~My yoke is easy

  

   Sorry about not posting lately, our internet hasn't been working the greatest so that's why I haven't written in a while. This post was actually written about a week ago too. (Just to let ya know!)

  I just listened to an amazing story last week with my family. Have you ever heard of “Sir Knight of the Splendid Way”? Its done by Lamplighter. I was very touched and inspired by the many messages and points they bring out in this allegory. (I really like allegories. One of my favorites is “War for Mansoul.”)

  There were a few things in the story I couldn’t quite agree with but for the most part it was a very good story that brings out many aspects of the Christian life. The main one being the Vision of the face. In essence it is the vision we are given when we first turn over our lives to Christ. To serve, follow God and His ways, and then Lord willing, go to live with Him someday.

   In the story, the young knight Sir Constant is continually tempted and sometimes even led astray by the Black knight and his accomplices. When Sir Constant realizes he has fallen, he seeks to see the vision of the face of the king that he saw when he was first knighted.

   It made me think of my own life. I want to seek the vision of the face, but so many things come up to do, and places to go that I forget the real and most important thing: God placed me here to reflect and shine His light in order to bring others to Him.

   Another thing that really hit me from the story was that you can’t fight someone else’s battles for them. Yes, you can help prepare them, pray for them, and encourage them, (And you should be doing all that.) but you can not fight for them. It is ultimately up to them.

   I would very much encourage you to listen to it, except don’t go at it just to hear a story. Ask God to open your eyes to truths you haven’t seen before.

   Our lives are a spiritual battleground. Satan is after you. He will do ANYTHING to get you. In Sir Knight of the Splendid Way, the Black knight is always just around the corner waiting for Sir Constant. The problem is, he is always wearing a disguise. And in that same way Satan is trying to get YOU! Telling you to lie outright is a definite no-no for most Christians, so he gives you excuses and gets you to simply ‘stretch’ the truth. Satan will not give up on you simply because you name the name of Christ or because you have beaten him once before. It is a continual battle that you will always have, that is, unless you just give up and surrender to him.

   In their last battle, the Black knight tries to convince Sir Constant to give up by telling him “You are no match for me!” And I just LOVE Sir Constant’s very humble reply. “You are right. But in the name of the King, I can do all!” We like Sir Constant need to realize that we have no power over Satan, … on our own. The only way we have a chance is by trusting God and relying on His strength, not on our own. You know what? It is so much easier then. Jesus said in Matthew 11:30 “For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

   Is your yoke easy? (No I’m not saying you won’t have trials, but if you know that God has them in your life for a reason, then you should be able to smile and thank God for them.)

    If your yoke isn’t easy, may I suggest that you’re trying to carry your burden on your own?

~Is Jesus enough?

   In church on Sunday, as the minister was preaching, he asked a question and it kinda stuck with me. It was: Is Jesus enough? Well I'd like to think He is. But do I live like that's true?
   We were away for two weeks and just got home on Friday. While we were having devotions one morning, Dad asked us how we would be if, while we were gone, our house burnt down and all we had left was what we brought along. My mind immediately went to: Were the horses in the fire? (But I didn't say that. It was just a thought.) As I sat there thinking I told God "I gave the horses to you a long time ago. So if you need to take them, you can." And that is where I try to keep my heart, totally surrendered to God's will.
  Now back to the question: Is Jesus enough?
  If God chose to take my family?... I know the only way I could make it through something like that is because I have a God who loves me enough to do only whats best for me. And I could accept that because He knows whats best.
   So, do I live like Jesus is enough?

• Do I have to go shopping all the time, to make me happy?
• Do I run to other people (or even my horse) when something goes wrong? (Instead of God.)
• Do I continually have to be hanging out with friends, finding new hobbies, or fun entertainment?
• Am I satisfied with knowing that God loves me more than any man ever could?

So now that I've said that, you all know that I know that. If God is enough it would make me realize that this life isn't about me, but about Him. It would also mean that I am here for a reason.
   That reason? To show others that Jesus is enough.

               Is He enough for you?

Oh by the way 'Happy Thanksgiving!' Lets take advantage of it and be thankful all the time!

~A time to wait

   I have found that God has three answers for when I ask Him for something. The first one that I think of is "Yes." I probably hope for this one the most! ;) (Who doesn't like it when they get what they want?) But also I realize that God is telling me "Yes, it is time."
  The next one "no," most people probably don't like as much, but think about it. If He is saying no, He has a reason for it. He can see the whole way through your life and tell if it would be good for you or not. God cares about you, and loves you so much that He doesn't want bad things to happen to you. By bad I mean things that will hinder your spiritual walk with Him. Our "bad" isn't always the same as His "bad." So through this, hopefully the next time you ask God for something, you will start off by asking if its "good" for you or not.

    Matthew 7:9-11 says "Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask for bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask Him?" 

   If we are unwilling to accept God's "NO" then we are not seeking His will but our own. Which also means we don't want His best.
   The third answer is "Yes, but not yet." Just wait...
   The account of Hannah the mother of Samuel comes to mind. She was not able to have the children she very much wanted. For years she longed for children. So one day she went to the temple and just cried her heart out to God. She vowed that if God would bless her with a son, she would give him back to God. And you know what? God gave her a son!
   Through that, you can see that God sometimes requires things of us before He can answer our prayers. If we understand that God has our best in mind we will be able to wholeheartedly accept any of His answers.

My times are in my Father's hand;

How could I wish or ask for more?

For He who has my pathway planned

Will guide me till my journey's o're. 

-Fraser

~Horse sense part 1

How to tell weather your horse needs more work

Please do NOT laugh at your horse if he is doing any of these and say "Oh that's just how he is!" These are problems, vices, hazards, whatever you want to call them, except they are anything BUT good and safe. If you are allowing these things, you are not only putting yourself at risk, but also others around you. I have written here the worst things I could think of at the moment and then later I'll explain how to deal with them.

1.Bucking (Not all the time, but just some.)
2.Rearing (Never let it start and you won't have to deal with it.)
3.Kicking (Worst thing in my opinion. You never know when its coming.)
4.Biting or nipping (Should not be tolerated to any extent.)
5.Knocking you with his head (Terribly disrespectful.)
6.Suddenly takes off with you on trail rides (Obviously you're not the boss.)
7.Walks into you (Teach him to respect your space.) 
8.Runs you into things while riding (Put him in his place.)
9.Freaks out all the time (Contrary to what most people think, you CAN quite easily teach your horse not to be fearful.)
10.Reacts while riding around other horses (Definitely unsafe.)

Please discipline your horse immediately when he behaves wrongly! If you do not, YOU are allowing him to do it. (That's pretty much the same as giving him permission.) 

You say you don't want to hurt him? Well let me tell ya, in the wild when a young colt gets out of line, an older mare will either kick him, bite him, or push him away from the herd (There he is very vulnerable to predators.) until she can see a repentant spirit in him.
Ways to discipline your horse
OK so maybe you don't know how. Well for me I use split reins and wear spurs. (If you are against them I need to tell you one thing. If you use them correctly spurs are a tool and not a weapon.) 

If my horse would say...buck, most times I will grab one rein and spin him in a tight circle while spurring a bit with my outside leg. This is not harsh. I am simply telling him "This is not tolerated and there are consequences for disobeying." Your horse needs to know what is expected of him. So mentally set your rules and boundaries and stick to them consistently. One thing that really confuses animals (and people) is when you are not consistent. If you discipline one time then not the next, you are creating a very unstable relationship. 

Other times a quick swat with the end of my split rein is enough, or maybe just a bang of my legs. (By that I mean using my calves and not my feet.) You will have to judge which method is appropriate for your situation. If it is something really bad, you will need to be more harsh obviously. 

Do NOT yank on the reins as a form of punishment. (Or really ever.) The horse's mouth is very tender and you will most likely just teach it to be hard mouthed, then throw his head up, and maybe even rear. 
If you are on the ground and using a halter then a quick jerk on the lead rope is appropriate.  

Biting or nipping is probably best solved by smacking the nose. Not as if trying to kill him but also not just a little tap. Once your horse knows it is wrong, he will try to find more sneaky ways of doing it. I would start to watch for when he's about to bite and then make a noise or sound that means "No." I usually say "AT!" (I know its kinda different but my dad always did it so I do it too.) It can't be nice and soft. It has to be firm and commanding. 

If you are having trouble with your horse running off with you, you obviously aren't in the front of his mind. Yes, trail rides are to be relaxing but you are still riding so you need to be still guiding. I'd also suggest you go back to the arena and work on being the leader. If he's running off he has too much time thinking on his own. When you ride you need to be directing him. He is not the boss. He is your partner. You ultimately are the leader. Work on keeping his mind busy by directing his every step. If he's thinking about your signals he isn't going to be staging another full charge ahead. So the key: keep his mind busy. 

OK there's way too much to write about in one post so I'll be doing another part sometime soon. I welcome your comments and questions about what I just wrote. Hope you don't mind me being straight forward but this is how I've been taught to ride and I have a pretty good safety record. I have only fallen off a few times in my life, and been bucked off even less. (Most times I fell off I was jumping bareback on a rolly-polly pony!) I've been riding most of my life but have never had any professional training. Except maybe the movies I've watched. I learned a good bit from Clinton Anderson, Pat and Linda Parelli, some from John Lyons, and lots of people along the way who took time to help. Out of the professionals, I would say how I ride comes the closest to Clinton Anderson . Although I really like watching the Parelli's and seeing what they do while applying bits and pieces to my own riding style. And NO I'm not anywhere near a professional!

~Love NOT the world

(Just a little bit of humor up there, but isn't this how a lot of people live? Like their horses or other animals are the most important things in life.)

Love not the world neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. -1 John 2:15

I may be getting a little personal here but this is from the Bible and we as confessing Christians claim to believe the whole thing, right? So this is part of it.
   Paul encourages here to ‘Love not the world neither the things that are in the world.’He's not talking about people obviously, because we are to love all men. Paul is speaking of the worldly pleasures and the lusts of our flesh. So how does this apply to us as girls? Maybe stylish fads? The latest shoes? The coolest new hair style? We as girls probably struggle with these categories the most. But what is that saying of us? That we are more worried about what other people think about us than what God thinks about us? I'll be honest with you, those don't affect me that much but my love for horses may be higher than it should. I love working with them and learning from them. So please pray for me that I can keep horses in their proper position and God at the center of my life.
  In John 14 verse 21, Jesus gives us a very clear test as to see where we are, and if we truly love God. He says "He that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my father, and I will love him, and manifest myself to him."      

 Did you notice the test? If you know His commandments and obey them, (with a pure heart) that means you love Him because you WANT to do what He asks. Then if you love Him, you will be loved of God, and Jesus will love you and show himself to you. 

   So do you love Him?

John 14:15 "If ye love me, keep my commandments." 

~More or less just horsie talk

(My sister Tashia took this picture for me. Thanks Tashy!)
Warning: If you do not like horses, DO NOT READ!

  Yesterday I decided to do something fun with two of my little sisters. So I told them we’d have riding lessons at 2:45pm. They got their horses out and were warming up in the arena when I walked in to start the lessons. It was really fun to do, but I wasn‘t sure exactly what to work on with them. The only type of lessons I‘ve seen were English (The Saddle Club!) and all they do is trot around focusing on the seat and posture or they were jumping. Well we ride western. Not pleasure, more like a performance style, cattle work, with working horses. (If you’re bored you better quit reading because it gets worse.)
   Anyway back to the lessons. I started out by writing up a chart listing all the different things I was going to have them do, such as: walk, trot, canter, bend, flex, side pass, do the gate, and other things. Then I rated them on how well they controlled their horse while doing these things.
   Marcy had a much easier time than Jessica, because she was riding Hank. He was just calm, cool, and collected, whereas Dandy (who Jess was riding) was more energetic than usual. He’s also not as…um how do I say it? Not as…handy as Hank is. (If you remember back to THIS post I talked about working with Hank.) It still amazes me how far Hank has come and how confident he is now. Next time I will have to switch the girls and horses I think. Marcy is older and therefore has been riding more so she should have an easier time with Dandy than Jess did.
   Ok you may be wondering what I meant by ’more handy.’ Well in my opinion Dandy is just a whatever horse. Anyone can ride him because he doesn't have any special buttons. But he is great for me to get out and go anywhere I want, any time I want, even if no one else is along. His problem is he's not very precise. His stop is pretty sloppy, for most people. (I say it that way because I don't have a whole lot of problem riding him, he's just not as fun.)
   Hank on the other hand enjoys making people look stupid. If you don't know what you are doing you aren't going to get much out of him. (But I love to ride him!) He knows how to swivel on his hindquarters and his stop is getting impressive. (Nothing like the reiners, but its good compared to most.) He neck reins and regular or 'plow' reins. He also can be ridden with just your legs.
   Dandy though, I just figured out, is very good to ride English. He has smooth long strides so you can sit to it really well. He also can't do sliding stops or rollbacks so you don't have to worry about quick maneuvers that will send you at high rates of speed to the ground. Maybe he was ridden English before? I don't know but I kinda doubt it because he's from out in Illinois.

So I'd like to know about ya'll!

Do you ride?
English or Western?
What breed is your favorite?
If you ride, what do you do with your horse?

~A walk that guides

  
"As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him: Rooted and built up in Him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving." ~Colossians 2:6-7

  At church on Sunday, the minister made mention of two men and asked the congregation to consider them and evaluate which of them “walked in love.” (Eph. 5:2) That got me to thinking about our walk. To start with, what is it? To me our walk is our way of life; the way we live. It could also be our testimony because it is what others see of us. What does your walk tell others? Do your words and actions line up?
  After listening to the sermon I decided to find all the verses in the Bible that contained “Walk in.” This is what I came up with.

Walk in the light  -Isa. 2:5

Walk in newness of life  -Rom. 6:4

Walk in the spirit  -Gal. 5:16

Walk in love  -Eph. 5:2

Walk in wisdom  -Col. 4:5 

If you notice, walk in, is a command. We are to be doing these things. How are we to do that? By following the one who said it, and ultimately through our life, or our walk, we will direct others to Him!

~My saddle

  I recently got a new saddle and really love it! I'm actually not sure what type it is... something like a cutter or a reiner.

Its pretty plain but I'm don't ride for the looks! :) I ride WESTERN! (Although I occasionally use my English saddle.) I love working cattle, and my latest thing is any kind of trail obstacle that I can think of. My dad recently made me a teeter-board! (Its kinda like a horsie see-saw.) I use gates, flags, lassos, dragging things, logs to back through, and logs to side-pass over, and tons of barrel patterns! (Oh and I love to jump. Western or English. Its just so much fun! But don't try it unless you know what you're doing.) If you have any trail ideas you can let me know! 

I didn't fix up very many pictures though so here are the best two. If anyone knows anything about this style of saddle I'm interested in knowing!

It was made by Jasper Haynes. I got it from a friend that no longer uses it. 

I'm very happy with it. 

Sorry that this is so short and may not interest ya'll but I wasn't able to come up with much, because I'm at my grandparents house. My younger sister and I have a craft stand, with our uncle near their place, at their county's fall festival. It's been going on since yesterday and runs till Sunday but we're only going till tomorrow. I'll be ready to go home! Hopefully you'll hear from me about something more interesting next week!

~Living today like there's no tomorrow

I was just thinking, (And yes I try to do that pretty often.) if you were to die today and all your friends came to the funeral, what would they remember and say about you? “She was so much fun to be around!” or “She was such a blessing and her life was so encouraging to me!” Which leads me to a few questions: Are you influencing others in the right way? Is your life and testimony encouraging others towards God or away from Him? Please examine your life purpose. You are right here, right now, for a reason. Its up to you to be continually seeking God till you find out that reason. Then do it! If you aren’t following through and doing what God has called you to, well then what good are you? Are you hindering Satan’s kingdom or are you helping it? As I see it, life is a spiritual battleground. Two kingdoms fighting to conquer; good against bad, righteous against evil, God against Satan. You can’t be on both sides and you can’t be in the middle. Matt. 6:24 “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” You also aren’t any good flitting from one side to the other. No captain wants a traitor in his ranks. 

So the choice comes down to you: 

Who will you serve, not just now, but forever.  

~Here am I

 ~ Isaiah 6:8
Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then said I, “Here am I; send me.”
   It always gives me chills to read that verse. it’s the cry of my heart too. “Here am I; send me!” I want to be completely and totally in God’s hands so that he can look down on me and say “I have a job here, and I also have a willing young woman. She can do it!"
   My heart cries out “Yes! Yes, Lord. I’ll do it for you. For if you are with me, who can be against me?”                           With you I can love unconditionally, with you I can serve wholeheartedly, and with you I can conquer victoriously!
   Without you, I am broken-with you I am complete.
   Without you, I am rejected-with you I am accepted.
   Without you, I am discarded-with you I am chosen.
   Without you, I am fallen-with you I can rise up on eagle’s wings.
              You are everything I need! 

Just decided to add this picture because its one of my all-time favorites of Dunny!

~In His time

  I don’t know if anyone realized it or not, but so far I’ve written my blog posts on Mondays. Well this week it didn’t happen because I didn’t have time. That’s when I began to realize that I shouldn’t be trying to have things happen in my time, but to trust God and wait on “His time.” This week I really felt pressed to write but I didn’t know what about and like I said, I’ve been busy. So I was learning about waiting on God this week. Really, you can never learn too much about it, because we constantly need to be asking God “Is it Your time for this and in Your plan?” Until then, we shouldn’t be moving forward in that way. Most of us don’t realize how much God can and will bless us if we simply wait on His timing. He wants to show Himself strong on your behalf; allow Him to. Thinking about waiting on Him always turns my mind to two verses. Most everyone knows them but do they really think about what the verses mean? I don’t know. Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart;” How much of your heart? …All… Ok just checking. “And lean not unto thine own understanding.” I always like to emphasize the NOT. It says you’re not to turn to your own thinking. Well then turn where? It answers that directly in the next verse. “In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He (Not you, not the world, not the most intelligent person out there.) HE shall direct thy paths.” Pretty self explanatory huh? So instead of thinking “Do I want to do that?” think “Does God want me to do it. Is it His timing?”

Here are a few more pix from our trip to VA. I had Tashia chasing the horses so I could get pix of them running. But unfortunately this is the only one that has her in it while chasing the horses. ;)

 Isn't it just gorgeous?

From left to right, Jessica, Marcy, Tashia, and I.

Jess riding Hank on a trail ride around the farm.

~Trip to VA

It feels good to be home! (I love my own bed!) Last Monday my family and I left around 8:00 am and headed for Virginia. We were hauling our trailer with our four horses too so it took a little bit longer than usual. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention where exactly we were going. Oops. We were going to stay at my dad’s uncle’s place while they went on vacation. It was funny. Vacationing at someone’s house while they went on vacation! (Ok maybe just to me.)  Anyway we had a great time. They really didn’t have many things that needed done so we had all the time to ourselves. We rode our horses three of the five days we were there, played some volleyball, had fun driving around on the Kubota, little bit of ping-pong, they also had this really fun bean-bag throw game, went fishing and nearly got eaten alive by the mosquitoes, and took lots of pictures! I actually didn’t get to take as many of the horses as I wanted to but I guess I’ll be satisfied with what I got. Trail riding was the best part to me.
  The farm I think is somewhere around 400 acres. (Not sure though.) Either way its pretty big… and beautiful! I was always seeing things I wanted to take pictures of! It was also great just having all that time just for our family.
   My dad had hoped that we could use the time for spiritual growth, and I would say it did. We tried to listen to a sermon together each day. (I don’t think that quite happened though!)  But it was really encouraging what we did listen to. Two of which were: preparing for marriage: God’s way for getting there, and seeking God’s will for your life. I have found that you can never get enough on those two subjects. They, in a lot of ways determine where you will end up in life and your finale destination - heaven or hell. I am so thankful that I have parents that care enough about where I end up, that they show me these things now, and not after I have made all the wrong decisions. Also that they want to protect me from things that will lead me away from God or hinder my relationship with Him. If you ever think your parents are mean for … not letting you go somewhere or do something you want to, stop and examine yourself. God has put them in your life for a reason. He has given you to them for a reason. It is THEIR job to protect you. It is YOUR job to obey and honor them. They are only doing what they feel is best for you, and trust me, they can see a lot further down the road than you can.
~Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not. Proverbs 8:33

 These are just two of our saddles. I love pictures of saddles! And that's Hank in the background.

(Left to right) Ecco, Dunny, Dandy, Hank

Ok I have lots more pictures but they aren't edited yet. I'll try to get them done and put them on soon.

~Does God have your heart?

Does God have your heart?

 Do you spend your time texting friends over sending God a prayer? 

Does God have your heart? 

Do worrisome thoughts rule your mind more than the comfort of God’s word?

 Does God have your heart? 

Does your conversation revolve around silly impractical things or on spiritual matters?

 Does God have your heart? 

Do you waste your time on immediate pleasures or on eternal riches? 

Does God have your heart? 

Do your actions show you’re a Christian or do they deny the creator? 

Does God have your heart? 

Do people want what you have or do they see yet another person trying to serve two masters? 

Does God have your heart? 

 Does God have your whole heart or just the pieces you allow him to have? If God doesn’t have your whole heart, what good are you to Him? If He doesn’t have your whole heart who has the other pieces? What areas have you given up to Satan? 

Your dress?

 Do you think “Well this is what everyone else is wearing so its fine.” Are you serving God with those thoughts or Satan? 

Your speech?

 Have you started using words that dishonor God because you hear them and think they’re “cool,” so you use them? Are you serving God with your words or Satan? 

Your friends?

 Are the people you hang out with, you friends because of their wholesome personalities and godly standards or because they are the “cool” ones, the “in” crowd? Are you serving God by the friends you hang out with, or Satan? 

 Your attitude?

 Does your attitude turn negative when your parents ask you to do something or caution you about something? Does your heart and appearance match up? Are you serving God by the way you respect your parents , or Satan? 

 Your thoughts? 

 Do your thoughts immediately turn negative when you see someone? Do you analyze the way they dress, and compare them with yourself? Are your thoughts honoring to God or Satan? 

I wrote these thoughts a couple years ago when I was struggling to deal with some things. So I am not saying that I have all this down now, but I am working on them. Please think about them and I would encourage you to analyze your life. Do any of these things describe how you are or make you think of an area you struggle with? If you do, please go talk to God about them. 

 –If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9 

King of my Heart

 I have a King of my heart, 

Though to me He’s unseen.

 I can feel His love, 

For He’s kind and not mean. 

 He loved me so much,

 That He died so I’d live. 

The only requirement: 

My life to Him give. 

 So I gave Him my life, 

And now He is King. 

I’ll serve Him forever,

 His name honor, to bring.

 I know I’m not perfect, 

But I’ll try just the same. 

For He paid sin’s price,

 Come, lets praise His name!

~My Violin

Here are some more pictures of my violin. I took them just for fun and immediately fell in love with them!

~My buddy Hank

Well today I thought I'd tell you about my little buckskin paint mustang named Hank. We got Hank about 4-5 years ago, from Double Rock, a ranch nearby. At first I didn't really think much of him because it was around the time that I had to get rid of my pony Hershey. After a while I finally gave Hank a chance and started riding him. I found out that I had a lot to work on. Partially because I didn't know as much then, but mainly because he had major fear issues, we assume because of abuse in the past. I started working with him, and desensitized him to a lot of things: gates, hats, flags, and ropes to name a few. I came to realize that he had fear issues because he felt he couldn't trust anyone. So I decided to be his safe spot, the one he turned to when he got scared. (Don't know if I accomplished that but he trusts me now.)
  Does that sound familiar? Isn't that a lot like our relationships with God are supposed to be? We're human. We have fears and things that scare us, but what do we do with them? God is watching us and saying "I'm here for you. I can give you peace. I'm THE safe spot. Just give your life to me and I'll show you how to deal with your problems."
 The big problem I had with Hank was when I tied him to a fence. Now he didn't have a problem with being tied. You could leave him there as long as you wanted. The problem was that he would literally flip-out if anyone climbed on the fence he was tied to. He would remember something bad that had happened before and reacted to those fears.
 As Christians we sometimes have fears that keep taking us back because we are not dealing with them properly. We don't need to "Toughen up and face it like a man." We need to "Look up and face it like a Christian that has Jesus living in their heart." He is a strong tower, a shield, a very present help in trouble, He will never leave you nor forsake you.
  Here's something else for you to think about. Is fear from God? Well there is a godly fear, Leviticus 25:17b "but thou shalt fear thy God: for I am the Lord your God." But for the most part no, fear is not from God. How do I know? 2 Timothy 1:7 says "For God hath not given us a spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." So if fear isn't from God, it must be from Satan. And if it is from Satan, isn't that sin? So what are we as Christians, professing to have God living in us, doing with fear in our lives? I believe this is something we seriously need to think about, repent of, and turn away from. God does not want us living in fear or even to have a couple fears. He tells us to "Cast all our cares upon Him. Because He cares for us." (1 Peter 5:7) He can handle it and He will if you ask Him to and truly mean it.

Since helping Hank over a lot of his fear issues I can do about anything with him. We've done fun shows, team penning, sorting, LOTS of trail riding, swimming in the pond, played around with roping, ridden bareback and bridle-less, JUMPING (my fav!), lots of tag (he really gets into that!) he's become a pro at opening and closing gates, pulled sleds, and I've ridden him english (Now that looks funny!). My younger sisters ride him mostly now. I hop on him every once in a while when I see he needs a tune up or when I just want to go for a joy ride. He is pretty much an all-around horse now, anyone can ride him. Come on over and I'll give ya a ride!

~Take them to Jesus

Oh, this morning was beautiful! I just love it when its sunny WITH a breeze. I was sitting inside thinking how much I really needed to go outside and ride a certain horse. You know how it is when you get that feeling in your gut that tells you "You're being lazy" or "You need to go ride!" Ok most of you probably don't feel that second one! Even for how much I hate that feeling and want to procrastinate, I also love it because then I know I have a conscience.
 So I went out and got my aunt's thoroughbred/quarter horse gelding out. He's a very good looking bay, great mover. So your probably wondering "Why don't you want to ride him?" Well there are two main reasons that come to mind 1. He hasn't gotten nearly as much training as should've over the past couple years. 2. He's very energetic. Put just those two things together and you have a slightly out-of-control ride. (Not fun, lots of hassles, and dangerous if you don't know what you're doing.) With him I pretty much stick to the arena unless someone is with me.
Anyway today I was working on the dreaded gate. (For him.) Oh yeah, his name's Prince. Forgot to mention that. Prince has had some bad experiences with gates before where people have pushed him too hard. So now when he gets near gates he gets all worked up and his brain shuts down. Even though I'm not a horse I can relate to him in that area. I had people in my life who pushed me too much or expected me to do more than I felt I was able to do, so I would shut down on them. But unlike Prince I now know how to deal with it! I can take all my frustrations, all my pain, hurts, burdens or cares, and simply give them to Jesus. I can't just say "Jesus come take these away." I have to go to him and say "I don't want these burdens, You don't want me to have these burdens, so please take them from me. I release them to You." It is something I have to consciously do. But I have to let go of them. Its also not a one time deal. (No I shouldn't be falling back on the same thing over and over again.) So from then on I need to do the same thing with other wrong feelings that come up. Envy:give it to God. Self-pity:give it to God. In doing this I am acknowledging that these feelings are wrong and they are sin that I don't want in my life.

Did you know that I'm not the only person who feels like this? I know lots of people who feel they aren't good enough... Do you also know that we are the ones making them feel like that? When you are working with someone...lets say...a sibling and you are explaining something and they are totally not getting it, the worst thing you can do is get frustrated with them. That is a prime opportunity for Satan to jump in and say "You're not good enough." and in that situation they are most likely going to believe him.
When I'm working with Prince trying to open and close the gate, he gets worked up. Right there I have two choices. 1. To get frustrated and push harder. 2. Back off and work slower. Now if I would get frustrated with him he would sidepass away, throw up his head, or he would go into backup mode where he just backs. That is his body language screaming at me "I don't get this! There's too much pressure! I can't handle it!" Now back to human terms if something like this would have happened to me as a person, a few years ago, I would've either zoned out after the person finally decided just to do it themselves instead of trying to get me to understand, and went into my own depressed little world or I would have went and cried somewhere, wondering why I was so stupid. So please if you see someone is hurting, don't just write them off as troubled emotional people. Go to them listen to them. (Most times they feel no one wants to listen to them.) Take them to Jesus. Show them that you care, but that he cares so much more and can take away the pain. Help them to see there is a way. One way. His name is Jesus.

~My Destiny

This song has been a terrific inspiration to me. I find when I'm feeling down on myself or discouraged I can turn and claim the truths in this song. (Songs and poetry touch my heart like nothing else. Except God.) This song so well depicts what God thinks about His children. Are YOU one of His? If you are, this is how he views YOU!
     YOU are chosen! New creation! Trophy of His grace! Do you claim that, or are you still wallowing in unbelief and lies that Satan hurls at you? Satan will tell you: you are not worthy, not good enough, and that you will never measure up. The truth may seem a bit startling but you are not good enough. None of us are. If we were Jesus would never had to come and die, but he did because we are all sinners headed for hell. Scary? For some, yes. But for others who believe in Jesus and follow His commands there is no reason to fear because He is preparing a place in heaven for us. Because of Him we can stand and say "I am not worthy because of what I did, but because of what He did."

Now about the other part concerning not measuring up, just remember this one verse. Its very familiar. You probably have already memorized it. In Philippians 4:13 Paul very emphatically states "I can do all things," but it doesn't stop there. It also doesn't say "on my own." It says "through Christ who strengthens me." Isn't that thrilling? He is there to help! We aren't alone! We can fight Satan with confidence, because if we're on God's side, we have already won!

~Looking for sayings

Hey I have a question for ya'll. I was wondering if anyone has any horsie-related sayings or quotes to share with me. I was thinking of something with a good meaning, not just a silly girly thing like "Me and my horse we borrow freedom." Something that has a point. Just post them here. Please don't feel offended if I don't put them on. (I'm kinda picky.) Would love to hear from ya!

~Me!

This is me.

Ok today I decided to tell a little more about myself. (I hate reading blogs where you never know what the person is like.) Ok that really isn't that important but I like to know things!

 I love music and singing, so I was so excited when I got a violin a year ago and started taking lessons. It is a bit later than most start, seeing that I'm almost 18. I'm just thankful that I can now! I wanted a violin pretty much all my life. You may be asking "Why didn't you just get one then?" Well my Dad tried to teach me to wait on God's timing for everything. My violin was no exception. But I have it now and I'm very glad my parents didn't breakdown and get me one earlier because I would have never learned the value of patience and waiting on God. Also I wasn't dedicated to things when I was younger and probably wouldn't have stuck with it as much. Now I understand so much better and I LOVE MY VIOLIN! Thanks Dad and Mom!

You all know that I like horses, another animal I'm fond of is kittens. But they are awful to take pictures of! They never sit still! I also make country crafts to sell. Maybe I'll post some pictures sometime.
  Oh! and I almost forgot! I love playing sports. Right now volleyball is my favorite. Ok thats it for now.

~His Princess

I love this book! If it were mine, I would have been underlining tons of stuff in it. (But its not. :( I’m borrowing it from my aunt.) I’ve been reading a page a day and I‘m almost done with it.

If you can, please click on the picture and read it.

 This page really spoke to me when I read it. God says he loves what he created, and He delights in ME! For a long time I really did struggle with not being good enough. I was terrified to try anything new for fear I wouldn‘t measure up. But my dad was able to show me lies of Satan I was believing, and how to get rid of them. He told me that anytime I was feeling down on myself, I needed to rebuke Satan and command Him to leave. Daddy couldn’t do it for me. I would say that was necessarily the easy part. The harder part was identifying all the lies and turning away from them. I found I had to be in a state of continually processing what I thought or believed and compare it to God’s word. To be able to realize the lies you are believing you need to know the truth, God's word.
   Do you know that if you don’t think you’re beautiful just the way God made you, you are believing a lie of Satan? It says in Ecclesiastes 3:11- “He hath made everything beautiful in His time.” If you think you were made wrong you are believing a lie? “I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.” (Psalm 139:14) God loves you just the way you are-physically. Spiritually, we always have something we need to be working on. You are His priceless princess with a purpose! Don’t know what your purpose is? Seek him and He will show you His plans for your life. They are better than you could ever imagine!

~Love the morning light!

Yesterday morning I came down from my bedroom and looked out the kitchen window overlooking our back pasture. I was so excited to see a mist hanging over the field and two of our horses out in it. After grabbing my camera I ran out there and started snapping pictures. I have always wanted to take some like this!

As I was standing there trying to figure out which angle would work best I noticed the sun was in a really good spot. So I started setting up the horses to get the sun to highlight their bodies. It turned out really neat! (In my opinion!

As you can see I use our buckskin Dandy most the time. He's very photogenic!

Now this one is Dunny. He actually put his ears up! Hey if anyone has any ideas on different or neat horse pictures or angles, let me know! I'm always looking for new ideas.

I noticed this spider web as I was coming back in and wanted to try it with the neat lighting. Let me know what ya think.

~Rejoice!

Rejoice! I love this verse but often don't take it seriously enough. In the Bible the writers will repeat the things they want to be emphasized. In this verse it says twice about rejoicing. Many times I forget this command. I'll be standing on the deck watching the sunset thinking "Wow thats neat!" but I don't even tell God how great He is for putting it there. God loves to send things our way just so we can praise Him. It brings Him joy and pleasure when we the creation give the glory and honor back to Him. In fact thats why we were created. In Revelations 4:11 it says "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created."

~His Strength

I decided to put on a poem I wrote a couple weeks ago. I was feeling very inspired to write so I went out behind our barn, sat down at our picnic table and started to write. This is what came out of it. (Behind our big barn is my special place where I feel especially close to God. I love going out there and talking to Him.)

His Strength 

I want your will dear Father, 

I will do it at my best. 

But Lord you will have to help, 

If I'm to pass the test.

I realize I need your strength, 

And Oh, I want it too! 

Just show me how to walk in faith, 

And I will follow you.

Please lead me Oh my Father, 

I will be at your side. 

Walking hand in hand, 

I accept you as my guide.

~Proverbs 3:5-6

Right now in my life, I don't know where God is exactly leading. The last year has been a little rough (Well more than a little.) but I can see He used it to draw me closer to Himself. There was nothing I could do - except cry out to Him. "I'm trusting You" became a phrase I often told Him. Part of my world seemed to be crumbling. That is when I had to realize I wasn't centered on God, only partially. And If God was only part of my life, where was the rest of it? Will God allow anyone to serve two masters? Will God allow for anything other than Him having first place? No. Exodus 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. That is all too clear, but how many of us really live by the first commandment? If you drew up a chart of all the thoughts and things you did to honor God in a day, would it outnumber the rest? I'm not saying I have all this down pat either. I'm still a work in progress the same as anyone else. He's still working on me.

~Psalm 4:3~

My Favorite Song
Here I am before You Lord, Falling at Your feet.
 My longing is to know You more, Your purpose to complete!
 When I look around me, Its so hard to understand.
I want to see You move Lord, I want to see your hand!
  Trusting You Lord, Does not come easily to me.
Trusting You Lord, I need your eyes that I might see!
When the way is dark, and I'm afraid, and don't know what to do,
Help me take my eyes off me Lord, And keep my eyes on You!
 I stand upon your promise Lord, You have a plan for me.
And though I may not see it yet, I'll trust You faithfully.
You have spoken to my heart, A message strong and true.
So I'll gather up my courage Lord, And humbly follow You!
  Trusting You Lord, Does not come easily to me.
  Trusting You Lord, I need your eyes that I might see!
When the way is dark, and I'm afraid, and don't know what to do.
Help me take my eyes off me Lord, And keep my eyes on You! 


This has been my life's plea for the last several years. I'ts me turning and calling to God, knowing that he will answer. He is always waiting with open arms for us to come running to Him. That reminds me of a saying I heard the other day. It was "Even when you only take one step towards God he will take several steps toward you." I had to think about that because it confused me. Why would a little bit of effort on my part make God draw closer to me? God NEVER changes. So therefore God will never move. We are the ones who need to be drawing as close to Him as we possibly can. So please make sure when you read quotes like that or anthing for that matter, always check it out based on the truth: God's word.

~Howdy!

Well...I've been wanting to do this blog for a loooong time and I'm finally getting around to it! I wanted to do this to help strengthen and encourage other young people (well mainly girls) to have a closer walk with God. I love taking pictures of my horses, but after taking them what is there to to do with ALL THOSE PICTURES!? So I decided to put verses on them! I love being creative, and in this way I thought I could encourage others with my pictures. I do not copy-right them so if you want to save them or print them out, please go right ahead!