Brother Louis said:

“I had my Vet out this week to work on one of my horses teeth and cut a stud colt.  The colt is a two year old that I’ve been saddling and getting ready to ride. He is really gentle and has a great disposition.  It got me to thinking about how people and horses can have a kind, gentle disposition or they can be cantankerous, hard headed and generally hard to get along with.  Which type of person are we and which type of person or horse would we rather be around?   When we look at the life of Jesus, he gives us a great example of how God wants us to be.  Jesus was patient, kind, compassionate, demonstrated grace & forgiveness and He had a servants heart.   In Matthew 11: 28-30, Jesus says to us, “COME to me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  TAKE My yoke upon you and LEARN from me,   FOR I AM GENTLE AND HUMBLE IN HEART,  and you will find rest for your soul.  In Phillipians 2: 1-8, Paul says that Jesus emptied himself,  took on the role of a servant, humbled himself and then was obedient to God and He gave His life for US.  Begin to ask God to help you become more like Jesus.  We’ll find more joy & happiness as we learn to be more like Jesus  and who knows, we might discover that people and our horses like being around us a lot more.”

The photo above is on the church grounds and of a kind, older gentleman in the church. He is sitting in his wagon with his team of horses. He often gives the children rides in the wagon on Sunday. He has such a kind, gentle disposition and so many church members love to be around him.

Thank you for stopping by and I hope your week is like a spoonful of sugar!

Kristi

This Nurse Report takes place at the World Showcase at Epcot, Walt Disney World. It was called Tapestry of Dreams Parade. It only ran from 1999 to 2001 as the Tapestry of Nations Parade and 2001 to 2003 as the Tapestry of Dreams Parade. It ended in 2003 due to decreased popularity. (Wiki)

My husband and I spent our first newly wed vacation at Walt Disney World and enjoyed this parade in June of 2002. We had no idea we would later grow a love for photography. We used a point and shoot camera, a Kodak Advantix, that required us to switch out the color with the black and white rolls of film. Due to the cost of film, printing of photos, and building a house later that summer as newlyweds, we chose the photos we took carefully so we could photograph the entire trip and put them in a scrapbook at home. We didn’t post-process our photos at that time.

This past spring, as we began to prepare for our 10-year anniversary trip, we decided we wanted to go back and post-process our very first trip. I decided I would post-process in groups of photos or themes. This was the first theme chosen to post-process. Since there wasn’t the data in these photos that there is with the current dslr cameras, we have been pleased with the magical outcome.

Thank you for stopping by for a dose of blog sugar. I hope your week is like a spoonful of sugar!

Kristi

There is something magical about flying to Walt Disney World. In January, that is just what I did….only without my family. It felt a little odd going without my family as I have made twenty-three Disney resort stays with my family. Yes, I said twenty-three. Our children have made twenty of those trips and I would say they have earned their ears. We have stayed at each level of the Disney Resorts. For this twenty-fourth Disney Resort stay, I chose to stay at Disney’s Boardwalk Inn Resort.

I made plans to meet with a few of my female Disney-photog friends who were also planning to be at Walt Disney World the same dates.

Below is a photo of the backside of the newest terminal at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport on the tarmac. I took an early morning flight from DFW to Orlando. I sat in first-class and was able to board early. What’s a girl to do when sitting in first-class with a camera body and several lenses? Of course, take photos of sunrise over the airport.That is just what I did. The sun was beginning to rise over the airport and the altocumulus clouds were hanging over Terminal D. I was able to capture a few photos before it was time to prepare for take-off.

Thank you for stopping by and I hope your day is like a spoonful of sugar!

Kristi

Brother Louis said:

We can learn so much about ourselves and about life by looking at David’s life. David was both: courageous and fearful. He was loved by many and hated by Saul. He was at times innocent and God fearing and at times sinful and far from God. David’s story is our story. In Psalms 26 he believes he’s a pretty good guy without defect or fault. David says I have walked in God’s truth, I do not sit with deceitful or wicked men and in verse 6 he says he is pretty much innocent. Fast forward to Psalms 51, David has committed adultery with Bathsheba and had her husband sent into battle where he is killed. In 51: David says, I know my sins and I can’t quit thinking about the wrong I have done, I have sinned against God. He begins to plead for forgiveness and in verse 10 he says, “Create in me a clean heart, O God and renew a right spirit within me. Verse 12 says, ” Restore to me the joy of your salvation.” Are we really any different from David? Thankfully God is a forgiving God. He forgave David and He will forgive you and I. First John 1: 9 says ” If we confess our sins , He is faithful to forgive us our sins and will cleanse us from all unrighteousness. That is good news and gives us all hope.

This photo is from the Norway Pavilion at Epcot. It reminds me of David’s character of strength.

Thank you for stopping by and I hope that your day is like a spoonful of sugar!

Kristi

As you can see, Barbie and Ken had a magical photoshoot in their pink threads. The sun was just perfect that day and the couple rode away in Barbie’s pink car when the photos were finished. Barbie and Ken have already pre-booked another sparkly summertime photoshoot with us girls. Come back and we will post their summer shoot!

Thank you for stopping by and I hope your day is like a spoonful of sugar.

Kristi

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Brother Louis said:

If I asked you what the significance was of Jesus dying on the cross, you might answer that He died for the forgiveness of our sins. If I asked you what was the significance of Jesus’ resurrection, you might say it proved that He was the Son of God. You would be right but what about this: Jesus’ resurrection meant the restoring of His life and the restoring of our lives as we believe and put our trust in Him. Like an old , rundown house that needs restoring and brought back to life, God wants to restore our lives. He wants to give us new life. John 10: 10 says that Jesus came that we might have life and have abundant life, REAL LIFE. We must TRUST God in every circumstance, Learn to REST in God’s peace, and FIND JOY in spite of your circumstances. Jesus died and was restored to life on the third day. To God be the glory, great things He has done.

On Good Friday, I woke up and began to think about the last days of Jesus life here on earth, the events in the days before He was crucified on the cross, and then three days later, His resurrection with an empty tomb. I continued to think about these last days over the weekend leading to Easter Sunday. Friday is here….but, Sunday is coming. Please click here for S.M. Lockridge’s sermon with footage from The Passion of the Christ.

The photo above is from the Mid-Cities area in the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex. It reminds me of the three crosses that stood on Golgotha, where Jesus carried his own cross and was hung in between two criminals.  It is believed, He endured the the crucifixion for about six hours from the third hour, which was about 9 in the morning, and is believed to have died at about the ninth hour, which would be about 3 pm.  As S.M. Lockridge says in his sermon, “It was Friday, but no one knew Sunday was coming”… where an empty tomb would be found because He would be risen. I am thankful for the cross.

Brother Louis said:

If Jesus were to call out to you and ask, “What do you want me to do for you?”,  what would you ask for? In Mark 10: 46-52  Jesus asked that of a blind man named Bartimaeus. Bartimaeus replied, “I want to see.”  In just a few days Jesus would be nailed to the cross. He is on his way from Jericho to Jerusalem to finish God’s plan for His life, but He takes the time to stop and give Bartimaeus his sight. There is a blindness that is worse. This  blindness  is an epidemic in our world today. It is spiritual blindness. Paul said in Ephesians 1: 18 , “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you.”  What do you want Jesus to do for you?  I hope your first request is for your spiritual eyes to be opened so that you see Jesus and so you will know the hope He gives to all of us who believe. Just as Jesus stopped and took time to heal Bartimaeus, He is never too busy  to meet your need.

The photo above comes from The Alamo in San Antonio, Texas. This clinic was located on the second floor in the long barrack. Inside the clinic, was a bed and bottles of medicines. Mostly purgatives and tonics to restore health. The clinic treated anyone near the mission. I am thankful we have a great physician that can heal our wounds.

Thank you for stopping for a weekly dose of blog sugar and I hope your week is like a spoonful of sugar.

Kristi

Brother Louis said:

There is an old house down the road that is abandoned and has been condemned.  It looks to me like it is beyond being restored so that it would have any value or could ever  be lived in.  Aren’t you glad God doesn’t look at us like we look at an old house and say he or she is beyond being restored,  Aren’t you glad he doesn’t say that we have no value and I might as well condemn them.    The bible says in John 3: 16-17, that God loved us so much that He sent his Son to die for us so that we would and could have eternal life.   Verse 17 says God did not send his Son into the world to condemn us,  but to save us.  We have value,  you have value.  Read a story found in John 8: 1-11 about the woman caught in adultery.  The religious men wanted to stone her,   Jesus wanted to give her a new start.  Jesus said to her, ” I don’t condemn you, He was saying I came to forgive and restore, so go,  but  leave your lifestyle of sin.”  No matter our past Jesus says to us , ” I didn’t come to condemn you,  I came to save and restore you..”

The cowboy church doesn’t say get cleaned up before you come in but come in and let God clean you up. There are people who need help. Gather around and help.

Brother Louis said:

Have you gone anywhere recently and had to take a detour because of road construction? Detours can be  inconvenient and time consuming and generally we always seem to be in a hurry.  Have you ever taken any detours in life?  Sometimes we make a decision  to take detours in life and sometimes the detours are unexpected.  Detours are those things that cause us to go a different direction .  Have you ever considered that detours can be both good & bad: Good if God tells us to take the detour and bad if we decide to detour from the road map of life that God has provided us with.  In Acts Chapter 8, verse 26-39  God tells Philip to take a detour down a desert road leading from Jerusalem to Gaza.   Philip meets up with a man from Ethiopia and  He  over hears him reading some scripture from the book of Isaiah.  Philip tells him “The Good News”  of Jesus and the man’s life is changed, Philip and the Ethiopian were both blessed because Philip was willing to take the detour.

Brother Louis also told of his own story of a man named Philip and a man named Jesse. The story took place in an old town outside of Abilene. Philip was in Abilene and got on the wrong side of the tracks in a rough neighborhood and his old pickup truck just wouldn’t make it. He needed to look for a place to take the truck and began to look for a garage. He found a place called Jesse’s garage. He pulled in and found a guy named Jesse. Jesses was a guy we might not want as a friend because of his past way of life. That day, Jesse was reading the Bible as Philip drove his truck into the garage. He was reading Isaiah 53:6-7:

Philip asked Jesse if he knew what he was reading and Jesse admitted he didn’t. So Philip explained that one day God is going to send his son, Jesus, for us. We have to believe and accept Him. We are the ones that have to make the detour. Jesse told Phillip he didn’t like the way he was but he couldn’t change. Philip explained that Jesus came to give him. Jesse asked even if I believe, he will come into my heart? Philip told Jesse, “Yes, even you.” Philip then asked Jesse if he knew what it meant to be baptized. Jesse wanted to be baptized and the two went to a nearby creek and baptized him. Jesse’s life was changed because of Philip’s detour.

The photo was taken at Disney’s Hollywood Studios at The Walt Disney World Resort. It is a photo of Oscar’s garage with a 24 hour service truck in front. I am thankful God offers 24-hour service for each of us and we can detour by His garage at any moment.

Be ready to take a detour for God, there may be someone whose life is changed because you were willing to go down a road that you had not planned to travel.

Thank you for stopping for a weekly dose of blog sugar and I hope your week is like a spoonful of sugar.

Kristi

It’s SUNDAY and on Sundays, I usually blog from that day at church during the preacher’s sermon. This SERMON SUNDAY comes from the Parker County Cowboy Church.

Brother Louis said:

The last couple of weeks the cow we have at the church decided he liked it better on the other side of the fence. He kept getting out until I finally put another barbed wire down the middle of the fence line. I know cows can’t talk but if he could I would have told him the grass he was on tasted the same on both sides of the fence. The key words here are, “he decided where he wanted to be”. I’ve been reading a lot about the life of David and I noticed that almost every decision David made, he would ask God for guidance and to reveal to him what he should do. There is one time though that David did not consult God when he feared for his life. Saul is still trying to kill David and “he decides” to move in with the enemy, the Philistines. A few years before he had stood up to the giant Philistine, Goliath, now he is living with them in a place called Ziglag. Read a part of the story in I Samuel 27: 1-7. Think about how much better life is when we stay on God’s side of the fence and how it can be disaster when we crawl through to Satan’s side. Remember, “The Grass Ain’t Greener in Ziglag.”

In the photo above taken in Grayson County, Texas, stands a sweet little cow on it’s owner’s side of the fence where it is safe. I am thankful God provides safety for us as we seek His guidance like David. I am thankful He is there when we are tempted to crawl on the other side of the fence.

Thank you for stopping for a weekly dose of blog sugar and I hope your week is like a spoonful of sugar.

Kristi