We have scuppernong vines on our property — the bronze ones. This year’s crop has not been that great but we have had enough to enjoy a handful or two. Our furbaby, Roxie, has witnessed us taking grapes off the vines and on a recent walk I witnessed her trying to get some of the grapes. It was quite a hilarious sight.
She didn’t particularly like them, because I think the ones she got that day were not ripe enough. A few days later I picked a few and she came up wanting some so I squirted one into her mouth which she seemed to enjoy but she would not eat the hull.
Sometimes it would be nice to live the life of a dog, at least as one of our dogs because they are pampered and spoiled. They first steal your heart and before you know it they have taken over your bed.
They bring so much joy and we do love our animals and we try to take care of them as we should. That includes pampering and spoiling them just as we do our grandchildren! They get to lounge around all day and are so glad to see us when we come home. They don’t complain but they do have personalities.
If they happen not to like something they can pitch a fit, like whining or just refusing to eat a particular food they don’t like. Roxie whines when she wants attention.
Our daughter’s dog, Lady, will just turn her nose up at some things. Until Roxie came to the family, Lady actually spent so much time with the cat, Dallas, that she thought she was a cat. Now that she has realized she is a dog, she doesn’t like the cat as much and will actually growl at her if the cat tries to groom her like she has in the past!
We do love our furbabies and if they happen to get out and get in someone else’s yard, do any damage or should they bite someone, we would take full responsibility for it and offer to pay any damage, etc. And we certainly would be concerned if someone was bitten. We try to be responsible pet owners. But that is not the case with everyone and not everyone uses common sense when dealing with animals.
Husband, David, was bitten by a neighbor’s dog last week. There were three of them in the backyard when he went outside to do some mowing. They quickly circled him as he tried to get them to leave the yard. One of them bit him and because shot records could not be produced, he is having to undergo the rabies shots. Things certainly have changed as it used to be the dog would have been quarantined right away. That is not the case these days as the owner just has to keep them locked up for 15 days while they appeal a dangerous dog complaint. I won’t go into everything but if people used common sense, things like this wouldn’t have to be such an ordeal.
Seems these days common sense eludes most everyone and crosses all boundaries. There is some nonsensical thing going on almost every day which makes you shake your head. Just once I would like to read about something that happened and common sense prevailed. I don’t think that will ever happen.
Christians are being tormented on many avenues and some of it, I have to say, we brought on ourselves. But that is not the point I want to discuss. With the recent incarceration of the Kentucky clerk for not wanting to issue a marriage license to a gay couple, people are hollering about separation of church and state.
Let’s be clear that the phrase “separation of church and state” is not in the Constitution — anywhere. Nowhere does it prohibit anyone from mixing faith and politics or from sharing their faith in a state-related function or location. When first implemented it was only meant to limit the federal government not the state.
Our founding fathers did not want to support the Church of England which received tax money from England. This was taxation without representation. And until a few years ago no one really interpreted the First Amendment as excluding religion from the political realm. Now everyone jumps on that bandwagon.
In fact Congress used to hold Christian worship services at the capitol on Sundays and the Supreme Court building was used to house church services on Sundays. We have seriously misunderstood what “separation of church and state” means. To the founding fathers, the First Amendment existed to keep the state out of the church, not the church out of the state. How far off base have we gone with that one?
As believers we should use our rights and our freedom of religion to promote what is righteous. And we are not to be silenced in the public sphere by the government. We have the right to stand up, not only for our faith but also against other issues such as restriction of religious liberty and we should be exercising those rights. It’s time Christians answered the call and took a stand before it’s too late.

VICTORIA SIMMONS is an author, columnist, motivational speaker, minister and publisher of The Georgia Post/Byron Buzz. Contact her at: vsimmons54@gmail.com