Sunday 24 April 2011

Will miss my friend!


Amos died last week from a series of sudden medical issues. I will miss that horse - he was a great horse and a friend.

Susan, who owned Amos will miss him as well. Thank you Susan for letting me ride Amos as often as I liked.

This picture shows something that most horse people would pick up on. What is Amos paying attention to? Many would say the photographer, which would be only partially true. Look at his left ear. That ear is focused on me - he is aware that he has to pay attention to me as well - his mind can do both - that is amazing for a horse. If you notice at the time the picture was taken I had just slightly snugged up the lines and got his attention. He was always very aware of me on his back, he never took that for granted. Amos was a great horse - even if others were riding him, if he could see me, he would put a major part of his attention on me. That was a problem in an arena! lol

Amos, will miss you old buddy. Hope we get to ride again!

Friday 22 April 2011

A neat find!

Yesterday my son Jeff and I went "treasure hunting". He has metal detector so we picked out a few spots where we might find something. We found an old bronze lock, some arcade tokens, several pennies and some other change.

However, our best find for the day was a dime similar to this one. This one is a 1936, the one we found was a 1925 "Mercury" dime minted from the Denver Mint. It is in good shape, not very worn which is nice. Its value is worth more than the original 10 cents. May be worth 5 to 10 dollars.

When the metal detector started "pinging" we started to think maybe its just another penny but it was not. It was "deep" (6 inches or more) which always gets you excited as you know its been there awhile. The unanswerable question is how long has the coin laid there with people just walking over it? Buried as deep as it was, probably many years, maybe as many as 75 years or more. Now the dime has a new life and will be viewed by many, in fact yesterday we showed our find to many people.

Hopefully you and I are using our worth that God has given to each of us to serve him. He does not want us to hide or not be of service to others. Easter Sunday is just a day or two ahead of us. But today is Good Friday. Today we recognize Christ being crucified and buried. Fortunately He is Risen! Make this Easter season a time of renewal to him and serve him with great Joy. And be sure to tell others about your great find!

Friday 15 April 2011

"See you Later!"

This is an old family photo - a very special photo. On the far left is my sister Joanne, me at the age of about 3 standing on her lap, my older brother Ed with the Navy cap, my dad standing holding my younger brother Al. All in the picture are still alive except for my dad. The picture was taken about 1946.

This past Wednesday I got to see my sister - perhaps for the last time on earth. She is in a hospital in Louisville, KY fighting physical issues that just may take her life. Just before I left the hospital I prayed with her and wept, we both wept. As I left the room she stated, "see you later!" I am counting on that sis!
You see, in this picture she is really serving as my "mom". She was about 14 in this picture, had quit school and for a couple of years took care of me as my "mom". My actual mom was in a Tuberculosis Sanitarium fighting for her life. She was in the TB Sanitarium for a total time of about 4 years - and survived. But Joanne was my "Mom" from 1946 - 1948. As a result there has always been a special bond. By the way, she did go back to school and graduated, we even eventually rode the bus together for awhile!

So pray for her and her family. Now its her life that is in the balance. Either way, see you later sis!

Monday 4 April 2011

A real Pain!

Scripture: ”And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying, There shall be no more pain for the former things have passed away.” Revelation 21:4

Pain

When I cause pain to Amos, chances are I am going to get unwanted behavior and most of the time not the behavior I intended. If I put pressure on the bit in his mouth and that causes pain, how do you think he acts when I try to put the bit in his mouth the next time? He remembers all too well that the bit causes him pain and the struggle begins. Pain is not only irritating to the horse it will likely create fear as well. Putting it simple, pain is a distracter from what you really are trying to accomplish. In my partnership with Amos I try not to bring pain into the picture at all during training. Chances are that anything that is bringing out an incorrect response from Amos is probably the fault of the trainer – me. Why should I inflict pain on Amos when what went wrong was probably my fault?

My relationship with others should be as pain free as possible. If I say things that are painful to others I will very likely cause a barrier to our relationship and communication. I am afraid that when I cause pain to others, just like Amos, it is probably more my fault than the person I inflicted the pain on. An abusive parent who causes severe physical pain to a child will scar that child emotionally and possibly physically for life.

If you are the victim of a painful past or even now experiencing pain, remember Christ has a better life in store for you. Turn to Him, seek His counsel and also seek the counsel of others that can help you.

Prayer Thought: Lord, give me wisdom today and do not allow me to inflict any pain in my relationships.