Wally and the Rabbit

The beginning of this story is a nice friendly account of a rabbit trying to steal a meal from a horse, but takes a rapid turn of events that will disappoint bugs bunny lovers and the writer will suggest those against eating bunny from reading the scrumptious ending.

Now for the humorous and rare incident we witnessed the other day between my curious Quarter horse Wally and one boldly hungry rabbit.  

I was quietly reading an intriguing, inspiring chapter from a book when it was insisted that I come down to the dining room and look out the window at the horse I had just fed.  I sighed and reluctantly left a good read to glance out the window.  I was met with a barrage of comments as I stared in disbelief at the cute, but bold theft.  “Look, the rabbit is sitting there trying to eat hay with the horses!”  “Wally doesn’t even see him!”  “Come on, Wally, chase him away!”  The rabbit nibbled away at the hay while Wally munched.  It took Wally a couple minutes to realize what was happening to his pile of hay.  Then his head raised and he chewed a mouthful of hay staring down the intruder with wide eyes and pricked ears.  He seemed to be contemplating what to do as if he were thinking, “I don’t remember this happening before”.  He stepped towards the rabbit and attempted to sniff it.  The rabbit backed off and Wally snatched up what was left of his hay, leaving the rabbit to finish off the chaff.   

Above was the pleasant ending for those of you who like rabbits.  

The following is the ending for those of you who like rabbits as a delicacy.

Meanwhile the two expert marksmen from the house, grabbed their rabbit execution device, and made their plan.  They returned shortly with a live rabbit!  “How did you do it?”  Was the excited question from the girls in the house.  “Well,” explained my brother (next in birth order to me), “we chased him into a pile of junk right into a tin 2ft cylinder-shaped object.   I blocked the one side with my foot and grabbed him when he ran out the other side.  Then I carried him to the house.”  “Wow, didn’t he try to bite you?” came the disbelieving reply.  “No, I read that rabbits don’t bite…except when protecting their young,” came the educated answer.  Apparently this rabbit didn’t have any babies to protect at the time and my brother had retained his science studies.  I decided that since I didn’t have to work the following day, I would make the rabbit, along with two of its relatives in our freezer, the next night’s supper.  Putting my prairie cooking skills to work, I cut the wild rabbit into serving sized portions and rolled it in a breading of flour, salt, and pepper. 

 Next it was fried in some bacon drippings. 

   

The browned rabbit pieces were put in the crock-pot, a piece of bacon was laid over each one, and gravy was poured over the top.  For side dishes we had green beans, peaches, and what I call fancy potatoes: thinly sliced potatoes with skins placed in a baking dish, sprinkled with salt and pepper, drizzled with butter, and baked to perfection!  

A scrumptious ending to a rather unbelievable story.  As Dad would say, truth is stranger than fiction!!

What is the point of this article?  Um...... here are some suggestions:

*To give you something fun to read.

*Learn to take the time to appreciate the unique details or detours in your day!

*An idea for cooking if surviving off the land. 

*Make sure you've done your homework before hunting.

 

Cooking Cowgirl Style!

What does a cowgirl do when the temperature or weather suggests it would be wiser to work inside?

Head to the kitchen...

to do some baking...

cowgirl style!

 

Put on your riding boots and cover your western shirt with an apron.  You could even wear your hat just for fun!  Then put that imagination to work tweaking recipes to satisfy your taste buds and the hungry stomachs of your hard working farmhands!   Not a cowgirl?  Don't worry!  You can come up with your own cooking style!

 

 

Howdy everybody!  One of my favorite ways to spend a frigid cold wintry day, is filling the house with the delicious aroma of freshly baked bread products.  Home ground wheat flour sweetened with honey enhances the flavor of my breads.  A warm butter melting slice of this bread is one of the best ways to satisfy a food craving!  I often acquire new recipe ideas from farm newspapers, magazines, cookbooks, and sometimes the internet.  I usually end up not following the instructions for a recipe exactly---substituting ingredients and adding new ones.  I like to use whole grains, natural sweeteners, and healthy oils.  Our bodies are better able to digest foods that are closest to their natural form with the least amount of processing.  When we feed our bodies with wholesome foods, we are being good stewards of the bodies God has given us and our bodies are fit to serve God.

 

The following is a meat and cheese filled bread that can be frozen to be thawed later for a quick meal.  I like it because it can be made ahead of time to be used later, but is delicious and filling.  One of my brothers came up with the name.  It's been called football bread too.

 

Zipper Bread

What you'll need:

*bread dough *cream cheese (set out to soften) *cheddar cheese *garlic powder *onion powder *chives

 

 

First take one loaf of bread dough and role it out into a big rectangle on a greased cookie sheet.  Use your favorite bread dough recipe and if you don't have one, go look in a cookbook!  I usually make 6 loaves of bread at a time, so setting aside one of those loaf sized portions for this recipe works out easily for me. 

 

 

 Next, layer ham down the center.  Leave a 1 inch space at the top and bottom and a 2 in space at the sides.  I used 16 slices of ham: 4 rows with 4 in each row.  You can use any kind of meat that you prefer.

 

Now mix up the cream cheese filling: 4 oz. cream cheese, 1/2 t onion powder, 1/4 t garlic powder, 1 c cheddar cheese, and chives.

 

 

Dump the ingredients into the cream cheese that you let soften at room temperature and sprinkle in enough chives to taste good and look pretty.

 

 

Spread the seasoned cream cheese over the ham.  I use my fingers--the best spatulas you'll ever find!  Then take a knife and cut 2-inch long slits at each corner and every 1-1/2 inches along the side.  Fold over the dough at each end in preparation for the next step.

 

 

Now we're going to start braiding the dough.  Don't worry!  It sounds and looks hard, but trust me it's really easy!  All you have to do is take one strip of dough from the side and lay it down at a diagonal with the end crossing the center a bit.  Then take the strip directly opposite it and cross it over the  one lying on top of the filling.

 

 

See?  It's really quite easy and fun! 

 

Doesn't it look cool?  See why we call it zipper bread?

 

 

Let it sit for an hour.  While you're waiting, wash up the dirty dishes!

 

 

Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 25-30 minutes.  It should look like this!  Now it's ready to eat or be frozen for later.

 

Now that's my kind of cooking.  Simple but professional looking and delicious!

 

I only wish I had taken a picture of a piece of it.  We ate it before I remembered.  It was that good!

 

So long for now! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Woman of Valor

Feminine in character, mighty in heart.

The virtuous woman.  I had never looked at this amazing industrious wonder woman described in Proverbs 31 as someone, well, valiant.  Just recently a Bible study revealed that the words virtuous and valor have the same Hebrew word roots and meanings.  Could this mean she had qualities similar to that of the mighty men of valor mentioned throughout the Old Testament?  So started my quest to study out just who these mighty men of valor were and what character traits the virtuous woman had in common with these valor men.  

     
Mighty men of valor were always about the king's business, at their God appointed leaders side, helping him fight the Lord's battles, and doing the Lord's service. They willingly offered themselves to the Lord for His use. They defended their God, their king, and their homeland. They could be depended on to complete important tasks that required them to be alert, courageous, and timely. They were skilled in what they did and were known for their success in battle.

      
Now let's change some words from the previous paragraph and wrap our minds around this new meaning we're going to consider. Mighty women of valor, noble character, should always be about their husband's business, at their God-appointed leader's side, helping him fight the Lord's battles, and serving God. They willingly offer their lives to the Lord for His use. Women of valor should defend their position of humble submission and respect to God, their husband, and their home life. They are women who can be depended on to complete important tasks that require alertness, courage, and timeliness at home with their family and in their community. Virtuous women should be skilled at the abilities of a wife, mother, and homemaker that God intended. Women who will be known not for what career status they've accomplished in the world but rather for what they've accomplished on the home-front lines conquering the challenges of each day, proving themselves to be true women.

I had read a book by Kim Meeder called Fierce Beauty. In it she challenged women to be warriors for God. I had wondered if it was appropriate to associate a woman to a warrior, but now I understand that the virtuous woman is a warrior at heart. She is not described as wearing male attire, doing physical combat, acting like a man, nor trying to do a man's job. Instead she is described as a wife and mother, a good steward of her husband's resources, an amazing seamstress, an avid gardener, an early riser, and a wise shopper. This kind of woman is certainly not a wimp nor a lazy couch potato. She is a strong and goal oriented woman.

Wow! Now, for the young ladies reading this, you may be thinking, “Well! This fascinating information is all fine and dandy for maybe my mother, but I'm not married! You're right, and neither am I, but who says it's too early to start preparing now? The family, under the guidance and protection of your parents, is a perfect place to practice. Your brothers and Dad are the perfect men you can practice helping, communicating with, and understanding. I hear you! For some of us it's not as easy! Your Dad may not be someone you look up to.  Your dad may get angry or yell.  There may be some things you want to change about your dad.   He may say unkind things to you.  Perhaps your dad isn't there when your need him most, or his work keeps him away for long periods of time.   When he is home, your dad spends his time watching TV.  Maybe your Dad is not passionate about his relationship with God or he may be lacking the desire to be the leader God intended him to be.  You're not going to like me saying this, and these words threaten to leave a bad taste in my mouth as well. God gave you and me the Dad that is perfect for us. Ouch! Maybe it's time we look and change ourselves.  Sometimes we can be ugly little ladies too.  Yes, your dad may have some bad habits, but you may have habits that need to be changed as well. 

"Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.  

Honor thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) 

That it may be well with thee, and thou may live long on the earth."

Ephesians 6:1-3

Then again maybe your Dad really does have a problem. What can you do? First of all pray for him. Prayer makes the biggest impact. It's also hard to not to love someone you're praying for. Second, try to think of at least one thing that you can give him credit for or that you admire about him. If you think of several, that's great! Third, purposely be near him when he's doing something he enjoys or thinks is important. Whether it's just sitting next to him watching a football game for one afternoon, looking underneath a truck hood listening to him rattle off a bunch of vehicle parts, kneeling in the mud handing him tools for the tractor, sitting quietly with him while he's hunting, riding with him places, or eating lunch with him on his break. Now girls, I know some of you like to talk. I'm more quiet so I have an advantage sometimes, but men don't really like to listen to rambling, nonstop chatter. Sure they'll listen to it, but if you're really trying to spend time with your Dad, make your time with him as pleasant for him as possible so he will enjoy your company, even if it means being silent. If he wants to talk. Talk to him. Answer questions short and concise not in story book fashion. Ask him questions about certain things he likes to talk about: whether it's trucks, plumbing, farming, people. You name it. Try to really listen and appear interested in what he says. Trust me, this is good information to have, even if you have no idea what he's talking about, you'll figure it out eventually and I can almost guarantee that you'll pull it out of your memory bank to use one day!

A word about brothers. You may look at them as a pain, Lego fanatics, car-crazy, wrestling show offs, or comedians, but no matter who they are or what they're like, just think, they may get married some day. Yes, there is a girl out there that will love your brother and so should you...with sisterly love that is. God commands it.  

 "If a man say, I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar: for he that loves not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?  And this commandment have we from him, That he who loves God love his brother also."   

1 John 4:20-21 

  

"But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another."  

1 Thessalonians 4:9 

Why is it so hard to love our brothers, but so easy to love our friends? We're with each other, sometimes 24/7, so we see each others weaknesses and habits. Guess what, your friends have those too, if you were their sister or brother you may not want to spend time with them anymore. Let's face it. If we can't love our own brothers, our own family members, how can we truly love anyone else, including God? Try praying for your brother and talking to him with courtesy and respect as you would to a friend. The same rules apply to brothers as to dads.

Well ladies. That's what I've been challenged about lately. It is a big work in progress for me. Especially in my tone of voice and words. I'll say something to my Dad or brother and then kick myself thinking, “I just did it again! That wasn't nice or God honoring.” This is where we must ask God to help us. We can do all things through Jesus Christ who strengthens us!

Hope you all found this as interesting as I did and you had the time to read through all this. Let me know what you think of this post! I would be encouraged to hear what you think, be it criticism or praise!

 "My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth."

1 John 3:18 

  "For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister."

Hebrews 6:10

I Don't Like It!

    

 God is teaching me to be humble and it's humiliating!  He's  teaching me to be patient and I don't like it!  

 

     Many would agree that patience and humility are good character qualities to have, but the process it takes to develop those qualities can be unpleasant.  God has slowed me down to teach me important lessons.  I am trying to look at my trial as an opportunity.  Each adversity is like a different sunrise.  There is beauty in each one because God is at work!

 

  
      Last week I separated a joint in my shoulder.  I have to wear a sling for 3 weeks.  Although I think that I could try to do my normal routine it would not be beneficial to my healing so I haven't been able to play piano or ride my horse.  Two things that are so special to me.  It's humiliating having to wear a sling, have every one ask you what happened, be educated on how dangerous horses are (although any animal can be dangerous it's falling off one that is the most dangerous!), and have someone else fix your hair and tie your shoes.  It's frustrating not being able to do the dishes, cook, or do laundry without help.  Yet it is good.  I'm learning that it's OK to ask for help and that I can help in other ways.  Things that I would rather not do are the things I'm still capable of doing such as cleaning.  Learning to do speech and physical therapy with my brother is important.  God must want me to help Mom with that and knew that He would just have to make me do it in order for me to realize that it's actually not that hard.  It's a good way to spend time with my little brother.  I've had to spend time with my family as they have to help me.  I now have plenty of time to give my sister piano lessons and she can brush the horses with me. 
    God has also been developing a special friendship between me and another young lady who is helping me clean (whom I may have never asked to help me otherwise).  Did you know you can clean with only one arm?  The arm that's doing the cleaning feels like it's about ready to fall off at the end of the day, but it can be done!  My cleaning helper and I have bee having a lot of good conversations about life and the Lord. 
   Another thing that I've had the time to do is study the Bible.  Have you ever been challenged on the authority of scripture?  I have recently and now I know the exact scripture references to turn to:  2 Timothy 3:15-17, 2 Peter 1:20-21, Romans 4:22-25, and Romans 15:3,4   It was so exciting for me to find how scripture backs up scripture.  I can tell you with certainty that all scripture is divinely inspired and all scripture is true.   The Bible was written to show us how to be saved from Hell, how to experience a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and give us the answer to what our purpose on earth is.  The Bible really does have the answers!

God's Word is light.  It breaks through the  darkness of confusion and lies.

In conclusion.  God has brought me to my knees once again and I have been reminded of how mortal I am.  I'm also reminded that when I pray, sometimes God uses creative ways to make the answer clear to me.  Do you suppose God is applying his appropriate pressure on me?

Appropriate Pressure

Wildfire...

my training...




CHALLENGE!!

     In January I got a pony mare whom I've called Wildfire and others have called Spitfire.  If you haven't figured it out from her name, she is a spirited, sometimes wild little pony. A lot has changed in the past 9 months and she is a totally different horse. Here is a list of my struggles.

Before:

*It took us at least one hour to catch her at her previous owner's place.

*She would whinny, prance, and pull away from me when I would take her out of the pen away from the horses.

*She would snort, shy, and run when a lead rope was swung, twirled, and thrown, around, over, and on her.

*She would step away and snort at the sight and feel of the saddle thrown over her.

*You could not trust her to ground tie.

After:

*I walk out and catch her. If she does walk away, she will turn back to me when I ask her to.

*She turns, faces me, and stands as I shut the gate and follows me quietly as we exit the pasture.

*She tolerates the sight and sensation of a rope being swung, twirled, and thrown around, over, and on her.

*She will stand with the lead line dropped to the ground while a saddle is placed on her back.

*She can be trusted to ground tie...well half of the time, it's still a work in process!

     Even with all these improvements and changes, she was still a challenge to ride (and the first picture you saw was what our riding used to be like). I have to give a lot of credit to the horse trainer/cattle rancher who was willing to take the time to teach me how to better communicate with my horses. This past month I have been blown away by the changes I experienced with Wildfire and even the horse trainer said she looked like a totally different horse. 

She has more bend in her body with less brace, she will side pass, move her shoulders away from pressure, move her hindquarters away from pressure, and can stay somewhat collected while moving forward.   She backs well with a nice collected frame and is learning what I think is a more difficult manuver—engaging the hindquarters. I understand that most of you are thinking, what is she talking about; can she write in English?   Hang in there, I'm getting to the point of this article.

    
Basically, Wildfire has learned to submit to my will.  Before she would fight with me and go rather crazy --going in the opposite direction I asked by pushing into the pressure I applied instead of moving away while moving her feet too many steps, rearing, and bobbing her head.  She was very good at distracting me from my goal, which put her in control and kept me from following through with what I asked her to do.  On the advice from the trainer, in went a bit and on went my spurs.  Now I had the tools I needed to follow through with what I asked and to teach this stubborn pony to submit and yield to pressure rather than press into it.  Now when Wildfire tried to fight, she was met with more precise pressure from the bit and the poke of a spur.  She became agitated as she realized that resisting was more painful now and it was so much more pleasant to submit.  As I learned to focus on the one thing I was asking Wildfire to do while blocking her other movements with my spurs and reigns, I realized that a little pain was necessary to get through to this pony.  I was not being cruel, nor heartless.  I remembered how the horses were not afraid to leave a mark on each other with a bite or hard kick when establishing authority.  My measly bit and spur was nothing compared to a powerful kick or bite from a horse, yet it was just big enough to establish my authority.  Applying more pressure actually made it easier and more obvious for Wildfire to understand what I expected of her.  It made her feel secure and safe knowing that I was her leader and in contol of the moment so she didn't need to be.  Now after a month, I rarely need to use my spur if only just to touch her lightly and her head bobs less and less as she finds comfort in feeling my hands through the bit and reigns.  Finally she had found that the right thing was easy and the wrong thing was difficult.

     This makes me think of those Christians whose relationship with God is similar to that of a rebellious pony, yet they as a reasoning human know what is right and what is wrong.   How sad and frustrating this must be for believers who have discipled and invested in these Christian's lives and even more so for God. God never loses focus of his plan for our lives.  He also knows the appropriate pressure to apply in our lives to make it difficult for us to keep rebelling against his ways and sometimes it's painfull.   Will we submit?   How far will God have to go with us?  Will He have to take our life if we refuse to obey Him?   I know a story of a horse trainer who had a very challenging horse.   This horse had many problems, and although he was able to demonstrate that the horse could be rode, he recommended that the owner put the horse down because it was so dangerous.   Unlike animals, we can change through the power of the Holy Spirit gifted to us at the time of our salvation, but it's our choice.   Even after salvation, we still must choose to live God's way rather than continue doing things our way.  God's way brings eternal peace and comfort, but the world's way brings eternal pain and suffering.  Like Wildfire, sometimes we have to experience pain before we can experience the peace, comfort, and joy in doing things our Master's way and for us as people that's God's way!

Horse owners/trainers:

Will you apply the appropriate pressure when necessary?

Christian's: 

Will you respond to the slightest suggestions from God and if not, are you ready for God's appropriate pressure?

"There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death."
Proverbs 16:25 

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, 
neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.  
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways
 higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." 
Isaiah 55:8-9 

"Doth not He see my ways, and count all my steps?"
Job 31:4

When God Asks Us to Take a Step or Fall of Faith

     When I was about 7 or 8, our pastor asked for a volunteer for his sermon illustration.  I raised my hand not knowing what His plan for me was.  He asked me to stand up on the first pew with my back towards him.  "Now, cross your arms and close your eyes.  When I say ready, I want you to fall backwards and I will catch you."

     That seemed easy enough to me, until I heard his voice somewhere in the auditorium say,

"OK, Hannah, fall back."

"No,"  I rejected, worried.  "You won't catch me."

"Yes, I will.  I promise I won't let you fall."

     I knew that he was no longer standing behind me, how could he catch me?  I was scared and began to cry as the congregation encouraged me to do what I thought was impossible.  Then I heard my pastor say,

"Hannah, open your eyes and see who is standing behind you."

    I turned to see My Dad who had been there all along, waiting for me to trust him although unseen...waiting to catch me.  How foolish I felt in not trusting and disappointed that I had missed this opportunity for my Dad to catch me.

     How often are we like this?  The pastor challenges us to submit to God's will or God says,

"Would you do this for Me?"

"Sure, I will do that for You, God, " you say.

     Then we find out what God wants us to do.  First, it may seem easy enough or maybe right away the difficulties are apparent.  Finally as we're ready to do what God has asked of us and we're starting to pursue it, we begin to doubt God's plan: we're too scared, it seems just too hard, we convince ourselves someone else is more capable than we are, we think it won't work.  So we give up and feel foolish for missing out on an opportunity.  We are saddened and disappointed when we look back to see that our heavenly Daddy was there behind us all along…waiting,  waiting for us to trust Him even though we could not see Him...waiting to catch us.  Sometimes in life obeying God may mean that we are going to fall, but that is when God steps in to show us that He is there.  When we think it is ridiculously impossible, His Word and our brothers and sisters in Christ encourage us to do it anyway.  God is there to catch us and to show His power through our life.  *The One who loves us and gave Himself for us is in charge of our lives.  In ordinary circumstances and impossible situations, God can reveal His power. 

      Take a moment to reflect on God doing the impossible in the lives of people recorded in the Bible.  Think of Noah, what if God didn't make it rain like He said He would.  Noah really would have been the biggest fool in His day, but he wasn't.  What about Abraham?  He was 100 and Sarah in her 90s.  Surely God's promise of a son would not come true, but it did!  Many times the Royal line of David could have been wiped out, but God preserved it so this promise of the Messiah coming from this family would come true.  In Acts 12:1-11, we find Peter in Jail on a death sentence because of His faith.  Yet, he was asleep, willing to die for Christ, trusting God that He knew what was best.  Peter thought it was a dream when the Angel from God released him and even those praying for his deliverance were surprised to see him at the door.

     Don't be afraid to do God's will, if His word and His people are confirming this to you.  Sometimes you have to take that step or fall in faith, trusting in our God to make the impossible, possible!  Trust me, you won't be disappointed!

*Our Daily Bread, Aug. 21, 2013

A Dream Come True

A Gift from God

Ever since I was little, I always looked forward to my favorite part of parades: the horses.  As I watched them pass, this little girl with a cowgirl hat would envision herself riding on one of them.  One day I hoped to own and ride a horse--including in a parade.  At almost 19 years of age, this little girl's dream has come true. 

 Despite the fact that the school band was behind us, the horses became used to the drums and trumpets behind them.  I told Wally it was OK, and made it fun.  Pretty soon it seemed like we were prancing in front of the band in the street!

Thanks to God, my parents, and mentors this dream has come true. Three years ago, I would never have imagined that I would be riding the then 5 year old just been gelded stud. For this horse I prayed, a horse that cost me nothing, once not useful, considered second choice, and untrained, now proving himself faithful and useful. To God be the Glory. We have a God who can make all things possible!

Special Thanks to:

 

God: 

Thank you God for answering my prayers and giving me the desire of my heart--

even when You didn't have to.

Dad:

Thanks for driving the truck and trailer and hooking me up with these riders.

My parents:

 Thanks for letting me have a horse.

These riders and horses:

Thanks for letting me ride with you!