moving!

I'm moving my blog to tumblr.

Because it's looks pretty dang nifty.

So the new address is:

rulescanbendthatway.tumblr.com

(it's kind of under construction for now)

All future posts of random thoughts and such can be found there!

i've been waiting for something

I've never thought of success as the color of a ribbon. I've never needed to place in order to feel accomplished.

My success is found in a horse who stands quietly when I pull his mane. Cantering bareback in an open field. Finally being able to jump down the steps.

So why should I drop $500 to spend the last month I have with my horse stressing out over whether or not we'll finally be "good enough?"

Not that I don't like showing. I do. But it's so much money. So much money with no guarantee that it won't be like Catalpa last year. So much stress. Unnecessary stress. Pressure. And after all that, we'll be lucky if we place 10th.

Going to watch the mini-event today made me realize that I love hanging out and helping people and taking loads of pictures almost as much as I like actually showing.

I'd rather spend money on cross-country schooling trips. Cheaper, less stressful, and I can sneak in a few prelim jumps :)

I am excited to watch Freedom compete with his new owner and other leaser. To me, their success is my success. I love watching him calmly jump a course with one of them. I reminisce a lot, perhaps too much, about what he was like when I was their age. I was doubtful that he would ever be where he is now.

this is the voice that i was given

How do you make someone see that they need God? That no matter how good their life may seem, or how happy they might think they are, they can't do it alone? Without sounding like an infomercial. It's "easier" to witness to someone who's fallen on hard times or is looking for redemption from haunting mistakes. But then are they coming to Jesus for the wrong reasons? People shouldn't just think of Jesus as a way to get rid of their problems, or an automatic ticket to sunshine and rainbows.

The stereotypes that are attached to Christianity make telling people about God way more complicated.

People are so quick to assume they know it all and just tune out whatever you might try to tell them.

Everyone has their own different ways of witnessing, which is good because different people will be receptive to different things. It is never good to seem like you're forcing your beliefs on someone else. Or to just talk at them without listening to their views.

I'm not a big fan of the whole "walking up to a random stranger and telling them about Jesus" approach. It's too easy to sound like a stereotype. Or sound like you're trying to sell something. To them, you're just "one of those church people."

Instead: build a genuine relationship. Don't push your faith on someone who's not interested. But don't ignore them either. Live like Jesus. Show them love, compassion. Listen. Be a friend. Strive to live like Jesus in everything you do. Discuss what they believe. Ask questions, answer questions. Don't use scare tactics ("don't you know you're going to hell?!"). Be inspired by the Word.

I get that some people are so outgoing and excited about Jesus that randomly witnessing to strangers comes naturally. Which is cool. As long as they're careful not to fall into stereotypes.


Jesus is not just a free ticket to heaven.
Jesus is not just an automatic perfect life.
Jesus is not just a therapist, a place to dump your problems.

Those are commonly used advertisements. Selling points.

It's not about mumbling an insincere prayer about wanting Jesus in your heart so you can have eternal life. It's about actually wanting Jesus in your heart. Changing your heart for Jesus. I don't like when people say "just pray this prayer and you're a Christian!" That's like saying, hey, pray this prayer, then just go forget about it. But it'll be okay, because you mumbled exactly what I told you to mumble and now you're saved.. Not really how it works. Yes, ask Jesus into your heart. But mean it. Want him there. Desire a change in your attitude and actions.

Jesus is complete and unfailing love.

thanks for the memories, even though they weren't so great

In ten years, what will I remember about the way my life is now? Why do we remember some details and not others? What will get erased forever, and what will stay?

(i hope the memories i keep will contradict this title)

we gave up before we gave it a chance

It is too easy to become desensitized.
"Eat your food, there's starving kids in Africa."
It's become cliche. Starving African children.
You hear it and just filter it out.
One child dies from starvation every five seconds.
That's 17,000 kids every day.

people just write it off. no one cares. we are so disconnected from a life where people literally die of hunger that we just ignore it. safe in our little american bubble. not our problem. we will go about our daily lives, consumed in our self-absorbed materialistic culture. and in a distant world, they will go about their daily lives, eating dirt cookies to stay alive.

If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered.

Proverbs 21:13

if vision is the only validation, most of my life isn't real

we will never have "our year" like i always hoped we would.

all we have now is one more shot.

we were smart kids with too much to say

"Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can praise them, disagree with them, quote them, disbelieve them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They invent. They imagine. They heal. They explore. They create. They inspire. They push the human race forward. Maybe they have to be crazy. How else can you stare at an empty canvas and see a work of art? Or sit in silence and hear a song that’s never been written? Or gaze at a red planet and see a laboratory on wheels? We make tools for these kinds of people. While some see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who actually do."

-apple