Pursuing Jesus

"So do not fear, for I am with you, do not be dismayed for I am your God, I will strengthen you and help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." ~Isaiah 41:10~ A couple days ago I was playing with my horse Toby and decided to bring him out in our yard to graze, Now typically when we go out of his field he is very worried. He will constantly be on the alert and looking around, and when there's a strange noise he's likely to spook. This time though we had played on ground first, and I could tell that he was connected to me and saw me as his leader. So out into the yard we went and he was more calm than he's ever been! He was relaxed and able enjoy munching on the green grass. There were several times where something happened that he would normally spook at, but he stayed calm and relaxed the whole time. I was so excited! This was a huge moment for him to trust me as leader enough to be calm out of his comfort zone.  My time with Toby that day ...

"The God of peace will make me complete in every good work to do His will, working in me what is well pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ."  Hebrews 13:21 Being single can be hard, really hard. You stand back and watch as your friends laugh and have fun with their boyfriends. you look on as your friend walks down the isle. Yup, it can definitely be hard. The key words there are CAN BE. By can be, I mean it doesn't need to be hard. When we focus on ourselves, what we don't have compared to what others do have it is going to be hard. Hebrews 13:21 says, "The God of peace will make me complete in every good work to do His will, working in me what is well pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ." "The God of peace will make me complete..." It doesn't say you will be complete when you get a boyfriend, get engaged or get married. No you can be complete in Christ right now. Don't listen to the lies that tell you that you'll be...

"Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youth shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary;they shall walk and not be faint." ~Isaiah 40:28-31 Life is hard. People come and go from our lives, loved ones leave this world too soon, disaster strikes and our faith is tested. As Christians we know that hard times are coming, in John 16:33 Jesus says, "I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world." Many times when hard times come people are rocked to their core. They don't know how to continue, ...

"Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul." ~Psalm 143:8 I love this verse! "Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love," I don't know about you but one of my favorite noises to hear first thing in the morning is the birds chirping outside my window, and I think this verse is why they chirp... To remind us of His love for us. How do I get a picture of God's love through birds chirping? Music. I think God created music - the music we as humans make, AND the music of nature - as a reminder of His love for us because He created music. He made the birds song, the crickets chirp, the wind through the reeds and the music in us. So whenever I hear music it points me to Him and I thank Him for creating it! Even if I don't want to be awake I can't help but smile when I hear those birds. When we start out our morning thinking first of Christ and His lo...

"We love because He first loved us."  1 John 4:19 Toby is my sweet horse I rescued five and a half years ago. The people I got him from had rescued him from going to the meat market. He had been severely abused and was terrified. When I first got him I couldn't go into his field without him running to the other end out of fear. We have come such a long way since then, I can do lots of things with him from the ground, but we still have a long journey ahead of us. Even though I have had him almost six years and have showed only love to him he is still ruled by fear much of the time. This past week I have been so frustrated. Frustrated that he doesn't trust me fully, frustrated that I can't ride him. Just frustrated. I would go out to the field, not realizing that I was frustrated, and he would spook at the silliest things- I would leave the field very frustrated. He was picking up on my frustration and it was scaring him. I had lost sight of something very im...