IN A FIELD WITH TWO HORSES

From a distance, each horse looks like any other horse. But if you stop your car, or are walking by, you will notice something quite amazing. Looking into the eyes of one horse will disclose that he is blind. His owner has chosen not to have him put down, but has made a good home for him.
This alone is amazing..
If you stand nearby and listen, you will hear the sound of a bell.
Looking around for the source of the sound, you will see that it comes from the smaller horse in the field.
Attached to the horse's halter is a small bell. It lets the blind friend know where the other horse is, so he can follow.
As you stand and watch these two horses, you'll see that the horse with the bell is always checking on the blind horse, and that the blind horse will listen for the bell and then slowly walk to where the other horse is – trusting that he will not be led astray.
When the horse with the bell returns to the shelter of the barn each evening, it stops occasionally and looks back, making sure that the blind friend isn't too far behind to hear the bell.
Like the owners of these two horses, God does not give us away just because we are not perfect or because we have problems or challenges.
He watches over us and even brings others into our lives to help us when we are in need.
Sometimes we are the blind horse being guided by the little ringing bell of those who God places in our lives.
Other times we are the guide horse, helping others to find their way...
Good friends are like that ... you may not always see them, but you know they are always there.
THANK YOU, MY GOOD FRIENDS!!
Remember....Let's always be kind to one another- everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.

(Thanks Kristina, for emailing me this!)

PATIENCE

Another lesson that I learn everyday with Blaze is patience. Especially in the beginning. Being that he didn't receive much time from people... he was scared, and I couldn't expect things to change over night. Once I got a little braver, I would try to hold his halter and make him stand still for a while... a couple times he was very upset about this. The next time I would go see him he would let me NOWHERE near his face. SO in an attempt to go forward in our relationship... it felt like we were actually taking two steps back, even though we weren't. It required patience to let Blaze see things were going to be ok, that I wouldn't hurt him but that he did have to know I was the boss (well... he still doesn't know that completely... but he will, he will)

So it got me to thinking, isn't that true with kids. We need patience in an all around sort of way, but when it comes to trying to get them to do something they should do, we at times need to be sure we have their attention... and that does not always make us their best friend. But they still do love us and come back to us.

So I have had to have patience with Blaze... and I have developed patience I NEVER thought I would have. Even getting Blaze to choose to walk up to me for the first time took hours and days of just showing my presence was not going to hurt him. One day... after literally a couple hours of sitting in the middle of his pasture AND trying advance and retreat methods... FINALLY he came up to me and sniffed me and then just decided to stand there, and then decided to graze. I was SO blessed when Blaze was finally trusting me enough to graze right by me. I never realized completely until then how IMPATIENT I was. Hours of sitting and being patient, my to-do list rattling through my head, thinking "this is silly, there are a million things I should do right now", but a love for this horse kept me there. Now with kids as well, this has taught me, in order to have a good relationship with them, it should never be about my to-do list first. It should be about the kids first, and they should have my full attention and PATIENCE, and there will be a day... they too will graze by me?

I think Blaze's lesson on patience was also critical for this time in our adoption process. I know the kids will come back, I know many people think I am crazy for hanging on like this... BUT so was Noah when He built the ark... do you know how many years it took Noah to BUILD that ark!!! Look it up... you'll be amazed. And each year you would think he was asking himself, is this flood REALLY coming!!??? But he pressed on, each year! We will press on!

Thank you God for using Blaze to teach me patience.

SINCERETY!!!

Another lesson I have been learning along the way is sincerity. It is amazing how many things God has taught me with Blaze that will teach me to be a better parent. I honestly have to admit I can be a selfish person. I think about myself WAY too much... but God is helping me to be more outward focused. I would have NEVER ever slowed down to wonder WHY something or someone does what they do the way they do it... I guess I never cared. But I am caring more now. The more we understand our animals, friends, spouses and children the more we will know how to care for them, how to pray for them AND they will know we are SINCERE when we look deeper into them.

Well Blaze is who shook me up to understand that this is important. When working with a horse like Blaze you can't ignorantly go into a time of working together, it helps A LOT if you know WHY he does what he does. What drives his fear, how is he feeling today, what is his history etc..

It was awesome confirmation to me today that I am changing for the better... I ACTUALLY STOPPED and watched my cat walking from the barn to the house from up here in the office. I noticed that every few steps he froze and looked around, and I wondered... ABOUT MY CAT... what was driving him to do that! I REALLY DON'T totally get into cats... so the fact that I did that is progress... I mean I just did it... I didn't have to force myself to.

AND most importantly Rob and I will certainly have to look INTO our adopted children. There is so much about them that we DON'T know. We will not always get what drives them, we will not know their complete history. They have not had sincerity all the time from their birth parents so they will need it from us for sure! I mean parents... do you agree... your kids can TELL when you're being insincere... and that will totally effect the relationship we have with them.

I want my kids to know I think about them all the time and that I am SINCERE.
Thank you Lord for using Blaze to move me into sincerity!

BRAVERY!!!!!

Yes this is the LARGEST lesson Blaze has taught me!!! Today I had his hooves trimmed... and WELL Blaze is a stinker... and that's putting it nicely!!!!!! He needs more training and TLC obviously. So getting his hooves done today unfortunately meant, a lot of biting, pushing stomping, pulling, kicking and if you have ever had to control an animal that big while they are being a brat... you know it's intimidating. I felt bad for the farrier, I should be more polished up on my horse skills... but he was so patient with both Blaze and me! And he exhibited true bravery... I mean imagine having the job of picking up a grumpy horses feet, and climbing nearly under his body to hold them up and trim and clean them. Especially... the BACK feet. I totally have a fear of the rear!!

So my first lesson of bravey was when we first bought Blaze... let me tell you his situation.

Blaze was owned by WONDERFUL owners who were not able to care for him anymore. Our friends grandpa owned and LOVED Blaze... but was not able to work with him anymore. And the neighbors... well some were good... but other were cruel to Blaze. We caught one neighbor in the act of throwing fresh cut grass over the fence, which we thought was a nice gesture... but once Blaze went up to the fence to eat it.. the man slapped him across his face repeatedly until blaze ran away. And then another neighbor told us they had witness the same man's sons shooting a beebee gun at Blazes feet. Also we found many thing in his pasture that had apparently been thrown at him to get a reaction.

So when we bought Blaze... he had a fear of man. The first time I ever touched his body his whole body trembled and his eyes were full of fear and uncertainty... how brave HE was to even let me touch him. And yes... an animal as big as a horse CAN be petrified. So eventually after a lot of touching and brushing and loving we finally got out the lead rope... just the site of it set Blaze about kicking and snorting and running. Once he had enough bravery to come up to the rope reaching toward him to snap it on his halter caused him to rear up. And when I finally got it on him he reared up again and turned an kicked and ran off with such power that it ripped the rope out of my hand... yep rope burn!!!!! Well. Here is the thing... I WAS FREAKED OUT but if Blaze sensed my fear it would make things worse so I tried to stay brave... standing right in the middle of this pasture... NO WHERE to go with this horse running and kick all around me... and then TOWARD me. UGGGHHHH

Well I had to go home and seriously pray, I knew God had kept me safe and I KNEW that God wanted me to have this exact horse for a reason. So I needed to cast fear aside. It was NOT easy... and it still is not. BUT I have come VERY far. I never drempt I would be doing what I had to do with Blaze today. But God... through a horse... is teaching me to deal with fear. You see with fear in the way neither Blaze or I would have gotten better.

There are MANY times in our lives that fear can stop healing or stop God's plan. But we CANNOT let it. Or nothing changes. Today... after being done with the hooves... well I felt GREAT... even though I could have done better... but if I would have never defeated the fear... I would have never felt the bliss of growth and victory.

So it goes with our adoption. Defeating the fear... will bring great victory.
Thank you Blaze... Thank you GOD for helping me overcome fear!

Never Could Have Thunk It!

I have decided to start another blog just dedicated to all the awesome things God teaches me about life through my horse. I would have never thought a year ago that God (OR my husband) would have let me have such a beautiful creature! But I have been begging them both for quite a long time... and I believe that God does give us the desires of our hearts!!! And I have to give my sweet husband credit for loving me and understanding my heart enough to know... we NEED a horse... it is just part of me to need a horse... although it goes against Rob's better knowledge!

I will admit... I am a beginner... and because of that I HAVE A LOT TO LEARN!!!!!! I won't kid you with any pretend expertise... but there ARE things God has taught me through my horse that are more valuable than any horse showmanship I could ever learn! I hope to share those lessons with you! I honestly have learned SO much and would hate not to keep track of it even for my own sake!! So be watching... and alert your horse loving friends!! - Hope