4 -- The number of prosthetic legs worn by wonder dog Naki'o. His original owners abandoned this poor pup after their house got foreclosed on. He wandered the streets of Nebraska and eventually became the victim of frostbite, which led to the amputation of all four legs. Naki'o's new owner successfully secured the four bionic limbs and this lucky dog appears to be adapting wonderfully to his new feet. Check this out:
10 -- Number of insights shared by gay dads Mark Bromley and David Salie this past Father's Day on the CBS website. Their Top Ten list is humorous and yet very much spot on. My favorite piece of insight is Number 1 on their list: "No matter what people say, there are in fact some skills you learn as dog owners that transfer to parenthood. For example, even if they can't talk, they understand a lot more than you think." Truer words were never spoken.
25 -- The Number of book sculptures scattered around Iowa City this summer. You can vote for your favorite book sculpture every day at this link. I strongly encourage everyone to vote for my favorite book sculpture, Clifford Goes to Dog Daycare, which is located outside Lucky Pawz. I remember when I first saw that particular book sculpture. It is posted right outside the front door. I asked the receptionist if they were gently preparing their customers for a new -- and extremely large -- dog at the daycare program. Fortunately, there are no plans for any big red dogs to romp around the facility, but the sculpture is still pretty cool.
32 -- Number of votes needed in the New York State Senate to move along legislation legalizing marriage rights and responsibilities for gay and lesbian couples. As of this morning, they had 31 secured votes. One of the things holding this up is negotiations regarding religious exemptions for pastors and churches so that they don't get in trouble for not recognizing the marriages of gay couples or for refusing to officiate at our weddings. They already have the right to refuse, but that's beside the point, I guess. There have been rumors circulating that the 32nd vote has been secured, but nothing's been confirmed as of this writing.
Lastly, I want to thank Kittredge Cherry for including an image of my family and links to a couple of my blog articles on the Father's Day edition of her Jesus in Love Blog. Outside of having our story shared as part of her Reimagining of God the Father, it was good to read about another set of gay dads -- this one from South Africa. I was also particularly glad to see her inclusion of the hymn "Bring Many Names". We sing this hymn periodically at my church. We're all made in God's image and this song does a great job of highlighting different examples of God's images among us:
Bring many names, beautiful and good,
Celebrate, in parable and story,
Holiness in glory, living, loving God.
Hail and Hosanna! Bring many names!
Strong mother God, working night and day,
Planning all the wonders of creation,
Setting each equation, genius at play:
Hail and Hosanna, strong mother God!
Warm father God, hugging every child,
Feeling all the strains of human living,
Caring and forgiving, till we’re reconciled:
Hail and Hosanna, warm father God!
Old, aching God, grey with endless care,
Calmly piercing evil’s new disguises,
Glad of good surprises, wiser than despair:
Hail and Hosanna, old, aching God!
Young, growing God, eager, on the move,
Saying no to falsehood and unkindness,
Crying out for justice, giving all you have:
Hail and Hosanna, young, growing God!
Great, living God, never fully known,
Joyful darkness far beyond our seeing,
Closer yet than breathing, everlasting home:
Hail and Hosanna, great, living God!
Thanks again, Kitt, for including us in your blog article!
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