Why I Can't Get Rid of the Worse Dog Ever

I am currently sitting in a house that reeks of dog poop, urine, and mange, wondering how much longer I can take living with the worst dog on the planet. She is now almost 10 months old and still having accidents in the dining room every time I turn  my back. They're actually not accidents anymore, they're on purposes, because she doesn't want to get her delicate little feet wet in the morning dew. Every time I think I've cleaned up the last of the poop I find some hidden in the corner. Or under a chair. Or in the middle of the room. On top of that, she pees in her crate every single time she's left alone for longer than an hour. AND, (this one's not her fault) she has one of the smelliest skin disorders ever.

When Michael and I thought about getting a puppy, our goal was to find a friend for Misty, and to get a dog that would attach itself to Michael, not me. We certainly got a friend for Misty. There are few dogs that Misty gets along with 100%, but Bailey has been one of those dogs since day one. (Well, 99% actually.) But I now have another shadow, and this one is worse than I could have ever imagined. Bailey is exactly the opposite of what we wanted in a dog. She's hyper, annoying, stupid, stubborn, loud, clingy, needy, and, as I mentioned before, smelly. She wasn't like this when we picked her out. She was so sweet and fun, and definitely not out of control like she is now.

But I can't get rid of Bailey. There are a lot of reasons I can't get rid of Bailey, but my main reason is that I feel like God has put it on my heart to keep her. Actually, it's more like God has tattooed it on my heart. When I look at Bailey, I am reminded of the sinful nature that we're all born with.

"As a dog returns to its vomit, so fools repeat their folly." Proverbs 26:11

I can tell you from experience, dogs return to their vomit every single time, and right after they did it. They don't give their stomachs a second to settle, don't run away in shame, don't drink water. No, they go straight for it. Every time.

Just like Bailey keeps going to the dining room to poop, I keep going to my sin. I let my short fuse control my conversations. I attack and defend like it's World War 3 before analyzing a situation. Then I feel embarrassed and stupid for jumping to conclusions, and in my embarrassment I lash out again.

I wonder if God has the same feeling I have when I discover another pile of poop in the dining room. And not only does He have to deal with my own sin - He has to deal with everyone! Every time He looks at the world He sees our little piles of sin. We face our consequences and then create another pile of sin. No wonder sin is described as disgusting in the sight of God.

I can't get rid of Bailey because God doesn't get rid of me when I do the same thing. Even though I sin over and over again, His love never fails. He never casts me out of His sight. He never gives up. I can't get rid of Bailey because I want to honor what God does for me. The truth is, Bailey will never be perfect; and neither will I! Unconditional love means loving despite poop on the carpet. It means accepting the fact that you'll probably have to replace the carpets before ever selling the house. It means investing in someone's junk because you believe in their potential. (Speaking of investing: if you're looking for any stock advice, I recommend Febreze! They should stay in business for a while!)

"Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins." 1 Peter 4:8

Why I Work at Chick-fil-A

I would like to suggest something absurd. I like love my job.

I am the training director at Chick-fil-A Indian Trail. According to today's culture, there are lots of reason why I should not like my job. People pay thousands upon thousands of dollars on education to avoid doing things like my job, right? Fast food, customer service, inconsistent hours, always on your feet. Most people gag at the idea of making a job like this your primary source of income on purpose. But the truth is, I choose to work at Chick-fil-A.

I am 24 years old and have been working in the food industry for 7 years. Chick-fil-A is not my first job and I can say that I have seen the good and the bad of my industry. Yes, I've been cursed out my a customer who was angry about something I had no control over. Yes, I have been yelled at by bad management for knit-picky things. Yes, I have been subjected to follow rules that had no purpose beyond being a rule. I have gotten home from work at 3am, exhausted. I have worked 14-16 hour days. My feet, legs, back, arms, and head have all hurt from working.

But. Chick-fil-A is the most amazing company to work for. It's unlike any other job I've had. Chick-fil-A wants you to have fun at work. CFA wants you to be generous. CFA wants to make an impact on customers' and team members' lives.

The Bible talks a lot about work. In fact, in Genesis 2, God gave Adam work before sin was introduced into the world. That means that God created man to work. Let that sink in. Work is good.

Stewardship
To be a good steward is to not be wasteful. Part of Chick-fil-A's corporate statement is to be a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us.

"Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much." Luke 16:10

Being a good steward at CFA means being responsible for inventory and labor, yes, but more importantly it means being responsible with lives. We are given the responsibility to provide the love of Jesus to thousands of strangers every day, and we want to use every single chance we can to love on them. We also are responsible for the lives of the team members that we work with. This may be most of their first job, but it's our responsibility to prepare them for work later on in life. It's our responsibility to teach them how to love others. It's our responsibility to make work fun so that they come in excited to work and ready to impact the lives of others.

Generosity
Chick-fil-A is the epitome of generosity. The organization as a whole is so generous that I can't keep up with all of it. The two things that I am most familiar with are Winshape (a leadership program at Berry College) and the $1000 scholarship that every team member is eligible for.

Dean Sandbo, my operator/boss/mentor/friend, strives to live generously and incorporates that into our operations. He has the phrase "air on the side of generosity" which means that it's more important to bless others than to worry about numbers. It doesn't matter if a guest's complaint doesn't quite line up. It doesn't matter it you accidentally ordered the wrong thing or dropped your ice cream the second you walked away from the counter. Our goal is to bless the community.

Sure, occasionally we have people who try to take advantage of our generosity, and we have to handle those situations as necessary. But how many people can say that their boss trusts them to bless people as they see fit? How many people can say that their boss cares more about impacting others than about the cost involved with that impact?

"One person gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed." Proverbs 11:24-25

Leadership Development
One interesting concept at both the Wesley Chapel and Indian Trail Chick-fil-A's (those operated by Dean) is the concept of leadership over management. A manager organizes things and enforces rules. A leader empowers others and leads by example.

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking for your own interest but each of you to the interests of the others." Philippians 2:3-4

The character piece that Dean expects out of his leaders is huge. We are constantly looking inwardly at ourselves, examining if we're serving others as often as we should. We're encouraged to love others, to speak gently and have any necessary disciplinary discussions in private. We build others up as much as possible so that they may build up the community that they serve daily. The development that we get from Dean and one another allows us to better spouses, friends, and members of the community.

Servanthood
"Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be salve of all. For even the son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." Mark 10:43-45

We incorporate the word serve into the Chick-fil-A "lingo" as much as possible. We talk about serving others all day long. We serve our guests, we serve one another. We don't "help", because helping implies emotional resistance. Serving requires humility.

Why do I work at Chick-fil-A?
I work at CFA because it glorifies God. Not only are many of the concepts based on biblical principles, but the principles empower me to glorify God. I am constantly put in situations where I can glorify Him through stewardship or servanthood. I am constantly loving Him by loving others. This is what God created man to do. This is what work is supposed to be about. And this is why I love working at CFA.

The truth is, I am on schedule to graduate with a degree in Psychology in May. My goal has been to find a job at a church, hopefully as an assistant youth minister. But, as that day grows steadily nearer, I've made a choice. I'm going to stay at CFA. I'm staying because I can glorify God through everything I do. I'm staying because the relationships that I've built mean the world to me. I'm staying because I love what I do.

And no, I'm not writing this as advertisement for Chick-fil-A. I'm not getting paid to brag about how awesome it is to work for them. I'm writing this because I'm tired of people feeling sorry for me that I work in the food industry as an adult. I'm tired of people assuming I hate my job and would take another if it was available. I'm tired of people looking down on what I do because it doesn't require higher education. I'm tired of the negative stereotype that goes along with fast food employees. I love serving people. I'm not looking for opportunities to mess with your food, and I won't even if you yell at me in front of the entire store. When I smile, I mean it. When I talk to you, it's because I want to get to know you. When I tell you I love my job, I mean it.

And yes, it really is my pleasure.

Quiet Time Element Three: Journaling

There are a lot of illusions about quiet time. We are pressured to spend hours with God, saying long, elaborate prayers and reading chapters upon chapters of Scripture without fatiguing. There can also be a lot of illusions about journaling. Some people write pages of beautiful prayers, some people refuse to journal at all. Some use their journals as prayer lists, others use them more as diaries. The truth is, the Bible doesn't say anything about journaling. But it does tell us...

1. "Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart." Proverbs 3:3

2. "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." 1 Corinthians 10:31

3. "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that all god's people may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:16

Here's my take on journaling. Journaling is a tool. It helps up remember Scripture, helps guides our prayers, helps us see God working in our lives. If you regularly journal, ask yourself these questions:

1. When I journal, is it to write beautiful words or is it to glorify God?

2. When I journal, do I ever refer to previous entries?

3. When I journal, do I spend more time thinking about what to write than on praying the words that I write?

It is easy to get caught up in the fun on writing. I know the feeling - believe me! I spent years journaling what I thought were beautiful prayers that reflected the closeness that I experienced with God. In reality, I was writing what I thought a "Good Christian" would think and feel. I wrote to impress God, not to honor Him. 

I'm not saying these things to condemn journaling, because I do journal, but I want to say these things because there is a danger in journaling. There is a danger in getting so caught up in the fun on writing, in the placement of the perfect word in the perfect place, that we forget what it's really about. If you spend more time journaling during your quiet time than praying or reading Scripture, your journaling might be more about yourself than it is about God.

Effective journaling often isn't nearly as pretty. It might involve lists or scratchy handwriting. It might be simple, only take a few minutes, or might be only a few words a day. The form of journaling you choose is completely up to you and your relationship with God, but I'd like to take some time to share the form of journaling that works for me. (If you're a person that struggles with the balance of writing for yourself and God, it might work for you too.)

My journaling serves two functions, as a prayer tool and as a reference. 

Prayer tool

My prayer tool helps guide me as I'm praying to keep me focused and to remind me of things to pray for that I might normally forget. It looks a little like this:

First, I write a list of 5 things that I'm thankful for that day. I noticed during my prayers that I was thanking God for the same things every day, but forgetting the little things. My goal is to thank God for something different every day. Occasionally I thank God for the same things, (like I probably write down coffee more than I'd like to admit) but I also remember to thank Him for things I might never thank Him for, like pillows or socks or toilet paper. The comforts of living in a rich society take on a whole new meaning when you remember to thank God for them daily.

In the next part, I write down Scripture that stood out to me during my reading. I usually write down 3-5 verses. I strongly believe in praying through Scripture. Here's why: I'm a counseling student and one thing I've learned about in class is active listening. An aspect of active listening is repeating what you've heard to make sure you understand it correctly. It helps eliminate miscommunications in relationships. I try to bring this concept into my prayers. I tell God what I noticed about Scripture. I read the verse to Him and then tell him what I understood from it. There have been times where, as I'm praying, I realize something about the Scripture that I'd never realized before. There have been other times when I read a Scripture to God that I realized I only chose it because it was "pretty", and it didn't have the meaning that I originally thought. Reflecting over the Scripture you read is an awesome opportunity for God to show you something you've never seen before; it's a chance to re-align your walk with His will. 

Thirdly, I write Special Requests. I write down people who have shared personal struggles with me, write down the names of people I know who are sick or hurt, or names of people who are lost. When people think of prayer, they often automatically go to this section. It's the requests. Often our prayer is solely about requests, though it should be about glorifying God. Sometimes I skip this section all-together and completely focus on my own heart, other times I pray for several people. It's important to not let this part of your prayers define your prayer life. If it does become all about requests, you might find your heart longing for more. You might feel like you're missing a part of God, though you can't figure out what it is. You might feel spiritually "empty" or drained. Make a relationship with God the priority in your prayers.

Reference

Using journaling as a reference might be different than you'd expect. I don't usually look back at my previous journal entries to see how God changed my heart (because my journal entries are too simple to see that much into them). Occasionally I look back and see that prayers that God has answered, but my journal entries are more prayer guides than anything else.

However, the reference part of journaling that I'm talking about is extremely important and often forgotten. It looks like this:

How often, when reading your Bible, do you underline a verse and never write it down? You're understanding that a verse is important and you want it to stand out to you when you need it, but you have no way to return to that verse without stumbling upon it. When I was a teen I used to underline verses and then, when I was feeling like I needed Scripture, I flipped through my Bible and read only the underlined verses. Either I never found what I needed or it took me forever to find it.

When I find a verse that stands out to me, I write the verse and a general topic down. Then, I put my verses into a database. Whenever I need a verse about a certain topic, I have my very own concordance to reference.  I have over 1,000 verses (and still working on it!) that I can sort through within a couple of seconds. Need some marriage encouragement? Got it. Need some parenting advice? Got it. Having a bad day? Got it. I've been working on it consistently for about 8 months and this is my favorite project ever. I highly recommend it to my friends who want more out of their Bible reading. Doing this small task takes your Bible reading to the next level.

When you journal, you get as much out of it as you put into it. If you're intentional about glorifying God, everything else will fall into place. Remember that journaling isn't necessary and should only be a tool to help your relationship with God grow. If you're not growing, try something else. If you're making an effort to have a relationship with God, Scripture promises that He won't let you down. 

"Come near to God and He will come near to you." James 4:8