Books by Gayle M Irwin

Spending time in this book with Gayle and Sage will help you listen more closely to what Creator God may be saying to you through your experience of the natural world around you. Gayle shares stories of her life with Sage, then draws out principles from the stories and from scriptures that apply to daily life. Chapter titles include: Patience, Wisdom, Obedience, Forgiveness, Purity, Friendship, Courage, Loyalty, Confidence, Joy, Compassion, Humility, Mystery, Goodness, Praise, Generosity, Love, Faithful, Respect, Self-Control, Contentment, Gentleness, Kindness, Hope, Peace, Reliable, Trust, Rest, Gratitude, Perseverance. Thirty topical chapters lend themselves to a month of daily readings. Each chapter closes with a prayer that makes the lesson personal. Our Creator has many ways of walking with us and teaching us. He can even use a blind dog!

Not long ago in a backyard filled with bright green grass lived a dog named Sage. She was white with many large black spots, and even some small ones! Her fur was wavy, even on her tail! Sage was a Springer Spaniel, a type of dog that loves to smell, listen, look for, and find birds. Sage, like many Springer Spaniels, loved to explore. But, Sage sometimes had a difficult time walking, playing and discovering. You see, Sage also had a secret - she could not see. Sage was blind.As a puppy Sage's eyes did not see well. So, she learned her way around the house and the yard where she was born by using her sense of hearing and her sense of smell. If she bumped into things, including her brothers and sisters or the children of the humans she lived with, people said she was just being a wobbly, exploring puppy. They did not know Sage's secret. Sage spent many hours in the yard with her mother and her brothers and sisters. She curled up on the thick grass and slept in the warm summer sun. Sage didn't just sleep while she was outside, she also had fun. She chewed on toy bones. She rolled around and wrestled with her four brothers and two sisters. She sniffed the air and the corners of the yard, smelling birds and other animals. She listened to the many sounds, and her ears picked up some even the humans of the house could not hear. When she smelled or heard another animal, Sage became excited, wagging her tail and turning her head toward whatever she heard. That's why no one knew Sage was blind, even as she grew into an adult dog.When she was two years old, a new family came and took Sage to a different home to live with them. This family had no children; a man and a woman lived together in the house. On the way to her new home, Sage sat on the car seat listening and sniffing. Sometimes her body trembled. This new car with new people made her feel confused and a little frightened. Where was she going in this strange car? Where were the people and the home she knew so well? She wanted to be where things were familiar. What was going to happen to her and how could she get along in a different place with unknown people?