Purpose

My goal this school year was: "Keep an outside focus". In the past, I have started school with every intention to keep other aspects of my life going strong, but have lost focus before the first weeks are over. It's so easy to get caught up in grades, friends, homework and lose track of the whole purpose of school. School is not my life. School is merely a milestone along the journey. I go to school so I can move on with life and become a well-rounded human being, not to lose track of everything else and drown in numbers, letters, and figures.

Last year I stayed more grounded than I had in years before, due to three things (in no particular order). First, my job. I worked at Galloping Hills Equestrian Center several days a week, which forced me to get my homework done as soon as possible and reminded me there was a horse world out there that I wanted to be part of. Second, journaling. I've kept a journal (or several hundred) for as long as I could write. I found that taking time to write everyday about where I had been, where I was at, and where I was going kept life in perspective. Third, devotions. As a Christian, I want to display God to the world in my life. It's easy to forget or get distracted, but reading my Bible and taking time to listen to what He has to say has a huge effect on my day to day life.

This year, my goal was to keep an outside focus. I wanted to keep a healthy outlook and not get bogged down in nine months of school. I can't say I succeeded, but last Saturday I renewed my efforts. School is just a stop on the way. I'm not at all saying that it isn't important ('cause it is - fellow kids, stay in school!). I am saying that there is a lot more to teenaged life than high school. For instance, my horse. When I started to get caught up in the social life, the homework, and the stress, I found myself doing less and less with Gambler. As soon as I took a step back and looked at the big pictures, we started to progress. All that to say that I am going back to journaling, devotions, and horse-training with renewed vigor!

I think it was around 42 degrees today, really warm for December in rural Wisconsin. We had other plans for the night, so I didn't have as much time with Gambler as I would have liked. I put him in the cross-ties and attempted to comb his mane. It was hopeless. Wet, tangled horsehair is impossible.

The rainy gave the pasture a misty look.

Check out the bedraggled mane.

I was trying to get a picture of his "freckles" but the lighting was bad and he wouldn't hold still. If you look closely, he has a few flea-bitten spots on his cheek bone.