Aches and Praise Four Hundred & Thirty Six

January 16, 2020
 
 
 
Dear friends, 
    

Yesterday Karen went to the Jewish General Hospital in Montreal for a follow-up check of her right eye and received the good news that the eye is improving faster than the doctor expected. Karen told him that many people are praying for her and the doctor reacted positively. He prescribed a different eye drop for the coming week and would like to check Karen’s eye next Wednesday. Thank you for your prayers for Karen. She has experienced a lot of pain over the past three weeks and has been unable to be in lighted areas.

On January 6, our toy poodle, Sammy, turned 15. For years we have bought a galette to celebrate “Little Christmas” and have eaten it while Sammy devours treats. Little did we know that a few days later, Sammy’s life would end.  He had been very sick in the summer of 2016 and managed to live another three and a half years. It was so encouraging to have friends come over Saturday, including one young lady who has been in the hospital several times recently.

In a recent devotional, George Worthy shares this:

“Ronald Reagan is one of the most intriguing men who served as President of the United States.  One amusing story I came across really caught my attention and made me smile. When he was a young man, Reagan worked at a radio station and sometimes played records of sermons. His shift at the station was a one-man operation and so, on occasion, Ron would set the record playing and then sneak out for a cup of coffee. One day he got a call while he was at the coffee shop from the station’s owner, ordering him back to the station, and then … he received his termination notice. He’d returned to the station finding the record skipping at a particular point in the sermon; ‘Go to Hell, go to Hell, go to Hell, go to…’”

After Sammy died, I started thinking about whether dogs will be in heaven. When our children were small, we had a toy poodle named Timmy, whose birthday was also January 6. Will Sammy and Timmy meet in heaven? Although we don’t know the answer to that question, we know that God loved the world so much that He sent His only Son, Jesus, to save us from our sins. Praise God for His amazing love!

Scripture for the weekend: “Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.” Psalm 63:3 (NIV)

Thought for the weekend: “Jesus embodied perfect truth and perfect mercy, and He is our model for doing the same.” – Dr. David Jeremiah (from “A Bend in the Road”)

 

By His grace,
 
Steve                  

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