I am overwhelmed with gratitude and a tiny dog named Beautiful Joy is somehow at the center of all of it

What five months of building in silence taught me about alignment, gratitude, and divine purpose

I saw her and I just knew.

That is the only way I can describe it.

One look at this tiny, fluffy, barely-there little face and something in me settled. I realized she is a beautiful joy in every sense of the word — and exactly what I needed in my life.

She is supposed to be in our home.

And once I made that decision — something shifted.

Not just in the house.

In everything.

🐾 After Bear

If you knew Bear, you know what I lost in August.

Twelve pounds of pure cockapoo sweetness.

Beloved by everyone who ever met him.

Bless his sweet memory.

We had sixteen years together — and the hole he left was not small.

I did not know how long it would take to smile like that again.

And then this tiny girl walked into my life in December.

And I smiled.

✨ The Name That Recognized Itself

Shayna Rina means beautiful joy in Yiddish and Hebrew.

And I will tell you — it felt less like I named her and more like I recognized her.

Maybe she is my good luck charm.

Or — more likely — a divine gift to be cherished, appreciated, and occasionally chased across the living room.

Because this tiny girl has been beautiful joy from day one.

Even in the chaos.

Especially in the chaos.

🏃‍♀️ Nobody Warned Me About This Part

Y’all.

Potty training a tiny girl dog is no joke.

I raised boys.

And I am here to tell you — boys were easier.

I cannot count the number of times I have jumped up
mid-sentence, mid-meeting, mid-thought —

“No no no, baby. Not there.”

— scooped up six indignant pounds of fur and sprinted toward the grassy spot or the piddle pad like my life depended on it.

We rarely make it.

Rarely.

Five months in and we are still finding our rhythm.

But we are getting there.

🍐 This Morning

This morning she is not in fight club mode.

No launching herself at Brody.

No zoomies at 7 AM.

Just curled up next to me — warm and soft and cuddly — like a tiny velvet comma tucked against my side.

I am sitting here feeding her tiny pieces of Asian pear.

Except I did not cut them up before I put them in my bowl, so I am biting off pieces and biting them again to get them small enough — handing them over like some kind of mama bird.

She does not seem to mind at all where those pieces have been.

But the moment I slow down?

She barks.

Small. Sharp. Completely unbothered by social norms.

Her expression strongly suggests she is composing a one-star Google review for the slow service at Chez de Mama.

Meanwhile, Brody is under my bed.

That dog has mastered the art of the strategic retreat.

💫 Life Has Been Full — I Just Have Not Been Loud About It

Here is the truth.

I have not been quiet because things slowed down.

I have been quiet online because things took off.

And I think Shayna’s arrival had something to do with that too.

When she came home, everything started falling into place.

The right people. The right rooms. The right moments.

I cannot fully explain it except to say — it felt like alignment.

The kind that does not come from a strategy document.

The kind that comes from God.

These past months have been some of the most faith-stretching, gratitude-filled of my entire entrepreneurial journey.

Serving clients I genuinely love.

Building partnerships that feel divinely orchestrated.

Walking through doors I never even knocked on.

I wake up every morning, look at my calendar, and just smile.

It is full of heart-centric people doing good in the world— and I get to be part of that.

I often say — when you put the right people in the right room, magic happens.

That is not a strategy.

That is a God thing.

“In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord
establishes their steps.”

— Proverbs 16:9

I planned.

God redirected.

And what He established has been better than anything I mapped out on my own.

I am getting laser focused on my purpose.

Saying yes to what aligns with my God-given mission and divine gifts.

And learning — with increasing clarity — exactly what I was built to do.

🚪 Something Is Coming

I am not ready to share everything just yet.

But something is building that I believe is going to serve this community in a profound way.

A space for purpose-driven leaders and entrepreneurs to come together and do more good.

A place where strategy meets purpose and vision meets action.

If you want to be the first to know when it launches —

My newsletter is exactly where you need to be.

So if you have been wondering where I went —

I have been right here, darlin’.

Sitting with my beautiful joy curled up beside me.

Feeding her Asian pear one mama-bird piece at a time.

Watching Brody perfect his strategic retreat.

Getting crystal clear on my calling.

And getting ready to share all of it with you.

The Diva Tribe is growing — and beautiful joy is leading the way.

The best is absolutely still to come.

📬 Want to be first to know what’s coming?

Subscribe to Amplify Like a Diva — the official newsletter of The Diva Tribe.

Christine Deane is a faith-driven Success Strategy Coach, Fractional CSO, CMO, COO, and master connector based in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas area. As founder of The Networking Diva and The Diva Tribe, she helps purpose-driven leaders and entrepreneurs cut through the noise, align with their divine calling, and create measurable, meaningful impact through her signature Amplify Your Impact Method™ — built on 10 Core Growth Areas and powered by the D.I.V.A. steps to success: Discover, Innovate, Validate, and Amplify. Connect with Christine at thenetworkingdiva.com or subscribe to her newsletter at thenetworkingdiva.com/join-the-newsletter.