Horseback Riding

SO today I am going to my friend Lisa's farm and we are going to ride her horses. I am PUMPED. When I was younger I used to BEG my mom for a horse. We had a lot of land at our house in Minnesota...and ALL of our neighbors had horses. As much as I begged, I realistically knew that it probably wouldn't happen. When we moved to Calgary, me and my friend Jessica took English riding lessons out by Okotokes. It was EXCITING. We learned how to groom the horses, feed them, and put of their saddle/bridle/bit...the whole works. During the lessons we learned to trot, gallop and canter...and even go over small jumps and stand up on our horses. It was freeing and exhilarating. For some reason, after that one year of lessons we stopped going and since then the only riding I've done is western riding in the mountains and in Belize during our leadership missions trip. THAT ride was crazy. It was the first time I had been on a horse in a river...they swim AWESOMELY...but you completely lose all control and feel like you're going to fall off into the water. I've realized that riding horses is all about trust. You have to trust that the horse isn't going to scare and shake you off... or stumble and fall. Riding down narrow, rocky cliffs in the mountains can be TERRIFYING but if you worry about that then the ride isn't going to be enjoyable.

God desires that same kind of trust from us. When we're walking on the edge and all we see is potential danger, the fear can be overwhelming. God doesn't want us to live a life of fear, but one where we aren't afraid to go out on a limb and trust that he'll take care of us.

Psalm 28:77 ,"The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song." When life gets hard and we depend on our own strength or even the strength of others....we will be disapointed. When my heart trusts in God....that's when I know....that whatever happens, I can fall back on Him and He wont stumble and fall.

First blog :)

Wow, I have never had a blog before. This is prettttty cool, not gonna lie :) I have ABSOLUTELY loved writing since I was ten years old. Back in the day, me and my best friend Jessica would hangout at recess and write stories. I would write and she would draw the pictures.... we were a great team:)

Anyways, writing stories and journalling have always been some of my huge passions, SO for me, this blog is going to be a whole lot of fun! I don't know what it is about writing, but it can be so relaxing and SO incredibly freeing. When I have a lot on my mind, the most relaxing thing to do is write it all down. EVERYTHING. I think I have about 25-30 journals since the time I was 13. It's amazing when I look back in them and see how much I have grown and how much my life has changed since then. The things that stressed me out when I was 14 are laughable issues now...and I know that the issues I have today are going to be no big deal when I'm 30.

I encourage everyone to have a journal of some sort...whether it be a "Dear Diary" type thing...or a prayer diary to God. It's AMAZING to look back and see HOW much God has blessed my life, and how He has been working.... when at the time I sure didn't realize or appreciate it.

I think one of my biggest problems is over analyzing situations and worrying about things that are out of my control. Why do we do that?? Why do we take everything and make it such a big deal?? It's SO not worth it. One of my favorite verses is : "In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps” (Prov. 16:9, NIV) We always have this NEED to be in control of our life and to plan it out according to what we WANT. But at the end of the day, God is the one who makes our path firm, and He determines where we go. If I woke up every morning confident that no matter what went on that day, God would be helping me and guiding me along the way....I'm sure the silly worries I had wouldn't seem as big or scary. It's harder said than done to give everything to God....but from what I've experienced in the past, it is worth it 100%. Nothing is to big for God.