We Say Ouch For Jesus

By Belle Touchton – The Missionary Dog
Mommy – Cheryle M. Touchton


Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. 1 Peter 4:12-14 NIV

Mommy and I spend a lot of time in our tiny camper, Halleluiah. Sometimes Daddy and Rascal the Cat travel with us. Our job is to travel America, telling people about Jesus. Outside of Halleluiah, the word I hear the most is “Jesus.” Inside, I hear “ouch.”

“Bob,” Mommy said. “My head always hurts right on top. It feels like a bruise.” Maybe Mommy doesn’t know how many times she says “ouch” when she steps into Halleluiah. By now she should know to duck her head.

“Ouch!” Daddy said. “You left the cabinet open again.” Daddy wasn’t talking to me.

“Bob,” Mommy said. “I’m so sorry. You’re bleeding again.” By now, Daddy should know that Mommy leaves cabinets open.

I yelled “ouch” later when she left that same cabinet open and everything came flying at me when Mommy turned a corner.

They keep Rascal the Cat’s food up on the counter because they know I like his food better than mine. If Rascal is eating and we stop quickly, Rascal yells “ouch” as he falls off the counter. Personally, I think they could solve that problem by letting me eat Rascal’s food.

The table has 4 corners that pop up to make it bigger. Mommy and Daddy both yell “ouch” about half the time they open a corner because it has a spring that pinches. If they worked less at that table, they’d get pinched less.

When Daddy joins us, he spends most of his time fixing things on Halleluiah. I hear “ouch” a lot when he is working in such tiny places. Those hammers and screwdrivers look like they hurt so I guess I can’t blame Halleluiah for fighting back.

If we’re parked on a hill and Mommy opens a cabinet, she yells “ouch” when cans fall on her. She could solve that problem by eating dry food like me.

Mommy yells “ouch” when she dumps Halleluiah, plugs Halleluiah in, hooks up the water, plugs in cable, climbs on the hood to wash the window, swats a bug, or sits up in bed and hits the light. She stays bruised, bitten, scratched, bleeding, and sore. I yell “ouch” when we stop quickly and I fall off the seat or Mommy trips over me because we try to stand the same place at the same time. Living in a tiny camper is painful. You may be wondering why we are willing to say “ouch” so often.

The answer to that is easy. We say “ouch” for Jesus. Saying “ouch” is the price tag for doing what God tells us to do. When someone says “yes” to Jesus, saying “ouch” for Jesus seems like a small price to pay.
============================
Cheryle M. Touchton is the Director of Pocket Full of Change Ministries. This ministry exists because people like you are called to help fund the work of the kingdom. To help keep the Pocket Full of Quarters Lady on the road leading people to Christ, you can donate at

Donate

They Were Both Right

By Belle Touchton – The Missionary Dog
Mommy – Cheryle M. Touchton

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Eph 4:2-3 NIV

Mommy and Daddy are funny when they camp. Mommy spends more time in the camper so she thinks she knows more about camping than Daddy. Daddy is used to knowing more about everything so he thinks he knows best. When they get to talking about how to do something on Halleluiah, they don’t listen to each other. Being a dog, I know there is more than one way to skin a cat. Most of the time, they are both right and either way would work just fine. I get bored waiting on them to pick a way.

That last time Daddy camped with us, we needed to dump Halleluiah’s holding tanks. Daddy was in our little car and Mommy was driving Halleluiah so Mommy followed Daddy to the dump station. Daddy pulled in first, got out of the car, and waved for Mommy to drive around the circle to the left.

When Mommy pulled to the right, Daddy jumped in front of her and used both pointer fingers to try to make her go left. Mommy didn’t want to run over Daddy and she didn’t want to go left so she stopped.

Daddy got that smile he gets when he explains something to two-year-old Abigaile and walked over to the window. “Honey, the hose is on the driver’s side. If you pull to the right, you’ll be on the wrong side.”

“Honey,” Mommy said. “I know what side the hose is on. I live in this camper five months a year. If I pull to the right, the hose will be next to the dump station.”

“Cheryle,” Daddy said, making a wide circle with his arms. “You have to go that way or you’ll be turned wrong.”

“Bob, what are you talking about? Look!” Mommy pointed to the dump station.

Daddy looked to where Mommy was pointing and said, “Oh. They have two. Look over there.” He pointed to the other side.

It was Mommy’s turn to say, “Oh.” They were looking at two different dump stations. They were both right. They went to laughing and Mommy decided to give in. She went left. Good thing no one was waiting in line behind us.

The Bible says we should be humble. I think part of being humble means you listen to the people around you. Would someone tell Mommy and Daddy that camping would be easier on all of us if they would just listen to each other? After all, they are both pretty smart.
============================
Cheryle M. Touchton is the Director of Pocket Full of Change Ministries. This ministry exists because people like you are called to help fund the work of the kingdom. To help keep the Pocket Full of Quarters Lady on the road leading people to Christ, you can donate at

Donate

Mommy Left Me and I Got Even

By Belle the Missionary Dog
Mommy – Cheryle M. Touchton


Therefore confess your sins to each other James 5:16 NIV

OK – I get it that Nancy is Mommy’s best friend. What I don’t get is why she left me to go off with Nancy. I was so excited. I love Nancy. I thought I was going to get to spend a week with her. Instead, Mommy took me to the Doggie Hotel and left me.

There I sat for 5 nights. Don’t get me wrong. They were nice to me. I got to play with other dogs and my room was OK. I’m cute so of course they gave me attention. After all, I am Belle, the Missionary Dog. I know how to work a crowd. It just seems like they could have used me at Mardi Gras.

Mommy says the Seminary they stayed in didn’t take dogs. What is that about? They teach people about God at this Seminary. Don’t they know that God made dogs? Don’t they know that I don’t make near as big a mess as the humans who stay there?

Finally, on Thursday night, Mommy came. I did something bad and I need to confess it. The Bible word for doing bad things is sin. The Bible says to confess your sins so I’m going to confess. I made a mess on Halleluiah’s floor. I even made the mess on the carpet – which was hard since there isn’t very much carpet in the camper. It was wrong and I’m sorry.

In my defense, I’d had a lot to deal with. I’d tried to be a good sport about being left behind. Sometimes my job is to wait on the Lord and Mommy. I’d waited patiently, without making any messes in the doggie hotel. Mommy finally came back. I said goodbye to my new friends and ran to Halleluiah. I jumped in, expecting praise and attention but Mommy and Nancy talked to each other and ignored me.

I tried to get in Nancy’s lap but she had on black pants and didn’t want my dog hair. Paleeeaaaase. White dog hair looks good on black pants. When we parked, Mommy and Nancy left me in Halleluiah to go eat. That was the last straw! They could have eaten before they got me and I got mad. After waiting patiently all week, the least they could have done was make me the center of attention. I am Belle, the Missionary Dog!

When they got back, my nasty surprise was waiting. They noticed the smell as soon as Mommy drove off. Nancy and Mommy held their noses all the way to Nancy's house. I also have to confess that it felt good to hear them complaining. When we got home, Nancy ran into her house and left Mommy to clean up the mess. For the record, I stayed with Mommy. That should have gotten me some points but Mommy was mad and she scolded me.

Ok – I knew it was wrong. I’m sorry. I’ll do better next time. I’ve spent the last 2 nights at Nancy’s house and I’ve been good. God, Mommy, and Nancy have forgiven me. I’m going to miss Nancy. I’m Belle, the Missionary Dog and I can do better than leave messes to get even with Mommy. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.