faith

Faith, Religion, and Standing Tall

Posted by Barbara Techel

 

Daily Word is a subscription I subscribe to. It it is my time with God. I believe in what is my God, which I believe is also the Universe, which we are all a part of. I am often struck at how each day’s lesson speaks to me. It helps balance me and keeps me moving forward. Today’s Faith lesson resonated deeply on many levels.

Much of my growing stronger and standing tall in who I am has also come from a 10-inch tall wiener dog who rolls around in a doggie wheelchair named Frankie. Some of you may have heard of her. <wink>

I’m working on a book right now about what I’ve learned from Frankie. One section in my book talks about my faith. I was raised a Lutheran, going to church most Sunday’s as a little girl. But then my parents divorced and going to church was not something I did with my mom and siblings.

For a while in my life, I struggled with not having been confirmed. But as I’ve grown older I realize I am of no particular religion. Feeling not good about being confirmed, for me, was because I felt I got caught up in what society felt was right. I’m not saying being confirmed and going to church, or being a certain religion is not a good thing. If it works for others and helps them- then I think that is great.

But for me personally, I don’t find a religion that 100% agrees with who I am. I feel more of a spiritual person, not attached to a religion. For many years I felt shame if someone asked me if I went to church or not. Like it was bad if I didn’t.

Recently I did a school visit with Frankie for a small catholic school. When I was done with my presentation and the kids were walking by petting Frankie, a parent approached me and said, “Are you catholic?” I felt that same fear rise up in me- like if I wasn’t would that make me not good enough? It caught me off guard that she asked me this question. But I kindly said, “No I am not.”

She said, “Oh, I see. The reason I ask is my husband writes for a catholic newspaper. When he heard about you and Frankie he wanted to write a story about you. But he couldn’t think of an angle.”

Thinking thoughtfully and speaking from my I AM, I said, “Well, I do believe in God and I do believe that His mission for me at this time in my life was to teach what I am teaching with Frankie as my example.” She smiled, nodding her head.

I continued and said, “And you know, I believe animals are God’s creatures He created. What a beautiful opportunity your husband would have to share one of God’s creatures, Frankie, with his readers, helping them understand that pets with special needs are no different than other animals and deserve a chance.”

She seemed to listen to what I said intently, nodding, and then said thank you.

As I drove home, I wondered if her husband would call and do a story. I haven’t heard from him yet. I may not. But I also realized how proud I was to feel comfortable in what I said and what I believed. I also feel Frankie and my story is not about a religion, but so much more.

Standing tall is not always easy in world of many views, but until we do, our soul can’t continue forward. I’m learning that with each step I take and that the only way to truly live is from your own heart.

Sue Hume, Mom of Special Needs Girls Reviews Frankie, the Walk ‘N Roll Dog

Posted by Barbara Techel

I love Sue's blog tag line:  "Helping Women Find Hope."

Sue Hume is special mom of two teenage girls and founder of Hope for Special Moms, a ministry that provides spiritual support and encouragement to women raising children with special needs. She is also a writer and speaker passionate to help women discover who God is and how He works in their lives.

Sue's review of Frankie, the Walk 'N Roll Dog was extra special.  I appreciated the fact that she said, "Although it's not a faith-based book, an adult could easily add comments throughout about prayer and God."  I wrote back to Sue and thanked her for this and shared with her that when I do my talks to local schools and organizations, how I talk about how my faith in God got me through everything with Frankie, to writing the book, etc.  And as many of you know, who follow me, I do have a strong faith and had made the decision to look for the blessing in Frankie's situation, instead of feeling sorry for Frankie and myself.

Having that faith and doing my best to "Let Go and Let God" has made this journey quite remarkable to date, and for that I am so very thankful… and just as thankful for people like Sue, who see the value and beauty in the lessons a dog on wheels can not only teach our children, but adults as well.

As a special bonus, Sue had Frankie's book as a give-away to pass the message forward and you can check out this special little girl who won the book!!

How Faith, the Dog with Two Legs Helped Frankie and Me

Posted by Barbara Techel

Below you will read about Faith, a very special dog, born without her front legs.  I know many of you have heard of her, but some may have not.  Quite often someone sends me the story of Faith in case I don't know of her.  So I thought perhaps I should share how I came to know about Faith.  It was no doubt divine intervention.

When Frankie was about 2 1/2 months into her physical therapy (PT) after her back surgery, the odds were diminishing she would walk again.  She was not repsonding to the PT.  I began to feel sorry for myself and Frankie, and was down in the dumps.  One afternoon as I was doing PT with Frankie I had the Oprah show on.  I wasn't really paying attention, when I heard Oprah announce her next guest.  Faith a two-legged dog.

As I looked up to the TV I saw Faith hop/walk across the stage.  Just writing this again today and remembering the moment, instantly brings tears to my eyes.  It was exactly what I needed to see and hear in that moment.  Faith and her owner helped me to realize I had a choice.  I could feel sorry for Frankie and me the remainder of Frankie's life, or I could look for the blessing.  As you may know, I chose to look for the blessing.  <Grin>  I am so grateful for Faith and that her owner shared her story.  It gave me such hope and I just knew everything would be okay.

Now to Faith's story.  Enjoy!!  To see photo's of Faith, visit his website

This is 'Faith'

This dog was born on Christmas Eve in the year 2002. She was born with 2 legs.

She of course could not walk when she was born. Even her mother did not want her.

Herfirst owner also did not think that he could survive and he was thinking of 'putting her to sleep'.
But then, her present owner, Jude Stringfellow, met her and wanted to take care of her. 
She became determined to teach and train this little dog to walk by herself.   
She named her 'Faith'. 
In the beginning, she put Faith on a surfboard to let her feel the movement. 
Later she used peanut  butter on a spoon as a lure and reward 
for her for standing up and jumping around. 
Even the other dog at home encouraged her to walk. 
Amazingly, only after 6 months, like a miracle,   
Faith learned to balance on her hind legs and to jump to move forward. 
After further training in the snow, she could now walk like a human being. 
  

Faith loves to walk around now. 
No matter where she goes, she attracts people to her. 
She is fast becoming famous on the international scene and 
has appeared on various newspapers and TV shows. 
There is now a book entitled 'With a Little Faith' being published about her. 
She was even considered to appear in one of Harry Potter movies. 
 

Her present owner Jude Stringfellew has  given up her teaching post and plans to take her around the world to  preach that even without a perfect body, one can have a perfect soul'. 
  
 
In life there are always undesirable things, so in order to feel better 
you just need to look at life from another direction. 
I hope this message will bring fresh new ways of thinking to everyone 
and that everyone will appreciate and be thankful for each beautiful day. 
Faith is the continual demonstration of the strength and wonder of life. 

A small request: All you are asked to do is keep this story circulating.