Meet Bella

Hi everyone!

So I would like to introduce you to the newest member of my little family:                                   

Meet Bella. She is 4 year old miniature who has the ability to melt hearts. ;) She has some of the softest sweetest brown eyes I've ever seen and if there ever was a pony with a "...gentle and quiet spirit..." (1 Pt. 3:4) it would be her.
Lately I have felt like God has been calling me to get back to my original focus of using horses as therapy animals as a branch of my business plan. A therapy pony has to be pretty special and withstand a lot of unusual circumstances. My other guys are gentle enough but I need something I can train to "go on the inside" if you know what I mean and visit people in actual nursing homes, hospitals, schools etc. Now Bella is very shy and has not had much done with her but apparently has an affinity for children. It is my hope to work with her and possibly get her certified for therapy work or.....
Bella is also expecting a little one this next summer. And to say the least I am sooooo excited!! This will be my first equine baby and I am looking forward to the experience. And this baby is going to be born with a job...haha! From the very beginning I will be able to work with her/him and train it to the perfect little therapy pony. So whether Bella comes along or we find out that being a inside therapy pony is not her gift, then I will be able to use her little one.

Each time I have gotten an new animal I feel as if God has guided the process. Each of their stories and the connections made with absolute strangers has been such a rewarding experience. I have made new friendships and new doors have opened.
It is also exciting to see how He is opening the doors to my business. This next year is shaping up to be the right year to start this venture and I have gained resources that I would have not had if I started this earlier. Just evidence He always has a plan! I also feel He has convicted me to get back to some of my original visions. I have always been happiest when I am helping others and bringing happiness to other people's lives. Something about taking the focus of yourself and your "problems" and being there for someone else is good for the soul. As Christians we are supposed to be Kingdom and Christ-minded and what did Christ do? He cared about others. He sacrificed. The focus was not on Himself. I want to reflect that. I want to bring joy to people's lives with the amazing creatures He has blessed me with. Lately I have had feelings of guilt that God has given me a fairly easy life with my health and abilities when so many people are struggling and in pain every day of their lives.  But I have realized that I don't have to feel guilty. Now that doesn't mean I parade around and act like I've got it all together because I don't. But  rather it is a humbling and huge calling. Because I have been blessed with all the capabilities I have, I need to use those to help everyone I possibly can around me. I can't sit on the sidelines when I have work to do. I have a responsibility to help, encourage, stand up, speak out, and fight for people who need it. I need to use this body and mind to give it everything I've got to help those God puts in my path. And that means using the gifts God has given me with my animals to make lives a little brighter even if it is just for a day. Because one day's kindness can last a lifetime. And I want that legacy. A life used up to the very end giving to others as Christ did. My hope is Bella and her little one can help bring that dream to a reality as well as my other special buddies.
I ask for your continual prayer in this venture and that God will give me the strength and guidance to stay on the path He has for me. And I will and would suggest for you to continually pray for God to show you those around you that can use your help, gifts and abilities. I have been amazed at how sometimes those people are those that happen to simple be in my every day life. And understand that if you have a particular challenge or struggle in your life whether physical or mental you have the ability to touch so many lives with your story. In a way that some of us never will be able to. Because we all have our battles. God always has a purpose and a plan for our lives irregardless of how easy or hard our lives may be and He can speak to someone through us whenever He so desires. So use what He's given you and give someone a little ray of sunshine today whether it be by your own hand or by what the Lord has blessed you with.

"...Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more." Luke 12:48 (ESV) 

The Busy Life

Hi everyone!
So I completely space last week's post and this week will be short and sweet...maybe. ;) I am currently sitting on the porch swing enjoying a rare evening of solace for this month. October always ends up being the busiest month out of the year for me it seems. It is the month where I pick up a seasonal job driving horse drawn carriages in the the little town of Nashville, IN in addition to my full time job. Plus I've gotten more involved in my church and in other areas of my life. And I have to admit it has become a little overwhelming at times. I try to cram so much into my schedule it seems I have rarely had an evening at home to just breath. Now I enjoy being busy and there is a certain element of challenge that comes with it that I like, but what I am realizing is, not only is rest necessary it is essential. As I  have been running to and fro for the past few weeks I have noticed aspects of my spiritual life struggling. I have become more stressed, a little less patient and somewhat burned out towards life. I have been neglecting certain things such as time with God and I believe some of the things He is wanting me to work towards. Also I feel as if I have been neglecting others. I have not been giving them my best as far as listening and being there for them because my mind is off into the next day's tasks.
I believe through all of this God is showing me the importance of prioritizing. What is to be truly important in my life. It is good to be busy don't get me wrong but what is productive I think is the question to be asked. Are we merely just doing busy work running back and forth or are we actually getting the things He wants accomplished? Often times I think when we are in the mindset of what all we have to get done we have a tendency to simply just focus on getting it over with instead of enjoying it in the moment. What person could God be bringing to us that needs someone to listen to them, what opportunity to we have to minister in our tasks, what attitude to we have towards these tasks, are we doing them just to put a notch in our belt? Ouch, but I have to say it because I can be guilty of it. What attitude do we need to show for the world to see in the midst of our busy schedule?
In the busy times of our life I believe it is extremely crucial we examine all that we are doing against God's microscope. Now obviously there are things that have to be accomplished and we simply cannot just "cut out". But if certain things are causing a serious detriment to our spiritual life and walk with Christ then perhaps we need to consider things carefully and prioritize. We still need our quiet time with Him to be rejuvenated and refilled with His Word. Nothing can come out of empty cup.
When I step back from  the craziness and say this specific time is for Him and to simply enjoy His presence I am encouraged and given new strength. And my eyes are opened to the things that He wants me to actually be focusing on....like the business plans and critters I have been neglecting lately. I am continually reminded that my business plan has the opportunity to become such a ministry tool and I need to stop putting it off. Also I think sometimes when we are so busy, at least for me, my focus can easily become all about me and what "I" need to get done and what "I" need to accomplish when I think the real question should be what can "we do together Lord, to further Your Kingdom today"? My first and foremost goal should be doing things for God's glory not my own. How I am I furthering His Kingdom, how am being His witness?
I am reminded of a phrase I learned in college that has stuck with me and it is "quality over quantity". It is not about how much stuff you are into. It is about the quality of what you are doing. Are you so busy that you are not able to give something your very best?...think about that because that something might really need it. Someone might really need you and you are off into the next day already. Be busy at life but be slow enough to see what God is really trying to show you. Write out your schedule and weight the pros and cons. Pray about it and ask God for His guidance and what needs to change.
Because I don't know about you but I don't want to get to the end of the road and have a list five miles long all the things I managed to juggle but all the hearts and details that I missed that desperately needed my attention.   

Exposing Evil and Pursuing Truth

Hi everyone,
This past week has been a whirlwind of events in both my world and in the world as a whole. Unfortunately there has been tragedy, and unwelcoming news and let's just say that this week has reminded me of how messed up and broken this world can be. I have to admit it kinda of wore on me this week. I am a person who wants to fix everything. I want to say and do things that makes everything all right. I want to take away people's pain and sorrow. I want to think the best of everyone and that no one could be a possible tool for horrible things. I want to basically ignore the evil in this world. Now you may say that's not a bad thing...I mean, who wants to dwell on evil right? But I realized something. What are our usual chain of reactions to evil? Often we go through stages of shock, maybe denial, then anger and sorrow. The end result is often and hopefully justice, the resolve to make things better somehow or and try and prevent it from happening again. Now let me tell you what I am noticing now days. Whenever evil decides to rear its ugly head often the end result is to start laying blame and pointing fingers at one another and other people irregardless if they were even involved. Suddenly everyone is the cause of this wrong doing and the real problem is buried in the stones being thrown at one another until we forget about the real issue. And then we move on until the next act of evil comes and we start the cycle all over again.
The problem I believe here is that we don't want to dig for the real root of evil, we just want to start throwing stones at our neighbors and call it a day. Sometimes I think we are afraid of what we might really find. And yes we are hurt and confused and don't know what to think sometimes, but that doesn't give us the right to start swinging. I'll be the first to confess when something bad happens I can get angry, tunnel vision and want to spout off the first thoughts and theories that come to my mind, but that is not always the best option. I have decided I really want to fight evil in the most effective way possible. Instead of fighting it haphazardly and eventually moving on and forgetting. I want to dig deep into the heart of the problem, look beyond the surface and get real answers. Sometimes acts of evil are blatant and some have many layers of deception that are hard to uncover. The Bible says the devil "prowls" around like a lion seeking who he may devour. (1 Peter 5:8 ESV) Evil is sneaky. And we as lights in this dark world and speakers of the truth must make sure we are seeking the real truth and not settling for what everyone wants to tell us. This does not mean we beat around the bush and not call a spade a spade when it is obviously clear, but we need to expose evil in the right way. We are called to be the light that exposes the darkness (Eph. 5:8-11) We base our truth upon solid evidence and reasoning. We light up evil for what it really is and we shun it. Now does this mean we take it out on all the people who are innocent? No. Does this mean that we shut down everybody else's freedom? No. Does this mean that we place ourselves as the beacon of all of knowledge and decision making? No. We simply stand for what we know to be true and we don't back down. The devil loves it when we fight as families, friends, communities, and nations. Because while we are doing that we are scuffling dirt over the real root of the problem. He wants us to be so distracted at condemning each other that we don't shut down the real evil doers and evil doings in this world. We don't dig into the real evidence because we are so blinded by our personal preferences and biases that we can't see anything else. And we are all guilty of it in some shape or form. Ultimately only God knows the whole truth and is the final judge, but we are called to stand up against the evil in this world even if it is hard. Even if it exposes some pretty ugly things and even if it hurts a little because in the end I think it will be far worse if we turn a blind eye. Of course we shouldn't seek to find evil in everything and everyone and let that color our interactions with people that we know or meet. It is important to see and find the good in people and situations while still being wise. We must be wise and discerning in a evil world but be standing in what is true and just ourselves. It isn't about condemning everyone because we all have sinned.

Now as far as our other responses to evil one of the things that I always want to do is help people any way I can. Sometimes there are things that we just cannot fix, but I bet if we really think about it, we can come up with ways to combat evil. We can pray, we can use our talents and abilities to help those hurting, we can speak out when we know the truth, we can be a shoulder to cry on and to help carry the burden with, and we can be a ray of light in a dark situation. Being righteously angry about something is not wrong, but if we just run always run our mouths and do nothing about it to try and make a positive difference then it is utterly useless. Hurting people in the face of evil don't always want someone ranting, they want someone to stand alongside them. We have to face the real issues head on and refuse to back down until the truth is brought forth, irregardless of our egos and personal gain.
There unfortunately with always be evil in this world until Christ comes back but we still must do our part to not let evil take more and more ground. And it starts with us saying enough is enough and asking God to show us the real issues we need to face. The courage to search for the real truth and illuminate the darkness. The strength to realize our feelings will get bruised from time to time and it's OK and to but down the stones in our hands and reach out with and open hand instead. Evil hates compassion and it hates people who strive for the truth no matter what. If we start coming together and fighting the enemy within us, we will be able to stand up against anything. So let's do some truth seeking and crush evil.

"...Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and not city or house divided against itself with stand." Matthew 12:25 ESV