Walking with God and My Dog: A Spiritual Journal and Bible Experience

By Patti Miller

Walking with God and My Dog is a heartfelt prayer journal and faith walk that strives to give us the opportunity to breathe out and breathe in, to listen and observe, to engage in meaningful spiritual conversations with each other and with God, and to walk more closely with God. Author Patti Miller shares her own journey in faith as she rediscovered Gods showcase during meditative walks with her dog, Sam-Elliott. She reminds us that we can always take the time to find God and our faith in each moment of our livesand you dont even need to own a dog!

True prayer is a conversation with God, not a monologue or a soliloquy of our desires and wish lists. If you have been praying and praying but cant seem to get an answer, then allow Walking with God and My Dog to show you a new way to listen for the gentle whisper of God above the clamor of daily life and its distractions. You will be amazed to discover that God was there all along, answering your prayers and showing you the way forward.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: May 21, 2018
• ISBN: 9781973628514

Patti Miller

Patti Miller has a master of education degree and is a retired English professor and high school English teacher, and she is currently teaching the Adult Friendship Class at her home church in Hanover, Pennsylvania. Mrs. Miller is blessed to be a wife, mother, aunt, and nana, and she has written over six hundred poems for worship and other spiritual journals including When the Swing Breaks. She currently resides in McSherrystown, Pennsylvania, with her husband, Carroll; their three cats, Jack, Oliver, and Alice; and, of course, Sam-Elliott the beagle.

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Copyright © 2018 Patti Miller.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

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ISBN: 978-1-9736-2852-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-2853-8 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-2851-4 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018905926

WestBow Press rev. date: 05/21/2018

To all those who have been beside me in my personal journey, supporting and encouraging me both here and in heaven, and always to the glory of God.

CONTENTS

Chapter 1     Background and Invitation

Chapter 2     Names

Chapter 3     Out the Door

Chapter 4     Seasons of the Soul

Chapter 5     Main Street

Rest Stop     Stop and Smell the Roses

Chapter 6     Down the Alley

Chapter 7     The Backyard

Chapter 8     Unexpected Blessings

Chapter 9     Heading Home

Chapter 10   The Hard Choices

Epilogue      The Eternal Walk

CHAPTER 1

Background and Invitation

Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love,

for I have put my trust in you.

Show me the way I should go,

for to you I entrust my life.

—Psalm 143:8

In January 2011, I took the huge step of adopting a dog from the SPCA, a mature beagle I named Sam-Elliott. Although generally an impulsive decision-maker, I realized that I needed to prepare for the adoption. To approximate the added time required to care for my new pet, I sat for twenty minutes each morning and evening. I invested in a crate, a harness and a leash, and the infamous doggie bags for the aromatic deposits my new pet would leave behind. Finally, I established some areas of privacy and escape for my four cats.

At the same time that I was planning Sam’s adoption, I had been going through a process in my home church that involved small group prayer circles and discussions to explore and develop our faith and to learn ways to share our faith with others. I had no idea the two endeavors would soon blend and become complementary experiences.

As my physical endurance improved and as I began to walk farther four times a day with Sam, I found that I had time to think, observe, and pray on these walks. Morning walks allowed me to see the sunrise, to hear the sounds of the day beginning in nature and in human lives, and to remind myself that the whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders; where morning dawns, where evening fades, you call forth songs of joy (Psalm 65:8). Noon and dinner walks forced me to slow down during my busy day and breathe in the beautiful air of life. Evening walks allowed me to process the day’s events, reflect on my actions, and ask God to direct me the following day. In short, walking with my dog has allowed me to walk more closely with God.

This book is a compilation of the many insights from those walks and returning home. During the course of writing this journal, Sam and I have both aged, and I have married! The we has become three. We now have a fence around our yard, and Sam, with his many aging problems, walks only once a day—a walk he still can enjoy. As all of us, you included, walk together, I invite you to join me and others to read scriptures, meditate, pray, reflect, and act on your faith.

I have included the relevant scriptures for your convenience, primarily in the New International Version. I encourage you to read the entire chapter to which the passage belongs or even the surrounding chapters for a more complete understanding. You may find other versions more to your understanding or aesthetic sensibilities. Many of us grew up reading and memorizing the King James Version, but I usually find other versions equally and even more accurate. I encourage you to read the scriptures in versions that allow God to speak to you.

You might want to find a prayer partner to accompany you on this journey so that you may not only find support on your faith walk but also grow and extend your experiences with someone who may challenge and deepen your beliefs as well. You will find that if you share your prayer and faith experiences with your prayer partner, you both will gain a depth of understanding that may not be possible alone. A prayer partner will allow you to be able to share frustrations, epiphanies, and God moments. The expectation of talking with your prayer partner is both invigorating and motivating. You may meet, Skype, call, or use whatever communication medium works best, but in any case, remember that Jesus has said, For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them (Matthew 18:20). You might also want to use this journal as a guide for a larger prayer group.

At one point in my life, I had a very difficult decision to make. I prayed and prayed, but I did not feel that God was giving me an answer. I commented to a friend that I wished God would put a neon sign along my life journey that said, Patti, turn here! or Go back! Another friend of mine named Craig told me that he was waiting to be hit by a two-by-four. Neither of us has encountered such an obvious or dramatic experience. Do you remember the prophet Elijah seeking God’s presence and voice? He searched for God in a fire and in an earthquake, but God spoke in a gentle whisper (1 Kings 19:12). Perhaps God has been answering my prayers, but I have not heard that gentle whisper above the clamor of my daily needs, personal interests and wishes, and countless distractions. No earthquake, no fire, no two-by-four, and certainly no neon sign. Breathe in!

Your prayer activities and faith walks may be more meaningful if you can enter into prayer and contemplation at the same place and at the same time each day. Try to find a quiet place where you can sit with your prayer journal and your preferred version of the Bible, if you desire, and be free from distraction.

I personally like to light a small candle to remind me that God is the source of all light, goodness, and creation; that Christ is the light of the world; and that the Spirit is alive and burning inside each of us. Lighting the candle is a concrete symbol for me to exhale the troubles and distractions of the world and to inhale the Spirit of the Lord. So often in my day, I find that I seem to be holding my breath, almost not inhaling or exhaling. As I prepare for my spiritual walk, I consciously exhale first, and then I inhale. As I breathe out, I expel whatever forces fill me and separate me from God. I am emptied of self and temptations. As I deliberately inhale slowly and thoughtfully, I can breathe in the Spirit of God. Reversing my normal breathing pattern allows me to reverse my path. One of the meanings of the word repent is to turn—in other words, to change one’s path or direction. If such breathing does not seem comfortable for you, just exhale and inhale, but do so slowly and mindfully.

We live in the graveyard of our pasts, our disappointments, and our lost dreams. We are much like the man in Mark 5, who is literally living among the tombs. When Jesus crossed the Sea of Galilee, He came to an area called Gerasenes. A man greeted Jesus as Jesus left the boat. This man was possessed by an unclean spirit. He could not be controlled; he had even been bound by chains, perhaps to keep him from hurting others or even from hurting himself, for Mark tells us that this man cut himself with stones.

We are often like that man. We refuse to believe that we are forgiven and can have a future. We continue to hurt ourselves and those around us. We live in the tombs of guilt and grief, uncertainty and unbelief, and heartache and agony. When He heals people, Jesus does not always say, You are healed. Sometimes He says, Your sins are forgiven. If we could truly believe that our sins—our pasts—are forgiven, would we not walk, run, or even fly with Jesus into a glorious future? Instead we are often living among the tombs—in some long-dead event from the past that we cannot seem to escape.

During a conversation at a recent Thanksgiving dinner, my sister-in-law, Jean, asked me a question that has touched me profoundly. We were talking about our youth and mistakes we had made. When I was in my early twenties, I was incredibly foolish and selfish. Perhaps I was possessed with the unclean spirits of know-it-all youth—stubbornness, a feeling of invincibility, and self-assuredness that does not come from wisdom. My foolishness had no bounds. Like the man in Mark, my lack of wisdom was legion or massive. I had professed Christianity, but I was not living Christianity. I was a blatant sinner.

I mentioned to Jean that I had tried to spend the rest of my life looking back on those times and trying to make up for what I had done wrong. Jean commented that if I believed that Jesus had forgiven me, then I could do much more good by looking forward and not back. If I did not accept that forgiveness with joy and a desire to move forward, wasn’t I denying everything that Jesus had done on the cross?

Wow? Ouch! Was I denying everything that Jesus had done on the cross? Who was I to do that? I admit and confess that I am a sinner. I have hurt others and have consciously made decisions that I knew would lead me to sin. I don’t presume to be anything or anyone other than a sinner, yet I do believe that if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

This journal, this journey, and this walk is certainly not about me, and it may not even be exactly about that wonderful beagle Sam-Elliott. I pray that this journal experience is above us all, coming from God, who is absolute mercy, love, and grace and who would surrender His throne to become human, to suffer, and to die in my place so that I can be forgiven and have life abundantly now and forever. I no longer have to live in the tombs like the man possessed in Mark 5. Let me share a poem I wrote several years ago.

LIVING IN THE TOMBS

Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.

—Mark 5: 5

I do not know if demons dwell

In tortured souls and minds.

I do know we create our hells

When we leave God behind.

We brood too much on past mistakes;

We’re pained by prospects lost.

We seek revenge for each heartbreak

And pay a deadly cost.

We lie awake in night’s dark hours,

Perpetuating fears;

Our sweetest days become so sour

And fester bitter years.

We forge sin’s chains and weld each link

With pride and greed and blame,

God’s living water fail to drink,

But play the devil’s game.

Christ healed the man demon-possessed;

Restored his life and soul.

Christ longs to give us lives so blessed;

His love can make us whole.

The grace of God through Christ descends

And fills your heart with peace;

God’s love above sin’s storms ascends

And brings your soul release.

This is the hour of your salvation:

Come, kneel before your Lord.

He’ll purge you of all desperation.

Your soul will be restored.

Too long we’ve mourned; our spirits bleed

With evil’s legion gloom,

But Christ commands us to be freed

From living in the tombs.

Christ is challenging us to leave our passive lives behind, to refuse to be bystanders, to stop being victims and accusing others, to leave whatever tombs we have constructed, and to walk with Him. That walk will require change, faith, determination, and resolve. The miracle is Jesus calling us to walk with Him. Then comes the hard work.

God speaks to us daily—and more often if we are observant and receptive. Many of us pray, but not all of us listen. True prayer is a conversation with God, not a monologue or a soliloquy of our desires and wish lists. This prayer journal and faith walk strive to give ourselves the opportunity to breathe out and breathe in, to listen and observe, to engage in meaningful spiritual conversations with one another and with God, and to walk more closely with God. And you do not even need to own a dog!

The gospel song Just a Closer Walk with Thee helps us begin our journey with its fervent prayer.

Just a closer walk with Thee,

Grant it, Jesus, is my plea,

Daily walking close to Thee,

Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.

I am weak, but Thou art strong,

Jesus, keep me from all wrong,

I’ll be satisfied as long

As I walk, let me walk close to Thee.

Through this world