For those of you who, like me, didn’t want to get up at 3 AM this morning to watch the Royal Wedding, I have something just for you.
I was able to find an exclusive video of the wedding party entering Westminster Abbey.
Enjoy. You didn’t miss a thing.
After several windy cold days we had a beautiful New Mexico day.
This morning we went for a ride. The air temperature was about 60 degrees but with the strong sunshine it felt like mid-70’s. There was a small breeze which kept it very comfortable. Both horses did well on the ride.
After a shower and a quick lunch we loaded the horses into the trailer and took them to our vet, Dr. Matt Paxton, for their Spring shots and floating of their teeth. For those who don’t know, floating is an old, traditional name for filing the horses teeth. Over time they get points on the sides and surfaces that can be uncomfortable if they are not filed down.
Matt is a great vet and a good friend. We have developed a strong, trusting relationship over the years. Good man.
Here’s a short video that highlights our horse day.
A good day.
It was a cold, windy morning again, but we had our equine chiropractor, Dr. Diana DeBlanc, out this morning to check and adjust the horses. She’s a really nice person. She said Morgunn was in good shape and didn’t need any adjustments at all. Sugar needed an adjustment in one of her hips and in her neck.
It’s fun to watch the horses. At first they weren’t sure, but after an adjustment or two they seemed to enjoy it. Diana’s really good with them.
I meant to take my camera out to get some pictures or video but Diana called and arrived early. So grabbing our halters we went out to get the horses ready and I totally forgot the camera.
We take them to our primary vet tomorrow, Dr. Matt Paxton, to get their Spring shots and have their teeth checked and probably floated. Hopefully, I’ll remember my camera this time.
Several times in my posts I have mentioned the winds we have here in New Mexico. Here’s a little video of the winds we had today.
Recently there was a debate about a book written by a Chinese woman who called herself “Tiger Mom.” It was her story of how she demanded so much from her kids in the Chinese way.
I’m not here to argue one way or the other on that subject, but it’s clear the Oriental cultures do get their kids to achieve more at an earlier age.
Here’s a video of some North Korean kindergartners playing adult sized classical guitars.
Right or wrong, it’s amazing – and they seem to enjoy what they’re doing.
“Oh, how can they?” said Lucy, tears streaming down her cheeks. “The brutes, the brutes!” for now that the first shock was over the shorn face of Aslan looked to her braver, and more beautiful, and more patient than ever.
(The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe – Chapter 14)
“Oh, children,” said the Lion, “I feel my strength coming back to me. Oh, children, catch me if you can!” He stood for a second, his eyes very bright, his limbs quivering, lashing himself with his tail. Then he made a leap high over their heads and landed on the other side of the Table. Laughing, though she didn't know why, Lucy scrambled over it to reach him. Aslan leaped again. A mad chase began. Round and round the hill-top he led them, now hopelessly out of their reach, now letting them almost catch his tail, now diving between them, now tossing them in the air with his huge and beautifully velveted paws and catching them again, and now stopping unexpectedly so that all three of them rolled over together in a happy laughing heap of fur and arms and legs. It was such a romp as no one has ever had except in Narnia; and whether it was more like playing with a thunderstorm or playing with a kitten Lucy could never make up her mind. And the funny thing was that when all three finally lay together panting in the sun the girls no longer felt in the least tired or hungry or thirsty.
“And now,” said Aslan presently, “to business. I feel I am going to roar. You had better put your fingers in your ears.”
And they did. And Aslan stood up and when he opened his mouth to roar his face became so terrible that they did not dare to look at it. And they saw all the trees in front of him bend before the blast of his roaring as grass bends in a meadow before the wind.
(The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe – Chapter 15)
"Safe?" said Mr. Beaver."Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you."
— C.S. Lewis (The Chronicles of Narnia)
Alleluia! Christ is risen! The Lord is risen indeed!
This morning was another good morning for a ride. The temperature was about 70 degrees. The sun was shining and there was a nice breeze.
After a brief warm up in our back we rode over to the arroyo south of us. We walked through some soft sandy roads which gave the horses a good workout for their muscles. We got a chance to do some gaiting on the dirt road back towards our house and both horses did pretty well. Before heading for home, there’s a grassy spot we let the horses graze in. Even though there are clumps of grass they prefer eating the sage like Morgunn is doing in the above picture (Morgunn just got his spring trace clip to help him cool off while he’s shedding his winter coat).
Here’s a short (15 seconds) video of us riding out for the ride. We cross the street, go down our neighbors drive and cut through to the open sage area to the south. The reason I posted this short video is the clip clop sound of the horses hooves on our concrete drive. To me it’s a very relaxing sound.
We finished up most of our yard work for the Spring. We had an unusually cold spell in the winter where the temperature got down near zero several nights. That’s very unusual for our location here in New Mexico.
As a result we lost several of our bushes. The biggest loss was all of our Rosemary bushes except one are all dead. So it was cut it back time. Next Spring we’ll try to replace these with something new which is not all bad. The Rosemary bushes had grown to be too large, but we’ll miss their smell. We won’t know the total loss until later in the Spring to see if some other bushes are gone as well.
Here’s all that’s left of our Rosemary bushes from our front.
But there’s some good news. Our Irises are blooming which is always a good sign for Spring.
Also, we’re getting a bloom on our Yucca in the front courtyard. We planted this Yucca five years ago and this will be the first year that it has bloomed. More to come as it blooms.
Needless to say our old bones are tired.
If I were young and raised in Hawaii, I think I would have loved to be a surfer. In my older years, seeing the size of some of these waves – no thank you.
But there’s still a beauty in the surfers and their relationships with their waves.
Enjoy.
Les Miserables by Walter Hugo is one of my favorite books, plays and movies. It is a tremendous story of how a life is redeemed by an act of forgiveness.
Jean Valjean is a petty criminal who is ‘saved’ from arrest by the forgiving act of a Catholic bishop. This small act of forgiveness changes Jean Valjeans life. He changes his ways, becomes a respected, wealthy and generous man who saves the life of a prostitute’s daughter by taking her in as his daughter. He changes his name to Madeleine to help erase his past.
The rest of the story revolves around the crusade of Inspector Javert who constantly is trying to prove that Madeleine is Valjean so he can put him back into prison. Javert cares nothing about Valjeans changed life. His whole life is driven by the pursuit of justice. He cares nothing about love or forgiveness.
What does this have to do with Easter?
The story of Valjeans changed life is representative of God’s nature that is presented in this scripture:
God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. (1 John 4:16)
But there is more to God than just love. God is also holy.
Exalt the Lord our God and worship at his holy mountain, for the Lord our God is holy. (Psalm 99:9)
As much as we want to focus on God’s love, and it is something important to focus on, we can’t forget that God is also holy. He cannot accept sin. Sin cannot be ignored. Sin cannot be overlooked.
Sin must be paid for. Sin leads to death.
For the wages of sin is death… (Romans 6:23)
At the end of Les Miserables, Jean Valjean is ready to turn himself into Javert, but in the process he winds up saving Javerts life. Jean Valjean reconciles the love of God and the holiness of God in his life and he is at peace.
Javert can’t understand why Valjean would risk his freedom to save Javert’s life. He cannot reconcile God’s love with the holiness/justice that has driven him all his life. He winds up killing himself rather than live with both the holiness of God and the love of God.
Jesus is our Jean Valjean, willing to sacrifice himself for us to save our lives. Easter is that season when we celebrate the love of God coming together with the holiness of God on the cross.
Next Sunday is really important.
There have been amazing coats in the past – Joseph’s Technicolor Coat, etc.
Well, you ain’t seen nothing yet. Enjoy this amazing fur coat.
Betty and I are working out at Galloping Grace Youth Ranch this morning. Then this afternoon we’ll be working some more on the house to get it straightened back up after the painting was done.
So, here’s something to pass your time. Watch this short video as this large Air France jumbo jet goes past the smaller Comair commuter jet. Imagine what it would be like to have been a passenger on the Comair flight. This happened this past Monday night at JFK airport.
The painting finally ended yesterday, Tuesday, afternoon. As soon as we get the house back in order I’ll take some pictures. Given how much we have to do it may be awhile so be patient.
This morning was a perfect morning so we decided to quit working on the house and we rode Sugar and Morgunn. All of our riding since I got over my surgery has been in our back so they haven’t been out for a ride since last December before Christmas.
After working with them a little on the ground and riding them a little in the back, we headed out toward the arroyo that is South of us. As we were riding up a dirt road we saw some men doing some work on the far West side of the open area. We’re not sure what they’re doing, but the horses were very interested, but they didn’t get nervous or spooky. Once we turned away from them they were fine.
They seemed to enjoy being out and, as I said above, it was a beautiful morning. The temperature was about 50 degrees. It was sunny and there was a gentle breeze. An almost perfect day for a ride.
Both horses did well and we were happy with their performance.
We spent the rest of the day back in the clean up mode.
I mentioned on Sunday that Betty and I received tickets to the Peking Acrobats from our son Wade Daniel and his wife Marie. It was a fantastic show of both incredible strength and balance, but also incredible beauty. The music was live and the acts were everything from funny to amazing.
I couldn’t take a camera with me, but I grabbed some photos off the Internet to give you just a taste of what we saw. If you get a chance to see them in performance we highly recommend it.
If you think your daily commute is tough, take a look at these Chinese commuters.
Today’s reflection will be somewhat brief. After church, Betty and I are going to the University of New Mexico theater to see the Chinese Acrobats. Our tickets are Christmas gifts from our son Wade Daniel and his lovely wife Marie. They know how to give good gifts.
This is one of the most famous set of verses in Scripture:
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.” (John 3:16-18)
Jesus is making this point - how to have eternal life - as a follow up to his discussion with Nicodemus. Jesus had said,
"I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again. " (John 3:3)
This confused Nicodemus,
"How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!" (John 3:4)
As part of his reply to Nicodemus’ question, Jesus says,
”Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” (John 3:14-15)
Jesus already knew he was going to be “lifted up” on the cross so that you and I might be “born again” and have eternal life.
Sometimes it’s a good idea to go back to the basics.
The painting got started Thursday afternoon. Because of some windy, rainy weather on Wednesday, the painters were a little behind on an outdoor project they were trying to finish.
We’re basically using four colors throughout the house. The accent colors are a rust red (guest bedroom and living/dining area), a sage green (guest bathroom and our bedroom) and a tea room yellow (kitchen and other guest bathroom). The fourth color is Navajo White which is what the house was painted throughout when it was built. We’re having some walls and the hallway repainted in the same color.
Here’s a picture of the painting in the living area. When it is wet the color is more orange but dries toward a darker rust red. It’s probably going to be next Tuesday or Wednesday before they are finished. The house is a wreck, but it will be fine once it’s all done, everything is cleaned up and back in place.
Most robbers aren’t too smart. However, this guy may take the cake for being not too smart and clumsy at the same time.
Enjoy.
That’s not really a newsflash. I’m often distracted.
We had a great time at the Galloping Grace Youth Ranch volunteer dinner last night. We have a lot of great returning and new volunteers for the coming year. With Max and Michelle’s leadership it’s going to be a great year.
We rode Sugar and Morgunn in the back again this morning and they both did well. Betty is really getting a lot out of Morgunn and they make a great pair. I enjoy working with Sugar as she’s a little rougher around the edges than Morgunn, but she’s coming along nicely. The new bit, the Imus Comfort Gait bit, is working well. It’s a good choice for her.
What’s distracting me and Betty is the fact that we have painters coming to the house on Thursday morning. We’re having the whole inside of the house repainted. As with most new houses, all of our walls are a nice, off-white color called Navajo White (appropriate for a New Mexico house).
Now it’s time to get a little color into the house. We’re going to paint half of the great room/dining room area a rust red. We’ll also use this rust red color on an accent wall in the front guest room.
The kiva fireplace is going to go from a tan to a nice green color. This same green color will be used for the guest bathroom and our bedroom. The kitchen will be a very light gold color. Some of the walls will be repainted with the Navajo White. We’re using the color as accents rather than painting a whole area in color. The only exception to that is the kitchen which will be entirely painted in the new color.
The only rooms we’re not painting is the back guest bedroom (our antique bedroom) and the computer room. Both of those rooms don’t get that much use so they’re still pretty fresh.
I’ll try to get some pictures, but I’m not sure when I’ll be back on to post.
We’re spending our time getting the place ready for the painters – moving things, cleaning things, etc., etc.
They will paint on Thursday and Friday and expect to finish next Monday.
We’re looking forward to the new colors.
Do you have a dog? Does your dog lay around sleeping, eating and doing nasty dog things? Then have him/her watch this video to get inspired.
Thanks to our friend Molly in Ohio for getting us this video.
Enjoy.
“I still get wildly enthusiastic about little things… I play with leaves. I skip down the street and run against the wind.” (Leo F. Buscaglia)
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. (James 1:2-6)
As I write this Sunday Reflection, the wind is really blowing here in central New Mexico. The forecast is that gusts may be as high as 60 – 70 mph. A category one hurricane starts at a wind speed of 75 mph.
I made the mistake once of saying to my friend, Michelle Wade, that I enjoyed the winds of New Mexico and she has never let me forget that. Actually I do enjoy the winds as long as they aren’t cold winds. Those I can do without.
When the winds blow here, primarily in the Spring, it makes me aware of being alive. It makes me aware that we are subject to the laws and vagaries of nature. The wind is something we can’t control. There’s something exciting about watching the trees bend against the strength of the winds. I feel the same way when I see a lightning storm. It’s scary and exciting all at the same time.
Wind can be destructive, but it can also be used to our benefit. It can power our energy needs, at least to some degree. It can provide entertainment like this picture of a sailboat. The sound of the wind in the trees can be soothing to our souls. I love to see Morgunn and Sugar in the wind and watch their manes and tails flowing like signal flags on a ship.
When we go out this afternoon to feed Sugar and Morgunn, I may have to stand and walk into the winds. Sometimes, like today, it can be so strong that I have to lean into the wind to keep my balance.
Life is like that sometimes. There have been many times when the winds of life – injury, sickness, loss – have threatened to blow me off my feet. I don’t know how I would have made it without Jesus Christ in my life. He and the hope he offers has been the anchor that has kept me leaning into and standing firmly in the midst of these life winds.
We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. (Hebrew 6:19-20)
A couple of days ago I posted about the live web cam that is showing a bald eagle pair raising their three eaglets.
http://www.wvec.com/marketplace/microsite-content/eagle-cam.html
If you haven’t checked it out and you’re interested in nature/wildlife, you’re really missing something. Here are a few stills from the recent live web cam viewing.
Today is April Fools Day and I choose not to pull anything. I’m not very good at pranks and jokes so I’ll leave that to others. However, if you want to check out the best of all time go to this link: http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/aprilfool/P0/
What I want to celebrate today is the 25th anniversary of the best movie creators on the planet – the genius of Pixar.
Here’s a video that celebrates their wonderful creations. Enjoy.
