“We have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him; bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God, being…
Finding strength in a hard season
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Adventures in horse ownership for a 50-something beginner
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This story begins with a bit of romance. My hubby surprised me with a 30-year-old horse trailer. He bought it on a rainy night at a ranch east of Dallas, known for offering massive, gorgeous Friesian horses as photography props for quinceaneras, which are Latin American celebrations of a girl’s 15th birthday, marking the transition…
How a chronic vacation ‘over doer’ is learning to give up control, practice contentment and embrace the calm
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Hello, my name is Sandra and I’m a vacation over doer. I’ve been the primary vacation planner in my family my entire adult life. While other family members often gave input on where we went and what we did, I was the one who did the careful research to plan out the details of the…
The necessary testing of faith: how suffering leads to hope and comfort
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What is faith? “Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance for what we do not see.” – Hebrews 11:1 I am currently walking through a challenging season with no end in sight. I keep praying that God will turn a heart-breaking situation around, and He may choose to answer this prayer with…
Best budget hacks for removing wallpaper
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Wallpaper removal is one of my least favorite DIY jobs, so I really want to get it done ASAP. One of my first blog posts was about my wallpaper removal process in our master bathroom and three methods I tried. It’s one of the most popular posts on my site. I decided to write another…
The 25 Best Christmas Movies and Shows to Brighten Your Holiday Season
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I love Christmas. Baby Jesus, lights on trees and homes brightening dreary dark days, my hubby’s peanut brittle, carols and crooners, and the special movies and TV shows. Because I’m such a big fan of Christmas movies and shows, I wanted to share my top 25. You’ll find a lot of old movies here because…
The end of the trail for horse shopping… finally
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For my next shopping day, I finally had an experienced horse person with me, one of the young teacher/trainers from the barn where I take lessons. At 16, she already knows a lot about horses and seems to have a natural knack for working with them. If you missed the first two installments of my…
The quest to find a well broke horse
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For those of you who missed my last post, I’m shopping for my first horse, and I’m taking you along for the ride. I went out again on my own without a teacher/trainer to try horses at two locations in one day. My first stop was a ranch where they sell a lot of horses,…
Horse Shopping Day 1
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Notes from my first horse shopping experience More than a year ago, at the urging of my loving, supportive hubby, I started taking riding lessons in Western horsemanship at a local barn recommended by a church friend. The goal: deciding if my life-long dream of owning a horse was still something I could realistically pursue….
The Life-Giving Power of Doing Hard Things (even if you fail)
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When was the last time you attempted something hard? How have you gotten out of your comfort zone lately? Are you trying new things and challenging the status quo in your life? Now I’m not talking about moving to Tibet and becoming a monk or selling everything you own and living in a camper van…