God-Given Gumption®

Cowboy Up

Taylor competing in a shoot on his horse, Friday.

It’s rodeo season, y’all! This is certainly one of the most fun times in Fort Worth, but it also brings up a lot of emotions as the 2025 season kicked off on my eleventh wedding anniversary and ends on the five year anniversary of my husband’s death. I have so many good memories of Taylor competing at the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo (FWSSR) and it was always a favorite event of our year because it meant a trip home to Cowtown and time spent with family and friends who would come out to cheer him on. Taylor was a rifle world champion in Cowboy Mounted Shooting and a two-time reserve world champion with the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA).

Cowboy Mounted Shooting is the fastest growing equine sport in the United States and, like most rodeo events, requires the competitor to strive to be the fastest, cleanest and give their very best in the arena. Mounted shooters compete for time and accuracy as they race through one of over 50 possible patterns while firing single action revolvers (loaded with blanks) at the ten balloon targets. It takes speed, agility and trust between horse and rider. When a rider leads their horse barreling out of the gate at full speed while repeatedly firing a revolver by their ears, the animal needs to trust their rider to turn them at the right time and safely race them through the course. God asks his people to trust Him in the same way. He has the reigns as our life takes on twists and turns, hits and misses, and it is His desire that we allow him to navigate the pattern and finish strong.

Video Credit: Thomas Duggins

While Taylor accumulated countless buckles as a competitor with the Cowboy Mounted Shooting Association (CMSA), he was prouder of his work as a 6th generation rancher and would never have described himself as a “cowboy.” In his opinion, real cattlemen didn’t just throw on a ten gallon hat to wear around town so people would know what they do. There was always too much work to get done. Perhaps growing up in a small town that still very much operates around agriculture as opposed to a big city that exuberantly celebrates its western roots, Taylor didn’t quite get the point of the dress up element that makes the FWSSR so special. Some Funkytown locals lovingly refer to rodeo season as “Fort Worth Halloween.” It’s a time to dress up in your best outfits that reflect our western heritage. Whether inherited or purchased, if you have turquoise or other funky flair, this is the time to wear it. More than just a fashion show, rodeo is about embracing the cowboy spirit. It’s not just a lifestyle, but an attitude. It’s the formidable mindset that pushes you to get back up on the horse whenever life knocks you off.

“Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”

Romans 5:3-5

Scripture is full of accounts of God’s people facing situations where they had no choice but to “cowboy up.” The cowboy lifestyle is often romanticized and people forget that it’s mostly hard work and perseverance. When you have a fence down or an empty water trough, you have to take care of it no matter how tired you already are in order to protect your livestock. Oftentimes, that means fixing things with what you can find in the moment. When God told Noah to build the ark, Noah didn’t complain about the labor that needed to be done, he tackled the task at hand to save his family and the animals. When the Lord sent Moses to Egypt to free the Israelites from slavery, God assured his servant, “I will be with you.” And with God’s help, Moses did everything that was asked of him even when the working conditions were insufferable.

The apostle Paul assures the Christian that suffering builds character and ultimately hope and I’ve yet to meet a real cowboy or cowgirl who wasn’t of honorable character. There will always be challenges we have to saddle up to face in life. Fortunately, we can choose to face every one head on with God’s help. The God who parted the Red Sea for the Israelites to escape Pharaoh and kept the sun shining for Joshua and his army at the battle of Gibeon is the only one who can control the arena conditions. Our own struggles never get easier, but we get stronger as we persevere. We can choose to face our battles alone or do so with God leading the way and I know I want to be branded as belonging to Christ. In the game of life, there are no re-rides. You lay it all out in the arena until your days are up… What do you want your sponsor patches to read?

Love, Molly

Fire!!

In the week leading up to Christmas break, I like to take a day to do a devotional with my students where we sit down and make ornaments together as we discuss scriptures. This year only one class had time to do this particular activity, but it opened up some great questions and conversations with my youngest group of students. Our school has an approach to infusing the Bible into all subjects by filtering topics through the lens of CBRR (Created. Broken. Redeemed. Restored). God’s plan for humanity can be summed up with these four events: We were created in His image, broken by sin, redeemed by Christ’s sacrifice on the cross and will be restored again one day in Heaven. The CliffsNotes version of all sixty-six books of divine scripture is condensed to this one four letter acronym, CBRR.

For our Christmas ornaments, we start with brand new crayons fresh out of the Crayola box. We discuss how God created us all perfectly and for a purpose. Students pick out a few different colors and then are instructed to break them and peel off the wrappers. We talk about Genesis 3 and how God’s will for human life was broken by sin. Once Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s command not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil they found themselves naked and ashamed. We then put the broken crayon pieces into the glass ornaments and turn them over a lit candle. As the heat of the flame begins to melt the wax, the kids turn their ornaments (held with a clothespin) and let the colors blend together and coat the inside of the glass bulb. The broken crayons are redeemed for another purpose just as believers are redeemed through Christ. The final product is a shiny new ornament with broken crayons that have been restored into a new form representing the new bodies we will inhabit when we are one day reunited with Christ.The book of Revelation promises the joy of this reunion with the Lord where, “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain…” Until then, we are living in a broken world where bad things happen to good people. On Sunday I listened to a sermon that touched on the fires raging through California and it got me reflecting on my own experience with a fire and all the ways God’s protection was over my girls and me during the ordeal.

Last summer while visiting the ranch a fire broke out in our house pasture about 20 feet from the garage. In the spirit of full disclosure, I did accidentally start the fire and the dry ground began to burn in a blink. When I discovered that our patio hose wouldn’t stretch far enough to the source, I knew I was in trouble. Living so far out from town, it never once crossed my mind to reach out to 911. I threw up a prayer and made calls to my father-in-law and neighboring ranchers, and by the grace of God, each one answered immediately in an area that rarely has cell service. In the meantime I had my young children filling up buckets of water by the house for me to haul over to fight the perimeter of the blaze, assuring them that we were safe. I had my youngest get my purse with my keys in it and put it in the car parked in the garage. I told them that if the fire turned toward the house, we would grab the dog, jump in and go. God kept the wind blowing away from us and toward the highway. In the flat landscape of New Mexico, smoke could be seen from miles away and pickups began flying up our driveway to what I’m sure looked like the Little Rascals fire brigade. Our neighboring ranchers, no strangers to fighting a pasture fire, jumped into action and after an eventful morning eventually got it put out before it reached any structures or livestock.

“In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith-of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire-may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”

-1 Peter 1:6-7

One thing our pastor mentioned that I can attest to be true is that fire moves people. As a young widow, I have learned that when placed in threatening, fight or flight situations, I am a fighter. I don’t know if this response is how I’ve always been wired or something I’ve involuntarily had to develop being on my own. In many parts of the world, even today, widows aren’t even given the option to fight. Once their spouse dies, many widows are considered worthless, stripped of their rights and property, and unable to continue living with the same protections they had before. In India, the Hindu practice of Sati, burning a widow on her husband’s funeral pyre, wasn’t even outlawed until 1987. Why would God allow people to suffer through such fires? The simple answer is that we live in a broken world.

One thing we can count on is that we will have trouble in this world (John 16:33). There will be times that our feet will be held to the fire, but if our foothold is in Christ, we will always come out on the other side ahead. Fire is a purifier. Scripture references the process of refining gold with fire as a way to skim off the imperfections and end up with something pure and much more valuable. The trials we go through can have the same effect on us if we keep our focus on the Lord. Different seasons will bring about different struggles for us and the ones we love. Whether it is an illness, divorce, loss of home and income, depression, or just plain feeling lost, etc… God is with you no matter what the trial. He sees and fully cares about every aspect of your life that original sin has caused to be less than perfect and will equip you to face every battle-big or small. Every fire you walk through is an opportunity to walk with God and draw closer to Him as you are strengthened and refined.

Love, Molly

Peace in Patience

While I can look back at the past year and see progress that has been made in different aspects of my life, I can’t help but feel like I am still in a season of waiting. Yet again. In an effort to practice gratitude, I have been reflecting on 2024 and identifying where I can see God working in my life. I have two beautiful, healthy children, loving family and friends, a safe home, rewarding job and countless other things to be grateful for. I can look back at the past year and see where God led me, grew me, and protected me. I am so thankful for a God who promises that the plans he has for us are “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11). We can trust that the future God sees for us is greater than anything we think we want, but it doesn’t change the fact that we are human and seasons of waiting are just hard and often leave us questioning.

Over the holidays I was catching up with a friend and lamenting about feeling currently “stuck” in life. Any parent or caregiver knows the lack of freedom that comes with being responsible for another life. While I believe parenthood is one of the greatest joys we can experience on earth, it requires sacrificing much of your own life and identity. I was telling my friend how much I loved our school-both as a teacher and a parent, but being in the place God called us to also had its downsides, like giving up time with the long commute and missing out on school and daily life with our neighbors. With how early we have to leave in the morning and how late we get home by the time work and activities are done, I often feel stretched too thin and as if I really don’t have the same hours in the day as everyone else or too often I am expected to be in too many places at the exact same time. My friend turned my perspective around when she said, “I know it’s hard right now, but you are doing what God has called you to do and He is going to honor that heart.”

While sometimes feeling like the rest of the world is moving on a different clock than I am, I have to rest in my patience and know that God’s ways are always better than mine and His timing is perfect. All the questions I have about when something might manifest, the Lord already sees beautifully fulfilled. Any disappointment I encounter is really just God’s protection. Anytime His answer is a “no” or “not yet,” we don’t need to wallow in the FOMO because He is protecting us from the things and people who are not meant for us and we can all take comfort in confidently knowing that what the Lord has ordained for you won’t pass you by. Not to mention, when we inevitably do get distracted by the insecurities that burden us when we want to move on our own timeline and forget to walk in God’s will, He gives us the grace to get back on track and still wants to bless us with everything He has in store for our lives.

Be still before the Lord
    and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when people succeed in their ways,
    when they carry out their wicked schemes.

Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
    do not fret—it leads only to evil.
For those who are evil will be destroyed,
    but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.

-Psalm 37:7-9

Christian author, Joyce Meyer, wrote, “Patience is a fruit of the spirit that grows only under trial.” The waiting is hard, but there is reward in it. One thing I constantly have to remind myself in a season of stagnation is that the days and years will pass regardless of my mindset so why waste the time being uneasy with uncertainty when scripture commands us, “Do not be anxious about anything.” (Philippians 4:6). Every one of these moments spent waiting is a gift from God. Each morning we wake up with God-given purpose. God has a plan for each day He has given us and it is our responsibility to remember that our identity is in Christ and Christ alone as opposed to what we are waiting on.

If I had to pick one scripture to share with someone struggling with anything it would be Romans 8:28, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” I ruminate on that verse daily. I have seen God work for my good in all things, even unimaginable tragedy. I trust that following His purpose for me will unfold unimaginable joys that will reveal why timing and circumstances unfolded the way they did. I listened to a podcast the other day that quoted Dr. Charles Stanley as saying, “If we are willing to wait, we are willing to receive God’s best for our lives.” There is no reason to question that God isn’t always actively working for our good, even in a season of waiting.

Love, Molly