Joyfully Blessed: 2022

Sunday, December 25, 2022

Merry Christmas!

"“And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS:

for he shall save his people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21

Sunday, December 11, 2022

Our 6th Annual Vacation to Virginia!

By: Erin

We enjoyed a wonderful time in Virginia a few months ago! We packed in a lot of adventures, visits with family and friends, and new experiences - driving over 36 hours in just eight days. (Majesty Music's 50th Music Conference was in Michigan, so we decided to attend!) We thank God for safe traveling, beautiful weather, and wonderful times with family and friends. Enjoy the pictures below...

First, we drove to Culpeper, Virginia to attend a wonderful church. After the beautiful service, we drove to Roanoke, Virginia to spend a few days. The first adventure we had in the Blue Ridge Mountains was our 6th annual kayak trip on the James River! This time, we changed the scenery a little and kayaked a different part of the river.

The weather was constantly changing and then we even got some rain!

The next day, we went hiking with our Aunt Elizabeth at Apple Orchard Falls. It was a beautiful trail and we enjoyed seeing a new waterfall.

Morgan and Aunt Elizabeth

The beautiful Apple Orchard Falls

After the hike and going to Peaks of Otter, we went to a pizzeria, ate dinner, and had a mini-concert in the conference room for friends. It was a blessing to connect with old friends again and meet new ones.

This wonderful family allows us to stay in their home each time we go on our Virginia vacation. We're so grateful for them!

Afterward, we drove to Michigan to attend Majesty Music's 50th Music Conference. We had two very full days of learning and enjoyed meeting other Christians who love sacred music!

Piano Masterclass by Shelly Hamilton

At the close of the conference, everyone participated in a hymn sing. The hymn sing was recorded and I'll post the link once it's released. Luke and I enjoyed playing in the orchestra for one of the songs.

On our way to North Carolina, we were able to stop in Ohio and have lunch with Uncle Tim and Aunt Jen.

On the last day, we visited one of the waterfalls in NC - High Falls. It was gorgeous!

"The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works."

(Psalm 145:9)

Thursday, September 15, 2022

The Lord is Your Help

By: Anne

"The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped:

therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him."

(Psalm 28:7)

Hello Friends!

This verse has been an encouragement to me, and I pray it encourages you as well. The Lord IS our strength and shield, and as we trust in Him, we are helped! Whatever our need, He will help us and we can rejoice in Him! Alleluia!

Wednesday, June 1, 2022

Help Save a Mustang from Slaughter!

This little mustang, Rune, needs your help! We have until Friday to get her out from a kill pen in Kentucky, before she ships to be slaughtered. Rune was gathered from Nevada a of couple years ago, and has been let down by humans ever since. She is a mustang with so much potential and doesn't deserve such a horrific ending. As a "nationally protected icon" Rune shouldn't even be in this terrible situation. She should still be living wild and free with her family band in Nevada.

It is our goal to rescue this little mustang, defy what her grim future looks like now, and give her the best home she's ever known out of the wild. Giving her a happy ending requires community effort - please donate if you can and please share this fundraiser with others. It will cost $600 just to bail her out. We will be quarantining her on our property, but we need funds for vet care, transport, feed, and hay. Please consider helping Rune - it would save a life!

DONATE HERE

Monday, March 28, 2022

Alamo of the Onaqui - A New Addition

By: Erin

Some of you may have already heard that I started a wild horse and burro rescue. Last month, my first rescued mustang arrived! Alamo is a mustang from the Onaqui Mountain herd in Utah, near the Great Salt Lake. When we took our trip out west in 2020, we flew directly over this herd of wild horses. Unfortunately, in July of last year, 312 wild horses were rounded up from this herd in Utah for no good reason. When the mustangs were put up for auction, I was looking for my first mustang to rescue. With the help of Red Bird's Trust, I chose an older mustang who was undesirable to the public and in danger of going to a bad home or ending up in a slaughter facility. I won Alamo in the auction in December, and he was set to arrive at Okeechobee, Florida in late February. I chose the name Alamo for patriotic meaning, since mustangs are a nationally protected icon, second only to the Bald Eagle. I also chose the name because of its Spanish origin. Mustangs descended from the Spanish horses the Conquistadors brought to the Americas.

Praise the Lord, Alamo arrived safe and sound on February 25, thanks to some wonderful friends who hauled him up from Florida. His unloading was very uneventful, but two days later, I woke up to find that he had jumped out of his pen! Thanks to God and my wonderful family, we were able to get him back in - although it took the whole day. We raised the panels up to about 6 1/2 feet tall and he hasn't been able to escape again!

Within the past month, Alamo has been very accepting and his gentling process has gone very quickly. He accepted a halter on day #4, he is now leading very well, and accepts almost anything on his back (tarp, saddle pad, balls, etc.). He is getting very desensitized, which is a blessing.

As much as we are enjoying having Alamo as a part of our farm, we really wish he could've stayed wild. In fact, many Americans - including ourselves - fought to stop this roundup that removed Alamo and so many other Onaqui mustangs. Alamo will have always been happier if he had stayed in the wild. He was not starving, nor were any of the other mustangs. There was no good reason at all for why he was taken out. Unfortunately, just a few weeks ago, a few thousand privately owned sheep were released onto the Onaqui Wild Horse Range. The mustangs were removed (using our tax dollars) to allow the sheep, which are owned by individuals, to graze on our land (our tax dollars go to supporting these sheep). Sadly, this happens all over the west. Livestock (like cattle and sheep) are the biggest destroyer of land in the west, causing drought, wildfires, dust storms, and more. Whereas mustangs and burros are proven to help and maintain the west's environment.

While Americans work to stop livestock grazing on public lands, we need to do something about the 50,000+ wild horses and burros in holding. That's why I've started a rescue (you can click here to learn more) and that's why Alamo is here. It is my hope that he will help me bring awareness to the issue since it affects so many different aspects for the horses, the land, and the people. God commands us to be good stewards and to love and care for His creation. Through protecting and caring for His beautiful creation, we can do just that.

You can learn more about my mustang rescue here.