celebrating the resurrection of Christ with a season of suffering

Many thanks to Lauren Merritt of The Christian and Creation ~ Glorifying the Creator for shining a light on the unintended consequences many of our common Easter pets experience:

The LORD is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made. (Psalm 145:9, NIV, emphasis added)

The meaning of Easter has been mostly lost in our culture, dissolved into a flurry of fluffy yellow candy, hunts for plastic eggs and the ever famous four-legged, long-eared emblem of the season.

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animals in the eyes of children

Following on Liz Jakimow's post "Special Attachments," Lauren Merritt of The Christian and Creation offers another valuable perspective on our tendency to value animals differently, and looks to the example of her toddler son in countering it ...

My son Daniel fell and fractured his femur several weeks ago, right before his second birthday.  For almost two weeks we were stuck inside on the sofa, waiting for the pain and swelling to go down, reading books and watching movies and coloring over and over and over … and over.  Finally, he was comfortable enough to move around a little bit and was able to take rides in a wagon which accommodated his large spica cast.

Our first trip out of the house in two weeks was to the Louisville Zoo.  I was so excited to get out of the house and I knew Daniel would love seeing all the animals (and of course, so would I).  So off we went, fifteen minutes down the highway with our new zoo pass, to see all of God’s wonderful creatures.

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War Horse

Updated on February 9, 2012 by Ben DeVries

Many thanks to Lauren Merritt of The Christian and Creation, and a horse trainer and riding consultant, for this very insightful review of the recent blockbuster film War Horse (Touchstone '11) ...

As a horse trainer, I have always gone into horse movies with a heavy dose of skepticism.  Even some of the most beautiful movies ever directed can fall apart for me when the references to riding, training, or care of horses are incorrect.  I imagine doctors or nurses have a similar experience when they watch medical dramas on television.  The movie magic shatters for a moment when a soldier mounts his horse from the wrong side, or a doctor is shown galloping a horse over rocky roads for miles only to arrive at his destination with a sound, unlathered horse.

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of mice and men (and mercy)

Following up on Robert Burns' empathetic poem addressed to a field mouse, Lauren Merritt of The Christian and Creation writes movingly of an opportunity she had to show compassion to a drowning barn mouse earlier this Fall ...

There were three of us, early that humid September morning, sharing in the spectacle of life and death, animal survival and human dominion.  A chestnut Thoroughbred mare, a tiny, drowning gray mouse, and me.

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creation care, chronic pain and a plants-based diet

Here is one last personal reflection, and a thoughtful and nuanced one at that, in our series on veganism (see the introduction and motivation) from a regular contributor to not one sparrow, Lauren Merritt of The Christian and Creation: Glorifying the Creator ...

Six years ago, concern about eating animal products was not on my radar.

I was a division-one college swimmer, busy burning thousands of calories every day and scarfing them all back down in the form of dining hall hamburgers, pizza, and ice cream.  My body paid my way through the first two years of college, doing its time in the pool and weight room.  But it didn’t hold up under the strain of training and began to break down. 

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the good shepherds

Many thanks to Lauren Merritt of The Christian and Creation for sharing this poignant and challenging post contrasting the good shepherd model of animal husbandry with today's callous industrial farming.  Lauren also shares some excellent encouragement and resources toward eating more humanely ...

Good shepherds lead their flocks kindly, provide them rest and shelter, are tender with the mothers and young, and protect the flock from harm.  The flock, in turn, is comforted, rather than fearful of the shepherd’s staff and turn to him for guidance and care.

It’s the pastoral ideal.  It’s the scene portrayed in children’s books and famous paintings, seen in movies, and commercials about happy cows.  But today, it’s a sadly misleading version of an American farm. 

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meat-eating and money matters

Lauren Merritt of The Christian and Creation continues our series on compassionate eating with a needed look at one factor which often influences our decision making at the grocery store, especially when it comes to the additional expense of more humanely raised meats.  Here is "Meat-Eating, Money Matters, and Some Hard Questions," which will be followed in the next few posts by some additional perspectives on reducing the amount of meat we eat ...

God created Eden as a vegetarian paradise (yes, I said it – vegetarian, if not vegan) where animals had no fear of man and were Adam and Eve’s companions.  There was no death, therefore it should be obvious no killing, not even of animals for food.   The dominion God gave Adam and Eve over the creatures of the earth and sea did not, in his original plan, include using them for food (or even labor, as the land, unstained by sin, easily gave forth its fruit).  The command to have dominion over the animals was given before the fall, when man and creatures were peaceful, gentle, and basking in the presence of God.

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a neglected horse and a study in value

The last post in our companion animal series is about Max, a former racehorse who lost his value to his owners and the industry he served, but not to his rescuers or to Lauren Merritt who reflects on Max's treatment.  But she also acutely points the way to our next series, when we'll be asking whether even the countless and often faceless farm animals we raise and consume for food have value before God?  Here's "Max: A Study of Extrinsic Value," from The Christian and Creation's series Addressing Animal Welfare and Suffering ...

The last post in this series defined “sentience” for the purpose of discussing animal welfare.  A sentient animal is “an animal for whom feelings matter.”  Feelings of pain, suffering, anxiety, pleasure, contentment and more.  This post about sentience was necessary to now talk about how we think about – and treat – sentient animals.

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childhood pets

Lee Erickson, a good friend to not one sparrow, left the following very candid and admirable comment about children and pets on Lauren Merritt's post last April on the disposable treatment of Easter pets.  I asked if we could share it as part of our current series on companion animals ...

Memories come flooding back about my own childhood pet experiences, and my husband's pet duck Peepers.  Back in the '50's, our parents brought us home baby ducklings at Easter, and turtles and goldfish for birthdays to make us squeal with delight.  But alas, neither of our parents taught us a thing about properly caring for them.  And every one of them died an untimely death for all the reasons Lauren mentioned.

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hope deferred

Lauren Merritt follows up her insightful post on animal sentience and suffering, and our relationship to both, with an even more personal and devotional reflection on the same, "Hope Deferred" ...

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life. (Proverbs 13:12, NIV)

When I read that verse recently I realized why stories about neglected or abused animals make me so upset.  Upset almost to the point of complete distraction.  I have this great hope somewhere deep in my heart, planted there by God, that all the creatures He spoke into being on this earth would be met and treated with the compassion He has mercifully shown us.  That hope deferred makes my heart sick daily as, instead of seeing a tree of life sheltering creatures under its gracious boughs, I see a mess of rotten thorns impaling creation left and right.

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