A Man, His Dog, and God

By Keith Anderson

God, who protects and guides us all, has created in the animal kingdom something that amazes us all. In A Man, His Dog, and God, author Keith Anderson uses short stories and vignettes focusing on his dog, Bear, and their time together. He recalls how his close relationships with Bear; with his wife, Betty; and with God have sustained him during a most difficult time in his life.

Along with stories of Bear and of other animals, Anderson shares his love of the Suwanee River, and how watching the cool waters gentle flow can help ease obligations. He also tells the story of his wifes battle with cancer. His recollections range from funny and joyful to poignant, touching so many aspects of Gods creation.

The stories in this collection make connections between Bear and his position with God to encourage you in your faith. God has an eternal love for His people, and He uses all His creatures and creation to convey that love to us. In a Man, His Dog, and God, Anderson felt the Lords call saying: I want you to tell a story using Bear and his experiences to tell my children how much I love them.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Apr 12, 2016
• ISBN: 9781490890890

Book preview

Copyright © 2016 Keith Anderson.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Scripture quotations marked HCSB are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Holman CSB®, and HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

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Bloomington, IN 47403

www.westbowpress.com

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-4908-9088-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-9087-6 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-9089-0 (e)

WestBow Press rev. date: 04/11/2016

CONTENTS

0-2    Introduction

0-3    Preface

Part 1

1-02    Bear, the Survivor

1-03    Bear and the Doe

1-03b    The Lioness and the Baby Gazelle

1-04    Getting to Know More about Bear

1-05    Retreat to the River

1-06    Lessons Learned

1-07    Bear, the Attention Getter

1-08    Bear, My Protector

1-09    The Stress Test

1-10    Mr. Peacock, Our Friend

1-11    Bear, the Perceptive

1-12    Bear, the Athlete

1-13    Eyes Can Do the Talking

1-14     Fish Stories

1-15    God’s Extended Love

1-16     God’s Precious Animals

1-17    Bear’s Big Mistake

1-18    The Need for Love

1-19    Running the Course

1-20    Bear to the Rescue

1-21    A Close Call

1-22    Luwee, the Rat

1-23    Bear and the Truck

1-24    Bear the Swamp Fox

1-25     Bear Senses Trouble

1-26    Time Out for Buster

1-27    The Snake

1-28    Way Down Upon the Suwannee River

1-29    Turkey Time at the River

1-30    God’s Blessings

1-31    Time to Ponder

1-32    Getting His Way

1-33   Writing Time

Part 2

2-A    Betty Ann’s Faith

2-B    God’s Statement

Part 3

3-A    Betty and Bear’s Bonding

3-B    The Thunderstorm

3-C    Bear Prays with the Saints in Heaven

3-D    Vicious Dogs Try to Kill Bear

3-E    Freedom

3-F    Fall Arrives

3-G    Animals in Our Lives

3-H    God’s in It

3-I    Effects of Betty’s Passing

3-J    Hopeful Bear

3-K    On the Road Again

3-L     Bear and His Near-Death Experience

3-M    To the River…

3-N     Story of a Master’s Love

3-O    . . . and Back Again

3-P    Wonders of the Night

3-Q    Traveling On

3-R    Bear and Tweety Bird

Part 4

4    Epilogue

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

It is with gratitude that I acknowledge Joy and Jim Sutton for their efforts in putting these stories together for your reading enjoyment. God’s hand has been in this story from the start! God also lead me to Crossbooks Publishing. I have no doubt that God was directing me to their professionals who were there to lead me in each step of my journey. God put Crossbooks in my life just as he put Bear in my life. In the beginning, I had no idea how I was going to get this story to readers but as always, God had the answers – Joy Sutton and Crossbooks. Thank you all!

INTRODUCTION

T his book consists of short stories, or vignettes,

that reveal how this author’s close relationships with his dog Bear; his wife, Betty; and with God have sustained him during a most difficult time in his life. Readers of all ages will enjoy journeying along with the author as he tells about these bonds. The author reaches out from the pages to draw the reader into knowing just how the living God plays a major part in our lives. His detailed descriptions paint vivid pictures. His tongue-in-cheek humor and Bear’s real-life antics will bring smiles.

As you go on this journey with Keith and Bear, you will travel back and forth between the author’s two homes: one in Longwood, Florida, and the other near the mouth of the Suwannee River in Florida.

Image1LongwoodHome.jpgImage2RiverHouse.jpg

As in life, there will be happy times and sad ones. Interspersed with his and Bear’s adventures, the author will describe his love for the Lord and God’s love for His creation.

PREFACE

E arly one morning while I was at my river house, I awoke suddenly at two fifteen, and within me the Lord said, I want you to tell this story about Bear. He is a very special animal. I asked God why, and He said, It is because it relates to My people. I have a message for them through Bear.

Now let’s stop right here. I want you to know that I didn’t hear God’s voice as if it were over a loudspeaker. He spoke through the Holy Spirit. It simply was a voice within me.

We can all hear God’s voice if we learn to slow down long enough to listen for it. I was into my later years before I learned how to slow down, stop doing two hundred miles an hour, and get off that runway of life.

Is God trying to tell you to do something as He did to me?

What I have been told to do needs to be done without delay since I’m running out of time.

Having thus far completed seventy-eight years of my journey on earth, I have learned many things about the grace of God. I know He watches over me—protects and guides me. I have always believed in and been amazed by God’s work! His making of the animal kingdom is phenomenal! For the younger generation reading this book, all I can say to you is, please, have a special place in your hearts for God’s magnificent creatures. He has also made Himself known to me through His creations. It is about some of these revelations that you will be reading.

BEAR, THE SURVIVOR

M y dog Bear surely lives under God’s miraculous hand and is without a doubt one of His gifts to me. Thirty-five years ago, I built a three-story getaway house on a remote bank at the mouth of the Suwannee River. It was near there that I first became acquainted with Bear. In order to get to my secluded place, I constructed a one-lane road that goes through swamps and winds around stately cypress trees. When passing by the many trees, one can see openings to the high bank of the Suwannee River.

Image3RiverHouse.jpg

One Friday in 2006, on a visit to my getaway house, my brother-in-law, Sam, and I stopped on the road leading to my house to say hello to Joan, one of my cousins who lives along the way. As I got out of the truck, I noticed a dog standing on one of the high riverbanks, looking at me. I asked Joan where the red-and-gold dog had come from. She said, He came in three days ago, limping. You can’t get near him. That was really unusual for her to say, because she is a great dog handler.

Image4BearFace.jpg

As I stood there looking at the dog, an inner voice spoke to me, saying, God has brought this dog to you.

I then spoke to the dog in a low voice: "Hey, fellow, I know you have had a hard time. But if you will follow me, I will show you a life