pets

Praying to a God Who Cares About Suffering Nations, and Also My Dog

March 6, 2012 By Ellen Painter Dollar 7 Comments

Although I’ve struggled with prayer for my entire adult life, I think I’ve finally found a prayer practice that I can stick with. As I have mentioned before, I’m using Phyllis Tickle’s book series The Divine Hours to “pray the hours.” Praying the hours is an ancient practice, used in many monastic communities, in which [...]

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: God, pets, prayer, war 7 Comments

When Unconditional Love Isn’t Enough

February 9, 2012 By Ellen Painter Dollar 8 Comments

There’s a hazard to “living out loud,” to writing as a memoirist who pens intimate posts in which I try to be honest about my inner life while painting word portraits of my outer life. The hazard is that, when I realize that something I wrote is no longer true, I have to come clean. [...]

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: family, pets, writing 8 Comments

What My Dog is Teaching Me About Grace

January 11, 2012 By Ellen Painter Dollar 8 Comments

Eddie's many fears include all beeping mechanical things, including cameras. This photo, taken by his foster mom before he was ours, is the best photo I have of him.

These first two months with our rescue dog, Eddie, have taught me more about grace, about unconditional love and acceptance of others as they are, than even twelve years of being a mother to three children. I’m a little embarrassed to write that, and surprised that it is true. I’ve always struggled a bit with [...]