Tag Archives: angels

Five Ways to Be an Angel for Animals This Holiday Season

In addition to the flurry of catalogs stuffing my mailbox these days, I’ve also gotten a slew of donation requests from various animal organizations. I’d love to help all of them, but, just like everybody else, money’s tight lately. However, I decided I still could help. Maybe not everyone else is aware of the various places needing help or of the different donation programs offered. Maybe by creating a list of them I’d still be helping in a way. So that’s what I did. Maybe one of the following will appeal to your donation style. PETA’s “Angels for Animals” doghouse … Continue reading →

Scripture Study – 1 Nephi 16:37-39

Ishmael has recently died and his children are mourning exceedingly. They regret leaving Jerusalem and wish they still lived in their fine house. I conjecture that Laman and Lemuel’s anger was stirred up as they saw their wives sorrow for the death of their father. 37. And Laman said unto Lemuel and also unto the sons of Ishmael: Behold, let us slay our father, and also our brother Nephi, who has taken it upon him to be our ruler and our teacher, who are his elder brethren. This shows a great deal of hard-heartedness on Laman’s part. To actually contemplate … Continue reading →

The Strays of Our Lives

I love stories about strays. Why? Because there’s usually a deeper story there. One that proves strays are not just strays, but the strays of our lives who’ve come into them in different forms and for different reasons. Kindred Spirits Have you ever looked into a dog or cat’s eyes and without speaking, touching, or sharing anymore time together than those initial first moments, you knew them? You read their soul, they read yours –instantly. That’s a kindred pet spirit connection. Wayne had that with Budly. I loved that little Cocker with my heart and soul but truly him and … Continue reading →

Friends from Beyond the Veil – Shirley Bahlmann

Do you believe in ghosts? Have you ever felt the presence of a dearly departed loved one, or something more sinister? In “Friends from Beyond the Veil,” author Shirley Bahlmann compiles stories from individuals who have felt and even seen ghostly personages from the other side. Shirley is quick to point out that we must decide for ourselves if the stories are true, but she tells us that, to the people who shared their stories, it’s all completely real. The first section of the book is entitled “Angels and Family.” This was a very comforting segment, talking about persons who … Continue reading →

Angels in the Outfield (1994)

This feel-good family film tells the story of Roger Bomman, (Joseph Gordon-Leavit) a boy who has been placed in foster care by his shiftless widowed father (Dermot Mulroney). Roger has been living in Maggie’s foster care home for a number of months, all the time holding on to the hope that his father will come get him, but when his father does come, it’s to tell him that he will be given over to the state permanently. His dad just can’t get it together enough to take care of him. When Roger asks, “When will we be a family again?” … Continue reading →

All Dogs Go to Heaven (1989)

Think “Guys and Dolls” + “Heaven Can Wait” + “The Rescuers,” and you’ve pretty much got the plot of “All Dogs Go to Heaven,” a Don Bluth film. The sad thing is, I didn’t really care for either of the three movies I just listed, and I didn’t really care for this movie either. Charlie (Burt Reynolds)is a stray dog, a gambler who gets on the wrong side of the law. He also gets on the wrong side of the casino owner, Mr. Carface, who decides to rub him out. After the assassination, Charlie goes up to Heaven where he … Continue reading →

In the Chill of Midwinter

I just heard an interesting and haunting Christmas carol. It was a combination/juxtaposition of the classic “What Child is This” with a song unfamiliar to me called “Child of the Poor” (written by Scott Soper, published by OCP Publications c. 1994). The lyrics which struck me were these: “Helpless and hungry, lowly, afraid, wrapped in the chill of midwinter; comes now among us, born into poverty’s embrace, new life for the world….” You may be wondering what this has to do with adoption. These lyrics struck me because I heard them not only the week before Christmas, but on the … Continue reading →