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7/25/08 This summer is almost over and we've seen the "Goodness of the Lord
in the Land of the Living!" Earlier this summer God provided our family
with a trip to Casper, Wyoming for the College National Finals. In
appreciation for us doing the Church Services for the Central Plains Region
College Rodeos, a couple of people wanted to bless us by paying our expenses for
the trip, so off we went! Special thanks to Craig Latham, the PSU Coach,
for taking us trout fishing in his "old stomping grounds", and inviting us to
some other PSU activities. We were privileged to get to help Corey Ross
with the cowboy church services during the Finals. And a big thanks to the
N.I.R.A. directors for giving me a pass so that I could go behind the chutes to
be with the contestants! To those who God used to send us to Casper, we
say a great big thank you and may God continue to bless you and show you His
"Goodness in the Land of the Living"!
9/12/07 This last summer our family made the trek up to Wyoming and
landed in Yellowstone National Park! I have wanted to go there for as long
as I can remember. It's taken 50 years of my life to get up there I know
that that trip my be my first and last, which I hope not! The whole trip was a
time of thanksgiving for me as we saw the beauties of God's creation! He
blessed us with answering specific prayer by allowing us to see grizzly
bears, a wolf, black bear, coyotes, plus scores of elk, mule deer, antelope, and
buffalo. Including watching a herd of buffalo swim the Yellowstone River!
Psalms 37:4 "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of
your heart"! God really is our Heavenly Father and you will experience His
fatherhood as you draw close to Him! During the entire trip I felt like a
little kid again with my Father giving me gifts! If you ever want to hear
all the little details that went on with God's Blessings on this trip just give
me a holler and I will gladly share!!
1/15/07 Take one Dad who will probably never totally grow-up, two laughing,
giggling daughters, twenty -five feet of rope, one scoop shovel, one pickup, one
large parking lot covered with two inches of ice, add them all together and you
get some of the wildest sledding fun you can get!! With our ice storm that
we just had we made the most of it we could! As my daughters took turns
riding on the scoop shovel that was tied twenty five feet behind the pickup I
drove in large figure eights around the Weatherford High School parking lot
during Martin Luther King Day. I had the pickup up to fifteen mph with the
girls skiing along at the end of the rope! As they would whip around the
corners I'm sure they were probably going twenty mph! Now don't panic they
were only the width of the scoop shovel off the ground and sliding on ice, so if
they were to have fallen (which the youngest one did while signaling for me to
go faster!) they would just keep sliding! WE HAD A BLAST!! And my daughters
won't forget the time they had with their Dad for a lonnnnnng time!! BE BLESSED
and ENJOY LIFE!!
9-24 My WIFE and GIRLS gave me an almost
unbelievable birthday present in that they gave me a surprise b'day party.
Sometimes no matter who we are we wonder if we're doing any good out there
in the world and if we've even got any friends left. I was blessed to see
those who were able to make it and the time of wild west tales and honoring each
other was a true blessing and encouragement to me. To those who have been
a part in my life I say, "Thank you"!
"If you've given it your best shot, hold your
head up, regardless of the outcome! People don't remember how much you
won, BUT they will remember how HARD YOU TRIED!"
"Even if you rodeo for twenty more years, your rodeo career is too short
for you to waste time "fighting" your head!"
"You are not in a slump, just a lower winning streak!"
SOME FACTS of LIFE
We’ve switched calendars several times since I’ve helped at a Sankey Rodeo School, however, there is one incident that has popped up in my memory bank. I was helping instruct the bareback riding at a Thanksgiving school. While surveying the field of bareback instructors I realized that every instructor had either qualified for the NFR, won their circuit, or won a national college title, except for me. My bareback resume could be summed up in four words: "won some, not much". I was really battling feeling like I belonged there in the midst of that crew! The temptation to pack my bags and leave the first night was really tugging on me even though I believe God wanted me to be there. During my evening devotions I "happened" across Proverbs 3:26: "For the Lord will be your confidence, He will keep your foot from being taken." I decided to trust God and stay!
The next morning greeted the instructors with the opportunity to make exhibition rides for the students, with the wealth of instructors the students had the opportunity to watch some good rides. There was no disappointment from the instructors as several nice rides were made. My turn came around and the horse that I was matched up with had a super day and circled right in front of the chutes. Things clicked for me and I also had a super day. That night while watching the videos the instructors picked my ride as the ideal ride on how to spur a bareback horse!
Fact #1: I was the lowest man on the ability levels of the bareback riding staff.
Fact #2: Ability level is trivial when it comes to being where God wants you to be.
When you are in God’s will you can "do all things through Christ, Who strengthens you!" (Phil. 4:13) God really will be your confidence and He really will keep your foot from being taken! Don’t just "Hang in there!" Do something!
"I AM TOO BUSY TO HAVE A BAD DAY!"
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