Big Hill Pond

What a horse day!! Two of my good friends and I trailered 1 & 1/2 hour away to a state park called Big Hill Pond. Now who would name a park that? Didn't take us long to find out. We found the "pond" (my lake must be a puddle) and definitely found the big hills.
I had wanted to take Shiloh, my big gelding, but he had a swelling I was concerned about so I took my old faithful, Gracie. She did wonderfully. 

I had to laugh when I saw this picture. Here we are smiling and all is right with the world and these two mares are fussing. 

See the ears back (on the horse not me). They are still not talking. Now is the snippy stage. "No, I'm fine."

But the park is beautiful. Tall hills but not scary. You ride high above the lake/pond. 

We had a few u-turns. "Maybe this is the trail no, maybe that is." Sorry, but I believe a man marked these trails. Women would have had "turn here" signs to help each other. Men probably said, "they will figure it out." But we didn't care. Just laughed because we were on a horse and it was a beautiful, blue sky day.

Beautiful stream where the horses could have a drink.

I love these girls and enjoy riding with them so much. We have solved a lot of problems with good listening and promises of prayer. 

To have good horses that we love, to eat lunch on a log in the woods with good friends--I am so blessed and thankful. 

An Almost Disaster

Sometimes a planned trail ride with friends is an uneventful good memory, sometimes a great ride, and then sometimes a great ride with an almost disaster. I had that ride this week. 

I trailered with two of my friends from our country setting to a park in Memphis. That in itself doesn't make sense. But it is a wooded trail along the Wolf River and somewhere different to ride. It is shared with bicycles and hikers and that always make things interesting. But the trails aren't marked well and we had trouble figuring out which trails we could be on. The sign that said we would have a court date if found on wrong trail was not comforting. 

It ended up being a great ride up and down ditches and we managed to make only one man hiker mad. He gave us "the look" because he had to turn his Fitbit off and let us by. I wanted to tell him "the look" really didn't bother women out riding. We just smiled and went on. 

Our almost disaster came when we came upon a narrow wood bridge with no side rails. I wasn't sure it was made for horses and was about 20 feet over a ditch. The biggest problem is there was a long dead tree propped over it and held up by a tree on the other side. 

It looked like enough room to duck under on one side. The first rider on a smaller horse did this and almost scraped her back but made it under. I decided to lead mine. I got off and was able to walk under it. The third rider then tried to lead her horse across but her saddle horn caught the tree and brought the tree down on the horse's neck. 

Now they are still on the bridge and she was trying to help the horse but the horse kept coming and the tree was then resting on her neck. She was able to get her off the bridge and then was holding the tree by her arms and resting it on her helmet. I ran to hold it up also but it was too heavy. The third rider jumped off and came.

What happened next was a sweet moment to me that I won't forget.  I cried out, "Lord help us" at the same time that my friend cried out, "God, help us." 

At that moment we were able to lift the tree up enough for her to pull the horse's head to her and then we couldn't hold it and the tree fell to the ground. Such a scary moment that seemed to last forever. Both the rider and horse are a little sore but seem ok. 

I remember it as a bad scary moment but also God's deliverance. We were able to go on and finish a good ride.

"Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress." Psalm 107:6

Shiloh- My New Ride

Gracie will always be my number one horse. She is fifteen and should have plenty of years left or at least as long as my riding years are left. But she was off for a year that I couldn't ride her because she was lame. She is in great shape now  but I still decided I needed a back up horse. I think I have found it in a eight year gelding I named Shiloh.

He Stilled the Storm

Psalms 107:24 

They saw the works of the Lord, his wonderful deeds in the deep. For he spoke and stirred up a tempest that lifted high the waves. They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths; 

in their peril their courage melted away… 

they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress. 

He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed.

 They were glad when it grew calm, 

and he guided them to their desired haven. 

Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind.

James 1:1 says to count it pure joy when we go through a trial.Then in James1:2-8 he uses the metaphor of a stormy sea and says we will encounter storms in this life, and without faith we will be "like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind."

Storms are a part of Christian life. I can pray for Him to calm the waves but also must be  faithful in the storm. Remember Jesus' words in Mark 4 in the midst of a storm

Peace, Be Still. 

God is in the Wilderness

In the book, "Wounded by God’s people by Ann Graham Lotz," Ann writes

“A wilderness is defined as an uncultivated, uninhabited, inhospitable region. I would also describe a wilderness as dry, barren, lonely, and rocky. And it was in a spiritual wilderness that I found myself several years ago. Because it was a time in my life that was dry… seemingly devoid of the rain of God’s blessing; barren… seemingly devoid of evidence of real fruit in my life; lonely… devoid of any conscious awareness of God’s presence; and it was rocky… littered with problems and obstacles and hard things.

One morning, I (Anne) intended to open my Bible to the verses on which I had been meditating the day before. But as divine providence would have it, I made a “mistake.” Instead I opened to a chapter that was several pages past where I had been. 

The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was. Exodus 20:21

The verse seemed to be illuminated. It leaped up off the page as I heard God whispering to me through the words, Anne, most people shy away from the wilderness. They don’t like the darkness of oppression, loneliness, dryness, barrenness. They don’t like to be in a hard place. If they think I’m going to lead them there, they resist, back off, and want no part of following Me. But, Anne, Moses approached the thick darkness. Because that’s where I was. And that’s where I still am, Anne. 

Embrace the darkness.

Before I could answer Him, before I could even pray, almost before I could even think, I found myself turning several pages back to where I was “supposed” to have been reading. The first verse of that reading was,

While Aaron was speaking to the whole Israelite community, they looked toward the desert, and there was the glory of the Lord appearing in the cloud. Exodus 16:10

The desert is another name for the wilderness! That dry, barren, rocky, lonely place where I seemed to be. And I knew God was telling me, Anne, I am here. Look closely. You will see My glory in the dark cloud. 

God is in the darkness and God is in the wilderness.

In Matthew 11:7 Jesus ask “…What did you go out into the wilderness to see?”

Who am I going into the wilderness to see? Am I willing to meet Jesus there?