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.

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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.

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

National Prayer Day Set for Thursday

Thursday, May 7, 2009 has been designated a National Day of Prayer and the theme is "Prayer . . . America's Hope."

In these uncertain times, it's only fitting that hope should be something everyone relies upon. And it's no surprise that the theme chosen by our current administration relies heavily on the hope/change mantra. That's not necessarily a bad thing though. Depending on your particular flavor of hope.

I guarantee over 100,000 people attending the Kentucky Derby today were extremely hopeful. Especially the people who bet on Mine That Bird. At 50-1, come on they would have had to be crazy, but they're all geniuses now. ;)


This is Senorita. She's a four year old in training here to compete in Reined Cowhorse events. I have ALOT of hope for her. She's talented, she'll definitely have arena presence and she's very trainable. Only time will tell if she succeeds in the show pen.

But is winning bets at the Derby or getting a horse from baby to show horse really what hope is all about?

Those of you with children, go look at them right now. What do you feel? Now we're getting close to feeling the hope that we should pray for on Thursday. Hope that is pure, unrelated to personal gain and still valuable enough that we would do anything for it to succeed. That's what I hope for in your life. That you will have something like that to hope in.

You don't have to be Stephen, but be somebody.

Today's Readings lead us down the road of reflection. Do we believe? Do we truly believe? And is believing alone enough?

If one truly does believe, they won't stop there. The desire for action burns in the heart of believers. And so those seeking God's ways can never stop at simply believing. Stephen understood this, spoke of this, lived this and died by it as well. He was the first to die for Christ. The first martyr.

The gospel reading from today also deals with belief. Are we seeking bread just to satisfy our growling bellies? Or do we yearn for more than that, something larger than ourselves? Only you can answer that question for you. And only me for me.

Build faith by building character. Build character by resisting the small injustices in life. Just pick one today, like gossip. And serve. Serve Him by backing Him up in your daily life. Be Somebody. Be the person He made you to be.

Related Reading:
- Building Faith with Consistancy

Palm Sunday: No Happy Endings, Only New Beginnings

Today's Readings prepare us for the holy week approaching as Easter Sunday draws near. They share a message of self-sacrifice, which is what Lent is all about, and the Passion.

Fr. Ed delivered a wonderful message. Beginnings.

Green horses, young horses and finished horses leave the barn for a new home when their time has come. Clients will arrive with high hopes, watch their prized possession go through the motions and then load up and head out. It usually goes well and there's another happy ending.

Well, Fr. Ed gave me a new way to think about it today. It also applies to just about everything else in my life . . . and yours. There is no ending for that horse that leaves. Only a beginning. The beginning of its relationship with someone else.

I'm left to focus on what's to come for the horse instead of what has been. And with other circumstances in life, it's the same. A whole different mindset. With every change from now on, I'll be eagerly anticipating where Our Lord is leading me now. Close your eyes and take that step. Or Leap. A leap of faith into your new beggining.

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.

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.

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.

Embrace the Mysterious

Getting our new website up for our ranch horses kept me up all night last night. So, I think it deserves a plug: PerformanceRanchHorses.com

OK, enough plugs. The reason I bring it up though is because I slept smooth through mass this morning. No I didn't sleep at church. I didn't even crack my peepers open until well after the early service was over.

So why post?

Well, we had Faith Formation tonight and Fr. Ed had some great contemplative material as always. "Faith, " he said, "is your willingness to participate in the mysterious." So what can't be explained in my life? What can't I put my finger on?

1) My lonely soul anytime I'm away from the ranch. A part of me never leaves South Texas. And I fear, one day, if I don't return soon, I'll lose that part.

2) My love for my family. Can I prove it? No. Can they prove they love me? No. Not scientifically they can't. And the Lord knows we all have myriads of reasons why our family shouldn't love us. ;)

3) The peace I'm blessed with when entrusted with the care of such a magnificent animal as the horse. If God made anything better than the horse, he kept it for himself.

What is this stuff. It's all very real. And yet, is it? The vastness of the universe can easily be seen as mysterious, but the vastness within our very own bodies rivals that of the known universe. The only way to explain it is to show you what we saw:


via videosift.com

So what's mysterious in your life? Sure think about things like the movie, but also things closer to home. Have the willingness to embrace them. Have faith.

Man is More Careful with Money than Principles

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "A man is usually more careful of his money than he is of his principles."

Why is that? People don't set out to compromise their principles.

I was thinking about faith recently because of the Fear and Faith post from Tuesday. Well, I had an invigorating conversation with my bride, Tonni, on the way to the ranch yesterday about how I think people should think of their faith just as they think of their money. Most people that I know who feel as though they have a weak faith, or need to work on their faith, or have no faith are missing the boat.

Don't Be Afraid, Have Faith

Today's message revolved around Chapter 5 in Mark's Gospel. Verses 21-43

The reading's mostly about having faith, but mastering your fear has so much to do with having faith. It seems that things like fear, pride, arrogance, self loathing, low esteem and MANY more come from us. Confidence, purpose, humility and peace within come from Him.

Our Lord doesn't expect us to rid ourselves of fear and these other selfish notions. He does, though expect us to Live despite it. I capitalize Live because there is a difference between Living and simply existing. Don't let yourself just react through life. Vicitim of circumstance. LIVE. Get off of your ass and go do something to better your world.

Then faith shall be granted you. Then you will find that confidence you've been looking for. For it isn't confidence in yourself, but confidence in His ability to work through you.