Rein, Rain, Reign

Rein

Let him feel my calm confidence. OK, more face, Wimpy. Get your mind on your business. This is the big show. Let's bring it in and get settled before the lope off. OK, we're going to be headed left. Give me that hip and here we go. More speed guy, come on, I know it's in there.

Nice, now come on back and slow down for me. Perfect. Whoa.

So far so good.

Now, let's show them a little bit of what makes you, YOU. To the left first. Now, more speed . . . Awesome.

We're going to be headed right now. Move that hip over a bit... aaaannndd, here we go.

There's that speed a little quicker this time. Good job, let's keep it under control though. Now, ease back down. Still going well. Whoa.

Whoa indeed. Little off to the left there Wimp. Let's settle a bit.

OK, now to the right. Show me what you've got. Wow. That's the stuff.

Now, let's finish this thing. Here we go to the left first. Nice speed, hold that hip. And, to the right. Fantastic. Let's get around here... hold that hip, and back to the left. Awesome.

Now for the close. Stay straight. Whoa. Nice, but I'm going to need you to stay in the ground more if you're gonna win this thing. Let's regroup and I'll draw you in just a bit more... Now, Whoa. Better. Hittin' a little in front now though.

Let's get turned around and I'm going to let you have the reins a bit more again. Whoa.

Now THAT's what they came to see. THAT's what I'm talkin' about. We'll get a "THA! SCORE!" for sure with that. Good job Wimpy.

Rain

The gospel from Today's Readings is probably a familiar one for most of you. Christ and His disciples are caught in a great storm. The disciples grow worried and wake Jesus from His nap. He rebukes the wind and sea and then turns to the weak faith of His followers.

This story is probably familiar to you for more than one reason. At least it is for me. We all have storms throughout our lives. Can't pay the bills. A death in the family. Even a birth can be an unexpected storm for some families. And that's just it.

It's unexpected. We tend to think that the unexpected = a storm. Just like the disciples, if we think we're out of control, we freak. This story is about trusting in Him and relinquishing control. Only then can we find our true purpose. And feel REAL control.

Trusting in Him transitions us from 'Shawn' in life to 'Wimpy'. From using the reins to listening to them. And the rain, thunder and lightening is what gets us there.

Reign

Man, there's alot of people here. This sure isn't home. I guess this is my new home. The work area is a little smaller. But I guess this is cool.

Where are we going? This little alley is making me a tick nervous. Holy Moly! There's alot more people in here. What's that over there. Easy does it. I guess this guy knows what he's doin'. OK, OK. I guess I'm going to get to work in here all by myself.

Well, this isn't so bad. Dang, already. I guess it's time to go. I'm going, I'm going. OK, I guess He likes this speed. I'll keep it right here. Wow, slowing down already. OK, no problem I guess. You better make up your mind though.

Whoa. That caught me a little off guard, but I think I nailed it. Did I nail it?

Crap, to the left already. No problem. Check this out. AAaaannnndd .... Done.

That should earn me a little brea... Nope, OK. Here we go. You ready for this.

Slow down again. Come on. OH, dang. wasn't thinking we were gonna stop there but, OK.

To the right, no problem. Check it.

That's right. Can you even ride that spin at that speed? I freakin' nailed that spin. Didn't I?

Off we go again?!?!

That wasn't good enough? That's cool. Let's go then.

Oh, man, I feel a run down comin' on. Yes! Here we go...

And, Whooooooaaaaaaaaa. Damn, that was good. Is this over yet? No? OK, fine I came out a little at the end, but I'm pretty sure it was pretty darn good. Whelp, here we go again.

And Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. .... Crap, that just didn't feel right. Let me try it one more time. I've got it now. This new place just isn't the same as home, but I'm ready now.

Yes! One more time. Whhoooooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. SUH-WEET! That's how we do it. OK, OK. I'm backing. Man, I've done, like, every single thing you've ever shown me. When will this end? That may be everything I've got. Phew. I need a breather.

What's that sound? Oh, yea. There's all those people again. And they're right. I am great. Truly I am. Thanks everybody.

---

The first part of this post is a silly interpretation of what was possibly going through the head of Shawn Flarida as he was showing Wimpy's Little Step in the 2002 NRHA Reining Futurity. Everything revolves around what Shawn has to do next to be successful. Shawn's next set up. Shawn's next move. Shawn's plan.

The second part of this post is an equally silly representation of what may have been going through the three-year-old Wimpy's Little Step's mind at the same show. In this case everything just revolves around the moment. Although sometimes curious, the unfailing trust and drive to accomplish whatever was asked next existed at all times.

Well, I can guarantee you that there were storms between the day Wimpy was born and the day he performed for Shawn at the Futurity.

And it's the same with us. We have to weather those storms. Trust in our Most Holy Trainer. And anticipate the day that He asks us to perform just beyond our current abilities. If we'll just listen to the reins instead of insisting on directing them, He can show us how to perform.

To show ALL just how GREAT we really are.

---

Further Reading:
- Wimpy's Little Step You can here, "THA! SCORE! at the end of this video on Wimpy's homepage.
- Shawn Flarida Shawn Flarida's Web site.

Are you speaking God's language?

The readings for today can be found at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops website. Read through them slowly if you have time. On the surface, we see that the Genesis reading tells us about Babel. The city from which God scattered people all over the earth and gave us different languages. The Psalm reminds us that we, as God's children, are blessed and Mark reminds us that we must deny ourselves in order to follow Christ.

Looking under the hood of today's readings reveals a subtle whisper from Our Lord that tells us to care. To be humble. To Love.

I don't pretend to know God's thoughts, but stopping us from "doing whatever we presume to do, " is more like keeping your child from the fire, not keeping him/her from going to college. In an effort to help us work together so He could work through us, different languages were necessary. We had to care then in order to learn each other's speech. We had to speak His language. Love.

The New Testament reading takes it one step further driving home the fact that we, like the people at Babel, put ourselves before anything else. The only way to truly follow Christ is to put ourselves last. Selflessness is rarest of all here in America. It's hard when you put your friends, even family, first and then get thanked by getting taken advantage of, or worse.

Remember, they don't trample you on purpose. They don't even know they are doing it. You do it too, and so do I. Therefore, don't be so quick to think you're getting the raw end of the deal. Just strive that much harder to live as Christ did. Deny yourself and pack your cross as best you can.

If we can do that, and speak God's Love, today's Psalm will ring true for us.

Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.

Build Upon the Rock that is Christ

This morning we heard again from Mark's Gospel and I was reminded of politics in America. Wow, the spin that our media can put on things never ceases to amaze me. They can make either party look like the dredges of society, or the hometown hero, with the stroke of a pen. And it usually doesn't matter what was done. They can make a good deed look bad and a bad one, look good.

In Mark 8: 22-26, the story is that of a man who didn't come to Jesus, but who was brought by the towns people. The blind man had nothing to say. Here he is in the midst of the greatest healer of all time and he had nothing to say. The towns people, though, they begged Jesus to touch him and heal him.

It's no wonder Jesus took him from town. I can just see the paper the next day. "The Great Jesus Fails" He certainly did receive less than perfect results the first time, but all of His works are rooted in the faith of those being healed. And He gave the blind man his site completely the second time. Could you imagine what would be written if He did this in front of the people who brought the man to Him in the first place?

It's sad, the human condition. We find what is good, and because we are not, we go through tremendous efforts to tear down the goodness we find. For one day, try to not agree with the pessimists in your life. Don't argue, just don't encourage. Then do it again tomorrow. ;)

Look for the goodness in life. Build it up and watch your relationship with Christ grow.

Do you depend on money?

Today's the feast day of Saint Scholastica. I would call her the patron saint of the weather. You should read up on her though. Fascinating individual. There's a lot more to her than just the weather.

The reason I bring her up though is because she founded the nunnery. She was WAY ahead of her time, educating women and operating things as the head person in charge. This was unheard of back then for a woman. And what did it all need. MONEY. She didn't depend on money though, she depended upon God.

Today's reading is from Mark and I would just like to pull from it the part about corban. What a wonderful example of satan slipping into our lives under the cover of finances. So many people depend so much upon money that they use it to make their decisions.

I beg you to reconsider. I know, you have a mortgage, kids, etc. Guess what. You're not special. Everybody has financial issues. The poor, the rich, everybody. Use your financial situation to make your decisions and you'll continue to have those issues.

- Depend on the Lord to lead you. Read your bible. His Word Will Never Lead You Astray.
- Depend on people who are in the position you want to be in. Stop letting naysayers and pescimists poison your thought process. Sometimes this includes family and friends. Don't shut them out, but understand that they don't understand what they are perpetuating. In fact, you may be their influence. Lead by example.
- Depend on prayer. You'll be surprised by what He'll share with you. All you have to do is ask.

Do I depend on You Lord? What should I be doing more?

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.

Are we all but seedy characters?

Father Ed, or Fr. Ed, or Fred as he likes to refer to himself, had a good one today. After reading Mark 4:1-20, he joked, "So, does that mean we are seedy characters?"

There's always philosophy behind Fred's jokes. And today being the feast day of Saint Thomas Aquinas, it's only fitting that we speak of philosophy. Just how seedy of a character are we? Where are we in our understanding of the Word of God?

If you're like me, you feel like you're never good enough. Guess what. You're not. I'm not. We could never be good enough to deserve what Christ did for us. Take comfort in knowing that we don't have to be. If you're the seed on the path, or the seed on the rocky ground, or that among thorns, it's OK. Salvation is a gift. What we have to do is believe and be gracious in our thankful acceptance of His gift.

"The things that we love tell us what we are." - St. Thomas Aquinas

Have a great contemplative Wednesday!