~Snow snow snow...

Hey ya'll! A while ago I was waiting and waiting for snow. We were starting to feel like winter had missed us. Well not anymore. We got several snows now in the last few weeks and well...I'm ready for spring.

The horses have been doing really good in it though and I rode 5 times in the first two days of snow we had. I was really looking forward to pulling my sisters around in the snow with the horses and also to try snowboarding or skiing behind a horse.

The first day we rode in the snow it was so deep we ended up riding up and down the road in front of our house, which was plowed but still had snow covering it. It was so fun since we hardly ever ride on our rode.

Normally people drive anywhere from 55 to 65 on it, so it is not very safe for horses. I've done it a few times but found out that some people just ignore you and buz right on by without slowing much or giving me extra room. So yeah I don't like riding on roads much.

But since hardly anyone was out driving we rode the whole way to the end of our road which is somewhere around a mile and a half from our house. I rode Dunny and pulled Jess on a sled and Marcy rode Hank. It was an awesome experience. Mostly we walked or trotted but on some on the more level spots we cantered. There was always that thought in the back of my mind "What if we hit an icy spot?" but we didn't really have any problems. I don't think I give our horses enough credit for what they can do. They are so much more athletic than I think they are.

I love to snowboard and had seen some skijoring movies so I decided to try except with my board cuz I'm a lot better with that than I am with my skis.

Dad was so sweet and came out to pull me. It was actually harder than I thought. I think it was because it was plowed but still really bumpy.

Also I did a medieval dress-up with Kat which was so fun. Yes I still like dressing up. Hehe!

It was really deep though, most places the snow was up to Kat's knees. She was very ready to get back to the barn, which didn't help in taking pictures. She was always moving! We had Hank along to keep her company but patience has never been her strong suite.

                       Note to self: Need to work on getting Kat some patience.

All in all I have had some very good times in the snow with the horses, but I'm ready for spring! And grass, and warmer weather, and dry ground, and no mud, and...etc. (End of thinking capacity.)
 But I'm also reminded of the verse "In everything state I am, therewith to be content." So I will try to be content till spring and maybe even be thankful for all the snow we still have!

~Broken

  

>Yeah she's a bit dirty. Silly girl has a thing for laying in the worst places.<

  God delights in broken things because it is only when we have nothing left that we can realize the absolute need for Him.

  I'm not talking about a broken heart after a failed relationship. No. I'm talking about realizing that you. are. nothing. (That sounds harsh but please keep reading.) Your goals are insignificant. Your life without Him is useless, and the sin you live in is separating you from God. You trying to do good things on your own, is reeking in His nostrils. (Isaiah 64:6) And He would be completely just in sending you to hell. (all of us)
  But He doesn't want that! (2 Peter 3:9) So He gives you time. What will you do with that time? Go on living the same as you always did, or realize that He wants you. Do you see that? He wants YOU! An all-powerful, all-knowing God wants you! Not just part, not mostly, but all of you!
  So now you can see some of His holiness, His power, His might. Then you take a look at yourself: the pride, the deceit, the wickedness, how could He want you?
  {Psalm 51:17}
"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit and a contrite heart, O God thou wilt not despise."
God desires a brokenness for sin. That's what He wants from you. Broken, humble, repentant, and then He'll add one- Forgiven!

 

~Peace I leave with you

"Peace I leave with you"

The Father says to me

"Not as the world giveth

For I give freely

Let not your heart be troubled

I'm bigger than any fear

Do not be afraid

For I am always near

Will you please just trust?

I'm waiting to show my power

Just cry out to me, child

I'm listening every hour

You don't know how it hurts
When you do not come to me
If you look into my face
The tears in my eyes you'll see

My body was scarred for you
Yet you seem not to care
You go to all your friends
But don't come to me and share

Yes, I do know them already
But I want to hear your voice
I want you to come to me
I want it to be your choice

Forcing you is not my will
I just simply call
But if you do not heed my voice
I will cease to speak at all

You don't know how long I'll wait
So please don't delay
My face will light up with a smile
When you come to me and pray"

God can take care of you. Do you believe that? He can take care of your money and your health, your family and your things. He is all powerful. He is all mighty. So many times we limit God because we do not believe he can do everything. We don't ask Him to help our financial situation, but we will go to a bank and get a loan. We don't go to Him begging to know why we have a sickness and for Him to heal it, but we do run to the doctor and get a prescription to fix it. What are we telling Him when we do that? Do we really trust God? Do we really cast our cares upon Him? Because He does care for us and wants to show us He cares. We need to put down our feelings of relying on man for help and let God show us His power.
  Now I'm not saying going to the doctor is wrong but first I would encourage you to ask God: Is there a reason why you are letting this happen? or Is this a consequence for allowing some sin in my life? Everything boils down to our relationship with God. Are we where we are supposed to be?
Is my heart right with God?

~Looking to Him

Do you know what one of the hardest things in life today is? Being still! Everything is fast-paced; you're going somewhere, or doing something, and you know what? Its so easy to forget about God.
How are we supposed to hear His still small voice when our schedules are full and we go from one thing to the next? We are so focused on the here and now that we miss His promptings.
  Col. 3:2 says "Set your affections on things above not on things on the earth." We are going to have to concisely and continually take our minds off of us and on to God. I know, I struggle here. So how can we do that? Later on in Col. 3 verses 16-17 it kind of explains. "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord
And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of our Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him"
  So from that I get that we need to be in the word, believing it and applying it, so that it becomes our life. Then our minds will be drawn to Him. It won't be a struggle when our heart is already there.
  So here are some suggestions (I intend to use them too!)

• When you see a beautiful creation-praise God for it!
• When something special happen-thank God for it!
• When something unpleasant happens-thanks God for it! ;)

Unpleasant things should turn our thought to God just as well as pleasant one!
One way I love to praise God is by going outside and finding a secluded place, then I sing my heart out to Him. (I love to sing!)

These are just some things I'm thinking about and I hope they make you think too!

~Heart issues

                       I can't wait for good weather because I am running very low on pictures to use!

I decided to continue what I was thinking about in Romans 6. My last post I went over verses 14 and 15 so I'll start at 16 and continue through 18.
  "Know ye not that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey," So in other words, what you serve is your master, and what you spend the most time doing  and thinking about the most is your god.
  "Whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness." (the penalty of sin is death and the reward for obedience is righteousness) This next part is another one I really like "But God be thanked, that ye were (used to, have been but are no longer) the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart, that form of doctrine which was delivered you." Can that be said of you? That you were the servant of sin, but now you have obeyed from the heart? Obeying from the heart-that got me to thinking. How many ways are there to obey? Offhand I could only think of two. From the heart and from the mind. What's the difference? Well I would say obeying from the heart is submission. It is giving up your will to someone in authority. Obeying from the mind is just compliance. Doing it just because you have to or maybe because it'll look bad if you don't. It is saying 'I reserve the right to fulfill my own will.' That is not submission. Its is not godly, so it is sin.      "Being then made free from sin, ye become the servants of righteousness."
Are you free? Just recently we began watching a series of sessions by John Regier about the 12 locked hearts. If you have never heard of him I would encourage you to look him up. Anyway because of watching those sessions that part about being free really stuck out to me.
  Back to are you free. Is your heart filled with joy and peace that God has saved you and allows only good things to happen in your life? Do you accept yourself physically how God has made you and praise Him for it. Do you continually look for and rebuke the lies that Satan and Self bring to you? If so, are you striving to help others to the same freedom Christ has given you?

 I know, I ask a lot of questions, but as Christians we should. We need to be continually evaluating where we are spiritually and striving to move on to a higher understanding of Him.

~A purposed heart

What can God do with someone who has totally dedicated their life to Him, and promises to keep themselves pure?
 Well I found one answer to that in the book of Daniel. The verse that really got me thinking on this was Daniel 1:8 'But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine that he drank.' So Daniel explained his problem to one in charge, because he could not eat it. By this you can see Danial obviously knew what God asked of His people, and he was determined to do it even though it could cost him. He would please God. And he did. It shows how pleased God was with Daniel and the three others that stood with him, (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego) and that He rewards those that stand on His word. In verse 17 it says 'God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.' It also says in verse 20 that the king 'found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm.'
  So here's a question: Did God only bestow those kind of blessing back then, or can it still happen today?
Most certainly it still can and does happen. (Except you won't see it unless you're looking.) But how?
The answer is in Psalm 51:17 "The sacrifices are a broken spirit and a contrite heart, O God thou wilt not despise." In order to please God we need to have a humble and willing heart to do what He asks. I love what David says in Psalm 27, where he writes about God asking him to seek His face. David replied that his heart said 'Thy face Lord, will I seek.' It wasn't just his mouth saying it but it was the deepest part of his heart crying out to be where God wanted him to be. And he did seek God's face. How else did he become known as the 'man after God's own heart?' 
  So once again it comes down to us. We are going to have to make a decision. Is this how we are going to live? Wholeheartedly seeking Him, honoring Him, obeying Him, and ultimately living for Him? But there is only one way we will be able to do that. Its by knowing what is required of us, and there is only one book that gives the guidelines and directions for that. The Bible.

~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.

~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.