The Tink saga

Ok, I get it....not everyone is a crazy animal lover like me.  I realize that there are so many bigger problems in this world.  But, right now, my kitty is what is on my heart.

I've honestly never prayed so hard and so long....for a cat.  I tried to get really rational through this process and tell myself "it's just a cat, Dawn" and it didn't work.  I've anxiously awaited phone calls from the vet for updates and stopped and thought, this is really silly.  But today I found myself at the vet having a very serious conversation with Tink.

The situation is this....Tink has a broken pelvis which cats can heal from.  The problem is that she doesn't want to eat.  In most cases, if an animal wants to live...they will eat.  I decided to go and visit her.  On the way down I just prayed for God to help me make the best decision for my cat.  I told God that I would follow my gut on this and whatever my first instinct was...that would be how I rolled.   I took one look at her and felt pretty confident that this was not a cat on her last leg (no pun intended).  She was perky & alert, her tail was flipping around and aside from having a REALLY bum leg...she was Tink.  Her normal, ornery self.  I think she's not eating because she's probably just really, really, mad.  I'd be pretty irritated if I were her too.  She's been attacked by a pit bull, stuck with needles and living in a cage surrounded by barking dogs. 

So, tomorrow afternoon, I am bringing Tink home.  We are going to try and give her as much TLC as possible and see how things progress.  I might be making a mistake, but I'll be making it with a very clear conscience.

It's ok, you can roll your eyes now...I would ;o)  I promise, no offense taken.  I've had lots and lots of friends ask how my kitty is doing and I thought this was the best way to share.

Tink update

I decided to do an update on Tink because I have been so pleasantly surprised by the amount of times I've been asked "how's Tink"...."I've been praying for Tink".  It's been so touching.

Tink is doing AMAZING.  While she was at the vet, she wouldn't eat...was fighting being force fed...and well, she wasn't going to the bathroom to put it bluntly.  Immediately upon bringing her home, I opened up a can of kitty food for her.  My sweet, sweet hubby went and bought the most expensive wet food he could find because he thought "the more expensive it is, the better it will taste and she won't be able to resist".  She started eating right away.  She didn't eat much.  But she was eating. 

By about day 4, she was gobbling up her food like there was no tomorrow.  And again, well...she started going to the bathroom.  I never thought I'd be so excited about a cats potty habits.

We are 19 days into her 4-6 weeks of crating.  She is doing tremendously well considering what she went through.  When we took her to the vet, she was in shock and the vet didn't think she'd make it.  Then she discovered the broken pelvis and the outlook was grim.  We were faced with the choice of continuing her care or putting her down.  My husband saw my broken heart and decided to take the compassionate route.  I am so grateful he did.

I believe she will have a paralyzed foot and always walk with a bit of a limp but it doesn't seem to bother her one bit.   Praise God that the owner of the dog paid her vet bill...in full. 

Thank you all for your kind words and prayers. 

The road to Uganda....

On January 23rd, Cathy Clark & myself will be boarding a plane to Uganda.  I can hardly believe this is happening!  I wanted to take a moment to share with you how this came about.

The truth is, I think Uganda was on my heart long before I ever stepped foot on Ethiopian soil.  When people found out I would be going to Ethiopia, I can't tell you how many times I heard "how many children will you be bringing home" and often my response was "I don't think my future child will be from Ethiopia....I think it will be from Uganda."  I will probably never be able to pin point the exact where, when or how Uganda was placed on my heart....but I know that it was.

Approximately 9 months ago, 2 gentlemen visited our church.  They were both from Uganda.  The noticed our "Hope in Ethiopia" shirts and also our jewelry.  We shared with them the story of the ministry and the beads.  They informed us that they had a group of women in Uganda called "Women of Destiny" who made the paper beads.  Obviously, we were intrigued.  After the message in church, our Pastor invited Richard to come up to the stage and pray.  As Richard began praying, the tears began to flow.  I was sitting next to Cathy and she grabbed my hand.  We both sat there with tears flowing and our hands tightly clenched.  I think somewhere, deep down in our souls we knew that one day we'd be in Uganda together.

This was no chance meeting.  The Women of Destiny has become our primary bead supplier for our Tesfa jewelry collection.   God opened up an amazing opportunity for us to visit these Women.  We will get to learn the bead making process.  We will learn about how these beads have helped them sustain their families.  We will also get to see how one church in Uganda is living out Matthew 25:40...The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

Would you please be in prayer for us as we embark on this journey?  Please pray that we will have eyes to see what God would have us see, ears to hear what God would have us hear and most importantly hearts to love like Jesus.

Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the broken hearted
The ones that are far beyond my reach
Give me you heart for the ones forgotten

Give me your eyes so I can see 

~Brandon Heath

Christmas attire....

This morning I looked into my closet trying to decide what to wear...after all, it's Christmas eve!  Should I wear something red, something green, something Christmas-y?  Then I spotted my new "Simply Love" shirt that was donated to me by my new friend Kari from My Crazy adoption.  Simply love.  That is what Christmas is about....God's love for us!  He loved us so much that He gave His only begotten son!

So, that is what I chose.  My Simply Love shirt.  Tomorrow is the day we celebrate the GREATEST gift the world has ever been given....JESUS.  The perfect picture of Love.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  Isaiah 9:6

A beautiful offering....

Today I received the sweetest gift.  The best part about it was that it wasn't for me.  It was for the orphans in Zeway.  A sweet friend approached me at church today and handed me a Christmas bag.  She went on to tell me that her boys, Rocky & Jude (ages 3 & 5) had been saving their tithe all year for the orphans in Zeway.  She asked if I would make sure it got to them.  What a beautiful offering.  Bless their sweet little hearts.  You bet I'll make sure it gets to them.  My heart felt so full of joy that these sweet boys already had a heart for children they didn't even know.

As I was driving home, I was reminded of Mark 12:42...the widow who gave her coins which equaled just a few cents.  No, these boys aren't widows and as you can see, there is more than a few cents.....BUT....they gave what they had.  You know, there was a whole lot of gumball or hotwheel money in that Christmas bag.

The Tanner boys blessed my heart today.  Thank you Rocky & Jude.  I know the orphans in Zeway are thankful too.

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”  Matthew 19:14

I am so new to this blogging thing.....

But I get that giveaways are HUGE in the blogging world.  After January 1st, I will definitely get into the "blogging-giveaway-rage".  In the mean time, I stumbled across this giveaway: 

The bag is awesome...but the ministry is better.  I am definitely entering!

I have a blog!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have no time to post anything insightful....but I am beyond thrilled that I have finally entered the world of blogging!  Thank you Nikki Cochrane from Blogs for a Cause!!!

Please be sure to visit our website www.funkyfishdesigns.com before December 15th!  Our store will be closing on the 15th so that we can celebrate the REAL reason for this season....CHRISTmas.

God Bless!
Dawn