From the July 2011 Issue:

10 Buck 2 Ranch

Jennifer and I made a trip out to the 10 Buck 2 Ranch to watch the EXCA Competition. Man let me tell you , this is not just a bunch of ponies on parade. It is a true horsemanship program, Sanctioned by Craig Cameron, yup, that’s right Craig Cameron, Natural Horseman. In fact Mishca & Jeff Randall have built quite an impressive course. So impressive that they have been awarded the Craig Cameron Southeastern Regional Finals, to be held the first weekend of October.  Monthly the Randall’s host and EXCA Event that draws 30 to 50 riders. This is a course that is set up to test the rider and the horse, but most of all their relationship. You can’t just hop on any horse and run this course, there are Cowboy Curtains, trenches, branding, opening and closing gates, deep watering holes and much, much more. There are riders of all ages from Young Guns, to the open adults, where the competition gets pretty tight. Every rider starts in an arena where they must complete several activities before moving out in the field where all the fun stuff is.

You should make a trip out and see for yourself how this action takes place. For more information you can give Mishca a call at 850-547-2481 or check them out on the web at www.10buck2ranch.com. 

Mason’s Dream Page

We all have followed this story from the beginning, and have been amazed at the response from it. Bottom line is people, this is good news, news about a person doing a good thing, not being selfish, greedy, or opportunistic. The Dream Team is at an early stage, still growing and making believers as it steams down the road. I want to make some predictions, the Dream Team Bulls will be some of the toughest bulls in our neck of the woods. As you will read in the next months issue about the Time For Freedom Rodeo in Marianna, I’m betting the rider wont make 8, whoever it will be I don't think he will make the buzzer. All in all and putting the bulls aside for a moment, not only was Mason Joel Walding a great young man he came from good people, good roots. I have met most of his family, Mother, Sister, Grandmother, Grandfather, Uncles, Aunts, man I can’t count all of them, they are all good loving people.  I think what is going on with this foundation and the Dream Team will have an impact on young people and adults for years to come. Currently there are shirts available with proceeds going to the Foundation, A foundation that will help young people. Who knows, it could mean the reward of a scholarship to your child one day. Already the youngest group of rough stock riders have received safety equipment from them. Young riders ages 3 to 6 have helmets and vest, thus giving anyone who wants to try the sport of rodeo a shot at it. Parents don't have to dodge the question of can I ride, due to worries of rope, vest or helmet.
This is what it is all about, helping one another, I know this family has been very gracious to me and my family. That has no baring on these articles, I have seen them be very gracious to many families. I keep this page open and going monthly, cause one day its going to be just what you needed to hear or read.  And you know what? It will be right here waiting on you, to get just what you needed at that time in your life.

In the Community sharing Christ.

Last weekend Jennifer and I were looking around the Water Melon Festival, handing out business cards and talking to people. It is our practice to use this newsletter to open the door to talk with people about the Lord, and Cowboy Church, when this lady in a candle booth picked up on the Cross around my neck. While chatting with her she began to talk to us about Christ and our walk. I was caught off guard, she beat me to the draw, so to speak. It was then that she told us about how she started her own business selling scents and candles just for that reason, it allowed her to witness to people when and where she was, without the worry or company policies being broken. It’s a crying shame that there are policies out there that restrict people from sharing with others the good works of the Lord All Mighty. As we walked away we looked at each other with a smile, for both of us it was quite refreshing to have met someone doing the same thing we do. It is always a good feeling when you find that you are not the only solders on the ground spreading the word. For the record neither I nor Jennifer claim to be even close to perfect, I promise you I will fail you time and time again, I am only flesh and blood, but with God, My God, I am able to step out and speak to people with hopes to make a difference in their life.  I encourage you to try it some time, you may find that some people welcome the opportunity to talk about the Lord and His good works. Just sharing your own feelings and experiences, what has the Lord done for you lately, changes in your life and walk since you accepted Him into your heart. That’s the good stuff, the things that get peoples attention, its called your testimony. Its yours and only yours to share  

Do you have a Relationship?
Many people know about Jesus without really knowing Him personally. Many people say they know National Champions but the truth is they have only heard things about them. They don’t really have a personal relationship with them. Christianity is about a relationship with the living God not about religion and rules.
The fact is – that all of us have sinned, maybe through ignoring or rejecting the invitation of God to come to Him through relying on what His one and only Son, Christ Jesus did by dying on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins. We have chosen to do our own thing, our own way, without acknowledging the One who created us and therefore the One we belong to. God said it plainly, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” Romans 3:23 and “No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God” Romans 3:11 and “They have no fear of God at all” Romans 3:18.
Because we refuse and reject the invitation to come to Christ Jesus, we are disobedient and are under the punishment of eternal separation from God. “God shows His anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness” Romans 1:18 and “They traded the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator Himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen” Romans 1:25 and “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord” Romans 6:23.
Though we are in debt to God because of our sin, Christ Jesus paid the debt for us completely and totally for all who would rely on Him as their personal Savior and Lord. “Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when He freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed His life, shedding His own blood…” Romans 3:24-25.
This is the “Good News” of the gospel that “…Christ Jesus died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and He was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said” 1 Corinthians 15:3-4. Christ Jesus died to pay for our sins but rose from the grave being the only Savior able to overcome death. We are to place our complete faith, trust, dependence, and reliance on the fact that Christ Jesus’ death on the cross was the full payment for our own personal debt of sin. Christ Jesus’ sacrifice for us was not a down payment, not a partial payment but a complete, total paid in full payment for our sins. “Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned but He died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but He was raised to life in the Spirit” 1 Peter 3:18.

This is true freedom, the freedom from the debt of sin! Do you have this freedom?

“Looking unto Jesus."
It is ever the Holy Spirit's work to turn our eyes away from self to Jesus; but Satan's work is just the opposite of this, for he is constantly trying to make us regard ourselves instead of Christ. He insinuates, "Your sins are too great for pardon; you have no faith; you do not repent enough; you will never be able to continue to the end; you have not the joy of his children; you have such a wavering hold of Jesus." All these are thoughts about self, and we shall never find comfort or assurance by looking within. But the Holy Spirit turns our eyes entirely away from self: he tells us that we are nothing, but that "Christ is all in all." Remember, therefore, it is not thy hold of Christ that saves thee--it is Christ; it is not thy joy in Christ that saves thee--it is Christ; it is not even faith in Christ, though that be the instrument--it is Christ's blood and merits; therefore, look not so much to thy hand with which thou art grasping Christ, as to Christ; look not to thy hope, but to Jesus, the source of thy hope; look not to thy faith, but to Jesus, the author and finisher of thy faith. We shall never find happiness by looking at our prayers, our doings, or our feelings; it is what Jesus is, not what we are, that gives rest to the soul. If we would at once overcome Satan and have peace with God, it must be by "looking unto Jesus." Keep thine eye simply on him; let his death, his sufferings, his merits, his glories, his intercession, be fresh upon thy mind; when thou wakest in the morning look to him; when thou liest down at night look to him. Oh! let not thy hopes or fears come between thee and Jesus; follow hard after him, and he will never fail thee.

"My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness:
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus' name."

A Testimony By: Jennifer Glover

I’m not good at writing anything but I’m gonna give it my best shot. This is my Testimony which I have several to tell. First when I had my first child he was born dead, well he had a heart rate in the twenties. When they went to breath for him they used an adult breather and collapsed his lungs. So they called for Airheart and they were already on the way to the other hospital to pick up another baby. They told them to come pick up Dusty first because they were not sure he would make it. I was told that being he was going to have to fly, he may not make the trip to Pensacola, the hole in his lung may get bigger, but, Praise God the hole sealed on the flight to the hospital. That to me shows that the Good Lord still heals. Now he is 18 and doing great. Another miracle that the Lord has done for me is healed me from an addiction of prescription drugs, you name it, I was on it. No-one could tell me that I had a problem until I hit bottom and bottom for me was thinking about suicide, something I never thought about. I went to Church one night, I was high. When I went to the alter and they prayed for me, I felt it leave my body from my head to my toes. I left that church sober, went home flushed those pills down the toilet, I never want to be there again.
The third miracle in my life is my son Ethan. I was on some very strong medications for arthritis and had a knee replacement , blood thinners and some other meds. Not knowing I was 6 weeks pregnant, I called the surgeon and he told me that I could lose the baby. Today 9 years later Ethan is fine. When he was 8 he had been suffering from a bad asthma attack for about a week. I asked him if he wanted to be prayed over and he said yes. I explained to him that it may not work the first time, and he said “well we will keep doing it until it works”. That night at Cowboy Church we prayed over him and he started crying, I asked if he was embarrassed and he said “no, this is the best feeling ever”. That was over a year ago, and the need for and inhaler is no more. He was healed. We finished church that night and on the way home, almost back to Westville, Ethan said “ Momma I can’t wait till next Thursday, I need to talk to Jerrod”. We turned around, headed back to Bonifay, its now about 10:00 PM, but he needed to talk to Jerrod. We took him back and he talked to Jerrod and he ended up giving his life to Jesus that night.

You see, the Lord has been so good to me. For those that don’t believe that Jesus still heals, well believe it, because he still does.

From the June 2011 Issue:

Cowboy Church, What it is to me.
Just the other day Jennifer and I were talking about our experiences with other churches and what Cowboy Church means to us. You know, until that conversation I myself had never thought about what keeps me coming back, what makes me want to share it with everyone. Quite simply put for me and many others it’s more than just Church, it’s a FAMILY, when you walk in the door you feel loved, and welcomed. Getting fed Spiritually is a certainty. My church family is real people seeking a real God and seeking to better their walk with the Lord, unlike other churches, Cowboy Church, for me is filling. I talk to a great number of people throughout the month, many tell me they are hungry for the Spirit and not getting filled where they are going. For me Cowboy Church is a group of real people learning and seeking the Holy Spirit, dealing with life’s challenges and leaning on each other while making that journey. Unlike many other Churches you are encouraged to come to the alter and lay your troubles down for the Lord to handle, if you want to share you can if you want to just listen by all means, if you want a family of loving real people, open your arms and your heart, you have come to the right place. Please, don't take me wrong I am not downing any church, I am simply sharing what I hear and what Cowboy Church means to me, as I compare my experiences in other places. You don't find this just anywhere, I have never in all my years heard a preacher lay it on the line that if your not there for the right reasons, if you are not here seeking to be filled, as he points to the door, he offers you to leave and thanks you for coming.  I know many times we have been there and Rev. Jerrod starts the service and we get to Praise and Worship and the Holy Spirit fills the room, we never hear that sermon, the alters fill up with real people and the evening continues that way, I have never seen that anywhere else. You know what, that’s what letting the Holy Spirit be in control will give you.  In Cowboy Church the Spirit is in control, if you don’t believe me take this challenge, Visit us 4 Thursdays in a row, 1 month, come ready to be filled with the Holy Spirit and decide for yourself.  If you are not touched, I promise you will have met some truly wonderful people and heard some great Praise and Worship Music. Again, I’m not putting any church down with this article I am just sharing how I feel about Cowboy Church.

G.B.B.R. May Rodeo

The May installment for God is Faithful Ministries, G.B.B.R. Rodeo Series was a huge success. I believe the crowd was among the largest we have ever seen at Hightower Arena, the livestock came ready to work giving the riders a hard run for the money. The evening event started with Sheep Riding and had 17 entries in this class, I think we will be seeing a large group of rough stock riders coming up real soon.  Trace Carter took the winnings with a score of 84 points, followed by Landon Lumpkin at 70 and Tanner Story with a 66 closed out the top 3 spots. Moving on to Calf Riding where there were no qualified rides, however, Seth Miles took the top spot with a ground time of 3.18 Seconds followed by Reid Hammack at 2.44 Seconds.  Steer Riding also had no qualified rides, remember I told you the stock came ready to work. JW Farren took the lead with a ground time of 3.42 seconds followed by Fred Dunaway with a 3.0 second ride. Frank Huff took the Bareback Bronc class with a score of 57 points, good job Frank. Lets speed things up here with the Jr. Barrels, Miss Paisley Bruner took the lead here with a 17.03, nice job Pay Pay, followed by Kacie Bolsters with a 17.41 and Stephanie Stewart closed out the top three with a 17.55 run. Breakaway Roping had 5 entries and Karley McDonald took this one with a 19.9, Karley is one you should keep your eye on you will see here in every event except rough stock folks. Now with more timed events Team Roping, Man these times are getting more like NFR times every month, team Jacob Locke and Ty Alford set the standard with a 6.4, you read it right 6.4, followed by Garrett McDonald and Coty Long with a 10.9 and closing out the top three was Garrett McDonald and Ty Alford at 16.5. Keep that rope going lets move on to Calf Roping, here Ty Alford took lead with a 11.3 and Garrett McDonald came in with 13.6 for the top two spots. Sr. Barrels kicked off with Carley Long on the #1 spot with a 16.98 followed by Karley McDonald at 17.10 and Andrea Arnold closed out the top three with a 17.18. We had several Open Barrel entries where Pam Lambert took the top notch with a 16.91 followed by Leslie Cauley at 17.28 and Tracy Jordon with a 17.39 in third.  Now we are at the Rough Stock, Pee wee Bull Riding here Lucas Mixon had the only qualified ride with a score of 72 points, good job Lucas. Jr. Bull Riding had 12 entries. A local cowboy who travels all over took the top spot, Logan Drummond took the money with an 89.5 point ride, followed by Cole Long with an 82.5 point ride, there were no other qualified rides in this event. Now we are on the way to the Bounty Bull Ride. Mason’s Dream, a big white faced mac daddy bull that is yet to be rode in the G.B.B.R Series, Logan Drummond won the opportunity to try his luck on Dream and was cut short when he lost his rope and that was it  for the cowboy.  Full results at www.aroundthearena.com

A Flag Day Story.

As a young child spending time with my father, riding through downtown Tallahassee one day in June. I asked, “Dad why does everyone have a Flag out today?” Being it was June 14th and not having a clue as to it being Flag Day.  Without missing a beat my dad replied, “well you know it’s my birthday right, they all put their flags out to celebrate my birthday.” As I replied man I hope they do the same for me one day, the notion was discounted and left alone. It was not until I was much older in school and learned that Flag day and my Dad’s Birthday were on the same day. That story has always stuck with me, and as times have changed I notice fewer and fewer Flags flying on June 14th. The history of Flag Day dates back to 1885, It was not made a National Holiday until it was officially established by the Proclamation of President Woodrow Wilson on May 30th, 1916. While Flag Day was celebrated in various communities for years after Wilson's proclamation, it was not until August 3rd, 1949, that President Truman signed an Act of Congress designating June 14th of each year as National Flag Day. The following is something that every time I read it, it speaks to my heart, maybe its because I have always associated Flag Day with the birthday of one of the most wonderful men I have known, my Dad. Franklin K. Lane, Secretary of the Interior, delivered a 1914 Flag Day address in which he repeated words he said the flag had spoken to him that morning: "I am what you make me; nothing more. I swing before your eyes as a bright gleam of color, a symbol of yourself." Lets all take our flags out and Fly them this June 14th in observance of the freedom we all enjoy and the blessing from it.

Warfare -- Praise The Lord and Pass the Ammunition

When you became a Christian, you stepped right into the heat of an age-old battle. You have a three-fold enemy--the world, the flesh, and the devil. Before you became a Christian, you floated down stream with the other dead fish. But now, God has put His life within you, and you will find yourself swimming against a three-fold current. Let's look at these three resistant enemies.

First, the world. When the Bible speaks of the "world" in this context, it is referring to the sinful, rebellious, world system. This is the world that loves the darkness and hates the light (John 3:20), governed by the "god of this world" (2 Corinthians 4:4)( -- the "prince power of the air" (Ephesians 2:2). The Bible says the Christian has escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. "Lust" is unlawful desire, and is the life's blood of the world --whether it be the lust for sexual sin, for power, for money, for material things. Lust is a monster that will never be gratified, so don't feed it. It will grow bigger and bigger, until it weighs heavy upon your back, and will be the death of you -- see James 1:15.

The second enemy is the devil. As we have seen, he is known as the "god of this world." He was your spiritual father before you joined the family of God (John 8:44, Ephesians 2:2. Jesus called the devil a thief, who came to kill, steal and destroy (John 10:10).

The way to overcome him and his demons is to make sure you are outfitted with the spiritual armor of God listed in Ephesians 6:10-20. Become intimately familiar with it. Sleep in it. Never take it off. Bind the two-edged sword to your hand so that you never lose its grip. The reason for this brings us to the third enemy.

The third enemy is what the Bible calls the "flesh." This is your sinful nature. The domain for the battle, is your mind.

If you have a mind to, you will be attracted to the world and all its sin. The mind is the data-processing control panel for the eyes and the ears. It is the center of your appetites. All sin begins in the "heart" (Proverbs 4:23, Matthew 15:19). We think before we sin. This happens because we don't think before we sin. The Bible warns that lust brings forth sin, and sin when it's conceived brings forth death. Every day we have life, we have a choice. To sin or not to sin -- that is the question. The answer to the question of sin, is the fear of God. If you don't fear God, you will sin to your sinful heart's delight.

If we know that the eye of the Lord is in every place beholding the evil and the good, and that He will bring every work to judgment, we will live accordingly. Such weighty thoughts are valuable, for "by the fear of the LORD one departs from evil" (Proverbs 16:6).

The building of a Dream. As you have read in the past two issues about the Mason’s Dream Bull that was the start in Honoring a young man who’s life was cut short in 2010. That dream continues to build with the second installment in the MW brand, this one came looking like a little red Tasmanian Devil, his name is “Highspeed” taken from one of Masons pet names that he would use while talking to folks. I see that one day we will all attend a rodeo where all the stock is supplied by the Dream Team. That is what it is all about, you see Mason was a young man that gave so unselfishly to others, and today he is still giving and allowing opportunities that would otherwise not be available for these young people. All it takes is a dream and sharing that same dream with someone, trusting and believing that one day if you are not able, that other someone will make it happen. Cindy Dykes, Mason’s mom has continued to do just that, keeping that dream alive for others to see, and learn from, teaching that while it may not by easy, in fact it is probably quite hard at times, but to help others makes it all worth the battles. While I never had the opportunity to meet Mason face to face, I see and hear many great things about this young man. I see traces of his good will all over, I hear them as people tell me what a wonderful person he was. I see them in the faces of people as they read the pages of this publication, only to say can I have another I would like to put it away for my children to read about one day. It has been seen at not one but two rodeos, after Mason’s Dream bucked off the rider, he came over to Cindy at the fence, looked at her as if to say all is well mom, then turned and headed to the holding area behind the chutes. To Cindy Dykes, you are making a difference in this world, one that few will endure, few will attempt. For this I say Thank You, for allowing all of us that may or may not have known Mason, to get to know him and allowing us into your life, as well as coming into our lives. We are all better for it now and forever. May God Bless you.