An Old Cowboy's Advice - Cowboy Dressage

* Keep your fences horse-high, pig-tight & bull-strong.
* Keep skunks & bankers & lawyers at a distance.
* Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.
* A bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor.
* Words that soak into your ears are whispered...not yelled.
* Meanness don't jes' happen overnight.
* Forgive your enemies. It messes up their heads.
* Don't corner something that would normally run from you.
* It doesn't take a very big person to carry a grudge.
* You cannot unsay a cruel word.
* Every path has a few puddles.
* When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty.
* The best sermons are lived, not preached.
* Most of the stuff people worry about is never gonna happen anyway.
* Don't judge folks by their relatives.
* Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
* Don't interfere with somethin' that ain't botherin' you none.
* Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.
* Sometimes you get, & sometimes you get got.
* Don't fix it if it ain't broke.
* Always drink upstream from the herd.
* Good judgment comes from experience, & a lot of that comes from bad judgment.
* If you get to thinkin' you're a person of some influence, try orderin' somebody else's dog around.
* Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly.
                           (Cowboy Dressage's photo & facts)

The above is some good "food for thought", don't you agree?

Maxine Moments . . .

GOOD OLD MAXINE STRIKES AGAIN . . .






And last but not least . . .

Gooey Chocolate Pudding Cake

If you like chocolate you are going to LOVE this one . . .
& I always say . . . you can't have too much chocolate!!! 


 Ingredients

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Topping
• 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 1/4 cups hot water

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a 2 qt casserole dish, combine flour, white sugar, cocoa powder and baking powder. Add milk and oil, and vanilla. Stir until well mixed. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, cocoa powder and chocolate chips. Sprinkle over cake batter. DO NOT STIR. Pour hot water over top.
3. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the top looks cooked. Serve warm (with ice cream if desired).

5 Things God's Children Should NEVER Worry About . . .

If you are like me, you tend to worry about things . . . even when you don't need to or even when you know you shouldn't worry about them! There is a quote that says, "90% of what you worry about never happens" - Jean Barlow.
But it is so much a part of our human make-up.  We just do it, many times, without even thinking!!!

But take a look at the above Bible verses. Meditate on them, engrave them on your heart and mind and live each day by them.  It will ease your journey, lift your load and lighten your heart.  And when you worry less - you have more time for the good things God has planned for you and those you come into contact with . . . the true "blessings of God"!!!

15 EXERCISES WE'D BE BETTER OFF WITHOUT IN 2014...

Don't get into the habit of these exercises!!

~ Jumping on the bandwagon  

~ Wading through paperwork

~ Running around in circles  

~ Pushing your luck

~ Spinning your wheels   

~ Adding fuel to the fire

~ Beating your head against the wall 

~ Climbing the walls

~ Beating your own drum   

~ Dragging your heels

~ Jumping to conclusions   

~ Grasping at straws

~ Fishing for compliments   

~ Throwing your weight around

~ Passing the buck

How many times have we all used the above "exercises" to
explain our actions and our attitudes? It is so easy to fall 
back on these excuses when, right or wrong, we are "in the moment", swamped with work, pressed with time schedules, confused, having a bad day . . . and don't know what else
to do!!  As we start the new year and every single
day . . . let's try to stop, look, and listen to where we are, what we are doing, what we are saying, how these things
will affect our situations and circumstances and also those of 
others.  One of my goals this year is to think before I "say" 
or "do" in every situation I come upon.  

Here's a few Bible verses to live by:

Proverbs 12:18 – “Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.” 

Proverbs 13:3 – “He who guards his lips guards his life, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin.”

Proverbs 14:17a – “A quick-tempered man does foolish things,”




Proverbs 29:22 – “An angry man stirs up dissension, and a hot-tempered one commits many sins.”






Let's take a few minutes and think "before" we act . . . instead of simply "re-acting" to our situations!  Do and say to and of others as you would want them to say and do to you yourself!