Neon

Below is a picture of our dog Neon.  Neon is a Yorkshire Terrier.  Neon was born on October 31, 2009.  He is our Halloween dog.  Neon is a very special dog to us.  Here is his story.

I (Joyell) have always had pets.  My family has owned various dogs, cats, fishes and even a guinea pig.  I love having a pet.  I even owned a cat before I met my husband.  While dating my husband I learned he had allergies.  If we were to get married the cat had to go.  Bummer.  My parents were able to find a home for my pet cat.  He is now living on a farm and is happily chasing all kinds of critters. 

After Mark and I got married I still wanted a pet.  I missed having one.

 The last dog my parents owned was a poodle/terrier mix.  My mother named her Nikki.  She was one of the best dogs we ever owned.  Even though my mom says Nikki was her dog I really believe that Nikki was my dog.  She always played with me and slept on my bed.  I loved that dog.  Nikkie lived to be about 15 (human) years then passed on. 

So after quite a few years of missing Nikki I knew I wanted another dog.  But, this dog had to be allergen free so Mark could enjoy the dog's company as well.  So I went into research mode. 

Through my research I learned that most humans are allergic to pet dander because of the type of fur they grow.  There are other dogs that have actual hair like you and I do.  Poodles and terriers are breeds that those type of dogs.  Their dander is different and most people who suffer from allergies don't suffer so bad around these breeds.  I remembered that Nikki was a terrier so I wanted to stay with that breed of dog.  I started looking at different type of terriers.  I found a website advertising Yorkshire terriers or Yorkies for sale. 

I found a Yorkie that I was interested in and did a lot of background research on the place that was selling the dog.  I was able to find a govertment report that gave a lot of good marks for the place. 

I really had to do my research because I would not have been able to afford a dog from a breeder.  Through my research I learned that there are some pretty bad puppy farms located in Southern Pennsylvania.  From that information I tried to make sure I kept away from those locations. 

The farm I found the dog at was a very clean place.  Mark and I took a drive down to look at the dog.  When we got to the farm there was another family looking at other puppies.  I went with a sceptical mind trying to remember all the questions that we wrote down to ask the breeder.  The breeder brought out the dog we wanted to see.  The dog must have just woke up when he brought him to us because he was not acting as most puppies do.  All exicted. 

Mark and I started asking questions and the breeder answered them.  I asked the breeder to see another Yorkie.  I wanted to make sure they were all on the grounds and he justed didn't have the one we wanted to see.  He put the original dog in a box and then brought out another Yorkie.  He held him and then put him in the box with the other Yorkie.  He wanted to see how both of them acted. 

The first Yorkie must have finally woke up because then he was barking and jumping and doing what all puppies do.  The second Yorkie was quiet and shy and kept trying to stay out of the way of the first Yorkie.  I liked the personality of the second Yorkie.  Mark and I asked a couple of more questions and then decided on buying the second Yorkie.  That Yorkie was Neon.  We drove home with Neon and played with him when we got home.  We both had an adjustment period to go through.

We are still working on our communication problems with each other but Neon has the patience of a saint.  He is a very loving dog.  No matter how mad I get at him sometimes he still comes over to me and gives me a kiss.  He loves playing fetch and getting treats.  Neon is like a child to us.  I don't mind spoiling him since Mark and I don't have any children yet.  Neon is a great dog to own, even though I think he thinks that he owns us.  We have had little trouble with Neon's chewing.  As long as he has a rawhide bone he is happy and nothing else in the house getts chewed.  Neon loves everybody and everybody loves him.  On October 31st Neon will be turning two.  I want to get a costume for him but we will have to see what the budget says about that. 

Mark would like to write a story about Neon as the main character.  Neon does not like things that are bigger then him, i.e. the oscillating fan, the vacuum cleaner, the swifter, the mop, and items like those.  We  call them Neon's monsters.  Mark would like to write a story and title it Neon's Monster.  So If you read this and meet up with my husband encourage him to write that story.  I think it would be a great idea.  Mark may even us that as an idea for posting on this blog.  Both Mark and I are very thankful that we could add Neon to our little family. 

Thanks for reading this post and if you have any comments or questions about Neon or Yorkies in general please comment below.

Joyell







Yes! God Uses Dating Services

Hello, everyone.  I wanted to speak today about my experience using a dating service and how God used it in my life. 

A couple of months before I used the dating service I was really depressed.  I felt all alone, even though I had a cat to keep me company.  I really didn't have any human companionship.  Every night after work I would come home and curl up on my bed and cry.  That's how bad it was. 

After a couple of weeks of crying to myself I decided to do something about it.  So, I started praying.  I prayed that God would send me the person he had set aside for me. 

After praying that prayer for a week I started receiving mail from All About Singles, a dating service.  I just ignored it and put the fliers in the trash.  But, that didn't stop God.  He made sure to keep All About Singles in my view.  Every where I went I would see signs of the dating service.  It would be on TV, the radio, I would see billboard signs as I went to work, and it was always showing up in the mail. 

So, I answered one of the fliers and then decided that since their office was located in Wilkes-Barre, I would go there after work.  Just to check prices.  I ended up there and started asking questions about pricing, but was told I had to sign up to be a member before pricing was talked about.  So I signed up.  We worked out a pricing plan that would work for me and I was given a questionnaire to fill out.  After that I was given some guys' phone number to call and I had to arrange the dates with them. 

I dated a couple of guys and tried my hardest to keep the dates out of Tunkhannock.  I was really scared about doing this, since I was doing this on my own.  I didn't want my family to find out.  But of course, when I was on one of these dates, which did take place in Tunkhannock, I ran into the Youth Pastor of my church. Wow, was I really nervous.  I kept praying that the Youth Pastor would not tell my father.  Of course, nothing was ever said so I kept going on the dates.

Some of the guys I dated I really did not feel attracted to, so I went back to the dating service and tried to narrow down the choices.  I was given Mark's name from the dating service.  I called Mark and we arranged to meet at Pickett's Charge in Dallas.

On August 14, 2004 I drove to Pickett's Charge and saw Mark standing outside holding flowers.  My first impression was OH! No! Not another loser.  But, I gave the date a chance.  I said Hello and we went inside the restaurant.  As soon as we sat down and started talking, I felt as if a gulf of distance had just been covered and I had met an old friend.  We talked and talked all through dinner and then Mark asked if I wanted to see a movie.  I said yes and we got a paper to see what movies were playing.  Mark chose I, Robot starring Will Smith.  He asked if I would like to see that one.  I said yes and we both drove to the movie theater.  It was a good movie.  We both said our goodbyes and then went our own directions to go back home.

I did have one other date after that, but I just kept thinking about Mark. Later, I called him up and we kept on seeing each other.  I invited him to be my date to my sister's wedding.  Then of course came the day that Mark proposed to me.  It was a great day.  We went to Pickett's Charge for dinner then drove back to Tunkhannock and went for a walk down by Riverside Park.  We sat down at a gazebo and Mark handed me a present.  I opened it and it was a small glass jewelry box.  Then he asked me to open the jewelry box.  There was another little box inside.  I opened that box, which held my engagement ring.

Mark got down on one knee and proposed.  I of course said yes.  Then we went over to my parent's house and made the announcement.  It was a very exciting time.  God answered my prayer by using a dating service to send me the man of my dreams.  Mark is a great guy.  He is my opposite and therefore challenges me every day to live a better life.  I will always be thankful to God for sending Mark to me.

So yes, God can use dating services to send that person he has planned for you.  I encourage people to use dating services, but only make sure to do your research first.  All About Singles was very expensive, but it was worth it.  Also, make sure to pray to God and allow him to lead you to the one he has planned for you.  You can't go wrong with God's leading.  God has been in the matchmaking business for quite a long time.  He knows what he is doing.

God Bless and good luck for your future,

Joyell

When I Grow Up

Hi everybody,

This is Mark blogging. I just have a few thoughts that I would like to share today.

It may sound funny, but I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up. In one way or another, we're all still learning until the day we die, that is, if we choose to learn and not live in ignorance.

I don't plan on being too ignorant and hopefully will learn something new just about every day, but I haven't found God's plan for me yet. I believe we all have free will to do the things that we choose. My life, like so many others, hasn't gone according to plan. In so many ways, that might not be a bad thing either.

Now, who's plan is it you might ask? It's probably mine, or the one I thought I might have had after college. Life has taught me so much since then. There is a lot more life lessons you can learn than from sitting in a classroom.

The first thing you can learn is that life may be like a classroom, but the lessons are sometimes much more grueling. Sometimes you have to learn for yourself. This is especially true since you aren't just in a sheltered room from the rest of the world and usually most of the rest of your classmates are just as unprepared as you are. I know for instance now that what I learned in college wasn't nearly enough to prepare for that real world.

I believe that survival is one key to living life fully, but faith is the key to my survival and my life as well. Without faith we might as well be on a turbulent ocean in a canoe without a paddle trying to find out what direction to go.  With faith is how I will eventually find out what I want to be when I grow up or more importantly, what God wants me to be for him and his plan for me.

The Lord has something special planned for each one of us in this life. Whether or not you believe, that's your call. But, it is sometimes the one thing that keeps me going other than the love a good woman, my wife, and a supportive family.

While I'm still growing in the Word, which I need to start looking at more often, I know the Lord has great things planned for me as he does for everyone that will listen to Him. It's not important that I haven't lived according to my plan, but to find out what His is and live according to that or at least the best I can. None of us are perfect, but we will find the right way if we stay in prayer.

INTRODUCTION

Hello and Welcome to our blog!

I would first like to introduction ourselves.  My husband, Mark and I (Joyell) will be making posts to this blog.  We will at times be making our own posts and at times may even make posts together.

Mark graduated from Bloomsburg college with a degree in Journalism. He loves to write and I thought this blog would be a good outlet for him.  I have already told him about this blog and he is already getting ideas of what he would like to post.  So be on the lookout for some great posts from him.

I graduated from Baptist Bible college with a degree from their Secretarial Ministries program.  I don't write as much as my husband, but do dabble in it here and there.  My posts will be more along the lines of just random thoughts. 

I was the one who came up with the name of our blog.    I have a tendency to overthink things and it sometimes get me into trouble, but there are times that I have good thoughts.  Those are the times I take joy in my thoughts.  This blog is not meant to focus on just one topic, but many.  So I hope you enjoy the future posts and keep reading.