You Are What You Are

Today's Readings seemed to focus on the stubborness of mankind. The 'stiff-necked' and unbelieving that we sometimes look down upon. The vexing part is that we are them. We are the stubborn ones.

So many times we worry and plan and scheme to remove ourselves from our current situation; maybe it's our job, our relationship, or whatever. We would be crying to Moses, too, if he were here. Why did you bring us into this 'desert' to die. And the whole time we don't realize that we're in the desert due to our own decisions. We've got to learn to be comfortable in our own skin. We are who we are. Get used to it.

The video above is of 'Joe' and I taken last Saturday at Joe's third roping. Joe is a calf roping horse that just wasn't comfortable with his job. He was born with so much speed, an amazing hard stop, and lots of 'cow' so guess what that makes him. A calf roping horse. Well, Joe was a little nervous coming across the line. Then, when the run should have been over, he didn't know what to do with himself so he kept going backwards. Calf ropers call it over working.

Well, I didn't decide to make him a trail riding horse because of this. And Our Lord isn't going to pluck us from our current situations and let us do something entirely different either. Mainly because we would turn our new situation right back into our old one unless WE decided to change. He helps us because He is the only way we can change. The same was true with Joe. I just had to find a way to help him relax in his efforts. He had to know when to work and to know when it was OK to just be.

As you can see in the video, he's finding the way. He's a calf roping horse. That's just what he is. And he's finally getting used to it. First, know who you are. That's the easy part. The hard part is trusting Christ to help you get used to it.

Rejoice in the grind my friends.

Comfort Zones

It's 10:40 pm and Lee Burton is cruising south bound on 281 just south of Pleasanton, Texas as this is getting written. Well, maybe he's already hit 37 and is rolling on to Corpus Christi. You see, Lee is the Loreles division manager for the King Ranch and will be hitting the pavement tomorrow before 6:00 am even though he's got 2 more hours to go and horses to take care of when he gets there. But he's in his comfort zone. Traveling is not an issue. Hard work is not a problem either. Calling a stranger about a colt he's riding . . . well we may be crossing the line.

Lee is a good friend of mine and brought a three-year old up here to San Antonio over the weekend. He plans to demonstrate the gelding on Tuesday for the annual colt competition that the ranch holds for the cowboys. I'm no stranger to hard work either. And riding horses, well that's just my bag. But telling someone else what to do with their horse . . . well we may be crossing that line again.

Twos, threes, even older horses have that line, too. It's our job as trainers to bring them to it comfortably and then guide them through it. They don't improve until they're beyond it. Then, there will be another line, a comfort zone that they've fallen into and don't want to leave. And we'll prepare them for the next stage, wait for the right time, and guide them outside their comfort zone again.

So why do we ALWAYS chose to stay in that zone. Improvement can not be found until we step outside of it. I have not done Lee any favors by with-holding tips for his colt. If what I have to say doesn't work for him, he moves on. Tries something else. Works it out. But if I say nothing, he benefits ZERO. Even if it doesn't work, he has the opportunity to find out why. And he has something else to try with his next one. Lee, if you happen to find time to read this in your non-existant spare time, I'm sorry I didn't spend more time with your gelding.

Back to the phone call. If Lee makes the call to the gentleman I recommended he speak with about his prospect and is made a fool of, what has he lost. Nothing. He probably will never even see the guy. But the benefits could be endless. So Lee, make the call.

Sometimes, we need a 'trainer' ourselves. Someone to push us out of our comfort zone. You may have someone in your life already. You're probably mad at them ;)

Anyway, if not, give yourself more credit. You can do more. Step out there and find out just how much more. Good Luck!

Stan Sigman - Namgis Quarter Horses

This morning found us in Hondo, Texas looking at some fantastic broodmares and an exceptional all-around stallion. Oh, and we had some work to do as well. Primarily, our purpose for being at Namgis Quarter Horses was to discuss the direction of Stan Sigman's brand. In this case, we're not talking fire brand. We're talking logos, web site, print materials, etc. The things that represent your business when you're not there to represent it yourself.

RanchForeman specializes in doing this for horse related businesses. It's a blast and keeps my wife and I in the horse business even when we're in the office and working the 'real' job.

We discussed the Namgis branding strategy in Sigman's new office at the arena pictured above. Everything has a place. There's corporate memorabilia from Sigman's former career, western art, a lounging area with live video streams from the arena, breeding lab, and stalls. There's also a bar custom built to house a collage we put together for his stallion, Bucks Hancock Dude.

These details aren't being shared to convey envy, or any other emotion. They're being shared to demonstrate entrepreneurial thinking.

Everyday you can be an entrepreneur, a manager or a technician. No doubt your life/job will need all three at varying times. However, most of us get bogged down in the details. Email, support, phone calls, feeding horses, cleaning stalls . . . technician tasks. When we do this, we just get through the day. When we step back and plan for our life or our business, we can execute and move forward. The office of Namgis Quarter Horses had people behind it that stepped back from the details and had some foresight to know what they needed moving forward. The ability to host events, watch over foaling mares and conduct business. That would not have happened if the details, the technician tasks, were most important. Details are important, but not most important.

It has been such a blessing, to meet people like the Sigman's and have the opportunity to aid them in achieving their next dream - Success in the horse business. We have no doubt that it's going to happen either. Entrepreneurial thinking didn't stop with the office. Mr. Sigman extensively researches the Namgis mares that he is putting together and has a rigorous culling program in store for those who aren't a good cross on his particular stallion, Bucks Hancock Dude.

For those of you not familiar with the horse business, finding mares that cross well on a stallion is VERY difficult. Having a proven (point and money earning) mare and a proven stallion doesn't always mean that you're going to get a nice colt. Some bloodlines cross well and some do not. Stan Sigman has gathered high-profile mares with varying genetics and has his first large colt crop hitting the ground as this is being written. Beautiful babies. He'll have them started on his ranch, place them in training and evaluate them as performers. This happens over the course of several years. At this point they'll be sold and he'll have a better idea of which mares are giving him the best babies. Some mares will inevitably be sold in order to be replaced with mares who have similar genetics to those producing the best babies. Sound like a challenge?

Stan Sigman is used to challenges. This is the man who brought AT&T Wireless into Cingular for around $41 billion dollars and then stood on the stage with Steve Jobs to announce the iPhone eleven days later. He has plans. Then he takes action.

Try not to get bogged down in the the technician tasks in your life. Step back every now and then for a breather. Don't set goals, create a plan to reach goals. Then take action. Who knows, maybe next time we'll be over to your office/arena taking pictures. ;)

Quick Friday Morning Humor

A good friend of mine tells stories. Cowboy stories. And he's damn good at it.

Here's a story of his that's pretty funny:
$1.25 Lesson

Normal post for Friday won't be up until tonight.

A little bit of hail never hurt anybody.

Over on the Country Living group on Facebook I posted a discussion wanting to know what everyone did on rainy days that they don't normally do. It's usually a great time for me to get tack oiled up and get some organization done in the barn. Nowadays, there's something else. I take pictures and post them on SpiritualHorseman.com ;)

There weren't any cattle trapped down south so I got to stay home today.

And I'm glad I did. We were blessed with a great rain today in the San Antonio, TX area. And hail came with it.

Everybody under the barn.

There's a group of horses here that are not even used to rain, much less hail. It's interesting to see how they handle new experiences.

Mellow Yellow is just that. He acts like he knows what's going on, but it hasn't stirred him up too much. Anticipated awareness.

Bugsy and Sugar are bouncin' off of the walls. They are more along the lines of, "I gotta get outta here. I gotta get outta here." Fear.

Cuervo didn't mind the rain much. Rounded back, feet close together withdrawn underneath himself, ears back and head down . . . no worries. Then the hail came. He started out like Mellow Yellow by just kind of becoming aware. Then he eased off to the other side of the large round pen where he stays. Stopped and waited. Then off to another spot and stopped and waited. "Is it over here, how about over here, and here-is it hailing over here?" is what it seemed he was thinking. Never still for very long. Nervous.

Sway, an older reiner we have just turned her rear to that north wind and balled up. She has been in hail before. And she handled it the same way then. Irritated, but Care free.

Buck, another one of the two's just stood there. Almost as if it were still a bright and sunny day. I'm not even sure if he knew it was hailing ;) Clueless.

When the hail storms of life rain down on your plans, how do you handle it? Do you dart from here to there looking for the quick solution? Do you stick your head in the sand and pretend it's not happening? Do you even know that it's happening? (there's a good post here)

Or, do you know what you need to do, adapt, persevere and move on?

Satan Bleeds Green and . . . Green

I know a bunch of Aggies. If you cut 'em open, they'd bleed maroon and white. Some of them even admit to it. Do you have a favorite 'team' that you root for? Most of us do.

Today's readings include the 'golden calf' story. It's in chapter 32 of Exodus. We don't worship false idols, right? That's crazy talk. Wouldn't even think of it.

Have you ever made a decision based solely upon financial reasons? Do you plan things based entirely upon how much you benefit financially? Join the club. We're cheering for Satan's team. Bleeding green.

It seems as though we always look at the 'golden calf' story through judgemental eyes. Here these people are just hand delivered from the land of Egypt by the One True God and they are worshipping something else!?!? And there it is. We worry so much about what everybody else is doing when we should be looking within. They were doing it back then, and we're doing it now. They didn't even realize, and niether do we.

Only now, it's the dollar. The devil gets into your life whether you know it or not. Recognizing him is hard, but it's the easy part. Overcoming him and removing him is the hard part. Satan's lifeblood is something you'll recognize pretty easily. It's the green-back. The American Dollar.

Married folk - How many fights have you had with your spouse that turned out to really be about money? Single folk - How many times have you been guided somewhere you know you shouldn't be because of money?

It doesn't matter how much we spend. That's not the point. We can be high rollers if we want, but it's how the money is spent that matters. You can't buy the things in life that matter. Relationships, Time, Peace, Love. You can, however, spend money that benefits those things in life that matter. If you ask Our Lord how to spend, he'll let you know. And you'll be surprised by His answer.

His Will

Today's readings, thanks to the little fat monsignor, all focus on God's will.

I just love this. Most especially because of the Blessed by Down Syndrome post from last night.

If Kevin can adhere to His Will, how much then can you and I?

Don't get me wrong, it's difficult. But try this. The next time you get moved to do something for Him, look around. If everyone you know thinks you're crazy, you're probably on the right track. ;)

Blessed by Down Syndrome.

A very satisfying day of leaf raking has just been wrapped up. The rakes and scoops have been organized just so for retrieval tomorrow morning and a cold, frothy I.B.C. rootbeer just got popped open.

"You sure do good work Kevin," I said as I walked over to see my new helper and give him the 5:30 soda he craves.

He smiled and said, "You know I do." And only in a way that you have to hear to fully appreciate. He was happy, feeling generous and totally believed that he had done a fantastic job. And he did. He's a leaf raking magician. It was blowing 20 miles an hour half the time he was working. Patiently, methodically, he layed out his plan and executed.

Kevin was born with Down Syndrome and just happens to live across the street from my wife and I just south of San Antonio, TX. He approached us the day before yesterday with a proposal. He needed some leaves to rake. Trust me when I say we have PLENTY to rake. We have three huge cottonwoods in our front yard and they produce one heck of a leaf crop.

He came over with his father, so I knew it was OK with them, but I still had reservations. I told them that we certainly did not expect him to do all of that, but he insisted. His dad was just smiling and shaking his head.

"Nope, it was my idea and it's my treat," Kevin stated when we tried to talk him out of it.

Long story short, Kevin is a worker. I wish we could hire him to feed horses and clean the barn. These high school kids these days don't know what work is. Kevin does.

Kevin knows alot. He knows that you should be able to look around at the world surrounding you and see where you're needed. He knows that you shouldn't have to be invited in order to go there and provide your help. He knows that you shouldn't expect anything from people when all you're doing is what the Lord expects of you. And he knows how to smile.

Wow. And make people smile. The farrier and a good rodeo friend of mine were here today. They met Kevin and conversation revolved around him for the next hour or so. All three of us smiling the whole time.

He knows how to spread the Lord's compassion and love. One kind act at a time. Thanks Kevin.

How about you? Notice anything in your life lately that could use your touch?

Get back on that pony and ride - Chris LeDoux

Update:
Here's the song if you want to play it.
[audio:http://www.spiritualhorseman.com/audio/GBOTPAR-Chris-LeDoux.mp3]

Today's Old Testament reading from Isaiah shows us that even our Heavenly Creator starts fresh.

Isaiah 65:17-21
"Lo, I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; The things of the past shall not be remembered or come to mind."

You can't expect spectacular results every time you do something. Especially when you are brave enough to venture outside your comfort zone. Every time I throw my leg over one that has never been ridden, it's a new experience. Of course, for the colt, but for me as well. Every single one of them reacts different than the last one. And if I did the same thing to every one of them every time, I would end up on the ground half the time.

But here's the deal: Let's say I did end up on the ground half the time. Is that failure? Is falling the failure?

Nope. Walking away is the only failure. If you're back up and riding again, you're creating something new. A new experience, a new opportunity, a new you. Failure makes us grow in ways success can never compare to.

Be a creator. The picture is a real photograph from the Astronomy Picture of the Day website. Now that's creativity. We can't even come close, but who better than God to inspire us?

Trust in yourself and trust in the fact that even our Creator started anew and banished the thoughts of the past.

Rest and Relaxation

Luke 12:25-26

Can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? If then you are not able to do so small a thing as that, why do you worry about the rest.

What a beautiful day that was gifted to us today. Here are today's readings in case you missed heading over to the church house.

They don't really talk about rest and relaxation, but with Spring right around the corner, everyone is making a kazillion plans and doing home projects and scheduling kids and . . .

Be sure to take some time for yourself. Quiet time. Calm time. You'll quickly find that this isn't time for yourself, but for you and Him. He'll bring you strength during these quiet moments. His light will shine into your life and clarity will find it's way into your chaotic schedule.

BUT, first you have to make time. Make time for five minutes to get away. Do it now.

It's Ringing...Answer Him

Well, sometimes things just don't work out. Or do they?

Proverbs 3:5-6 says

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

..."For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord. Discussing God's ways is like talking Nuclear Physics with a Penguin...it doesn't make sense and the penguin's not gonna understand anyway.

But, It's so easy to look back at situations I was in years ago or even months ago and see how what I thought was a bad situation was the only circumstance that I could have been in at that time that would have lead me to where I needed to be.

The hard part, though, is this: Trusting in His plans for us when we have yet to experience that end result.

Many of you put so much effort into work, or maybe extracurricular, or a relationship, or whatever. With me it's time and effort into training a horse. Guess what. It's not always going to work out. Sometimes everything is just right and there's no possible way you could be more prepared. There's no possible way you could be more dedicated. And there's no possible way that anyone wants it worse than you. Then you fail. What next?

I started showing horses in registered AQHA shows for the ranch in 2005. I grew up rodeoing and let me tell you horse show calf roping is a whole different ball game. My first one was at the San Antonio Stockshow and Rodeo. Nothing. Then Stephenville. Another nice run and nothing. I was furious. Why weren't these guys placing me. You hear the same tired old stories about how 'you have to have a name' and 'the politics are so bad' blah blah blah. The bottom line is I didn't deserve to be placed.

Well, I finally got some video and started analyzing my performance vs. winning performances. I break things down and study them on an all to regular basis but, that's another story. Anyway, you can't argue with what's staring you right there in the face. So I worked with Bobby Lewis and C.R. Bradley a little bit and got 'Roany' to show quite a bit better. The very next year, Quail Bar Quincy (aka Roany) and I won Reserve World Champion Calf Roping Horse.

Now here is the interesting part. I was just getting into training horses professionally. If I had been placed right off the bat and gotten Roany's performance Register of Merit pretty quick, (that's a recognition of ability that the AQHA awards after winning a designated amount of shows for those of you unaware) I would have sold that horse within the year and moved to the next one. His ways, though, put me in a position to become a better calf horse trainer and win a Reserve World Championship in only my second year of showing.

I was clueless at the time. Well, I'm back. But this time it's rodeo. The funny part is that the horse, Joe, is Roany's full brother. I'm mad. He's awesome. And my Lord and Savior is probably up there laughing His butt off right now.

He's performing on his home turf and does pretty good away from home too. However, he's bug eyed and overworking at the rodeos. I'm entering up and, in some cases, don't even get to finish my tie since he's draggin them out from under me.

So, I pray. Am I really supposed to be rodeoing right now? Am I leaving the path He's layed out for me and that's why it's getting difficult? All I got was laughter.

Of course not. It's the times that we are walking with Him that bring the most challenging work into our lives. If we're with Him, He knows we can handle it. So I'll stick with it. If he had a Reserve World Championshiop in store for the horse showing, who knows what's in store rodeoing.

Find that thing in your life that rings true in your heart and fans the fire in your soul. It won't be what you do to earn a paycheck in most cases. And it won't be easy. What it will be is fullfilling. What it will be is a chance for you to get closer to Christ. That's why He puts those desires in your heart, to bring you to Him. They are not childish dreams. They are a calling. Answer Him.

Thursday Reality Check: Working Cattle and Riding Colts

Well, I thought that I was done with the jackets and vests till next year until about half way through feeding this morning. It was 57 degress.

What!?!

That's cold.

It was humid.

There was a heavy fog.

Fine I hate the cold. Or cool, or whatever. Anyway, I got my vest, everybody got fed and I started loading the youngsters: One 'four' I can rope on that I call Bugsy, one 'three' I just started calling Luke and three two-year-olds, or 'twos'. Only one has earned a name. We call him Mellow Yellow. After a quick stop through the house to kiss my lovely bride and grab a fresh taco, I headed south. Like a freight train through it's tunnel of fog we rolled through the towns barely able to see the blurry greens and yellows till we were through 'em or the reds till we were to 'em. It was slow goin the whole way.

I pulled into the house a little after eight. Morgan had already headed over to the pens so I went to meet him. Just as I pulled up I could see a little brehmer heifer get sorted through a gate inside the pens and head into the fog. Then I saw Mick. Crap I'm late. About that time I heard the fire start up. These lady's were gonna get some hot iron on there butts today. I wasn't too late 'cause Doc Williams wasn't there yet and nobody had saddled up just yet either. They must have been sorting them just to get ready to start moving them through the pens.

Dad picked out a little Poco Bueno bred grullo mare and asked me to ride Mr. Koehler's bay mare, Lilly. She is in the it's-time-to-grow-up part of her life so she gets used pretty regular. Mick was on a little sorrel mare he just started team roping on and Dick was on Tommy Boy, a younger sorrel gelding that he has riding around pretty nice.

Just then it hit me. We're not going to get to rope today.

Oh well. It was a fine run of Thursday's for sure. So Jesse, Felix and Tony were ready and waiting. Kelley had his grease and pour-on de-wormer like Doc Freakin Holiday. Just say when baby. Mick looked like he was at the bar chillin even though he was about to have to get the heads of every heifer that came through there so Dick could get them steady for the tattoos and bangs vaccination tags. Oh, and there is no head gate. One big squeeze shoot. Old school. That's the way we do it down here. For all it's glory...and faults, that's just the way we do it. Anyway, Doc was ready so I started sending them through.

It's really something to see I bet. From a distance. The group, like a machine, just works. Everybody has a job. They execute and the machine keeps running. Anybody faulters and the thing comes to a screeching hault. Or somebody gets hooked. That's the thing about these first crosses. They make good cows in this rough country, but lets just say I'm a hell-of-a-lot more sore this time than I was when we ran all those blacks and black baldies through a couple of weeks ago. Those tiger-stripes can get kind of rough with the personell. ;) But when everybody's percolating, it goes pretty smooth. We're united in a way.

Something else that makes me feel tied to every rancher that's ever tried to make a living with horses or cattle is that smell. To stand in that crowd pen somewhere between Beeville and Refugio with hot branding irons sending smoke to join that heavy fog laying on us really takes me back. I don't know where, but I'm there often. It's a lonely place, but it's where I belong.

We wound up things around lunch time, but not after needing to rope one that slipped through the cracks. Mick pushed them out of the corner and I peeled them off the fence. As they headed toward the center of the large pens, Morgan eased into the herd and one swing later it was over. She never saw it coming. He steered her out into the open and Dick immediately had another rope on her feet. I went to her and down she went. Doc and his vet tech took care of her right there. The hands brought the fire and one O-B and one 8 later, she was off with the rest of the bunch.

After lunch we delivered some cattle to the auction barn and I wrapped up the day riding colts. Between the trip to the barn and my riding, we moved some round bales for cattle over at the Murphy and fed alfalfa to the broodmares. What a site. Babies have been hitting the ground for a couple of weeks now. The mares are pulled down a little bit since we haven't been getting any rain, but the foals are still looking great. As soon as I get a new camera I'll post pics. Today would have been a good picture day. Sorry about that. I'm going to wind this up since it's getting a little long-winded, but I wanted to be sure to mention the foals.

Everything is just starting to green up a little. The babies are coming and the replacements are getting branded and turned out. It's new beginnings everywhere. It's never to late to start over. It's never to early to start over. If you think you're headed the wrong way, start fresh. Now's the time.

The little fat monsignor.

My two two-year-old's were not cooperating this morning and they almost made me miss the 8 am service. Actually, I guess they did since I arrived just in time for Fr. Ed's homily. He delivered a great message about looking within that I'm glad I made it into town for. During this time before Easter that we call Lent, we practice introspection. This is the process of self-observation. Basically asking yourself, "Where am I in my relationship with God?" or "How am I at granting forgiveness?" or "Why did I come into the kitchen again?" Just kidding with that last one, but it happens to me all the time now. ;)

So it was a good message, but what struck me today was a little different than the actual message itself. Since I missed the readings, I came home and read them online and began to wonder. . . Who orchestrates these readings for the daily masses?

In the Catholic church, every three years the bible gets read to the congregation in it's entirety. No, there's not a meeting where we go to listen to somebody read the whole thing. Readings are structured in a book such that by attending mass regularly, one will listen to the entire bible every three years. That's not the amazing part. What amazes me is how the old testament readings, psalms and new testament readings support one another so strongly. Every day. Every week. For 52 weeks.

I imagine there's this little fat monsignor (pronounced - mon-see-nyer) sitting in Rome at the Vatican. He's praying and probably eating some ridiculously expensive cheese and sipping wine or something. ;) He is ripping pages and shuffeling them around and making notes. Constantly pushing his little spectacles back up onto his nose and telling people in a very nasal little-old-lady-voice why one passage fits better than the other. Anyway, good job little fat monsignor. You never cease to amaze me.

Really, go to this link for today's readings, read through it and think about how they fit.

Reading 1 - Moses teaches Israel.......Teach the Law
Psalm - Praise the Lord, Jerusalem......Praise Him who delivered the Law
Gospel - Jesus teaches the disciples...Fulfill the Law

Through teaching us, the physical Words of God, Christ is still fulfilling the Law through the inspiration of each and every day's readings. In this case, maybe the inspiration of a little fat monsignor in Rome. But crack open your bible. It will be your inspiration...and who knows what He'll have to say to you.

Always forgive your enemies - nothing annoys them so much.

That's a great quote from Oscar Wilde. Another good one on forgiveness:

"To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you." - Lewis Smedes

In case you haven't figured it out yet, today's reading tells a story about forgiveness. It's Mathew 18:21-35 and Fr. Ed didn't think that this particular verse is so much about forgiveness as it is compassion.

I agree.

Really, that's all forgiveness is. The ability to have compassion enough for someone to try and understand the situation through their eyes. And then when you can't, forgetting about it and loving them anyway. I know you're thinking, "Whatever man, I'm not Christ. You don't understand what 'so and so' did to me."

You're right I don't. But let me say this. If that person did what you think they did and hasn't approached you about it yet, YOU are the only one being effected by not forgiving them. The weight is beared by you alone. And you are alone. Until you embrace compassion for that person and hand the situation to Christ for Him to deal with, you are walking alone. Without Love there is no forgiveness and without forgiveness, there is no Love.

I know there is someone in your life you have not forgiven. There is in mine. Forgive them, right now. In your heart forgive them. Next time you see them, you don't have to tell them you forgive them. Just shake their hand and look them in the eye. They'll know. Give them a hug. They'll know. Maybe even just say hello. They'll know.

One more thing. Forgive yourself.

Is the third time really a charm?

Update:The vet report came back in on the horse. He had a twisted gut. For those of who don't know horses all that well, a twisted gut is just what it says it is. However, it's referred to as a REALLY bad colic. Colics (basically a bad belly ache for a horse) come in different flavors: compaction, sand and twisted gut. Twisted guts are instantly serious and usually result in death. Unfortunately, the little paint horse was no exception.

Original Post
This weekend was great. And then Sunday rolled around. There are plenty of details in this story that I'm going to leave out. I don't want to dwell on any of it and it doesn't help convey the message to get distracted by tangents.

We received a call from the man who was taking care of the horses. I had a paint two-year old gelding down in my round pen. Dead. I hadn't even gotten the chance to ride him yet. He was a new arrival. And now he's dead. So I scratched team roping plans for that afternoon, loaded my calf horse, colt, and stud and headed north.

On the way out, I had to run a check by my grandfather's house for the ranch horse I sold for him in San Antonio. I was leaving a message for the owner of the horse that had died while heading over to John Morgan's house when the black and tan coon dog gyp of my Dad's fell under the trailer and got run over. She was running beside the truck playing with Gus and Lola in the back of my truck I guess and fell. Anyway, she's dead.

I finally get back home and get the dead horse situation resolved. So I head out to feed the roping cattle and call it a day. A long and crappy day. What do I find? A dead roping calf. Seriously!?!? What the heck is going on man!?

A young horse, coon dog and a roping calf all goners. So I figured I could either write a country song and pop open a cold one, or get into scripture and post it here on the Spiritual Horseman. I decided on a hybrid. A cold one and scripture. Hey, I'm Catholic... and Irish. That's just the way it's going to be.

You might know there would be plenty of scripture covering loss and death in the bible. Yes, He gives and He takes away. Yes, He is a refuge for the oppressed. And so on, And so on. But this one caught my attention:

Isaiah 54:10
"Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed," says the LORD, who has compassion on you.

This isn't talking about how we should handle loss and death and frustration. This addresses how He handles it when, oh let's say that hypothetically ;) you have three animals die in one freakin' day and you fly off the handle a little bit. Even though we forget Him, even though we neglect Him, even if we sometimes resent Him. . . He still loves us. His promise to us will never be broken.

That's just straight up living by example. If we could only be half as strong. He doesn't tell us how to handle loss. He just handles it and all we have to do is follow His lead. Who are you following right now?

Faith in consistancy... and achievements will come.

Saturday after the Ranch Rodeo meeting, my wife and I headed for Refugio for the open pro rodeo. I had a calf horse with me that needed to be hauled and I hadn't gotten to rodeo in a VERY long time. Mostly quarter horse shows for me.

It was Joe's first rodeo and he was definitely feeling out of place. Every banner was extremely menacing and every fan on the other side of the rail was probably going to kill him. The speakers above us in the small arena in Refugio may as well have been hanging around his neck and they weren't exactly playing country gospel. But here's the thing. With time, he did great. I didn't make anything a big deal. If you do, you can't be surprised when it turns into a big deal. We just road around until he relaxed a little and was OK with everything that was going on.

When it came time to compete, he was ready. I was ready. Every one I talked to said that the calf I had drawn tried a little. In other words, he ran. The problem was that every other calf I saw go didn't hardly leave at all. They broke slow and high loped across the pen. I started to second guess the advice I had received about my calf. Morgan had a great comment though. Being new to this whole scene, ol' Joe might hesitate a bit coming across the line. So I decided to go ahead and give my calf the start I had decided on in the first place. And it was a good thing I did. He did run. Joe did great coming across the line. Barely a flutter as he ran through the barrier strap. He ran into the hole hard and started to stop hard. We were on the left fence though and he was still pretty worried about all of those folks on the other side. He wandered around a little before he decided to go back to work. It would have cost me if I had not drawn a runner in the first place. However, we were already out of it so I was just glad he went back to work. The next one will be better.

That's just it. Every time should be a little bit better than the last time. If I can manage that, he'll be the best one going in just a couple more months. Especially with what we started out with this weekend.

This is true with anything. Everyone wants to have a million dollars, or lose 100 lbs. Instead, save 1 dollar and lose 1 lb. Then, tomorrow, do it again. Work to be consistant. Have faith.

RanchRodeo Finals Wrap-Up

The producers of the 2nd Annual Finals for Ranch Rodeo Finals in South Texas will meet this weekend to discuss funds dispersal for our scholarship recipients, circuit rodeo applications and sponsorships. This event is groing VERY fast. Please keep the entire organization in your prayers.

Please pray:

• That the event continues to be 100% philanthropic.


• That we are blessed with enough knowledgeable volunteers to continue to be 100% volunteer driven


• That the popularity of Ranch Rodeo Finals continues to grow.


• That the beneficiaries of our scholarships return to South Texas in an effort to positively impact the area.

Thank you all for keeping up with the Spiritual Horseman and thank you in advance for your prayers. - James O'Brien

Do you know Lazarus? Are you him?

I didn't make it to the ranch today. I'll be down there this weekend for Refugio's Open Pro Rodeo and I don't think that much was planned for today anyway. I hope. So I have had a chance to enjoy a Thursday at home. And it rained. Make no mistake, I'm not complaining, I'm rejoicing. It would have stunk if I had driven down to the ranch and missed getting to watch it rain. They didn't get any moisture. Hopefully there's still a chance because it's dry down there. None of this really has anything to do with what I want to share today, but I don't have a ranch story today and that's why.

Today's Gospel reading comes from Luke and it's the one about Lazarus. I know that the focus within this story is supposed to be on the rich man's cold heart and indifference. However, I'd like to know more about this cat Lazarus. There are so many people in today's world that sit around and do nothing while they complain about having it so bad. Don't get me wrong, it's our job to look after the lowly in this world. I'm not in any way defending the rich man in the story. Burn buddy. That's all I have for you. But, isn't there always somebody out there that is less fortunate than you are? And isn't there also somebody out there who is more fortunate than you are? Regardless of how wealthy or despondant you may be, there's always someone worse off and someone better off.

I say pull your self pittying butt off the ground Lazarus. Somebody out there needs you. They need your story. They need your Love. Who knows, they may just need your company. I have a feeling that there are plenty of people out there right now that feel more like Lazarus than the rich man. Well, the only way it's going to get any better is if you make it better. Take action today.

Romans 12:2 says, "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."

Are you wondering why the world has got you down? Why doesn't the rich man stop to help you out? Change starts with you. Get with it.

Servant Leadership

I have a couple, actually three, new two year olds to get started under saddle. They simply amaze me. They're wild eyed, skittish and everything is new to them. People, brushes, feedsacks (whoa, now we're just getting carried away). Burning with anticipation for what's coming next, they can't decide to run or stop, go right or left. The confident ones will stand with head slightly bowed and off to one side while they rock like a newly diagnosed parkinson's patient. The scared ones just travel out. Keep moving, keep moving, keep moving. The dense ones don't even know I'm standing in the round pen.

While teaching these guys to catch up this morning, I wondered if it's the same with people. The fact that these horses are so different, but with the same concepts, not actions but concepts, you can bring them all to the same place. Then I went to the church-house.

It was awesome. Guess what today's reading covered? Servant Leadership.

That's it. My morning contemplation had come full circle. You can make a horse do anything. But the guys who are winning at high level competitions ask their horses to do things. Teaching horses and then asking them to do what you have prepared them to do is a sure way to success. Personally, I am not a people person. I have always relished seclusion. However, in the last year or so, I have realized that it's because my ways with horses were almost exactly opposite of my ways with people. Recently, I have decided to be more social. To be inviting. To be a servant.

Ronald Reagan once said, "It's amazing what you can accomplish if you don't care who gets the credit."

Our Lord Jesus Christ said, "...whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant."

And so it is that through service we become great. Do you let your pride get in the way? With horses, pride will get you hurt. Sometimes seriously hurt. I know, because I've been there. It's the same with people. Who are you serving?

The humble shall be exalted.

Today's Gospel reading shares a lesson of humility. We strive for success, we pray for opportunity, wisdom and courage.

What we have to be careful about is when those prayers are answered. Stay humble. Stay You.

"Absolute faith corrupts as absolutely as absolute power." - Eric Hoffer

Mr. Christian went to church, he never missed a Sunday. Mr Christian went to hell for what he did on Monday.

Healing Prayer

Last night, our Faith Formation class, lead by Fr. Ed discussed healing. We saw a few clips fromt he 80's movie Resurrection and then watched House. Yea, I know, he's the anti-God smartass character wonderfully played by Hugh Laurie. The episode we covered though was from the first season I think and it was entitled House vs. God. It was full of great contemplative material regarding coincidence, healing, God's work through natural law and on and on. It was great. Not your normal Faith Formation class, but lots of fun.

The main reason I'm covering this, though, is because I have some experience with healing prayer. I'm not an expert, I don't have exceptional faith, I just know it works. My lovely bride was diagnosed with MS not too long ago. And without a doubt she does better when I pray for her in the mornings. This isn't something I tested out. But, I'm human too and sometimes I forget. Then, one day Tonni tells me she's having one of those days and I think, damn, I haven't been praying for her.

She is consistantly better when I call upon the Lord to share His strength and healing with her so that she can carry out those passions He placed within her.

Have faith in your power to effect others' lives. Have faith in your prayers. Have faith.

Horses, Good Friends and ... Aggie Basketball?!?

Thursday I picked up a little bay mare I started a while back that we call Brandi. I wish I had pictures of her because she's a fantastic looking little mare. She is a solid bay daughter of Playboy Boonsmal and I new she was special from the very beginning. Mike Carter took her through her two-year old year and agreed with me that she would be worth putting some more time into.

I travel ALOT. And while showing, rodeoing, etc. I came to know an individual by the name of Chris Littlefield. Great guy, great horseman. Well, I talked my grandfather, J.M. O'Brien, into sending this little mare to Chris. So guess what... Now I've got to deliver her to Henrietta, TX - Six hour trip, one way, just east of Wichita Falls. Well, a good friend of mine, and former O'Brien Ranch employee Bo Crutchfield, works for Chris these days and just happened to be taking the weekend off. He was going to be in College Station all weekend. Well a drive to College Station sounded a lot better to me than that 6 hour drive to Henrietta.

And wouldn't you know it, the aggies played Mizzou in basketball on Saturday afternoon. Oh, and they also had the Utes in baseball that evening. ;)

Now, I have to go. This goes way beyond "two birds with one stone". Ryan Bellows, a childhood friend and basically family, and several other good friends of mine were also in town for the game. So we're talkin' like seven or eight birds with this stone man. Killer stone. ;)

The last time I went to a basketball game at A&M was when Barone was coaching. I know I'm dating myself here, but it was in G. Rollie and you could hear the crickets chirping in there. We could show up at the end of the first quarter and still sit courtside. I am not exaggerating. It was painful. When the administration decided to build Reed Arena, I thought they built it for graduation ceremonies. ;) I mean seriously, Aggie Basketball?!?!

Boy was I surprised. We had a blast! I kept wondering over and over, "Who are these guys?" They were good. Actually, they were great. Beating Number 15 Missouri by twenty at the half. It was amazing. Reed was packed and rocking. You just think Kyle field can get loud. Put 12,000 Aggies in an enclosed building and see how loud they get. It was awesome. The guys had a brief Aggie moment with about 5 minutes left, but I guess Coach Turgeon reminded them that the game was still going on out there. After that they played great ball and held on to the victory. Great company, great team and great fun.

The guys gave me a hard time telling me that they've never seen me do anything that didn't involve horses. However, Ryan jumped in and let them know that this was no exception. My truck was parked outside Reed complete with trailer and horse. I got to inform him that I had already delivered the mare but for some reason that didn't help my case much with these guys. That's OK though. Horses are my life. I got her delivered and had a great time relaxing a little and enjoying the company of a great group of men.

A little R&R is so important. Schedule your life or it will set a schedule for you. Spend your time on the important stuff. What's most important is not WHAT we have in life, but WHO we have in our lives.

My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest. (Exodus 33:14)

And it's Thursday Again

Oh man, God saw me coming this morning. I think I have mentioned how much I enjoy the changing sky on here before. Especially weather changes, but sunrise/sunset too. So, yesterday morning not even ten or so minutes after sunrise. This is what I see.

Not this exactly, since I still haven't found my camera. Going to buy a new one soon though, so stay tuned. Anyway, it was as close to this as you can get. The bottom half of the burning sun pushed through the base of the cloud line in a brilliant red and scattered rays straight up and out from the clouds in all directions. It was amazing. And just south of Pleasanton.

Then, in Georgewest it happened again. Not quite as burning red hot, but more rays. They were everywhere. I just broke into a huge smile and said a quiet thank you. It was going to be a great day.

That wasn't even the end of it. OK, I know what your thinking, this kook is making this up now, but I wouldn't have any reason to do that. I mean, I'm writing for maybe my wife, mother and probably two other people here. Three max. ;)

Anyway, pulling into Beeville with Mellow Yellow, Cool Hand Luke and Bugsy in tow, the cloudy sky is just blown apart by the sun. And as I pull by the old Mighty Might on 59 it's as bright as I can stand it. Then it hit me. I'm in one of the rays. It's one of those things where you can't really tell, but you know by looking around you that the sun is only hitting the ground in a select few places. So if you were a good ways off looking toward me, there would be my deer dented chevy dually, aluminum gooseneck cattle trailer and three of the best colts in South Texas cruisin through Our Lord's spotlight. I know it sounds cheesy, but it was freakin awesome.

Well, then we moved telephone poles all morning. Back to reality. The power, or phone, or some company came through the ranch pulling new cable and putting new poles into the ground and guess who got to move all of the old ones. Yours truly and my Dad, Morgan. One blue New Holland Tractor, one round bale trailer and four hours later we were done. Piece of cake.

Now it's 2:30 ish and the county roping is this weekend. That can only mean one thing. We rope. That's three weeks in a row I got to come down here and rope. This is just getting ridiculous. Too much fun. My brother John came up so he and both my uncles and my dad all roped. That is what life's about. I can't imagine a better way to spend an afternoon. Again, wish I had the camera. This is running a little long anyway so maybe it's for the best.

I guess if there's anything to be pulled from this beautiful day, it's that we need to slow down enough to realize when we are having a beautiful day. Every one of them is a gifted hundred dollar bill. Spend it slowly. And spend it with the right people.

Here's your sign.

Anybody know Bill Engvall? He's the comedian who made it big with the hook, "Here's your sign." Here's a little excerpt from one of his first shows:

I just hate stupid people.
They should have to wear signs that just say I'm stupid.
That way you wouldn't rely on them, would you?
You wouldn't ask them anything. It would be like, "Excuse me...oops,
never mind"
"I didn't see your sign."

It's like before my wife and I moved from Texas to California our house
was full
of boxes and there was a u-Haul truck in our driveway.
My friend comes over and says, "Hey, You moving?"

"Nope."

"We just pack our stuff up once or twice a week. Just to see how many
boxes it takes."

"Here's your sign."

Why can't they get the picture? Why don't they understand?
We're not dealing with the planet of apes, we're talking about the
modern man.

Luke 11: 29-32 reminds us of the evil that is present in every generation. The generation of people Jesus addressed wanted a sign. And yet, there it stood before them. The greatest sign of all, the Son of Man.

We plan, work and fill our daily lives with whatever it is we do. While all of this is happening He surrounds us with His Love. Signs. Don't wait until Jesus is packing up to leave and then stand on the corner asking Him if He's moving. Help Him. Spread His Word, His Love. Be a sign of the faithful remnant of this generation.

Prayer or Horse Training

Too many words clutter the message.

No words at all is, in many cases, the best solution.

Listening is always better than speaking.

Asking is always better than telling.

There are no words that can describe your feelings upon getting results.

What are we talking about here? Prayer. No training horses. No Prayer. Anyway, it was enlightening for me to draw this analogy however long ago that it happened. I often speak of horses as a spiritual animal. Our souls, wrapped in leather.

Today's Gospel reading reminded me of this because it was when Jesus taught us how to pray. Use less words. Get to the point and be humble.

Have you been packing around any grudges? It amazes me that Jesus could have prayed about so many things and yet forgiveness is what He uses to wrap up His prayer. Forgive us (here's the important part) as we forgive ...

Not before we forgive, AS we forgive. Our sins will be forgiven only if we forgive those who sin against us. Notice that the other person isn't even mentioned. This is between us and Our Lord God. Who can you forgive right now? Do it. Let it go and surprise them with a hug the next time you see them.

Spirituality truly is a War. And I'd want this guy on my side.

I know a man.

His name is John Moon.

He's iconic in the sense that if you ever saw him, you'd never forget him. He's a husband, a father and a Christian. And he's a warrior.

Sure, he played high school football and was great. He played college football and was great. Even still he fills his spare time with martial arts type activities. But, this is not the truly impressive part of Big Moon. This is just the 'Saul' of Mr. Moon. The mercenary.

The spiritual warrior, the 'Paul' of John Moon, is below:

Gentlemen,

On the way home from LaFogata last time I had an opportunity to reflect on the sermon we were fortunate to hear yesterday morning at Cowboy Church.

I realized exactly how much our Lord had used this time to speak to me directly. I, as many of you, have been dealing with the increased stress placed on my life by the current downturn of the construction industry and the financial status of our country. I have allowed the stresses to come between me and my personal relationship with God. I have been traveling the wrong way on a one way street and the horns of oncoming cars were falling on deaf ears.

Two events of the last week broke through the barrier I had built up and I wanted to share this with you.

I allowed my pride to violate the unconditional trust my wife had in me when I made a financial decision affecting our family without including her in the process. Our marriage has always been based on us relying on each other and prayer to make these decisions and I made this without them.

The second is I did not give of my time and resources to STRRF to justify being one that deserves to be associated with such a dedicated group.

God has placed in my life many areas in which his presence is known but, none as great as the relationship with my wife and all the men on STRRF.

Christ told the 12 disciples to go out and proclaim the good news and I believe he has also placed all of us together to do this as well. We are a select group of men that have been blessed with the abilities and resources to bring great numbers of people together for the enrichment of lives. Seeing and being apart of your lives has made me a better person and I thank all of you for that. I want all of you to know your relationships are those of family. You all deserve the best and in the following months, as I work with God and rebuild our relationship, I will be at my best. As we move forward with growing all the areas of ranch rodeo, and we will move forward, we will all experience increased stresses on our lives. We must always know our strengths come from above. Even the largest of men cannot do it all on their own (I know).

I challenge all of you to increase your communication on a daily basis with Christ. When you feel like you don’t have the time is when you need to take more.

Thank you for your friendships and for allowing God to communicate through you to me. For that, I will always be in your debt.

John Moon

I know John from my involvement with Ranch Rodeo. The above is an email he sent out that delivered the official results from our finals called the South Texas Ranch Rodeo Finals. After reading this, I shouldn't have to tell you that I am truly blessed by the group of individuals involved with the STRRF. I'm not going to try and pull inspiration from this letter in order to share a lesson with you. It's all right there. Thank John for today's message.

---

Further Reading:
How to Communicate Effectively - Shut Up

If today you hear his voice...

If today you hear his voice . . . Get off your butt and do something about it.

Everyday we make decisions without Our Lord. How does it feel when people you are close to make decisions that affect you without having consulted you. Imagine, then ,how Christ feels. The difference is that even though we do this to Him all day every day, He still loves us, forgives us and actively seeks a better relationship with us.

One voice builds you up and one voice tears you down. Often the right thing to do, the thing that builds you up, is the hardest thing to do. But, you KNOW in your heart which voice is which. The most beautiful thing about life is that we get to choose which voice we adhere to. Listen to Him. If you are having a hard time with the war being waged within you, speak the words, "Satan, get behind me."

Sound silly? So did side stepping the journey that lead to the cross. Side stepping that journey wouldn't have sounded silly to me though. Sounds like a pretty good idea. But Christ new His voice. He listened to God and new the plans He had for Him.

And he did something about it. Everyday He did something about it. We all have so many responsibilities. So many things to suck the time from our schedules. Don't let your time with God be a victim of your schedule.

Walk outside, sit on the tailgate and look up.

Ask your spouse what his/her favorite scripture is. If you or they don't have one, now is the time to find one.

Or, buy a book. In the evening brew up a cup of your favorite hot beverage and read one page.

Here are a couple that I have loved: