Man’s Best Friend

I have been observing our two corgis for quite some time now and every day I’m realizing they’re so much smarter and more human than I imagined. As I pondered more, I’m thinking, they’ve always been smart. I just never noticed, appreciated or took advantage of this.

When I was a young kid (back in the Philippines), we treated our dogs like … dogs! Our dogs only ate left-over food which usually was hardly enough. Our dogs were always skin and bones. Often they were disheveled and were infested with fleas. Going to a veterinarian was unheard of. If our dogs got sick, that would be the end for them. Despite our maltreatment, they were super loyal. They would always be so happy to see us when we arrived and would sheepishly ask to be petted. They would only impose for more attention when we petted them longer than usual. Yeah, we were not great masters. We missed out on a beautiful friendship/partnership with these creatures. I’m not proud of it. But that was the norm in our society then. It was our loss.

Why did God create dogs in the first place? According to Genesis, God created the heavens and the earth to prepare a place for man (his favorite creation). He created animals to give man his first job which was to give them a name. God could have given Adam a catalogue of His creation but no … God granted Adam the fun of discovering, analyzing and categorizing each creature. Imagine this playful scene of Adam naming the animals:

God: “Okay Adam, I just created some animals with 4 legs. What do you call that big one?

Adam: “I’ll call him elephant! Because it says ‘Ele-phhhaaannt’ whenever it talks.”

God: “That’s funny. And how about this galloping one — with the long hair that soaks up the wind?”

Adam: “That’s easy. He’s a horse!”

God: “Of course! Of course! How about this one? It looks like a horse but its neck is so much longer?”

Adam: “Gee! It must be rough to walk around with a neck like that. That’s a “Gee-rough!”

God: (Laughing) “That’s pretty clever, Adam.

Adam: “Lord, can I request a special one? I want one that will be super loyal, will always know I’m the boss, will protect me, will play with me, will make me feel better by just looking at him … he should be small enough to bring wherever I go. He should never be jealous or threatened and will love me forever and ever.”

God: “Sure. I can do that. What shall you call him?”

Adam: “How ‘bout Doug?”

God: Why not just call him DOG … it’s my name spelled backwards. He will remind you of me because I too love you unconditionally!

Adam smiled and God created dog. And the rest is history … well at least that’s my story.

I believe God made dogs to teach us kindness, loyalty, and all those amazing qualities … to mirror God’s unconditional love for us so that we may pass the same to our fellow man.

And don’t be like me in my younger years. Don’t pass up an opportunity to develop a beautiful friendship.

But this is just me. TGIF people!

“Dogs never bite me. Just humans.” — Marilyn Monroe

“Dogs’ lives are too short. Their only fault, really.” — Agnes Turnbull

“You can say any foolish thing to a dog, and the dog will give you a look that says, ‘Wow, you’re right! I never would’ve thought of that!’” — Dave Barry

“The world would be a nicer place if everyone had the ability to love as unconditionally as a dog.” — M.K.Clinton

“Dogs come into our lives to teach us about love, they depart to teach us about loss. A new dog never replaces an old dog. It merely expands the heart.” — Author Unknown

JOKE OF THE WEEK

Thanks to Ed of Studio City, CA

Original art by Raoul Pascual.

Video of the Week

Thanks to Art of Sierra Madre, CA

Parting Shots

Thanks to Tom of Pasadena, CA

Thanks to Sharon of Connecticut

Thanks to Art of Sierra Madre, CA

Thanks to Drew of Anaheim, CA

I found these:

My good friend (and jokester) Terry and I came up with this.

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The post The Wailing Wall appeared first on Traveling Archive.

That Little Town

You’ve heard about that Little town. No, no … NOT Chicago! Bethlehem! Yup. That sleepy little town they sing about every Christmas. But do you know why it’s so significant?

A long long time ago in a faraway kingdom … No, no … NOT Star Wars! But in a place called Paradise. (Some say it was somewhere in Africa but no one can be certain but it was a real place somewhere in this earth). A man and his wife, Eve are being reprimanded by God for eating a forbidden fruit (the man was never really given a name but through the centuries, mankind named him Adam which is the derivative of the Hebrew word “adamah” which means “of the earth”). Because of that brazen act of defiance, they ruined their lineage — every single person born in this world would have the tendency to sin. I guess you could say they started the gene to sin. Talk about tainted goods! Now instead of zapping the first man and woman off the face of the earth like they deserved, God loves them so much and He gives them a promise … a prophecy that although their sinful kind would populate the earth, one day, God would send a saviour to rescue humanity.

Fast forward to a fateful day in a place called Haran (which is Eastern Turkey today) we find a 99 year old fatherless husband named Abram tending to his flock. He notices a burning bush that keeps on burning like the Eveready Bunny. It was a trap! God lured him to a private conversation. God repeats His promise of a saviour to Abram (later changed to Abraham), tells him to head south because his bachelor days were over. Impatient to speed up the prophecy, Abraham is prompted by his 90 year old wife, Sarah, to sleep with their Egyptian maid, Hagar and thus Ishmael was born. From Ishmael came the Muslims of the world. Sarah gives birth to Isaac. From Isaac comes the line of the Hebrews, later called Israelites who we now call Jews. Isaac then has twin sons (Esau and Jacob) with his wife Rebekha. I guess the third generation is a charm because these brothers have lots of kids. Jacob had 12 with his wives (including Rachel who was his favorite). Rachel died while giving birth to the 12th son and was buried in a town called Bethlehem. Aha! Now the plot thickens!

Hundreds of years later, in Bethlehem, we find a rich old bachelor named Boaz is smitten by a Moabite foreigner named Ruth. The two lovebirds have a son named Obed who then has a son named Jesse. And Jesse has a scrawny kid who would turn out to kill a giant and become King David who was crowned right there in Bethlehem. David builds his kingdom 5 miles north in Jerusalem. David’s son, King Solomon expands the kingdom and it becomes the richest land on earth. From that peak of the society’s Rich and Famous, things start going downhill because they forget God. The royal offsprings mess things up royally. The kingdom is split in two and wave after wave of conquerors enslave the children of Abraham. Israel will never regain its glory. Then after centuries of oppression, from the Babylonians, Persians, Greeks etc. we find the Romans in power. The egotistical Caesar Augustus wants a census done so he decrees that everyone return to their ancestral home so Rome would get an accurate number of subservients in their expanding empire. Joseph and Mary are forced to travel about 90 miles from Nazareth to be there at Bethlehem because their ancestry converged at that one spot.

I know this is a lot of data and my mind is fried just thinking about this but I hope that when you hear the song you will remember that in a world infested with corruption, in the little town of Bethlehem, a promise was delivered. For unto us a child was born … our saviour named Jesus.

What lesson(s) did you learn from this history? What does that tell you of God’s character? Read between the lines and grasp the lessons that could change your life.

I gotta sleep now.

TGIF people!

Raoul

Joke of the Week

Thanks to Peter Paul of S Pasadena, CA. for this joke.

Parting Shots

Thanks to Rodney of Manitoba. B.C.

Thanks to Art of Sierra Madre, CA.

Thanks to Tom of Pasadena, CA

Thanks to Peter Paul of S Pasadena

The post Christmas Pet appeared first on Traveling Archive.