The Barrel Jump

I was born when I was very young, and from that day on and before dad was the manager of a Cooperative Community Pasture, running about 1200 head of cattle every summer. The Neeley Lake Coop Pasture was where I got my cowboy training on the job. So because of that I started riding at a very young age. We had to ride every day in the pasture, checking the cattle for sickness and checking fences and so on.

I remember riding with my mom the most, and with dad when he was able. Dad was sick lots those days and so never rode as much as he once did. I had two brothers and four sisters, I remember riding a lot with them as well. My oldest sister was away from home already so I only knew her by her married name and from going to visit at their place. My oldest brother and I rode and did the most things together, more than I did with the girls. But even when my youngest brother came along I even got to ride with him a bit.

Well, I told you all of this to tell you that it was from these experiences together that these following stories derive from. After riding so many miles together and experiencing many adventures together, I figure a fellow should have just a few stories to tell. So the first one is one that I will call...............

THE BARREL JUMP

We were members of a 4-H club and we trained our horses to do different activities in our spare fun time. One of those activities was teaching them to jump over things. One of the things we had them jumping was two 45 gallon drums sitting on the end with a pole across between them. On this particular day my eldest brother Chuck was riding his horse Chub and I was riding old Shorty, Meachy was riding Dusty, Charlie was riding Skip, Marbles was riding Rudy and Bubby was riding on Socks.

We were all having a ball trying to get our horses to jump over all of the different obstacle's we had set up. All of the horses were doing really good on all of the jumps, except for mine, every time I came to the barrel jump he would, instead of jumping it, dodge it and would almost dump me off on my head. This had happened a number of times and I was getting very frustrated with him, finally Chuck said, "Get off the old brute and let me see what I can do with him." After all big brothers could do anything, so he would make him jump it.

So I got off and he got on, and was going to attempt to have Shorty jump over the barrels this time and not around them. Now you have to get the picture here a bit before I go on, my older brother is eight years older than me, he is taller and has longer legs, he is in his twenties and I am not quite a teen yet. Get the picture - long legs, short stirrups. Well, needless to say he didn't take the time to lengthen the stirrups, there he was perched up on Shorty like a jockey, ready for the half mile open and was about to make him jump close to a four foot jump.

Chuck rode out a little ways, back from the barrels and turned his mount around and charged full speed towards the barrel jump. He was fully expecting Shorty to dodge around the jump as he had done with me so many time before. So Chuck now poised and ready was he for the steed to bolt when to his surprise he did not, instead he arose to the challenge and jumped that pole that was in front of him, but Chuck even jumped higher than Shorty did, for as Shorty lunged over the pole, Chuck arose from the saddle and went as high as his little short stirrups would let him go and then came down head first over the head of his mount, Chuck landed and rolled first and then Shorty landed a second later, missing Chuck as he went rolling across the ground out of harms way, away from the pounding hooves of the steed he was riding. You had to be there to see how funny it looked, he was like a large frog being hurled through the air.

I don't think I had ever seen dad laugh so hard, well he laughed so hard that he sat down on the ground and just hooted and hollered and the rest of us joined in. No man or animal was hurt in this altercation, just Chucks pride was hurt a little, but proud of the fact that he did get the old horse to make a successful jump in the end.

I don't remember if I personally ever got that horse to jump over that jump again or not, but I can only imagine that I did because we didn't hardly ever stop trying until we succeeded in what we had started out attempting to do. I also know that I taught a lot more of our horses to jump and had a lot of fun doing it.

A Day In the Life Of A Handyman

The morning actually went pretty good, finished up the tub surround in the trailer I was working at, repaired the step and then started on the toilet and the shower it's self. That's when everything fell apart and nothing worked out, so at the end of the day I had the toilet fixed, I think, and the plumbing all taken apart, ready to start putting the new shower fittings in, but that will have to wait until Monday morning, then it will be a new day and the start of a new week. It will all go better then, I'm sure. But today was a very long day.

I can hardly wait until Wednesday, we are taking a few days off and going to visit our grandchildren in Albert, oh yeah, our daugher and son-in-law live there too, I guess we will visit with them too. lol, I am looking forward to seeing all of them, and to a change of pace and hopefully a little bit of a rest.

Our reno's here at home have slowed to a snails pace, another couple of evenings and I should have the first half of the baseboards on. Then to cut and fit the last half, then a second coat of paint and finally the last and final fitting with touch up painting to make the project complete. Maybe by the end of June we will be almost back to normal around our house.

Anyhow it has been an interesting day.
Hey, invite a friend to church and just see what might happen. I did and he has now been there two Sundays in a row. "Our God is an awesome God." Come on now sing it. I can just hear you now, you have it stuck in your head and you will be singing for the next couple of days.

KO by a Friend

May 31, 2009

I came over a hill along the road and walking along the side of the road was a man. He was carrying two hockey sticks and a backpack. He was hoping for a ride, so as I often do when I am traveling alone I stopped, and pick him up as I have done with many other young men over the years. It wasn't long before I found that this young fellow was hurting from the paths he had chosen in his life. He had been KO by a friend at a nightclub the night before, in a town where they had been playing a floor hockey tournament, so because of that fight he'd had enough and decided to walk home. This was the plan the Lord had in mind for him that day. So Him and I would have a chance to meet.

Sunday morning and I am on my way to a nearby town to preach that bright sunny Sunday morning. God knew I would still make it to the Church in time, even if I did stop to help this young man along the way. I found that he wanted to talk and ask questions about life. He said, "I am at a fork in the road and I have to make a choice, either I go the way of my ancestors or I go God's way."

His question basically was this, how can I be Scottish (or what ever race/nation you want to put in there) and Christian at the same time? If I follow God, will I have to give up who I am as a person? My answer was absolutely not, you may have to let go of some of the things you do, and your friends will likely change some what, but God only wants you to be able to find out who you truly are. He wants to make you better, and stronger as a person. God has a plan for your life, it is our job to walk in it. This begins by having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

He struggled with life and all of the obstacles his enemy the devil places in his path. How do I say no to the devil? Just pray, when you know he is tempting you, pray harder. The devil can't stand it when we ask Jesus to come into our situation, for he cannot stand to be in the presence of Jesus. Then Jesus will give us the strength to say no, because as a child of the King you have access to the throne of God.

My question to this young man and to you, are you at a cross roads in your life? Then pray, read God's word and seek Him, and He will help you chose the right path for your life. He will never leave you nor forsake you, He will always be by your side. All you need to do is reach out to Him.

Lord, Forgive Me When I Whine

My daughter wrote about being thankful for the freedom she has here in Canada, but also the freedom she has to make good choices that will help others and ourselves. As I read her blog, it reminded me of the above title. So below is the article that follows it. With personal thoughts of mine inserted.

Today, upon the bus I saw a lovely girl with golden hair, I envied her, she seemed so happy. When she rose to leave, I saw her hobble down the aisle. She had one leg, and used a crutch. But as she passed, she smiled. Oh, my God, forgive me when I whine. I have two legs. The world is mine.

{Lord, I want to thank you, that I can still go for walks with my wife, and with my grandchildren romp and play. Oh yes, and I still can put in a full days work and get a full days pay. Yes, Lord with this author I must say, Please forgive me when I whine. For indeed the world is mine.}

I stopped to buy some candy. The lad who sold it had such charm. I talked with him. He seemed so glad. As I left, he said to me: "I thank you. You have been so kind. It's nice to talk with folk like you. You see," he said, "I'm blind." Oh, God, forgive me when I whine, I have two eyes. The world is mine.

{Lord, I want to thank you for my two good eyes. Your beauty to behold. The scenery that I have seen through out the years, has taken my breath away at times and those memories I have forever more. I have the privilege of seeing the smiles on children's faces as they play, oh to see that joy is really something to behold. Yes, Lord please forgive me when I whine. For I know that the world is mine.}

Later, while walking down the street, I saw a child with eyes of blue. He stood and watched the others play. I stopped a moment, then I said, "Why don't you join the others, Dear?" He looked ahead without a word, and then I knew he couldn't hear. Oh God, forgive me when I whine, I have two ears. The world is mine.

{Lord, I want to thank you for two good ears. For each day that I awake, I can hear the birds singing in the trees or hear the honking of the geese over head. To hear the wind in the trees and to hear the water lap upon the shore. To hear the children's laughter as the play with me, and hear them say, "Grandpa, will you come and play?" Lord, forgive me when I whine. The world is mine.}

With feet to take me where I want to go, with eyes to see the sunset glow, with ears to hear what I would know .... Oh, God, forgive me when I whine. I'm blessed indeed. The world is mine.

{With my feet to take me, my eyes to guide me, and my ears to listen with, I have much to be thankful for. Lord thank you for your many blessing, and forgive me when I whine. I am blessed indeed and the world is mine. All I have to do is step forward and receive it.}

All of the inserts are written by Peter C. Salmond

Striving

"This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance (and for this we labor and strive), that we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe." (1 Tim. 4: 9-10)

I have always enjoyed and loved spring, it is a time of growth and renewal, it's a time of new life and hope. My wife and I often go for walks together along an asphalt path along the North Saskatchewan River, the path starts just a block from our house, at times we have seen these little trees pushing up through the asphalt and reaching up to the sun. Those delicate little plants showed amazing power as they pushed past the heavy weight of the dirt and tar that stood in the way as they came out to greet the sun shinning down from up above.

All through the 20 years of working with children in Bible Camps in the Yukon and in Saskatchewan, I have seen children who have managed to survive and even thrive despite the very difficult home life they came from. Alcohol, drugs, physical and sexual abuse and poverty due to gambling and so on, who are now dedicated Christians, because Christians who cared have planted their love into these little hearts, and they in turn have responded to the gospel of Jesus Christ. These children are those who have strived to reach out for God's love, and now they in turn are giving that same love to their own people and to everyone they meet. I pray often that I, as a father, gave my children the desire to always want to reach out to God and His love, at all times not just in the tough times. My deep desire is to see this message of hope passed on to my grandchildren and on and on for many generations or until Christ returns.

My desire is to renew myself spiritually each day, that my character will manifest strength to overcome the forces that get in my way of growing into the light of God's gracious love.

At times I have fallen and made many mistakes, but each time I turn back to Him in repentance, I am graciously forgiven. I serve an amazing God.

My Ramblings For Today

Blower You Scat
Ever get a swat in the back end with a big paddle and lived to tell about? Well let me tell you about someone who did, Blower. As you may of guessed already, Blower is a cat. He was in quite a tough and tight spot one day. Yet all he was doing was looking for a bite to eat. This story dates back to the last days of the threshing machine days. So before they started threshing that warm fall day, dad started the thresher up to get it all cleaned out, and limbered up and wouldn't you know it old Blower was inside that machine somewhere, and as the old thresher jumped into gear and started to wind up, one of the big old blower fan paddles must of caught that cat a wicked slap on the back end with quite a whack, for what we saw next was a pretty funny sight. We saw a fur ball come flying out of the blower where the old rotten straw from last year was coming out. Well old Blower must have gotten quite a swat, because he came out of there with all four legs spread out like a flying squirrel and his tail was almost as big as his body. You know the saying, "a cat always lands on his feet" well he hit the ground on his feet all right, and he hit the ground running, well he made a beeline for the barn at 110 miles an hour, he was the fastest ball of fur I ever did see. And from that day on he was always known as Blower.

Without A Song

Those who want to sing, will always have a song in their heart, therefore as they sing, their praise will spring forth from the heart and it will be genuine and true. For whatever flows forth from the mouth finds its origin in the heart. Just some things that I heard this weekend that really hit home. Our words can either hurt or heal.