Houston, Really Why Would Anyone Live and Work Here?

Hub bub...truly, either that or "rat race" that is what I would say about Houston.  Add concrete, pavement and tall buildings and there is just not much else.  OK, I'm from west Texas where all you can see are dirt, dust, and tumbleweeds right now and here you can't even see dirt or grass.  You couldn't find the sunset or the sunrise or even know which direction to look to find it.  Oh, and I forgot to mention, cars...cars everywhere and parking lots on the ground and in the air.  You have to park in the air because there is no land to park on, it's covered with streets, highways and traffic lights.  And people, did I mention people?  There in the cars, walking the streets filling up all the buildings.  The city is just not the place for me.  Ok, while some days I'm cussing the dust and the wind, give me clear skies, limited street lights, dogs barking and kids on bikes any day.  Midland, I miss you!

Encourage one another!

Wildlife in the City Life

Ok, here is a weird thing.  Yesterday afternoon I'm sitting at my computer on the third floor of my office building.  It sits in front of a window.  It was almost 5 pm and I often look out that window as I sit.  There are several buildings outside my window and I see mostly rooftops.  On the roof top, of the 15 foot high building across the street yesterday afternoon was a gray fox strolling along.  There was NO doubt it was a fox, fluffy tail and perky ears.  He was much bigger than a cat and truthfully was nothing like a cat.  I have seen foxes in town before, once running down the street actually right next to this building.  But that was months ago.  I also one in the cemetery once.  She was sun bathing. This one was ambling along from one A/C housing unit across to another one.  I was in shock.  I grabbed my prescription sunglasses so I could see him better and my camera phone.  I was ready for the photo but the fox did not come out from behind the A/C box on top of the building.  In fact, I think he went INTO the A/C. There is no one housed in the office part of that building.   I watched for the fox for another 45 minutes…nothing.  As I looked all around that building, the ONLY way that fox could have gotten up there was to climb a tree.  Do foxclimb trees?  Then he would have to have jumped from small branches of the tree onto the roof.  And they are oak trees at least 12 inches or more in circumference.  And on top of that, WHY would he want to go on top of that building?  Why would a fox be on top of a 15 foot tall building?  Does he have a den in that A/C housing?  Can he get down into the office space?  Is he a SHE?  I started to call someone else housed in that building and tell them about it.  Then I decided to just keep quiet.  I'll just keep watching and see what happens.  So stay tuned.  I mean what if I get to see that fox again?  I'll have my camera phone ready next time.  What if the fox is up there again this afternoon?  What if she does have a den and has pups?  So oh no, I'll never tell on the fox.  It'll be our secret.  Well, I did post it on Facebook!  Does that count?

Encourage one another

Wildlife in the City Life

Ok, here is a weird thing.  Yesterday afternoon I'm sitting at my computer on the third floor of my office building.  It sits in front of a window.  It was almost 5 pm and I often look out that window as I sit.  There are several buildings outside my window and I see mostly rooftops.  On the roof top, of the 15 foot high building across the street yesterday afternoon was a gray fox strolling along.  There was NO doubt it was a fox, fluffy tail and perky ears.  He was much bigger than a cat and truthfully was nothing like a cat.  I have seen foxes in town before, once running down the street actually right next to this building.  But that was months ago.  I also one in the cemetery once.  She was sun bathing. This one was ambling along from one A/C housing unit across to another one.  I was in shock.  I grabbed my prescription sunglasses so I could see him better and my camera phone.  I was ready for the photo but the fox did not come out from behind the A/C box on top of the building.  In fact, I think he went INTO the A/C. There is no one housed in the office part of that building.   I watched for the fox for another 45 minutes…nothing.  As I looked all around that building, the ONLY way that fox could have gotten up there was to climb a tree.  Do foxclimb trees?  Then he would have to have jumped from small branches of the tree onto the roof.  And they are oak trees at least 12 inches or more in circumference.  And on top of that, WHY would he want to go on top of that building?  Why would a fox be on top of a 15 foot tall building?  Does he have a den in that A/C housing?  Can he get down into the office space?  Is he a SHE?  I started to call someone else housed in that building and tell them about it.  Then I decided to just keep quiet.  I'll just keep watching and see what happens.  So stay tuned.  I mean what if I get to see that fox again?  I'll have my camera phone ready next time.  What if the fox is up there again this afternoon?  What if she does have a den and has pups?  So oh no, I'll never tell on the fox.  It'll be our secret.  Well, I did post it on Facebook!  Does that count?

Encourage one another

Friendship

Friendship, it's an amazing thing.  I have this friend.  We pray together.  I have not had a friend to pray with in a long time.  I can't remember when to tell you the truth.  I'll call her up when I'm in a dilemma and tell her my story.  And then she will say "can I pray for you"or "would you like me to pray for you?".  I love that.  I love her.  She is a mentor to me.  Tonight she called me.  She and I are both going through somewhat of dilemma right now.  It's about should we follow our heart or should we follow God.  Ok, really, is that even a question?  That in itself shows our selfishness, our wanting it our way instead of God's way.  We know what He wants us to do.  We know what we need to do.  Now we need the courage and strength to do it His way, to walk the path He has laid out for us.  It's the harder way...or so it seems to us.  However, I bet in the long run we look back and see that His way was THE way after all.  Tonight she prayed for both of us.  Amen!

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On Taking Risks

Life cannot be about fear.  It can't be about not taking a step forward simple because your afraid of the outcome.  You'll never get anywhere that way.  We just don't know what's going to happen further down the road.  There are no crystal balls.  There are no fortune tellers.  It's all about trusting that fact that your life is set out before you before you are born.  It's all about "the plan" that's promised to us.  It's all about trust and faith and a willingness to follow...not lead.  It's about asking and listening.  So yeah, truth is, in taking risks you might get hurt.  In taking risks you might fail.  You might have to start over.  In taking risks you might make a mistake.  But it's also about the fact that you might be right.  You might end up happier than you've ever been.  You might end up in the right place at the right time.  You might be dancing on the ceiling by the end of the day.  So listen up cause when He asks you to step out of the boat...you better be ready.

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Can I Just Say a Word?

About sisters....  If you don't have one, you don't know what you are missing.  But you are missing a lot.   Your missing the closest blood relative you can ever have.  Your missing an opportunity for a best friend.  Your missing an opportunity to have someone support you and love you no matter what.  That's what I've got.  A best friend who loves me no matter what.  She offers before I ask.  She knows before I do. She remembers something in your history when you don't.  She blesses me with her love all the time.  She's just there.  Once you lose your parents, she becomes your life line...what connects you to the rest of the world.  She connects you to your past.  She's a reason you are here.  I wouldn't trade mine for all the money in China or anywhere else for that matter.  She calls me "Sissy".  I call her "Sissy".  I just love her, with all my heart.

Encourage one another!

He's a Loner but He's Lonely

Horses are independent.  On the other hand they are a herd animal.  So where does the "twain" meet after all.  He has some friends who are neighbors.  They sniff and bite and paw and carry on with each other across the fence.  They pace with each other.  They nicker at long distances.  They can recognize each other a half a mile away.  When you get him by himself though, he wants to be the boss, el patron, numero uno, the cat's meow.  He wants to be the alpha.  But wait.  I'm the human.  I'm the alpha.  I have to be in charge.  I have to be in control.  Otherwise the place is amuck, crazy, wild and insane.  Even though he is tons (literally) bigger than me, I have to be the respected one.  Otherwise somebody could get hurt.  And that somebody is me.  Generally he settles down and takes his place.  And both of us are happy.

Cowboyin' Stories

I found a copy of this letter sent to a friend a couple of years ago.  I thought it was worth sharing.

"This morning I saw the title and preface to an article in a magazine that caught my attention.  The title was “Big Brandings”.  The preface said that due to the drought, economy and various other things, these “big brandings” are becoming a thing of the past.  The article, though not very good in my opinion, talked about calf brandings involving family, neighbors, everyone’s roles, etc.  There was not that much detail or many personal stories shared in this short article.  It started me to thinking.  Generally when someone older dies you start to think about your own mortality; you begin to think of all the things you meant to ask them and didn’t and of all the stories they told you about that you wish were written down.  I know you told me your dad shared a lot of stories and information from the past with you within the last couple of years.  I think it would be a great idea for you to be the historian of those stories, for you to write them down.  You have a great memory for things like that and a great interest in your heritage and history.  You have told me lots of stories about the ranch that you were told.  You have great “cattle working" and ranch stories of your own that would make for great sharing.  Stories of miraculous feats you completed yourself horseback; things you accomplished with help; horses in your back yard and on the ranch and their stories; ear notches and brands; crazy hog hunting stories done horseback, in jeeps, and trucks, from finding hogs in cars to bleeding, slashed and almost dying dogs (Dan); contests from bow and arrows to black powder rifles to include shooting birds with rifles; sizes of deer from somebody’s first spike deer to largest deer seen or shot; your “cowboys” and cattle workin’s and the fun and history they have brought to the ranch; all this needs to be shared.  All of this is part of what makes you and your children love the ranch so much.  With the ranch’s continued existence being in the limelight and fear of its loss being possibly imminent, this information seems even more critical.  This family’s legacy is at stake.  You know when the folks who know the history are gone, the history is lost. Your children, your grandchildren and their children need to know their heritage.  Who from Texas would not want to know that they come from “cowboys”?  You know, it’s almost like an ethnicity or a race…..Anglo, Hispanic, African American, Asian and “Cowboy”.   I hope you will consider your multitude of knowledge about this a gift and be willing to share it on paper.  I know you hate typing and the thought of this may be a little overwhelming.  You could talk into a tape recorder, perhaps while your driving or dictate it to someone.  Your daughter or I could type it out, write it out, help you edit it.  You could do it on your own or with the help of someone else if you wanted.  What a great gift this would be to give to your children, their children and all the children beyond. 

I think the family legacy is worth telling, and writing it in a book keeps the history alive.

You may think this is a crazy idea…or want no part of it.  It was just an overwhelming thought that came to me this morning and I had to send it to you.  The ranch was always more important to me than you will ever know, for reasons you may never understand.  Perhaps it made me feel a part of that legacy too.  Regardless of what you decide, it will always hold fond memories for me and I will have a few stories of my own to tell.  Let me know what you think.”   So far, no stories have been written.

Do you have family stories to tell?  We all do.  Maybe you should think about documenting yours.

"It's the way you ride the trail that counts." Dale Evans

I knew Dale Evans was fabulous and I knew I admired her, but I didn't know how much until today when I read part of a book her daughter Cheryl wrote about her.  It was sort of like how I found out just how fabulous my mother was.  It's unfortunate that I really didn't know how fabulous my mom was until I was sitting at her funeral.  As the church filled to capacity on a weekday and they read her obituary and the pastor and my cousin talked about her life and her giving spirit, I knew I was born to a legacy…there will be no one else like her.  What she did for others was incomparable, to me anyway.  I know why she loved God and I now know why she liked Dale so much.  What you don't know is that I was named after Dale's daughter, Robin.  Dale and Robin touched the heart of my mother.  Both my mother and Dale were devote and loving Christian women and wives who loved their children, and their husbands.  I can't think of anyone I'd rather be named after that an "angel unaware".  Robin was a beautiful little blond, curly headed angel, sent to the earth by God to touch people.  And boy did she.  And she still does through the words of her mother and the book Dale wrote called "Angel Unaware".  Robin was very early diagnosed with Down's Syndrome.  At the time, those children were hidden from the public and felt to be born as a result as some sort of genetic weakness of the parent.  However, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans determined she was just as much a part of their family as their other children.  She appeared with them everywhere and was in the public eye.  I'm sure Dale questioned God as to why her child was born with Down's Syndrome.  I'm sure Dale questioned God as to why her Robin died just before she was two years old.  But what she later discovered was that the small angel like little girl was sent to earth with a purpose.  "Like sunlight breaking through clouds after a storm of darkness, it all became clear to me. She had come to us from God - an angel - with all her handicaps and frailties to make us aware that his strength is found in weakness. In the two years she had been among us we had grown close as a family and we had learned how deeply we needed to depend on God. My job was to help deliver that message that had been given us by an angel." 

And she did that in her book and made the world aware that in God you can trust all things.  With God all things are possible, even surviving thedeath of a child. 

So I see Dale's statement of "it's the way you ride the trail that counts" to mean it's not that you ride or where you ride or what you ride, it's how you live your life, how others see you, how you carry God's message that counts.  That's all that counts.  Anybody can ride a horse, but not everybody can touch the lives of the world with a loving message from God.  Not everyone can change the way the world looks at something from a negative way to a positive way.  Not everyone can create comradery between women who love their children.  Not everyone can raise all their children to love God.  Dale Evans was truly a messenger, like her daughter Robin.  An angel sent to touch us all.  So just know that in each person you meet treat them with kindness and "Be not forgetful to entertain strangers; for thereby some have entertained angels unawares."  Hebrews 13:2

Encourage One Another

A Quiet Super Bowl Sunday

It's cold here in Texas.  You've seen it on the news.  In the past week snow has fallen all over the south.  The have shut down schools as far down as the coast.  Really, those folks have little experience driving on any kind of precipitation.  Today, they are forecasting snow again...no really.  So the skies are cloudy, the air is damp, the wind is blowing and I'm tucked inside with my house shoes on.  Ikey has taken residence in my lap, making very difficult to hold the laptop and type.  (Ever known a dog who was jealous of a laptop?  Mine is.)  So here we are watching the old "True Grit" and loving every minute of our Sunday afternoon.  The fireplace has created the ambiance and the candles the scent of the wild.  These are the kind of restful days I enjoy.  Everybody needs them.  Either snuggled up with a good book or an old movie...and a loved one if you have one.  Ikey fills that bill for me.  So who knows if I'll catch the Super Bowl or not?  I do know whose playing but it doesn't really matter because I don't care who wins.  So may the team with the best day win.  Me, I'm going to just enjoy the peace and quiet of a God filled Sunday.  Hope you get to do the same.

Encourage One Another