Sunday Reflection - It Will Be A Miracle

John 7:21 -- Jesus said to them, "I did one miracle, and you are all amazed. 

When Jesus said this, the Greek word for miracle is 'ergon' which means a work, an act, to toil.

So, when Jesus did a miracle, it was a work, an act of God.

As I write these words, I'm watching the beginning of the Denver/Pittsburgh wild card play off game.  It will literally be a miracle if Denver beats Pittsburgh.  It won't be an act of God, but a miracle never-the-less.

That's all I've got for today as I have to root for a miracle.

Update:  Miracles do happen.  Denver 29 Pittsburgh 23

Now they have to play New England next week in New England.  Talk about miracles.

Bring On Spring!

OK, it's time for winter to be over.  I'm ready for spring.

I know we've had some mild weather for January, but the early mornings when I go out to feed the horses have been pretty cold.

I hate having to wear a hoodie, then my heavy barn coat, a mad-bomber hat (which is great for keeping your head and neck warm), glove liners and mittens to keep my fingers from freezing.

It takes me an extra hour, actually just a few extra minutes but it seems like an hour, just to get ready to go outside.

It's also tiring to brace against the cold.  Betty and I always seem to be more tired during the winter than during the warmer weather.  I guess it just takes more energy to operate in the cold than in the warm.

The one good thing is our New Mexico sun.  Once it comes up, it does make things a little nicer.

I know we're still going to have several more weeks of cold and probably snow.  We're supposed to have a mix of snow and rain tomorrow afternoon and evening.

Enough already.  Bring on the warmer weather.

PS for those in much colder, snowier climes:  Sorry for my rant, but you can always move to the Southwest if you want to get away from your colder, snowier winters ;)

100 Years Young Today

On January 6, 1912, New Mexico became the 47th state in the Union.

Today, January 6, 2012, we celebrate our 100th birthday.

Today is also my sister Jane's birthday, but she's somewhat less than 100.  Happy birthday, Sis.

There was one unusual thing about New Mexico becoming a state.  The normal procedure was to add one more star to the official US flag right after the new state joins the Union.  However, since Arizona was admitted as a state just a couple of months later, there never was an official 47-star US flag.  The official flag went from 46 stars to 48 stars.

There have been a few 'unofficial' 47 star flags produced, but we won't mention those.

So, for 100 years old, New Mexico still looks good to Betty and me.

Happy Birthday to all New Mexicans!

Horse Catch Up

Since Betty and I got home last week we've been getting over our colds.  Even with that we wanted to reconnect with our horses, Morgunn and Sugar, since it has been over a month.  We decided we would start this week, even though we still weren't 100%.

On Monday, I was still too sick, so that wasn't a good day to start.

Tuesday, we exercised in the morning (boy did that hurt given it's been over a month since we last went to the gym) and decided to do a little, very basic ground work later that morning.  We only spent about 15 minutes, but it went well and they responded well.

Yesterday, Wednesday, we did more extensive ground work with the horses - asking them to do several exercises beyond backing them up and moving their hindquarters.  It went well, but it took a lot out of us.  Even though we're getting over our colds, our energy reserves are pretty low.

Today, we exercised again this morning and that went pretty well.  We need to build up our strength and consistent exercise is the only way.  We thought we might ride the horses in the back, but we decided that wouldn't be a good idea.  We would be tired from our exercise and we wouldn't be able to give our best to Morgunn and Sugar.

So, after a good night's rest we'll ride Morgunn and Sugar tomorrow morning.  We're planning to do some riding exercises in the back and, God willing, it should go pretty well.  We're looking forward to it.

War Horse

Because of our colds, we didn't get to go see War Horse until today.

It's a good movie, but a hard one to watch because of the harsh conditions both men and horses had to endure during World War I.

It's a Seven Spielberg movie and like most of his movies, the attention to detail is amazing.  The characters and the settings are perfect for the time the movie is set.

It starts in pre-war England and the early scenes of the horse, Joey, being born, growing up and being used as a farm horse are wonderfully done.

The war time scenes are difficult to watch, but there is no blood or gore.

For a horse owner and lover it was a hard movie to watch at times, but it is so beautifully done I'm glad I saw it.

Christmas One More Time

(Warning – lots of photos)

When Betty and I got home last week from our Christmas trips to Colorado, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee, we both came home with one more Christmas present – a bad cold.  It was the kind that included a bad cough each night while you tried to sleep as well as the usual congestion.  Fortunately, I had done some posts in advance – all the ones through last Sunday.

Now we’re all better.  So, I’m going to share some of the photos from our trip.  Even though there are a lot for a blog post, they are just a sample of all the photos we took.

First, our visit with Wade Daniel, Marie, Juliet and Leah in Fort Collins, Colorado.  This included opening presents, a visit to a lighted garden at night and ice cream with Nana and Papa at a local mall.  Unfortunately, Leah was sick with roseola while we were there, but she’s better now.

Betty and I received special gifts from the girls.  I got a sweat shirt and Betty got a tote bag with our names, Papa and Nana, on them under a Christmas tree.  The Christmas tree was made with Juliet and Leah’s handprints.  Pretty cool.








Then we headed to Mount Vernon, Ohio to have an early Christmas with Chris, Tracy, Javier and Esme, their Chihuahua.

Then we hopped into our rental car and drove to Bowling Green, Kentucky to have Christmas with my sister Jane, her husband Hack, and their kids April, Kelly and Gary and grandson Jory.

Finally, one more road trip to Franklin, Tennessee for Christmas at Grandmother Nita’s place.  Betty’s sister Margie and her brothers Bill and his wife Noel and Jim and his wife Noel were there.  Jim and Melissa have two children – Leslie, married to Tom, and Patrick, married to Michelle, and they were there as well.  Michelle is Singaporean and she and Patrick teach at a University in Singapore.

We actually have three celebrations each year.  First we have a nice dinner on Christmas Eve Eve at Margie’s house.  Then there’s Christmas Eve when Nita’s niece comes over and it was also Betty’s father’s birthday when he was alive.  Christmas Eve also includes a karaoke session which is fun.  Finally, we open most of our presents on Christmas morning.

So, if you made it this far, well done.  No more Christmas pictures until next year.  On to the New Year!

Sunday Reflection - Perspective for the New Year

Have you ever stood on the top of a high mountain and looked out over miles and miles of space - valleys, mountains, plains, houses, farms, cities and villages?  I have several times over the years in our travels.

One memprable time was on one of our trips to Canada to visit with our friends who had a guest ranch.  They also had a mountain camp up in the Canadian Rockies.  One all-day ride was the 40-Mile Ridge ride.  It was a steep ride up to the top of a mountain where you could see 40 or more miles in every direction - hence the name 40 Mile Ridge.  We could see over the valleys where people camped and hiked.

When we were down in our valley where we camped our perspective was limited by the trees and mountain ridges.  We couldn't see other campers or valleys.  Up on 40-Mile our perspective was much greater.

Our relationship with God is like that.  I live in the valley where I can't see that much, but God Iives on the mountain top where he can see so much more and his vision is not limited to 40 miles.

Psalm 119:105 says:  Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.

If you think about the type of lamps used in Old Testament times, it was a small, oil-burning lamp that provided only a small glow around the lamp.  So, when the writer of that psalm talked about God's word being a light on our path, the illumination would be pretty small in scope.  We might have enough light to see where our next step should be to stay on the path, but beyond that small illumination everything was still in darkness.

My experience with God has been like that.  Whenever I felt God was showing me something it was only a small glimpse of the next step to take.  The whole path and the ultimate destination of that step was never revealed.  My perspective has always been one of being in the valley.

My faith is that God sits up on 40-Mile Ridge and knows where he's leading me.

I don't know where God will lead me and Betty in 2012, but I have faith in his guidance.

We wish you all a God-blessed and a God-led New Year!