The Day Jesus Stood Between Me and a Pit Bull

We rounded the corner and I pointed to a house just down the street. "A vicious pit bull lives in that house. It's come after Sophie three times."

"Really?"

We walked in tandem, my close friend and I. A missionary on the other side of the world, Angela and her family were stateside, staying in our home for a few weeks as they prepared for their daughter's high school graduation.

I sighed. "Every time we walk by that house, Sophie pulls me to the other side of the street." We looked at my docile Australian Shepherd, who never met a pooch she didn't like. Already she had begun tugging at her leash.

I could see the pit bull's owner working in the yard with his other dog, a friendly mutt, and felt myself relax. At least his vicious dog wouldn't be an issue this evening.

Yet as we grew closer, ferocious barks echoed out of an open window at the front of the house. Soon we heard the pit bull's paws desperately scratching at the window screen. My eyes met Angela's with concern. "Let's speed it up and get past here."

Sophie strained at her leash, and we picked up the pace. The barking became alarmingly aggressive. The dog's owner, sensing trouble, rose from a dirt pile and walked toward the front door. Thank God, I thought, hoping he was going to close the window before the dog burst out.

My heart beat hard as we hurried down the center of the road past the house. I thought we were in the clear, until, a few seconds later--I heard paws galloping on the blacktop behind us. A shiver ran down my back. Turning, I saw the pit bull charging fiercely toward us. Trailing hundreds of yards behind him, his owner screamed the dog's name over and over, to no avail.

A savage animal was seconds away from ripping into one of us, and neither Angela or I had anything that could be used as any sort of weapon. The blacktop road held no stones we could grab; the tree line stood dozens of yards from the street, and there was no time to dash there to try and find a stick, anyway.

That's when I knew I had no choice. Planting my feet in a wide stance, I held my hand in front of me like a traffic cop directing a car to stop and screamed "No!" and then, taking a deep breath, "Jesus!"

I heard Angela screaming "No!" beside me.

The dog kept charging.

I held my ground. "Jesus!" I screamed.

The pit bull roared toward us, lunging into Sophie, who darted behind me. Not satisfied with a mouth full of fur, the growling dog lunged again and again. It rushed around my legs while I stood perfectly still, holding my body tense and whispering Jesus over and over. Oddly, no matter which way the dog moved, it was unable to reach Sophie.

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry!" Breathless, the dog's owner caught up to us, bending down and grabbing hold of his dog's collar. "Go home!" he ordered the dog, who, unbelievably, ran full speed back to his house. "Are you alright?" he looked us all up and down.

Fighting back tears, I knelt down to check Sophie, who, though missing clumps of fur, appeared to have no bite wounds. Angela and I, though deeply shaken, were unharmed. God protected us. He protected our dog. Unfathomably, a ferocious pit ball had broken loose and charged us, and the only visible damage was the dog fur scattered on the street.

I will never forget the day that Jesus protected me, my friend, and my dog from an angry pit bull. Not that I'm surprised. After all, God closed the lion's mouths while Daniel camped out in their den all night. But still, when He shows up and prevents imminent bodily harm, well, I can't help but feel flat-out amazed.

When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their distress and troubles. - Psalms 34:1

How about you? Can you share a time that God intervened and protected you?

The Write Dream

If you're a writer hoping to publish a book one day, I'd like to introduce you to a friend who overcame the odds and recently published her first book.

I met Laura Groves, author of the new book Outnumbered Mom, four years ago at the Florida Christian Writers Conference. Her tales of raising four red-haired boys made me laugh. And when she told me she hoped to encourage other moms with her book, I had no doubt she would succeed.

Recently I caught up with the perpetually busy mom (and brand new grandma!), teacher, and new author and asked her a few questions about writing and destiny.

Q: When did you first know you wanted to write a book?

When I was about five and wrote "The Spotted Dotted Dog" on the back of a church bulletin! I've always loved books, reading and writing. I can't tell you how many people over the years saw me with four boys and said, "You should write a book!" which just reinforced that longing.

Q: Tell us the story of how you landed an agent, and how long it took to receive a book contract.

It all started at the Florida Christian Writers Conference in March 2006, when I took a proposal for critique. An editor from Focus on the Family loved it and gave me some great ideas, but told me they don't look at anything that doesn't come through an agent...so I knew I had to go that route.

I submitted it to one agent a couple of months after the conference and he turned it down a few months later. After the conference in 2007, I contacted Les Stobbe about my proposal. He read it and liked it! I signed with him and he sent it out in April or May 2007. By December, Kregel expressed initial interest, but the holidays, etc. ensued and I got the contract right before the conference again in 2008. I signed it, finished the book, and went through a year of edits, placement and titling questionnaires, etc. When I returned to the conference in March 2009, my part was pretty much done except for a few final reads. (So, from first proposal to contract was about a year and eight months.)

Q: Do you feel you were destined to write this book?

I usually say, "It's the book of my heart." It's what I have lived (and loved) for SO many years. I know how it can feel to be the only woman in the house and like many moms, I know how it feels to be overwhelmed. If there's any way my experience can help other moms, I want to do all I can to do that. There were boy moms who encouraged me along the way, and I wanted to be that to other moms.

Q: Any advice for the writers reading this blog post who have dreams of writing and publishing a book?

Just like Winston Churchill said, "Never, never, never (and a few more nevers) give up." God gave you that talent and desire for a reason, so just be faithful and use it. Don't place limitations on Him and tell Him what you want Him to do with your talent...just use it and let Him use you how He sees fit. You're not a failure if you never get a book published. You're a failure if you don't use the talents and abilities God gives you, no matter how many people read your work. He may be using those talents to stretch and speak to you, not some other audience. Let God be God in your writing.

Laura Lee Groves has raised four boys -- and lived to tell! In fact, she LOVES to tell the stories of a house full of redheaded boys.

When she's not teaching high school English and drama, Laura writes to bring encouragement and inspiration to moms. Laura has written for Moody Magazine, Focus on the Family’s Focus on Your Child, Coral Ridge Ministries and has penned and directed several madrigal dinner plays. She’s a contributor to Book Lover’s Devotional, available in early 2011, and www.KindredHeartWriters.com . She loves to inspire moms by sharing on her blog, www.OutnumberedMom.com , and through her weekly newsletter.

Turns Out, He Wanted Me to Stay

The old diner smelled of grease and freshly brewed coffee, an oddly comforting combo as my brother and I shook off the cold November night and slid into a booth. We rarely got time alone to talk, what with him stationed at a naval base in Virginia and me living hundreds of miles away in Florida.

As he added sugar to his coffee and I sipped my hot chocolate, our conversation wrapped around one thing--my new relationship with Jesus. Giddy and convinced I'd go to the ends of the earth for my God, I declared I'd do anything--anything at all for Him

Looking John square in the eyes, I leaned forward. "I'd even go to China if He wanted me to!" At the time, China seemed like the last place I'd ever want to be, so I tossed my daring declaration into the air like so much confetti. Part of me hoped God wouldn't take me up on it, but if He did, I'd go. I'd certainly go.

"Wow, Julie." John shook his head. "Maybe God will send you to China."

I positively glowed.

But over 20 years later, it turns out that God didn't want me go to China. Or India. Or Africa. Instead, He asked me to do something even more radical.

He wanted me to stay.

God wanted me to stay in a hard marriage, when everything in me wanted to run fast and hard.

He wanted me to remain a home schooling mom, while kids all around us waltzed off to school and I craved a quiet, tidy home--and time for me.

He wanted me to remain a loving mother in law even when the love wasn't initially returned.

He wanted me to stay committed to prayer, even when I didn't see the results for which I yearned.

He wanted me to remain: forgiving when I wanted to hold a grudge, kind with my words when I wanted to scream, and on course when I wanted to flat-out quit.

I didn't have to go to the ends of the earth for God after all. It turns out, He simply wanted me to stay.

How about you? Where is the hardest place God has asked you to go?

Picture taken from my driveway, by me.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

WINNER of Sandy Coughlin's inspiring new book, "The Reluctant Entertainer: Every Woman's Guide to Simple and Gracious Hospitality" is Kelly Combs. Congratulations, Kelly! Please send me your snail-mail address. And thank you to everyone who participated by leaving a comment.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *