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Light, Love, Hope

Light in the Darkness Surrounded by Love with Hope for those in need.

Shirley

About Shirley

https://lightlovehope.com

Shirley is the proud mother of two beautiful young ladies. She enjoys spending time with them on their ranch in the deep South with their three paint horses. Always looking for an adventure, she looks forward to hikes in the mountains chasing waterfalls, or scouring the coast for beautiful lighthouses! Shirley writes to encourage others and often times shares things that motivate and inspire her. She believes in living life to the fullest because no one is promised the gift of another day. Join her as we honor our bodies, minds, hearts, souls, and our Almighty Creator, God above!

Posts by Shirley :

Do Not Take Sides

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Oh boy!  This is a hard one.

I work in a small office, and there are three of us ladies here.  I love love LOVE my job!  I truly do.  At times, though, the female personalities can go at it here.  This is not new as this has happened at every single job I have ever held since I was old enough to work.  It’s sad, really.  But for some reason, women just cannot work together in peace, love, and harmony.  I wish that wasn’t so, though.  Why this has to be part of the “norm” in any type of environment when you have women together is beyond me.

How do you handle something like this?  VERY CAREFULLY!

One lady told me about a situation that happened three weeks ago right when it was happening.  The other lady took it upon herself today to tell me “her side” of the story from the same incident that occurred three weeks prior.  What did I do throughout these entire three weeks when there was tension between them?  I stayed out of it!  I came into work, said a blanket “Good Morning” for whoever heard and wanted to acknowledge me … and I had tunnel vision all day as I sat at my desk working.  I would speak when spoken to or if it was work related, but other than that, I kept my nose out of it.  It did not concern me at all, so I lived the past three weeks in that mindset.  In my mind, I kept repeating this, “It does not concern you, stay out of it, do not take sides, and keep yourself in check so they won’t have anything to say about you!”

Is this easy?  No!  Especially when you know an injustice has been served.  Am I getting the entire truth from both parties, though?  Probably not.  I’m sure I’m hearing what both of them want me to hear and not the whole truth.  Certainly not the hand on the bible swearing to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth like they do in a court session before a witness takes the stand.

So this post is to any one out there that is reading it today.  If you are a woman … please, I beg you, let’s work together to build each other up, not tear each other down!  Life is hard.  We all go through struggles.  We do not know and have no way of knowing what someone else is going through.  Be kinder than you normally would be because everyone is fighting some kind of battle.  Whether it is a physical ailment, something emotional where they are grieving over the loss of someone or just hurting deep within their being, or whether they are struggling with some type of mental illness, anxiety, or depression … be kind.  Extend grace.  Show compassion.  Give love.  Is that so hard?  No … it really and truly is not.

Please … let’s work together to build each other up.  In the workplace, in schools, in churches, in different situations no matter what building you are in … if there are other women, work together to build each other up!

Love thy neighbor as thy self.

Would you pick yourself apart like you’re picking apart this woman?

Would you say those things about yourself like you’re saying about this woman?

Would you roll your eyes in the mirror or laugh at yourself like you’re about to where this woman is concerned?

Would you set out to be vindictive and do something harmful to yourself?  Then why do it to other women around you?

Why complicate things with passive aggressive behavior or just out right aggression?  Why can’t we all just get along???  That is the question of a lifetime, isn’t it?

Love.  It covers all.  Even various situations where women work, play, and live closely together.

Love.  It conquers all the disputes in the world.

Love.

Period.

 

Wish

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I know it has been asked before, but if you had just one wish … what would you wish for in life?

That is a tough one.  Just ONE wish?

Would you wish for riches in the form of money or material possessions?  I would hope not.  Instead, I would hope that you’d dig deeper into your soul for something that truly matters more.

What about the people that are suffering in this life?  The ones that hide their true feelings behind their plastered on or fake smile.  The ones that laugh the loudest although their hearts are broken completely.  Wouldn’t that one wish be better suited going for something like this to heal their hurting hearts?  I’m sure they struggle on a day to day basis.  They distance themselves, isolate themselves even, in an attempt to hide from this cruel world.  So much pain has been inflicted upon them, and they hurt deep to their very core.  The things that have happened to them make them question why they had to endure such abuse, heartache, and pain … why does bad things seem to always happen to good people and the bad ones get off free as they appear to skip merrily along in life?  It doesn’t make sense at all.  Yet, there are so many good people suffering in the world today at the hands of dark, evil people that have used and abused them.  Some have had the unspeakable done to them, and yet they force a smile and try to figure out how to heal and move forward.  Wouldn’t your wish be better spent on protection over the helpless, innocent little children that are mistreated, bullied, and abused that turn into shattered adults attempting to pick up the broken pieces of their hearts from their childhood days?

Would you wish for world peace so that there would never be any more wars taking place?  World peace.  That would certainly be refreshing.  No need for guns,  weapons of mass destruction, or the military to leave their families behind to go fight for our freedom any longer because the world would be living in peace and harmony.

While we cannot change this dark world all by ourselves, we can make a difference in the lives of the ones that we share our world with.  We can be the change that we want to see in the world.  It can start with us.  It has to!  We can take our wishes and apply them to our family and friends. We can extend this grace to our coworkers and any one else that we encounter during the day.  We can lend a helping hand or give a pat on the back so that the person that might think inside that they are worthless and that no one cares will truly know that this negative self talk just is not true. If someone is questioning their worth and value, one act of kindness can begin to turn things around for them.  You could be the person that makes this very real difference in their lives.

Let’s all re-evaluate our lives and actions to see what areas we can improve upon so that we can extend more grace, love, and compassion.  We can work together right where we live to make a difference.  What a wonderful world it would be if we all came together in one accord to share love – our love and God’s love!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Karen’s prompt word of “Wish” got me to thinking and resulted in the above post.

Join us for Tuesday At Ten!

 

 

 

 

In The Blink of An Eye

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It is so nice when you’re strolling along in life with everything going your way, isn’t it?  Then, out of the blue, things can change in the blink of an eye. Your safety and security can be threatened by a decision made in one single moment that will change the rest of your life.

Or, due to no fault of your own, you could be thrust into a situation beyond your control where you run for your life to get away, and yet, you feel something kicking at the back of your heels and your legs to the point that it trips you up.  You fall to the ground and curl up into a ball using your arms as a shield from the beast that is trying to to maul you.  Within minutes, your family surrounds the beast; one hitting him to get him off of you, while one slams into his neck attempting to hold him back so he cannot trample you beneath him at the same time another is sliding their hands into the beast’s mouth in an effort to pry his jaws open to release your arm that he is holding tightly in his grip.

Yes, this just happened to our family.  Thursday night as a matter of fact.

In the blink of an eye, our entire world was turned upside down.

It was the most frightening thing to watch your child being chased by a mini donkey, one that your family made a decision together to bring home just two weeks prior to this devastating and traumatic event.

We were told that this mini donkey was “different” in that he was hand raised and bottle fed to the point that he did not know he was a donkey.  We thought he was so cute being that he was smaller than our Shetland Pony.  He made us laugh at first with how he would huff and puff until he got enough air in his lungs to “blow his horn” as he let out the loudest noise as he was braying.

This mini donkey was brought home for the sole purpose of protecting our herd of horses.  We were told that there are coyotes in our area that will sneak up on our horses to attack them at night.  Not wanting to lose any of our precious horses, we brought this mini donkey in to do the job of keeping predators away.  Little did we know that this mini donkey would turn on my ten year old daughter, as her dad stood just a few feet away, and chase her down like she was his prey.  Much to our horror, that is exactly what happened Thursday night.

My 18 year old daughter was the one that was beating this beast trying to get him to release her sister while my husband was holding him back around his neck with all of his might as my hands slipped into the donkey’s mouth in an attempt to pry open his jaws that were locked down tight on my daughter’s arm.  This donkey looked in my eyes and growled at me with the lowest, deepest, most haunting growl I have ever heard in my life while I screamed back at it, “YOU CAN NOT HAVE HER!  LET HER GO!”  

I felt his tooth piercing my flesh as my thumb was now under his lip and sliding along the gum as I pushed down with my left hand and pulled up with my right hand in an effort to free my daughter’s arm.  FINALLY, the beast let go, and I was able to snatch my hands out of his mouth about the time that her tiny body was about to hit the ground as she turned as white as a ghost.  I wrapped my arms around her tiny body and picked her up to carry her into the house.  I looked down at this beautiful baby of mine as I begged her not to leave me … “Don’t do this to me … don’t leave me … stay with me!”   She was fading fast as she was about to pass out.

She looked up with those beautiful sea blue eyes of hers as she struggled to ask, “Mama, am I going to die?”  

This shook me to my core, and I was pleading with God internally at that moment.

I looked at this innocent little angel laying in my arms and fought back the tears as I said, “No honey, you are NOT going to die.  You are going to be okay.  We just have to take you to the hospital.”

When  we reached the house, I placed her on the couch and took off her sweatshirt to see the damage this beast had done to my precious angel.  You could see the outline of all of his teeth and exactly where he clamped down on her little arm.    Fear set in, but I knew I had to get her to the hospital to make sure nothing was broken.  I quickly went to the freezer for ice to put on her little arm until we reached the hospital where the staff could take over.  As I draped towels across the ice packs and placed them on both sides of her arm, I saw the gaping hole in the side of her left arm.  I made a panicked call to my dad to tell him what took place and to ask him to meet us at the hospital.  My dad has always been my rock.  This time would be no different.

Picking her up and placing her in the car, we rushed my daughter to the emergency room where my dad arrived shortly after we did.

The medical staff took her back right away to assess the situation.  After x-rays, it was determined that she did not have any broken bones.  PRAISE GOD!  To have seen that beast going after my daughter, I know without a shadow of a doubt that my God protected her so that she escaped without any life threatening injuries and no broken bones!  She did have a very deep puncture wound from the beast’s teeth, which was cleaned out thoroughly by the nurse before the doctor came in to stitch up my daughter’s arm.

In the blink of an eye, my daughter could have been taken from us.

I still have post traumatic stress as I sit here on this Sunday night and write about the events that took place Thursday evening.  I cannot get this out of my head.  I can still hear her screams from inside the house as I scramble to get the front door open only to see my darling daughter running across the front yard with the donkey chasing her.  I can still remember leaping off of the porch, clearing three steps, as I ran as fast as my feet would carry me to battle this beast yelling the entire time, “NO! NO!!!  LET HER GO!  YOU CANNOT HAVE HER!”

I remember saying that the devil was after our family but he can NOT have us … he can NOT have my daughter!  I also remember saying that our God is BIGGER than any attack and that God is going to take care of us.  AND HE DID!  I just thank God for His hand of protection on my daughter.

Yes, in the blink of an eye our lives were turned upside down.

Tonight I sit here thanking God that my darling daughter is singing in the bath tub, and I have the privilege of washing and drying her hair.

Hold your loved ones close to you and tell them every single chance that you get how very much they mean to you.  You never know what the next minute will hold.  Let them know how much you love them.

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Grace of God

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We love family movie night in our home.  My children are anxious to gather around in the living room with popcorn in hand or, like last night, tie dye cake that my oldest daughter made.  Yummy!

Within moments, Grace of God was on the screen offering suspense into who stole funds from the church!  Who could possibly steal from the church?  That is, indeed, the question.

Assigned to the case is an investigator that seems to be so against the church and the people of the church.  He starts off talking negatively of both as he begins his investigation.

Throughout the movie, the secretary’s family is shown going through struggles.  One of her daughters is going through a very difficult time with her abusive husband and takes refuge with the children at her mother’s house.  The daughter knows it is an unhealthy situation, but she is greatly troubled about finances and the expense of obtaining an attorney to help with the legal matters.

As the movie progresses, the truth comes out, and it isn’t at all who you would have thought that had their hands in the church’s “cookie jar.”

This movie will have you thinking because, just like a character in the movie says, “You can’t judge a book by it’s cover!”  This is oh so true!  But, the pastor did not want the investigator to ruffle any feathers with the church staff, congregation, etc.  The investigator takes a strong stance, though, in an effort to uncover the thief among them.

This movie incorporates the Ten Commandments, and if you can believe it, develops into somewhat of a love story, too.

All in all, it was a great movie with a powerful message.  This is one movie you will not want to miss.

Grace of God

 

 

 

Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway. Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.

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Rest

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Then Jesus said,

“Come to me, .
all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens,
and I will give you rest.”

Matthew 11:28 NLT
 

Just reading those words brought me great comfort today.

How many are troubled and feel as if they are carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders?

How many feel so beat down and as if they just cannot win this battle?

If you are weary, take heart! Jesus is simply asking you to come unto Him.

Come … just as you are … each and every one that is struggling right this minute.

Whatever it is that you are facing, Jesus knows, and He wants you to cast all of your cares on Him.

He cares for you, He loves you with an unconditional love!

He knows you’re having a difficult time right now. Come rest in the arms of Jesus.

Rest, child … rest.

Feel Jesus wrap His loving arms around you and comfort you as only He can.

Yes, rest in the arms of Jesus!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Join us for Tuesday At Ten with Karen.

Unplug

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When you are with someone, are you truly WITH them?  What I mean is, are you physically present but distracted by your buzzing phone?  Does your attention often drift away from the person you are sitting face to face with to go to someone that is on the other end of the text message or Facebook message?

You know where I’m going with this!

If this is you … don’t you think it’s time to unplug?  It is different if you are by yourself and feel like checking every single message that comes across your phone.  It is another thing entirely when you are in the presence of people and yet have your head stuck in your phone.

There have been times in the past where I have checked messages while in the presence of others if something was going on, such as a parade that we were attending with our horses in December.  Although my family and I were out with a friend, I received an invitation for us to participate in the parade and needed to respond so they would know who all was interested.  If we weren’t, they would need to ask others to participate instead.  They were working on a time crunch and so I felt compelled to read and respond to the messages.  Ordinarily, though, I try very hard not to get caught up in the technology trap when I’m in the presence of other people.

This past weekend we had a situation where the person was clearly addicted to their online activities and their phone.  My daughter went to pick up a friend that was online playing games, and they asked her to wait while they finished their game.

WHAT?!

She told me about this later, and I definitely had a problem with this.  He made her wait … until he finished his online game.

But … that’s not all.

He did have the decency to put his phone away while we were at the table eating supper, but as soon as he finished eating, he whipped his phone out once more.

When we arrived at the house to put in a movie that HE mentioned that HE wanted to see, he sprawled out on my couch as comfy as he could be … with his phone in hand texting the ENTIRE TIME!

My daughter sat in the chair looking at him on his phone completely ignoring the movie she had playing FOR HIM.  She even said she’d turn it off since he wasn’t interested in it, but he protested saying not to and to leave it on because it was really a good movie.

Again … WHAT?!

She felt completely ignored that night and as if the other person or people on the other end of the messages were more important than her.  That just is not right!

Needless to say, at the end of the night when she took him home, she was very disappointed in how rude he was the ENTIRE TIME they were together.

No, they aren’t dating.  They were just hanging out as friends, BUT STILL … he should have unplugged long enough to talk with her or watch the movie since he mentioned he’d like to see it.

Needless to say, my daughter will not be hanging out with this friend any time soon.

If you have found yourself caught up in online activities, check yourself and see if you need to just unplug for a little while.  Those around you will greatly appreciate if you are fully present … body, mind, and spirit … and not just a lump sitting in a chair or sprawled out on the couch while we watch you give your thumbs a work out!

It’s something to think about the next time you reach for your phone in the presence of others.  Is that text message, Facebook message, or ANY message really THAT important to take away from the person that you’re with at that moment in time?

 

Modesty Is Needed

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In the world that we are living in today, there are women walking around with clothes that are barely covering their body parts.  What happened to the days gone by where women dressed conservatively?  I’m not suggesting that women wear turtlenecks all the time or dresses that sweep the floor.  What I am suggesting is that women cover their body parts!

In this day and age more and more people are getting plastic surgery.  From breast implants to even butt enhancers, the world has gone crazy for plastic surgery.  If that is what you wish to do, more power to you.  But, at least have the decency to cover your “private” parts.

Recently I went into my husband’s place of employment.  He has only been at this place for two months, so my children and I were excited to see Daddy’s new office.  He was excited for us to visit as well, and we soon began taking a tour around the two story office building.   There is a separate business within the same building that handles residential type calls for heating and air, while my husband works on the commercial side.  He still took us down there to introduce us to the staff.  It didn’t take but a minute for my daughters to whip their heads as discretely as they could around to look at me.  I knew immediately why they had this reaction.  One of the “ladies” in the office was dressed in knee high boots, jeans, and a big sweater.  The only thing was that this sweater had the biggest neck we’ve ever seen.  It was big enough that four people could have fit through it.  And can you guess WHY she was wearing such a big necked sweater?  Of course … she had fake boobs that she wanted to flaunt … and when I say that this big necked sweater barely covered … I am NOT exaggerating!  She left very little to the imagination!  As if it wasn’t enough that she was barely covered, she’d laugh and slap her knee so her boobs were even more in our face and falling out of her big necked sweater.

We exchanged pleasantries with this “lady,” and then made our way down the hall to go into meet my husband’s co-workers.  Before we did, though, my 18 year old daughter asked, “MAMA!  WHY was she dressed like that?!” 

Why, indeed!

There is NO sense in this whatsoever!  Yes, I realize she paid for the fake boobs.  Yes, I do realize that the majority of the men in the service department where she worked gathered around for the free show she was offering.  THANK GOD my husband does not work in that department and is NOT one that is gathered around with his mouth gaped open while staring at what you just can’t help but see because they are right there in your face. (At least he’d better NOT be one of them!)

Imagine giant grapefruits on your chest pushed so high up in that sweater that it’s spilling out the top of it.  Yes, that is what it looked like.  Even my 10 year old daughter commented as such.  They do not look real AT ALL … yet so many women walk around flaunting their fake boobs in their barely there tops.  Men flock to them because they are visual creatures that just cannot control themselves (~notice the sarcasm~)!  Men CAN if they only choose to do so!

This bothered me a great deal, especially with what came out last year in our family.  The struggles men face … why?  Because “sex sells.”  We are told that, and the porn industry just keeps putting it out there as well as magazines with images of women with fake boobs that eagerly pose nude.  We would have expected this had we walked into a strip joint or a restaurant that, unfortunately, we have in town where women walk around in tight, low cut shirts with their stomachs showing wearing tight shorts to match.  It’s such a shame that there are even places like this around.  Yet we did not go into an establishment such as that.  We merely went into a HVAC contractor’s office … and this is what we see?

I thought about this for a few days, reviewed the employee handbook that my husband brought home a few months ago, and then I decided after reviewing their sexual harassment policy that something HAD to be said about this.

After speaking to my husband, he agreed that it needed to be addressed with the owner of the business.  I said either you address it, OR I WILL, but I am not sitting back quietly while this goes on at your work place … ESPECIALLY with the struggles he has had in the past.  NO WAY!  We have come too far in our recovery with our marriage for THIS to happen.  I won’t accept it.  NOPE, NOT HAPPENING!!!!

My husband said the owner comes in early before the office staff, and he leaves to go to other jobs before the staff comes in so chances are that he didn’t know that she was dressing like this.  OR, if he did, he did not realize it was this bad.  I know that the other coworkers noticed, though, and it has to make them feel uncomfortable.  Besides that, it just is NOT professional attire!  This person works with the public and is projecting an image for the company.  This is most certainly NOT the kind of image I would want any one to portray for MY company, that’s for sure!

My husband requested to speak to his boss early Monday morning.  His boss was very interested to see what was troubling my husband, and so he began to tell him some of the above that I mentioned in this post.  The owner seemed unaware of the situation but said he would address it immediately.  He took it very seriously when my husband brought up the topic by saying that modesty is needed in the residential side!  Yea, no kidding!  He went on to talk about the strict sexual harassment policy that is in place there and that this is just asking for trouble, not to mention the lost production time for the service guys who are in that office getting their eyes full instead of doing their work!  The owner picked up immediately where my husband left off on the legal aspect of it as well, and he assured my husband once again that it would be addressed.

Much to our surprise, when the human resource lady got to work, the owner called her in to have a discussion.  Then, she went around to every department to speak with them individually about the dress code.  Of course, she could not single anyone out, that is why she had to speak to the individual departments together, but the “lady” would have to be brain dead not to know that this was directed at her!

The human resource lady spent a great deal of time reviewing the dress code and making sure that everyone understood.  Upon arriving to work on Tuesday, everyone had a revised dress code policy in their inboxes prohibiting low cut tops, see through tops, tank tops, spaghetti straps (unless covered by a jacket or sweater), leggings, spandex, heels 4″ or taller, etc.

BRAVO!!!!  BRAVO!!!!!

Well handled, indeed.

Needless to say, I am very pleased with the way this company addressed the issue and the manner in which they did so.  I feel stronger than ever about the owner’s position that he has taken with his staff and how he has zero tolerance for this type of improper dress attire and conduct at work.  He has earned more respect from me and my family by the way in which this was handled.  Sadly, at a place I worked for ten years, they allowed a lady with fake boobs to continue to dress inappropriately with barely-there-tops when she had to interact with the public as well.  I am not sure why she was allowed to dress in this manner, and I am happy to not be working there in that type of an environment any longer.

Modesty is needed.

I am very proud of my daughters in realizing the inappropriateness in the way that this “lady” was dressed at work.  If she was going to a party, maybe … although I still think she was showing a little too much skin.  But this certainly was not appropriate for work, and I am glad it was addressed.   I’m sure she is very proud of her fake boobs.  She can admire herself in the mirror at home or dress to impress at a party … but she needs to cover herself when at work!  Plain and simple.

Have you talked to your children about modesty?

Connection

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Have you ever met someone and instantly you felt a connection with them?  Not just any ole connection, though.  A connection of the heart.  That is what I am talking about.  Like souls drifting through the ages that have found each other once again.  That kind of connection.  Oh, it is a beautiful thing when this happens.

I have felt this a few times in my life.  From meeting the love of my life in high school but not yet realizing that he was “The One” until we reconnected several years later.  Then, it was cemented in my heart, mind, and soul.  I knew … without a shadow of a doubt … that I would spend the rest of my life with him.  He would be my happily ever after.

Happily Ever After

It happened again with my horse.  As strange as it may sound, I felt a special connection to her when I first saw her.

I will never forget that day.

We contacted the owner who had this beautiful paint horse for sale.  Eagerly, we drove two hours to her stables to take a look at this mare.

As we pulled up to the stables, I could not get out of the vehicle fast enough.  I was so excited to see this horse.  No, I didn’t want to buy just any ole horse or the first horse we looked at.  She had to be extra special before I would make her mine.  I went into this with my eyes wide open being as realistic as I possibly could about the situation.  Even still, I couldn’t help but be excited by it all.

As we approached the stall where she was kept, she looked over her shoulder at me with her eyes reflecting the tenderness in her heart.  She allowed me to walk beside her and extend my hand out to pet her plush sorrel and white coat.  Yes, she was so beautiful standing there, but it wasn’t her outward beauty that had me sold the moment I laid eyes on her.  It was her gentle nature and the tenderness in her eyes reflecting the depth of her willing soul.  Just a few minutes of interacting with her, and I knew she and I had a connection.

Notice

Ah, but we could not go by looks alone.  We had to see how she would ride.  I hadn’t had any lessons at this point in time, but I knew how to ride a horse from previous experience on vacations.  We always made sure to pick a vacation spot that had a horse ranch nearby.  I knew this would be different though, as there is a lot involved with horse ownership than what meets the eye.  It is indeed different when you’re on vacation with everyone else doing the work for you at the ranch.

We placed the saddle on her strong back and lead her into the arena.  I put one foot into the stirrup and lifted myself up and over her until I was positioned in the saddle.  With my helmet on and the reins in my hands, I was ready to see how this mare rode.

We made a few rounds in the arena before I was instructed to “squeeze” her with my legs to make her go into a trot.  Having never trotted before, I was nervous feeling as if every butterfly in the world now resided in my tummy.  I gritted my teeth, sat firmly in my saddle attempting to use my “seat bones” and squeezed her with my feet on both sides of her rib cage.  This mare went immediately into a slow trot around the arena.  I felt alive and as if new life had been breathed into me as I experienced my very first trot on this gorgeous, yet gentle, mare.  I could contain myself no longer as I smiled as widely as I possibly could as we continued around the arena still in a trot.  Joyful laughter escaped my lips as we made another lap around with her taking such good care of me.  I didn’t try to lope (Western term) that day (also known as canter in the English world).  I knew I would need lessons before I even attempted that, but I was sold.   I knew right then and there that I had to have this beautiful girl so I purchased her right there on the spot.

Her name most certainly matches her disposition – Sugar – for she is the sweetest horse I have ever encountered.

I have had the privilege of owning this gorgeous girl with a long, flowing white and sorrel mane with perfectly positioned white patches on her sorrel sides for over a year now.  Although we have come to be the owners of several more horses, Sugar is my baby.  She is my pride and joy; the one I feel such a connection to still to this very day.  I can’t imagine my life without her and find myself telling her repeatedly how much I love her.  Oh, yes, I am so thankful to have found this horse and for the connection we share!

My Girl

 

This post was inspired by Karen’s Tuesday At Ten.

 

Arise, My Love!

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Pretty Place

Jesus died such a cruel death on the cross.  He suffered in agony for all of our sins.  This beautiful, perfect man that had done no wrong was beat until He was bloody, then nailed to the cross.  He hung there with nails in His hands and feet with a crown of thorns on His head.   His mother, Mary, watched in horror and cried so many tears that day.  There on Calvary, Jesus died for you and for me.

His lifeless body was taken down from the cross and prepared for burial.  They performed the rituals before placing the body of Jesus Christ in the tomb.  They rolled a stone in place and had guards standing guard.

Ah, but the grave could not hold THE KING!

 On the third day, God whispered to His Son … “Arise, My Love” ... and Jesus arose from the dead!  Praise GOD, Jesus arose, just as He said He would!

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This morning my youngest daughter flung open the door to my bedroom as she ran to plop down on my bed.  With her sparkling blue eyes looking up at me, she smiled and put her arm around my shoulder.  I kissed her forehead, and then I asked if she knew what this day was all about.  Yes, it is Easter, but it is so much more than Easter bunnies, candy, and searching for brightly colored eggs.  Thankfully, she already knew this, but I felt in that moment that I needed to tell her the Easter story to be sure that she knew, without a shadow of a doubt!  And she did!  I am so proud to know that my daughter knows what Easter truly is about, but not only that, she has asked Jesus into her heart.  She has accepted the gift of eternal life through Jesus!  I want us to be here on this earth for a very long time, and I pray that God allows us to live long, healthy lives together.  When our time comes, we have the assurance that while we may not see each other for a while, we will be reunited in Heaven.  We have lost loved ones in the past – my sister, my granddaddy, and then my grandma – but I know that I will see them again one sweet day  all because of what Jesus did on the cross.  He died so that we may have eternal life through Him.  And I thank Him … oh, how I thank Him!

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow!

He Is Risen

Good Friday

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It is my hope that while people are enjoying this day off from work and school that they will stop to consider exactly what happened on this day.  Today is Good Friday.  It is the day that Jesus died on the cross for all of our sins.  Jesus was sinless, yet He bore all of our sins on the cross.  He endured so much pain and suffering as He was beaten, battered, and bruised.  He was mocked and humiliated.  He was crucified and hung on the old rugged cross where He died for you and for me.

Yes, it is Friday …Pretty Place

“It is finished,” Jesus said, and the whole world turned dark as Jesus breathed His last breath.  Ah, but Sunday is coming!

Can you imagine having a love so deep, so strong, so unconditional to DIE such a cruel death for sins that you did not commit?  That’s how much Jesus loves us.  He bore it all so that we may have eternal life if we only believe in Him and ask Him into our hearts.

Have you?

Have you honestly and truly accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior?  Have you confessed that He is Lord of your life and allowed Him to come into your heart?

If you haven’t … please do so today.  Please … I beg you. I want you to know Jesus and have the gift of eternal life also.

This is not the end.  Yes, Jesus died on the cross on Good Friday.

But Sunday is coming!

Pretty Place

 

April Fool’s Day

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Beware!  This is the day that lots of pranks will be played!

I have never been one to really get into April Fool’s Day, but this year has certainly been different!

This morning I told my husband that I have really had a change of heart.  I told him that the horses were too much work, they are expensive, and I just really thought we needed to sell them and invest in a hobby that doesn’t eat.  His response was confusion, of course, as he said he thought that I loved the horses and enjoyed it.  I do!   ~giggle~  It didn’t take long for him to realize that I had just April Fool’ed him!

I did the same thing to my oldest daughter, but she knows me so well that immediately she said, “Nice try, Mom, April Fool!”

Then I took it over to Facebook where I posted this really long status update about how this was it!  I’m tired of dealing with hair flying every where now that it’s Spring and the horses are shedding.  I talked about how it was sooo … much … work … and then said I was selling them – ALL FIVE of them!  Four horses and a pony up for sale.

I think I had a few people going until they read further down in my post that it was just an April Fool’s joke!

Any one that knows me KNOWS my love and passion for these four legged animals.  They are beautiful creatures with flowing manes, long tails, big eyes that bring so much joy into my soul, and the thickest necks to wrap my arms around to give the biggest hug EVER!

Yes … my horses are my four legged best friends!

And that most certainly was an April Fool’s joke as I don’t care how much work is involved, I LOVE LOVE LOVE being with my fur babies!

But, since I’ve gotten into the April Fool’s spirit … I intend on doing something that I saw on Instagram this morning!  I am going to give my children a pan full of brownies … (I love a good brownie … brown … e … BROWN E!)

Brown Es

How have you pranked your loved ones on this first day of April?

Blessed

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BlessedLast year on this day, I had a horrible accident.  I was thrown from the back of a horse that bolted on me.  Little did I know, but this horse was “green” meaning that it truly was not broke to ride.  The person that we got this horse from was not honest with us as I found out when the horse took off with me on the back.  I was literally holding on for dear life gripping the horn of the saddle with all of my might trying to remain in the saddle.  We have six acres out in the country, and that runaway horse took me the whole entire length of our property.  It was only when she turned to go the other direction that my feet slipped out of the stirrups, and I was thrown from the back of this horse.  Thankfully this happened before the horse decided to start bucking, causing the saddle to go underneath the horse.  I don’t want to even begin to think how much worse it could have been had that happened while I was still on the horse!

The result of the accident was a fractured left hip/pelvic area as well as a fractured left hand.  The hand, no doubt, was fractured from me slamming it down on the horn of the saddle and the struggle to hold on tight.  The fracture to my hip/pelvic area was due to landing hard on the ground when I was thrown off.

For me to be here today is truly a blessing.  I know that God was with me that day because the accident could have been much, much worse.  I thank God that it wasn’t because I have two children that need me, and I thank God that I am blessed to be here with them and for them today.

A few months after the accident, I was anxious to get back in the saddle again.  I didn’t necessary want to ride at this point, but I wanted to at least sit in the saddle again to overcome my fear.  I knew if I didn’t get back in the saddle soon that the fear would take over, and I would never ride again.  I did not want that to happen, and I had to conquer that fear so it would not keep me from doing something that I have such a passion for.  When the day came that I felt I was ready to try, I chose my faithful horse who was 15 years old at the time.  She was an experienced horse and one of the best, well trained horses that we have.  She took excellent care of me.  I managed to pull myself up into the saddle, and I sat up there so proudly because I was back in the saddle again!  Then, as my horse stood quietly, I leaned down to hug her.  She restored my faith in horses once again and allowed me to conquer my fear.

Today is a very important day for me.  I look back at the accident that never should have happened but did due to a person’s dishonesty.  Had this person just been honest with me, we would never have purchased this horse.  All this person could see was dollar signs, though, and she did not consider the danger of putting a green horse with our family.  Had she just been honest with us … why is it so hard for people to just be HONEST these days?!  Yes, she would have lost the sale, but she would have also prevented an accident!  This horse was purchased for my two daughters, and I just thank GOD that they were not riding this horse when she decided to bolt.  I just thank GOD that if anyone had to go through this, it was me … and NOT my two precious daughters!

What ever happened to the horse that bolted on us, you might be asking?  We called the lady up that sold us this horse and told her what happened.  Initially, she was not that apologetic and wasn’t going to take the horse back or refund us the money.  However, she soon decided to do so, and still has the horse to this day.  You know how they say that Karma will get you?  Well, I’m not a believer in that saying or know whether that is necessarily true or not, but I was told a few months ago that this girl sustained an injury while working with a horse.  The extent of her injuries was a broken knee cap!  She had surgery and was in a cast where she was pretty much bedridden and unable to do anything at this point due to the cast.  I am truly sorry that happened, as I would not wish this on my worst enemy.  But, I did wonder if the same horse that did this to me … also did this to her.

Our family has been horse lovers for a very long time, and I did not want this accident to change any of that.  We have five horses now, and we love them all.  They bring us so much joy and happiness.

Not all horses are like this.  Please know that!  I don’t want you to read this post and vow to never get on the back of a horse!  We have five – more mature – horses that are just wonderful!  They range in ages from 10 to 16 years old.  That is a good age for reliable, seasoned horses!  They have been around enough to know the ropes, are well trained, and make excellent mounts!  They are perfect for a leisurely trail ride where you can enjoy God and the beautiful world that He has given us!  Honestly, I feel a little bit closer to God on the back of a horse.  As much as I love God and want to see Him one sweet day, I just thank Him that my time on earth wasn’t up on March 31, 2014!

Was it painful last year going through all of this with the accident?  YES!  But, God helped me through that time in my life, as He has at other times when I have struggled.  God is faithful and true!

This had the ability to snuff out my desire to ride horses ever again.  It had the ability to deprive me of something that, in the past, had given me so much joy.  Our family would seek out destinations to go on vacations and make sure that there was a ranch nearby so that we could go horseback riding while on vacation!  That is how much we LOVE horses!  Then our dreams came true when we became horse owners ourselves!  I feel very blessed to have these giant creatures that God has given us.  I have a high respect for people that take “green” horses and “break” them so that they will one day be suitable to ride.  I have no desire to do that, though, especially after the accident last year.  I just thank God that it wasn’t any worse than it was and that my children did not get hurt.

There was a lesson to be learned in all of this, though.  As much as we would like to believe that people are true and honest … sadly, they aren’t.  They will lie, and your life could be endangered due to their dishonesty.  That’s the sad, harsh facts!  But, an important lesson is to NOT take a single day for granted.  Appreciate the life that God has given you and get out there and LIVE it!  Overcome your fears!  Live your dream!

Today, I feel I am an overcomer!  With God by my side, He has helped me overcome the injuries I sustained in the accident that never should have happened!  I feel that God has helped me to overcome my fear and allowed me to get back in the saddle again with my seasoned horse that takes good care of me.  I am blessed to be able to share this passion for horses with my family.  My husband is involved with the care of our horses, and he also enjoys trail riding.  My children are involved and enjoy these beautiful horses that we devote so much time caring for and exploring God’s countryside on.

Yes, today is a wonderful day, and I know without a shadow of a doubt that I am blessed by God above!

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While I was thinking of writing a post about this very topic today, it tied in perfectly with the prompt word of Blessed for Karen’s Tuesday At Ten.

Shirley and Arizona

 

 

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