Peace of Mind

Since this is the first time I have ever been away for such an extended period of time, I decided to take Jax, my German Shepherd, along with me, just because I could, and for an added measure of security. He has been a stellar traveler thus far, and although he is unsure of being in random hotels along the way, he is handling it very well. Chelle sent me this sweet photo after we left for Colorado. She took it the day we got him from a family with a litter of eight in Stevensville, Montana. He was chosen because he crawled onto my lap and stayed there, and I decided HE claimed ME. The photo was on our way home, after a quick stop for pizza at Kodiak Jax, which is where his name came from!

He still has that sweet face, and an equally sweet temperament as well. Someone asked me once, ‘have you ever had somebody pretend they were going to harm you to see what he’d do?’ I answered no, because I didn’t want to see what he was capable of. I just trust that he IS capable.

As is customary, our hotel is in a more rural area, and we have a lovely walking path, which is actually just a road bordering a semi-dry-now-frozen canal behind us. It was a beautiful sunny morning as we set out for a long walk. After a time, I noticed this…

It is a tent, but I honestly don’t know who could be sleeping in it with the temperatures as cold as they are just now. Still, I am aware of it, and I will walk the other direction next time.

One of the key lessons we had drilled into us with the disaster relief training was to always remain in the ‘yellow zone’… aware and alert. I am exercising that as a solo-traveler-plus- dog. Because while I know Jax is capable of fending off a potential threat, I would never knowingly put myself into an unsafe situation. I’ve unintentionally done that in the past, and have been protected only by divine intervention, but I have learned to follow divine direction more and more with each incident. I love the verse ‘He shall give His angels charge over you.’ But I also try to abide by the verse ‘be wise’ 😂🙏!

Now it’s off to Starbucks for a coffee and an egg, and then to a neat church near us. I think after church I will take Jax up to Ourey… 20 minutes from here, but a lovely, recommended hiking spot. I will be sure to take more pictures.💕🤗!