Tribute to Miss Belle

Miss Belle was sixteen years old. In people years that’s well over 100. She was a beautiful, gentle, loving, loyal, long-hair dachshund. She left us last Saturday morning. Mark Twin said, “Heaven goes by favor. If it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in.” I’m glad heaven is not based on merit. Years ago, Red Foley sang of his dog, “Now ole Shep is gone where the good doggies go and no more on this earth will he roam. But if dogs have a heaven there’s one thing I know, ole Shep has a wonderful home.“ If dogs are going to be in the same heaven with us, Miss Belle’s passing adds one more attraction to heaven. If dogs have their own heaven, don’t tell my wife. She’ll want to go there instead of with me. Concerning pets and heaven, think of it this way: Envision whatever you need to make heaven perfect and it will be a thousand times better than what you envision. Wish I had some scripture this week. If I did it’d likely be taken out of context. So, let me just thank God for Miss Belle who brought so much joy to our lives – not to mention wrote our Christmas letters for us. Don’t take anything for granted this week, but be thankful.

Join me this week in praying for the following global concerns:
• Pray for churches and believers in Mexico as they cope with swine-flu.
• Pray for those who minister among the Kosovo Roma in refugee camps near lead mines and waste dumps.
• Pray for volunteer teams arriving this spring and summer as they focus their outreach in the west Tokyo area.
• Pray for my Urban Evangelism Practicum meeting in Vancouver, Canada that begins this week.
• Pray for missionaries who are leaving Uganda for stateside assignment and for the ministry to continue in their absence.
• Pray for a meeting this week of team leaders in the German/Austria Cluster.