How do you know when the right time is for something?
How do you know when to say goodbye, hello, or to let things go?
Life is hard. Decisions are hard. Sometimes it is easier to be passive and not make decisions. But sometimes being passive and taking a step back can be more damaging than actually stepping up and making a decision no matter how hard it might be.
What does God say about decisions?
"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."
Philippians 4.6-7
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths."
Proverbs 3.5-6
"If you are looking for advice, stay away from fools."
Proverbs 14.7
Let God be your guide. Go to Him. Run to Him. Seek Him out always.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
lemons
Lemons are and interesting fruit. They are tart, but paired with sugar, or poultry or sliced and placed in a pitcher of water, they can taste different. I feel that life is like that sometimes, and we often hear the quote, "What do you do when life hands you lemons..."
What do you do? How do you respond when things get tart? How do you respond when life throws a curveball and hands you something tough, or unbearable? Do you face it head on? Do you push it under the rug? Do you shut down? Do you play the victim? Do you only think about yourself?
What does God call us to do?
Philippians 2:3-4 says, "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others."
It's hard being humble. It is hard not to be selfish, conceited, and vain. The world tells us to think about ourselves all the time, and God tells us to think about others, even in times of distress or immense pain.
So I ask you, when life hands you a lemon, what are you going to do with it?
What do you do? How do you respond when things get tart? How do you respond when life throws a curveball and hands you something tough, or unbearable? Do you face it head on? Do you push it under the rug? Do you shut down? Do you play the victim? Do you only think about yourself?
What does God call us to do?
Philippians 2:3-4 says, "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others."
It's hard being humble. It is hard not to be selfish, conceited, and vain. The world tells us to think about ourselves all the time, and God tells us to think about others, even in times of distress or immense pain.
So I ask you, when life hands you a lemon, what are you going to do with it?
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
soup soup soup
I made beef vegetable soup today with cornbread.
I love soup.
I can eat it any time of day.
Actually a little history on soup is that most places in the world usually have some type of soup, or soup broth for breakfast because it has most nutrients your body needs to start your day. A homeopathic doctor told me that.
Now it makes me want to eat soup more.
For the beef vegetable soup I first cooked 1/4 of white onion in equal parts olive oil and butter along with a little garlic salt. I usually use a clove of garlic but I got a little lazy. Then add your meat...chicken, beef, turkey, veal, duck, whatever you'd like. The only thing that changes is the broth flavor.
I used beef. I let it cook with the onions for about 10 minutes. I didn't let it cook all the way before I added the beef broth.
Let simmer while you cut your vegetables.
You can use any vegetable really, but I used carrots, celery, potato, and green beans. Cut them up and throw them in. you might need to add a little water to the broth and some spices when you add the veggies.
Let simmer for 1 hour, and tada! You just made delicious soup.
Recipe for Beef Vegetable soup:
1 package beef (I buy it already cut up)
1/4 of white onion
1/4 stick of butter
4 tablespoons olive oil
3 carrots, peeled and cut
3 handfuls of green beans cut in half
2 potatoes peeled and sliced
2 stalks celery cut
2 basil leaves cut up
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 can of beef broth
1 cup water
I will post a picture of the finished product. :)
Enjoy!
ps- for the cornbread I just used a box of jiffy cornbread mix. I usually add a little yogurt and a can of corn to the mix...but I didn't have those.
I love soup.
I can eat it any time of day.
Actually a little history on soup is that most places in the world usually have some type of soup, or soup broth for breakfast because it has most nutrients your body needs to start your day. A homeopathic doctor told me that.
Now it makes me want to eat soup more.
For the beef vegetable soup I first cooked 1/4 of white onion in equal parts olive oil and butter along with a little garlic salt. I usually use a clove of garlic but I got a little lazy. Then add your meat...chicken, beef, turkey, veal, duck, whatever you'd like. The only thing that changes is the broth flavor.
I used beef. I let it cook with the onions for about 10 minutes. I didn't let it cook all the way before I added the beef broth.
Let simmer while you cut your vegetables.
You can use any vegetable really, but I used carrots, celery, potato, and green beans. Cut them up and throw them in. you might need to add a little water to the broth and some spices when you add the veggies.
Let simmer for 1 hour, and tada! You just made delicious soup.
Recipe for Beef Vegetable soup:
1 package beef (I buy it already cut up)
1/4 of white onion
1/4 stick of butter
4 tablespoons olive oil
3 carrots, peeled and cut
3 handfuls of green beans cut in half
2 potatoes peeled and sliced
2 stalks celery cut
2 basil leaves cut up
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 can of beef broth
1 cup water
I will post a picture of the finished product. :)
Enjoy!
ps- for the cornbread I just used a box of jiffy cornbread mix. I usually add a little yogurt and a can of corn to the mix...but I didn't have those.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
last days
Tomorrow is a memorial service in remembrance of my grandfather, Jean. Below is his brief eulogy that I will be reading tomorrow afternoon:
"Before I start, some of the ideas in Grandpa’s eulogy is taken from Shauna Niequst’s book Bittersweet.
We all know how much Grandpa loved to tell stories. He loved telling stories more than listening to them. He loved sharing of his army days at Ft. Ruckert; the hundreds of cars he fixed, how they don’t make things like they use to, and of course stories that embarrassed Grandma. He was a man of many talents and hobbies, and could often be found in the garage fixing whatever gadget at that time. He didn’t always expect to be hugged or kissed when his grandkids left; but always grateful before we skipped out the door.
To me, Grandpa was a bittersweet man. His character depicted something broken, and something beautiful. I use the word bittersweet because it best describes the man that he was. He was full of depth, complexity, and courage. He was bitter because he made each of us in some way stronger, forced some of us to push through, and he showed most of us how to earn the lines on our faces and the calluses on our hands. He was sweet because he taught some of us the importance of providing for family, the smiles he threw our way, and lifelong marriage to our Grandma.
In some ways, Grandpa changed the way each of us live, and the way we all understand life. He showed us the good and the bad, the joy and sadness, and that hard work does pay off. His legacy left a lifetime of lessons learned, and different roads traveled. He showed each of us in some way the rawness of life and how to carry on in easy times, and in times of distress. I want to leave you with one thought: What can you take from this mans life, the bitter and the sweet and use it to stretch yourself in ways you never thought you could? "
You have to understand that my grandfather was not the nicest man that lived on this earth, and after writing his eulogy, it got me thinking about my own life. It makes me think how I want to remembered. I don't want my family to have a hard time coming up with good memories, my triumphs, favorite memories, and jokes of mine. I want them to rejoice in the life I lived, not be relieved that I am gone.
So, how do you want to be remembered? What are you doing with your one and only life? What would you change? How are you growing?
I challenge you to live a life of meaning, truth, joy, patience, and love.
"Before I start, some of the ideas in Grandpa’s eulogy is taken from Shauna Niequst’s book Bittersweet.
We all know how much Grandpa loved to tell stories. He loved telling stories more than listening to them. He loved sharing of his army days at Ft. Ruckert; the hundreds of cars he fixed, how they don’t make things like they use to, and of course stories that embarrassed Grandma. He was a man of many talents and hobbies, and could often be found in the garage fixing whatever gadget at that time. He didn’t always expect to be hugged or kissed when his grandkids left; but always grateful before we skipped out the door.
To me, Grandpa was a bittersweet man. His character depicted something broken, and something beautiful. I use the word bittersweet because it best describes the man that he was. He was full of depth, complexity, and courage. He was bitter because he made each of us in some way stronger, forced some of us to push through, and he showed most of us how to earn the lines on our faces and the calluses on our hands. He was sweet because he taught some of us the importance of providing for family, the smiles he threw our way, and lifelong marriage to our Grandma.
In some ways, Grandpa changed the way each of us live, and the way we all understand life. He showed us the good and the bad, the joy and sadness, and that hard work does pay off. His legacy left a lifetime of lessons learned, and different roads traveled. He showed each of us in some way the rawness of life and how to carry on in easy times, and in times of distress. I want to leave you with one thought: What can you take from this mans life, the bitter and the sweet and use it to stretch yourself in ways you never thought you could? "
You have to understand that my grandfather was not the nicest man that lived on this earth, and after writing his eulogy, it got me thinking about my own life. It makes me think how I want to remembered. I don't want my family to have a hard time coming up with good memories, my triumphs, favorite memories, and jokes of mine. I want them to rejoice in the life I lived, not be relieved that I am gone.
So, how do you want to be remembered? What are you doing with your one and only life? What would you change? How are you growing?
I challenge you to live a life of meaning, truth, joy, patience, and love.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Letting go.
Have you ever had something happen to you that you couldn't control?
Have you ever had something happen to you that you weren't expecting?
I know I have. I think all of us have if we really take a step back and look at everything that has happened in our lives. I always find it hard at times to let go of things when they are beyond my control, or when I don't expect them. I find it hard to give them to God. But once I give all of that to God, I feel free, I feel at peace.
The other day I was at the barn with my husband to see our horse Clementine. I was having a rough day, it got to a rocky start, and I needed some time with God and what better way to spend it with him than with Clementine. God uses her to soothe my soul. So we have Clementine in the arena and we are exercising her, and she is just going with the flow. Then, suddenly, when asking her to canter, she lets out his HUGE buck, and a squeal. As I was watching Mark work with her in the moment, I saw her freeing herself and it reminding me of well me. That day, I was let go at my job, and I couldn't give all my frustration and hurt to God. I wanted to hang onto it for some reason, but when I saw Clementine just let herself be free in that moment, I knew that I had to free myself from what I was feeling. So at the barn, I gave God my hurt, my anger, my frustration, and my confusion. And after I fully gave myself to him in that moment, I felt peace. I felt free. I felt like squealing and kicking up in the air along with my horse.
I felt good.
Thanks God for using Clementine for yet another life lesson. And for meeting me where I was at that day.
"A horse loves freedom, and the weariest old work horse will roll on the ground or break into a lumbering gallop when he is turned loose into the open." ~Gerald Raferty
Have you ever had something happen to you that you weren't expecting?
I know I have. I think all of us have if we really take a step back and look at everything that has happened in our lives. I always find it hard at times to let go of things when they are beyond my control, or when I don't expect them. I find it hard to give them to God. But once I give all of that to God, I feel free, I feel at peace.
The other day I was at the barn with my husband to see our horse Clementine. I was having a rough day, it got to a rocky start, and I needed some time with God and what better way to spend it with him than with Clementine. God uses her to soothe my soul. So we have Clementine in the arena and we are exercising her, and she is just going with the flow. Then, suddenly, when asking her to canter, she lets out his HUGE buck, and a squeal. As I was watching Mark work with her in the moment, I saw her freeing herself and it reminding me of well me. That day, I was let go at my job, and I couldn't give all my frustration and hurt to God. I wanted to hang onto it for some reason, but when I saw Clementine just let herself be free in that moment, I knew that I had to free myself from what I was feeling. So at the barn, I gave God my hurt, my anger, my frustration, and my confusion. And after I fully gave myself to him in that moment, I felt peace. I felt free. I felt like squealing and kicking up in the air along with my horse.
I felt good.
Thanks God for using Clementine for yet another life lesson. And for meeting me where I was at that day.
"A horse loves freedom, and the weariest old work horse will roll on the ground or break into a lumbering gallop when he is turned loose into the open." ~Gerald Raferty
Thursday, December 9, 2010
quiet
Is it hard for you to sit in the quiet? I mean like really sit and not let your mind be distracted with the stress of life. Have you ever just layed there, in the quiet...Have you ever just sat and waited for God's whisper? I feel that most of the time I want to hear God's whisper, but I am not patient even to let Him speak. I become selfish and wrapped up in my own stresses...Have you ever thought to share your stress with God? I know I have thought about it many times, but never done it. But God wants to take our burdens and He wants to carry it for us.
In Matthew 11:29-30 Jesus spoke of this,"Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Let Him take your troubles. Sit in the silence and surrender them to Him and maybe you will see a new light in your life.
In Matthew 11:29-30 Jesus spoke of this,"Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Let Him take your troubles. Sit in the silence and surrender them to Him and maybe you will see a new light in your life.
Monday, June 14, 2010
The hard stuff
I thought starting my own business would be much easier than I thought. There is definitely more time involved than I thought, and over the past couple of weeks I have realized that how much you put into your own business is what you are going to get out of it. It's hard because my heart has such a passion for horses; and I want to use them to heal the broken. I want children and adults to be able see that there is hope through the horses at High Hopes Farm. But the journey has barely just begun; and I definitely have to kick it into high gear; otherwise the farm will not go anywhere and I will start to reap what I sow.
I am just continually amazed at how precious the horse is; and what a phenomenal creature it is. It amazes me how God could design the horse to be such a fierce and powerful animal; but yet such gentle spirit and emotional creature. There is nothing I love more than hoping the fence to the turnout pen to see my horse Clementine. And when we meet each other in the field; eyes gazed and hearts open as we walk closer to each other I feel at peace. And there is nothing I love more than when she lets out a soft nicker to say hello as she holds her head low enough for me to hold.
I recently was in the pen with her the other night. It was about ten thirty; and we were just walking around together staring up at the stars. I would walk around the pen and I'd hear her behind me; and when I'd stop I would feel her breath on the back of my neck before she plopped her head over my shoulder looking for a treat. When she realized I didn't have one; she just stood next to me playing with my zipper on my jacket pocket. It is in those quiet moments where I hear God's whisper. It's in that moment I realized that having my own horse farm is not something that is for me; it is something that I am going to use to heal broken hearts; just like Clementine healed mine.
I am just continually amazed at how precious the horse is; and what a phenomenal creature it is. It amazes me how God could design the horse to be such a fierce and powerful animal; but yet such gentle spirit and emotional creature. There is nothing I love more than hoping the fence to the turnout pen to see my horse Clementine. And when we meet each other in the field; eyes gazed and hearts open as we walk closer to each other I feel at peace. And there is nothing I love more than when she lets out a soft nicker to say hello as she holds her head low enough for me to hold.
I recently was in the pen with her the other night. It was about ten thirty; and we were just walking around together staring up at the stars. I would walk around the pen and I'd hear her behind me; and when I'd stop I would feel her breath on the back of my neck before she plopped her head over my shoulder looking for a treat. When she realized I didn't have one; she just stood next to me playing with my zipper on my jacket pocket. It is in those quiet moments where I hear God's whisper. It's in that moment I realized that having my own horse farm is not something that is for me; it is something that I am going to use to heal broken hearts; just like Clementine healed mine.
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