Though what I am about to do was inspired mostly by rodeo, it is a little bigger than that.
It’s an idea that I could offer up something more meaningful than just barrel racing. Because believe me, I love the game, I love training horses, and I love competing — but I’ve lived long enough to learn that none of those things are enough to truly live for.
I’ve made a ton of mistakes, and gone through things most people wouldn’t willingly sign up for (some as a result of those mistakes, and some that just plain weren’t fair), and in order for those experiences to have some meaning and not be in vain, I have began putting them together in a collection of written thoughts to share with all of you.
I want to be clear that in publishing those thoughts and experiences, I have no desire to get attention or affection from it. In fact, I’m well aware that I’m actually inviting more criticism than favor. That said, I’m aiming to please God, and not people, so criticize away, as long as you know that I believe what I am sharing might be beneficial to somebody. That’s a risk I’m willing to take. And I can confidently say, if only one person benefits from it, it will be well worth the effort to me.
My true heart behind this is recognizing that all of us — every last one of us — desires success, but can better relate to (and may need help through) the struggle on the way to it than the actual arrival. We haven’t all had the mountain top moments yet, but chances are you’ve already had some valleys. So I will be stepping out on the limb called vulnerability to share parts of my own up and down journey (some past, some present; some rodeo, and some other) to give you some hope that it does get better, and show you the central Source that my hope in every valley is derived from.
What if you could fight back the lies you hear with the words I share? What if you could cruise through some harder lessons because I’ve already lived them and can tell you how to survive? What if the benefit is simply seeing that somebody else dealt with this, too?
There’s power in togetherness, so I’m creating a place for it. Welcome. Make yourself at home.
Though what I am about to do was inspired mostly by rodeo, it is a little bigger than that.
It’s an idea that I could offer up something more meaningful than just barrel racing. Because believe me, I love the game, I love training horses, and I love competing — but I’ve lived long enough to learn that none of those things are enough to truly live for.
I’ve made a ton of mistakes, and gone through things most people wouldn’t willingly sign up for (some as a result of those mistakes, and some that just plain weren’t fair), and in order for those experiences to have some meaning and not be in vain, I have began putting them together in a collection of written thoughts to share with all of you.
I want to be clear that in publishing those thoughts and experiences, I have no desire to get attention or affection from it. In fact, I’m well aware that I’m actually inviting more criticism than favor. That said, I’m aiming to please God, and not people, so criticize away, as long as you know that I believe what I am sharing might be beneficial to somebody. That’s a risk I’m willing to take. And I can confidently say, if only one person benefits from it, it will be well worth the effort to me.
My true heart behind this is recognizing that all of us — every last one of us — desires success, but can better relate to (and may need help through) the struggle on the way to it than the actual arrival. We haven’t all had the mountain top moments yet, but chances are you’ve already had some valleys. So I will be stepping out on the limb called vulnerability to share parts of my own up and down journey (some past, some present; some rodeo, and some other) to give you some hope that it does get better, and show you the central Source that my hope in every valley is derived from.
What if you could fight back the lies you hear with the words I share? What if you could cruise through some harder lessons because I’ve already lived them and can tell you how to survive? What if the benefit is simply seeing that somebody else dealt with this, too?
There’s power in togetherness, so I’m creating a place for it. Welcome. Make yourself at home.
See that girl on the left? She was 23 in that picture. You can almost tell looking at her face that she had no idea what was coming next. That right there is me, at the first back number ceremony I attended for my first NFR qualification…
There have been so many times, in so many different categories of my life, where I have let my fears be louder than my faith. Even worse, I have let those fears convince me that they are actually doing me a favor. I have hidden behind paper thin walls of fear that seemed to be protecting me from failure, repeat losses, or disappointment…
The funny thing nobody really told me to expect about being “well-known” is how many people know something about you before you meet them. A lot of people I meet, at least in our little western or horse world, already know my name, and therefore already know, or think they know, something key about me…
Anybody else ever feel like what they’ve added up in their life by now just doesn’t cut it? If not, please write the rest of this for me, but if so, stick around. To understand where I’m coming from on this, you should probably know where I’m at, so if you’re unfamiliar with me, here’s a few tidbits…
See that girl on the left? She was 23 in that picture. You can almost tell looking at her face that she had no idea what was coming next. That right there is me, at the first back number ceremony I attended for my first NFR qualification…
There have been so many times, in so many different categories of my life, where I have let my fears be louder than my faith. Even worse, I have let those fears convince me that they are actually doing me a favor. I have hidden behind paper thin walls of fear that seemed to be protecting me from failure, repeat losses, or disappointment…
The funny thing nobody really told me to expect about being “well-known” is how many people know something about you before you meet them. A lot of people I meet, at least in our little western or horse world, already know my name, and therefore already know, or think they know, something key about me…
Anybody else ever feel like what they’ve added up in their life by now just doesn’t cut it? If not, please write the rest of this for me, but if so, stick around. To understand where I’m coming from on this, you should probably know where I’m at, so if you’re unfamiliar with me, here’s a few tidbits…
