ROCK CRIES OUT?

Out on the paved road, a random rock

I was out for my (near daily) walk. I was thinking about so many things and praying, trying to get God’s perspective on the many things going through my mind. In particular I was thinking about the things I needed to do to get flowing again on the freedom of the heart ministry (Mustang Heart) and telling the Lord that even though it is something that I think I will love, I could not love it more than him and asking again if I was on the right track.

My broken but healed heart

At that very moment I looked down and saw this rock on the pavement. I started to walk passed it and realized that if I rotated it, it would look like a heart. (Somewhere in my ramblings through life I read about a man that was often encouraged by the Lord by seeing heart-shaped things in nature:  rocks, poop piles, sticks. etc.)  When I turn around to pick it up, I saw it! It was a heart...broken heart with a chunk missing and lots of scars, BUT it was a healed heart because all the edges were smooth. 

I picked it up and realized it was my heart. Although it had been broken and scarred, Jesus had healed it and God was letting me know I was on the right track with Him and He loved me beyond measure.

“Praise the Lord. How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him!

He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”      Psalm 147:1, 3 NIV

“The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.”      Jeremiah 31:3 NIV

This boot was made for walking!

As I walked and meditated on this, I rotated the rock again. This time it took the shape of a boot and I got the impression to keep on walking! Keep on keeping on!  Keep progressing! Do not get discouraged and do not stop!  Not only in the area of the new ministry but in life in general. Don’t get stagnant!

“But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 3:13-14 NIV

I realized that I still have many things that need to be done and I best be getting at them...a little bit each day. With consistency and regularity--one step at a time or one bite at a time--even a chihuahua can eat an elephant, one bite at a time. Every day there is something I CAN do...and I declare that what I CAN DO, I WILL DO.  Good intentions do not usually produce results. It is when we put sweat into those intentions (water them!) that fruit results. For me, often that is working on the computer. Sometimes it’s finding a rock on my walk.

A horse head

More meditating. More touching and feeling that rock and I rotated it once more. I could not believe what I saw. It was unmistakably...a horse head. In fact, it even had a dish face like an Arabian.

An Arabian with flying mane!

I realized I had been trying to MAKE things happen with Angel. In my hurry to prepare her for sale I was not being fair to her. I was expecting way too much, way too fast. I had to change my attitude toward her and my approach. I had to stay in the moment with her and not worry about the future. God had that handled. I needed to do, what I knew how to do, and let Him do what He does best.

“Whoever obeys his command will come to no harm, and the wise heart will know the proper time and procedure. For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter, though a person may be weighed down by misery.”      Ecclesiastes 8:5-6 NIV

In my rush with Angel I had nearly been hurt more than once. I know the proper timing and procedures for success. Even though I am weighed down with a self-imposed timeline, neither God nor Angel acknowledge that. I better just do what is proper and enjoy the process and the success.

Now you may be saying, “God does not speak to me like that!” 

I want to challenge you to ask him to speak and to look for the God winks in your life each day. God doesn’t usually speak to me this way either. But I’m always looking for him to say something to me. Most often it is through his Word. Sometimes it’s through his creation, Sometimes through a person or perhaps through a situation. God is always speaking. The question is: Are we listening?

“For he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Today, if only you would hear his voice,”      Psalm 95:7 NIV

PS. I had a very good session with Angel that day and every day since!

Enemy of Best

There is an old saying:

Good, better, best

Never let it rest

Get your good, better,

And you’re better, best.

I needed to take my new horse, Angel, to the vet to get her teeth checked because she was thin and had continued to lose weight after the move to New Mexico. Although I had taken some time to get her trailer loading functional (“good enough”) before we left Colorado, it was not very good. (See the article, "Fearful Angel."

I set aside a couple of hours prior to the departure for the vet to make sure that I could have her loading confidently. I set to the task. It took almost half an hour before she would load with little hesitation, but I still needed the help of a long rope looped through a ring near the manger to keep her nose in the right direction. (She was very distractible and kept wanting to look back at JoyFull in the pen.)

I knew it was “good enough” to get us the clinic, but had doubts about getting her loaded to come back home without another training session at the vet clinic. Instead of dropping the subject with her, I let her have a break and then kept reapproaching the subject. Anytime she gave me a bigger try, I’d take her for another break or give her a bite of hay. We kept this up for another hour until she was loading with vigor and staying in longer and longer and even relaxing enough to nibble hay in the trailer. When it was time to go, she loaded better than JoyFull both going to the vet and coming home.

What if I had stopped when it was “good enough”? The problem with “good enough” is that it often leads to forgetfulness. We forget about working on it until the next time the skill is needed. Then we discovery that it is not “good enough” any more and we must take more time to work on it again. It is the old situation of not taking the time it takes to cement the behavior, so you have to take the time to do it over and over and over again. In fact, if the need arises irregularly, the skill may never be mastered or the project finished.

This applies to people and their lives as well. What are you tolerating in your life that is “good enough” instead of putting forth you best effort?

Work performance?

House cleaning or organization?

Weight loss?

Fitness?

Spiritual life?

Financial fitness?

Relationships?

Your calling or purpose?

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord.”

Colossians 3:23 NIV

If you knew you were working for the God of the universe, what would you do differently?

You are, you know!

The Fearful Angel

Over the last several years,
since Dazzle died, I have had a yearning to breed again.  Usually this yearning starts in the winter or fall and—usually—by summer I am able to shake it…BUT in 2018 instead of being able to shake it, the desire kept getting stronger and stronger.

Where, Oh Where Did The Strege’s Disappear To?

It has been over 2 years since I have written. Oh my, a lot of water has roared under the bridge!

Top 10 Reasons I'm Selling My Horses

JoyFull and Treasure at Soldier Creek Wilderness, NE

I have had many people lamenting my decision to sell my horses and wondering if I’m getting out of horses and horsemanship.  The short answer is “no.”  I’m only getting out of horse ownership.  I still have much horsemanship knowledge to share and teaching is a gift that gives me much joy.  There are many reasons, that I find it expedient to end horse ownership.

Here are my top 10 reasons:  

Horsemanship: Fountain of Witty Ideas

I wisdom dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge of witty inventions.  Proverbs 8: 12

A frequent complaint of students across the country is that they feel they are boring their horses and... they are right!  But this need not be true if you have a witty idea!

When I was newly in the Parelli program, I attended a clinic taught by Neil Pye.  It was a Level 1 Beginning Partnership clinic.  He said something that ignited my imagination,

What is a Dream Worth?

"Take delight in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart."  Psalm 37:4  NIV

"He fulfills the desires of those who fear him..." Psalm 145:19 NIV

 Did you know that God actually put dreams and desires in your heart!