God lived in my house the past 13 years

I know God is still here and he has always been here, but for the last 13 years he revealed himself to me through Amber.

From the moment I picked her up from the farmhouse in Lebanon, she loved me as if she knew me since I was in my mothers womb. Bringing her home, all she wanted to do is be near me. When it comes to Love, Amber was love and love was Amber.  She would always be waiting for you to greet you with a huge smile and wagging tail.  You could have left her for work or for a week long vacation and she responded the same. This is the same with God.  Even if we walk away from him for a night (because we know we will sin and choose to do so) or for a longer period of time, He is always there waiting with a smile and open arms.

I think this is one of the underlying problems of this world. We need to just leave the rat race of trying to get as much as the pie as we can (while doing so making sure "our rights" are not violated along the way) and filling our schedule with all those things "we must do" to keep up with others. Replace all that with the greatest commandment, Love your neighbor as yourself.
That's what Amber did, she first loved herself which many of us have a problem doing.  We might not admit it but we do.  That's why we are always "doing" because we are trying to fill that void in our hearts.  We are all masterpieces created by God to do great works. If you look at any dog or at Amber you will see they love themselves completely.  They don't care what they look like or smell like, if they are over weight or if their hair is messed up.  Some of you even put crazy outfits on them and they still don't care. They are so content with who they are and what they look like.  This allows them to focus outwardly on others, to love on others every moment of the day.  We spend most of our time on ourselves. We either allow anxiety, fear and depression eat away at our hearts or we go the other route of standing on our soapbox on the corner with a megaphone screaming about our rights being violated whether that is flags, breastfeeding, marriage, gun control, the police, etc.  Most of the time we take what we hear as the ultimate truth and spread it as if we were there and witnessed it ourselves.  We think it's all about us, while our 4 legged friends show us that it is all about others.  They show what God commands us to do and to Love others, period.  Not just once a year when you serve somewhere, or for some of you once a month or week.  Every minute of every day, love one another as God has loved you.  Like Amber loved us every moment of every day for the past 13 years.

If Amber could talk she would remind us all that she never stopped loving, whether that was a stranger walking by, a new roommate, countless high school boys every Sunday for bible study, her two new brothers or even her new mom and little brother. She always thought of others and loved them well.
You can reject God for days or years, it doesn't matter he will still be there waiting for you just like Amber.
You can get mad because things do go your way, it doesn't matter he will still be waiting for you just like Amber.
You can continue making mistakes after mistakes every day, it doesn't matter he will still be waiting for you just like Amber.
You can forget Him for days, months or years, it doesn't matter he will still be waiting for you just like Amber.
You can live your life filling it with everything YOU want and give Him your leftover time (if you have any), it doesn't matter he will still be waiting for you just like Amber.

There are so many people who have dogs, many have also lost them as we did.  They have told us that we did the right thing letting her go no matter how hard it is.  They have also said it gets easier every day, I am hoping that is true. I cant imagine how people can breathe after losing a child, spouse or parent. I am not looking forward to any of that.
I want to honor Amber (or your loved one that you lost) by loving like she did. Every time you see a dog remember that the God of this universe Loves you more than you ever know and he wants two things for you.
1. To love yourself no matter what, no matter what you have done he already forgives you. You are a masterpiece that he created to impact this world and change it forever. You need to remember this to be able to do the second one well.
2. To love others as your neighbor.  Every minute of every day live life focused outwardly loving others. Don't focus on what your rights are, or how someone has wronged you.  Focus on loving at all times, no matter if you think they deserve it or not.  Love always, just like Amber.