Were You Ever Forced

Have you ever been forced to do something. Didn't you lose respect for the person that took your free will away?

Today... I watched my friend "chase" a horse all around a big pasture in order to get it out of the pasture to be worked. Now... she could have gotten a bucket of grain... and bribed it, she could have scared it into the corner... but she didn't. She instead kept it's feet moving until IT decided to join up. The trainer simply made the wrong thing hard and the right thing easy. Eventually the horse got it. The trainer had immense patience. But in the long run, it's better than the horse only doing things out of fear or rewards.

So I came home and ended up having to do the same thing with Blaze. We haven't worked together much this summer... and he was hesitant to give up his lazy freedom. Eventually he got the point too... and just decided it was easier to follow me than to have me constantly making his feet move.

So I came inside, took a shower and had God time. I read a little in Mark and then God put Philemon in my mind. I initially thought "ah.... nah... I don't need to read that... I basically know what it says". But God said... read it anyway...

And what stuck out?

"But I didn't want to do anything without your consent. I wanted you to help because you were willing, not because you were forced." Philemon 14

I believe most the time that's how God deals with us too. He doesn't say "If you go on this Mission trip I will give you a beautiful convertible when you come back!! Come on... just go and I will even give you a new house!!!!" He doesn't bribe. Nor does he say... "If you don't give that widow money I'm gonna smack you into next year!!!!!!!!!!" He doesn't get us to move with fear. There is somewhere in between where He works.... if anything... He makes the wrong thing harder and the right thing easier.

So if you are wondering where God is in your life... maybe you need to be willing to join up with Him. Maybe He has been keeping your feet moving. But ultimately, it needs to be your choice.

A fearful horse is a wreck, as is a spoiled horse. But a willing horse is a beauty.

I Want Her To Look At Me

So today I again had the privilege of watching my dear trainer friend work with a horse. This horse can be a sweetheart some days, and totally off on other days. She is very loved, and does a good job loving back... in her eyes you can see that she wants to do right, she's just trying to figure it all out. As the trainer worked with her today I noticed at one point she kept wiggling the lead rope to bring the horses attention back towards her and she said...


"I want her to look at me"



When a horse is working for you... they should always have at least one eye on you... they should not drift and watch all the other action... if they do that they can miss your cues. Sometimes they want to watch what is happening around them... other times... it's like they are just lost within themselves.



So tonight as I was spending some time with the Man Upstairs... He kept prompting me to read on in the Bible even though I was getting tired... He said He had something to show me about myself. He lead me to the greatest commandments of all... to LOVE Him and my neighbors with all my heart.



I asked Him, "God... why do I struggle with that" He said because I am inward focused.



So I asked Him to please... keep wiggling my lead rope. He said He would.

You've Got My Attention... What's Next!?

A horse should know you have your personal space, never crowding you unless you ask him too, he should respect you as the number one horse in his herd and watch your every cue.

Who is the number one horse in your herd? Do you watch His every cue? Do you truly respect Him?

Some horses have a very hard time with ever giving in to that concept, so do some people, myself included at times. Although in my mind God is the lead of my life, my heart and actions show differently.

Sometimes a horse is better on one side vs the other at giving you space or letting you work with it, or lead it. It needs to be comfortable with you doing the same things on each side. We call that a balanced horse.

Sometimes we are better at letting God work in certain areas of our life, but not willing to let Him completely into other areas. When we are willing... we are balanced people.

When working with a horse he should never stop in your presence without facing you... if he stops and does not look... perhaps showing you his rear end... he is most likely not seeing you as his lead yet, rather he sees himself as one notch above you on the totem pole.... not good.

When God works with us and we are working with Him or we are done doing a certain aspect of ministry... we also should not give Him our rear ends, but instead we should turn and face Him each time as if to say... you've got my attention... what's next!!!?

Is My Head Set?

Another lesson I learned yesterday is what it means to have a horses head "set". I love how every lesson we learn with horses we can also apply to ourselves! Thank you to my dear trainer friend who is willing to pour into so many people the knowledge that God has blessed her with!!

So in order for a horse to have it's head set... in a nutshell... as it's moving, it is holding it's head down vertical/perpendicular to the ground. I wish I had a picture here to show you better what this means... but basically you don't want a horse moving with it's head in the clouds. I always thought that the horses who moved with their heads set were depressed... or oppressed... little did I know that they are usually very strong and willing. When a horse drops it's head while it's moving it helps round out it's neck and back, which eventually strengthens it's muscles and allows it to carry a rider with more strength and ease. It's not really the easy option, for the horse to set it's head (if I understand right) but it has long term benefits for many reasons!

Horses and people who run around with their heads in the clouds will see frustration in their lives... although it may seem necessary and easy at the time, they will pay for it eventually.

When we set our heads, we realize that we know there is more to life... people around us may look at us and think we are oppressed, we might not seem to enjoy quick gratifications like the world does, but we are not living for monetary pleasure... we are working to better ourselves. We are strengthening ourselves to have ease later on. We are wise, strong, understanding and willing.

You might have to set your head in the area of your diet, relationships, finances or many other areas. I know I need to and I will be asking myself a lot lately... if my head is in the clouds or not.

Jesus, Flag Me While Moving

So it's been FOREVER but I really miss blogging my horse experiences!! So here I go again!!!!!

I am blessed to have the acquaintance of a wonderful trainer who, along with her lovely granddaughter, have committed to help out some fellow horses. I feel like I learned SO much from her today that if I digested it all here, you would be reading far into next month, so I'll speak about one area that God touched me the most. Flagging.

I've seen this done before... I've done it to Blaze before, but there is a dangerous aspect of it that I'm glad I did not figure out on my own or by experiment.

Flagging a horse while moving.

Flagging a horse can be done a few different ways but basically involves a plastic bag tied to the end of a stick and this gets rubbed all around a horses body to desensitize them to things that frighten them. Often times the horse will react by stepping in the opposite direction but it's important to apply pressure while doing this so the horse does not think that backing away is the right thing to do. You see... if you stop just because they backed away, they will think that is the way out of the problem... to back away each time. Instead, they need to learn to deal with the problem, and realize staying calm will get the best results. That's why God sometimes keeps the pressure on us... He shows He's not wishy washy.

So today the trainer says that the real test is if the horse can be asked to move and be flagged while moving... I might also add... she made a point to say that this is not something an amature should just try to do. And I soon saw why. Please don't try this at home! =)

This somewhat trustworthy horse struck out and kicked at the trainer in fear. Thankfully the trainer knew exactly where to position herself (as does God) as not to get injured. I have never seen a stable horse act so afraid and be so aggressive due to fear or frustration until today.

So I asked God

Lord, I know you flag us out... you apply pressure to us at times to help us see that we are ok... that we are stronger than we think, and that we can trust You if we are just still in Your presence and wait it out. But what does it mean to flag US while WE are moving... what does that look like in a human?

OH DID THE ANSWER COME!!!!!!

So when we move forward as the horse does... it's usually when we are more confident in our Christian walk... God directs... and we go. We feel a connection to Him... more confident in our calling.... secure... maybe people are even benefiting from our ministry. Now, we may have taken a step out of our comfort zone to be in ministry... but we are creating a new one around us, whether we know it or not. SO... along comes the flag again... and OH HOW WE KICK. No one wants to be flagged when they're moving. We've found our new place with God... following His direction...maybe even becoming a little too confident in our ministry and along comes the flag and we need to humble ourselves and yield again. It's so hard to yield when you thought you knew where you were going... but God often likes to remind us that it is with Him that we get to those places and it's only through Him we will succeed. SO the flagging comes in to keep us in check. Those who yield, have a better ministry for it... those who don't, weather they know it or not, become hay burners. He who has ears to hear....

Pulling Back To Draw Close

"God do you ever pull back so we will draw closer to you?" This is the question I asked while trying to coax Blaze closer to me today. I reached out my hand so he could barely reach it and pulled it farther back while he stretched his neck in order to get closer. Then it occurred to me. God does sometimes take a step back to get us to see that really we DO want to be with him. Really we want to be closer. See, Blaze's issue was this, I was between him and some delicious looking hay, but I also inconveniently for him, had a halter in my other hand. The halter and the hay are both good for him. Only one is convenient and one is not. One is easy to deal with and one is not. This moment with Blaze made me realize how often I treat God the way Blaze was treating me. I often want to be around Him, for the convenient benefits, the so-called "hay", but I don't want to be around Him for the things and situations He puts me through, that are not so convenient, even though they're beneficial (the halter). Praying God helps me take the halter willingly (and that Blaze will too).

Lonliness

Oh I KNOW... it's been a while!!! But with Baby Girl growing and almost here... I haven't had time to post. I'm not sure that anyone is keeping up on this anyway... but if nothing else... this blog sure helps ME to reflect. So what the heck!!

Lately poor Blaze Boy has not gotten the much deserved attention that he needs. The other day as I was shortly OFF bedrest I decided to march right in and give him some love... but HE FREAKED... and myHEART BROKE!!!!!!!! After patience and love and time within 5 minutes we had a haltar on and were starting to relax, but it just brought me to think about lonliness. I doesn't just affect horses does it?

Have you ever noticed during times of solitude how many LIES can be conjured up in your head... how many FEARS can develop and so on. Having contact with friends and family is so so important in order hear truth and understand that you have constant support. It doesn't take a horse long to convince himself everyone's out to get him... really... when left alone long enough... it doesn't take us too long to feel the same way! So today I encourage you to surround yourself with friends... and to BE a friend. And HUG your friends... so that such LOVE doesn't freak THEM out!!!!

How do YOU halter!?

Ok... yes... I'm really asking you're opinion here! As many of you know, I'm a rookie... so feel free to correct me where I'm wrong! I happily receive instruction! I just have to tell you about my honest haltering situation with Blaze. Which I know is my own fault.

So yesterday... I tried to merely go in the pasture and halter Blaze... we had been doing pretty good with this. But he was NOT interested at all yesterday and he would not pay attention to me... so (this is where you horse pros may think I'm stupid... but forgive me and teach me) I used the scare tactic to try to keep his interest and attention on me, thinking he needs to remember to not ignore me and that it's in his best interest to pay attention and join up with me. Well... at first we did pretty good with that.. until he started challenging me and rearing and charging... he got pretty annoyed... and little ol' pregnant me was not going to stand there and boss around a charging horse.. I know that is one of my first errors... he got MY feet to move... he won. But people after 5 years of trying to have a baby, a horse is not going to take it from me. Anyway... I was quite frustrated that NOTHING I tried could get him moving out after that... and noticing his nature... eyes wide, ears forward, licking and chewing... I knew I was seeing at least some willingness to pay attention. So I went back in with him and rubbed him down so he would realize I'm not just all about chasing him and yelling and as long as he is standing still and giving me full attention I will reward that... but once I got the halter out... the same show happened... only there was no scaring him off this time only bossiness on his end. So it's at this point... I'm sure some of you would know what I should have done next. Feel free to inform me! I don't have a round pen... only a big open pasture... and even if I did... there was no way to get him in one.

So here's where the God lesson comes in... I went and sat in the swing by the pond and just asked God to show me what was going on. I asked Him how He halters us... and even if he DOES halter us since he gives us free will.

He seemed to share this with me (but remember I am a mere human... I can mess up at hearing God I suppose... but this seemed like His wisdom)

When a horse has a halter on... it can still have free will. Ultimately you always want a horse to have "free will" and do things out of that free will in order to perform best. You don't want a broken spirited horse who has to do things... you want a free spirited horse who LOVES to do things. God sees it the same with us... he doesn't want us to be broken children working as his servants... He wants us to be free children serving Him because we want to! But yes, He does halter us... because He DOES want us to be His own and He wants to know we are willing to give Him that control.

So that was a good start... but next I asked God HOW He halters us.... God... when do You spook us or make us work to get our attention, and when do You naturally let us decide to come and put on the halter... I know You do it both ways because some people are stubborn and some aren't but You love them all and want them all to be Yours. So God.. HOW do YOU halter.

This is what I got.

God allows us to be spooked and worked in order to get us to come back to Him when we've walked away and yet, know better. And He doesn't allow us to be "spooked" to be mean... He does it out of protection and love... with a watchful eye, ready to pull us in, He says... go ahead... see if life is easier without Me. As trainers that's what we do to our horses.

God waits for some people to naturally accept the halter when they never knew better... the halter is new to them and it's kind of frightening. Giving up control, especially of one's head... can be scary, so for those dear children, He gives them time to warm up to it and speaks gently to them.

So, ok God.... I did the right thing then? Blaze knows better! But... what do You do when one of Your children that "knows better" starts challenging YOU and charging You and STILL does not want the halter?

He said...

I ask myself why.

That's all He said.

Ughh... ok.... so what do I do NOW. I asked myself why Blaze was doing this to me. Went and sat by the fence in the pasture. Let him walk up to me and muzzle me.

And I heard God say...

Do you see how bad he actually wants to be with you? If you're striving to be like me Hope... you need to be out here with Blaze more often. He loves you, but he doesn't know what to expect from and inconsistent god, an inconsistent trainer that doesn't have time for him. I am a consistant God, always having time for my children. You thought he should "Know Better" but really, it's been a while since you've spent quality time... he needed your time today.

OH HOW I HAVE BEEN HUMBLED!!! But isn't God so wise!? I love Him!

So we are rebuilding... good news... the halter is already on this morning! =)

Sermon On The Mount Pics

Hey! I'm finally posting pics from Sermon On The Mount!

My dear sweet horse, who had never been ridden before... was ridden within an hour.

Lew Sterrett is an amazing trainer and pastor. He did a sermon while training Blaze. His sermon was about how God wants His believers to WANT to be with Him and WANT to do what pleases Him instead of doing things for Him because they just should or feel like they have to.

Some horse trainers train their horses that way... they just MAKE them do the things they should, while Lew works with the horses heart.

I know... some of you are thinking blah blah blah... natural horsemanship, but that's not Lew.

He believes dealing with a horse's heart begins with encouraging a horse to do the right thing through their rear end and their hips... not tugging on their halter or bridal. His method seems to be an AMAZING balance of good ol' cowboy training mixed with understanding and patience.

With natural horsemanship, a trainer might wait FOREVER to let a horse decide to do something... but that doesn't really reflect our God either... God is not passive... but He is not cruel... He is bold and corrective and yet rewarding and loving, like we should be with our horses when training.

This sermon just made me really check my heart, am I following God because I want to, do I just read my Bible because as a Christian I HAVE to?? And how about my horse... am I training him the way God would train me? Good things to think on.

Hopefully you can see the sequence of things in the pics below. Lew first addressed the crowd, then began to get Blaze's attention by sending him off anytime he wouldn't pay attention to Lew (no whip involved). Once Blaze finally hooked on and wanted to be with Lew, Lew worked on putting the saddle blanket on. After Blaze accepted that, Lew put a lariat around Blaze's cinch area and pulled it tight... as you can see Blaze reared and bucked for a while. Once he accepted that, Lew put the saddle blanket on and then the saddle and Blaze accepted it well. Then Lew worked at slowly putting pressure on Blaze's back by standing in the stir ups, once Blaze accepted that... He got on his back and after a little time, he got Blaze to move forward. Now... it wasn't all just that easy... but that explains the sequence below.

SERMON ON THE MOUNT

IT"S ALMOST HERE!!! And you have to come and bring your friends!

Sermon on the Mount is an amazing ministry and it's coming to the Isabella County Fairgrounds from July 15-17 nightly 5:30-8:00. It's a free even and you will be able to watch WORLD RENOWNED horse training.

Lew Sterret will wow you with his horse training abilities while at the same time, giving a sermon that will relate to your relationship with God by comparing it to how he is working with the horse.

PLEASE pray for this ministry. They will be needing people to agree to come pray on site before and during the ministry. It you're interested please let me know!

This is a free event! Pray that people's lives will be changed by the preaching and teaching done by Lew and the horses. Blaze and I hope to see you there...

He Can Do It!!

Blaze's vet appointment went fine! All we dealt with was a little side step!
What a pro!

Poor Boy

Well my poor boy and his blog have been a little left behind in all the baby news... don't worry though... we won't let that continue.

Just a quick update...

Blaze is being considered for possible use in a ministry called "Sermon on the Mount"
(click on the Sermon on The Mount Link on this blog to research further)

This event will be run at

The Isabella County Fairgrounds
July 15,16 and 17
5:30-8:00 pm

It is a FREE event and a GREAT opportunity to watch some AWESOME horse training from world renown trainer, Lew Sterret.

So, there is no gaurantee he will use Blaze... but Blaze is one of seven horses being considered.

So Thursday... the vet comes out to do some vaccinating...

oh brother~! pray for us!!
I'll let you know how it goes!

Going Solo

I was so touched today as I listened to Charles Swindol and he referred to Philippians where Paul says to not let your enemies scare you and that will show the strength you have in God.

He mentioned that the word used for "scare" is the same word we would use for "spook". He talked about how a horse going into battle, back in the day, would at times shy away from battle when he heard the cannons in the distance. This was a problem since this huge muscular war horse would be turned into a meek mouse. HOWEVER... when the war horses were surrounded by each other they stirred each other's bravery and loved to fly into war together. Isn't that just like us!? When we go into hard times alone... we may tend to shy away, but when we face them with our brothers and sisters we stir each other's courage! I am so thankful for my fellow war horses....

Going Solo Just Isn't So Fun.

TRAINING PROGRESS...

Yesterday Blaze and I did some work together that I thought was a big breakthrough. To you who are familiar with the horse world... this will sound very elementary and it is something I should have done by now. I finally have a starting point and direction though... so now I am pushing forward.

Blaze and I had previously gotten to a point where he trusted me... I thought that was a huge breakthrough and in a sense it was, but now I realize I should have established respect first. Respect should always come before trust. I now see that. Blaze never respected my space and even knew he could push me around. We are going to work on that!!!

Yesterday, I first established my space with Blaze (the area around me that he was not allowed to enter unless I asked him too). He was slightly put out at first, but caught on quickly and enjoyed the praise once he got it right. Through this exercise alone I saw Blaze's attitude go from "I am getting really ticked that your not turning me out to graze!" to "Whoa... this is new... you've got my attention!" And as soon as he saw the release of pressure when he did something right he was a happy horse licking and chewing and showing me he was ready to work. Honestly... I know this is ridiculous... but I have never had him give me such a pleasant attitude and I was shocked how little it took to get it.

After we established boundaries I worked with being able to touch Blaze on nearly every part of his body with him being OK with it... and not only OK with it... but relaxed with it. I found between the ears and under the belly were naturally areas of resistance but I pressed on until he relaxed and then released pressure and he soon was easily allowing it. We started going in circles when I started working on his hind end. Usually when we get to this stage I back away or stop and reposition Blaze and try again. This time I stepped in unthreateningly but dominantly until he stopped spinning and then tried working on him again and he eventually was tired of going around and allowed me to touch him. After about 15 seconds of him standing still I rewarded with a release of pressure and then went into it again and this time we didn't even have to go around!

I was proud of Blaze even for standing still the entire time and for the most time not resisting me. And I am proud of me for being able to start stepping in and not backing away.

My God, My Farrier

As I look at my boy today. I just thank God for him. And for giving him to me at such a perfect season. He was heaven sent for sure. And something about this picture give me chills... I know Blaze is far from being an angel... but in a sense, he is an angel to me! He has brought me out of my shell and taught me about bravery and confidence. He has taught me how to defeat fear.

Today, Blaze had his hooves trimmed. Blaze fights this ALL the way. He hates it, and yet he merely hates it because he doesn't quite get it yet. He doesn't understand that what is happening is for his own good, not to harm him. If we could only explain that to him, things would go so much smoother. So we had to "get his attention". After Blaze was refocused he did fairly better.

I wonder how often God feels like a farrier?

Who IS bigger... the turkey or the horse?

DO you ever let turkeys frighten you?

Do you know that with God, you are bigger than the turkeys in your life? The turkeys would like you to believe that they are bigger than you can handle... and sometimes the turkeys are ignorant to the fact that you are much bigger, because you have God's Spirit within you! You are not in the pasture alone! Really.... the turkeys are smaller... relax.

The other day BLAZE realized there were turkeys in HIS pasture. For the longest time he couldn't get it past his head that the turkeys were not a threat. Eventually he got brave enough to walk halfway out to see what they were... but then... he spun around, ran and hid in his stable. About 30 minutes later he had apparently worked up the courage to go about 3/4 the way... but again spun around and hid. Again another hour later, Blaze ran out full force towards the turkeys, sending them flying. He still didn't wait around after defeating them, he turned and ran back to his stable once again. I was so proud of him for defeating his fear though! As I wondered why the turkeys were in Blaze's pasture for so long, I eventually realized the electric fence was keeping them in when I saw one get shocked... but once they saw Blaze charging, they could care less about getting shocked.

Isn't it just like the devil in OUR lives to keep the fear trapped in our lives? An electric fence around it to keep it close to us? But if we realize our size, our authority, that fear has to go no matter how the devil tries to taunt us with it.

Charge your fear today!!!