Tag: Gods plan

Letting fear control you!

Facing fear is truly scary but the reward to overcoming fear is much greater!

I’m probably not the first to tell you how hard it is to overcome your fear. The biggest struggle for anyone is the mental game.

Facing fear is truly scary but the reward to overcoming fear is much greater!

With my wreck getting back to riding horses has been a challenge. So many emotions going through my head: fear of winning, fear of failure, fear of injuries to my hip again, fear of driving. All have their own reasonings but still too much fear can cripple your dreams!

Yes I put fear of winning- sometimes when people win it changes them. They lose sight on their journey and who they are as a person, it becomes about the glory. I am a very humble person and I dont ever want to lose where I came from. I don’t want to lose the precious moments with my kids and husband.

Fear of failure is a huge one for a lot of people and honestly not high on my list. But my reason is I don’t want to let my family down if I don’t win. I do want them to be proud of me and let my kids know it’s okay to dream big! If I take a leap of faith and just focus on one thing and it doesn’t work, I don’t want my family to suffer for it.

Same goes for fear of re-injury. That surgery was brutal & if I get hurt again that would mean another surgery. I don’t know if I really want to put my family through that again. So I have become overly cautious and with that I have lost some of my confidence.

The fear of driving is simple- I was injured driving so this is my greatest fear. If I get to riding good I will have to go places with my horse. Then I would be responsible for his life as well when driving and that is scary! I know it seems so easy and some will think it’s crazy. But this is my biggest hold up is the driving.

Now how must one overcome your fears you may ask? Baby steps- one step at a time and always keep moving forward! Figure out what you are fearful of and conquer your fear!

What are you afraid of? Start out small, for example loping a horse. Go in a small pen, after you are comfortable walking trot a few strides then return to walking. Do this til you are comfortable and extend the trotting time each time til you are trotting circles confident and comfortable. Then do the same for loping. This method can be used for anything.

See the biggest thing about fear is it is a liar! It tries to keep you from attaining your dreams and goals. Every small step is honestly a giant leap!

The devil will try to tell you that you can’t but God will give you the power to prove you can! When you are about to do something scary and those voices are telling you to be afraid and you can’t do it- Don’t Listen! Tell those doubting voices that your God is greater- your passion is greater- your purpose is greater!

You can overcome fear- you can accomplish your dreams!

“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”  Philippians 4:13

No matter what we face in life, are struggles are no less important than others. It’s our attitude and actions that truly mean something.

When we get sucked into the judgement of ourselves and others, you will never reach the top. I love this quote:

Put yourself in their shoes but don’t live in them.” Author Unknown

Try to putting yourself in others shoes. As we all struggle with our own battles, health, mental, or maybe financial. Our obstacles that seem like mountains, may be hills to others. But it doesn’t make them any less treacherous.

If someone is rude, that doesn’t make them a bad person. They may have hit their limit on trials and need some positivity.

The impatient mom you see at the grocery store with the kid in the cart, she tried to plan her trip before her kid gets grumpy from needed a nap. she is also running off less than two hours of sleep as her child is teething. She doesn’t get much help from the father either.

The person whose lights are flashing and right at your tailgate to pass you then speed by, may have got a call from the hospital their loved one took a turn for the worst. They are just trying to get there to say goodbye.

The tractor driver in front of you when you are in a hurry, is not wanting to hold you up. They are just trying to get work done to provide for their family and livestock before the weather turns bad.

The person who parks in the handicap spot and doesn’t have any noticeable disabilities; was in a car wreck and messed up their lower back to where it is extremely painful to walk. But there are tired of having to depend on others.

The person driving a brand new truck and trailer, you assume their life is so easy. Yet they put in a lot of time at work, sacrificing time with family, & friends. Or maybe they were in a car wreck and after paying off the hospital bills, decided to do something nice for their family to put up with them during their suffering. They still have struggles as well and are humans too.

See most of our trials are not visible to others. Think about yours? So if we judge people just by the way they look, what they drive, or how they act really doesn’t do anyone justice.

The second part, don’t live in their shoes! Too many people now days want to judge others by their accomplishments, looks, or material things. When they should be focusing on how to better themselves, and help others.

You see if you try to live in someone else’s shoes, you will never find your true purpose.

I thought I always had to win championships and be at the top in order for people to hear what I have to say when it comes to how God has helped me. I love God and what he has done for me and still does for me.

But what is not was not what God wanted. He stopped me in my tracks and showed me so many other things.

I now have seen all sides, from being a nurse for the dying and living; mother, wife, leader, worker, patient. I have faced and still facing the road to recovery from injury, chronic pain, depression at times, other health issues, kids health issues, and financial issues. But God has never once gave up on me! He won’t give up on you either!

He showed me no matter WHO you are or what you have done, your testimony matters. We are each called for a purpose in this life and the only way to achieve that is by moving forward and letting go.

Let go of the negativity towards others. If someone is rude or having a rough time pray for them. You don’t have to physically go up to the person but sometimes that can open doors you wouldn’t dream of.

See I know God loves me. He has spared my life more than I can count. He’s taught me patience, compassion, honesty, & integrity.

I am still human and make mistakes. But I try to see the good in people and focus on the positive. I still don’t know where I am going in life, but I do know, I am right where I am supposed to be at today.

So instead of being another problem, be a solution. Be an example to others by not judging! Try to see things from their perspective.

You know the saying the grass always looks greener on the other side? Well sometimes it may look that way but honestly it’s the same grass you have, they just handle things a little different.

Such a Time as This

This a tribute to an amazing person who is now in heaven rejoicing and singing praises. We lost a truly amazing person May 3, 2019. She was a warrior, child of Christ, mother, fighter, and so much more!

She was the kind of person that Even though she went through a major fight with cancer and the devil; she never complained. She always had a beautiful smile on her face and put others first. She always took the time to help others in need.

There were times when quitting seemed easier with some of the things I went through but she inspired me, along with many others, to be a better person & always keep going. She had a heart of gold. I just can not say enough good about her.

I struggled a few times and she always knew what to say. Some of her key phrases I remember her telling me is:

Winning: If you are out there trying you may not win the gold buckle but you will be winning. Never giving up will pay off if you keep trying. Winning is not letting the devil take your faith away! Winning is overcoming fear and conquering your demons. Winning is the baby steps you take on your way to greatness.

I was struggling with things after my wreck and not riding horses yet; and at the time she wasn’t riding horses either. She sent me this message and it gave me hope. She never waivered in her faith and was truly inspirational!

The last thing I got was a text from her, as even in her toughest times she still sent out a positive texts on Fridays.

“If you don’t value yourself, don’t expect anyone else to value you. Be the best you God intended you to be and not who the devil hoped you were.” Rpotter

She loved helping others and loved showing what Faith can do. I know many people said at her celebration of life, how she didn’t want anyone to know how sick she truly was. She did it because she didn’t want anyone to lose faith.

I was struggling with sleep and kept having nightmares for almost a month. Then one night, I had a dream with her in it. I sent this to her the next day but never got to tell her the details of the Dream.

“I had a dream about you last night. It was strange. You were at my house and we were talking about life and God. It was actually a very peaceful dream. Which I haven’t been having lately. I really can’t describe it. ”

See in this dream it felt so real, like she was right there. We talked about our kids, husbands, and everything else good going on with our lives. We talked about how God puts people in our lives for certain times, just like Esther. We talked how he protects us and in the end we will be surrounded by a peaceful fog with a huge glorious light shining through from above and we would be lifted up by the hand of God to the golden gates of Heaven.

This dream brought me so much peace and not even sure how it came about.

I will never be able to thank her enough or her family enough for supporting her while she followed Gods dreams for her. She was an amazing person and I just hope I’m at least 1/2 that good of a person. I’ll miss her Sunday morning services before barrel racing, her mentorship, her positive texts, her unbelievable prayers, her faith, her compassion, and most of all her heart. She absolutely loved her family and was so proud of them. Never once did I hear her say anything negative. She will truly be missed but I know I will see her again.

So in honor of her, think positive, be positive, show others positivity; but most of all HAVE FAITH and NEVER GIVE UP! Your problems are all in God’s hands so give it to him and focus on what God wants you to do with your life. As Roxy would say the battle was already won, you just focus on God and doing the right thing and let God handle your problems. Because YOU, YES You, were made for such a time as this!

Four wheeling-Get out of life’s ruts!

We have the power to control our lives as God gave us the power to choose. He also gave us the tools to become greater than we are today! Many of us, don’t ever reach our destiny as we stay in the same ruts.

Just like four wheeling, if you keep driving down the same ruts, they will just keep getting deeper. If we keep going down the same path, it only gets harder to get out.

Now I’m not saying it is impossible, as with God anything is possible. But it is easier at times to stay in those ruts as we already know what to expect.

Now imagine going down those ruts, and you start climbing up, just to slide back down. To some it’s scary as they feel like anytime they start getting somewhere, something happens and they slide back down. At that point you have a choice.

One of your choices are to stay in that rut and give up trying. This will lead to despair, regret, anger, and depression. Many people feel they are too weak to go on, or it’s pointless. I’ve been down this road a few times, and it is easy to get sucked back down. I had one person tell me once, if you think you are beaten, then you are. Part of overcoming obstacles is our outlook. Which leads to the other choice and that is to try again!

If you keep struggling and not getting the outcome you want, STOP! Take a step back, and think of what you truly want. The people who are experienced at four wheeling, usually know what to do in situations. Do you know why that is?

They have experienced it, or have learned from someone else who has. They know how to get out of those ruts that suck you down. They don’t go in the mud hole thinking they will fail. They go in with confidence that they will prevail!

For any trial we go through, we should do the same. Face it knowing that we have an amazing God who has the power to perform miracles! I always say this and will say it again: For one negative, think of at least 3 positives.

It’s hard at first, but I promise it makes a difference. I was in a few ruts and didn’t know how to get out. I thought I was stuck and no matter what I couldn’t get out. Then I got stronger, spiritually and mentally. I overcame those obstacles.

I won’t lie and say it’s easy now, as you will always have battles you are faced with. If you seek God, the devil will try to put you in deep ruts, sometimes some that you don’t think is possible to get out of! That is just life unfortunately. What you can control is how you respond to these obstacles.

God has gave us the tools we need to become greater. He’s given us the power to overcome as well as free will to choose. It is on us to figure out if we are going to choose the path meant for us or the path that leads to nowhere. For if we choose God, the end of our road leads to glory, to me that is worth all the struggles!

Take the first step

If you want anything in life, you must work for it. Life is definitely not easy and it is full of trials. These trials are what helps us become who we are. Just as long as we remember that God gives us choices.

If we lose sight on what is good, we may lose sight of who we really are meant to become. But if we keep our eyes on God and the positives, we will continue to grow! Our growth will know no limits, and take us to heights we never dreamed of. The only thing it takes is for us to take the first step!

To be completely honest, I’ve struggled on finding on who I am meant to be. I thought I had it all figured out til my wreck. I was really good the first year, as I wanted to get better, to barrel race again. I had all the motivation and desire, but the pain was too much.

I couldn’t sit for 30 minutes or stand for 10 minutes. I knew that surgery was my next option. I was scared but knew if I wanted to do things I did before, I had to do it.

Surgery was brutal, not only on myself but for my husband and kids. I realized that I wanted to be there for them for the future. So I started babying myself.

Now I did my exercises and worked out and as long as I was doing that my pain with my back was good. So I decided to not fix my back. My hip was sore but nothing like before.

I did that for awhile and finally got back on a horse at my moms. I cried of course, (happy tears) but when I got home I didn’t have a horse to ride. I kept pushing myself to get stronger til my daughter got sick.

She had a blood infection from chigger bites and scared me. I was off work for a week and I let myself stop working out. It took a little while to get her back to where I wasn’t watching her constantly as she had flair ups. Ever since then it has been hard to get back into it.

I had developed a fear of doing things that I used to have so much confidence in the past. But the first step is realizing this. The first step is always the hardest and no matter what anyone says, it is possible!

So I have taken the first step again. This is and will always be an ongoing battle, but I am willing to keep praying and moving forward. I know God has plans for me and he is not done yet.

I am going to get back into exercising every day and working on overcoming fears I have obtained while on this journey. I know life is too short to not be happy. Life is also too short to my love your dreams!

I have a wonderful life and truly blessed right now, but I know God has bigger plans for me. For that I will take my first steps, to greatness! Each step may not be easy but at least it is forward motion!

NFR GOALS

I’ve been blessed to meet and spend some time with a lot of the girls that are going to the NFR this year. They are truly amazing.

I have to say before everybody starts in on their couch jockeying, I want to ask you guys if you guys have ever heard of the verse, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her”? Now I know the lady in the Bible did less than desirable things, but haven’t we all made mistakes? It is not our job to point out others faults.

These girls have worked their butts off! They have made it through blood, sweat, and tears. They have endured mental and physical exhaustion, pain, loss of loved ones, and broken bones just to be able to do what they love, what God called them for. See we’re all unique, each and everyone of us. We are all bound for greatness if we just trust God and follow his path. The girls I have met, their faith is strong and they honestly love to encourage others. They don’t like to tear people down, they work together although they’re competing for the same prize. They would love to get that gold buckle, but to get to heaven is so much more rewarding. They have put in miles upon miles, they have missed family gatherings, birthdays, loved ones. They have always tried to keep a smile on their face even in times of trouble because others are watching them.

What you don’t see is all the hard work that it takes to get where they are behind closed doors. So before you pass judgment realize that no one is perfect, every single person on this earth makes mistakes. I challenge each and every couch jockey out there that thinks that they can do such a better job riding these horses in that arena. I challenge you to get off your butt and do it. Sitting there is not going to accomplish anything, sitting there complaining is not going to make yourself feel better, sitting there will prevent you from accomplishing what God wants you to do. So instead of being that person who says the girl riding should’ve done this or she should’ve done that, or I could ride that horse better, STOP! I challenge you to start thinking of the positives. I guarantee that each one of those ladies that made it to the NFR don’t criticize others. They know that everybody starts at the bottom and has to work their way up to the top. They have a huge passion for the rodeo and to make the sport better not worse they encourage others and cheer each other on. They are not happy when someone has a bad run. They know at the end of the day gold buckles are just buckles, and true championships is not won here on earth. The true goal is to get to heaven, so instead of criticizing these girls performances, be a light! They are under so much stress and it’s not all fun going to Vegas, it’s a lot of hard work, it’s grueling and they don’t get sleep. They could definitely use some encouraging words during this time but if you’re still adamant that you can do better than any of these girls then what I challenge you is to get off your butt and do it because actions speak a whole lot more than words, talking is overrated.

Never Give up on what you love

“In the day when I cried out, You answered me, and made me bold with strength in my soul.” Psalm 138:3

This was when I was 7 months post op. I am now officially one year post op.

This is a long post.

I won’t lie, after you get hurt sometimes it is hard to get back on or do things you used to do again. Not because you are scared of riding again, but just scared of the unknown and if it will be okay, what the new normal will be, or if the surgery(surgeries) worked. I was nervous today.

But this is what I have been waiting on! I have not barrel raced since September 2016 and it’s been a LONG journey! I know I still have a long journey ahead. But things that are your dreams are worth the rough roads to get there.

My left hip did good, my other hip is a little sore, but with the surgery I compensated by putting more pressure on the right hip.

Sorry I cried, honestly didn’t think my husband was videotaping. But I do want to tell everyone that no matter what you are going through or faced with, if you want something bad enough, never give up! Life is too short to live with regrets. You should never say I can’t, and always say I will. If you are struggling, God will get you through it all. If it wasn’t for the good Lord, I would have gave up a long time ago. He gives me strength to keep going.

I’ve had setbacks, and breakdowns. I just don’t let myself stay there. So if you are going through a tough time, there is hope. You just have to have Faith! Don’t ever give up! If you want something bad enough you will get there if you keep moving forward. It may not be the way you want it to be, but that doesn’t mean you can’t do what you love. You will have setbacks. Just remember those setbacks teach you something and make you stronger! On your journey think of at least one positive in each situation. Remember God has a plan for each one of us and a destiny we could not even imagine. So stay strong and keep focused on what is important.

So for those that don’t know my story, I was in a car accident in 2016. I’m 7 months post op from hip surgery. I sold all my riding horses since the accident so I wouldn’t be tempted before I was able to again. But the doctor recently told me I can SLOWLY start easing into it as tolerated. I was on a horse a few weeks ago, for a few minutes, but really didn’t get to ride. So I took advantage at my moms house. This is the first time I got to actually ride since I sold my little yellow horse last year. (I rode him about 3-4 times for about 15 minutes after I had my injection just around the house.) Then I sold him so I wouldn’t ride and hurt myself before I was meant to ride. I told some it was because I needed a free runner, but really it was God knowing how long of a road I would be on. I prayed long and hard about that as it was a very hard decision. So I am now back to square one again, I still have pain, but not constant. I have flare ups and I’m not 100% but I’m working on it. Keep having faith!

#thinkpositive #nevergiveup #staystrong #Godwillprovide #rundevilrun #roadtorecovery #nomorecrutches #ridinghorses #faithoverfear #overcomer #winning #Godwillmovemountains #fearisaliar