Shily's Promise Youth Ranch

Make a Wish

2008-07-25T20:12:00.000-07:00

Every once in a while I am reminded of just how blessed I am, and just how "cooshy" my life is. This week, I was reminded in a very memorable way.

Imagine with me what it would be like to be in constant pain. The simplest activities - walking or grocery shopping - would cause excruciating pain. More strenuous movement would be out of the question.

Now imagine if one of the things you absolutely loved doing was horseback riding - not a passive, simple activity, but one that gives joints and muscles a real workout.

Finally, imagine the sorrow you would feel when you thought you might never ride a horse again. All because your body had, in a way, betrayed you.

This is a glimpse into what my new ranch friend had been going through in her life. And then someone told her about what we do here, and offered to bring her out for a visit.

She arrived this week with determination and a vision of what she wanted to accomplish - to once again feel the thunder of hooves beneath her aching body. She admitted she'd be "paying for it" in the days to come, and would likely spend days in bed recovering, but that it was worth it to her.

Sure enough, just getting onto the horse was enough to pop a hip out of place. The pain was evident in her face, but nothing was going to stop her from fulfilling her dream. Unsure of how confident she felt about being on the horse, I began by leading her around. We hadn't gone more than a hundred yards when she said to me, "I feel like I've been granted a Make A Wish. For the last five years I've dreamed about riding a horse again, and now I am!"

After a little more leading, and a change of horses, she was on her own. Even as I type this, I can close my eyes and picture the look on her face as she gently nudged the horse into a soft canter. Her smile was priceless, and for a moment I think the pain was gone. Her head was back, she was laughing, and she was the picture of freedom. It was one of the most beautiful moments I've ever witnessed here, and I feel so blessed to have been a part of it.

So, I'm looking at life a little differently now. I want to find the joy that's in front of me... to accept my many blessings with a grateful heart... and to look for more opportunities to make someone's dreams come true.

Life is good.... life is very good.

A Matter of Perspective

2007-12-30T20:41:00.000-08:00

One week ago today, we had wind gusts up to 70 miles per hour here. In the early hours of the morning, the wind got under the horses run-in shelter (a very well-constructed structure, anchored into the ground) and picked it up, leaving it a hundred feet or so from where it normally sits. In addition, part of the fence went down with it, and the understandably sppoked horses took off running.

As we got ready to leave for church at 9:00 on Sunday morning, we had a knock on our door from someone who said our shelter was down and the horses were nowhere in sight! That's not the kind of news you ever want to hear!

It took us an hour and a half to even track the horses down - and track we did! We following their hoofprints through muddy fields, through orchards, through more muddy fields, and were close to meeting upo with them when we got a call that they had been found. We had spent the 90 minutes of tracking time doing a lot of praying, and were thankful to find all seven of them safe and sound, happily munching in a lawn a few miles away. They were feeling a bit frisky, and some of them gave us a bit of trouble about being caught, but it wasn't more than 15 minutes before were had them on their way back home. We had two trucks, but no trailer, so we put lead ropes on them and sat on the tailgates of the trucks, leading them home. We must have looked like pre-Christmas parade of the goofiest kind to the few people who passed us on those backroads that morning!

Being in the position of not knowing where the horses were, if they were together or hurt, etc., was frustrating for those 90 minutes, but it gave us a good amount of time to just pray about every aspect of the situation. We prayed for safety for the horses and for any people who might be involved. We prayed that the horses would stay off of roads. We prayed that the horses weren't separated, that no one would find them and steal them, that they would stay out of danger and not have any injuries. We also prayed for our own attitudes. We had been looking forward to going to church that morning, and having a relaxing day together with family. It would have been easy to start snapping at each other, making negative comments, or just being mad.

By the time we found the horses, we had found things to laugh about. One thing that got us giggling was when we pulled up to the house where they had stopped, and saw them all grazing in the lawn. A couple of them were rearing up and playing like wild horses, a couple were trotting across the yard. I cracked up and said, "Oh my! I wonder if there's some horse-loving little girl inside that house.... one who asked Santa for a pony for Christmas.... and who is now screaming to her parents, "Santa didn't just bring me one, he brought me SEVEN!!"

We not only laughed and made the most of the adventure by looking for fun in the midst of frustration, we also found that praying up a storm for an hour and a half ahead of time gave us very, very thankful hearts when we found the horses together and safe, with no apparent damage to themselves or anyone else. From what we could tell by tracking them, they had stayed away from roads. They had also avoided a downed power line just a few hundred yards from their pasture.

As we walked them home in some pretty bitter wind, we could have justifiably done some whining, but we were too busy saying, over and over again, "I am so thankful they were okay! I'm so thankful we had my parents to help us look for them! I'm so thankful...."

The fence repair was simple, but the shelter repair is still a work in progress. But, we're still feeling thankful. Thankful for a couple of awesome friends who have given of their time once again to pitch in and help....thankful for mild weather for the horses (even though our horses almost always prefer to stand around outside of the thing no matter what the weather!) .... thankful for the clever minds of my hubby, son, and the aforementioned friends who are figuring out how to reassemble the shelter without costing the ranch much money... thankful for a couple of days off of work for the repairs to be done.

We have faced some strong opposition from an Enemy who doesn't want this ministry to happen, and this latest difficulty is likely another attempt to discourage us from doing the work we are doing with young people. As long as we keep our focus on God, though, we'll find the courage and the perspective we need to keep taking steps forward.

Pray that what the Enemy wanted to use for harm will, instead, be used by God to do good things for the families we serve! Pray that we will continue to keep our eyes glued to Jesus, and that we won't tire of doing good!

Blessings!
Krista

The Ranch's New "Digs"

2007-10-14T19:31:00.000-07:00

Much has happened since the last blog update. Most notable is that the ranch operations have moved to a more permanent home in Sodus.

In an amazing series of events, God orchestrated a "house swap" of sorts for the Meyer family, enabling us to purchase a piece of property that we could share with Shily's Promise, for no cost to the ranch. This eliminated the need for the ranch to fund its own property purchase or to pay for boarding for the horses - a huge blessing!

The summer found us busy putting up fencing, building a shelter, running a water supply to the pasture, and clearing woods. Since the open land had previously been used for crops, we had to start from scratch in establishing pasture. That meant the horses had to be given hay all summer to make up for the lack of grass for grazing.

Even with all of the busy-ness of getting set up, we were able to start working with a handful of young people. Some helped with fencing, shelter-building, and woods-clearing. Others came for lessons. Their excitement and joy were just what we needed to remind us that the hard work, the waiting, and the obstacles we faced during the last three years had been worth it. This was what we had been working toward through all of that. Laughter, smiles, confidence, trust ... yep, they more than make up for blood, sweat and tears!

Pay it Forward

2007-02-12T12:46:00.000-08:00

I've been blessed to be able to work with a remarkable young lady during the last week. She and I have enjoyed several hours at the barn, talking about all sorts of horse things.

Last Friday, we had a really neat moment, when Beauty, her favorite horse, chose to show his trust in her in a unique way. We were standing with Beauty in the snowy pasture, when he decided to walk a few feet away and drop down into the snow for a good roll. I gasped and said to my young friend, "Wow! Beauty just paid you the highest compliment a horse can give someone! He laid down near you!" I went on to explain that because a horse's first defense is always to run from percieved danger, and because it's not a simple thing for a horse to get up from a rolling position, they will only lay down when they feel very secure and safe. The fact that Beauty felt safe enough to put himself into such a vulnerable position was a big deal!

Today, this same young lady and I were talking about how hard it can be to find people that we can trust with our hearts - people we feel safe opening up to and telling about our sometimes messy lives. This time it was my turn to get the highest compliment, as this precious girl said, "I feel safe talking to you. In fact, if I were a horse, I'd be rolling in the snow right next to you right now!"

*sniff, sniff* What an awesome job I have!

Horses for Dummies

2006-12-28T22:13:00.000-08:00

His parents were realizing that this fascination with horses wasn't just a brief phase, and so they decided that this would be the Christmas that my newest 9-year-old ranch friend would get workboots and a book on taking care of horses.

I had the honor of helping him break in his boots today as he visited the ranch for the first time to meet the horses. He proudly told me how those boots were meant for doing work around the barn, so it was okay if they got dirty.

My favorite moment, though, was when he told me about the horse care book that his folks had picked out for him. "I got a book called Horses for Dummies," he told me, "but I wasn't offended by the title at all!"

You gotta love that kind of attitude! I think this kid will go far. :o)

Local Businesses Selling SPYR "Feed Bags"

2006-11-21T14:40:00.000-08:00

SPYR has the perfect gift for you to give to anyone and everyone on your Christmas list this year - SPYR "Feed Bags"!

These microwavable, corn-filled heat packs come in a variety of western/equine designs, and are sure to be a hit with all ages and personalities. They are great for wrapping around aching necks and shoulders, or for warming chilly toes or heating a cold bed at night. They hold their heat for hours, too!

Whether you're buying for a girly-girl who loves pink and purple and all things horsey ... a little buckaroo who dreams of being a cowboy ... college kids ... your adult friends or family ... we've got designs to please all tastes and styles!

We will be offering the Feed Bags online soon, but for the time being, you can visit the local merchants that are carrying them in their stores. The Wild Bird Center is located next door to the new Secretary of State office near Lowe's. Surplus Trading Company is out past the Whirlpool Ad Center, where Paw Paw Avenue meets up with M-63. Both stores have a wide selection of Feed Bags, and you'll also enjoy checking out the other items they carry! Each store is linked on the left side of this page.

If you would like to carry Feed Bags at your business, or would like us to bring some to your workplace, let us know.

Third Annual Incredibly Spaghettibly Supper is a Huge Success!

2006-11-17T21:14:00.000-08:00

The last of the pots and pans have been scrubbed and returned to their proper places, floors swept, decorations tucked away for the next event. The hard-working crew who manned the kitchen, helped set up, made sure every guest felt welcome and had their fill to eat, and stayed until everything was cleaned up are hopefully now getting a well-earned rest.

I am still awake, marveling at how God once again used the spaghetti supper to do some amazing things.

Not only did we have good turn-out and generous donations of $1300.00, we had more than enough food and were able to bless several local families with the leftovers. It feels so good to know that in addition to feeding the people who came out for the supper, the ranch was also able to help feed .... a family that is standing together as their wife/mom/grandma battles cancer ... a foster family that just took in two little ones ... a family that recently lost their home to a fire, and the crew that is going to be helping them move to a new place tomorrow ... and a family that is grieving the very recent loss of a baby. I can't think of a better use for the abundance of food with which the ranch was blessed!

Whether you came out to the supper, provided food or finances to purchase supplies, helped serve/clean/organize, prayed for the event, gave a donation, or helped us deliver leftovers to deserving families, please know that you blessed the ranch in your own unique way, and we appreciate each and every one of you! We literally thanked God for all of you tonight!

Blessings!
Krista