Thursday, April 30, 2015

Writing Challenge!

Before I share about our new horse, Baylie, I wanted to do a brief  challenge. For once, this is a challenge that I, myself, came up with and it will appeal to all my authors/writers out there! So, here are the rules.

1) I give you a traditional story. (Like one of Aesop's Fables or a fairy tale, etc.)
2) You write it up differently from the original and send it in to me via the email me gadget that I added to my blog on the right sidebar. (Please, try to keep it about 500 words max but not more than 600. Thanks!)
3) I will judge the entries, place them in order of first, second, third and post them! Please let me know if you prefer me not to publish your entry. This challenge is just for fun so there is no reward.

Here is your first challenge: Rewrite The Boy Who Cried Wolf! Here is an example for you written by my younger sister from an assignment in her writing program, Excellence in Writing. Thanks, Sis! She calls it, Nobody Will Believe. 


There once was a girl who watched the ranch horses in a grassy meadow near the ranch. Earlier that spring the ranch owner had sternly instructed her to keep a keen eye out for bobcats. He did this because he feared that a young girl such as she could not handle a job as important as this.

After several weeks of herding, the drowsy girl had become very lonely. Suddenly an idea sparked in her head. If she called “Bobcat,” then the ranchers would come to save the horses. She would then have company. “Bobcat!” the girl shrieked. After two more calls, the ranchers had arrived. Surprisingly, the ranchers did not scold but simply replied, “Do not do that. It practically made the grub jump out of me.” The girl, who was upset that they would not stay, agreed as they galloped over the hills. She did not call for quite some time . . . until she got very lonely again because it had been two months since she had been in proper civilization. “Bobcat!” she foolishly cried. When the ranchers rode over the ridge and discovered her prank, they were furious. “Don't EVER do that,” they all barked.

Several weeks later, a large bobcat, skinny from starvation, silently approached the herd. Because of her sharp eyes, the girl saw the hungry beast sneaking in the tall summer grass. Jumping to her feet, the frightened girl cried out in alarm. “Bobcat! Bobcat! Help!” With so much as a glance, the ranchers ignored her. “Bobcat! Please, help! Bo–” her cry was interrupted by a screaming horse. This of course caught the ranchers' attention. Loading their rifles, they raced to the scene but were too late as they found the petrified girl huddled against a rock in the horses' dust staring where they had bolted. “It seems as if you have learned this lesson the hard way,” the leader piped up. “If you lie, then when you don't lie, nobody will believe you.”

Have fun and please get your entries in as quickly as possible. If you want to, you can title it, but if you don't that's okay too! Please include your name (or an alias if you don't want your name public) and state if you are willing. Thank you!

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Caption #10!

For this one, I got twelve suggestions, all of them very good! For this one, in first place is a tie between Rose and my Grandma. Both were excellent additions to the game—thanks for entering! I also enjoyed reading Jesseca Dawn's and Faith P's. Here is my Grandma's caption, Rose's is found with the picture below. "Where's my welder's helmet? My mother always told me not to look directly at an eclipse.... maybe I'll listen to her the next time."
I just had a mind blowing idea!

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Two God Crazy Gals!

My friend, Marci, and I recently designed another blog called Two God Crazy Gals. We would love to have you visit, follow, and subscribe to it! Here is the link: 2Godcrazygals.blogspot.com

The newest post has a poem from a friend about love. I felt it very important and God placed it on my heart to share it with you! Click HERE to visit that post.

Monday, April 20, 2015

The Legacy of Rachel Scott


Rachel Joy Scott.
It was a beautiful, sunny day in Columbine, Colorado. Just outside of Columbine High School two teenaged boys, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, walked up to a young woman named Rachel Scott and young man named Richard eating lunch together. Suddenly both boys drew guns and opened fire. Richard became paralyzed as a result of the bullets. Rachel was shot three times by Eric. As Rachel attempted to crawl away and the young man lay on the ground, the boys walked away toward the school but then turned back to Rachel. Eric held her head up by her hair and asked the simple question which, depending on her answer would be the difference between her life and death, “Do you believe in God?” She answered, “You know I do.” And with that Eric responded, “Then go be with Him.” He then ended her life with a final bullet. The killers then went on to murder eleven other students and a teacher but also injured many more students before taking their own lives. Rachel's brother, Craig, narrowly escaped death himself in the school library where most of the shooting went on. On today's date, April 20th, it has been 16 years since the tragedy in 1999.

Fishing!
Rachel Joy Scott was a devoted Christian even to her last breath at age 17. She wrote in her many journals about starting a “chain-reaction” for Christ by acts of kindness. She also wrote about her struggles and temptations. Even though she wasn't a “super-Christian” she desired to serve God even at the expense of friends. She paid attention to the whispers of the Holy Spirit and blessed many people. Rachel reached out to those at her school who were outcasts, bullied, and physically or mentally challenged. She even reached out to Eric and Dylan. In doing so, she was fulfilling her desire to “walk the talk.” She was determined not to be like many who claim to be Christians but then live no different from the rest of the world. She also had a goal to not be labeled average as she wrote on the back cover of the diary that she had in her backpack the day she was murdered.

There are several places where you can find out more about Rachel Scott. First of all there are at least three books written by her father and others that discuss her life and legacy: Rachel's Tears, (Picture of cover to the right) Rachel Smiles, and Chain Reaction. Rachel's Tears is the only one I've read and it has changed me. Now I've decided that I won't be labeled average—I will change lives by listening to God's voice and remaining faithful to Him. Also there is a website set up by her family that contains pictures of her as well as a bit about her. Link: www.racheljoyscott.com.  

Then there is the Rachel's Challenge page that talks about the challenge that Rachel left for us: reach out to those around you with Christ's love and thus change the world one step at a time.

Rachel had always felt that she would change the world. You might say, “Well, she was wrong for now she is dead.” But no, in her death she is changing the world. According to the statistics on the website “Rachel's Challenge,” through the messages that they have preached about Rachel they have prevented about 500 suicides in the last three years.

I am encouraging you to read Rachel's Tears and ask God how it should affect you. Check out this challenge that Rachel left us. Continue her mission to change yourself and in doing so, to change the world one step at a time by following God and letting Him work through you. I hope that you enjoyed reading this and that your life will be changed. God bless you!

Saturday, April 18, 2015

Caption This #10!

Alright! Here we go with the next Caption This post! I love it when you participate and it doesn't have to be completely witty, I just love the interaction I get from these so feel free to comment an idea!

The dog in this picture is not mine but a friend who house sits for people took it. Thanks, Amy M!

Thursday, April 16, 2015

Leibster Award: 2015 (Part 2)

In my last post I mentioned that I had received the Leibster Award twice and I answered the questions from Jesseca Dawn. Here is the second set of questions from Blessing Counter with Counting Your Blessings One by One. Thanks, Blessing Counter!

Just as a refresher . . .

The Rules are:
1) Link to the blogger that nominated you.
2) Answer the 11 new questions.
3) Nominate other bloggers. (As many or as few as you like)
4) Create 11 new questions for them to answer
5) Notify the new nominees of their award.

Now for responses to the questions!
1. Do you find that you read more fiction or non-fiction books? 
Fiction. Mostly horse stories and mysteries.
2. Skirts or pants?
Pants! Jeans or sweatpants to be specific. ;-)
3. What is your dream pet? Or do you not like animals in general?
I loove all animals! (Except for snakes, spiders, and the like) Dream pet—a horse!
4. What is your favorite Bible verse?
John 3:16 never becomes old. :-) Proverbs 3:5-6 also produce for me both a challenge and a comfort.
5. Who in your family do you look like the most?
My Dad mostly. Or at least that is what people say . . .
6. If given the chance, who is the one person that you would want to meet? 
Umm . . . can I go back in time to meet a person? If so, Jesus. If not then, well probably someone that has something to do with horses. ;-)
7. Say some of your siblings were fighting, either by words or physically. Would you watch them and cheer for your favorite, be a peacemaker, or ignore them and walk away?
Well, when I was born, my parents felt that I was to be both a leader and a peacemaker. I have seen both those qualities in me and so I would be a peacemaker for sure!
8. Do you prefer singing or playing an instrument?
Yikes, I don't sing well and I don't play any instruments.
9. Who is your favourite singer/band? 
I don't really have one but I like For All Seasons (formerly Reveal), the Advance, Casting Crowns, the Newsboys . . . you can check out my profile for a complete list.
10. What do you spend the most time doing/ What do you wish you spent the most time doing?
Well, most of my time is spent in school but I wish that I could spend all day out with horses, reading, writing, blogging, etc. (Again, my profile has a more complete list of my hobbies.)
11. What characteristic do you not have that you wish you had or are trying to learn?
I am working hard on being generous, not as selfish. Also I am trying to not take control of things all the time.
Okay, that was fun! Now for those who I am nominating:
Sarrah from Girls and God.
Amy from Living in Faith and Fun!
Cara from Faithful God Girls.
Marci from Two God Crazy Gals! 
Kelpie from C'est La Vie.

Here are the questions for my nominees to answer...have fun!
1. What is your favorite school subject? Least favorite?
2. What is your favorite pastime?
3. At what age did you receive Christ? (If you have)
4. What is your ideal vacation spot?
5. Who is your favorite author/series/book?
6.  What is your favorite food? Least favorite?
7. If you were given a million dollars, what would you do with it? (Honestly now . . . not what you think would be good but what would YOU do?)
8. What is your favorite joke?
9. Who is your favorite Bible character and story?
10. Do you enjoy writing? Have you published anything?
11. Briefly share of an exciting adventure that you have had. ;-)

I hope that you enjoyed reading my answers and getting to know more about me. Maybe you can connect with some of the other bloggers that I nominated as well as Blessing Counter!

Also:
I just changed the blog look so be sure to check it out and give me your feedback! The biggest picture in the collage is of my family and I on a trail ride (I am on the last horse). The picture in the top-right is of my sister with out new horse, Baylie. The bottom-left picture (not the big one) is of Dream and me one burn day out doing school by the fire; the top-left picture is of me and Dream one day after church; and the bottom-right is of my boots in the snow up at Shaver Lake where my family like to vacation. Enjoy!

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Leibster Award: 2015 (Part 1)

Last year I was awarded the Leibster Award which basically lets people get to know you better and makes others aware of other small blogs. This year I was nominated twice so I will do it in two separate posts. Here is post number 1!


The Rules are:
1) Link to the blogger that nominated you.
2) Answer the 11 new questions.
3) Nominate other bloggers. (As many or as few as you like)
4) Create 11 new questions for them to answer
5) Notify the new nominees of their award.

A big thank you to Jesseca Dawn from A Kansas Wind for nominating me.

Now for responses to the questions!
1. What type of books do you like reading the most? (i.e fiction, non-fiction)
I prefer horse stories (fiction or nonfiction), mysteries (like the Trixie Belden series and Nancy Drew books), and books by Jerry B. Jenkins. Biographies in novel form also beg me to read them.
2. Do you enjoy writing? If so, what do you like to write about?
Are you kidding? I love to write! I mostly write stories just for the fun of it and getting creative but I mostly write totally random topics. It could be from the point of view of a snowflake or my "major" work right now is a story about a teenaged girl who likes horses and is struggling with adolescent rebellion.
3. You've suddenly been transported back in time.  Where do you choose to go?
A cattle ranch in the wild west? The time of Jesus? Not sure!
4. What is your favorite kind of weather?
Rain, snow, thunderstorms . . . they all give me a sense of freshness.
5. What is your favorite chore?
Feeding the horses! (Oops, guess I let that slip for those of who know me well, we got a second horse and I'll try to do a post about that later but I've been swamped lately!)
6. If you could go back in history and change something, what would it be?
Could I bring some things and ideas back from today? If so I would bring back all the new remedies for sicknesses that took many lives or I would try to help all the persecuted Christians in the time after Jesus.
7. Someone just handed you a plane ticket to wherever you've been longing to go. Where are you going?
Longing to go . . . hmm. Hawaii? Alaska? The East coast? Is there a ticket to the Kentucky Derby too or the Olympic equestrian events? Not sure! (Maybe I was given several tickets . . . .)
8. What is your favorite Bible verse?
That is a hard one . . . well, I like the promises in the Bible. John 3:16 never becomes old. Proverbs 3:5-6 also produce for me both a challenge and a comfort.
9. You're scheduled to speak before a large crowd. What are you speaking about?
I would run! But well, if I had to it would be something about horses . . . .
10. You're handed a piece of sheet music, given a piano and asked to play without any practice. What do you do?
I sit down and as I play the room QUICKLY empties.  I cannot play piano or read the music very well!
11. Jeans or skirts?
Jeans!!!

Okay, now for those who I am nominating:
My dad, Erick from A Great God and Good Coffee.

Susan Marlow from Suzy's Scribbles.

Emily from The Imaginary World of Emily McConnell.

Rebekah from Rebekah's Reading Room.   

Here are the questions for my nominees to answer...have fun!
1. What do you like best about your present occupation?
2. What is your favorite pastime?
3. At what age did you receive Christ?
4. What is your ideal vacation spot?
5. Whose books (other than your own) do you most admire?
6.  What is your favorite food?
7. If you were given a million dollars, what would you do with it?
8. What is your favorite joke?
9. Who is your favorite Bible character?
10. What is your favorite Bible story?
11. Who has been the most influential person in your life and why?

I hope that you enjoyed reading my answers and getting to know more about me. Maybe you can connect with some of the other bloggers that I nominated as well as Jesseca Dawn!