Language of Love

-
Tanner is a wonderful service dog. He does helpful tasks for me which makes my life easier. He has such a sweet sociable temperament. Tanner brings delight to my heart. Sometimes I find myself wishing there was some way that I could clearly communicate to my beloved canine how much I love him. I am very pleased when he fetches things I drop, turns on a light or closes the door. It’s not just the duties he performs that evoke affection. It’s quite fun to observe how he very enthusiastically plays. Sometimes I smile simply watching him sleep. I am very grateful Tanner is in my life. Frequently, I have a sense of awe that I am privileged to have such a terrific dog. I wish I could let him know how glad I am that he is mine.

We can have the longing to convey our love to the valued people in our life too. Sometimes humans struggle to relate to one another in a manner that demonstrates love and acceptance. Difficulty in letting people know they are cared for seems to be a common problem. Multitudes of books have been written about relationships. For example, Gary Chapman has written a series on the Five Love Languages which help to identify how to give and receive love. The link below will lead you to a site where you can find these books and other relevant publications if interested.

http://theupperroomstore.deepershopping.com/index.php?module=productsearch&product_config=&title=5+love+languages&artist=&isbn=&upc=&language=&releasedays=0
(It may be necessary to copy and paste link into the web address bar.)

I am very grateful that God clearly reveals His love for us.

Romans 5:8 (New American Standard Bible)
8But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

So at times when my heart longs for Tanner to understand that I love him, I can be reminded that God desires that we believe His love.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Happy Birthday Tanner!

-
Image
Today is my beloved dog Tanner's birthday. It's a nice time to reflect on how special he is, and how grateful I am to have him as an important part of my life. It's also a good excuse to "brag" about him and share some favorite pictures: This is when we first met. I can hardly believe it has been three years already! Tanner won my heart right away  He can be quite silly! Tanner loves to play... But he does his job when I need him - a very talented dog indeed! He closes the door                                                            Tanner turns on and off lights And we have even had the opportunity to teach children  about service dogs. Tanner is excellent at many th...
Read more

Tanner the Star

-
Image
As I had mentioned, Tanner and I had the privilege to talk to kids about service dogs. It was quite enjoyable. The children were an eager interested audience! I tried my best to explain what a benefit Tanner is to me. Tanner is indeed a special star demonstrating some of the things he does for me.  The teacher has a blog and posted an entry about the event. I'm sharing it with you in case you're interested: http://klette2.blogspot.com/2010/04/marybeth-and-tanner-come-to-visit.html Who could have thought that I would be blessed with such a beautiful service dog and together we would do something which I love ... interact with children.
Read more

Role Models

-
People we can emulate often are very meaningful and significant in our lives. Positive role models can motivate us to pursue excellence. They nay even instill hope for what is possible. In my career as an advocate and rehabilitation counselor, I had the privilege of working with many young people with disabilities to assist them in setting goals for employment and independent living. Often it is especially difficult for disabled youth to plan for their future because they lack a vision for what's possible. Opportunities to interact with happy successful adults with disabilities could be helpful to intill hope and encourage kids with disabilities to dream. I've wanted to be a teacher since I was a child. I absolutely loved playing school and longed to have a real class of students. As a teenager I was thrilled to volunteer in a classroom of primary aged children who were deaf. My heart soared with enthusiasm and expectation as I planned to attend college as a special education ...
Read more