Perfect Fit Thursday

Activity on Thursday morning started a little later this past week since my lovely bride was going to the ranch with me and my brother was celebrating his birthday that afternoon. We loaded up and headed south that morning and stopped through Jourdanton on the way to get some Sutton Super Novas. Those are heel ropes and John (my brother) and I just happen to use the same kind and lay of heel ropes. I picked up several so I could give him one for his birthday. Yes, I got his gift the day of the party. So sue me.

Anyway, what does a birthday have to do with less Thursday activity?

Well, the ranchers know these things, but it's hard for most other folks to understand the scheduling habits of ranchers. It's also just as hard for ranchers to understand the scheduling habits of everybody else. Ranchers schedule jobs, or projects, and everybody else schedules hours, or days. When you have a yearling run off, or a windmill breakdown, or a fence down, or... the list goes on forever, the five o'clock whistle means exactly jack squat. On the other hand, most other folks schedule their hours. If you have a business meeting with someone at 3:30pm and you're busy completing a job, well it may the last job you get to complete.

Well, if J.M. scheduled some cattle work on Thursday afternoon, it would very likely be completed by 5:30pm. That was when the party was scheduled to start. However, it was also fairly likely that we wouldn't be back by then. Cattle sometimes decide to have plans other than the ones we decide upon. Don't get me wrong, they're going wherever we want them to go (most of the time ;) ) but it may take 30 minutes or it may take 5 hours.

So, when important family events are scheduled, we don't even bother. The day was filled with riding horses anyway, since we had a horse buyer coming the next day. We probably had twenty or so caught up that we thought may fit.

Twenty!? Well, yea there were about twenty. No they would not all be shown to the buyer. We get up the ones we think will fit the buyer's needs and then we ride them to get a better feel for where they are. The ones that fit what we feel like the buyer is looking for get to be caught up the next day and tried by the buyer. When you're picking up a horse, the most important thing is fit. You can have a great rider and a great horse, but if the fit is wrong, it will not work.

The same type of thing happened to me when I was looking for my brother's birthday gift. I was all over Bexar county looking for a dealer that carried Suttons. I found a couple and swung about fifteen to twenty ropes. I almost talked myself into buying one, but it just wasn't quite right. And ropes aren't cheap these days. After visiting with a friend of mine, I discovered that Suttons factory was only about twenty minutes from my house. Eureka!

That's why Tonni and I decided to leave a little later. We waited for Sutton's to open and then we stopped through on the way down to the ranch. I stepped in the plant and there was a rack of maybe a thousand ropes. I told Gary Sutton what I was looking for and he grabbed one off the rack and yanked the ties off of it. I took a couple of swings.

That was it. That was the rope. I knew in an instant. There were hundreds other ropes in there that were good ropes. But this one fit me. And John uses the same one as well. So, like I said, i bought several and headed out.

I think our spiritual lives are just like this. Some folks go to church every day. Some never go to church. I am in no way condoning not going to church. But, you have to consider the prayer life of others before you go criticizing their lifestyle. Ranchers sometimes criticize the planning efforts of others when the fact is, they could benefit from a better scheduling routine. Many people think ranchers just don't plan anything and do whatever they want when they want. The fact is, they could learn from the way ranchers pay attention to the world around them and take care of issues as they come up. Then work diligently until the job is done.

What it all boils down to is what fits for you. Do you schedule prayer time? Do you pray as needed? Do you think there may be reason for both?

Do you look for how Christ is working in others' lives? How do you fit in there?

Do you look for Christ in your own life? Where does He fit?

How God Builds Your Faith: Decision

James 1:6, 8
But when you ask Him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind . . . Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.

Today's Readings reminded me of an email I recently received. It was a simple devotional email released by Rick Warren and it started with the verse from James above. In today's first reading from Exodus 14:5-18 Our Lord God asked Moses to lift up his staff and with hand outstretched over the sea, split it in two.

What!?!?

Seriously Lord, the Egyptians are right there. I can see them. Can we stop jackin' around here and do some smiting or something. ;)

That's probably what I would have been thinking. And Moses may have had his reservations as well. We all do when we're asked to do those things that God knows will make us great - Things we haven't done before - Things outside our comfort zone. But, Moses' faith was in God alone.

The rest of this post comes directly from Rick Warren's Purpose Driven Connection.So check it out and subscribe.

---

After God gives you a dream, the next step for building your faith is decision; God challenges you to do something about your dream.

Nothing is going to happen to that dream until you wake up and put it into action. You've got to make the decision: "I'm going to go for it!" For every ten dreamers in the world, there is only one decision maker. A lot of people have dreams but they never get to step two: making the decision to trust God and follow their dream.

James says, "But when you pray, you must believe and not doubt at all. Whoever doubts is like a wave in the sea that is driven and blown about by the wind. If you are like that, unable to make up your mind and undecided in all you do, you must not think that you will receive anything from the Lord" (James 1:6-7 TEV).

Faith is a verb. It's active and not passive. It's something you do. Decision making is a faith-building activity. You use your muscles of faith.

Faithful decision making requires two things:

1. You must decide to invest your time, money, reputation, and energy. You lay it on the line; you take the plunge. You say, "God, You've told me to do this and I'm going to be faithful to do it!"

2. You have to let go of security. You cannot move in faith and hold onto the past at the same time. You have to move forward. God told Abraham that He was going to make him the father of a great nation, and that meant Abraham had to leave his home for an unknown destination. Moses had to let go of his position in Pharaoh's kingdom in order to do God's will. Nehemiah gave up a secure job in order to go build a wall around Jerusalem. In other words, if you want to walk on water, you've got to get out of the boat.

A great illustration of God's plan is a trapeze artist. They swing out holding onto a trapeze bar, and then they let go in order to grab hold of another trapeze bar that swings them to the other side. But, at one point, they're not holding on to any bar. They're suspended in air for a split second.

Have you ever been there in a career, where you're leaving one job for another and nothing's in between? You're 180 feet above the ground with no net below and holding onto nothing.

But if you don't let go and grab onto the vision God wants you to have, you swing back. Only you don't swing all the way back; instead, you swing back lower and lower until you're finally stopped, hanging there in the air. And there's only one way out: down!

That's why God brings you to a point of decision, so your faith will build as you swing toward the dream God has given you.

---

Further Reading:
- How to make better decisions
- Prayer and Influence
- Ranch Ethics Thursday

Personal Integrity and it's relation to rural living

Play First - if you have trouble, email me - jamesobrien@ranchforeman.com
[audio:http://www.spiritualhorseman.com/audio/louis-about-sis.mp3]

Sis
1968 - 2009
Kid Horse - Cow Horse - Friend


Sis wasn't Tonni's (my wife) first horse, but she was that one special horse in her life. Sis started out in the wilds of New Mexico on an Indian Reservation and came into Tonni's life when she was nine. She taught her more than she cares to recount about horses, horsemanship, rodeo, competition, etc. The second line in this post is not a typo. She was 41 years old when she died Monday. I've been in the horse world all of my life and I've never heard of a horse living such a long time.

What always makes me smile, though, is how animals like this teach us more than just the standard animal-husbandry-feed-and-medicine type of stuff. They move people. If you haven't had a special animal in your life get one. If that one craps in the bed, well, get rid of it and give it another try. ;)

Too many people in our society these days miss out on the character building lessons that the care, love and loss of animals teaches us. Listen to the voice of the man in the recording at the top of this post. It's Tonni's Dad. Sis was at his place when she died. That man has seen many animals die and you can still hear the emotion in his voice when he talks about this one. That emotion is for Sis, it's for Tonni, it's even for Louis. I'm sure this brought memories of one of those special animals he had in his life. They impact so many parts of our lives.

And here's what Tonni's best friend Becca Chalk Burns had to say:

---

Oh Tonni, I wish I had the words. A lifetime with our best friends is never enough. I know with all my heart that God takes and keeps those who watch over our hearts. Without a doubt he's got those three in his herd. As for ever finding another, well that's an impossible find. You & I both know there's only one Sis & Poncho. We didn't find them - they found us. It was out of our love for them that we found ourselves & in that defined our character & most of all our hearts. No other horse can help mold you as Sis did. God knew we needed them just as much as they needed us. So no, there will never be another little sister. She's got your heart like no other. There are others out there they may come close to stealing your heart but only one will hold it ... love you always - Chalka

---

If you choose to be around animals, you may be lucky enough to get one of those special ones in your life. A dog, a cat, a horse, cow, whatever... a giraffe or zebra. Doesn't matter.

What matters is that those who grow up with animals come to understand what responsibility really means at a very young age. And loss. They may get the old "Buster-ran-away" speech when they're two or so, but then comes the death speech at a very young age. The beautiful part is that they also become entwined in God's creation the way God intended - Harmoniously.

Sometimes, amidst the music of life, comes the verse that touches our hearts in ways words can not explain. And we love.

Just because we know that every song ends doesn't mean that it wasn't worth the listen.

The Warrior's Stones

Inevitably you've heard the term, "Grow a pair." I know it doesn't portray the most pleasant imagery, but there really is something to having a spine in today's society. There just aren't enough people around anymore that, when asked, speak their mind without reservation. Most folks these days fit into two categories:

• the yammer on forever without ever being asked about everything because they're an expert category


• and the never say a word because i might offend somebody and so i'll go along with anything category

Well, the soldiers in the last post - We are His Church...and Warriors - have some stones.

Yea, they have the figurative "pair" that more people today really need, but they also have a different set of stones. They immediately reminded me of David and so I went back and looked up the last chapter in a book I read recently. The chapter entitled, Goliath Down!, speaks of the ammunition David, as a shepherd, brought into battle with him. And I suspect our soldiers friends from We are His Church...and Warriors are packing them, too.

Five Stones

The Stone of the Past
Catalog God's successes in your life. Refuse to focus on your own failures.

Write today's worries in the sand. Chisel yesterday's victories in stone.

The Stone of Prayer
Before every victory David experienced, he first went to God in prayer. Don't face your giant without first doing the same.

Peace is promised to the one who fixes thoughts and desires on the king.

The Stone of Priority
Think about your own reputation - how strongly you are affected by it - how strongly you defend it. David guarded God's reputation fiercely.

See your struggle as God's canvas. On it He will paint His multicolored supremacy.

The Stone of Passion
David ran, not away from, but toward his giant.

David lobotomized the giant because he emphasized the Lord.

The Stone of Persistence
Goliath had four T-Rex sized relatives. Who knew if they would come to Goliath's rescue. David didn't think one rock would do. He was ready to do it again. And again. . .

Never give up.

---

Further Reading:
- We are His church... and Warriors
- All of the italicized phrases are quotes from the book, Facing Your Giants: The God Who Made a Miracle Out of David Stands Ready to Make One Out of You

We are His Church... and Warriors

"We weren’t a very impressive group, four men who seemingly had two things in common: 1) we were Christian, and 2) we were soldiers."

*** Vibrations ***
*** Vibrations ***

My phone was ringing, although I've long since spit the bit out on these retarded ringtones, so my phone was actually vibrating.

(210) 925-1110

I showed it to my wife.

"You know this number?" I asked.

She just shook her head no. We were doing some power grazing at a little burger joint just down the road called Lil' Jim's.

I had missed a call from this number on July 4th as well. But, no message. So, I was curious.

"Is James O'Brien there?" came a glimpse of familiarity accompanied by an abruptness of which I doubt my good friend was even aware.

"This is he." I said half wondering if I was hearing who I thought I was hearing.

There was a long pause.

And then he burst through the silence again, "Stoney Portis here, calling from Afghanistan. Am I calling at a bad time?"

Wow. I wanted to say, "Are you kidding me? You're half way around the world and it's probably the middle of the night and you're asking me if it's a bad time. I'll make time."

Anyway, I didn't say any of that and we had a nice conversation, but that's not what this is about. He also sent me an email this afternoon. He asked that I look it over and if felt compelled to do so, to post it here on SpiritualHorseman.com.

Well suffice it to say that I'm compelled.

An excerpt from our conversation included these words from Stoney, "There's no underlying profound message, but it was a church service that really spoke to me and so I wanted to share it."

I agree and disagree. You're right Stoney, there's no underlying message. But profound, well it's the very definition.

Here's the email:

---

It had only been a week since I first heard of Michael Travaglione, and he was already a legend. Like an episode of déjà vu, every new detail I heard about him in the days leading up to this moment was a fascinating encore that reiterated what I already knew. This man is a badass. And there he stood, right in front of me.

Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) Mike Travaglione has been to more combat zones than there are continents. He’s climbed to outposts in the mountains of Afghanistan, to patrol bases in the deserts of Iraq, and dove on combat dives to the depths of the Red Sea in the Sinai Peninsula. While he doesn’t recommend it, Mike has enjoyed his current deployment of 24 consecutive months (12 in Iraq and going on 13 in Afghanistan, back to back), although he admits with a sly grin that he could really use a glass of scotch. This man is a warrior. The tattoos that define his forearms and biceps are rugged – maybe he inked them himself, decades ago, before American soldiers operated in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo, or Vietnam. He’s lived in several third world countries, sometimes for years at a time, and he speaks a handful of languages. His memory is so good that he can recite long excerpts from several books, many in multiple languages. He’s a stocky man of average height, and the wrinkles on his weather-worn face tell a story all their own. This man has lived a life worth living. LTC Travaglione’s voice sounds like a scruffy version of Robert DeNiro that comes from deep within the toughest corners of the Bronx. He’s a living paradox, embodying the bravado of a 1920s mobster while having a boundless capacity for compassion and humility. This man has wisdom.

There were four of us on this day, five including him. He stood on one side of the table, we stood on the other. We were in a lowland, southwest of the Hindu Kusch Mountains, miles from Pakistan, in an American Forward Operating Base in Afghanistan. The room we were in was relatively safe, but with all the warfare going on outside the camp’s walls, we were hoping this man could lead us in our fight for peace. It was Sunday morning near Jalalabad, and Father Mike Travaglione had just arrived via combat patrol to lead our church service in a makeshift chapel. At the age of 71, Father Mike Travaglione is the oldest priest in the US Army.

We weren’t a very impressive group, four men who seemingly had two things in common: 1) we were Christian, and 2) we were soldiers. All of us had been deployed before, all of us carried a weapon in church, and before we knew it Father Travaglione had all of us singing a hymn to symbolize that Mass had begun. No musical instruments, no background music, no professional singers (that’s for sure). But we sang together in broken harmony anyways: “Make me a channel of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me bring your love. Where there is injury, your pardon, Lord. And where there’s doubt, true faith in you. O Master, grant that I may never seek, so much to be consoled as to console. To be understood as to understand, to be loved, as to love, with all my soul.” How ironic to have men of war singing together a song of peace.

Chaplain Travaglione’s homily was short and simple. He delivered the message as if he were talking to his own grandsons, fully aware of our exhaustion, our loneliness, and the spiritual war that pervaded everything around us. He was clear, and concise: “Lord speak, for your servant listens. Men, sometimes we get too caught up in the prayers we pray and the lives we lead, trying in angst to be men of God. Stop. Be quiet. Listen. Some of the most powerful prayers we have are those quiet moments of peace where we don’t say anything. Lord speak, for your servant listens. Sit. Quietly. Listen. That is prayer.” Father prepared the Eucharist, we all recited the Lord’s prayer, and we shared in the sacrament. Then we sat, we listened, we prayed. We closed the worship service not 20 minutes after we had opened it by singing “America The Beautiful,” it seemed entirely appropriate on 4th of July Weekend. But after we sang the 1st verse and started to close our hymnals to go back to work, one of the old, crusty non-commissioned officers continued singing in a raspy voice the 3rd verse, skipping the 2nd verse entirely. “O beautiful for heroes proved in liberating strife, who more than self their country loved, and mercy more than life! America! America! May God thy gold refine, till all success be nobleness, and every gain divine.”

---

David immediately comes to mind. And Goliath.

Let's talk church first.

I can't recall a single verse that speaks of David being in a 'church' and yet, God describes him as "a man after my own heart." (I'm not sure of the verse, but it's in Acts.)

The world, God's creation, was David's church. And every day was a prayer.

We are lead where we are lead. And it is there that we should deliver His message. We are the church. A church is not a building but a body, the body of Christ. And we are ALL members. This isn't a suggestion to not go to the building people. It's a statement as to why the building even exists. It's our job to come together as Christians. And even in an Afghani AFOB southwest of the Hindu Kusch Mountains these men made it happen.

Why? - War requires a main operating base. With Christianity, it's the church. Go. What would happen to these soldiers if they never returned to their base camp, their forward operating base, or their main operating base? They'd be tired, hungry and lonely. But more importantly, they'd be low on moral, uninformed and questioning their purpose. Sound familiar?

"We weren’t a very impressive group, four men who seemingly had two things in common: 1) we were Christian, and 2) we were soldiers."

This sums it up... for all of us. The question though, for all of us, is what kind of soldier are we?

David was a true warrior. A leader. A king. But at one time, he was a spindly little shepherd. A nobody. And when that nobody was faced by what was everyone else's worst fear...

He ran. But, He ran toward what everyone else feared. He ran toward Goliath.

1 Samuel 17:48The Philistine then moved to meet David at close quarters, while David ran quickly toward the battle line in the direction of the Philistine.

We are all at war. Goliaths roam freely. Debt. Disaster. Danger. Deceit. Disease. Depression... And Actual War.

Well, we are all soldiers. Ask yourself what kind of spiritual soldier you are. I'm not talking about going and sitting in a corner and praying your problems away. Read the email again and look to these men as an example. An example of how we can handle our spiritual warfare. An example of action. Spiritual warfare is real. And look to David as well.

Will you take up your weapons and stride toward the giants in your life?

Ranch Ethics Thursday

June 30 was my birthday. And as part of my gift, my lovely bride sent my Maui Jim's sunglasses in for repair. Maui Jim's evidently has impeccable customer service. They returned a brand new pair of the titanium Kapalua's. I was just hoping to get my sunglasses back. Maybe with the lenses replaced. But they sent a brand new pair, and a new case with cleaning cloth.

I had them about an hour.

We went to Barnes & Noble as part of the celebration. I know, boring, but that's what I like to do. Anyway, I was reading something and had set my glasses down for a couple of minutes. Now they're gone.

What does this have to do with Ranch Ethics?

I'm getting there. I was furious. FURIOUS! Why the hell would anybody want to be a good person when everybody around you are complete trash. And evidently you get more out of life ( like a sweet new pair of Maui Jim's sunglasses ) when you're a thieving asshole. OK, the vulgarity is a little much, but I was still a little put off by this whole thing... Until Thursday.

---

Thursday morning kicked in the same old routine. Up and at 'em - feed - hook up and load saddles and gear - load horses and head south. As soon as I arrived, Morgan and I made the feeding rounds and then headed to where we store the portable pens. They're a set of heavy duty panels engineered to be pulled like a bumper pull trailer. They can hold close to forty or fifty head and can be set up by one or two men in about fifteen minutes.

Anyway, I was curious as to where we were headed.

Berclair.

Well, that was Five-O's country and I thought we had cleaned it all out several months ago. (The Five-O's are J.M.'s five children.)

Morgan informed me that we were not working our cattle but a neighbor's cattle who had ventured on to that Berclair country. Fair enough. We got hooked up and headed out.

As we pulled up to the middle trap, there were three or four head in there with the same amount of calves, none of which appeared to be Five-O's cows. (There were still seven in the pasture that belonged to Five-O's) That's about what I expected. However, we just got a count and kept on truckin'.

"Where we headed?" I asked Morgan.

"Down to that back trap. Those are probably Cartright cattle. We'll just set those trap gates and deal with them next week. I think there are a couple more of them in here."

So off to the back we went. When we pulled up to that back trap I didn't see a couple of strays. I saw sixteen head of good looking tiger striped cows, at least 8-10 calves and one bull. What the ...!?!?

"Who do these belong to?" I asked Dad wondering who had the 'Lazy-P' brand.

"Mike Powers. I've been calling him for a couple of days and I think they're working cattle across the creek today. So, we'll just try and get these penned and head over there. Hopefully we can catch him 'cause I'm not sure where he wants 'em."

It all boils down to the fact that it's HOT. And DRY. South Texas looks pretty rough right now. Since Five-O's had pulled nearly all of their cattle off of this place, it was one of the few around that had plenty of grass. Couple that with the fact that it's bordered on one side by the Blanco Creek, which is dry as a bone, and you have cattle looking for grass and water. So they start pushing on the water gaps down in the creek bottoms and it doesn't take long for them to end up in our set of rolling pens. ;)

Dad and I got the pens set up and long story short, we also got the cattle penned. A phone call from J.M. let us know it was lunch time. They were headed into town to the Taqueria. We stopped by the Powers place and spoke with Mike's brother, Norman. (by the way - How do you make a deer blind?.................................. You poke it in the eye.)

I know, but Norman thought it was hilarious. But he was the one that told it.

After lunch we headed to the ranch to get a couple ranch rigs to load the cattle in. We hooked up and one by one our little three rig convoy eased through that infamous narrow green cattle guard and headed for Berclair.

I guess it was about half way when I asked Dad why it always seemed like we got horseback and went to pen our cattle, load them and bring them back whenever they got onto someone else's place. And anytime someone else's cattle got on our place, we always hand delivered them.

He just grinned. He said he didn't know why it always ends up like that. But his grin and demeanor said otherwise. He was perfectly happy doin' it. Of course it would be nice if people brought our cattle in. But we don't have any control over that. So why do we always take care of everyone else's cows.

Because it's the right thing to do. That's why.

Thanks for the lesson Morgan. One among thousands.

Then on my way home, another of my influencers (by the way - who influences you - who do you influence) drove it all home.

Don't pray for an easier life. For more money. More happy times. A healthy wife.

Pray that the Message - His Message - may prosper. Pray that you can help deliver it. Trust me, when my glasses got stolen, I was not wanting the message to prosper. ;) I was wanting to strangle somebody with that super cool and bendy titanium frame that those glasses were made out of.

If you want to listen to Gregg Matte talk more about this click here.

It's worth a listen.

This also reminded me of a book that my friend Stan Sigman gave me a little while back. Here it is on Amazon:



It's a great read. And it tries to help everyone understand why in the world you'd take care of everybody else's cows even when nobody takes care of yours. It's called Cowboy Ethics: What Wall Street Can Learn from the Code of the West

Well, Morgan, Mick, Dick and I got Mr. Powers' cattle loaded and delivered.

Why?

Because it's the right thing to do. Be an example of His Message.

Designed for Work: Rick Warren

God Designed You to Work
by Rick Warren
Ephesians 2:10

"For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do".

Your work can be an act of worship. No matter what you do, it's never just a job if you are a believer. This is because God designed you with talents, gifts, and interests that He wants used for His glory.

You are custom-made. There's nobody like you in the whole world. And the gifts, the abilities, the talents, even the interests you have, they were genetically encoded into you by God. You didn't have a say in what you were going to be interested in, what you are naturally good at. God made you with a specific mission in mind and He wants you to use the gifts He's given you in your work.

The Bible says that you are God's workmanship. The Greek word used for workmanship is poema; that's where our word for "poem" comes from. You are God's poem! You are God's work of art. You are God's masterpiece.

Your work is part of God's plan for your life and that is why, as you work, you worship God