Galatians 5:22-23 lists the fruits of the Holy Spirit which are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Quite a powerful list of fruits, which begs the question: what’s your favorite fruit?
Many Christmas cards tout love, joy, and peace, in some combination, which means they must be high on the list, don’t you think? As I reflect on which ones have the most meaning in my life, I choose joy and peace. I thank the Holy Spirit for these foremost, for what they bring me on a daily basis while I live on this earth.
Joy—there’s nothing more precious than the feeling of deep pleasure and a fulfillment so strong that there’s no void or no space for anything else—total gratitude for feeling so deliciously, soulfully, full. And then because there’s no such thing as a struggle-free life, when things try to rob you of your joy, that’s where the feeling of peace is so powerful. There’s no words to describe the awareness that you’re in a storm but that you’ll be alright, regardless of the outcome. Your chosen mindset: this too shall pass, and there will be more joy around the corner.
Joy and peace work so well together. They go hand-in-hand to keep joy at an even keel regardless of what the devil and his demons throw at you. My favorite lifetime fruits of the Holy Spirit at Joy and Peace. Amen!
So what’s your favorite fruit?
About the Author: Sandra Dillon is a professional coach with an extensive background in premarital/marriage, finances, ministry, and leadership. She coaches individuals and couples to find their purpose, be the heroes of their own life stories, and help them be a shining light in this spiritually dark world. You can learn more about Sandra or engage her as you coach by reaching out to her at shinecrossings@gmail.com
Today is Father’s Day: the perfect time to reflect on why a daughter needs a dad. I didn’t have a dad in my life from 6 to 12 years of age. My stepdad came onto the family scene when I was 13 and played the role of dad during my teenage years. As a single man with no children of his own, he did the best he could as a father figure. I’m grateful for the love and kindness she showed my brother and me through our formative years.
Rescue starts when someone posts on social media, commonly Facebook, a dog found dumped on the streets or when volunteers post photos/video of available shelter dogs. Yes, there are volunteers who walk the Texas shelter aisles—whose sole purpose is to put those adoptable dog faces behind wire cages on social media, so someone’s heart can be tugged. A Colorado rescue can commit to take the dog but will only do so if it has a short-term foster in the shelter area that can hold the dog for about 1-3 weeks while out-of-state transport can be arranged and the minimum vetting completed to take the dog across state lines.
Shelters will routinely allow registered 501c3 rescues to pull dogs for free by submitting their nonprofit incorporation papers or completing shelter forms. Ideally, the local foster will provide a home environment, learn of the dog’s behaviors and personality, take it to a vet to secure its health certificate and vaccinations (at rescue expense), and ensure it makes its transport to Colorado when space has been secured.
Colorado volunteers will pick up the dogs off transport and typically take them to their next foster home until they are adopted. Fosters take daily care of the dogs, which includes helping with training (crate, potty, behavior, and basic commands). Dogs are also spayed and neutered before their adoption. On average fosters give a loving home to these rescue dogs for a couple days to a couple weeks and commit to taking them to scheduled adoption events, vet appointments, and meet-and-greets with potential adopters.
Adoptable dogs are posted on the rescue’s website, social media pages, and available at the adoption events. Potential adopters must fill out an application and are screened, which includes home and vet (if family own other pets) checks. The adopting family must typically agree that the dog spend most of its time indoors. Although each rescue has its own rules, most have a trial adoption period to make sure the fit is right. At any time if the family can no longer care for the dog, the contract stipulates it must be returned to the rescue. This process delivers a high permanent adoption rate.
Many people don’t understand why the adoption fees are so high for unwanted rescue animals. The truth is that rescues want to make sure they put a happy and healthy dog in the home of its forever family. With that end goal, rescues are just covering their basic costs in the adoption fees.
Fosters may find they work on crate and potty training as the history of the dog is mostly unknown. If the foster/dog fit is too strained, rescues will do their best to find another foster home. Fosters must realize rescue organizations run solely on volunteers, so nothing happens overnight.
Although Alex has gained an incredible support network of friends who have a common passion and knows the pure joy of connecting the family and rescue, the price has been expensive in both money and untold hours in the field.
Today Alex is serves NHCDR, breed specific for heeler mixes, and she tags pitties with From Forgotten to Forever Rescue (FFTF). She has a dream to own property to build kennels as backup to her own foster-home rescue. Her passion is to save death row dogs—those minutes from euthanasia—victims of shelter overcrowding. Alex is truly the champion of the underdog of underdogs.
If you have a dog or two, the rescue will require that your pets are spayed or neutered. No one wants an oops! If you’ve ever thought of fostering, do it. The upside is how fulfilled you’ll feel in helping an underdog, and the only downside may be some adjustment in a temporary living situation.
I had a conversation with a woman who was a victim of childhood abuse by a lesbian aunt. The abuse started when she was 10 years old and under the ruse of having to treat a medical condition, because she had started puberty so young. Only a handful of people knew of her abuse in her adult years, yet she struggled with many unresolved feelings and unanswered questions because of her reluctance to share her story. Many will read this and self-identify. I know, because you share your stories with me.
For those who are extreme planners, this message may be too late—at least for this holiday season! If you’re an OCD organizer like me, you may already have your Christmas shopping done by Halloween—reveling in that wonderful feeling that even those hard to find gifts for family and friends are safely tucked away in a closet.
What these three trees wished themselves to be instead became how they were used to serve. The purpose of each tree brought me to tears. Can you guess how the tallest tree was used? The third tree wanted to be the tallest tree in the land, and by some accounts this tree got what it wished for as it stood tall at Calvary with Jesus nailed to it. This tree had one idea of its future, but God had another purpose and plan. Despite the ugliness it endured as it co-labored with Jesus, the third tree had the opportunity to help bring Salvation to the world. Now that’s worth both living and dying for!
When I think of the love that I have my daughter, Alex, I am awed that God would sacrifice His own son for me, so I could live. Would I be able to sacrifice my dear Alex, so others can live? Could I have done what Abraham planned to do in Genesis 22—sacrifice his beloved son, Isaac? I like to think I would obey God, but I do not think anyone can be confident in his answer until placed directly in that situation! How grateful I am not to have to choose. How grateful I am that Jesus died on the cross to take my sins, so I can be with the Father long after my body turns to ashes! With my gift of eternal life, I cannot choose any other path other than to follow Him and use my life to glory God. Am I perfect? No, I sin daily, although I can honestly say I try to live my life honorably, sharing of my time and treasures.
Overwhelming college debt can sap energy and joy, as well as interfere with life calling, because significant resources are funneled to pay off those loans—making it feel like one is dragging around a ball and chain for ten years. Not even personal bankruptcy can dissolve this financial burden—a lifetime sentence until it is repaid. I am neither advocating for or against pursuing a college degree, and these words come from a chemical engineer with an MBA, who will also receive her second masters in life coaching in 2017. I believe a college education can open more doors for career and job choices as well as develop new worldviews, critical thinking, discipline, commitment, friendships, and a sense of community. However, I am recommending that before taking on any debt that everyone understand what they are called to do, how post-secondary education will support that purpose, and then using sound judgment to determine the best path forward. Approaches can include community college, part-time vs. full-time, scholarships, employer incentives, military benefits, etc. You may ask how did I pay for my education? I focused on good grades, worked when not studying, saved, sacrificed, applied for scholarships and loans, and was rewarded with grants and reasonable loans to pair with my savings the first time. The second time I worked full-time while going for my graduate degree part-time, taking advantage of my employer’s partial tuition reimbursement benefit in conjunction with my savings. The third time around I worked and saved for my full tuition, hence my return to college at 53 years old.
coach students and parents on personal finances, this simple matrix translates the amount of student debt into a monthly payment for 10 years at various interest levels. Some students are financing teaching degrees at prestigious 4-year universities, taking on over $100,000 of debt for a job which will only pay $50,000 per year. When asked “How will you put a roof over your head if you have to pay $1,000 a month towards school loans?” their facial expressions reflect confusion, surprise, and worry. What I find more troublesome are students who are financing college under an “undecided” major. These students usually take upwards of 5 to 7 years to graduate—incurring more debt than if they would have paused after high school, worked, figured out what degree fit their life plan, and
then pursued their education over 4 years. Powell (2016) reported that the average college graduate debt is $37,000 in 2016. Many of the entry-level, non-science based jobs for these graduates do not pay that amount per year. Many graduates have no idea when their loans will be paid off.
About the Author: Sandra Dillon is a business, life, and marital coach with an extensive background in business development and leadership. She coaches others in how to develop and execute life plans, develop successful businesses, and build better relationships by identifying and living their personal values, enhancing skills and competencies, and being held accountable for executing their defined goals. 
Shine Crossings Ministry 