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.

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: