dave Ramsey’s company which is rated as one of the top places in Nashville to work.  So life moves on.

It’s been a lot of change in one summer, I’m kind of glad it’s all behind us as much fun as it all was.  Life goes on.  And for the record, I won’t be needing my American Association of Retired People card for anything but discounts, because I’m not retiring – probably ever. 

Sure, I’ll step down from this gig.  You don’t need a crotchety, old fart up their preaching to you about the sins of loud music.  But it will be awhile – I still enjoy the loud music. 

I will always have kingdom work to do.  Because the fields are white to the harvest.  I can’t tell you how spiked my blood pressure is right now because of all the amazing opportunities God is placing in our path to help bring Heaven to Earth and Earth to Heaven.  I wish I didn’t need to sleep and had a billion dollars!

Anyway, thank you for the well wishes on my milestone and someone call AARP for me.

I really want to encourage you to pick up one of the invite tins for our Weird series. This series is going to be an awesome way for people to realize how cool it is to be Weird.  Your friends need Jesus in their life now more than ever.  It might be as easy as giving them a tin (and there’s a Fleckenstein’s cookie inside).

I hope you will be here as we recognize our Emergency Service Personnel at our special service to commemorate 911 this weekend. It’s going to be a special service – don’t miss it.  It’s hard to remember what we were doing 10 years ago today.  But it won’t be on Sunday.  Through it all, we’re going to see that Love Prevails. 

Tim

PS – MOVE TO SATURDAY!!  TWO SERVICES AT 4 AND 5:45.  MOVE TO SATURDAY PLEASE!  WHAT DO I HAVE TO DO???  I’M 50 NOW, BE NICE TO AN OLD MAN.

This is your Soul

There used to be a very effective anti-drug advertisement that showed butter frying in a pan. The announcer said, “This is drugs.” Then they dropped an egg into the pan and it instantly started to fry to which the announcer said, “This is your brain on drugs."

This is life.

 

This is your soul on life.

 
Life is full of good and bad things that exact a toll on your soul.  My wife and I have been through a lot of emotional stuff this summer.  Most of it very good stuff, but emotional – just the same. 

So we’re doing some intensive soul work this week with a Christian psychologist who has been instrumental in helping us stay soul-healthy through this journey of ministry.

I blog this, because I want to admit to you that my wife and I seek help for our marriage and our soul.  I want to admit that we have issues that we need to work through.

And I tell you this because you do too.  I know you do.  And your soul may look like that tree. 

What should you do?  Well, Jesus stepped off the proverbial bus on a regular basis so that he could get away from the crowds and replenish his relationship with God.

Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. Psalm 46:10

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Mark 1:35

Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. Psalm 1:1-3

But there will occasionally be times when your life, your marriage, and\or your soul needs the counsel of someone who can help you.

DO IT.

Make a call to a Christian friend that you respect.  Get in a group with some people who can help you.  And go see a Christian counselor.  Listen, I wouldn’t still be doing this ministry, and I might not be married, if I\we hadn’t received help from professional help.

It’s not the simple answer to every problem you have, but there are many things you can’t get through on your own.

This can be your soul.

 

Tim

Photos taken by Tim at the Blessing Ranch