"For me to live is Christ and to die is gain..."

Yes, I do count my blessings. But I was thinking about losses... Or are they losses? I read over a passage we memorized in Philippians and it's actually the title of this post. "For me to live is Christ and to die is gain."

The losses (which have become gain) that I've experienced have not been material. You can always count on there being a curse as well as a blessing to who and where you are at any given time, it's part of the fall.

Being the youngest in the family has been one of the greatest and worst things in my life. The very best part is looking up to my older siblings, learning from them, watching, learning from their success and those things that haven't been so successful.

Where the blessing and curse lies most rooted is in the love and bond I have for them and with them. It's eerily strong in my eyes and it's probably possible that I'm far more attached to them than what is healthy. (Haha, but I can't speak for their relationship with me) If it were to ever come to it, I would die for them in a heartbeat and without a second thought.

The more cursed part of that loyalty lies in where I stand in the age group. I am the youngest of the family and I'm going to probably be the last at home. Already, three of my six siblings have left home, that is by far the biggest gap in my heart.

But then... The curse is also a blessing. It makes me so much more aware of what I ought to cling to, Christ. No matter how much I love my brothers and sisters, my love and thirst for Christ should outweigh it by far. I know I should not and am not alone.

This is the hardest thing for me to come to grips with in my every day and spiritual life. It's the constant brokenness that cannot be healed until we stand before God in Christ.

To rephrase what Paul said, for me to be with my brothers and sisters would be the grace of Christ and to be apart from them (torn) is to glorify God where he has placed me.

Soo... just thought I'd share that thought...

-Me

miracles in our lives...

As you may have read in my last writing, Mom is reading The Dragon and the Raven aloud to me. It's by G.A. Henty and he writes about the battles between the Saxons and the Danes. It's enchanting. Although there isn't much character development, you can still work out pretty well what is happening.

The reason why I name this post what I did is because of one particular battle between the Dragon and the Raven (the Saxons and the Danes).

It was 10,000s against 350. Sound familiar? But it was also brawn against brain. The Saxons defended their fort for hours and days by finding new and brilliant ways to keep the Danes off. None were able to enter the fort without dying soon after.

More to the point. Before the 'afore stated battle, King Uffa (ruler of the Danes) rode up with a small band and essentially said, "We're going to kill you, in the name of our gods (false gods), you will be dead by morning."

But what the Saxons said was more profound. "You will need the help of all your false gods to take us on, with God on our side, we'll stand to whatever end."

Can you imagine what it must've been like to be standing by your fellow 350 and look out over the 10,000s of King Uffa and still stand like they did? Do you know how many of the Saxons died in that fight? Only 20! The Danes were killed in the hundreds and the next day 1,500 were slain. Only some Saxons were wounded but nothing serious.

The intelligence of the Saxons was deeply insightful but their victory truly reflected the true source of their triumph. God.

-Elrohwen

this is more than an update...

Greetings!

Life is looking like the big picture right now which is sometimes hard to look at. I hope you know what I mean. You see everything you've done and what you should be doing and how it relates to the greater plan. It's exhausting because of how imperfect I am but it's encouraging because of how perfect God is. 

So, no the horse hasn't come home yet. That's set for Thursday, the 29th, the day after tomorrow. After that, she'll be taking a week off. 

I thinking of possibly taking a trip to Colorado to visit a friend and his wife who have both been re-diagnosed with cancer. Pray for them. 

Mom has been reading aloud to me more because I missed out on a lot of that being the youngest and all. Right now we're reading The Dragon and the Raven by G.A. Henty. 

I took a few days off school because we had house guests. We had a lot of fun together and I miss them already. 

I'm excited that a book that I've been waiting for is coming out November 8th. It's the fourth book in the Inheritance Cycle series, it's called Inheritance. :) It'll be the last book in the series and be closing a lot of loose ends that I've wondered about for about a year. 

I'm thinking that I need to write more in my stories and such because it helps my brain develop and it makes me write down ideas because I simply must share. 

I'm also thinking I need to eat a bit healthier because I've slid a little in the past few days. 

Cricket is doing fantastic just as always. 

I need to get footing in the round pen so the horses (I like the pluralism) can work in there without stumbling. 

I need to write my and call my sisters more as well as my friends.

 

I need to be more open to the ideas of others instead of setting myself in my own ways. It's not respectful. 

I need to be less quiet and reserved (I know, it's hard to believe) around the people I don't know very well. I should make more conversation to make them more welcomed. 

I need to think of Tuscon as more of a place that God has put me to do his will, be a light for others, and glorify him. 

I need to look at the things around me a realize their beauty more.

I need to be more thankful that I have a job, and a good one at that.

I need to not waste who God has made me. I need to "shine" more for him. Stop hiding my light. 

Anyways... I could go on forever but my battery is about to die.. :)

-Elrohwen

I love this women's work!

 <-This is very Aravis

















I got to see her work in person at the Arizona Horse Expo. She's in Arizona and she's just a wonderful artist... :)

Horses in art...

 <-Cricket...














 <- This reminds me of Aravis





 <-This is very Aravis too

I also love Susan Jeffers paintings... LOVE them...

Artists I like... :)

  <-My employer has this is her house

  <- In my omnibus book









 <- This looks like my friend jemma, that's a complement

 <- This reminds me of Pride and prejudice, lydia mostly.

  <- LOVE THIS

In the paddock

And..... *the name*

And.... My horse's name?

Aravis! (pronounced Air-ah-vis)

Full name: Aravis Tarkaan

-Cilla

PS. Please forgive my past tense on my last post. Cricket and I are still that way. :)

My horse? No, my teacher.

".....The years have flown by and you still take my breath away

Just seeing you from a distance puts a smile on my face

I didn’t think I had a chance..." [Katie Drake]

I know it's kinda silly to you guys but it really was that way with Cricket and me... :) 

-Cilla

Video of Bella

This is Bella, the quarter horse I'll be bringing home soon. She was just let out of her stall so she was ready to run. She's not usually this crazy though she does like to move her feet! :)

Enjoy!

-Me

Excitement

Yes! It went quite well!

I was so so happy.

So, no horse is perfect and even Cricket has flaws. The Vet looked her over and said, "She's a really nice mare and I see a lot of potential in her. But, every horse has their flaws but before I tell you about hers, I want you to know that there are world champions with more issues than she has." Phew!

She basically her biggest thing is that she drags her feet a little (never in front of people but he could tell by the shape of her hooves) in her back  end and it's ended up looking more dramatic and upright. He said that it's quite possible that with Cavaletti and other exercises it will be reversible. He said back feet dragging could be a result from a sore back but he poked and prodded with not avail. He said, "She moves like a cat, she's flawless in her stride." Sooo... Green light!

Indeed, her foot dragging NEVER shows when she's being handled, it's only really when she's by herself. So, frequent handling? :)

I'm very excited. Name? Not staying I don't think. Partial to two names so far. Aravis Tarkaan from The Horse and His Boy. Bella is a lot like Aravis, sort of haughty. I also like the name Rhovanion, pronounced "Row-Vah-Nee-Un". It's a region in middle earth, it means "wild country". I really can't decide.

Before she comes home, we have a few jobs to do. We're converting the paneled part of our pen to rail-road tie posts and 2/6". It's cool but a real job. Digging in all this gravel=Ugh!

I also have to order footing for the round pen after I finish raking all the big rocks out.

ALSO: My dear friend Rene' from just a mile down the road went to the Parelli Performance Summit in Pagosa Springs (I was planning to go but it didn't work out) and had a blast. She did a Game of Contact demo with Linda Parelli herself. Lol. Linda said she had soft hands. Linda Parelli's personal assistant and 3 Star Parelli Instructor, Lindsey Fitch is coming to do a Game of Contact Clinic in Pheonix!! I'm planning on Car Pooling with Rene' and auditing if that's possible. It's gonna' be soooo fun! :)

YAY!!!! THIS IS WAY TO MUCH EXCITEMENT FOR EXTROVERTED ME!!!!


-ME!


 

Hmmmm

http://www.nodiatis.com/personality.htm


That's what I came out as

These are a few of my favorite things...

Listening to Celtic or harpsichord music...

Standing the the rain...

Watching my horse run to me...

Listening to the wind and the sounds around me when I'm outside...

Running barefoot with my dog down the road, as fast as I can, not a worry in the world...

Looking at the mountains that closely surround Tuscon and imagining my horse and I running along the ridges...

Floating on my back in the pool, watching the stars at night...

Drinking Chai tea and writing...

Reading to Cricket...

Going "Mail box sniffing" with Cricket... (it's where we walk down the road together and she gets to sniff all the trash cans, mail boxes and any other "scary" objects we can conjure)

Watching the clouds move...

Taking my dog to town...


I'm so blessed!

Fascinating

"Just go with me on this.  Trust me. 
It'll be fun.  Really.  I promise.


Get a can of soup - the size of the can doesn't really matter and it also doesn't really matter if it's soup.  A can of beans, corn, peas, carrots, chili - just something with some heft to it.


Set it on the counter in front of you.  Give it a good look and then pick  it up.  And put it back down again.  Easy.  Simple.  Pick it up, put it down, nothing to it.

[If you think you should read through this whole post, get to the concept and then try the exercise later:  DON'T!  Stop reading now and go get a can and pick it up.  Then come back and read the next step, which is:]

Pick it up again.  But WAIT - this time, before you pick it up, think about HOW you're going to pick it up.  Think about how you're going to put it down again before you pick it up.  Think about what it's going to feel like to pick it up.  Now.  Tense the muscles in your arm as though the can is going to weight 20 pounds/kilos but it's also very fragile - too much pressure and you could crush the can -  Now make your move.  As you life the can, notice everything about the act of picking it up.  What effect does it have on your muscles as your hand tightens on the can and you begin to lift it?  And lift it as sloooowwwly as you can.  See if it can take you 30 seconds to actually lift the can 6 inches above the counter.  How much control do you have over the energy you're putting into lifting it?  Notice the difference in how you use your muscles when you move this slowly.  Do you remember your plan for setting it back down again?  Okay, good, put that plan into action - set it back down.  Slowly.

Wow, that was a huge difference right?  Between just picking up the can of soup and picking up a can of soup.  There was a difference in your energy, effort, focus, intent, process and plan. 

So here's my question:  how do you pick up your reins?"

Note: This entire post was written by Norma Vela, Parelli student. I am only re-posting it here because this thing is brilliant!

Interesting words

"A sword wielded by a true master is the bearer of the truth of freedom. It is not just a way of driving off foes. One ought to know the sword like he built it himself. More importantly, he should know when and why he should use it better than how to use it."

~Unknown

What do ya'll think of this quote?

Tricks vs. Trade

I've just thought of something going off of something Pat Parelli said.

He said, "I want you to not only use this as a handy trick, but as a trade."

After he said that, I had a huge "aha!" moment!

Horsemanship isn't just a series of tricks and strategies we've squeezed from a few different people and made it our own. Horsemanship in it's finest form is a whole art, a trade. It is not a borrowed method, it is something that can only truly be judged by the horse itself.

If you are rushed into doing something with a horse, yours or not, it is not Horsemanship. Horsemanship is a journey and a dance. No rules. Just going with the music. You don't have to learn to dance, it just may just look funny at first. But it will get better and look more beautiful if you listen to the horse.

-Me

Something rare

Last week, I met another horse. A beautiful, Bay Quarter Horse mare named Bella. We connected immediately, to the point that I couldn't tell her Horsenality. When a horse is that in tune to you, it's something rare and special. She was not skeptical but wasn't dominant or pushy. She approached me with a perfect amount of friendly and respectfulness. She was amazing. When I asked for upward transitions, she read me lightly. When I slowed her down, she took it with grace and without offence. When I pressed her side (porcupine game), she moved lightly away without being reactive. The whole session was at Liberty and without restraint. Now I know why people rave about Quarter Horses being so smart.

I love this horse and if the vet check goes well, Lord willing- I'll be taking her home.

-Priscilla