Can I just tell you that having a puppy is not for the faint of heart? Seriously. She might be about to wear me out. We had potty-training pretty much mastered… until we had to block the back door for the renovation work going on in the kitchen. Now she’s dazed and confused, and so we’ve had a few tinkle accidents. Thank goodness for rock floors! Anyway, Saturday night might have been the funniest yet, and suffice it to say, Brad Kendrick is NOT the disciplinarian in our house. Oh no. He was far to busy laughing so hard that he cried. Not. Even. Kidding.
Here’s how it went down. Lula tinkled on the floor even though she had already been outside. I found the tinkle puddle, and I scolded and swatted her. Now don’t lecture me on this. I know the jury is out about whether or not you scold them, and while I usually don’t, I did this time because we had just been outside. It hurt her feelings badly, and I told her to go to her room. Well, she didn’t want to face that truth, so she runs and jumps in Winston’s dog bed and hides her face. It really was hysterically funny, and Brad did laugh so hard he cried. He had to go in another room to regain his composure… which was often the case when our children we’re growing up, too. Evidently I’m quite funny when I try to be serious.
We’ve seen this hiding behavior in Lula several times, and so I’ve consequently diagnosed her with PTS… Post-Truth Syndrome. Surely you’ve heard of post-truth. Oxford Dictionaries has named it the 2016 Word of the Year. Here’s how they define it:
post-truth adjective
Relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential
in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.
See, I told you. It fits perfectly. Lula has PTS. The objective fact is that I can clearly see her even though she cannot see me, and she hopes this fact is far less influential than her precious appeal to my emotions and my personal belief about how adorable she is.
I’m being a little silly here, but I really want to make a point for all of us. Oxford Dictionaries provides some context for the usage of the word post-truth: “The compound word post-truth exemplifies an expansion in the meaning of the prefix post- that has become increasingly prominent in recent years. Rather than simply referring to the time after a specified situation or event – as in post-war or post-match – the prefix in post-truth has a meaning more like ‘belonging to a time in which the specified concept has become unimportant or irrelevant’.
In the post-election… after the election… madness, I’m wondering if we’re all not suffering from a little post-Truth… a time in which the Truth has become unimportant or irrelevant. Or just forgotten. Or worse yet, cheapened.
Please don’t miss the capital T on Truth because I’m not talking about political rhetoric and non-stop news, and I’m surely not talking about Facebook posts and tweets, too much of which has come from “Christians”. I keep reading people talk about fear and hopelessness, about anxiety and uncertainty, about defeat and disaster… and I have to tell you that I don’t understand any of that… and it has absolutely nothing to do with who was or wasn’t elected president. It has to do with the Truth { John 14:6 }.
I want to encourage us all to do a little self-evlauation, especially as we approach the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons, about the Truth.
Examine your thoughts, especially your worries and fears. Do they show you know the Truth?
Examine your Facebook posts, tweets, and comments to others. Do they show you know the Truth?
Examine your attitude and outlook for the future? Do they show you know the Truth?
Examine your words and responses to others, especially those who might think, feel, or be different than you. Do they show you know the Truth?
Examine your heart. Does it show you know the Truth?
Friends, if we know the Truth, the Truth will set us free! { John 8:32 } We will recognize we have much to praise God for! We will be overwhelmed with gratitude for the grace and mercy He has so generously poured out on us, and we will pour it out on others… all others! We will be focused on the birth of our Savior, not the inauguration of a president. We will know Him and make Him known!
I love you all!
