Benny in the morning...

 

I always said God knew we needed Benny, but I don’t think Carl, or I realized how much we would appreciate his unique character traits.  He is the most interesting Shih tzu we have ever owned and has a fascinating personality that keeps us on our toes every day.  Today I wanted to share one of what we are now calling “Bennyisms”

I am not a morning person, but our Benny certainly is!  If we all could share the excitement of a Benny in the morning it would be an interesting world!  When the alarm goes off, Benny comes running and he excitedly jumps onto our bed to wake everyone up. 

If Benny could speak, he would shout –

‘IT’S MORNING TIME!’ ‘IT’S MORNING TIME!’  ‘EVERYONE GET UP!!’

He is so excited that he immediately rushes to Dad first and licks his face over and over to wake him up.  He knows Dad needs to be up first because Dad takes Benny out to do his business.  Once Dad rolls over and turns the alarm off Benny  then then scoots over and quietly looks at me. 

He sits about two inches from my face and waits for me to open my eyes.  I am awake but I keep my eyes closed.  I can feel his breath on my face as he waits patiently for me to open my eyes.  Every once in a while, he gently licks my forehead to get my attention and attempts to wake me.  He knows that the ‘Dad approach’ doesn’t work with the Mom.  When I finally open my eyes, he excitedly works his way across the bed to our other puppy Rocco who is sleeping under the covers.  Rocco is also not as excited as Benny about waking up in the morning and returns Benny’s nudges with a growl each time.  Benny doesn’t care and keeps nudging him until he comes out from the covers.  The routine is not complete until Rocco is up too.

Once everyone is awake and Dad has taken the pups outside, Benny comes rushing back to bed so he can bring a toy to play with as he waits for his morning treat.    After the puppies receive their morning treats, Benny settles down into the blankets and takes a small nap until the next event.  His job for the morning is done.  Everyone in the house is awake and up.

What a routine!

To be Benny.  To have that level of excitement.

Now don’t get me wrong, I am grateful to wake up each morning.  However, I don’t share the enthusiasm that Benny does.  It comes from his toes.  He is so excited to be up that if he could, I believe he would wake up the entire neighborhood! 

He LOVES morning time.  I honestly think it is his one of his top favorite times of the day next to dinner time and when the bark box arrives.  Morning time for Benny is a new day to discover new adventures, play with his toys, eat, bug Rocco, then nap, and run around some more, and then repeat.

Benny’s day isn’t any different than the day before.  He doesn’t have something new to look forward to.  However, he is always excited each morning to see ‘his people’ and be awake!

We could learn a lot from my Benny.

What if we looked at our day like Benny does?

Excitement and anticipation instead of dreading getting up.

We are given a specific number of days.  We should look at each of them with awe.  I get caught up in the daily grind so easily and forget the awe of life.  I needed Benny in my life to remind me that each day is filled with awe and can be an adventure, even if it is the same thing each day.

It can be an amazing day.

Make it an amazing day today 😊

 

Psalm 118:24

This is the day which the LORD hath made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.  

Psalms 30:5

For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.

Philippians 4:4 NIV

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

                                             Copyright © 2022 Peggy A. Priest. All Rights Reserved.

What would you do?

 

I saw a meme today that joked about - 

What would we do if we had one day left to live? 

Eat junk food?  

Go on a shopping spree?  

Spend all the money? 

We can joke here but if we get serious for a moment, what would we really do?

 

Would we do nothing in fear?

Would we spend our last hours with family or friends? 

Would we reconcile with those we haven’t talked to in days, weeks, 

months, years…?

Would we get angry and simmer over all the things we could have done?

 

What did Jesus do...?

He washed feet...

 

That was it.  Jesus could have done so much more.  He could have taught so much more.  Instead he taught the most valuable lesson knowing it was going to be His last day left to make an impact on earth before his crucifixion.

He washed feet...

This showed everyone around Jesus what was most important.  

Love God and love your neighbors.  (Luke 10:27)

That was the lesson.

Everything else falls into place when you just simply - wash feet.

When you are looking outside of yourself it takes care of multiple issues.

First you are not thinking about your problems.

Next you are helping others with their problems.

Finally you are doing what God called you to do.

Isn’t that the most important point?

 

Again, He washed feet...

Now think about all the opportunities you have in front of you.  Go wash feet this week.  Discover the blessing in helping others.

Pick up the phone and reconcile with that friend or family member.  You don’t know how many days they have left.  Regrets are the worst bedfellows late at night.

Reach out to your neighbor and bless them without telling anyone. Do random acts of kindness!

Let God bless you as you bless others.  You can’t outgive God!  Remember you aren’t guaranteed a number of days or years on this earth.  Don’t waste time thinking about what to do. Just go wash feet while you are able. 

 

John 13:14

Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.

Luke 10:27

He answered, “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’ ; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ”

                                                  Copyright © 2022 Peggy A. Priest. All Rights Reserved.

Don't take yourself too seriously.

 

Stories have been swirling in my head recently because we are renewing our wedding vows this year and I have been sharing some memories with friends and family on social media.  Some memories are fun and others, not so much.  However, each story molds us into who we are, and we hopefully learn from each of them.

Today I wanted to share one specific one with you to make you smile and understand the reality that couples experience every day.  Sometimes we take ourselves too seriously.  This story will hopefully rip that Band-Aid off as I share a moment of craziness that we eventually learned to laugh at later.  This event occurred before we were married but honestly was one of the major moments that made me realize this man was for me and serious about me.

We drove to visit ‘the child’, as we called her, about five hours away to spend time with her while she was away at college.  I have called her ‘the child’ since she was probably a pre-teen.  I used to call her the baby, but one day she came to me and said, “I am not the baby anymore.” So, to oblige her concerns, she was then known as ‘the child’ from that day forth.  I had co-workers ask me once if ‘the child’ had a name because that was all I called her.  I laughed and said yes, but she was dubbed the child so many years ago, we just went with it. 😊

The trip was an uneventful one driving to New Jersey from upstate New York.  We enjoyed spending quality time with our daughter as we went shopping, out to eat, and just sat around laughing sharing stories.  When it was time to leave, we decided to grab a bite to eat before heading back home.  The mall had a decent seafood restaurant, so my husband and I said our goodbyes to our daughter and headed to the restaurant for a quick meal. 

We grabbed a booth and relived our day while waiting for the waitress.  I was hungry after wandering all over the mall, so we ordered clams for an appetizer and some seafood.  The clams arrived at our table faster than I expected.  As we started diving into them something didn’t seem right.  The clams were not the kind I was used to.  Long neck clams are different looking than the steamers we normally eat.  At first, we joked about the different clams wondering if we got what we ordered.  We then both shrugged it off and continued to eat.   As I dunked my clams into the warm salty butter, I noticed they tasted different.  Must be the type of clam, I thought to myself.  I asked my husband if his tasted funny and he agreed it was most likely due to the different type of clam.  The rest of the meal was uneventful and we got ready and headed back on the road.

Within the hour, I realized that the different tasting clam wasn’t supposed to taste different.  My stomach started to make a noise that I was unfamiliar with.  The next few hours began what I can only describe as a hostile takeover within my body.  Remember I was not married at that time, so I was trying to keep my best foot forward.  That moment of my life was not going to be my best foot.  It was not going to be my best anything. 

What transpired over the next few hours could only be explained in detail by a doctor or in a medical journal.  There were things that happened in that car that I can’t take back and definitely can’t write down on paper.  Suffice it to say, food poisoning is a real thing. 

Poor Carl could only drive as fast as he could back home.  He couldn’t do anything to fix the situation.  There was nowhere to go and nothing to take.  I just needed to be in bed and work through the monster that was trying to escape my body.

You know you can talk yourself into just about anything.  Carl was sweating as he believed he was going to get sick too.  He started to ‘feel’ sick.  He ate the same clams that I did.  How long would it take before he succumbs to the ‘evil clams’?  If he got as sick as I did neither one of us would be able to drive back.  He continued the internal dialogue as he counted down the hours and miles driving on I90 as fast as he could.

Thank GOD I was the only one who got the bad clam.  Carl never got sick.  He almost talked himself into it though.  As he drove faster, my body violently protested the ride.  It went on for hours.  When we finally arrived home, I excused myself and decided to hide in the bathroom for the next hour.  There was no taking that day back.  All I could think was, “You can’t make this up!”  It took a few days before I was back to normal physically.  My pride would never be the same though.

I walked away from that incident with two thoughts.  First - never eat the food you question before you start.  Second – This man has to really love me to go through that event and still be able to speak to me…

It took years before I was able to have clams again.   We laugh about it, now.  We will forever call that moment the “clam incident.”

We have to remember not to take ourselves so seriously.  If we do, God will allow events in our lives to fix that.  Like a small clam…

 

Genesis 21:6

Sarah said, “God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.”

Proverbs 17:22

 A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.  

Ecclesiastes 3:4

a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,

 

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