I start this missive off after a long and busy weekend, with a long week ahead of me (I am on call and we are starting a new pilot at work that should increase work three fold). It has been a rewarding weekend in many aspects, disappointing in others, but above all...GOD IS GOOD.
I got up as I normally do on Saturday and went out to place a few fliers in the neighborhood bordering the last known sighting of New Dog. I also did some geocache maintenance on two of my caches while I was out. It was a long time coming...one was missing and the other had a nasty log book that needed replacing.
As I was I did not spot New Dog, but to be honest, I did not expect to. I hope she is okay. I am sure she is hungry and prolly a little scared but I do have faith that we shall see her again. I sent e-mails out to friends, posted a note on the geocaching web forums, and even posted a note on Craigslist. We are trying. The only thing w are not doing is staying up and constantly driving the area looking for her. This is a big area with a lot large greenbelt that borders private property and the chances of finding her on our own (especially since we don't know where she is) is slim. But I know all things work towards the Glory of God, so I am going to keep praying.
While I was out I snagged one new geocache placed by my geobuddy Wayne. It was his first attempt and a geocache and he did a pretty good job. I suspect it will get muggled when the weather gets nicer but you never know...I have been fooled before.
After an hour or so of being out I came back to the house to get ready to go over to the church to help set up for our "Friends Day" celebration on Sunday. I helped set up some tables and chairs and actually fixed a couple of broken ones (with some help from a couple of other brothers) so we would have enough seating. I ended up leaving about 11:00 AM and came home to vacuum the house. I pulled a lot of New Dog's fur out of the carpet and that made me a little misty eyed, but it is all good. I pulled myself together and finished my task.
After vacuuming I washed a sink full of dishes and ate lunch. I had a little time left so I went to Home Depot and bought some winterized for the lawn. I got back and applied it to both ours and our neighbor's yard before going inside and getting another shower. We had a visitation/viewing at a funeral home in Dallas (on of all nights, Halloween) for a newer member of our church who succumbed to pancreatic cancer. He was younger than me, with a wife and two kids. I hurt for them.
After the viewing my wife and I went out to have a cup of coffee and chatted. We cam home, changed clothes and walked the dog before heading to bed.
The next morning we were going through our normal routine getting ready for church, with the addition of getting things for the "Friends Day" celebration and my wife getting ready early to go pick up a couple of single moms who have been attending church. Between the two of them, they have 10 kids and a van that seats seven or eight, so my wife goes to pick them up for church and Sunday School. The women are sisters and they both have said that the love our church has shown them has touched them deeply. Praise God!
Church went well. We had a lot of visitors and we were please at the way the day turned out. We stuck around long enough to eat, chat, minister and help clean up some before we left. We still had care group that night (I told you I was busy) and we still needed to walk the dog again. And of course I still needed to make my weekly call to mom.
After all was said and done, we were in bed by 11:00 PM and asleep shortly after. I woke up before the alarm (due to the time change) and waited until it went off before I started getting ready. I am not looking forward to this week at all but I know that I can manage because God never gives us more than we can handle. I sometimes wonder about that because I don't feel very strong sometimes, especially when things are mounting. Sometimes it seems we have so much to do and so little time to do it in, but then again I have to wonder how important some of the things we do really are.
Thanx for all the prayers for us and our New Dog. It means a lot. Keep praying and when I get some news I will make sure to post it.
