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Monday, December 14, 2009

For the Love of a Horse

I don't know how many of you have been in contact or have had horses but I am sure if you have owned a horse that animal has in some way connected to your soul and spirit. Somewhere down deep you became a part of the horse. They become a part of your life very quickly and for those young girls (or young men) who are drawn to them, horses become a part of your identity. I have been reading blog named "for the love of a horse". The writer is amazing in his description of the egyptian arabian horse from old lines to new lines. And as I read his blog tonight, I felt as though I am deceiving some who come across my blog. The name "far side farms" was started with the thought that I would be bringing a helping hand to some of those out there who have horses with problems or issues that I have faced over my many years of dealing with horses that were not the easiest to own or train. I truly love horses, they are a part of my life that is more than just a pet, they complete my identity. I am not by any means an expert horsewoman, and nor do I portray myself as being one. But when I am with them in some sort of way I can become a different person. Not angry not someone I 'have' to be but ME.

Horses don't care what you look like or what you wear. They don't care if you are standing beside them or riding them (most horses). Horses are old line of life that love people. If you are ever around a horse that loves its people you are seeing the way that they were created to be by God. I fell off of the horse wagon for a while, trying to make it something it wasn't and God made it so that even though I didn't want to ride I had to care for 'the girls' (my nickname for the small herd out my backdoor). That small part of me that desired and loved them was being beat down by the fact that they had become a job instead of a love. That was not the only thing happening at that time, I was drowning in a lot of anger and anxiety and horses became part of that anxiety and anger. It was at this time that God intervened in my life, He sent Peggie to intercede in my life. It took about a month before my life started to unwind before I realized that my horses were actually a part of my life that God was directly connected to in my every day life. I chose, or allowed, to have my horses become a part of my life that I resented. I know today that when those days come that resentment sets in that the enemy is working on a part of my life and I am directing it toward my horses. I also know that in God's word the horse is a noted animal. Horses carry the angels of the apocolypse bringing the will of God in the future. Horses carry Jesus Christ back to us to claim His world and people. Horses have that high recognition in God's word. How amazing!!

So while my blog started in one direction, God directed me quickly that this was not part of his plan. So I mislead those looking for help with horses, and I am working to find a new name for my blog (nothing so far). Until the time when that name comes to me, Far Side Farms will remain, misleading those looking for horse help, and maybe finding God's help instead.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Beautiful Poetry

I love poetry, especially the old stuff that has a rythym to it and tells a story. I loved for years growing up "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost. When I first read this poem in high school, I had no concept of what it meant except that a lonely traveler had happened upon a split in the road and after a debate of which to take he decided on the one less traveled. The poem holds more to it than that really, it was a life decision by a traveler who was making a life choice. Of course the poem doesn't let on to that especially because of the way it was written by Frost. The poem means much, much more today and I love it even more, it holds a sense of new life by taking the road less traveled now.
I don't know of anyone who calls the gospels poetry but I find poetry in the words of John. He wrote as though his heart was telling a story in a rythmic tune about Jesus Christ. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Not much of a rhyming tune but these words set the tone for the remainder of John's gospel. They are the prelude to a mixture of poetic words that flow from John in a way that draws the reader tightly into the poem. Just like Frost's poem, John doesn't give you all of the details in one lump sum. He tells you about this 'light' that is the light to save all men, he tells you about the how He made the world but the world did not know Him. From John 1: 1- John 1:19, a poem starts to tell of the works, coming, arrival, and message of Jesus, a prelude to the full gospel by John of his Lord Jesus Christ and when he put Him to words poetry erupted.
Many of us have heard or know of the story of Jesus's birth, why, when, where, who came, how the story started and ended. I had never heard anyone person speak of Jesus the way John does. His words drew me to a closer understanding of God and Jesus's relationship with God and how even though Jesus was God in the beginning, He was a man, and now He is the living God.
John may not be the poet that Robert Frost is, he may not be the ryhming, rhythmic, wordsmith. But like Frost, John had a choice to make, a choice between a split in the road to the left (a road much traveled) or to the right (one overgrown and slightly hidden). You and I have that choice. We can't see around the bend in the road, just like Frost's traveler, but as we stand at the split in the path we can make the decision which to take. I read Frost's poem much differently these days, I don't see the traveler trying to make a decision of which way to go on to his destination; rather, I see a life choice. I chose late in life to take the road less traveled, of course I had take the much traveled road many, many times, or maybe I hadn't reached the split in the paths yet. I like this new path, it's not predictible and I don't have to see what's around the bend.
Two roads to take, one life choice, which will it be for you.

Monday, December 7, 2009

Do Not Be Afraid

I grew up being afraid of the dark. Why? Well I was afraid of what was in the dark, the 'thing' that I couldn't see or make out that might 'get me', so to speak. For may children, the dark is one of the places fear first sets in, or at least that's my theory, where else would fear begin except in childhood (ok adulthood holds some pretty scary things too). But when you really think about what you're afraid of, how far back does it go? I thought for many, many years that my fear of the dark was just 'my thing' the one thing that I truly didn't like, well that was a lie. A lie from myself to myself. My fears started in the dark and grew from there. So why am I still afraid of the dark, now at age 39? Well, I believe it is because that is where all my skeletons are hiding!! And I'm right, that is where they are all hiding, the left the closet and decided that the dark is where they needed to be!

God said several times (where I don't know) that truth hates darkness and shines the light on it to expose it. Sorry I have heard and read that several times but I can't find it now. But reading this what does it mean? Well last spring Lee and I took a life group, Experiencing God, and in that time we learned that "truth" is a person, in the new testament "truth" is referred to as Jesus..."I am the truth, the light and the way" (paraphrased and sorry no reference). When I learned this, I understood why He hates the darkness because if Truth is Jesus then darkness is the enemy. I often struggle with the dark, at one point in my life it was like my nemesis the thing I had to conquer, I was an adult I shouldn't be afraid of the dark. Now, after meeting Jesus and having Him in my life, I don't struggle with that anymore. The fear of the darkness is still there but I know now that I can come inside, if I'm outside, and ask Lee to come out side with me while I do whatever it is that I need to do. If I'm inside I can turn on the lights (by the way that was a revelation for me!). I don't have to be afraid. Sunday I heard that the phrase "do not be afraid" is resited 365 times in the Bible. God says it 365 times!!! That's once for every day that I wake up. My spirit literally jumped for joy when I heard that Sunday morning. My heart leaped and I felt total peace. For the first time in ever I heard that I didn't have to be afraid of anything in this world, that God is taking care of those things that I fear.

Am I still afraid of the dark? YES! Sometimes more so than others, but I don't have to be totally afraid because when I am I get help from Lee, I start reciting verses outloud, I turn on the lights and the fear subsides. I don't have to be afraid but am I still yes because all those skeletons that God is picking away at are trying to pull me back into my fear but I don't have to go. This time, unlike for the majority of my life, I don't have to submit to my fears because I have someone standing beside me, Jesus. So I wonder what you are afraid of? I wonder how far back the real fear goes? Mine still stems from childhood, at least the root of it is from my childhood, and I am still trying to cut it out of my soul. Where does your's start? Does it matter? Yes it matters because without knowing you are defenseless, the fear is still in the dark and no one, even you, don't know how to shine the light on it. Am I still afraid of 'things' that go bump in the night, yes, but God has set the lamp on my left and right to show the way and He can do the same for you.