A Dog Named Slugger

I have decided to add an occasional book review to my blog. Since I bought my Kindle last year I have been doing a lot more reading. I have the Kindle app for my i-phone, so I can read for a few minutes anytime I have a bit of time. I love the way that Kindle keeps up with were I am in a book whether I am reading on my Kindle or my i-phone. Modern technology really impresses us old guys.

My first review is of the book “A Dog Named Slugger” by Leigh Brill. It is a first person account of Leigh’s partnership with the big yellow Labrador Retriever that was her service dog. As Slugger provided balance for her on walks, he also brought balance to her emotionally and mentally. He was her calming and comforting companion as she graduated from college and obtained her master’s degree. Because of Slugger she was able to have a career and lead a more normal life.

The book offers a lot of insights into what it is like for a handicapped person to grow up with their disability. In the book, Leigh opens up her heart to the reader and gives you an idea of what a person with cerebral palsy goes through. She does it in a way that doesn't elicit pity but pleads for understanding. Her service dog Slugger gave her the confidence to come out of the shell she had been hiding in. He not only improved her day to day life, but he also instilled her with the confidence she needed to stand up for herself.


If you are an animal lover you will learn to love Slugger just by reading this book. I was amazed to learn what a service dog could do for someone like Leigh. Besides steadying her when she walked and helping her up and down stairs, he could also turn light switches on and off, drag laundry baskets, retrieve items and perform so many helping tasks.

I really enjoyed the book and found that it was like three books in one. First, it is almost an autobiography of Leigh. She does a great job of letting you into her life. Second, it is simply a great dog story. In a way it reminded me of the book "Marley and Me", but in a more serious vein. Third, it is a great introduction into the world of service dogs.

I really enjoyed reading A Dog Named Slugger and recommend it highly. You can find it at Amazon.com by clicking on this link.

Quicksand

Recently I was reading from the Max Lucado book, The Applause Of Heaven, and the following passage really captured my attention.

Grudge is one of those words that defines itself. Its very sound betrays its meaning.

Say it slowly: “Grr-uuuud-ge.”

It starts with a growl. “Grr …” Like a bear with bad breath coming out of hibernation or a mangy mongrel defending his bone in an alley. “Grrr …”

Remove a GR from the word grudge and replace it with SL and you have the junk that grudge bearers trudge through. Sludge. Black, thick, ankle-deep resentment that steals the bounce from the step. No joyful skips through the meadows. No healthy hikes up the mountain. Just day after day of walking into the storm, shoulders bent against the wind, and feet dragging through all the muck life has delivered.

Is this the way you are coping with your hurts? Are you allowing your hurts to turn into hates? If so, ask yourself: Is it working? Has your hatred done you any good? Has your resentment brought you any relief, any peace? Has it granted you any joy?

Let’s say you get even. Let’s say you get him back. Let’s say she gets what she deserves. Let’s say your fantasy of fury runs its ferocious course and you return all your pain with interest. Imagine yourself standing over the corpse of the one you have hated. Will you now be free?

Max's words made me think of the time that I was going Geocaching in Tyler, Texas. If you are not familiar with Geocaching, It is a modern day treasure hunt powered by a GPS. I had found the geocache that I was searching for, and was finding my way back to my car when I got a bit lost. I had forgotten to put the coordinates of my cars location in the GPS, so I was just trying to remember my way back through the woods. I came into a brushy clearing and was trying to decide which way to go. There was an area that looked a bit wet and muddy, so I stepped carefully across it to avoid getting my shoes dirty. Imagine my surprise when the "solid" ground gave way, and I sank up to my armpits in stinky mucky quicksand. At first I was just angry that I was filthy, but then I started trying to get out and realized that I was in a serious predicament. Fortunately I was able to reach a small shrub than was strong enough for me to pull myself out.

I was now on the opposite side of the quicksand from where I needed to be and was trying to decide how to proceed. I layed out spread eagle and "swam" to the other side. It wasn't until I thought back on the experience as I was driving back to the condo that it dawned on me how much trouble I had actually been in. I was by myself, and my wife had no idea where I was. I never saw another person while I was out in the woods. As I was driving back I gave a special prayer of thanks to God for keeping me safe.


This is what I looked like after I got out.

Holding a grudge is a lot like being in quicksand. When we hold a grudge, we just can't seem to get out of it's grasp. The more we think about it and struggle with it the more we sink, and the deeper we go. I really think that the only way we can get ourselves out of the quicksand of holding a grudge is through the power of God. Paul writes in Ephesians 4:26,27 "Don’t sin by letting anger gain control over you. Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a mighty foothold to the Devil.

Don't give the Devil a mighty foothold by holding a grudge.

Y Is For Yellow

It's time again for ABC Wednesday. If you aren't participating in ABC Wednesday, you are missing out on a lot of fun. This week the letter is Y. My post for today is a little lame, but It is what I came up with. Y is for yellow.


This photo was taken in a plantation home. This stairway was small and cramped compared to the grand stairway in the main part of the home. This stairway at the back of the house was for the servants. I was captivated by the warm yellow glow and the shapes.




My Dad's 1925 Studebaker parked in front of the old restored Studebaker dealership building in Mena, Arkansas




My family thinks that I take a lot of weird pictures. When I have my camera out, everything is fair game. As my wife was frying an egg, I just had to take a picture. Yeah, it is probably weird.




And you thought the last picture was weird!




This picture was taken at the Bluebonnet Swamp in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It is a beautiful bit of swamp in the city limits that has been turned into a park with a visitors center and boardwalk so you can walk through the swamp. It is beautiful year round, but especially in the fall.




A soft focus close up of a yellow flower




In Belize, the inexpensive drinks are packaged in a plastic pouch. The yellow of the drink really draws you into this photo of a beautiful young school girl at the New Horizon SDA School in San Pedro, Belize




A soft yellow tulip after a spring rain




I photographed this beautiful old Ford street rod at the Wilhelmina Rod Run in Mena, Arkansas.

I hope the "yellow" has warmed you a bit on this cold winter day.

Remembering 2010

2010 is now behind us and a New Year is beginning. Here is a little trip down Memory Lane 2010 at An Arkie's Musings



An ice storm in January turned everything in Mena sparkly and cold




Autumn and Grandma had a great time at the Mardi Gras parades




3 Penny Acre performing at the Ouachita Little Theater in Mena, Arkansas




Gina and I at Garvin Woodland Gardens in Hot Springs, Arkansas




Wisteria in bloom in Mena, Arkansas




Marker that was placed in Janssen Park during the ceremonies remembering the tornado that devastated Mena on April 9, 2009




My daughter and granddaughters walking in the Caregivers lap at the 2010 Polk County Relay for Life




Gina gives blood at the Hot Springs, Arkansas Relay For Life to participate in the American Cancer Society's ACS-3 study




You may now kiss the bride: Gavin and Rachel get married in Keene, Texas




Gavin kisses his niece as he leaves on his honeymoon




Cowgirl in pink hat at the Fort Worth Stockyards




We made a quick trip to Eureka Springs, Arkansas for our 35th wedding anniversary. We spent the night at Scandia Inn Bed and Breakfast




The National 911 Flag on display in Mena, Arkansas: The 911 Flag was rescued from ground zero and is being repaired with flags that have been through other disasters in the U.S.




My brand new grandbaby with her big sister




Aunt Rachel holds the new baby




Classical music




The stained glass windows of the old capitol building in Baton Rouge, Louisiana paint the floor with color




Fall color can even make a junkyard beautiful: This photo was taken behind my shop




We had Christmas at our house the day after Thanksgiving.




My newest grandaughter dressed up as a snowman for Christmas




Our Christmas Tree: This 5 story tall tree was just outside our window at The Landing in Branson, Missouri. Since we were all alone this Christmas we had a Christmas getaway in Branson.


View from our balcony




I wish for a Happy New Year for each of my readers. I have been blessed in 2010 and am looking forward to making more wonderful memories in 2011.

Resolution 2011

My favorite cartoon when I was a kid was Peanuts. I remember one comic strip in particular. It is January 1st, and Charlie Brown tells anyone who will listen, “The best way to keep New Year’s Resolutions is in a sealed envelope in a bottom desk drawer.

Charlie Brown knew what every person who has ever made a resolution knows. Making and keeping resolutions is a troublesome business, usually filled with failure and shame.

How have your past resolutions worked out for you? I don't even want to talk about mine. If you have made and broken resolutions on many previous New Year's days, you may feel that you might as well seal them in a bottom desk drawer and forget them. That is the experience I have had.

If there is anything to which Christians should be committed to, it is that people can change for the better and that there is every reason to hope for such a change in our lives and in the lives of others.


If you ask the average person about the resolutions they made for the New Year, they will tell you that they are going to cut down on their eating, they are going to exercise more, stop doing unhealthy things, and start doing healthy things, etc.

While these things are good, they all focus on self and rely on self. These kinds of things are in fact self-serving and look to the power of one’s self to accomplish them. Self-improvement for most people means making themselves more attractive, healthier and happier. They depend on the power of the human will to bring about the changes.

Look at how different our typical resolutions are from the words of Paul in Colossians 3:12-14. “God has chosen you and made you his holy people. He loves you. So always do these things: Show mercy to others, be kind, humble, gentle, and patient. Get along with each other, and forgive each other. If someone does wrong to you, forgive that person because the Lord forgave you. Do all these things; but most important, love each other. Love is what holds you all together in perfect unity."


Notice how Paul’s words are focused on others. If we are to use resolutions wisely, we need to turn our attention away from ourselves and toward others. We need to get the focus off of ourselves, and on to God and the strength that comes only from him. What kind of resolutions should we make?

John was called the disciple that Jesus loved. It appears that Jesus had a best friend. I want my resolution to be the words that the best friend of Jesus wrote in 1 John 4:7,8 “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love”.


I don’t know of a better resolution that you could make. If we would all make the resolution to love one another imagine how different the world would be.

My wife's cousin, Jerry Patton, spent 37 years as the second tenor of The King's Heralds Quartet, the oldest continuous gospel quartet in America.


One of my favorite songs that he sang was titled One Little Candle. The lyrics are great.

It's better to light just one little candle
Than to stumble in the dark
Better far that you light just one little candle
All you need's a tiny spark

If we'd all say a prayer that the world would be free
The wonderful dawn of the new day we'll see
And if everyone lit just one little candle
What a bright world this would be

My resolution for 2011 is to light one little candle, will you join me?

P.S. Check out Reaching Hearts 4 Kids. Reaching Hearts 4 Kids believes that every child is a precious gift to the world and that all children deserve the chance to flourish physically and mentally. Reaching Hearts 4 Kids helps to provide children in desperate need with the basic essentials necessary for them to live healthy, fulfilled lives.

Shawna K. Williams - Author

I am often intrigued by the ways that blogging has affected my life. The people that I have met and the things I have learned from blogging are amazing. Shawna K. Williams is one of those people. I first started following her blog because she lives in the same town that I do. I was searching Blogger for blogs from my hometown.

In May of this year I bought a Kindle book reader from Amazon. I absolutely love it. When I first got my Kindle I was like a kid in a candy store. So many choices - what was I going to read next.


I read on Shawna's blog, My Father's Oldsmobile, that she had just published her first novel and it was available on Kindle. I downloaded a copy of her book titled No Other.


The book was like No Other that I had ever read. It is considered Inspirational Romance, and I don't read romance novels. My taste in reading is history, autobiographies, non-fiction, religion and classics with just a little science fiction mixed in, well really only Isaac Asimov.

I enjoyed reading No Other. I found the historical small town setting interesting and the characters believable and even a bit gritty. Here is the way the book is described on Shawna's website. "In the aftermath of WWII all Jakob Wilheimer wants is to get over his pain, get on with life, and if at all possible, forgive those who've wronged his family -- including himself. But it's hard to do when there are constant reminders. One of them being his former schoolmate, now teacher, Meri Parker -- Miss Port Delamar Pearl, Mayor's daughter, Belle of the town -- Meri Parker.

After enduring the stigma and isolation associated with the internment camp, the awkwardness of going back to school should've been a cake walk. But Jakob didn't expect to find himself inexplicably drawn to Meri. Or to discover that the pain and loneliness of her life surpassed his own. She needed to be rescued from the wretched people seeking to control her life. And more than anything, he needed to be the one to save her."

As I read the book I found that I was drawn into the story and had to find out how it ended. I hadn't really expected to be so intrigued by the story and the characters. After all I don't like Romance Novels.

Once Shawna had published her first novel, she just kept publishing, and has released two more books this year. The next book was the sequel to No Other titled In All Things.


The story of Jakob and Meri moves from rural small town USA to the bright lights and glamor of Hollywood. Set in 1950's Hollywood, the couple struggle balancing success with the important things in life like love and family. When they return to their hometown for the holidays events are set in motion that help them see that there are more important things in life that fame and success - that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

The portrayal of 1950's Hollywood and the movie industry will be interesting to anyone who enjoys the old movies of that era. Shawna does a great job of capturing an era - a picture in time.

With two books published in such a short time I was surprised when yet another book was published just a few days ago. It is a story that has no relationship to the No Other / In All Things story. The book is titled Orphaned Hearts.


Orphaned Hearts is set in Western Arkansas during the Great Depression. An orphanage and a young handicapped orphan are at the center of the story. Of course there is a love story - it is a romance - but the focus of the story is the love that the two main characters have for a young orphaned boy. With a Christmas scene being pivotal to the story, it is a great Holiday read. I enjoyed the setting here in Arkansas, and the depiction of life in a small rural Arkansas town during the depression.


I have enjoyed reading each of Shawna's books and can recommend them to anyone. If you enjoy reading I hope that you check these books out. For more information check out the Shawna K. Williams website.