When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” John 8:7 (NIV)
This is one of those stories in the bible that gives me goose bumps. And when I saw it portrayed on screen, it was even more touching. I can't even remember now what I was watching or where, maybe it was at youth, but there it was.
Jesus is standing in the temple courts at the Mount of Olives and he's teaching to those gathered around him. A group of teachers of law and Pharisees come up to Jesus with a woman they have caught committing adultery and make her stand at his feet. They tell Jesus what she has done and that the law of Moses says she should be stoned. They ask him what he has to say. This is a trap, they want to have a reason to accuse Jesus of wrongdoing and disobeying the law of Moses.
And this is the really good part, Jesus bends down to draw in the sand, stands up and says, "Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her." And he bends down and continues to draw in the sand. (This is when I want to say, Ha, what do you have to say to that, you nasty, mean Pharisees?!) They turn and leave until only the woman and Jesus are standing there, alone. Jesus asks her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" She responds, "No one, sir." And he replies, "Then neither do I condemn you. Go and leave your life of sin."
How awesome is that? I love it that he totally showed those Pharisees up. Every one of them walked away. I am reminded of this story when I start gripping or complaining about something someone else has done. How I cannot believe they did whatever and I thought they were better than that. Listen to how they're talking about so and so, I thought they were friends! Or even with my own children, you know, why on earth would they act that way? Where did they learn that behavior? Ouch.
I had a case of casting the first stone this morning, literally, as I was in the middle of writing this. I was told someone said something about me that wasn't very nice. Immediately I wanted to call them out on it because how could they say stuff like that about me? But instead I had to laugh out loud because I was writing about this very same situation in a sense! Coincidence...I don't think so. So I have vowed to be kind and say only true and positive things about them, starting fresh and anew. Hoping that we can work together instead of against one another.
I suppose I could get one of those backstop thingys that you use for practicing pitching in baseball and softball and starting throwing stones at it...that will come right back on me...because I have no business throwing a stone at anyone else. If Jesus, who is without sin, can forgive the adulterous woman, then I better just keep those stones to myself.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Zero turn = zero control
Recently Jay bought the lawnmower of his dreams. It is bright orange and has no steering wheel. That is pretty much how I would describe it. The picture on the left is similar, I'm sure it's not the exact model, but it's close. I think it looks like a big orange insect.
I finally had my turn learning how to operate the big orange insect this past weekend, and let me tell you, it was quite an experience. What floors me is that my 8 year old son and 11 (almost 12) year old daughter can operate this machine without difficulty. It is mind-boggling.
After Madolyn had mowed a while, I sat down for my turn. Jay showed me how to start it, how to raise and lower the mowing deck, go foward and backwards, etc., all in about 30 seconds. My first question was: Where is the foot brake? Funny thing (not really), there isn't one, except for the parking brake. You just pull the handles in neutral position and you stop. I asked what do I do if I need to stop quickly, as in an emergency? The answer: You pull back fast. Hmm.
So I start the big orange bug and take off...sort of. Lucky me, my mom and all my nieces were there so I had a small audience. Almost immediately, I am out of control. That thing moves quickly and is super sensitive. I was this way and that way and jerking here and there. I kept stomping my foot as if to hit a brake...of course, there wasn't one. Jay is screaming at me. I stop. He provides more loving guidance. And off I go again.
Fortunately, I was left to mow the open area. There are a few trees and a pond...which could present a problem, I suppose...but for the most part, I couldn't hurt much. Thank goodness. It was terrible. I would concentrate so hard that I would go left, then right, then spin around. And then I would come to a halt and go in reverse because if I pulled back too hard...that is reverse. Stopping is a very precise position...one I had trouble finding.
Jay hollered at me at one point to just stop and get off...which only made me more determined. I cannot let this stupid orange bug defeat me. I will get this...after all my son and daughter can drive this thing...our friend's son, who is two years younger than Lane, can drive their zero-turn mower, I can do this. My arms were so tense and tight from grasping those stupid handles, but I persisted. I will get this.
Thankfully, Jay gave up on getting me to stop. (It takes a while, but he catches on. I can be pretty stubborn.) I zipped around and occasionally got into a spin, but eventually I mowed the large part without damaging anything beyond repair. I don't get it at all, the love of that thing...unless you like speed, I suppose. No question it is very fast and you are able to get up real close to stuff...that is if you can figure out how to get there without hitting anything.
Mom made an interesting analogy. I don't do much better on the horse than I did with that mower. I tried riding Woody this weekend too and it didn't go so well either. Hmm, I'm starting to get a complex.
I love to mow. It is very relaxing, but I find it harder and harder to find the time to mow these days. Good thing is that Madolyn enjoys mowing and somehow is able to control that bright orange beast. Jay loves zipping around on it too. Good for you guys, you can have it! Give me a tractor or a typical lawnmower with a steering wheel and a foot brake any day!
Monday, May 7, 2012
Proofreader extraordinaire
More info on the exciting career of Court Reporting! A very important aspect of court reporting is proofreading. Remember, I said we are not the maker of the record, we are the keepers of the record. So our job is not to correct what someone said, but we are to correct typos and other errors we make when reporting.
When I was a beginner, I would print and proofread things over and over and over. Seriously, three times I would read through those puppies before I sent them out. It probably was wise at the time for various reasons, but I soon realized that I could read the same thing several times and probably always decide to change something (especially punctuation). I came to my senses finally and actually proofread only once on paper now, which is enough...not to mention it gets a little old. Think about it, I have already heard it once (when I was reporting it) and then I get to read it again on the computer, then print it out on paper and proofread it a little closer. I end up enjoying the same subject matter at least three times. Wahoo!
Having been a court reporter for 16 years, my skills have improved somewhat (I should hope) and I am able to insert punctuation as I'm writing, for the most part. I don't catch every semi colon or comma, and believe me, if things get hairy, punctuation is the first thing to go out the window. I can always add it later, but I have to get what they're saying!
I did decent in English class and understood grammar pretty well. I definitely don't always use the proper grammar or speak correctly, but I think I have a decent grasp on that, which comes in handy when proofreading...except that people don't necessarily speak in complete sentences, stay on the same thought and/or finish their thought before jumping to another one (like yours truly here). The dash is a reporter's best friend. I have never used so many dashes in all of my life, but let me tell you, it is a must to keep the flow of some dialogue going.
I often wonder if those reading their own testimony think, "She totally messed that up, look, I didn't even get to finish the answer." My response would be something like, "Yeah, well, I hate to tell you, you didn't finish that answer or any other one before changing your thoughts, and you actually did say the word 'so' every other sentence." It may not be pretty, but you said it. I heard you. I have always said that attorneys, judges and police officers should read their own testimony every now and then so they know exactly how what they say looks on paper. I think they would be shocked.
I had an attorney down south that said 'the' before every single sentence. I am not exaggerating. For a long time, I would write down every single time he said 'the' and then I decided it was more like someone saying 'um' out of habit. It didn't really affect (is that the right one?!) anything being said. I will take down 'um' if that is part of the sentence or answer, if they're hesitating or something, but if it's out of habit, I don't.
If you shake or nod your head, I write down (Shaking head.) (Nodding head.) If you say 'uh-huh' or 'uh-uh', that is what I write down. If slang is used, slang is what goes down. If you don't answer, I write (No reply.) Believe me, we have a solution to almost everything and if we don't know, we can usually ask another reporter and find out.
You might be wondering, if you can't change words and things, what are you proofreading for? Corrections made during proofreading (besides punctuation) might be capitalizing a proper noun, changing a numeral to the written word, making a paragraph or new line, etc. Also, we do occasionally misstroke on our machine and the wrong word comes up. It is not uncommon for that to happen, and spell check will not catch the wrong word. So let's say what I took down transcribed as 'here', but it should have been 'hear'. I would only notice that if I were reading over that. Something someone may never catch, but Court Reporters want it right.
We're kind of particular that way. At our seminar a few weeks ago, our table was talking about texting and how we can't stand to use short-hand and no punctuation in a text. It is so true. I don't always use the proper punctuation or spell out words on texts, but it does bug me. I almost feel guilty or like I am breaking a rule if I write 'u' instead of adding those two extra letters! I think this might become a problem in the future when our children can't spell out words too!
I can catch a typo a mile away (unless they're my own, of course). Reading the newspaper at times is painful because I wonder if they ever proofread their own articles?! And don't even get me started on what people write on Facebook, marquees and public signs!! Ugh.
One funny of mine that actually left my office and went out into the world of litigation...I didn't catch a typo in a parenthetical that I used in a transcript after a witness was excused from the stand. Normally, it would say (witness excused). This transcript said (witness executed). There is a very big difference there, especially if you're the witness, huh? I am sure I have had many, many more typos go unnoticed. I know I have caught some on my blog posts later on and wanted to crawl in a hole...because I pick apart anything else I read. I can always tell when I've rushed through something because I'll find the wrong word or double words or something like that. Oops!
Court Reporters aren't perfect, we just like to think we are, but if you want something proofread, bring it over. I'll pick it apart, trust me.
When I was a beginner, I would print and proofread things over and over and over. Seriously, three times I would read through those puppies before I sent them out. It probably was wise at the time for various reasons, but I soon realized that I could read the same thing several times and probably always decide to change something (especially punctuation). I came to my senses finally and actually proofread only once on paper now, which is enough...not to mention it gets a little old. Think about it, I have already heard it once (when I was reporting it) and then I get to read it again on the computer, then print it out on paper and proofread it a little closer. I end up enjoying the same subject matter at least three times. Wahoo!
Having been a court reporter for 16 years, my skills have improved somewhat (I should hope) and I am able to insert punctuation as I'm writing, for the most part. I don't catch every semi colon or comma, and believe me, if things get hairy, punctuation is the first thing to go out the window. I can always add it later, but I have to get what they're saying!
I did decent in English class and understood grammar pretty well. I definitely don't always use the proper grammar or speak correctly, but I think I have a decent grasp on that, which comes in handy when proofreading...except that people don't necessarily speak in complete sentences, stay on the same thought and/or finish their thought before jumping to another one (like yours truly here). The dash is a reporter's best friend. I have never used so many dashes in all of my life, but let me tell you, it is a must to keep the flow of some dialogue going.
I often wonder if those reading their own testimony think, "She totally messed that up, look, I didn't even get to finish the answer." My response would be something like, "Yeah, well, I hate to tell you, you didn't finish that answer or any other one before changing your thoughts, and you actually did say the word 'so' every other sentence." It may not be pretty, but you said it. I heard you. I have always said that attorneys, judges and police officers should read their own testimony every now and then so they know exactly how what they say looks on paper. I think they would be shocked.
I had an attorney down south that said 'the' before every single sentence. I am not exaggerating. For a long time, I would write down every single time he said 'the' and then I decided it was more like someone saying 'um' out of habit. It didn't really affect (is that the right one?!) anything being said. I will take down 'um' if that is part of the sentence or answer, if they're hesitating or something, but if it's out of habit, I don't.
If you shake or nod your head, I write down (Shaking head.) (Nodding head.) If you say 'uh-huh' or 'uh-uh', that is what I write down. If slang is used, slang is what goes down. If you don't answer, I write (No reply.) Believe me, we have a solution to almost everything and if we don't know, we can usually ask another reporter and find out.
You might be wondering, if you can't change words and things, what are you proofreading for? Corrections made during proofreading (besides punctuation) might be capitalizing a proper noun, changing a numeral to the written word, making a paragraph or new line, etc. Also, we do occasionally misstroke on our machine and the wrong word comes up. It is not uncommon for that to happen, and spell check will not catch the wrong word. So let's say what I took down transcribed as 'here', but it should have been 'hear'. I would only notice that if I were reading over that. Something someone may never catch, but Court Reporters want it right.
We're kind of particular that way. At our seminar a few weeks ago, our table was talking about texting and how we can't stand to use short-hand and no punctuation in a text. It is so true. I don't always use the proper punctuation or spell out words on texts, but it does bug me. I almost feel guilty or like I am breaking a rule if I write 'u' instead of adding those two extra letters! I think this might become a problem in the future when our children can't spell out words too!
I can catch a typo a mile away (unless they're my own, of course). Reading the newspaper at times is painful because I wonder if they ever proofread their own articles?! And don't even get me started on what people write on Facebook, marquees and public signs!! Ugh.
One funny of mine that actually left my office and went out into the world of litigation...I didn't catch a typo in a parenthetical that I used in a transcript after a witness was excused from the stand. Normally, it would say (witness excused). This transcript said (witness executed). There is a very big difference there, especially if you're the witness, huh? I am sure I have had many, many more typos go unnoticed. I know I have caught some on my blog posts later on and wanted to crawl in a hole...because I pick apart anything else I read. I can always tell when I've rushed through something because I'll find the wrong word or double words or something like that. Oops!
Court Reporters aren't perfect, we just like to think we are, but if you want something proofread, bring it over. I'll pick it apart, trust me.
Friday, May 4, 2012
Pop Rocks!
Jay has been working nights this week. After almost seven years of him working shiftwork, I am finally not a scaredy cat at night...but every now and then I get a little spooked. Last night, after watching a Criminal Minds episode (maybe that's part of my problem), I finally drifted off to sleep.
All of a sudden something jarred me awake. I was in that semi-deep sleep too, the kind where you wake up and feel like you've been asleep for hours and realize it's only been 20 minutes. Ugh. Anyway, the sound came from the living room. It sounded like a quick blast of water. I set straight up and went out to investigate. Turned on the light and didn't see anything...except the Precious Hank the Tank II sitting by the patio doors. He didn't look like he was up to anything, no new holes in the carpet, nothing torn to shreds that I could see. I shut off the light and went back to bed.
I may have been on high alert because earlier in the evening, Madolyn thought Hank the Tank II needed his precious toe nails painted bright red...so she wrestled him to the ground and got the job done. After the kids had went to bed and I was still up watching TV, I heard Hank chewing and licking. Uh-oh, I'm gonna kill him if there is another hole in the carpet. No hole. He was chewing and licking his dew claw (I think that's what they're called). I couldn't see any wound or sore, but he was all over it. I was afraid he would chew it right off. So I decided that maybe he didn't like the nail polish and was trying to lick it off. I got the nail polish remover and a tissue and started removing the polish...that didn't seem to help so I just left it on. It's a terrible-looking pedi now though because two nails are unpolished. Poor guy.
Back to my original story...I get up this morning and notice on the living room floor next to Hank the Tank II's teething toy (which is a deer antler, YES, try it...it is better than any toy we have purchased, he CANNOT seem to destroy it no matter how hard he tries) and there were the remnants of some sort of package. I didn't think about it until I walked past it a second time and leaned over to pick it up and throw it away.
Ah-ha...Hank the Tank II found Lane's stash of Pop Rocks candy and apparently enjoyed a package. That was the sound I had heard last night, the Pop Rocks exploding inside his mouth! Too funny. I'm guessing the rest of Lane's stash is safe. Hank may not be the smartest dog we've ever had, but he is entertaining and so stinkin' cute...
All of a sudden something jarred me awake. I was in that semi-deep sleep too, the kind where you wake up and feel like you've been asleep for hours and realize it's only been 20 minutes. Ugh. Anyway, the sound came from the living room. It sounded like a quick blast of water. I set straight up and went out to investigate. Turned on the light and didn't see anything...except the Precious Hank the Tank II sitting by the patio doors. He didn't look like he was up to anything, no new holes in the carpet, nothing torn to shreds that I could see. I shut off the light and went back to bed.
I may have been on high alert because earlier in the evening, Madolyn thought Hank the Tank II needed his precious toe nails painted bright red...so she wrestled him to the ground and got the job done. After the kids had went to bed and I was still up watching TV, I heard Hank chewing and licking. Uh-oh, I'm gonna kill him if there is another hole in the carpet. No hole. He was chewing and licking his dew claw (I think that's what they're called). I couldn't see any wound or sore, but he was all over it. I was afraid he would chew it right off. So I decided that maybe he didn't like the nail polish and was trying to lick it off. I got the nail polish remover and a tissue and started removing the polish...that didn't seem to help so I just left it on. It's a terrible-looking pedi now though because two nails are unpolished. Poor guy.
Back to my original story...I get up this morning and notice on the living room floor next to Hank the Tank II's teething toy (which is a deer antler, YES, try it...it is better than any toy we have purchased, he CANNOT seem to destroy it no matter how hard he tries) and there were the remnants of some sort of package. I didn't think about it until I walked past it a second time and leaned over to pick it up and throw it away.
Ah-ha...Hank the Tank II found Lane's stash of Pop Rocks candy and apparently enjoyed a package. That was the sound I had heard last night, the Pop Rocks exploding inside his mouth! Too funny. I'm guessing the rest of Lane's stash is safe. Hank may not be the smartest dog we've ever had, but he is entertaining and so stinkin' cute...
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Red Flags
I had decided last fall after my sweet victory on the trail ride that I needed my very own horse (I used Okie, a friend's horse on that ride). We have two riding horses, but they're actually my kids'. Last week Jay found a horse on craigslist that looked very appealing. She was beautiful, old and appeared to be just what I was looking for. Bummer, she was in Indiana, three-and-a-half hours away. We corresponded with this girl about her horse and she was insistent that she see us with the horse, not just come, exchange money and papers and be on our way. She wanted me to be there and see us together. Wow, this must be an amazing horse and a very loving owner.
Jay asked her to send more pictures and she even had a video she sent of her with the horse playing games. The horse would twirl around in a circle without being touched or lead, she would go forward and back with this girl and stop on a dime...again, without being lead. Awesome. I need an idiot-proof horse, seriously. This has to be perfect. If she can do that kind of ground work, she has to be awesome.
My birthday was this past weekend so I decided yes, I want this horse for my birthday and off I went. Jay was working so I had a friend who knows horses come along with me. We'll call her "Karie" for now. We take off on Sunday morning with the truck and trailer in search for my perfect horse. I remember right before Karie came that there were two questions I wish I had asked: Does she ride western? Do you trail ride her? But I didn't.
We had a lovely drive all over Indiana. (By the way, I'm pulling a trailer on the interstate and around Indy...no accidents.) Oh yeah...I did say several times I was thankful it was empty...yikes! When I had called the girl earlier that morning and told her what time we were leaving, etc, she was quite surprised when I mentioned it was 3.5 hours. Yes, it was 3.5 hours one-way. What a long day...but I am bringing back the perfect horse!
We finally arrive at the farm and instantly had a connection with these folks, they had chickens, goats, a calf and a horse in their fenced-off yard. Oh, yeah, Karie and I could so relate. The husband had Johnny Cash blaring from the shed, oh yeah, I love that too. We are greeted immediately by the college-bound girl who is selling the horse. She told her younger sister to go get mom, so she could help her letting horse out. Mom comes, armed with a Nerf squirt gun. Hmm, okay. Girl goes after horse, horse runs from her. Red Flag #1. Girl finally does catch horse and leads her out. Large squirt gun is to keep goats from getting out while they let the horse out. Interesting. May have to keep that in mind.
I'm a talker, I know that. Jay says sometimes I say too much (really?). I can now understand what he means. Girl starts telling us about her horse, who is as beautiful as her picture, and things begin to unravel for the purchase. Mom is no help. The horse is very afraid of fireworks, guns and other loud noises. One time the horse got colicky and they couldn't get her to poop so they threw fireworks at her, which scared the poo out of her. Red Flag #2. Yikes.
Four years ago, a guy, who had been bucked off for "no reason" and liked to whip the horse, gave the horse to this girl. Red Flag #3. This girl never whips her though. Okay. Finally, I ask the question that I wish I had asked before we even headed out on the adventure, "Do you trail ride with her?" Her answer, "No, but we've seen her being ridden before." Red Flag #4. What does that mean? You haven't trail ridden her, but you've seen her trail ridden?? I'm not following. I suppose it might mean that the guy who gave you the horse rode her on trail rides before he got rid of her because she bucked him off one too many times after he had whipped her.
Mom says they usually just ride her on the road. Okay, that's no big deal. I understand if you don't have someone to ride with, you do what you can. So I ask the girl if she will saddle her up and ride her around. There is NO way on this earth I'm getting on her. And I should say, you know how it goes when you're trying to sell something or show off your kids and instead whatever you're selling won't work or your kids are acting like caged animals? That's kind of how this went. According to mom and girl, "She never does this." "I can't believe she just did that." Okay, I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt here...a little.
Girl tells me that she is trying a new saddle pad because maybe the old one was what was bothering her. Okay, my mind is churning. You've had this horse four years...so she has the horse smell the blanket and tosses it on her back. So far so good. She then gets the saddle, has the horse smell it and tries putting it on her. Fiesta rears a little. "She never does that." Okay. All the while, I keep seeing girl look at mom like "HELP ME!"
She leads Fiesta around telling us all this stuff she can do on the ground, which is impressive, but I'm really wanting to use her to ride...because honestly, I thought that was the purpose for a horse, but I'm learning. So again I ask her to get on the horse. Mom says, and I quote, "Maybe you should clap in her ear to de-sensitize her first." RED FLAG #5. Yes, they have shared the horse is afraid of loud noises, but this seemed a little alarming to me.
So the girl claps several times in the horse's face/ear area and Fiesta does not like it. Not one bit. She continues clapping and eventually, Fiesta calms a little. Again the looks from daughter to mom...unnerving. Girl finally gets on Fiesta and Fiesta starts dancing around, not cooperating, not enjoying someone on her back, etc. The thoughts going through my head, actually about 1 minute in, were something like this, there is NO WAY I'm buying this horse. So I'm trying to formulate in my mind a nice way to tell them this is not the horse for me, but I can't seem to spit it out. I know there is no reason to see anything else this horse can do (or won't do) because I am not taking her home today or any other day.
I keep looking at my friend Karie for some encouragement and don't see any sign of hope there. Thankfully, we both had on our sunglasses. Karie was being nice in that she was letting me decide for myself, I think...because I really had my heart set on bringing this perfect idiot-proof horse home with me. Finally, I told them that although she was a beautiful horse and may be a good match for someone, she was not the match for me. I knew I would take her home and be too afraid to work with her.
As we are preparing to leave, the girl mentions that her grandmother is selling a mare but she lives 20 miles away. Karie and I figured we had come this far, what is another 20 miles? So off we went with directions to find a guy named "Bubba" and no, I'm not kidding. We find the house and Bubba and his wife, who are delightful people. They obviously have a love for horses and go trail riding all over the Midwest with their horses. Dixie was a beautiful mare that could almost have been a twin to Woody, Madolyn's horse, and although she was very well trained, she was a little too much price-wise. We declined and headed back home.
I did learn a few things from this trek. There are some very important questions I need to ask before seriously considering a horse, and on my way home, I thought more and more that maybe it's not so much the horse that's the problem, maybe I should be working on my skills instead of trying to find a horse that will solve all my problems. I hope to start working with Woody at home and try to become more confident, and maybe then I can find the perfect horse without so many red flags.
Jay asked her to send more pictures and she even had a video she sent of her with the horse playing games. The horse would twirl around in a circle without being touched or lead, she would go forward and back with this girl and stop on a dime...again, without being lead. Awesome. I need an idiot-proof horse, seriously. This has to be perfect. If she can do that kind of ground work, she has to be awesome.
My birthday was this past weekend so I decided yes, I want this horse for my birthday and off I went. Jay was working so I had a friend who knows horses come along with me. We'll call her "Karie" for now. We take off on Sunday morning with the truck and trailer in search for my perfect horse. I remember right before Karie came that there were two questions I wish I had asked: Does she ride western? Do you trail ride her? But I didn't.
We had a lovely drive all over Indiana. (By the way, I'm pulling a trailer on the interstate and around Indy...no accidents.) Oh yeah...I did say several times I was thankful it was empty...yikes! When I had called the girl earlier that morning and told her what time we were leaving, etc, she was quite surprised when I mentioned it was 3.5 hours. Yes, it was 3.5 hours one-way. What a long day...but I am bringing back the perfect horse!
We finally arrive at the farm and instantly had a connection with these folks, they had chickens, goats, a calf and a horse in their fenced-off yard. Oh, yeah, Karie and I could so relate. The husband had Johnny Cash blaring from the shed, oh yeah, I love that too. We are greeted immediately by the college-bound girl who is selling the horse. She told her younger sister to go get mom, so she could help her letting horse out. Mom comes, armed with a Nerf squirt gun. Hmm, okay. Girl goes after horse, horse runs from her. Red Flag #1. Girl finally does catch horse and leads her out. Large squirt gun is to keep goats from getting out while they let the horse out. Interesting. May have to keep that in mind.
I'm a talker, I know that. Jay says sometimes I say too much (really?). I can now understand what he means. Girl starts telling us about her horse, who is as beautiful as her picture, and things begin to unravel for the purchase. Mom is no help. The horse is very afraid of fireworks, guns and other loud noises. One time the horse got colicky and they couldn't get her to poop so they threw fireworks at her, which scared the poo out of her. Red Flag #2. Yikes.
Four years ago, a guy, who had been bucked off for "no reason" and liked to whip the horse, gave the horse to this girl. Red Flag #3. This girl never whips her though. Okay. Finally, I ask the question that I wish I had asked before we even headed out on the adventure, "Do you trail ride with her?" Her answer, "No, but we've seen her being ridden before." Red Flag #4. What does that mean? You haven't trail ridden her, but you've seen her trail ridden?? I'm not following. I suppose it might mean that the guy who gave you the horse rode her on trail rides before he got rid of her because she bucked him off one too many times after he had whipped her.
Mom says they usually just ride her on the road. Okay, that's no big deal. I understand if you don't have someone to ride with, you do what you can. So I ask the girl if she will saddle her up and ride her around. There is NO way on this earth I'm getting on her. And I should say, you know how it goes when you're trying to sell something or show off your kids and instead whatever you're selling won't work or your kids are acting like caged animals? That's kind of how this went. According to mom and girl, "She never does this." "I can't believe she just did that." Okay, I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt here...a little.
Girl tells me that she is trying a new saddle pad because maybe the old one was what was bothering her. Okay, my mind is churning. You've had this horse four years...so she has the horse smell the blanket and tosses it on her back. So far so good. She then gets the saddle, has the horse smell it and tries putting it on her. Fiesta rears a little. "She never does that." Okay. All the while, I keep seeing girl look at mom like "HELP ME!"
She leads Fiesta around telling us all this stuff she can do on the ground, which is impressive, but I'm really wanting to use her to ride...because honestly, I thought that was the purpose for a horse, but I'm learning. So again I ask her to get on the horse. Mom says, and I quote, "Maybe you should clap in her ear to de-sensitize her first." RED FLAG #5. Yes, they have shared the horse is afraid of loud noises, but this seemed a little alarming to me.
So the girl claps several times in the horse's face/ear area and Fiesta does not like it. Not one bit. She continues clapping and eventually, Fiesta calms a little. Again the looks from daughter to mom...unnerving. Girl finally gets on Fiesta and Fiesta starts dancing around, not cooperating, not enjoying someone on her back, etc. The thoughts going through my head, actually about 1 minute in, were something like this, there is NO WAY I'm buying this horse. So I'm trying to formulate in my mind a nice way to tell them this is not the horse for me, but I can't seem to spit it out. I know there is no reason to see anything else this horse can do (or won't do) because I am not taking her home today or any other day.
I keep looking at my friend Karie for some encouragement and don't see any sign of hope there. Thankfully, we both had on our sunglasses. Karie was being nice in that she was letting me decide for myself, I think...because I really had my heart set on bringing this perfect idiot-proof horse home with me. Finally, I told them that although she was a beautiful horse and may be a good match for someone, she was not the match for me. I knew I would take her home and be too afraid to work with her.
As we are preparing to leave, the girl mentions that her grandmother is selling a mare but she lives 20 miles away. Karie and I figured we had come this far, what is another 20 miles? So off we went with directions to find a guy named "Bubba" and no, I'm not kidding. We find the house and Bubba and his wife, who are delightful people. They obviously have a love for horses and go trail riding all over the Midwest with their horses. Dixie was a beautiful mare that could almost have been a twin to Woody, Madolyn's horse, and although she was very well trained, she was a little too much price-wise. We declined and headed back home.
I did learn a few things from this trek. There are some very important questions I need to ask before seriously considering a horse, and on my way home, I thought more and more that maybe it's not so much the horse that's the problem, maybe I should be working on my skills instead of trying to find a horse that will solve all my problems. I hope to start working with Woody at home and try to become more confident, and maybe then I can find the perfect horse without so many red flags.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Starfish
For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth. Psalm 57:10-11 (NIV)
Have you ever heard something twice in a short period of time and thought, weird, I had never heard that before and now I've heard it twice in a short period of time. Hmm, maybe that means something. Maybe this is one of those things God wants me to share and apply? Okay, I'll go with it.
So my little Godstop is the story of the Starfish. I first heard it from a motivational speaker at my annual court reporting seminar. She read it to us and they also included a copy of it in our packet (of course, I can't find it;). Six days later, we had taken our high school/college youth group to a local church to hear some born again Christian "bad dudes" speak and share their testimony. The final speaker, the one with the most shocking story, shared the story of the Starfish.
I remember thinking, wow, that is crazy. I'm hearing the same little story twice in a short period of time and used in two different contexts. How bizarre is that? The following Sunday at church, our sermon was on change and positive attitudes...which was perfect because later that day our town was having a meeting where the folks who had been working hard to come up with ideas to improve our community were going to share their ideas with the rest of us. It had me thinking that this Starfish story kind of applied to that too.
So I told the story of the Starfish to my church on Sunday and decided it might be a good post. I am paraphrasing this a bit, but here goes...A man is walking along a beach and he sees someone picking up starfish and tossing them back into the ocean. Perplexed, the man walks up to the fella and says, "You know, you'll never be able to save all the starfish that wash up onto the beach. There are too many of them. It's hopeless." The fella looks up at the man, and as he tosses a starfish back into the ocean, replies, "But I can save this one," he leans back down to pick up another, "and this one..."
When I heard it the first time I thought, hhm, okay, cutsie story. I'm supposed to somehow promote my profession and make myself a better reporter one Starfish at a time? Okay. Didn't give it another thought. But when I heard it from the born again Christian, I loved it. Again, maybe it was the context but it got me thinking. We, as Christians, have to do what we can do, little by little. We can't throw in the towel when we feel overwhelmed. Sometimes I look at our youth group and think, oh, man, are we getting to anyone in this room? Is this clicking for anyone in this room?
We have to press on. And you know that some of those starfish are going to drift right back up onto shore, and we're going to have to toss them back out into the ocean over and over again. There are times when we feel like someone is hopeless and we are ready to wipe our hands of them. Nope, the exact opposite is what we're called to do...Christians need to be the ones standing there, waiting to lend them a hand. We shouldn't stand there and judge them and tell them how this is the seventeenth time they've messed up; instead we stand there with open arms, ready and willing to support, guide and share God's love with them.
God does the same thing with us, doesn't he? Over and over and over again, he bails us out. We may not want to admit it because, after all, we're Christians and we're better than 'they' are, but we're only fooling ourselves if we believe that. I would hate to think how many times I've been that Starfish stuck on the sand. Thank you to those that have tossed me back out to sea when I needed it! (And you probably better stay on high alert just in case:)
As far as it applying to improving our community...no, we can't do big, magnificent things all at once. We have to go little by little and do what we can with what we have. Then we build on that. And if all of us have the common goal of improving our town, think of the progress we can make! The same can be said with witnessing. Think of all the lives saved if each of us were doing what we could to save one soul at a time.
Whether it's witnessing to someone, improving your community, trying to become better in your profession or whatever, it applies. We must never give up, even if it means saving just one starfish at a time.
Have you ever heard something twice in a short period of time and thought, weird, I had never heard that before and now I've heard it twice in a short period of time. Hmm, maybe that means something. Maybe this is one of those things God wants me to share and apply? Okay, I'll go with it.
So my little Godstop is the story of the Starfish. I first heard it from a motivational speaker at my annual court reporting seminar. She read it to us and they also included a copy of it in our packet (of course, I can't find it;). Six days later, we had taken our high school/college youth group to a local church to hear some born again Christian "bad dudes" speak and share their testimony. The final speaker, the one with the most shocking story, shared the story of the Starfish.
I remember thinking, wow, that is crazy. I'm hearing the same little story twice in a short period of time and used in two different contexts. How bizarre is that? The following Sunday at church, our sermon was on change and positive attitudes...which was perfect because later that day our town was having a meeting where the folks who had been working hard to come up with ideas to improve our community were going to share their ideas with the rest of us. It had me thinking that this Starfish story kind of applied to that too.
So I told the story of the Starfish to my church on Sunday and decided it might be a good post. I am paraphrasing this a bit, but here goes...A man is walking along a beach and he sees someone picking up starfish and tossing them back into the ocean. Perplexed, the man walks up to the fella and says, "You know, you'll never be able to save all the starfish that wash up onto the beach. There are too many of them. It's hopeless." The fella looks up at the man, and as he tosses a starfish back into the ocean, replies, "But I can save this one," he leans back down to pick up another, "and this one..."
When I heard it the first time I thought, hhm, okay, cutsie story. I'm supposed to somehow promote my profession and make myself a better reporter one Starfish at a time? Okay. Didn't give it another thought. But when I heard it from the born again Christian, I loved it. Again, maybe it was the context but it got me thinking. We, as Christians, have to do what we can do, little by little. We can't throw in the towel when we feel overwhelmed. Sometimes I look at our youth group and think, oh, man, are we getting to anyone in this room? Is this clicking for anyone in this room?
We have to press on. And you know that some of those starfish are going to drift right back up onto shore, and we're going to have to toss them back out into the ocean over and over again. There are times when we feel like someone is hopeless and we are ready to wipe our hands of them. Nope, the exact opposite is what we're called to do...Christians need to be the ones standing there, waiting to lend them a hand. We shouldn't stand there and judge them and tell them how this is the seventeenth time they've messed up; instead we stand there with open arms, ready and willing to support, guide and share God's love with them.
God does the same thing with us, doesn't he? Over and over and over again, he bails us out. We may not want to admit it because, after all, we're Christians and we're better than 'they' are, but we're only fooling ourselves if we believe that. I would hate to think how many times I've been that Starfish stuck on the sand. Thank you to those that have tossed me back out to sea when I needed it! (And you probably better stay on high alert just in case:)
As far as it applying to improving our community...no, we can't do big, magnificent things all at once. We have to go little by little and do what we can with what we have. Then we build on that. And if all of us have the common goal of improving our town, think of the progress we can make! The same can be said with witnessing. Think of all the lives saved if each of us were doing what we could to save one soul at a time.
Whether it's witnessing to someone, improving your community, trying to become better in your profession or whatever, it applies. We must never give up, even if it means saving just one starfish at a time.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Elevate Elevate
Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. Psalm 95:1-3 (NIV)
Yes, you read it right...I wrote the same word twice on purpose! Tomorrow evening (Wednesday) at 5:30, the Elevate committee is hosting our first ever Elevate Elevate Youth Rally at the Martinsville Fairgrounds. We will have hot dogs, chips and cookies for the kids to eat, a worship and praise service will follow and then some fun team-building activities to wrap it up. Door prizes including concert tickets, CD's, t-shirts and Cardinal tickets will be given away.
What is Elevate Elevate? Elevate is what we call our Contemporary Christian concert held at our fairgrounds the Saturday evening before fair week and we're trying to get the word out and get people excited about it. This year's Elevate 2012 line-up includes Kutless, For King & Country and Josh Wilson. The first year Needtobreathe and Jars of Clay werethere and last year we had Sanctus Real, Gungor & JJ Heller. We have definitely been blessed with some talented musicians! (And we like to joke that we were what put Needtobreathe on the map, as they have since toured with Taylor Swift!)
This is our third year and we are hoping that we can really pull the crowd in because the concert needs to be able to sustain itself. Although the first year did very well, last year's low numbers (terrible thunderstorm) hurt our bank roll so-to-speak. We have some very generous donors that have carried the concert the past two years, but that is not at all the long-term plan. We need to have a good crowd again this year to be able to keep it going.
It seems as though we had tried everything we could to get the message out and include area churches, youth, ministers, etc, but it just didn't catch. We have advertised the best we can, and last year we even included a dvd with a video on it to be shown at churches along with some bulletin inserts. We don't really know if those were utilized or not, but it was a catchy promo:)
We have never really figured out who we're actually appealing to. Our goal would be to show the younger crowd how to have a good time praising the Lord without it being too crazy and possibly reach out to someone unsaved, but in reality a lot of youth just aren't interested in Christian music. I know I wasn't when I was that age. On the other hand, I absolutely love contemporary Christian music now and rarely listen to anything else. I will drive hours to see a band I like and won't think twice about it. So it's hard for me to understand why everyone else wouldn't. Ha. So the question is, do we target the younger kids, the middle-aged crowd or what?
This year we're going at it full throttle. We have contacted area youth groups, youth minsters/leaders, pastors and other interested church members to help us. We've been holding meetings and we have come up with the idea to have a youth rally to elevate Elevate...which is what we're having tomorrow night. We are hoping that by promoting the idea to the local youth groups, they will get excited about it and then encourage their unchurched friends to come with them.
One idea we've tried to promote is that even if you don't want to attend the concert because maybe it's not your thing, buy a ticket and find someone who could benefit from it. It could be a wonderful outreach. Just because you don't enjoy that kind of music, doesn't mean someone else won't. And we all know the power of God's timing, that ticket may be just what that person needs at that moment to take the next step.
Elevate is a great atmosphere for a family, and we will be having the bouncy slides and things set up again for the younger kids to play on during the concert. (That seemed to go over quite well last year.) There will be a prayer tent and a merchandise tent. We have a newly-designed Elevate tshirt that will be on sale also. My mom prefers to sit in the grandstand where it's not quite so loud...that too is another option for some that aren't into the loudness of it all. Otherwise, you bring your own lawnchairs or blankets and scatter about in the infield.
So if you have a junior high, high school or college-age youth, send them over to the Martinsville Fairgrounds tomorrow night at 5:30 for a wonderful evening of fellowship and fun. They may even win a cool door prize. Encourage them to bring a friend that might not normally attend a youth group or church event.
Elevate 2012 is Saturday, July 7 at the Martinsville Fairgrounds. It begins at 4:00 p.m. Tickets are $15 and that includes three full sets of music from Josh Wilson, For King & Country and Kutless. Tickets are on sale online at http://www.elevatemartinsville.com/ or locally at my favorite hometown store, Accents. Tomorrow night we are running a special...Tickets for $14 or there is a combo deal, T-shirt and a ticket, for $25. We sold our t-shirts last year for $15 so that is a $6 savings. We have a Facebook page and would encourage you to "like" us on Facebook and share the page with your friends.
The goal of Elevate is to elevate the community and lift it up. One of my favorite things from being part of the Elevate team has been the weekly prayer at the fairgrounds in the month leading up to the concert. We will meet every Thursday night at 7:00, stand in a circle, grasp hands and pray. It has been awesome. The peace that comes over me during that time is incredible (even when I think I don't have time for it). I do feel that our fairgrounds has a spiritual presence and I'm thankful for that. I have been in the grandstands and watched rain fall in a field across the road (only a few yards from the midway) as we whispered prayers for the rain to stay away...and it did. Sometimes it doesn't, but I do believe God watches over that patch of land.
Help us as we try to promote Elevate 2012. If you can't attend, then please be in prayer with us for this event. Our purpose is to elevate the community by glorifying God through praise and worship. We don't want this to succeed for our glory, but for His.
Yes, you read it right...I wrote the same word twice on purpose! Tomorrow evening (Wednesday) at 5:30, the Elevate committee is hosting our first ever Elevate Elevate Youth Rally at the Martinsville Fairgrounds. We will have hot dogs, chips and cookies for the kids to eat, a worship and praise service will follow and then some fun team-building activities to wrap it up. Door prizes including concert tickets, CD's, t-shirts and Cardinal tickets will be given away.
What is Elevate Elevate? Elevate is what we call our Contemporary Christian concert held at our fairgrounds the Saturday evening before fair week and we're trying to get the word out and get people excited about it. This year's Elevate 2012 line-up includes Kutless, For King & Country and Josh Wilson. The first year Needtobreathe and Jars of Clay werethere and last year we had Sanctus Real, Gungor & JJ Heller. We have definitely been blessed with some talented musicians! (And we like to joke that we were what put Needtobreathe on the map, as they have since toured with Taylor Swift!)
This is our third year and we are hoping that we can really pull the crowd in because the concert needs to be able to sustain itself. Although the first year did very well, last year's low numbers (terrible thunderstorm) hurt our bank roll so-to-speak. We have some very generous donors that have carried the concert the past two years, but that is not at all the long-term plan. We need to have a good crowd again this year to be able to keep it going.
It seems as though we had tried everything we could to get the message out and include area churches, youth, ministers, etc, but it just didn't catch. We have advertised the best we can, and last year we even included a dvd with a video on it to be shown at churches along with some bulletin inserts. We don't really know if those were utilized or not, but it was a catchy promo:)
We have never really figured out who we're actually appealing to. Our goal would be to show the younger crowd how to have a good time praising the Lord without it being too crazy and possibly reach out to someone unsaved, but in reality a lot of youth just aren't interested in Christian music. I know I wasn't when I was that age. On the other hand, I absolutely love contemporary Christian music now and rarely listen to anything else. I will drive hours to see a band I like and won't think twice about it. So it's hard for me to understand why everyone else wouldn't. Ha. So the question is, do we target the younger kids, the middle-aged crowd or what?
This year we're going at it full throttle. We have contacted area youth groups, youth minsters/leaders, pastors and other interested church members to help us. We've been holding meetings and we have come up with the idea to have a youth rally to elevate Elevate...which is what we're having tomorrow night. We are hoping that by promoting the idea to the local youth groups, they will get excited about it and then encourage their unchurched friends to come with them.
One idea we've tried to promote is that even if you don't want to attend the concert because maybe it's not your thing, buy a ticket and find someone who could benefit from it. It could be a wonderful outreach. Just because you don't enjoy that kind of music, doesn't mean someone else won't. And we all know the power of God's timing, that ticket may be just what that person needs at that moment to take the next step.
Elevate is a great atmosphere for a family, and we will be having the bouncy slides and things set up again for the younger kids to play on during the concert. (That seemed to go over quite well last year.) There will be a prayer tent and a merchandise tent. We have a newly-designed Elevate tshirt that will be on sale also. My mom prefers to sit in the grandstand where it's not quite so loud...that too is another option for some that aren't into the loudness of it all. Otherwise, you bring your own lawnchairs or blankets and scatter about in the infield.
So if you have a junior high, high school or college-age youth, send them over to the Martinsville Fairgrounds tomorrow night at 5:30 for a wonderful evening of fellowship and fun. They may even win a cool door prize. Encourage them to bring a friend that might not normally attend a youth group or church event.
Elevate 2012 is Saturday, July 7 at the Martinsville Fairgrounds. It begins at 4:00 p.m. Tickets are $15 and that includes three full sets of music from Josh Wilson, For King & Country and Kutless. Tickets are on sale online at http://www.elevatemartinsville.com/ or locally at my favorite hometown store, Accents. Tomorrow night we are running a special...Tickets for $14 or there is a combo deal, T-shirt and a ticket, for $25. We sold our t-shirts last year for $15 so that is a $6 savings. We have a Facebook page and would encourage you to "like" us on Facebook and share the page with your friends.
The goal of Elevate is to elevate the community and lift it up. One of my favorite things from being part of the Elevate team has been the weekly prayer at the fairgrounds in the month leading up to the concert. We will meet every Thursday night at 7:00, stand in a circle, grasp hands and pray. It has been awesome. The peace that comes over me during that time is incredible (even when I think I don't have time for it). I do feel that our fairgrounds has a spiritual presence and I'm thankful for that. I have been in the grandstands and watched rain fall in a field across the road (only a few yards from the midway) as we whispered prayers for the rain to stay away...and it did. Sometimes it doesn't, but I do believe God watches over that patch of land.
Help us as we try to promote Elevate 2012. If you can't attend, then please be in prayer with us for this event. Our purpose is to elevate the community by glorifying God through praise and worship. We don't want this to succeed for our glory, but for His.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)