The Power Of A Smile!!!

Words can not describe the power behind this amazing true story, and even more powerful is if we choose to apply this story to our lives! To think we can offer God's hope through simply a genuine smile blows me away!!! This story has had me in tears both when I first heard it and later when I read it! God has been using Kim Meeder's book "Fierce Beauty" and the incredible truths contained in it to change my life in powerful ways!!! Ladies if you have not read it this is a MUST READ!!!! It's totally worth the $12 and besides that you'll be supporting an incredible cause...a ranch that reaches out to girls just like the one in this story in Bend, Oregon! If you're thinking "Fierce Beauty" is just for people who are HORSE CRAZY like me...it's not!!! It's actually not really about horses at all, but rather is a book written from the heart of a women who loves Jesus Christ with her entire being, and loves people SO MUCH she wants them to walk in the freedom Christ intended for us that SO MANY of us miss out on by the choices we make! If you haven't read the book PLEASE go purchase it today!!! You won't regret it and you'll be telling your friends to get a copy too! You can find the book at: http://www.crystalpeaksyouthranch.org/Merchandise/cpyr+books/412833.aspx Enjoy! :)

Kangas Cousin Visit

On Sunday the 18th of March the Lord worked it out for the Kangas cousins to come visit us, and we were all ecstatic!!!! It was totally a God thing how it worked out! Thomas was in Kansas City for the weekend and so thus they had a free ride....BUT Deborah had to work on Monday so it was in question whether or not they'd be able to come. However anxious to get to spend a couple of days with our amazing cousins we prayed Deborah's boss into letting her off, and wahhhlaaa...they were on their way to Iowa! ;) We've been best friends with our cousins since we were little....well okay I'll be honest....when we were little there was quite a bit of bickering that went on at times, but we managed to stay friends through it all and now older and maturer we're DEFINITELY the BEST of friends! :) The Kangas clan was only able to stay for two days, but we managed to squish a TON into our treasured time together which included a fishing trip to the pond complete with a late night bonfire....oh yeah!!! :-D
The driver of our dusty old antique pick up (not quite but it looks like it should be an antique) which is appropriately named "Dusty!" :) David's probably thinking, "I've got three girls in the back and I'm driving...this is gonna be fun!!! Hang on boys and girls here we go!"
Yep...we went! :-D David proceeded to give us the ride of our life! None of us are going to forget it anytime soon! I know what your thinking..."Julia nice face!" :) Yep that's our drama queen front and center! ;)

Hoping we make it to the pond alive! ;)

The co-pilot looks a bit concerned too! That's NEVER good! :-P

Okay so we arrived alive...thank the Lord, and we proceeded to see how many fish we could catch before it got dark! We soon discovered that fish attract to Deborah like mosquitoes attract to water! She continued to reel in fish after fish while the rest of us caught nothing or in David's case......

1 :)

Okay I guess the report is actually two...but one was funnier! :) Still he wasn't near Deborah's total of seven!

Jewels :)

Julia helping to show off another one of Deborah's MANY fish! :)

Our delightful bonfire....I LOVE bonfires! :)

Cousins = Friends for life :)

David had us ALL laughing with his very realistic impersonation of Gomer Pyle....SHAZAM!!!! :)

I thought it was SO COOL that I had to try it too...I found out that I really just didn't have the touch! This was the closest I got and there were multiple other pictures that we deleted that didn't even come close and served to produce a good laugh! :) David beats me on this one...hands down! ;)

We had SO MUCH fun laughing, telling stories, sharing memories....and just being TOGETHER again! :)

There's absolutely nothing like a bonfire in God's glorious creation, with your cousins, on a chilly spring night! I'm SO GRATEFUL for the rich blessings of God in my life that I SO do not deserve! It is SO INCREDIBLE to have your cousins as your best friends and to share the commonality of loving and following the Lord!

To everything there is a season,

A time for every purpose

under heaven:

A time to weep, and a time to

laugh;

A time to mourn, and a time to

dance;

Ecclesiastes 3:1 and 3

He'll See You Through!

When the way is paved with trials

and you don't know what to do,

Don't despair the Father's near

and He will see you through!

When your heart begins to tremble

at the load you're called to bear,

and you begin to question,

"Does He really care?"

When your mind is gripped by doubt

and you want to scream and shout,

turn your gaze towards Calvary

and watch His love spill out.

Fixed upon His lovely face

calm your heart, quiet your soul,

The Father's near and He is in control!

When the night is long and all seems wrong,

lift your head, God's not dead

and He will see you through!

When you feel so all alone,

like you've never before known,

take your broken bleeding heart,

flee this world, and fall before His throne!

When all seems false and nothing true,

feast upon His precious word,

for He'll SURELY see you through!

When your heart is overwhelmed,

and the clouds your life surround,

Lift your voice, sing His praise,

and your spirits He'll miraculously raise!

When you can't take another step,

and you fear the enemy might win,

Don't give up, don't give in,

there's one thing you must do!

Close your eyes, cry to Him,

and He WILL see you through!!

-Rebekah Rehm

AMAZING Weekend With My Cowgirl Sis' :)

The weekend of March 9-11 was one of memory making, laughter, fun filled adventures, learning more about training horses, deep talks, encouraging one another in our individual walks with the Lord, and lots of pictures to document it all! :) Usually it is impossible for Lakota's and my schedules to match up spur of the moment...but when God is for you who can be against you??? God was clearly for us when it came to us getting together in March...He matched up our schedules on only a weeks notice and before I knew it I was in the van headed for Ashland, Nebraska barely able to contain myself at the anticipation of the awesome time I was going to have with my cowgirl sis' Koda!
Koda and I don't get to get together nearly as often as we would like to...so we had our entire weekend planned out before I got there to maximize our time as much as possible! I got there on Friday morning and ASAP we had loaded up Lakota's horses and headed to Twin Rivers State Park for an afternoon of trail riding!

Koda unloading Sapphire

Me unloading Cowgirl

Me and Cowgirl ready to hit the trail! :)

I've ALWAYS wanted to trail ride my horses, but as I don't have a horse trailer I've never been able to work out transportation to actually take them trail riding! Therefore going trail riding with my cowgirl sis' Koda in the unusually gorgeous March weather was definitely a highlight of the year for me!!! :) I LOVED EVERY minute of it! Whether we were going single file down the trail, loping side by side, crossing a creek, or trying different moves on our horses I was smiling inside the entire time!!! :)

Koda's Dog Dixie Trotting The Trail In Front Of Us

We'd take turns for who took the lead...here me and Cowgirl decided to lead the way!

We found this hilarious hat discarded alongside the trail and decided to have Sapphire style it...she complied quite willingly and left us laughing!!! We brought the hat home to Koda's brother Brandon and told him we'd got him a souvenir. We tried to make him style it but he would have NOTHING to do with it! :-P
Koda's got such an eye for unique pictures! She noticed our shadows when we were riding on the pavement and told me to hand her the camera. I LOVE this shot!
After we'd ridden for about an hour we headed back to the truck and trailer to grab some lunch! It's amazing how hungry trail riding can make you!!!! :-D

Lunch in a pick-up bed with cowgirl boots...life DOESN'T get better!!!!

Yes you're seeing right...we stood up on our horses and got a picture! :) We also got quite a few good laughs out of Lakota pushing the button on her camera, which was propped up on the lense cap on the ledge of the pick up, and then running to her horse and standing up and smiling JUST in time! It was HILARIOUS!

~Friends Forever~

Friday night after we'd gotten home and eaten a hearty supper to replenish our energy the boys built a humongous bonfire. Then the boys had to lay on their bellies and hold marshmallows out on roasting sticks shielding their faces with their arms because the bonfire was SO HOT! It was pretty funny!

Saturday morning Lakota and I headed for Lincoln and the Nebraska horse Expo...we ended up being SO GLAD we decided to go! We had NO IDEA what a treat we were in for!
At the expo we watched a natural horsemanship trainer from Douglas, Wyoming (Ken Mcnabb) do a session on problem solving with problem horses. We were very impressed with his approach and decided we definitely wanted to be their for his session "The Finished Horse" that afternoon! However we were currently pretty hungry so we headed to Ruby Tuesday to enjoy their awesome salad bar!

Enjoying our lunch and our time together!

One Of Ken's Staff Members Helping Ken In The Round Pen

When we got back to the expo we walked around for a bit trying on some stuff at different vendors and then we headed over to the round pen as Ken Mcnabbs afternoon session was starting. Koda and I both LEARNED SO MUCH from Ken's expertise and horse knowledge! On top of that we ended up finding out that he's a Christian and his wife home schools their two boys...SO COOL! We REALLY liked his approach and decided to purchase some of his DVDS.
When we were looking at the DVD'S this amazing girl (Lizzy) came up to us and started talking to us about what DVD'S would help us the most with where our horses were at. She was super sweet and we ended up finding out that she's a believer to!! She told us a really encouraging story of how God worked in her life to allow her to work on Ken Mcnabb's ranch. It's Koda and my dream now to go to Wyoming someday and participate in Ken's three week apprenticeship program together! :)
We got to talk to Ken too and were super impressed by how personal and knowledgeable he was in answering all our questions! We left super inspired to continue to grow in our horse training skills and the God given talents the Lord has bestowed upon us! It was DEFINITELY A GOD THING that we were at the expo on Saturday!
Yep...it was an amazingly, incredible weekend that I'll never forget!!! I'm SO GRATEFUL that God has put me where He has when He has and that He has put the friends in my life that He has! How sweet is the fellowship of those who know Him! God is good...ALL THE TIME!

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is

For brethren to dwell together in unity!

Psalms 133:1

Highlights From The Weekend:

::Sapphire dropping and rolling on me with NO warning...thankfully I have a pretty speedy emergency dismount and the Lord enabled me to get off ASAP::Doing our devotions together, praying, and crying together Saturday morning::Telling HILARIOUS stories at the supper table Saturday night::Getting to meet Ken Mcnabb and his staff::Showing Koda how to line drive Sapphire::Picture taking::Going for a walk in the sunset Friday night::The bonfire::Drinking coffee and talking in the kitchen Saturday morning::Late night talks in bed sharing our dreams and goals with each other::