The Journey we call Faith











{September 15, 2008}   “What is God doing in your life?”


The vicious pit bull and her kiddos

The vicious pit bull and her kiddos

I was having my daily debrief with my best friend and we were discussing my blog. I shared a recent comment that a fellow ex-Mormon left for me about loosing sight of why I left the LDS church in the first place. She shared with me that my blog used to be about what God was doing in my life, how He was shaping and changing me, and now it was more about the things going on in my life.

She might very well understand why I have been more and more hesitant to blog about religion lately (unless pissed off as of recent), what God is specifically doing, what I feel moved in, etc etc – but others might not because they are not my daily confidants like she is. So I thought, without going to an uncomfortable place – I would share what God has been doing in my life as of late.

God has been providing for us. I was totally fed up with being overweight and unhealthy – and then we went and Steve picked out a dog (yes Steve) that was high energy that needed to be run, not walked twice a day. Guess who got stuck with that responsibility? Me. That was such a blessing. It gave me time with God every morning and evening. Three months later – I am 30 lbs less. I am healthier (even though I’m sick right now). And I’ve been able to work through a fear of large breed dogs that I’ve carried around for years. God provided.

I was ready to go back to work, but with one car and the economy what it is – it looked like I’d be stuck working one day a week at my parents’ store forever. Then, we were given a minivan (wow) totally and completly free the weekend before I started working full time – 40 hours – at their store. I get to work early enough that I come home early afternoons and have the entire afternoon and evenings with the kids. It’s awesome. God provided.

I am entering a period in my life when I am fed up with all talk and study of religion (a rare for me considering how much I LOVE it). But just honestly want and need to distance myself and focus less on doctrine and more on just one on one time with God. I frankly and honestly do not give a rat’s behind on if the Godhead or Trinity are correct. I do not give a rat’s behind if it’s right to be monotheistic or polytheistic. Want to know where I am with God? I’m not into semantics which is where I think so many religions are. If Jesus lead by spirit and heart of the Law and not by letter of the Law, what the heck are we doing? If the spirit behind His teachings are to follow Him and not be wishy washy or to deny Him in front of others – then I think we are taking the letter of the Law and not the Spirit of the teaching when we condemn others for not reading into the Bible what we are reading into the Bible. I am reaching a place of longing for unity and peace within the Christian body – meaning all Christians – all who profess Christ as their Lord and Savior. Does that mean He will look the same to all Christians? No. And that’s okay by me because I am not their Lord and Savior. And I am okay with this.

I am conservative in my own understanding of the scriptures but liberal in my application because in the end, I am no one’s White Throne Judge. My friend reminds me that the Catholic church may say who is in heaven – but they never say who is in hell. Many Protestants could take a lesson in this wisdom.

What is God doing in my life? He is leading me to an intense desire for unity and not dissention which is why my dealbreakers are what they are. He is leading me to a place of longing for peace – peace that I felt in the extreme as a Latter Day Saint and He is leading me to a place of not wanting labels (polytheism, monotheism, Godhead, Trinity, etc etc) but just initimacy with Him and His presence. All else falls away and nothing else matters. He provides because His grace is endless and I am forever grateful.

Much like Maya learns the command, “leave it” – I too must learn humilty and to simply leave those things that are not unifying.

Leave it.

"Leave it."

maggielselah @ 7:38 pm [filed under Religion, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, pit bull tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment »


{September 13, 2008}   Blame the Deed – Not the Deed

While checking my emails today, I was notified that two pit bulls had killed a four month old baby. You can read the article here. Now, as an advocate – someone who STRONGLY states, “BLAME THE DEED NOT THE BREED” – there are things that really stand out to me. First, we do not have the entire story here. But there are some red flags in this story for me.

And to be clear here – had the officers NOT shot and killed the dogs, I most CERTAINLY would have advocated for these dogs to be put to sleep (PTS). Any pit bull who is Human Aggressive (HA) goes against breed standard and makes life harder for stable pit bulls out there, and should be PTS. What these dogs did was terrible – but ultimately, dogs do what they are trained to do or are pushed into doing, so therefor, a lot of attention does need to be focused in on the owners here as well.

1. First and foremost – dogs have no sense of morality and no sense of right and wrong. We have to remember this.

2. Shortly before the attack – the pit bulls were in the back yard. How long were they in the back yard? Pit bulls are NOT outside dogs. They are inside dogs, they are very social animals and need interaction with their owners. They cannot just be dumped outside all the time and then be expected to behave. Nonsense.

3. The grandmother stated that they (the dogs) went right in for the little girl – of course they did. Pit bulls (and dogs in general) have a prey drive. Pit bulls, just like any other dog, have various levels of prey drives. Some pitties have no prey drive, some high levels of prey drive. If they have a high level of prey drive – then they will go after anything smaller than them – including a baby. And this is why obediance training is SO incredibly important. It’s not just something nice to do – but with pit bulls (because they are POWER dogs) HUGELY important. Because they have to be taught what is and is not okay (back to the lack of morality). Pit bulls aim to please their owners, once they know what is and is not okay – like that a baby is someone they are to please, someone to protect, someone to love, a member of their pack, then they will aim to please that baby. Not harm it.

4. The grandmother went on the describe the attack, “She tried to close the door behind her, but one of the dogs forced its way into the room, Forti said, followed by the other.” Dogs are pack animals and pit bulls are determined animals. Once they are set on something – they WILL accomplish it. Period. Sadly, because the grandmother could not control these dogs, it shows that she was not a member of their pack – she had no control over them because there was no obediance training in place. Another reason this is HUGELY important, again with ANY dog but especially with pit bulls again because they are power dogs and because their drive to please their owners is so strong they excel in obediance training.

5. The article went on to list other dog attacks in the LV area – including dog attacks by Boxers (not a member of the “pit bull” family – which is not a breed, but rather a common name given to dogs that share the same traits). Which only goes to show that ANY dog can attack a child. Dogs are living, breathing, creatures with their own temperaments and can decide whether or not if they are fed up with children. Obviously this four month old did nothing to provoke the attack, but children sadly are more often the victims of attacks by dogs.

6. One neighbor said, that you just don’t have pit bulls around children “period”. Hogwash. In fact – pit bulls used to be the “nanny dog”. They have high ranking temperament test scores – right up there with the Labs (Goldens and Black Labs). Maya gets put through the wringer with Paul and Anya and she takes it gladly from them, returning their pulling, tugging, and rolling on top of her with kisses and licks. However, we would be utter fools to ever leave our dog completly unsupervised with our children. I would like to state you should never leave ANY dog unsupervised with ANY child.

7. These dogs were also often found wandering the neighborhood. These owners appear from the story to be at best – negligent. Should not have been owners of a power breed that NEEDED to be indoors, with it’s owners, exercised regularly, obediance training, played with, etc etc.

Pit bulls (American Staffordshire Terrier, American Pit Bull Terrier) are a very interactive breed. You have to train with them, you have to exercise with them, they need to be with you. They are WORK. But they are worth it. They are determined, stubborn, and they are WORK. People will judge you for having one. Whenever I mention that I have a pit bull AND two small children the usual comments I recieve are:

“What are you stupid?”

“Are your kids still alive?”

“Someone should turn you into CPS”

“Do your kids have both their hands?”

“That’s the most stupid thing I’ve ever heard.”

And more. If you cannot handle things like this – do not own a pit bull. What happened to these dogs is incredibly tragic. What happened to this baby – oh my God, was horrific and even more tragic. Please do not think because I blogged in defense of the BREED that I ignore what occurred to this innocent victim. What happened to the baby was just horrible. I am so sorry for the family’s loss and especially for this baby. Again, I stress – I am incredibly sorry for this innocent little baby who suffered such a horrible death. Do not think for a moment I ignore the death. I do think the parents should be investigated and upon investigation prevented from EVER owning an animal – or at the very least a power breed EVER again.

maggielselah @ 2:40 pm [filed under Pit Bulls, pit bull tagged , , , , , , , , Leave a Comment »


{September 13, 2008}   Pit Bulls, Nail Polish, and being Girly…

I’m totally excited to see that one of our local Pit Bull Rescue Group’s is doing something for Pit Bull Awareness Day. Of course, I’ve never been to a candlelight vigil – so I haven’t a clue what to expect and I really hope it draws in a crowd outside of the pit bull world. Which for me, as someone who wants to educate non-pit bull owners about pit bulls – is something I really want to do. But, as someone who is not a professional rescue, then this will be excellent hands on experience to go and observe.

So, if you’re in the Vegas area – wanna come check it out with me? The other local pit bull rescue group is doing something as well, on the actual pit bull awareness day (Saturday October 25th) – a meet and greet. I don’t have any more information yet, but I’m hoping I’ll get to bring Maya. :)

Today at work, I coveted all the ladies around me who had nice nails. I used to waste a ton of time and money of getting my nails done. It’s so relaxing (I gotta say, I still cannot think of ANYTHING as relaxing as knitting AND getting a spa pedicure – oh now that is heaven) and it makes me feel so feminine. My kids are very young – so when I stay at home, I’m lucky to get a shower in everyday – let alone put on makeup or pluck, shape my eyebrows. It’s hard to feel feminine and sexy, and beautiful for my husband. So, when I go through spurts when I am able to get my nails done – it makes me so pretty. BUT at the same time, it’s a very unwise financial investment – if I get acrylics then I have to continue getting them done over and over and over again every 2-3 weeks so they continue to look nice (which of course I want) and of course I want acrylics because I’m rough and tough on my nails and a wimpy little manicure isn’t going to hold up to the beating I’m going to put it through in the first five minutes let alone two weeks. But the acyrlics – fills and and complete sets are very expensive and costly with my time. Manicures, while less expensive both during the initial visit and each upkeep visit – take more upkeeps because the manicure chips away faster.

Therefor, a girl needs to know how to do her own nails. However, this is a skill I never took the time to learn as a young lady. I learned how to ride in a Western saddle and bareback – but never to paint my own nails. I used to spend hours reading with my Mamau – but never learned to paint my own nails. I learned how to read music (eh – I manage, but don’t ask me to write anything fancy ;) ) but never to paint my own nails. About as far as I got was that I needed a base, color, then a top coat. Huh. And whenever I paint my own nails – I somehow wager that Paul and Anya could have done a better job. And after all the time, effort, and paint I use – I wonder if it still would be a better investment of time and money to just go get it done rather than spend three hours trying to do it myself. After several tries and corrections and I FINALLY had decent looking nails, I decided even though I was coughing up my own lungs, I’d take Maya for a walk. So, stupidly I changed tops – and damaged every nail on my freshly painted left hand.

Fuming I took Maya for a walk where I encountered these kids I try to serve every Wednesday night, but because I’ve been feeling so cruddy for awhile now, have missed for a couple of weeks now. They asked where I had been and I explained I hadn’t been feeling well but would bring them cookies and drinks again once I was well. Some new kids were there and they were much younger, but had no fear at all of Maya – which made me so happy. So many kids seem scared of her. I put her in a sit/stay position and she allowed all the little ones to pet her and make smoochy faces at her. She was in heaven, eagerly licking their faces and so excited but being such a good girl – staying in her sit/stay position – the only give away being that her tail and entire butt was waging so excitedly in the dirt. With her training she is becoming an amazing ambassador for her breed.

So I guess tomorrow I’ll have to clean off my destroyed left hand and try again. Grrr…. I guess this is what I get for trying to be girly. :P If only it were easier. I have three days off! Yay! Our foster Tye will be returning on Sunday and we’re considering fostering a Staffy/Bull Terrier mix named Zesus Blue – who looks very handsome indeed. Did you know Bull Terriers get 91.5% on their temperament tests? WOW. Amazing dogs. All for now! I am so glad the weekend is here. Time for lots of green tea, podcasts, and medicine and hopefully this cruddy sickness will pass soon!

maggielselah @ 1:57 am [filed under Ravelry, knitting, pit bull tagged , , , , Leave a Comment »


{August 28, 2008}   Vick’s Dogs, Huey’s Mart, and MORE!

I have way too much to blog about to really organize it – so consider this one long blog vomit. Sorry guys. First off, this past weekend – Animal Planet did a really amazing documentary on Michael Vicks and his dogs. I have to say – I wish they had clarified on a few things rather than leaving them open to the uneducated public and that they had NOT included so many graphic scenes of actual dog fights, but overall thanks to Donna over at Bad Rap, the second half of the documentary really helped show the breed for what it is – amazing and sensitive not the monsters the agenda driven media makes them out to be.

I highly recommend this documentary to anyone out there – whether you already have a tainted view of the breed, are interested in “pit bulls”, or that you are an advocate. I do strongly advise AGAINST young children and adolescents viewing this because of the graphic scenes from dog fights which are highly disturbing. Also, I would like to clarify just a few minor – potentially huge points that the documentary left open. In one scene they showed “dog fighting paraphernalia” being taken from Vick’s house and showed websites that sold it. But what they failed to clarify is that just because someone owns these things does not make them dog fighters. For example – they showed break sticks and stated that these were used to break up the dogs and put them back behind the scratch line. But, break sticks are also recommended for all responsible pit bull owners as well. Not just for dog fighters. They showed treadmills – which again are a great tool to exercise one’s dog. Cesar Millan, the furtherest one can get from dog fighting recommends treadmills as a great way to help drain energy. We use a treadmill in our house – we certainly are not conditioning Maya for dog fighting. They showed Spring Poles, again – not always something abused by dog fighters but also something used by responsible and loving pittie owners. Pitties love them – they challenge them on physical and mental levels, they are not tools used to condition them to become more aggressive or to fight other dogs. Rather, they are just another way pitties can drain their energy (many owners say their pitties only does 10 minutes at a time on their Spring Poles), have a ton of fun, and stay in shape. We don’t want or need fat, overweight dogs – if for no other reason, it’s simply not healthy for them.

Finally, they also showed choke chains. Again, plenty of trainers – outside of dog fighters or those who would abuse the choke chain – recommend and use them. Again, including Cesar Millan who even went as far as invented a new type of choke chain called the Illusion Collar which keeps the choke chain high on the neck to keep the most control for corrections, etc over the dog. We have one for Maya – and again, we are certainly NOT conditioning her to be a fighter.

Again, these are simply clarifications – I would and have, highly recommend this documentary to anyone and everyone.

It looks like Maya has Food Allergies. I never knew dogs could have FA. Huh. Learn something new everyday. We give her Benedryl twice a day – but are now kicking up to Claritan. We have changed her over to a hollisitic diet for now – but if this doesn’t help within 9 weeks we have to buy her a Low Allergen diet :( AND we have to bathe her once a week with this special Omega shampoo and creme rinse. Whew! But she is a wonderful dog, and true to her breed – loyal to our kids, a true “Nanny” like pitties are known for. So she is worth it. With more training she is going to be an excellent ambassador for her breed.

And I’ve started working full time this week. My Aunt and Uncle were AMAZING and gave us their minivan (I am officially a mini-van mom now yippie!) so we are finally after five years (in September) a one car family – back to two cars! We are so thrilled – we are not even sure what to do with this new found freedom. This week has been trying – so many kudos (many many many times over) to working outside the home mamas out there! I totally should not even be blogging right now – but am having withdrawals so I carving time out just for me, to blog about this. I get up super early (3:30 am) to bike 4 miles with Maya (1 hour). Yes, it can be done. I’m super sweaty and tired – but so is she. This prepares her for coming up 6 hours by her lonesome by getting her prepped for “resting” mode (as CM calls it). Steve will feed her when he gets up (which will fall outside the hour guidelines that vet gave us – we must wait one hour after her runs before feeding her or face MAJOR tummy upset and possible fatal results in rare cases). Then, I have her sit, and give her two TEENY TINY pieces of cubed cheese with her Benedryl hidden inside them. I shower and get ready for work. I grab my stuff and head out no later than 5:10 (and that’s really pushing it if there were bad traffic). I chat with my best friend the whole drive there and then we pray this awesome prayer book she mailed me (although we’ve only gotten to pray once this week together – maybe we’ll do better next week).

I then work eight hours of pure entertainment, hard work, and at times – pure frustration. People can really make your day, they can really suck, and they can really hit close to home making you think about the person you are. There are some amazing people who really make my day – Mr. Modelo or Mr. Smiley as I call him – he is always smiling and it always makes me smile, no matter how many bad customers I had before him. I love it when he comes in. And then there are the customers that really make you think about yourself. A summer ago I had a huge heart for the homeless, now I cannot even be bothered to help them count their money. I’d rather be right than be a humble servant of God. Jesus said that what we do to the least of these is what we do to Him – and thinking upon that and hearing one of the homeless girls, who yes irritates the living daylights out of me say to me now two days in a row (I guess God knew it did prick me on day 1), “You make me feel horrible about myself,” really made me think about how I am coming across to her. I think being right is more important than being compassionate, humble, and patient. Wow – what a crock, I need to come down some notches and think about what an example Jesus set for me and if I’d count His money if He asked me to over and over and over again – seventy times seven times. Would I be willing to compromise for Him? Or is being right more important to me? Am I willing to learn patience and humility at this store, when I am so largely lacking these things in my life right now, or am I going to stomp on through being a brat and not listening to anyone?

There are also the customers who you just want to SCREAM at and frustrate the hell out of you – or maybe INTO you. :P There were some wanna be thugs in our store who were 10 cents short on their cigars – no I was not going to give them store credit and NO I was not going to cover it myself. When they started asking other customers for the money – I told them that was not okay, because that is strictly against store policy. My co-worker went out and talked to them (later telling me that she “kept the peace”) and gave them the .10 cents. Which of course made me look the bad bitch – and of course they let me know made me look like the bad bitch, “Why can’t you pay for it?”

“Because I’m not going to.”

“Well why?”

“Because I’m not going to. You either have the money or you don’t. If you don’t, then you don’t.” Seems pretty easy to me – I don’t go to the supermarket and expect the cashier behind the counter to cover my shortage because I decided I wanted something that I just didn’t need. And then to top it off, my lovely co-worker then shared this story about me – the “vigilante” with all the co-workers as they came in to start their shifts. Uh, excuse me – I don’t know that you guys 86 some people for soliciting (which they had – twice that very day) money from customers and not others because they are wanna be thugs and that we are expected to pull money out of our own pockets to cover these wanna be thugs or short the drawer so they don’t come back and “shoot up” the store. Uh, when I worked there before – this was NEVER an issue. If that was the case, then why the heck was my Aunt chasing people down with the “peace maker” when they stole from her? But I suppose that’s neither here or there. I am torn between reporting all this back to my family and being the “tattle tale” (which I never hide the fact that I do talk to my family about the store, the employees, and the going ons when we get together) and just shutting up so as not stir the pot.

I also found out that I am really offensive when I compare this situation verbally to giving my dog a treat when she pees on the carpet or calling these wanna be thugs rabid dogs because they are behaving like animals. Call me conservative – when people behave like animals, I think we should be able to call them out on it.

But returning to my earlier statement – am I going to be right, or compassionate? I am so frustrated on one hand because I don’t feel I should give the dogs cookies for peeing on the carpet (so to speak) but at the same time, who knows – perhaps these kids were neglected, abused, etc and were only trained to behave as beasts. A dog will only behave in a way that it is trained/told/exampled to behave – the same applies with kids – if you model a behavior then they will grow up and mirror that themselves. Perhaps these guys simply do not know any better. When then, do you hold them accountable? And what then, is the best approach to this situation? I obviously don’t think we should continue to reward them by giving them money every time they are short – today it’s .10 cents – tomorrow it’s .15, maybe next week it’s .50 – maybe next month it’s more or even a whole 18 pack. Maybe I’m thinking about it 100% wrongly – which I am atleast trying to be open to.

At the end of the day, these kids are still kids and I would like to be to approach the situation with them (and others like them) with more patience, respect, and kindness.

That’s it for now! Off to do chores! Still gotta get dinner going, clean, and prepare for tomorrow! Steve is a Grad Student as of this week so we are extra busy here which means an extra messy house. Whew. I cannot wait for some time to regroup this weekend and just relax. :)

p.s. – I do promise to write up a blog somewhere in the near future that is religious in nature (ie Mormon and Christian) but being as how busy I’ve been . . . but I promise for any interested – an update blog is coming. :)

maggielselah @ 8:55 pm [filed under Hueys Mart, Pit Bulls, pit bull tagged , , , , , , Leave a Comment »


{July 9, 2008}   All Things Maya

Got a crazy busy week this week, plus my birthday is only I believe 8 days away, and our anniversary and I work cover another vacation this month SO I’m very busy from this point out. Whew! However, I do certainly want to dedicate some blogs to Breed Prejudice, including both stats of pit bulls (which isn’t a breed for those of you who don’t know) as well as other breeds and of course how I personally feel this isn’t any different than say racial profiling. That said, I am very sad to learn that some insurance companies will not insure families if they have any pit bulls in their homes. While talking to someone about this today, they made the comment, “Because pit bulls are such vicious animals,”

Ahhh… the Pit Bull Rescue Center (also an educational resource) has their work greatly cut out for them. That said, I am certainly glad I do not have this issue and am very glad that we have such great insurance. We’ve gotten very lucky in quite a few areas lately.

That said, enough with the negativity and on with the pictures of my Maya girl!

This has got to be one of my favorites. I don’t know why – but for me it really captures Maya’s really gentle nature. She may be able to run 2-3 miles with me this morning, walk another one to practice leadership, do 45 minutes on the treadmill and STILL not act tired – but she’s such a gentle girl.

http://media5.dropshots.com/photos/102473/20080708/165626.jpg

I really like this one too. These are the rare moments of really chilled out that I see.

Here she is snuggling on the couch.

And who can resist this one?

Finally, I read the following – short – blog by a Protestant Pastor that I really liked. Good to know that there are Christian leaders adopting Pit Bulls and likening it to their Christian walk.

maggielselah @ 10:03 pm [filed under The Dog Whisperer tagged , , , 1 Comment »


{July 6, 2008}   Breed Prejudice – GRRR!

Hello family! :) I recently found out that my family is reading my blogs. Quite the shocker for me since I don’t always control my tongue or my thoughts very well here in Blogging Land. Papau made the point of telling me how negative I am in my blogs – which has stayed with me and made me consider almost every word, thought, and motive today. It doesn’t mean I didn’t vent about select co-workers who bully others, or that I shied away from thinking poorly about the customers who didn’t want to wait in line and cut in front of others in the gas lines or that I didn’t snicker about the people who are never satisfied. IE – Papau now is giving away FREE bottled water for his customers waiting in line, 99% of them say, “Thank you! This is just what I needed!” But today someone complained that it wasn’t soda. Can’t please them all. :P

But it did make me ponder how negative I am, and ungrateful. It certainly made me think back to all the things I should be grateful for – a good family, patient parents, a surprisingly wonderful job (hey there is always free entertainment!), a fantastic pet, and of course the Gospel.

Something to ponder and remember every time I want to open my mouth . . . . .

Maya’s doing fantastic with the treadmill. We just turn it on now and she gets right on. Right now, I have to still very closely supervise (ie sit in a chair right next to the treadmill while she’s on it) but am hoping with a few more sessions I can fold laundry, sweep the floors in that room, etc while she is on the treadmill.

I was sick for almost two whole days (yes again, perhaps this is my season to be sickly) and so we got back into routine this evening – FINALLY! I picked up a bike from my local Deseret Industries and have been biking with Maya about 4 miles a night. We rode our bikes and scooters as a family tonight to Maya’s doggie play group and it was so much fun. Maya took a rest while we waited for her BFF Nacho to arrive. Here she is looking all fantastic.

The kids had a blast too – even though Paul fell into some rocks when he turned his bike too sharply. But he’s such a champ and after I washed out his scratches with some water, he was totally fine and ready to go back to playing hard.

Meanwhile, Anya continues to think that Maya is her personal pony or something. Maya is such a fantastic dog that she doesn’t mind when the kids tug her tail, look at her ears, use her as a pillow, or even sit on her. What a good girl. We discovered that Maya is afraid of fireworks (sadly pretty common for pets) so we’ve been using Cesar Millan techniques to try to confront her fear. We’ve not been babying or consoling her so as not to indulge her fears, we did use the forward motion and corrections/distractions. We’ll see how well these worked next time the fireworks fire up.

And here is Maya and her man, Nacho. He’s such a great Boston Terrier – so well behaved, obediant, and such a great playmate for Maya. Maya’s got some obediance training coming up – my birthday present, and I cannot wait to see how she reacts. Steve says that if she begins behaving in the areas we are currently struggling with (stealing food for example) then we can consider the second dog. Yippie! I’m so excited. Cannot wait! We’ve met some really great dogs.

I will say this – and yes it is negative. I’m becoming really frustrated with how people imagine pit bulls. Just tonight while Maya was sitting nicely at the curb waiting for us to cross, a couple jay walked to get away from her. And I honestly don’t see the pit in her except in her muscles during swimming and from her chin. Plus, there are tons of pitties in rescue and animal shelters. It’s SO sad. There are three fantastic pitties that we are considering bringing into our family. Because pits are great dogs. I love how Cesar explains breeds – it’s just the designer outfit they have on. Pits are no more prone to agreesion for example than another dog. But because they are a power breed, they can cause more damage in less amounts of time. They’ve got a bad rap because of irresponsible, bad owners who were clueless when they got the dog. If you are considering adopting a dog and are of the active type – please consider rescueing a pitbull. They are incrediably loyal, wonderful dogs. Of course, there are exceptions – those who have mental issues that come down to neurological issues which can occur with ANY breed of dog – or even any mutt/Heinz 57 dog.

Okay, enough rambling out of me. I’ll try to stay off my pitbull soapbox. :) Although, to warn you – I’m sure I’ll write another blog like this in the future as I become increasingly frustrated with people’s stereotypes of those of so awful dangerous pit bulls. :(

maggielselah @ 4:03 am [filed under The Dog Whisperer tagged , , , , , Leave a Comment »


{June 15, 2008}   Wrap Up

This is a very accurate visual of how I feel. Exhausted. This post is a very general wrap up of the past week.

1. Maya is a fantastic dog – but man she has boundless energy and is exhausting.

2. Cesar Millan makes everything look so easy. Wish I was that athletic.

3. I’m becoming overall addicted to walking, jogging, and running. It hurts but it’s a good hurt. I’m still sleepy when I get up at 4:30 am to do it, but that’s okay – it gets my day off right and I can spend time with the Lord during these runs.

4. As I become more addicted to running and jogging – I am becoming more curious and eager to try something else very physical that I can do with Maya. She’s shown shyness and perhaps even fear of the water when we took her swimming, but she’s an excellent swimmer. I’m hoping to get her in the pool more often to overcome her fear so that we can swim laps together soon. I want to try roller blading and biking now. The heat of course, is overall discouraging. Perhaps in the fall or winter.

5. Stetching and yoga CAN make a difference. :)

6. The missionaries dropped off a DVD for me to watch – it’s a special wittness one of Jesus I believe (or perhaps the Restoration). I’m pretty excited to watch it.

7. I finished Alias season five a couple of nights ago, I am beyond depressed about this. Bonus features? Anything? How will I ever live?

8. A poster on Rav mentioned that she doesn’t have TV – I imagine a lot of freedom in not owning a TV even with DVR.

9. I have had some pretty amazing personal revelations (not claiming God given) this past week on my history as a Mormon. For example, during my ex-Mormon transition I realized that I was always annoyed with the MC (Mainstream Christian) Jesus. After a lot of discussion and thought, I realize that my personal feelings or experiences with Mainstream Christians individually were bleeding over into the theology. The Jesus of the MCs no longer represented an atoning sacrifice, but rather a rude, hurtful, aggressive Bible thumping street preacher. I failed, at the time, to see how wrong this generalization was because I was too emotionally involved at the time.

10. During a run this week, I had a quite discomforting time while meditating on the LDS church. I hope that it’s a fleshly thing and not a spiritual thing.

11. Who knew there were right and wrong socks to wear while running?! Thank you to Brother Matthews for giving the much needed information.

12. Over on Ravelry,  actually have a Mormonism 101 thread that I’ve been enjoying being a part of. It really makes me stop and wonder though, of those who are critical of the LDS church and if they are able to turn their critical microscope over onto their own beliefs with the same intensity and scrutiny that they apply to the LDS church. When LDS posters do this in say apologetics, then suddenly LDS are attacking the Bible, Christianity, etc. It strikes me as both disturbing and humorous how uncomfortable people get when one applies that same line of thinking to MCs, history, etc. While I’m not saying that I disbelieve the Trinity or the Godhead (but rather prefer to sit on a neutral fence right now and investigate this more fully), the Trinity certainly has enough (and always really has) holes in it for me to lean away from it.

13. Essential beliefs – are these more assumptions of the Bible or actual Biblical teachings? If they are Biblically sound – that there ARE essential beliefs, then what essentials are there that are spelled out in the Bible?

14. I find myself distancing from Protestantism and drawing closer again to Mormonism. Of course, most of this is out of comfort, but also with the disillusionment I feel within Mainstream Christianity. There is an overall pride to be found in quite a few circles – pride in being RIGHT. In having THE Truth, the ONLY Truth, etc etc. And it’s not something I found myself really appreciating. I’m not saying this is a GP thing but rather just observing and seeing in various Christians of various backgrounds, etc. A lot of the people at GP are the kindest, more humble Christians. Alongside with my small group family (not a GP small group), these people have totally turned my viewpoint around on what a Christian within the Protestant umbrella can actually look like – Christ.

15. My friend Barbie, has been going through what a lot of LDS converts go through – rejection. From her former Protestant friends who cannot support her while she is in the “darkness” for example. People who wouldn’t even go to her wedding or reception because it was in celebration of her Catholic wedding. She’s currently reading the book, “Why would anyone want to be a Mormon?” which she is totally loving (no worries folks, the day she’s LDS – huh I guess that would be the end of time as we know it ;) ). I love having these discussions with her, because I feel like she finally has a connection with me and understanding now, of some things I experienced as a Mormon. Rejection from people based solely on the fact that I was LDS. What Barbie and I are both finding peace in is the humility and desire to serve others that is found when we take out the rejection and the pride and seek to REALLY love others as Jesus did.

16. Worked today at the store. Craziness craziness. People are selfish. They are rude. They are inconsiderate. Today one woman refused to move her car from a pump because she didn’t like how one man waited in line. Are you SERIOUS? We had to call a towing company and she cussed me out. We – employees – know for a FACT that there are customers out there with guns. And yet, people STILL have road rage out in a parking lot. I mean c’mon people – if you go to the cheapest gas station in the entire valley by almost .20/gallon, then expect a wait. Come early so you don’t run late to an appointment or something, bring your knitting or a good book or a crossword puzzle. Bring a snack to munch on while you wait, but for goodness sakes, just have patience. Laying on your horns, screaming at people, and so on is not productive.

17. If you can count your money, you can tell me how much you have. Don’t throw it down on the counter, “Whatever this is on the pump behind number three.”

18. Please answer yes or no questions – we don’t ask because we’re stupid, we ask because we know that it’s required information for YOUR safety on our part. “Are you at the pump?” Because if you’re not, you’re gas WILL be stolen.

19. The pumps are clearly labeled (except the first one) with numbers not once but twice that are as big as your head – please read them. It’s really not that hard.

20. No you cannot pay on the pump when you are five cars behind. If you’re not at the pump, you cannot put money on it.

21. Exhaustion is not the end of being tired.

22. At the end of the day – there is religion which is really no one’s fault except their own, and relationship. Relationship is not defined in the building we attend or the clothes we were or even the specifics of theology that we claim, but our hearts for God. I think religion holds us down and keeps us from really having the ability to really love people because we have this invisible electric fence so to speak. But relationship moves us to be Jesus in our daily lives – to serve in the Church and in our communities, to pray sincerely, to repent and forgive, and to remember the atonement. THAT’s what I am seeking and I am confident that my Heavenly Father will answer.

maggielselah @ 2:57 am [filed under Grace Point, Ravelry, Religion, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, The Dog Whisperer tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a Comment »


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