We’ve read of mercy that he’s shown.
And prolly received some of our own.
But, never understood the throne
Behind the stone.

But, if we take that step with Him
And learn not how but also when.
Take the action and sing the hymn.
We become a limb.

Not a limb that cracks or bends
Because of thoughts or deeds and sins.
But one whom The Son commends
and will defend.

So, will we heed His pattern for us?
Will I think His plan is just?
Will you submit, completely trust?
We must.

Romans 12:5
So we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.

John 15:5
I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

One, a nine year old child named Taylor and the other, a two year old filly we like to call Pink.

Both are stepping into a most interesting part of life. Watching isn’t good enough. Being guided every step of the way doesn’t cut it. They know how. It’s time for them to know when.

Taylor

Though Taylor took four strides to Morgan’s (her grandfather whom she calls ‘Papa’) one, she was right there next to him soaking it all in every time she had a chance to spend time at the ranch. Time with Papa = Time with cattle and more importantly to her, time with horses.

Why this? How do you do that? What happened to him? How come she does that? Her thirst for knowledge quenched over the last couple of years eventually turns into confidence, but then an interesting transformation takes place.

Overconfidence will lead to pride, and we all know plenty of bible verses that warn of the fall that follows. However, there is one verse that encourages pride:

Galatians 6:4
Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, for each one should carry his own load.

And so Taylor must step from behind Papa. She must distinguish between knowing how to shut the cut-gate and knowing when to shut the cut-gate. And she did a damn fine job for her first time only missing one cut. The crew was so proud.

She must learn the difference between knowing how to ride through cattle and knowing when to ride through cattle. J.M. only had to drive after her honking the horn once.

She has learned how to execute so many actions around the ranch she loves so dearly. And so it was time to test her actions.

Pink

She’s only two. Her strides are short and her attention span’s shorter. She learns so quickly and has amazing focus.

Pink is one of those colts that you show something to, ask her to do it and she does it. You move to the next thing and get the same response. So easy to train, she becomes difficult to get off of due to the shear enjoyment of the progress. Then, an interesting thing happens.

Pink gets bored. And boredom is the salvation of all that is mediocre. Too much comfort in a routine leads to a loss of focus. No focus leads to dull zombie-like days of irritability.

Proverbs 19:15
Slothfulness casts into a deep sleep, and an idle person will suffer hunger.

So idleness leads to starvation!?!?!

I absolutely love the Bible. There is no other way this could have been said any better. If boredom leads us to forget to eat (something we all love to do), what else are we forgetting?

Pink knows how to spin. Now she must learn when to spin. She knows how to stop. Pink must now learn when to stop. She knows her leads and her speed transitions. We have to focus on when in order to keep things fresh and ensure that her current advancement does not lead to idle mediocrity.

Patterns

Pink needs to start learning consecutive, planned maneuvers.
Taylor needed to go work cows on her own.

They’re patterns that rely heavily upon knowing when.

How old is your faith? Is it a 2-yr old filly? A 9-yr old girl? Sometimes I feel like my faith is thrashing around on the delivery table and doesn’t even know it’s here yet. Regardless of the maturity of our particular spiritual lives, one thing can be counted on… there is room for improvement.

Encouraging though is that most of us know how to pray. We know how to go to church. I certainly know how to help someone. I’m sure you know how to share your time, your talents or your treasure.

A maturing faith, though, knows when – when to pray, when to help, when to give…

Taylor learned the pattern behind the machine that is working cattle. She was humbled at times knowing that there is so much more to actually working cattle than just knowing how to work cattle.

Pink is learning the pattern behind becoming a good reining horse. She’s learning that it’s much harder to stop at that cone right there than it is to just lope around and stop when it’s comfortable. Knowing when is not easy… but it’s definitely not boring.

So if you’re feeling a little proud in your faith, it might be time to step out there and test your actions. Go actually do some of the things you think you know how to do.

Or, maybe you’re not proud, but just bored. A new pattern goes a long way to fend off the sloth that haunts the daily routine.

Knowing how is definitely the first step. Knowing when is the way to spiritual growth. And don’t worry about not knowing. Hell, I never know… But He does.

Shunning the usual poetic intro for pros is not really a choice tonight, but more of a requirement. See, this is probably the tenth or thirtieth (who freakin’ knows) time I’ve tried to write something that rhymes and it’s just not coming.

And the uncharacteristically long block allowed me to think about this whole loss thing. Turns out that this mare is still teaching me months after we lost her.

There’s the problem – Zan Parr Lindy was not a loss. Sure, she was valuable in a dollars and cents manner. She was valuable in a sentimental manner. She was a freak athlete and bloody gorgeous.

But, she was not a loss.

What she was… was a blessing. She was an opportunity. She was exactly what I needed when I needed it and she was the same for everyone else whose lives she was a part of. She was life.

She was life… What the hell is that supposed to mean James?

Well, we all think that if we’re on the right path and do the right things that positive things will happen.

Bullshit.

Positive things will happen. But, negative things will also happen. And, it has nothing to do with our actions. Now if you go punch someone in the face, you’re going to be much more likely to get punched in the face than someone who has not punched someone else in the face. However, these reactionary circumstances are not what I’m talking about.

I’m talking about good people living good lives and expecting everything to always be good because they are good. Everything will not be good. Everything will be Just.

And it will be Our Lord’s definition of Just – not ours.

Isaiah 55:8
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD.

It is so easy to have a solid faith when things are going well. Adversity, though, is where we truly find ourselves. The world was not shocked by the shooting at the Amish West Nickel Mines School. The national media reported it, but they were not shocked by it. The reaction from the Amish community, though… that had the nation transfixed. How did they just forgive that guy? Everyone wanted to know. And the Amish; They actually practiced what they preached… What a concept.

A younger, less mature faith always asks why. Why did it happen? Why live this way if things like this are going to happen anyway? Etc. Etc.

Well, it’s not our job to know why. It’s not our job to know why assholes win the lottery – why good faithful people have their children shot while attending school. Thank God. Because we wouldn’t understand anyway. We only have one job.

It’s our job to be faithful through it all.

1 Peter 5:10
And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

Waiting hearts know the way,
but minds will hold them back.
“What if?” is all it has to say
to strengthen the attack.

And in our lives throughout the years
“What if?” grows into things
that may breathe or be a place of tears
and onto which we cling.

There do we exist for now
and time moves on along.
“What if?” simply will not allow
us to see where we went wrong.

“What if?” simply wants us to stay
- to wallow, waste and tire.
Turn it loose to find your way.
Dream. Relight the fire.

Mathew 18:3
Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

We’d been riding for about half an hour – nothing too difficult, just walking and trotting some simple patterns. The goal: keep it challenging enough so we retain her attention but simple enough so that we’re building confidence.

Well, I have been accused of being creative in my time, but evidently not creative enough to keep a nine-year-old engaged with walking and trotting patterns for longer than 30 minutes.

We took a quick pause. I blamed it on her needing a break, but it was really for me to try and come up with what we were going to do next. She didn’t give me time to figure it out.

“Now what Uncle James?” came the quick question from my nine year old niece, Taylor.

“I’m not sure yet Tay,” I said. “Maybe we’ll get the cones out.”

“I can run to the fence and back and you can time me,” she said with a hint of inquiry. Those of you who know Taylor know that this was actually a statement, not a question.

“OK,” I said “But, no saddle horn. You can’t hold on to the saddle horn.”

And that was the end of that.

But, that’s when I realized something interesting. She’s a mover, an action taker. She immediately decided that turning loose of the saddle horn was not an option – and at the very same time, she was determined to learn how to get that done.

Her response to the “forbidden saddle horn” lead me to something that had been eluding me for quite some time. Everyone’s life has obstacles. Some are greater than others. Until my ride with Taylor, my view on obstacles was two-fold:

• Either we have the ability to look beyond the obstacle and, with Christ’s help, get through it.
• Or, we have the presence of mind (or perhaps lack of sanity) to be able to be unaffected by obstacles/failures in life.

The problem is that these are characteristics that we’re born with. (or not) And if we don’t have them, we simply make decisions in life that lead to obligations that lead to an imprisoned routine to which we eventually surrender.

Here’s the thing:

Overcoming Obstacles/Failures/Misfortunes can be learned. We only have to do three things to be free.

1. Recognize the obstacle for what it is.
   • We must accept that we are in a situation beyond our understanding, or beyond our abilities.
2. Desire to change ourselves in order to overcome the obstacle.
3. Turn loose of our “saddle horn“.

Regarding #1: Often times we are simply overwhelmed. We think it’s an impossible situation. “No one else has ever done this. Why should I even try?”

Taylor could have thought, “I’ve never loped without holding onto the saddle horn. I’ve never ridden in this arena. I’ve never even ridden this horse! It’s impossible.”

In some cases it’s the exact opposite. “It doesn’t matter. I’ll just move on.”

Taylor could have thought, “It’s just another horse show. I held the saddle horn last time. It’s not going to matter if I hold it again.” 

Look – The second you become aware of it, it does matter. And it’s SO important to remember that with Christ, it’s not impossible.

Regarding #2: We are a proud species. Even the humble folks are proud of the fact that they’re humble. It’s important to remember that the only way to change what’s around us, is to change what’s within us.

Taylor could have thought, “This horse is too rough. I need a smoother loping horse.” She also could have thought, “This saddle doesn’t fit me, I need a different saddle.”

Look – It’s not the horse, it’s not the saddle… it’s not your wife, it’s not your husband, or your job, or your family… or her family, or his family… It’s You. Desire to change yourself.

Regarding #3: Cut the strings. Remove the net. Turn loose of the saddle horn. We all have crutches in our lives. Recognize them as such.

Crutches do not help us to be who we are. Crutches prevent us from becoming whom God made us to be.

Turn loose. You can do it.

Ephesians 3:20

Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.

The question in the post was: What do you want to do when you grow up?

Well, this is the most specific I can get:

I want to do work that causes me to learn new things about myself.

Do I want to get affirmation as to how fantastic I am? No… Gah! OK, maybe a little jk

That’s not it at all. I want to be driven, but uncomfortable as in a new territory – causing impact, but humble like a newborn leader. The uneasiness within the mystery that is “letting God lead” enables me to understand my own abilities better – learn about relationships with my fellow man – and ultimately build a stronger relationship with God.

I really don’t think it matters what you do – only how you do it. Father Ed once said that faith could be defined as a willingness to participate in mystery. Well, work that pushes you just beyond your comfort zone demands that kind of participation. And we find that it also delivers an enormous amount of fulfillment.

Young horses that are destined to be great are only destined for greatness because of the people that inspire them. Wait… horses are inspired? Well, who knows? The point is that the young horse is taught to perform in a certain manner. The horse that wins is not made to do anything. That horse is put in positions that require a certain response. That horse is pushed just beyond it’s comfort zone – every day. That horse is inspired. And that horse goes on to win.

In life, you’re the young horse. And the great part about being you is that you have a choice. Actually you have two choices.

You choose your “trainer”.
You choose your work.

Choose well.

What do you want to do when you grow up?

It was unexpected, but seemingly simple. However, as my spirit ran forth to answer what my mind would not commit to, my mouth cut in sputtering nonsensical bullsh!t that I’m already doing.

I’ve been wondering ever since then why this question caught me so off guard and it’s a good thing I’m a border-line schizo so that I can lay it down and refute my initial thought. Here goes:

Initial Thought – I’m 32. So, in my head I’m already “grown up”. I am already doing what I want to do when I grow up.

Actually, when I was 18 I thought the same thing. And, all through the 20-somethings I felt the same way – grown a$$ man I am. Now, same thing.

Well, guess what? There are 33-year-olds who think that. And those who are 40, and 60 and 70. Those who make it to 90 think the 75 year olds are pups. I mean really, think about those who are 15 years your minor. Yep… idiots. Every one of them. They don’t have a clue yet.

In other words, plan like you’ll live to be 437 years old. And then pretend you’re 436. We need to live more and plan less.

Everyone tries to live like they are grown up and acts like one day they’ll be living the dream. Instead, live the dream and act like one day you’ll be grown up.

I guess it all really depends upon what the dream is.

Whispers are tornados.
Silence towers all around.
A glance can land you in Barbados
or a hotel way down town.

Hurricanes of dollar bills
Stampeding herds of skin
Fame dripping from the window sills
Lips breathing shots of gin

Temptation promptly catered
for every soul on earth.
Are we the patron or the waiter
in this game of proving worth?

Am I the patron? The waiter? What am I? And what do I want to do when I grow up?

It is important not to be serving up temptation. Most of the time we don’t even know it’s happening. But, it’s just as important not to be consuming it as well. Sometimes we’re doing this just as clueless as we are serving. So, is there another option? Yep. Be the restaurant owner.

But, that wasn’t a choice…

The world is full of opportunities that you don’t think are choices. Live the dream. The world is your kitchen. What are you going to make?

To Blessings
To Open Doors
To You And
To Yours

May peace and love lead you to truth and understanding this Christmas Season!

Merry Christmas and God Bless You All – James

Does a horseman need to remember the horse?
Or the golfer the course?

Is the soldier’s weapon soon forgotten.
Or the chef’s ingredients rotten?

Does the fisherman have to remember the boat?
Or the musician the note?

So Christian should not remember Christ,
but resemble His great cause.
And Emmanuel shall inspire Life and
we can “remember” Santa Clause.

“Remember the Reason for the Season.”

We’ve all heard it a gazillion times. Well, I’m sick of it. We remember milk, or eggs, or some other random grocery item that didn’t make the list. We remember who the kicker was for so-and-so’s fantasy football team. We remember our third girl-friend in grade-school… you know, the one that moved to… wait. Where did she move to?

You get the point. The things we “have to remember” are those things that aren’t a part of us. They are the frivolous, the extracurricular, and the distracting.

Our Savior deserves better.

Certainly better from me. And better from you, too.

We all have things in our lives that make us – us. Kids? Careers? Spouses? Girlfriend/Boyfriend? etc.

These things define us as they determine what decisions we make in life. Let’s try and elevate Christ to such a position that our daily decisions are based upon that relationship.

Wouldn’t it be great if we could enjoy a wonderful blessing, fabulous meal, generous family… and then CRAP almost forgot the presents.

And don’t forget Santa Clause

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY!

A destination and journey and loving embrace
all at once in the very same space.

But, if we are here and headed to there,
how can all three be something we share?

Not only share, but share at the same time,
a trio called life with death on the line.

So, if the place where we’re going is here,
how do we take the next step without fear?

For, if we’ve arrived, our next step leads astray.
And who knows how long we will wander that way?

The good news is that this riddle’s easy to crack.
Our hearts and His purpose and the wood on His back.