Mom was gone a long time yesterday, and when she got home, she cried.  She snuggled Scout and me up in her lap and told us that she was sad because a friend of hers and Dad’s died yesterday.

They didn’t get to see him very often, but they sure did like him a lot. He used to ride motorcycles with them.

Mom says they’re not sad for him, because he loved Jesus and Jesus loved him, so he got to go to Heaven. That sounds good to me! But Mom says she’s sad for his family and friends – they won’t get to see him for a long time, and that is sad.

I kissed Mom and reminded her what she always tells us – that Jesus loves us too, and He is sad for us too,  when we miss our friends and family. But He promised us a long time ago that we could go be with Him if we wanted to.

So when Dad and Mom pray for his family and the rest of his friends, they’re gonna remember to ask Jesus to make sure He wraps His arms around them and comfort them. I know He will, because He keeps His promises.

The LORD is near the brokenhearted; He saves those crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:18

I didn’t get to write anything last week- Mom and Dad were busy  helping get ready for the poker run, and our bike blessing.

Ms Kimmie & Mr Chris, and Ms Leah & Mr Charlie and Jordan (my BFF),  and Ms Jamalyn & Mr Justin and Georgia and Wyatt, and Ms Angela and Ms Sherry  all got together with Dad and Mom and they put together a poker run to raise money for the foster pups and kittens.

And how cool is this? Ziggy and Sharon and John P brought a bunch of their friends down again, and some nice folks from Prattville came down, and of course riders from Crenshaw County came to help out. Dad said there were about 45 or 50 bikes in all- they rode all over the county and then came back for lunch… they had a good time! And then all these nice folks donated door prizes, so they gave them away. I don’t know what poker is, but it must be fun.

Besides all the bikers who came, lots of people around the county helped out- they had a whole wall full of names of people and businesses who helped. I couldn’t read them all.

You know, everybody isn’t as lucky as Scout and me – we have a nice big bed to sleep in, and Dad and Mom make sure we have plenty to eat, including my favorite- pizza ‘bones’…. we get to watch TV and go for rides, and play with the kittens when we want.

And I bet you didn’t know this- but all those cats and kittens outside? They aren’t even ours! I didn’t know that until Mom told me… I just thought she and Dad liked cats a lot. But they’re foster cats from the Animal Society. We just get to love them and take care of them until someone adopts them.  But Dad and Mom treat them like they’re ours. Dad makes sure they have some extra canned food every morning when he goes out to work.

So if you’re a lucky pup like Scout and me, why don’t you think about donating to the Crenshaw County Animal Society? The foster pups and cats there would be very grateful. And while you’re at it, say a prayer that they find their very own person to love.

Prov. 12:10  A righteous man regards the life of his animal, But the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.

You’ll never guess what happened at our house this week…. Scout got “fixed”…. at least that’s what Mom said. I’m not even sure I know what that means. (Mom says I had it done too when I stayed at Dr G’s office last year; all I remember is my friend Jordan coming to see me.)

All I know is that Mom left early the other morning and took Scout with her. Dad was working at home so I stayed here to help him.  I stood lookout from the bedroom to make sure nobody bothered anything outside while Dad worked at his desk.

So, anyway…. Mom and Scout left early. I don’t know where they went but it must have been a long way off – they stayed gone all day! Then when they got home, Dad and I came outside. Scout was laying on one of our blankets in the grass. I don’t think she was asleep, but she was being real quiet. Mom sat down beside her and rubbed her. Mom told Dad that the ‘stezia’ hadn’t worn off, so she thought getting some fresh air might help her wake up.

Scout slept the rest of the day- she was no fun at all! She even slept on the floor that night- at least until she decided to climb up into bed and lay down by Dad’s legs.

The next day whatever they had to ‘fix’ but have been working because Scout and I got to play all day long. She ran and jumped and barked like always. She did smell a little funny, but I think Mom had another dog and some cats with her- that must have been it.

I’m glad that whatever was wrong with Scout is fixed now – I missed playing with her that day.

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All the folks at the Crenshaw County Animal Society would like to remind you that spaying and neutering your pet is a good idea- no unwanted puppies or kittens; your pets don’t want to roam as much and it decreases the chances of some kinds of cancer. We have a low-cost spay/neuter program – if you’d like more information call us at (334) 335-2138, or visit us on Facebook.

Boy, we had some excitement this week at our house! Sunday night, Dad watched the weather and said that we might have some bad storms come through, and sure enough, on Monday, a tornado hit during the morning.

Our friend Ms Regina was at home with her kids, her mother-in-law and their pups, when the tornado hit it. The house was torn up, but God must have had His hands on them, because no one was hurt, not even the pups.  Lots of other houses had trees fall on them, and it also messed up a lot of the stores up town.

The lights went out at all over town after that… so we sat in the living room with the windows up to stay cool. The rest of the day and that night, it would thunder and lightning – I don’t like that. It sounds scary. At first I thought I could scare it away by barking, but that didn’t work at all. When I kept barking, Scout got scared and got up under the chair. I guess she thought she’d be safer there.

The weathermen kept saying we would have another round of storms on Wednesday that would be worse, but it never got bad. Some people were fussing because the weathermen got it wrong, but someone said maybe we didn’t have any more bad weather because God answered our prayers. I think she’s right.

Lots of people here gave things to help Ms Regina and her family out – they’ve got plenty of clothes now, but they still need other stuff for when they get moved into their new home. If you’d like to donate, they have set up a Go Fund Me account. I know they’d be glad for the help!

Do you remember last year when the cat with electric eyes had kittens? Well, they’ve all grown up and most of them are at their new ‘furever homes’; only Fonda Jr and Orange Ears still live here.

But a few months ago, we had a pretty little cat start eating with the other cats outside. She is a tuxedo cat and she’s very pretty- but when she first came here, she was in bad shape. Her back legs were bloody and scraped, and she was very thin. She wouldn’t let Dad or Mom pet her. The other cats helped take care of her and she finally got better.

Boy were we surprised when we saw she was pregnant- we thought she was a boy!  She had her kittens a few weeks ago and we finally saw them last week. They are so pretty! When Dad found them, they weren’t in a safe place so he moved them. When we saw them, Scout and I smelled of them really good, too. Tux didn’t seem to mind as long as we’re nice. And she finally lets us rub against her some instead of running.

When Tux first came, Ms Kimmie said she thought some dogs had hurt her, which is why she’s still a little afraid. But I’m glad she’s getting better and knows that we don’t want to hurt her. Even when we chase the other cats, we just want to play.

I don’t know why some animals are mean to other animals, and I really don’t understand why some people are mean to animals.  Dad says some people just don’t know that God loves animals too. I’m glad God loves us and wants us taken care of. Did you know the Bible talks about taking care of animals?

Proverbs 12:10 “Whoever is righteous has regard for the life of his beast, but the mercy of the wicked is cruel.”

Luke 12:6 “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God.”

Dad says he knows Jesus loves little kids – there’s even some songs that say it. “Jesus Loves Me” and “Jesus Loves the Little Children” are both good songs….

Dad says one of the reasons God loves little kids is because they are real. I’m not sure, but I think he means that little kids don’t pretend to be something they’re not. When they’re sad, or happy, or mad, that’s just what they are.

Mom says that dogs like me and Scout are the same way.  When I get scared or nervous, I lay down close to the ground or floor and try to hide.  And when Scout thinks she’s done something wrong,  she crawls under our bed. The only way they can get her out  is for Dad to whistle or Mom to talk to me about something outside our room – then Ms Nosy Britches will come out to see what we’re talking about.

Mom says even so, it’s hard for her to remember that as little as I am, sometimes I know more than she does. Just this morning, I kept coming up to her, patting her leg, telling her I wanted to go out. She finally got up and took us out- and guess what? The guy was here to pick up his trailer! I knew it because I could hear him, even if Mom couldn’t.

I sure wish more folks would learn to be like little kids and pups – we don’t pretend to be stronger than we are. We know we have to trust Someone else to help take care of us.  It’s easy for us to trust Jesus, because we know He loves us and wants what’s best for us. Sometimes grownups think they know more, or think they can handle some stuff on their own.

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He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them.  And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.  Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Matt. 18:2-4

Last week the folks at our church (Luverne First Assembly) made camp stew. On Friday the ladies peeled and chopped potatoes and onions, while the men cooked the meat.

Then they brought the meat in and put it in tubs to cool – and this is where the story turns GREAT.  They had to take the meat off the bones and pull it all apart – beef, chicken and pork.

And guess who got some of the bones? Yep, me and Scout. Mom brought us each a big pork bone home and we chewed on them the rest of the day.

It was YUMMY.

I wonder when they’re gonna make camp stew again?

Dad and Mom are getting everything set up for this year’s bike blessing.  It’s going to be right down the road from our house this time, and I want to go!   I didn’t remember what a bike blessing is, so Dad told me that lots of people bring their cars, trucks, bicycles and especially motorcycles. Then Dad and Mom and I, and some of our good friends, will pray over the rider and their vehicle.  We’re going to pray that they stay safe on the road and that God touches their lives.

It’s going to be on April 22 at the Shriner’s Building at 10 – where we start Spyder’s toy run.  Mom said to make sure I told everybody that we’ll have coffee and yummy donuts; it will be OK if you drop some, because I’ll be sure to pick it up.

Afterwards, the Crenshaw County Animal Society is going to have a poker run.  That’s going to be fun too- last year our friend Lily got adopted into her forever home, and our friends Ziggy and Ms Sharon and Mr John P came down and talked to everybody about how great it is to have a dog friend. Ziggy helps make sure Ms Sharon stays healthy, which is so cool! I don’t have an important job like that – I just keep Mom and Dad company while they work, and I make sure nobody comes off the road to get into our yard.  (Scout helps, too.)

Come out and see us! I promise you’ll have a good time, and you’ll be helping a good cause at the same time.

Ha! Scout thought she was smart, talking Mom into letting her say something last week; she needs to remember this is a Note from HOPE, not Scout.

So anyway… Mom took this picture of us the other day, while we were trying to ‘share’ the same stick. Mom likes to hold the stick up and see who can jump the highest – she says that Scout needs to build up her muscles, and I think she also likes it when we come inside and sleep a while.  She heard somebody say a tired dog is a good dog. I don’t know what that means but I think it means she likes to rest while we nap.

But if you’ll look at this picture really close, you’ll see that Scout and I were both trying to pull the stick from the same spot – Scout would back up a while, and then I would back up a while. Nobody was winning, we were just dragging each other around the yard.

Dad says that we are both smart dogs, and we’re both strong too. He says one of these days, when we both get a little older, that we’ll be a force to be reckoned with – I don’t know what that means either, but I think it means we’re going to work together and be better than when we work against each other.

I really do like playing with Scout,  even though sometimes it looks like we’re mad at each other when we’re playing. We’re both growling and showing our teeth and Scout’s hackles are up; we try to throw each other down; we take toys away from each other, and tease each other with them.  We even chew on each other – but we would never really try to hurt each other.  If we didn’t have each other, we could chase the kittens around the yard, or run after the tennis balls, or eat out of each other’s bowl…. what fun would that be?

Dad says that we’re learning what this means:

Two are better than one,
    because they have a good return for their labor:
 If either of them falls down,
    one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls
    and has no one to help them up.
 Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
    But how can one keep warm alone?
 Though one may be overpowered,
    two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.  Ecc. 4:9-12