Who’s worse the dog or the kids? Today…the dog, definitely the dog!

Today at 7:30am I received a call from my daughter, Leah. She was at school and told me she had forgotten two very important papers that needed to be turned in today, no exceptions. Ugh! I had reminded her this morning NOT to forget the papers on the counter.

I just had foot surgery on February 17th. I am suppose to be resting and elevating my foot. I’m not really suppose to be up and about yet. But, I finally decided that I would drive my boys to school and then drive down the street to Leah’s school and drop off the two papers.

When the boys and I got in the car, our little nine pound dog followed us out as well and jumped in. The only reason Mocha got in the car, was because she probably thought we were going to our neighbor’s house. They also have a dog, Phoebe. And Mocha and Phoebe love to play together. Never did I imagine in my adult life, that I would be setting up “doggie play-dates.” (Insert eye roll) I told Mocha she was going to be disappointed when she realized we were just going to the school. Never did I imagine in my adult life that I would be talking to a dog! (Insert second eye roll)

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I arrived at the school and decided it would be best to park by the front curb, you know the place it says, “NO PARKING.” After all I was only going in for a second. I also decided I would turn on my hazard lights and leave the car running, and of course I didn’t need to bring my cell phone in the building. It was only going to take two minutes to drop off the papers. I made sure no one was looking as I got out of the car in a cast (on my right leg) and grabbed my crutches. As I made my way around the front of the car, I heard that noise…you know, the noise the car makes when it’s just been locked!  MOCHA!  Mocha had stepped on the lock and locked me out of the car! Never in my adult life did I imagine getting locked out of my car by a dog!! (Insert third eye roll and angry face)

I had no choice but to hobble into the school building on crutches, give the secretary Leah’s papers and then humbly say, “May I please borrow your phone? I actually parked on the curb, left the car running, and my dog locked me out of the car?” They were so nice about it and offered to call the police. I wanted to call my dad.(insert sad face) I was a little concerned the police would wonder about the situation when they saw me on crutches, where my car was parked, a dog inside the car… (insert nervous face)

I didn’t really have any other choice, so they called the police for me. They were told that the officer would call them back as soon as she got back into her car. In the mean-time I sat down to embarrassingly wait it out.

I forgot to mention, given the fact that I recently had surgery and I’m not really suppose to be up doing much, I was not as presentable as I should have been. I was wearing the shirt I slept in, hadn’t brushed my hair, had make-up smeared on my face from the day before, etc…let’s just say I could have really used a shower before going out into public.

After about 5-10 minutes of waiting the secretary got up and looked out the window. As she looked out the window she said, “Wait…WAIT, I think the dog is rolling down the window!” “Yes, YEP, the dog just rolled down the window!” I grabbed my crutches and hobbled out of the office as the secretary held the doors open for me. Sure enough, MOCHA, oh sweeet Mocha, (insert 4th eye roll ) rolled down the window so I could get back into the car!

As I was getting into the car to drive away the Principal ran out and came over to my window and said, “I sure wish we had gotten all of that on video tape!”

I’m thinking Mocha knowingly locked me out of the car on purpose because I took her to the school and not to Phoebe’s house. Thankfully, it only lasted a few minutes before she let me back in! When we got home Phoebe’s mom called to see if Mocha could play. I said, “No, she’s grounded this week!” (insert last eye roll)

Disclaimer: I never leave the dog alone in the car for several minutes or hours in extreme temperatures. The dog was not hurt. The owner, highly embarrassed.

My Child You are…

When I was a freshmen in college I had the opportunity to meet Neil Anderson. He is the author of many books, some of which include, “The Bondage Breaker,” and “Victory Over The Darkness.” During one of his seminars at Wheaton College, Neil, picked me out of the audience and asked me to come up on the stage and share part of my testimony. You see, God had used Neil and his books to save my life from an eating disorder that almost killed me. One of the most important questions Neil asks those who believe in Jesus, goes something like this…“Who are You?”

In the past I would have simply said, “I’m Suzanne Ryan.” And Neil would have replied, but that’s not who you are, that’s just your name. I could say, “I’m a mom.” But, that’s not really who I am either, that’s what I do. I could say, “I am a runner.” But again, that’s not who I am, it’s something I enjoy. So who am I?

I have learned to know and believe that I am God’s child.  Although, there are many aspects of my character, the core of who I really am, comes from my relationship with Christ. And if I believe that, I also believe that I have a responsibility to live like His child.

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God’s Word is filled with verses who remind me of who I am as His child. If I want to live a life worthy of this calling, I have to constantly remind myself that because of Christ’s sacrificial love on the cross and my belief in Him He now sees me as…

His Child
Chosen By God
Bought with a great sacrificial price
Adopted
Accepted through Grace
Rescued
A recipient of Mercy

I am…
Holy and dearly loved
His very own workmanship and handiwork
Created wonderfully and perfectly
I belong to God

I am…
Alive in Christ
A new creation
Set free
Free forever from condemnation
Free from guilt and shame
Completely forgiven

I am…
Justified
Redeemed
Sanctified
Righteous
Healed
Complete
Victorious over sin

I am..
Set-Apart and reconciled to God
A member of His Royal Priesthood
His Chosen Race and Holy Nation
A foreigner in this world and a citizen of heaven

I am…
His temple
A dwelling place of God
United to the Lord
A joint heir of Christ
Enslaved to God
To live as the salt of the earth
And the light of the World
Part of the True Vine
Made to bear His fruit

I am…
A friend of God’s
A sister of Christ
A daughter of the King
Able to approach His throne with confidence and boldness
He is my Father.

I am…
His…
He is mine…
And I know it will take all of my life to renew my mind and conform to God’s image, but it is my deepest desire to live “as an expression of the life of Christ because He is my life.”

What you do does NOT determine who you are; who you are determines what you do. The most important belief we possess is a true knowledge of who God is. The second most important belief is who we are as children of God, because we cannot consistently behave in a way that is inconsistent with how we perceive ourselves.” (Neil Anderson)

(Inspired by Neil Anderson and Who I am in Christ. All of the words concerning “Who I am in Christ” can be found in the Scriptures as God’s true promises about His children)