Everything living, lives from the heart.
Have a happy, heart filled Friday, dear readers and walk in love!
Tag: truth
Monday…
…just like any other Monday?
Wrong. It is one that was not promised. I bet that changed your Monday blues.
Make the most of it, dear readers, and make it a great one.
Dare I say, make it a marvelous Monday!
Shine your light and spread the love! Get all hippie-dippie. Go on. You know you want to.
I had a lovely, restorative weekend at the farm (I even took a nap! Gasp, I know), capped by an amazing dinner with family last night. Seriously, that meal. Fresh caught red fish on the half shell topped with hollandaise and fresh crab meat served with green chili rice and green beans. We ate like kings. However, the meal was nothing compared to quality time spent with my niece and nephew. Love those little people!
I hope everyone had a great weekend and is getting their week off to a great start.
I for one am glad to be back in the swing. Bring it on! I have missed y’all!
Enjoy this piece by Ben Haggard.
What did you do this weekend?
Walk in love.
Crisis?
I have never understood the whole quarter life or mid life crisis thing. Always was an odd concept to me. A conundrum. I jokingly throw around the term at times. I typically think of age as just a number. A number that many people use as an excuse or something to dread. Or view as a ticking time bomb or one of those daily flip calendars with a finite number of pages. The truth is, you are the age you feel you are. I have never really felt my age, even when I was little. Dare I say that I typically think of myself as an old soul. I read somewhere that one should never admit to that if you ever want to get married. Well, I just did. I suppose I am doomed now.
“Yeah there are different roads to happiness
I took a different path I guess
Came out on the others side just fine
The losing side of twenty five”
Turning twenty five was no big deal for me like everyone makes it out to be. Well, on second thought, maybe it was. I was either twenty four or five when I died my hair on a whim. Making the decision as I walked in the door of the salon. Pretty out of character for this planner. It was supposed to be redish and my parents freaked out like I had gone to the dark side and said it was purple. It wasn’t purple, at least not after it faded.
Twenty six was a big one. When I turned twenty six I felt like I was kicked on my bum out of the nest, falling on a large stick puncturing my wallet as I had to get my own health insurance policy. A puncture that just keeps getting bigger. Like some terrible kind of graduation gift that just keeps on giving. I called that a quarter life crisis to be funny, but honestly, I still do not know why it felt like such a big deal. Everyone has to do it. The hair dying was probably closer to a crisis, depending on who you ask. Some people may even call this blog, created almost a year ago, a quarter life crisis.
“My regrets are far and few between
and I can’t say that they’ve cost me a thing.
Except some money and a little bit of love,
But I’ll give that up.
If I can say that I am still my own
Without the rules that they forced upon.
At least since they day that I was had
because I can’t go back.”
At twenty eight, I sometimes feel like I am back where I was at twenty three, fresh out of undergrad, wondering why on earth I worked to graduate on time and give up my ability to ride every day. Still with an urge to dye my hair and blame it on a quarter life crisis just because. Just because I feel antsy. Questioning my life decisions and wondering. What is next? What am I supposed to be learning here?
I don’t think a season of life in transition, with God pushing me into rest, prayer, and waiting, can be considered a quarter life crisis. That is what I think most people do.
Here is the thing though. Everyone is in their own boat on the same sea. It is all a part of the journey. AHAmoment. The path. Individual and unique, just like you. The end destination is the same for everyone on different roads with different challenges. Might as well enjoy the ride! Look back at the end and marvel at what was experienced and accomplished instead of regrets or what went wrong. There will be many more seasons of transition to prepare you for what is next, often feeling like the waves going up and down the beach. One minute you think you are up and then the next you are back. The key is to stay the course. Just like working with a horse. One bad ride does not doom the next. Give them time to learn and figure it out. One mistake does not define a life. Mistakes do not exist if we learn from them. Be patient. Pray. Learn and grow. It is hard, yes, but in due time, His time, you will know what the next step is and when to take it. The next season will begin.
“When you are at war with yourself, you are bound to lose.”
So, no. No crisis. Never was and never will be. I am over here, happily in transition. Faithfully waiting. My current season of rest. Still. It does not come easy for me, but with His help, it will get easier. I will be prepared.
I’m not going to dye my hair, don’t worry. At least I don’t think so.
How I get to all of that from listening to one song is a wonder to me. Hello? Did I lose you? Anyone still there?
The good news is, the strangles scare was just that, a scare. I will still check each horse just in case while I am out tending to my Lito man. Speaking of Lito. He still seems to be recovering well and is enjoying his short workouts. Keeping sound with no added heat or swelling. Barring any schedule changes, we should be ready for his vet check by Wednesday or Thursday next week. Fingers crossed, dear readers.
Walk in love!
Love Rescues
I mean, just take me to church. I will let the lyrics speak for themselves. Your AHAmoment for the day brought to you by Zac Wilkerson. Thanks to Zac Wilkerson – Topic on YouTube for the vid.
“When I’m in the valley when my body’s weak
When life’s chains are shackled upon my feet
I will fear no evil death has lost its sting
Love falls all around me
Love rescues me
Hallelujah Hallelujah
Love falls all around me
Love rescues me
I was a wounded beggar I was an orphaned son
I was a weary wanderer so far from home
I was filthy garment I was a leprous man
But I fell into love’s water
Now I’m clean again
Hallelujah Hallelujah
I fell into loves water
Now I’m clean again
And when my life is over and I toil no more
And I stand on the banks of love’s golden shore
I’m gonna cross that river and I will run for home
And love will run to meet me and call me his own
Hallelujah Hallelujah
Love runs to meet me
Calls me his own”
~Zac Wilkerson
Dear readers, your faith is your own. It is personal and intimate. Don’t let another person tell you how it ‘should’ be. I had a great phone call with a dear friend of mine. We met our freshman year in college and she now lives across the country. I have not talked to her in a long time. We talked about everything under the sun. Our conversation meandered to her finding a church to meet some new people now that she is newly single. Music is a very big part of both of our personal relationships with our Lord. When I first heard this song not that long ago, I about fell over. I proceeded to listen to it on repeat and send it to my whole family. He speaks to each of us in different ways. Make it personal and make it your own. God is love!
Middle sister K and husband T are coming into town this weekend! We are celebrating her birthday along with my Niece’s 2nd birthday on Saturday. Of course, Mother’s Day on Sunday!
Still trying to get back into everyday reality this week.
In other news, I am moving at the end of the month! More on that later.
Have a great one! Walk in love, dear readers.
Smile
“There ain’t nothing that can’t be fixed with a smile”
Smile.
Don’t worry.
Don’t hurry.
Embrace the love.
You were lost, but now you’re found.
We aren’t here for very long. Make your peace. Make it beautiful.
Smile.
Truth, isn’t it. Today got me thinking how important and effective smiles are. Then this song came on and I had to share. I am listening to it again right now as it rains outside. Have you ever noticed how light you feel or how the being you are with seems lighter when you smile? Do it right now if you never have noticed. Whether just in our everyday lives doing everyday things or working with horses, smile. It’s hard to get tense or angry when you are smiling. I heard a trainer once say that when you are in a tough spot with a horse, just smile. Take a breath and smile. It will help you relax and not react. Makes you become less of the issue in the equation. You are better able to work through the tough. Dang if it isn’t true.
Your AHAmoment for today brought to you by Midnight River Choir. Check them out. Thanks to Music Fog on YouTube for the vid.
Walk in love, dear readers!
Details on my upcoming Hill Country adventure tomorrow!
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Churchill (thanks, Anne, for the inspiration today) sure seemed to know a thing or two about horses. Like really knew them. What was it that he is always quoted for saying? Yes, you remember the ones. Even if you are not a horse person, you know them.
“There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man.”
“When you are on a great horse, you have the best seat you will ever have.”
“No hour of life is wasted that is spent in the saddle.”
Those three statements are fact to me. If we let them, they will show us what is inside of us. Who we really are. It is my belief that God made them this way for a reason and why the horse plays such a big part in our ‘success.’ I know I am weird and probably sound like a broken record at this point if anyone is still reading, but I dare you to prove me wrong. It is really no wonder that it was the horse that helped us come so far as a civilization.
Some people like to be on a mountain top or on a beach, but put me atop my horse, and there is no better place to be. The view is unlike any other you will see between those two ears. The air you breathe is fresher. It awakens your soul, that horse smell. That combination of grass, sweat, and dirt. I do not think I have met anyone who does not like it. The wind feels different. I feel free, like I could fly. To be honest, sometimes it feels like I do. I feel strong while at the same time, all I have to do is ask with the slightest touch or movement to have my horse move.
~2 months.
I have learned a lot about life from the horse. They have taught me to be humble and confident at the same time.
That it takes more than luck and talent. Luck will only get you so far. It takes faith and hard work. Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard. It takes learning and growing from your mistakes. To continue to strive and quest.
They have taught me to trust. To let go, have faith, and trust. You can not micro manage them. You have to ask them and let them learn and do their job. To see things from their point of view. They are honorable and honest, commanding respect.
They will make you work for it because they are worthy of it.
The horse has taught me to be more like him. AHAmoment.
Walk in love, dear readers, and have a great weekend!
Real, Like Rock & Roll
Your AHAmoment for today is brought to you by Sean McConnell. It is too good not to share.
Heart and soul. That is what matters. It is not what you have or what you do or where you are from. It is what lies behind your shirt pocket.
“We don’t look them in the eyes much anymore, hands in our pockets and our face down to the floor. Everybody’s staring at their telephone. We got the whole world in our hands and we’ve never been more alone.”
So true that it almost knocks the air out of me. Take me back to that ‘dying day.’ I refuse to believe it is dead.
Ironic how we call it ‘connected.’ Connected by internet and email and cell phones. I have never felt so disconnected with more of those things. But, What do I know? I am only 28.
Give me something that’s real
Like rock and roll.
Give me something I can feel
Down in the soul.
‘Cause everything is perfect.
Everything is clean,
Just an imitation of the thing it used to be.
Give me something that’s real
Like rock and roll.
And let me hitch a ride on a rusty freight train
Back in time to a dying day
When songs were played out of tune
And you could hear a heartbeat through
The radio.
Tell me something that you need
With all your heart.
Whisper secrets you’ve been keeping
In the dark.
Yeah, ’cause everybody’s talking
Just to make some noise.
Half the shit we’re saying don’t mean nothing anymore.
Tell me something that you mean
With all your heart.
And let me hitch a ride on a rusty freight train
Back in time to a dying day
When songs were played out of tune
And you could hear a heartbeat through
The radio.
We don’t look them in the eyes much anymore,
Hands in our pockets and our face down to the floor.
Everybody’s staring at their telephone.
We got the whole world in our hands
And we’ve never been more alone.
So give me something that’s real
Like rock and roll.
Give me something I can feel
Down in my soul.
And let me hitch a ride on a rusty freight train
Back in time to a dying day
When songs were played out of tune
And you could hear a heartbeat through
The radio.
Give me something that’s real
Like rock and roll.
~Sean McConnell
(Thanks to ShelliWayne on YouTube for the vid)
Typical day to day here. Wishing I could go ride in this gorgeous weather. Or go fishing. Anything. Prayers for it to hold trough to the end of Sunday. At present, it is looking pretty good.
You know who needs rain? Kansas. And Oklahoma. And North Texas. And all the other states suffering from wild fires. It’s a bad deal up there and no one seems to be taking about it. Talk about not connected. Whole ranches wiped out. Thousands of cattle dead. People have lost their lives and others are fighting for their livelyhoods. I have read that it is starting to look like the 30’s during the depression with the winds taking the barren dirt. They need rain in a bad way. Still, they are seeing the light in the dark. Plants beginning to sprout. Green amongst the black. Grave sites untouched, completely surrounded by scourched earth. Pages of hymnals able to be read. Stir that around in your pot of thoughts.
Next week starts weekday rides when I can. I would have gone today, but it frankly sneaked up on me. I am now feeling antsy pantsy, chomping at the bit to get out there. Story of my weekday life.
Blessed to have it!
Walk in love, dear readers.
AHAmoments 