I’m home after 8 days of house- and dog-sitting. My cat Lucy sure was glad to see me.

I have a few lessons I learned from that experience, as well as a few I picked up over the weekend:

1) The first time I took care of these dogs, one dog wouldn’t come near me and barked at me nearly the whole time I was there. This time, she didn’t bark and even put her little doggie head on my chest while I was watching TV.

It would have been so very easy the first time to label her as an unfriendly dog and write off my losses. But something inside me told me she just needed some love and understanding.

It’s just as easy to write people off. Especially after a bad experience or two. But experience has taught me to give these people a chance. Some of them have turned out to be some of the best people I know.

2) Sometimes the best thing for a headache is a nap. Even if that nap leaves you disoriented for a bit. Still, that’s better than the headache.

3) Home is good. After being away for 8 days, it feels good to be in my own bed with my own cat sleeping on the pillow next to me. Nothing beats that.

That’s all I have for now. Maybe I’ll think of others later and share them at some point.

I’ve discovered the joys of Pandora radio at work. It makes the day so much better.

I love the part where you can pick an artists and the website will play music by similar artists in that same genre.

I picked Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra, and Nat King Cole. As expected, I got a seriously old-school playlist. My grandmother would definitely have approved.

It was a nice change of pace, hearing classic artists singing those classic songs that never go out of style. I almost felt like I needed to be wearing a fedora.

I’ve may have mentioned it before, but music is my love language. I have songs or snippets of songs running through my head all of the time. Literally. And by literally, I mean it as in the literal sense of literal.

I heard Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughn, Michael Buble, Louis Armstrong, and many many others. Now I sound like one of those Time-Life infomercial.

I’m not saying all the new music is crap, but I personally like to go old-school from time to time. Sometimes even country. 😳

I’m writing this on my iPad sitting in a Starbucks. I have my pumpkin spice latte, tall, and I’ve been watching Barefoot in the Park, based on a Neil Simon play.

By my count, that makes me at least 15% hipster. Maybe 20%.

I was thinking today on why autumn is my favorite season. Of course, there are the usual suspects: leaves ablaze in color, crisp breezes and chilly weather, hayrides, bonfires and — of course– pumpkin spice everything.

But for me there’s one more. Fall means that three good holidays are coming. Those are Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. When that first autumn breeze hits my face, I know those three are within reach.

I also have lots of happy childhood memories tied up with fall. Except for raking leaves. That’s not one of them. I don’t know why, but autumn always seems to trigger memories of people and places long gone. Not sad memories, but happy ones.

Plus, there’s no humidity in fall, which after this summer is a very good thing.

I suppose most of all autumn is a reminder that one season inevitably follows another. First autumn, then winter will come. Then spring.

Just like I can be sure that while this creation groans and yearns for deliverance, Eternal Spring is coming where Hope becomes Reality and Joy truly springs eternal.

There’s also hot chocolate.

“Do you believe that the God of Jesus loves you beyond worthiness and unworthiness, beyond fidelity and infidelity—that he loves you in the morning sun and in the evening rain—that he loves you when your intellect denies it, your emotions refuse it, your whole being rejects it. Do you believe that God loves without condition or reservation and loves you this moment as you are and not as you should be” (Brennan Manning).

I miss this guy. How can I miss someone I never met? Easy. I miss the fact that there will be no new Brennan Manning books, no chances for me to meet him in person or to hear him speak.

But I still have his written legacy. All those books he wrote are still out there, resting on bookstore shelves, waiting for me to buy them. At least the ones I don’t already own.

But the reason I love this guy’s writing so much is that he reminded me of why I love grace so much. He better than just about anyone writes about how good the grace of God is. How much all of us are indebted to that grace. How much we still need it.

I love what I heard someone say about grace. You never graduate from grace. You never outgrow your need of it. You will always need it, in your worst moments and even in those moments when you are your best possible self.

And yeah, there is the name of my blogsite, which so happens to be named after this guy’s most famous book, The Ragamuffin Gospel. In case you’ve been living under a rock for the last 20 or so years and haven’t read it, I highly recommend that you do so. Soon.

That is all. Carry about your business.

Here I am, still house-sitting and dog-sitting. Those dogs are with me on this very comfy couch, either asleep or very sleepy. I can’t really tell.

I’ve also been racking my brains for something to write about, but so far I got nothing. That happens from time to time.

I witnessed a humorous moment. TCM was showing a short film where dogs were chasing a mountain lion and one of the dogs woke up and started barking at the screen. I’m not sure why. Maybe he was rooting for those doggies to win.

Anyway, that was the highlight of my night so far. That should tell you something about my night. Just me, three dogs, and TCM equals a not so exciting night, but I’ll take it.

I’m dog sitting for three very lovable beagle mixes.

One is a very normal, hyperactive, well-adjusted dog who likes who chew on sticks and bones and toys and whatever else he can get his little paws on. The other two came from abusive situations and were quite skittish around me. At first, one barked incessantly at me.

But over time, they’ve come to trust me more and not be afraid of me.

That’s the way human relationships work. You meet some people and instantly bond and there’s no awkwardness at all. Others are harder to get to know and don’t warm up as easily to you.

When you seek to love people and to reach people for Jesus, He sends people into your life who can’t believe God loves them until they see that love coming from you.

Those are the ones you’ll want to instantly label as jerks or arrogant or mean or stuck-up or just not friendly. Those are the ones who are hardest to love yet the ones who need God’s love the most. They need to see God’s love THROUGH YOU the most.

As usual, I’m preaching to myself. I need to be better at giving others the grace that I love so much and so often expect from others.

I’m not there yet, but God is working on me.

Sometimes late at night when I can’t sleep, I like to get out my portable CD player and listen to music. Yes, I am aware of that newfangled discovery called digital streaming and MP3s and iPods. I just like to go really old school every now and then.

Right now, I have some Ella Fitagerald, Emmylou Harris, Barenaked Ladies, Linda Ronstadt, and Air Supply nearby. Yes, the Air Supply from the 80’s with all their syrupy love songs. It’s 80’s cheese at its finest.

It doesn’t necessarily have to be quiet, soothing music. Sometimes, I like my late night rock. But tonight, I’m feeling the need for mellow.

I may end up listening to bits of songs or I may just let a CD play through. You never know. I never know.

I still think that certain types of music fit well at night versus daytime music. There’s also music for summer and for fall. At least in my mind.

When I was in high school, I went through a period where I fell asleep to Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon every night. It’s not your typical calm-me-down-fall-asleep music, but it worked for me.

And that’s all that matters.