LIFESAVERS - BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND

"Yes, he is a lifesaver.  He has pulled me from such a deep slump.  I want to help spread the word.  So other guys that have to endure can know there may not be a direct answer, but the dogs and the relationship helps ease the pain and brighten our days.  Thank you for understanding. My dog, Kinglsey, won't leave my side. It brings me such happiness to know my buddy is by my side."

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The late theologian and pastor Forrest Church says that grace means not only can we have the wonders of life - we already do. 

"Put away your shopping list of grievances and give yourself away."

Reading this, it occured to me that we all have our own 'shopping lists.' Lists of grievances, lists of bitterness, list of things we can't live without, lists of successes and lists of failures. Face it, we are a nation of consumers.  Comsumption defines us, and ultimately produces and projects who we are. Our lives are  defined by what we purchase.  Jewelry, houses, cars, the right PC or Mac, Blackberries or iPhones, Nike or New Balance, what we wear, even what airlines we fly.  And sometimes we are defined by what charity we support.  And when it comes to giving we grumble that we don't have the money, but we find it to spend on more stuff. We want to and expect to live 'happily ever after' because we have the right 'stuff'.

We work hard to have this right 'stuff'.  Yet in our pursuit, we sometimes need permission to play! Perhaps if we sit back and think about it we are, and already have, the stuff that dreams are made of.  Perhaps that boldness and power is already in us, just waiting for the magic to erupt.

So I say to you, don't let them take away who you are!  Stuff and things and people try to remake us.  We try our best to oblige, but in actuality we are once again being defined by someone else and their requirements and unrealistic requirements of us. 

So where do lifesavers come in?  They may just come in with wonder and whimsy and whoopsie daisies and pawprints walking beside us, guiding us, supporting us, comforting us and silently saying to us that "It is going to be alright.  I am here.  I believe in you."  The offering of permission to play, permission to delight in a good old fashioned belly laugh, permission to act silly and to not care what anyone else thinks just might be the right medicine.  Permission granted to cry and to be heard and understood!

Stuff is no antidote or guarantee against loneliness, pain, grief, anger, and fear.  In fact it serves only to dwarf us.  Perhaps the answer is found waiting.  Waiting at the front door when you walk in.  Whirling and twirling, as if the entire world revolves around your return home. A lifesaver you can snuggle, tell your deepest fears and secrets to, and a lifesaver that truly does save your life, more often than not.

With love, fear falls away. Saying 'yes' to love is saying 'no' to fear.

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THIS HOLIDAY SEASON I INVITE YOU TO SAY 'YES' TO OUR WOUNDED WARRIORS WITH PTSD. 

ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS WILL PROVIDE A TRAINED SUPPORT SERVICE DOG TO BE THEIR 'BATTLE BUDDY' THROUGH THICK AND THIN. 

WON'T YOU PLEASE CONSIDER HELPING?

Penny's from Heaven Foundation, Inc.

13423 Blanco Road, Ste 218

San Antonio, TX 78216