Slaying Giants

This has been a very interesting weekend. I didn’t get a whole lot accomplished horseback despite the beautiful weather, but I’m not nearly as worried about it considering I have made some new acquaintances who rope every day and have invited me to join!  I did receive a very nice message from one of my readers on Saturday.  There was a picture of a horse and along with the picture there was a message.  It basically said that she enjoyed reading my blog and that this was the first time she had been on her own horse in a long time…she said it was because of me that she was inspired to go ride.  Our stories are very similar…she moved 3000 miles from home to chase her dreams.  She knew no one when she moved.  There were no guarantees of success.  But she is still here today and she claims that it was the greatest leap of faith she has ever taken!  She is currently a horse trainer and rarely finds time to ride her own horses.  But thanks to a little positive influence, she climbed in that saddle this weekend and enjoyed the ride!  I can’t put into words how good it feels to have so many people tell me that I am inspiring them to chase their dreams, encouraging them to not let their fears of possible failure hinder them from doing great things, or simply just motivating them to go get on their horses and ride. 

 

Sunday morning I decided to try a new church. I have been attending the Erath County Cowboy Church and I really like it, however, I have heard great things about Double N Cowboy Church and that is where I like to go rope, so I figured I would give it a shot this Sunday.  It is a much smaller church than Erath, but the message was great.  It’s funny how God knows exactly the message that you are craving to hear.  The pastor told the story of David and Goliath.  This is a story that I’m sure even my non-church-going friends are familiar with.  David was sent to defeat the giant, Goliath.  When the time came to fight, David charged the battle line…he literally sprinted into battle!  The significance here is that he faced danger, head on, because he had faith that the Lord would keep him safe.  Now, there is more to the story.  He defeated the giant with not a sword and not a spear, but simply a stone and a sling shot.  The stone hit the giant in the forehead and he fell to the earth, dead as a doornail.  What seemed impossible became possible with a little bit of faith.

 

I have a ton of support in this journey. Not just from friends and family, but also from complete strangers who are reading this blog.  But, just like every person alive, I am certain that there are people out there who are critical of me. Perhaps they think I am a fool for getting online and talking about myself like I’m something special.  Perhaps they have seen me rope and ride and think that I’m not that great so my odds of being successful are slim.  You will always have “haters”.  Even Jesus had haters!  But just like David, I know that I can be successful when it comes to slaying my giants because I have the Lord on my side and faith in my heart.

 

So, today I leave you with a thought…what are your giants?  How do you intend on slaying them?  Do you believe that your faith is enough to overcome those obstacles that stand in the way of you reaching your goals?  It feels like I have a lot of giants that need constant slaying.  It has always been hard for me to overcome the control that other people have over my own thoughts.  I am a people pleaser, even when it comes down to people who really do not matter.  I take the actions and words of others to heart and when people tell me that I'm not good enough, I have a tendency to let it get to me.  Another giant that I need to slay is self doubt.  I tend to doubt myself and my dreams from time to time. Am I making a mistake?  Am I sacrificing too much?  I constantly have to overcome the giant that consists of the constant nagging aches and pains that I have in my body.  When I was 17 years old, I had a horrific car accident that left my back in all kinds of disarray.  I have been told by doctors, chiropractors, and massage therapists that I will suffer from chronic back and neck pain for the rest of my life.  But every single day, I SLAY THOSE GIANTS!  I am NOT going to let the negativity of others get me down!  I am NOT going to let my own negative thoughts stand in m way!  Every time I hear something negative or think something negative, I try to replace it with something positive.  Its not always easy, but if you want to be successful, it is exactly what you need to do!  As for my physical pains...well, the more you do, the stronger you are!  I will always be sore and that seriously sucks.  But, I would rather feel those aches and pains because I was out there doing something that I love versus just sitting around.  My giant today is finishing this blog and then heading home to do some more work on my horse!  I am praying that tomorrow I will be going somewhere and getting my horse on live cattle so that I may FINALLY see how much progress I have made with myself and my horse…and just how much work I still need to do before I can start hauling to some jackpots.  I am ready to get out there and start winning!  Be FEARLESS, have FAITH, and ROPE DREAMS!

 

As always, I want to thank everyone that continues to read and support me on this journey.  I am hoping that by continuing to document my progress, some doors may be opened up to me in the way of sponsorship and other writing/journalism opportunities.  I am in the process of setting up a page where people can help me out on this journey, so please stay posted for that update.  As I progress in this journey, I will need to be buying new ropes once every couple of weeks ($45 a rope).  There are also things such as farrier fees, vet bills, entry fees, traveling expenses, etc.  Without a doubt, every little bit helps!  Thanks again for the continued support and God’s blessing to each and every one of you!