My new Great Granddaughter Alyssa Grace Arnold. Alyssa is 4 # 13 oz. She is my son Steve's daughter's baby. I will keep you posted on her. She was diagnosed with a couple of health problems before her birth. I haven't been able to talk to Sarah yet to know how she is. Keep her in your prayers. I can already tell she is a very sweet baby. But then they all are.
Maybe she will be riding on lead line in a couple of years. I hope she will be in Kentucky to do it.
We spend yesterday praying and wondering about how things were going. Sarah lives in Virginia and we could not get there. So we spent the day in suspense wondering how long she would be and not being there to hold her hand and tell her how much we love her. And giving her comfort through her ordeal.
In November we will have another birth in the family. My grand daughter Stephanie and her husband will have their second child. A sister we think to little Joel who is will be two next February. So by the end of the year I will have 4 great-grandchildren.
The Sunday before Labor Day we held church services for everyone who wanted to attend at the World Show. Since the show ran over Sunday everyone was away from their home church, to fill the void that left in people's lives it was decided we would hold church services on the show grounds. It was held in the new barn being built by the Breslins. Cyndee's brother has been a missionary for many years and her parents were also missionaries for a long time. So her brother preached the sermon that morning.
Before he preached his message we had music by Jessica Hall. If you have never heard her sing, you have missed a special experience. Jessica has such a sweet and pure voice you might think she was an angel singing. No piano or other music, just Jessica's sweet voice leading us in the old hymns I remember from my earliest childhood memories.
H T Derickson gave his testimony before the sermon and so did Howard Klarer. H T lives his life everyday in such a way that his faith is always on display. Before I decided I wanted a mountain horse, I started doing research on the different breeds. What caused me to decide that I wanted to think about a mountain horse was an article in Horse Illustrated. If you read that magazine you will know that every month they feature a breed of horses and have an article on the good qualities of that horse. And a brief history of the breed. They will have a center fold picture of a representative of that breed.
I picked up my copy of Horse Illustrated and found the feature of the month was the Rocky Mountain Horse. As I read about the nice gait, smaller size and sweet disposition I realized this sounded like the kind of horse I would like to have. Plus the picture was of a really beautiful chocolate horse. It was such an appealing horse with his kind eyes and beautiful conformation.
Then I started doing research on Mountain Horses from other sources. I googled Rocky Mountain Horse and came up with a long list of sources for information. Then I found some farms and stables in Kentucky that had Rocky Mountain Horses. Of course, one of the most visible farm in Kentucky just happened to be Van Bert Farms of Stanton.
I watched their web site for several months and I always liked what I saw. Soon I was in Stanton looking them up. I had talked to Larry Patterson and went to my first horse show in Stanton Kentucky. Larry invited me to join him in his rolling office (the golf cart) and we went for a brief tour of the farm. I have to say I was very impressed.
Then we went to the horse show where I first met H T and Wilda. They were so natural and friendly and kind to me. It was just what I had needed. I had recently lost Bill and I wanted something to keep me busy besides work. There are the lonely hours at home after work and when no one else was around. I could not just do nothing but watch T V. The fact is my T V has not been on in my house more than two hours since Bill died due to my turning it on. Except when I watch a video.
The kindness shown to me by all the folks at Van Berts was unbelievable. I had told Larry that I had recently lost my husband and he offered to cry with me if I needed someone to do that. It was very sweet. I was asked if I was a Christian and of course I said yes. It was soon apparent to me that God had led me to a place to buy horses from people who are honorable and live their faith day by day.
It was very sweet to hear H T 's testimony and know something of his Christian walk. I was moved to tears and I really don't cry very much. H T was like so many of us. He was afraid that God would ask him to do something he didn't want to do, be a preacher. But God had other plans for him and when H T surrender his all to Christ and promised to do whatever he wanted of him, H T got a peace that filled every fiber of his body and soul. God asked him to live his testimony every day. H T has done that in a marvelous way.
Only time will tell how many souls are in heaven because H T surrender his all to Christ that day. I know I have been touched in a wonderful way by this special family. H T and Wilda are so dear to me. They are special friends that one doesn't find every day. My family has come to realize how good and special they are and they like everyone who knows them really like to be around them. They are a lot of fun.
That was a very special part of the World Show that we all cherish and enjoyed. It brought us together in a way nothing else could have. We all enjoy the company and the competition of the show but it was a time we could stop being competitors and just be people who have a lot in common and enjoy the special fellowship that people with common interests have.
May God bless you and keep you in his loving care. And may he use our little Alyssa in a special way.
Regards,
Mary
And God took a handful of southerly wind, blew his breath over it and created the horse.
~~Bedouin Legend~~
The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want.
Psalms 23: 1
No comments:
Post a Comment