Re-Encouragement

Why is it that sometimes after a marvelous week do I get a yucky week to follow?  Or find out something really great only to find out something really not great?  I feel so pumped to do something and then whoosh the air comes rushing out so fast I'm blown away into discouragement.  This is when I have to remind myself of "Re-Encouragement."  I have to go back to the reason I was encouraged in the first place.......and if I focus on that I can usually find a bit of Re-Encouragement to keep pressing on.   It's not easy, but I find it necessary if you want to put a real smile on your face.  Yes.  I've needed Re-Encouragement lately...mainly because I do not know what the right thing to do is...or if God really wants that!   

It's funny though how quick we let our encouraging days go by us barely stopping to admire the moment, but when we go through a test or a trial or uncertainty we ponder days and nights until we become just down right miserable!  It can be a pain to accept the encouraging moments because sometimes they are so small and quiet that we can't hear them because of the loud discouragements we encounter.  But they are there.  Tidbits of encouragement in tiny raindrops fall down from someone's kind words or deeds........and this is sometimes where I look to for Re-Encouragement.  Because I love to be JOYFUL!!!  I want to focus on good things and most importantly I want to focus on what God's plan is for me!  Sure I'm a bit "stuck" right now in one particular area, but that shouldn't stop me from doing what I know He wants of me and that alone can sometimes be the best "Re-Encouragement!"  He's not through with me yet!

Kitty's Surprise!

Sometimes in shows you don't always get your horses best---sometimes you don't get anything out of them and occasionally you get the unexpected joy ride of your life!!!  I went to a horse show this past weekend just to get some more reining experience for my horse--this was her 4th time with everything--remember I don't have sand to practice on....I'm sorta in love with a new horse sport--reining: sliding stops, spins, fast and slow circles, rollbacks, long backing!  It's really fun and takes an athletic horse!  Anyway, 2 of the 3 other times I showing Kitty she reared in her class because she was just too confused with what I wanted.

The reining horses were all doing well and putting on a good show for the reining trainer....The cheers were loud for each horse....Then, It was my turn to go.....I was nervous and excited.  I had been working with her, but I didn't know what to expect.....I paused to say a quick prayer before I entered into that lonely arena. Our spins were first--slower than what I wanted, but no rears.....next our circles...a few mistakes, but nothing big......we move on to the rollbacks....boom huge sliding stop!!!  I'm smiling.  I'm not nervous.  I'm having a blast.  There were 3 times for the sliding stops and she did them...HUGE!  We're done...already? Silence.  No whistling cheers for me as I'm not known in the horse show world, but that didn't matter....WE DID IT!!! NO REARS!!  AND.....Kitty was sliding and it felt so cool to ride that!!!!  It was a personal best for us!  My Dad was volunteering at the gate at that time and overheard the trainer tell his group of girls, "Now, that was a good sliding stop!"  and he shows all over with his horses so that was really neat that Dad overheard that!

Very cool experience!  It won't be soon forgotten!  Amazing horse! Amazing ride!  Thanks for the great surprise Kitty!  :) <3

Keep on Smiling/Liberty work

What have I been up to?  It's the time of the year that just gets really busy so that can make it stressful.  Last week I felt like a failure....I just wasn't succeeding at anything!  And maybe in most peoples eyes, I still haven't truly succeeded this week and one of my ongoing goals (that alot of people can do!) seems to be quite unreachable....but I had a different outlook this week and I'm truly smiling inside and out!  It's funny...we go through life with alot of the same problems and one day they don't bother us and the next they really bother us!  Or it's just one problem after another!  I know we are all faced with problems every day we live.....and I just have to keep reminding myself that God still loves me and is in control.

Perhaps one reason for my smiley face, is that my girls worked really well on our liberty work.  So what's this liberty work stuff?  Basically, it's an advanced way of working with your horse so that eventually you don't need much of anything to control your horse.  Liberty horses don't need bits, halters, or lead ropes-the horse is free from all that stuff!  I think they like it that way too!  Most of you know....my horses are NOT perfect and we are in the very early stages, but I feel somewhat advanced too because they are doing so well for how few times I've done this!  It just takes more time and I like to just get out and ride!  But my girls seem to be helping me out!  Below is Missy getting ready to be warmed up!

Kitty is more than ready for her turn! 

I was trying to take a "my view" pic but I barely get anything....

Here we are trotting together side by side...Missy is on a lead rope but very loose--basically if I need to correct her it's there!  These are both mares too!  One has an attitude problem and the other is the herd leader!  So not exactly easy picks for this, but we're coming!  And we're having loads of fun too!

And whatever ya do...keep trying....keep striving.....and keep smiling!!!  :)

Memorably Fun Birthday!

I can't believe I'm 24, but I am!  I had a very enjoyable birthday week as so many fun things happened!!!! Maybe the best present of all was being able to spend a fun evening with a dear friend of mine (Kelsey) who had been out of country for a whole year!  So that was cool!  Kelsey let me perform some of my horse tricks for her and even took some neat pics so of course I have to show them off!!!!

The kneel

 All 4 feet on the pedestal

 Using Kitty as a slide

 The bow in not so usual position......But...whatever!  ;)

Above lounging and below Kitty coming to me

 Kitty smiling on the pedestal

 Riding Bridle-less

 Missy loves the pedestal!

 Below:  This is my favorite picture right here!!!!  Look at how cute these two are--one could NEVER resist them if they happened to run into you and tell you HELLO!  Well...least I can't!!!  :)  I think I could have Kelsey horsin around in no time!!   What ya'll think?

 Kitty getting ready to push me aside because she gets the spotlight--not me!

I hate college!

I was reminded that it is summer break for all of you still in jail-oops...college, and I didn't really post this video anywhere--I thought I posted it here, but I couldn't find it!   So here you go friends!  A heartfelt song about college!

Don't You Dare Ever Let Go!

I was just thinking about how everyone has their own unique personality--we are all so different!  I was saying to my parents how incredibly silly I must seem sometimes to the passing bystander.  Just last Sunday I was talking guns, competitively playing football with the cousins and logging all my stats--4 touchdowns/one touchdown pass/one interception, etc. so not girly right? and you can't even imagine all the crazy horse related stuff I've done--my poor neighbors--what entertaining sights they get!!!  Point is we are all different for a reason.  God made us that way.  Don't you remember what it says about snowflakes?  That no two are the same.  I believe this is true for people too.  We may have lots of similarities, but we each hold something very special and wonderful that no one else can ever hope to hold.  What do you hold?  I can't answer that question......I can only try to reassure you that God doesn't make mistakes and if you've never truly asked Him--how are you suppose to know what powers you can hold?

When I first bought my horse, Missy, I wasn't looking for a horse like her. It was certainly not "love at first sight!"   Her bratty attitude and built up hate for me seemed to shout out to me that this was not a good idea, but the back of my mind kept saying "Hold on!"  She tried kicking if you touched her belly and her legs were scratched up with fungus which meant lots of baths and scrapping scabs.  On top of that she was a bit head and alot ear shy.  I pretty much made up in my mind that this horse was hopeless!  How could I train something that hated me?  Every time I lounged her she would turn her bottom to me and kick out (very bad) at me and I remember my horse neighbor driving by exclaiming what a hand full I had gotten.  I struggled with what this horse had to offer, but something inside me said, "Hold on!"  Little by little she gave me glimmers of hope that maybe she did hold some sort of talent.  She still laid her ears back at me when I came to get her in the pasture....but she showed ever so slightly that she did love me...she started to enjoy her training and instead of hate she was starting to love me. I'm not even sure when the "Hold on" voice changed to "And don't you dare let go!"  But it did.  To make a long story short I don't know what I'd do without her! Our love for each other is still growing, and occasionally one of us is bound to lay our ears back, but we are more than just friends now--we are a team!  Why?  Because one of us chose to "Hold on" and Love even when there was little to no love back. One of us decided to "Hold on" and seek whatever talent it was that the other had.  And as I look back, I really wonder who "Held on" the longest..maybe it was really Missy who was hanging on the longest....waiting for someone to reach out and love her for what she is not what she could be if only she could do this or that.  

Maybe I'm not coming around to the point fast enough for ya, but there is nothing wrong in you being yourself for Jesus.  You don't have to compare yourself to what others are doing--you have that special something that your holding onto that you can use for Jesus.  You may not be loved for what you do.  You may be hated, but don't ever stop doing what it is that He designed you to do.  Someone else needs that "Love" that "talent" that you hold so don't you dare ever let go of what you were meant to Hold!  Because if you've let go--you are most likely missing a few wonderful "Missy's."

Camping Fun!

I know this is a bit late, but here it is!!!  The video of me and my awesome cuz's horse camping fun.  So thankful for Rebecca (who doesn't mind hanging out with a crazy kid and her horses) and my two girls!  Very blessed. Great times!