PB&J Barrel Horse Foundation

12/26/2023

🤣😂

11/13/2023

Dear Lil Ol' You,

You are smart enough, sweet enough, and strong enough.
Your style matters…but your character matters MOST.

You were created with a bright future in mind -
don’t let the world, and comparison of those in it,
dull your shine.

No one is like you.
No one will have your identical features, traits, or expressions.
No one will have your same hopes, dreams, or expectations.
No one will have your particular purpose, passion or pursuits.

Do you know why…?

You were planned, formed and made by the most beautiful Creator.
You were not an accident.
You were planned, formed and made for the most beautiful relationship.
You were not forgotten.
You were planned, formed and made uniquely of the universe’s Author.
You were not invisible.

God made you
Jesus saved you
Holy spirit helps you

Their words for you are written in love.

So let the lies knock you down;
so you can stand up slow,
toe-to-toe
with who you were made to be.

Jesus came to set you free.
God isn’t your enemy.

This is coming someone who felt, and lived like she was indeed:
an accident, forgotten and invisible…
But now I can tell you I wasn’t.

I overcame a lot of trash to be steadfastly in agreement
with the fact that I had a destiny to walk into.

And daily, God causes me to overcome and keep going.

My story looks a lot like the one in this video.
My story dares you give up on everything
….but God.

Sincerely,
�Lil Ol' Me��




www.hecarriedme.com
©2023 Kathleen Rossi Petite Picnic Publishing LLC

07/25/2023

Good people bring out the good in people ☀️



📷: 144 Visuals

07/18/2023

Don’t be a (dormant) doormat.

The past few weeks I mentioned we’ve been doing some pretty big projects surrounding ‘floor plans’. And a lot of you responded back with some projects you’ve been hard at work with as well. But I have to admit something…

I almost got stuck and didn’t push through to the end!

Does that ever happen to you?

A lot of projects at once with similar timelines can feel overwhelming, and be logistically challenging as well.

One stressful afternoon I heard God whisper, ‘Ask me what My word for you today is’. What is it, Lord? Then I heard:

Don’t. Get. Dormant.

I got a clear sense of encouragement to keep pushing through, and not let things sit till next week where they could lose momentum.

I also had a sense of wisdom; that if I let this sit too long, it would feel too stiff when I got up to try to finish it.

Sometimes when we let a project (or ourselves) be set down and sit for too long, it will feel rusty when we decide to get back at it again. When we use our time wisely on strategic projects we can bypass the resistance we meet when we ‘set it and forget it’ then try to kick start it again. The worst!!!

Then… something odd happened later that night. We found a firefly who landed on our doormat! At first we didn’t know if that little glow-bug was but we bent down and saw indeed, his little lightbulb butt was burnt out.

You are on your way to somewhere special! Don’t get dormant and land on the doormat. If God can light up a bug’s butt…just think about what he can do with you!

——

Psalm 23:3 He restores my soul. he leads me in paths of righteousness for his names sake.
Psalm 51:12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.

07/14/2023

Arena progress continued....

Is this giving a little bit of Stanley Yelnats vibes from digging so many HOLES in the blistering heat wave....

-------

from previous post:

A couple months ago I had a dream. I was walking around a house going up and down the stairs and I noticed that the floor was super dirty. I pointed at someone and asked ‘could you help clean this up? I’m really busy!’
For me, dreams have always been God has used in my life as a metaphor. So when I woke up I said, Lord what was with that dirt floor?!
And I felt like I heard: > you need to clean up your floor plan. <
Well that resonated with me because if my floor is ever full of clutter or dirty I really feel like I can’t think straight!
So I said, okay Lord! Help give me the inspiration for what my ‘floor plan’ should look like.
Long story short, I rearranged my whole entire house, and office; which consequently spilled over into the outside…of our arena.
Tell me there is nothing more motivating than a freshly drug arena! Well - this was on a whole new level. I felt like I moved into a complete different house and property.
The lesson in all this is that God loves to see us progress - but we can’t do that unless we get in sync with his vision for our life. Sometimes we don’t even know the potential of what we are standing right on top of! Things can become clutter because of innocent busyness and we can loose sight of our path forward.
Do you have something in your life you want to have a fresh outlook on? Drop a picture of what you are currently trying to refresh!
Psalm 127:1 Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.
Habakkuk 2:3 For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end- it will not lie if it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come’ it will not delay.
———
More arena progress soon!
(Hear it first by subscribing to
https://www.pbjbarrelhorsefoundation.com )

07/13/2023

Are y'all subscribed? Just incase, here is the email that was just sent out. Let's stay connected!

BARREL RACERS K.I.S.S. AND KICK

And we all know what K.I.S.S. stands for!

Keep It Simple Sandwich!!!!! Of course...

Hey y'all - it's Kathleen!

I thought I'd surprise you for once and let you know that Run 2 Win Equine has been rebranded into PB&J Barrel Horse Foundation.

(yes PB&J like the sandwich)

If you want to know more about the PASSION behind my rebrand go ahead and click that little red button below and read the full blog post.

If you don't like reading, I'll just give it to ya straight! I wanted to do all my favorite things, all at once!

Those are:
building an appetite for transformation for people and their barrel horses!

There is a scripture that says, ‘a man who heeds wisdom and builds his foundation on the rock, will have a home that stands through thick and thin’.

I believe that Jesus loves people and wants us to develop into the fullness of our unique identity. The best way to continue to transform is by laying a foundation of love at our feet for us to stand on.

Love is what will keep us steady in wild times
Love is what will keep us steady in frustrating times
Love is what will keep us steady when the rodeo road is unforgiving
Love is what will keep us steady when success finally surges
Love is what will keep us FOREVER

People

The most important part of any education is the foundation it sits on. Wisdom builds down before knowledge builds up. We make sure we instill confidence in our c**ts, students and clients through a trusting partnership. Being goal-based in the performance arena means nothing if your heart isn't in i...

07/12/2023

A couple months ago I had a dream. I was walking around a house going up and down the stairs and I noticed that the floor was super dirty. I pointed at someone and asked ‘could you help clean this up? I’m really busy!’

For me, dreams have always been God has used in my life as a metaphor. So when I woke up I said, Lord what was with that dirt floor?!

And I felt like I heard: > you need to clean up your floor plan. <

Well that resonated with me because if my floor is ever full of clutter or dirty I really feel like I can’t think straight!

So I said, okay Lord! Help give me the inspiration for what my ‘floor plan’ should look like.

Long story short, I rearranged my whole entire house, and office; which consequently spilled over into the outside…of our arena.

Tell me there is nothing more motivating than a freshly drug arena! Well - this was on a whole new level. I felt like I moved into a complete different house and property.

The lesson in all this is that God loves to see us progress - but we can’t do that unless we get in sync with his vision for our life. Sometimes we don’t even know the potential of what we are standing right on top of! Things can become clutter because of innocent busyness and we can loose sight of our path forward.

Do you have something in your life you want to have a fresh outlook on? Drop a picture of what you are currently trying to refresh!

Psalm 127:1 Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.
Habakkuk 2:3 For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end- it will not lie if it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come’ it will not delay.
———

More arena progress soon!
(Hear it first by subscribing to
https://www.hecarriedme.com/contact-8
https://www.pbjbarrelhorsefoundation.com )

05/04/2023

May 4th...

Happy Star Wars Day! May the 4th(or horse) Be With You! 😃😂

05/02/2023

"I’ve heard one too many conversations where this was taken out of context or improperly used… Sometimes it is easy to read something and make a snap judgement - at first glance scripture may seem like a RESTRAINT/SUBMISSION/CONTROL is the name of the game with aggressive undertones. But I’d like to take a swing at enlightening a less rigid perspective. Besides; IF you haven ridden a horse (which I’m guessing a lot of pulpit preachers haven’t) you know that wrestling a thousand pound prey animal is the LAST thing we aim to do.

Take this verse for example: Ps 32:8-9
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. BE NOT LIKE THE HORSE OR A MULE, WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING, OR IT WILL NOT STAY NEAR YOU.

The bit is an extension of our communication with horses. It helps relay the message we want our horse to do (connect, direct, guide) to his mind from our heart/seat of intentions. It is not so much the “bit” that makes the difference, but the application of its use.

The wisdom the God’s words offer us is less about RESTRAINT/SUBMISSION/CONTROL in an aggressive context, and more about TRANSFORMATION, PEACE and PARTNERSHIP in the journey. " -Kathleen Rossi

Ps 32:8-9 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. BE NOT LIKE THE HORSE OR A MULE, WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING, OR IT WILL NOT STAY NEAR YOU. I’ve heard one too many sermons where this was taken out of context or improperly used… Sometimes i...

04/14/2023

"What a sandwich taught me...
about training horses and helping people.

Peanut Butter and Jelly:

It’s a simple staple sandwich, seen in almost every lunch box at school. Easily assembled, and confidently packed to give plenty of energy to get through the day.

It’s easily customizable with the type of nuts, jelly and bread you like, and happily eaten and recognized by anyone who’s hungry.

The nostalgia of this sandwich had me appreciating a simpler time in the horse business. One where the effort I spent working on educational material was read, received and helped build relationships with the people who it was written for.

There was nothing pretentious about two pieces of bread and two ingredients stacked atop it, and anyone could afford to eat. There is nothing to hide, no one would bother to cheat.

The simplicity of the sandwich had me appreciate that the only dividing lines where the colors of the food you looked at. You sat down with whoever was having lunch and you talked with them. There was nothing inaccessible because of someone’s education level or social status.

My ode to said sandwich and the principles of my business as inspired by it:

Keep it simple and sweet: The training and education process does not need to be anything else other than what the horse and human need for the level they are at.

Identifiable: With education everyone knows what it is required for a foundation with horses. No more guessing.

Do-able: If you can sit and listen to your heart, then you can sit and listen to your horse. It is possible for anyone to train their horse.

Sustain-able: The foundation of training and education is what will carry on into an enduring career in barrel racing (and life).

Share-able: What we learn with and through horses is the greatest gift to give to others.

With this in mind I’d like to extend the invitation for you to read a little more into the story on https://www.pbjbarrelhorsefoundation.com/post/what-a-sandwich-taught-me-about-training-horses-and-helping-people-part-1 and subscribe to my email list.

It was been a special journey helping people and horses since I first started in 2009 and it is a great privilege to still be in the business. -Kathleen "



© Petite Picnic Publishing LLC 2023 Kathleen Rossi

02/15/2022

Hay there! What a bunch of cuties!

Happy Valentine’s Day from Bonnie and Clyde and the whole Rowley Ranch Crew! 💕♥️💕

02/15/2022

Track over turf any day :)

This weekend's Super Bowl will be played at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, on the site where the famous Hollywood Park racetrack once stood. Thoroughbred legends like Seabiscuit, Citation, Dr. Fager and Round Table all ran there, and so did some American Quarter Horse legends, including one with a great football name.

First Down Dash (pictured, #9) ran arguably one of his best races in the Hollywood Park Invitational on September 12, 1987, which was the first time he faced older horses. Coming into the race off a two-month refresher, jockey James Lackey was having trouble controlling the strong c**t as they approached the gate. Once they were in, First Down Dash refused to settle, throwing his head, rearing and getting crooked. When the gates popped, he veered in at the start. Lackey struggled to get him straightened out and, when he did, top older horses Kipscash and El Banko had him in their dust.

Lackey went to riding, and the horse responded. Stride by stride, he closed in on Kipscash, who had taken the lead as El Banko faded. On the final stride as their noses approached the wire, First Down Dash pushed his head down to capture the win against all odds.

It was a display of raw speed that left many who watched stunned.

“I’ve never seen a horse do that,” said trainer Blane Schvaneveldt, a man who had seen a lot of horses do a lot of things. “He’s a helluva racehorse.”

01/07/2022

So you’ve got yellow in your eyes and it ain't jaundice? You must be suffering from NFR syndrome. It’s a condition known to affect many barrel racers causing compulsive behavior, irrational dreams, and expensive decision making habits. Once present the symptoms rarely subside, and in most cases get worse overtime.

There is no known cure to resolve this transfixing yellow stupor, because even those who make it the NFR, usually relapse and go again. An unfortunate side effect of NFR syndrome is an even worse disease call NFR-enough.

Aside from all the crescendo that comes with the season finals, my other favorite thing is how unique each story plays out every year. Whether it’s tight race separated by a thousandths of a second to the finish, or the triumphal come-back testimonies; to me barrel racing never gets old.

I don’t think I’d be alone if I were to admit in a group of barrel racers that I wish I could’ve been there by now. Then I’d list off some excuses of why it’s been so hard to make that happen, stack up all the possibilities, and then snuggle in my wet blanket of disappointment. Most likely the atmosphere would become stifled by the inaudible ‘if only I were__________to make it to the NFR, then I’d feel__________.”

All the following jackpots we will attend with the stiff awareness of how we are not clocking and immediately measuring up to the long term goals we have. A few knocked barrels later in a series race and the golden yellow NFR glimmer will start to dim. And we ride the same up and down emotional carousel of inferiority. ‘if only I were__________to make it to the NFR, then I’d feel__________.”

It is a very strange phenomena barrel racers deal with. We basically write off anyone’s credibility unless they’ve been to the NFR. But then in the next breath we will judge from our cushy couch jockey saddles about how they ride. ‘If this person was good enough to make it to Vegas then why can’t I?’ Another thought comes to mind, ‘I”ll show them!’ And the next race you are at with a veteran NFR qualifier in the draw will complete transfix you to ‘be better than them’ or else.

I’m noticing a very debilitating mindset start to make a pattern here.

It's an “I’m not good enough, she’s not good enough, their not good enough, break your back till your enough” mindset. AKA…. The NFR-enough disease, and the root cause is INFERIORITY.

Oddly enough the barrel racers AT the NFR feel the same way on some scale. Some Facebook comments from competitors echoed the questions: Is never winning a round or placing and just walking home with a sound horse and the $10k bonus enough? Is riding the best I could for the energy I had on that day enough? Etc…etc… The merry-less round goes round.

I think a question for both ‘tiers’ of competitors tears of gold would be this:
Are the bright yellow walls really all you want, or are you missing something?

In my new book, He Carried Me, you might recognize an old poem, 'Dear Fellow Barrel Racer'. It reminds us that we all have a journey, purpose and calling in our struggle. (he carried me . com )

Last Fall I had an experience I wasn’t able to fully get perspective on until lately. Finally I was able to start exhibitioning a mare who I had hold off of from her futurity year. We finally starting hauling as she was becoming more sound and more mature, and also more huge. Typically people haul their yearlings, ride their two year olds, exhibition their three year olds, and futurity their four year olds. After fits of unsoundness I was basically riding one big 16 hand baby who still was new everything.

Right before we were about to trot through the pop up barrels, the arena got kind of still and quite and the speakers started to play a familiar tune by Trace Adkins:

You're gonna miss this You're gonna want this back You're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast These are some good times So take a good look around You may not know it now But you're gonna miss this.

I thought blatantly to myself…HOW on earth could I miss this?! I’m riding a shorty over-fed helium balloon with ADHD among dead broke 3 year olds, and the announcer can NEVER pronounce my name correctly.

Unfortunately about 6 months after we were getting our feet underneath us as those beginning exhibitions my poor horse got hurt. And on par with how her injuries have been occurring, the vet pitifully told me it was career ending, before her job on the barrel really ever got started. This started another 6 month journey of reflection because at that point I’d thrown in the towel and locked her up on stall-rest.

If you are like me rarely do you go a few days without riding but this several month stint really caused me to think about things. What if she can never be mobile after stall rest, did I do the horse justice with the training I did put in? What if she horse never wanted to be a barrel horse, did I still dignify her existence? What if I never made it beyond regional races to the NFR, would the local exhibitions have been enough? What if I never was able to pull out of the driveway with her again, would SHE just be enough?

The answer was surprisingly, yes.

Despite longing to have certain dreams reached with her, I still was grateful for what we were able to accomplish. Even with our penniless exhibitions, excruciating vet bills and eternity worth of rehab time…she was enough. Some people might have had the chance to watch horses like Secretariat in the Derby on TV, or see Streakin Six on the track. But I actually own, train, sit on, and bond with one of their offspring. Even if this great-grand daughter of legends lived on three legs in my yard, her personality and heart would be enough.

So easily we get to hyped up on not being fast enough, or talented enough, prepared enough, we completely miss the privilege it is to be in the presence of a horse and a friend.

But this commonly contagious mindset is completely robbing us of all joy and delight. Even if it were all to disappear tomorrow, even if we were to exceed our craziest dreams, we can content. In Philippians 4:12-13 God gives us a hint on how...

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry,whether living in plenty or in want.I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

Inside one of my purses there is a quote that says ‘Expect nothing, appreciate everything’ and it reminds me that with love you can be completely satisfied. If you love your horse, and your neighbor and the process you are relying on Gods love for, then the terrible disease of "NFR-enough" will disappear.

In my new book, He Carried Me, I left some room to journal in-between the pages of poems. I think it's good to write down the details of the journey we are on, it helps us process and gain perspective. Click on the button to check it out!

https://www.betterbarrelracing321.com/post/lessons-from-the-nfr-part-3-3-and-what-i-ll-focus-on-next-year

So you’ve got yellow in your eyes and it ain't jaundice? You must be suffering from NFR syndrome. It’s a condition known to affect many barrel racers causing compulsive behavior, irrational dreams, and expensive decision making habits. Once present the symptoms rarely subside, and in most cases ...

01/05/2022

This year we had the wonderful liberty of watching the NFR from our couches. And if you were also part of team ‘couch-jockey’ then I’m sure you could agree; while it’s fun to watch, we have absolutely no skin in the game.

We got to hold our breath while the rough stock bucked, rope our dummy while the ropers swung, and cheered on our favorite barrel racers. Among the 119 competitors we observed many things, talent, skills, try and… pride. The demeanor when your are in the spot light and under pressure is one thing, but I feel like true character will always shine (or be exposed) through.

As glorified couch jockey’s It was interesting to observe and sympathize with the victories, losses and overall trials in each event. And so from this perspective I want to share another principle that I observed (AS SOMEONE WHOSE FACE IS NOT MARRED WITH THOMAS AND MACK DUST) which could be a hindrance to all of us who compete on any scale.

We are not avid bull riding fans but we definitely made sure to watch the best of the best in the kick-off event of rodeo. Night one first round we heard the crowd erupt with fandom as the top bull rider took the money with swagger. Night two was a different story - and to make it short my kids are scarred for life from witnessing the wreck of the same top dog bull rider in the second round.

On the one hand…that’s rodeo right? One night you’re up on a mountain, and the next you are literally down on the ground. Wild animals, gritty cowboys and a whole lot of adrenaline make for a good show. And anyone will pay for a good performance. But after the dust settled from the concussion-inducing wreck I wondered how high of a price are the COMPETITORS willing to pay, to perform.

Then to our shock and horror night three rolls around and what do we witness…? The proclaimed best in the world, with the sustained head injury CLIMBS ON ANOTHER rank beast without batting an eye. Our stomachs turned as he could barley stay on for a jump and a half, only to be tossed like an inebriated rag doll. Night after night, the same scene replayed with no change in the outcome other than now clearly visible fear and apprehension from the bull rider.

Eventually one of my kids said something during one of the rounds after another failed ride. “Mama, why does he keep riding? It’s like he’s trying to prove to everyone he can do it but he keeps getting in danger!” My heart sank and my spirit agreed. The need to be, show, and do the best all the time is a fast track to failure and the pit of rejection.

Yes…Bull riders ARE a different breed, and it does take a person with major guts to ride something with balls that bucks. But rather than correct her and fortify his efforts by saying ‘Well honey that’s what cowboys do, they get up and try again’. I told her what I felt as I transparently witnessed as the most obvious problem…Pride comes before the fall.

Proverbs 16:18-19 Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. It is better to be of a lowly spirit with the poor than to divide the spoil with the proud.

What is the cost to stay on top and be the best? What is the cost to prove you can do it? What is the cost to show you are not weak? Is it 8 seconds of bravery for a chance at winning a $26k round? Or is it more than that?

In my new book, He Carried Me, I shed some blinding truth on the danger of having pride in your performance. Being obsessed with being the best might just be the most exhausting thing I've ever done.

I think that when we're SO fixated and foundational fixated on winning, pleasing people, impressing the crowd, putting on a performance and hardwired for man's approval, we'll have no boundaries for anything else. When we're hurt, tired, or broken we'll carry on as it if never happened. The problem is IT DID, and consequently the failure of our humanity is enduring opens the door to compromise.

Instead of going back to the basics we just mask it the a mirage of understanding. Instead of getting strategic about a new way to do something we repeat the same old habits. Instead of healing we pop and Advil (or more extreme). Instead of giving our horse a break we will just give him a shot of something to make it through. And the dominos tumble.

Rodeo is justly an entertainment industry. No one ‘rides bulls for a living’. Real life application of rodeo exists in roping, cattle work and horsemanship no doubt, but rodeo is largely a hobby/form of entertainment. The problem is with every other ‘entertainment’ industry - you can fake it. An actor reads a script. An artist can still create when injured or ill. A producer can still delegate responsibilities. Rodeo performance athletes can’t fake it and don’t have a ‘double’ to come in for them.

Because rodeo is as real and raw as it gets, sometimes us competitors get met with the lie of ‘if not tonight, then never again’, ‘the crowd came for a good time’. The crowd did not come to watch you make a fool of yourself and strap yourself onto deaths back unable to fight back for a bounty of $6k-$26k. The crowd actually will have more respect for you for treating a head injury and taking care of your health which will play the ultimate role in your career and personal life. No one wants you to be the best at the expense of your life.

And that is the lie that comes disguised as hard work: Pride. Thinking we have all the power to be the best, pursue the best, and do the best. When we take our talents, skills, and effort and chain it to PERFORMANCE we will only be happy if it meets the standards of others. We will only ‘function’ well, on top, and not know what to do the the scene changes or disaster strikes. Sometimes life is not about holding on for dear life…sometimes its about finding refuge and trusting you’ll get a second chance.

Let’s not go into next year pretending that if we don’t put it all on the line for people to love, commend and accept us then we are failures at our core. Grace is more powerful than any two thousand pound bull, and it certainly worth more than 8 seconds. If you need some wisdom and encouragement for learning to when rest and when to resume be sure to sign up for my new book, He Carried Me. ( he carried me . com )

https://www.betterbarrelracing321.com/post/lessons-from-the-nfr-part-2-3-and-some-things-i-ll-leave-behind

This year we had the wonderful liberty of watching the NFR from our couches. And if you were also part of team ‘couch-jockey’ then I’m sure you could agree; while it’s fun to watch, we have absolutely no skin in the game. We got to hold our breath while the rough stock bucked, rope our dummy...

01/05/2022

Pardon me but I’m about to make pretty bland generalization: Life will give you lots of reasons to be offended.Sometimes you’ll be minding your own business, staying in your own lane then…wahmmmo! Your life becomes momentarily derailed. At least that’s what happened in round 5 in this years NFR….

Wade Sundell, a professional bronc rider entered the grand entry with pomp and circumstance and left with a pop and broken back. He swung a leg over a horse he thought he could count on to gallop a lap of gratitude with his fellow competitors and ironically got bucked off a broke saddle horse.

The irony stings somthin' fierce.

For the first 24 hrs, fellow compadres took a jab at him here and there, jesting things like 'Nothing like a riding bucking horses all year to get tossed off a broke one, if you can’t ride in the grand entry you ain’t no cowboy’. But the joking bowed its head when the report came back he wouldn’t be able to finish the NFR because of a spinal fracture.

Well it's bulls and blood. It's dust and mud ... And they call the thing rodeo. (as Garth Brooks would say…)

Something about this unfolding story kept eating at me after the initial hand-to-mouth shock moment. Why? Because I think we’ve all had something side swipe and consequently sideline us. We’ve all been the victim of offense. When we are in the midst of wading through something bad that happened to us, it can be a lot to go through. Insult and injury you might say.

Real offense, is real threatening. It’s not like receiving a luke-warm coffee order or missing entering a rodeo a day too late. Real offense seems to come with an evil spirit and an agenda to take.you.out. The definition offense states plain and clear: it is something that outrages or attacks you morally or physically.

Have you ever been side-wiped by something and then had people tell you ‘Just get over it and don't take it so personally!’ Many of us have. And just like Wade Sundel, you’ve had others jest and joke with you because well, that’s just rodeo for ya! Little do they know, the thing that ‘didn’t seem like that big a deal’ actually is out to kill you.

I can’t get this picture out of my mind and I feel like it really encompasses the depth of offense. Maybe your mud puddle is 2 inches deep and truly no big deal.

Maybe it is 2 feet deep and you are losing a shoe. Maybe it’s quick sand and you’re sinking.

Or maybe its a circumstance that wouldn’t typically kill you, but because of everything you are already burdened by you are legitimately drowning.

This picture offers a perspective that deflates the judgement we all have when we watch someone go through mud.

We don’t really know until we are in it, and even when we are in it, we don’t really know.

Sometimes, the only way out is through. And overcoming adversity always requires endurance. How do I know this? Probably by living to see that the principles in God's word (Romans chapter 5) are true. God encourages us to take heart, and not give up because hopelessness is not the way to fix offense. Endurance is.

Romans 5:3-5: we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. ESV

In my new book, He Carried Me, I give a front row seat to see how God’s love helped me overcome some impossible circumstances. Circumstances that didn’t look but a few inches deep to some, but God knew the weight and depth of. His view and value of us is more substantial than the despair that any offense could ever threaten us with. (he carried me . com)

In my case, it was key that I didn’t try to ‘tough it out’, which is counter cultural to the ‘cowboy up’ lifestyle we try to adhere to. The dire straits that our circumstances present us with should not be artificially numbed and limped through. The complete picture of pain, disappointment and setback needs to be brought before the Lord. Even if He is the only person you admit your humanity to; do it because He’s the only one who will give you the capability to endure through it.

Thankfully for both our bronc riding friend, Wade, and myself. We are going to live to tell the goodness of God in the land of the living (even if we feel like the walking dead). There will be proof beyond ourselves that our comeback was made possible in an out-of-this-world way. A way that only points up.And a testimony that proclaims endurance through trial is worth the outcome.

So remember what you see might not be the whole picture, and the whole picture might not be the whole experience. Don’t undermine yourself or others if what you are going through is hard. Because is probably is. But you will make it! You won’t let offense rob you with it’s evil agenda to take you out - you will OVERCOME!

Do you have evidence of wading through a mud puddle this year? Comment below about the perspective and strategy you will use heading into the new year! Don’t forget to sign up for my new book - it has a few journaling prompts sprinkled through out the pages!

https://www.betterbarrelracing321.com/post/lessons-from-the-nfr-part-1-3-and-a-new-perspective-to-take-into-the-new-year

Pardon me but I’m about to make pretty bland generalization: Life will give you lots of reasons to be offended.Sometimes you’ll be minding your own business, staying in your own lane then…wahmmmo! Your life becomes momentarily derailed. At least that’s what happened in round 5 in this years ...