Ranch Hand

I was asked today, by a job hunter I was working with, just "why" I had "ranch hand" job experience and info in the Work in Texas.com job site database? 

Well, I told her, I was desperate ... and I apparently have a lot more experience than even I knew I had.  You see, I grew up a cowboy.  I worked with horses and cattle, and helped my Dad run a 675 acre ranch in West Texas.  There was lots and lots of cattle work, some farming, implement work, and just about anything you can think of. 

I was actually surprised, once I began answering the questions, as to just how much I "had' done back then.

Do I miss it?   Oh yes!!

Domain problems - Never would've happened in the Old West!

Well folks, I messed around and let my domain expire! 
When I contacted 'em about getting it back, it was gonna cost me about $80 for each one!  One is the WritingsOfACowboy.com and the other is the .org of the same name.  The redemption period had expired before I realized it, and it was $80 per domain! 

I decided to wait it out until the domain went back "public" so that anyone could get it, and hope and pray that the Internet Vultures didn't scoop it up!  Well folks, they didn't! 

We got 'er back now ...
and the forwarding should be in effect in the next 3 days!  (it takes time for domain name servers to talk with one another and share information)

Look for some more publications real soon! 
Meanwhile, if you just can't wait ...

Use this URL:   http://writingsofacowboy.blogspot.com

Thanks ya'll!!

- rich -

The Medicine Man

There comes a time when a cowboy needs answers.  Most men will not ask for help, but will mutter through and deal with an issue until it gets really bad.  And that is what I've been doing ... muddling.  I've been staring at the problem and avoiding the answer that I knew was inevitable.  You might say that I've got to go to the "medicine man" to get my answers!

In the old days, a cowboy who was in good standing could go to the tride and see the "medicine man".  His more popular title was the "Holy Man".  The Holy Man was the man who spent almost all of his time seeking the "Great Spirit".  Now, because this Holy Man did not know Jesus in his heart, he was not always enlightened.  But surprisingly enough, even if he did not know Jesus, the Holy Man who spent that much time in seeking God, had wisdom!  And there were some who "had" encountered God because they sought Him with a pure heart!  God honored that, and they "knew" what it was like to spent time before the Great Spirit.  These Holy Men often had an earnest heart, and because they were truly "seeking" the Father, in whatever way they knew how, God would meet them halfway.  And the Holy Man?  He got his answers!

There are stories handed down in the Indian tribes that tells of "the great ones" of long ago.  One such person was a man called "Mee-sis".  We pronounce it today as "Moses".  That's right!  The Indians knew about Moses!  How do you think they knew?  Well, if Jesus showed up to set Saul straight so that he could find his calling and his purpose in life as "Paul, the apostle", don't you think that the Father would send Jesus to his people here in what we now call America?  Well He did, I assure you!

My medicine man, by the way, is Jesus.  That's right, I figure if I go to "Him" then I wont' get off on some journey or head down the path to the dark side, following a wrong trail.  Besides, Jesus won't make me smoke that "peace pipe" thing they sometimes use!  I'm not into those kind of visions ... but I do see visions, folks!  I do see visions. 

The "Great One" has been calling me to worship.  He has been calling me to minister.  And I have been waiting, because I did not have the people, or the funds, or even a place to meet ... but His Spirit keeps calling me, and drawing me ... and the calling will not go away!  I somehow knew it all along, but I let my beliefs stop me.  I believed that I needed "things" to make it happen.

An old wise one by the name of Oral Roberts (yes, he had Indian blood too!) used to say, "Dig a hole.  God will fill it!"  The wise one is right!  If we will be obedient to what God has called us to do, then as we "act" on His command, the provisions will begin to come.  Jerry Savelle puts it this way, "If it's mean to be, then it's up to me."  I believe that!  If God has called you to do something, just because it's not falling in your lap doesn't mean it wasn't God!  He asked "YOU" to do it ... so if you don't "get started", nothing will ever happen!

My new phrase?  God tells us that He will direct our paths.  He will guide us.  But He also tells me that a "parked car" is going nowhere.  What does that mean?  Have you ever tried to steer a car while it's parked!  It takes all of your strength (unless you're using power steering) just to turn the wheel!  But, if you'll begin to move, and begin driving, the steering gets much, much easier!  And, if you're "moving" then God can guide you.  Why?  Because without "motion", there is no "path".  God did promise that He would "guide your path".

So, the words from the Great Spirit, and my Medicine Man, is this:

"I have called you for a purpose and a vision ... the sands of time are falling, and time is growing short.  The son is old in the skies, and the night time is coming.  You have a purpose and a calling, and it is not YOU who are waiting on Me, but "I" am waiting ... waiting on YOU my son, and my daughter, to "step out" into the thing in which I have called you to do.

Stop waiting.  Stop waiting for these things that you feel you need.  They are but tools in the hands of the craftsman.  But you, when you begin to work, can do a-ny-thing.  Anything, my son and my daughter, you can do anything ... only believe.  Believe in Me and go forward!"  

Now, go in peace ... knowing that the Father is waiting on you! 
He's counting on YOU ... to get it started!  Once you begin, HE will finish it.  He will finish the work that He has called YOU to begin!

So, podner ... it's time to "saddle up and ride"!

Make me proud!

Learn from the Caterpillar, and the Butterfly

To an old Indian friend ... 
It's been a while since I heard from you. Like the hunter who comes down from the mountains in the springtime, after a long winter, sometimes we just have to take time to renew old frienships, break out the peace pipe, and talk of the winters hunting.

We don't know each other that well, and though we have never formally met, my heart dances to the music in your words when you write, about nature, and about the ways of the man who enjoys God's wonderful creation. Thank you for your gift.

I, my friend, am in a time of change, when the things that once worked for me in the job market are no more. It is my time to learn from the caterpillar. At some point in his life, he must regroup and consider a new way of life for himself. He builds for himself a cocoon, and gets alone to ponder the changes of life he is facing.

When he is done, and Spring once again appears, he emerges a new creature, and discovers that his life is a beautiful thing! With the things he has learned, and with what he has now become, he finds that he is now a different creature, more beautiful than he was before!  And in the midst of all these new discoveries, he finds that he can now fly!  So the things that once were obstacles to him, and the things that he once feared, he is now able to soar over, like the eagle! Even the things that were once problems to him now all seem so small to his eyes, as he now flies overhead, passing them all by, with never a care in the world about them.

I must learn the way of the caterpillar, that I too might become like the butterfly, and discover the beauty like he has seen, in my world too! I too must learn to fly like the eagle, and soar over what once was my problems, and my fears, and let them be my concern no more! 

Thank you again for your words, and for being a friend to a cowboy you've never met.


-rich-

Spring Valley, Texas - the Old West Town!

I've got a vision ... a dream, for a large ranch. I'd like to get a few hundred acres outside of town (far outside of town) and I want to build an old west town on it. It want to locate it near the railroad, where the old steam train still runs, on occassion.

I'd like the railroad to run through it, or have a track that re-routes "to it", so that folks could come out on a special excursion to see the old west town. It'd have a working livery stable, with horses and tack (saddles, bridles, etc.) that you could rent, if you didn't have a horse. If you did, you could "drive out" and trailer your horses.

You have to park your vehicles at the entrance, and either ride your horse into town, or take the stage coach that occasionally drives through the parking lot. That way we'll have none of those new car things on our streets! But coming in on the train would, in my opinion, be the cream of the crop! While there, you'd find a restaurant (or several), a hotel, a barber shop, a telegraph office, a local newspaper office, a sheriff's office, and of course, the livery stable. There would also be saloons, though I haven't figured out how I'm going to set this up ... there ain't gonna be no alcohol available in this town. You can also find a general store, a gift shop, a clothing store (western clothing of all kinds), and even a bank! And let's not forget the doctor's office too!

I'd like to make all of this available to Christian groups that could come out ... a kids summer camp, winter camp, a spring break camp, seminars, 'n such ... The church house at the edge of town could host the smaller groups. The larger groups 'd have to take the stagecoach, or ride their horses, or horse-n-buggy's, to the ranch. There, we'd have a large tabernacle, a large dining facility, a bunkhouse (where the working hands live), outhouses, and basically a working ranch! The ranch hands would be folks who've come out there to live. Be in guys who were living off of the streets, orphans, etc. They'd all be welcome here. We take 'em in, they work for/with us on the ranch. We provide them with 3-squares (3 meals-a-day) and clothes, and a little spending money. They would have a place to live, and folks that love them and care for them.

The ranch would also have a large bunkhouses for the kids going to summer camp, winter camp, or spring break camp, and for folks who have come out for weeklong or weekend seminars. During kids camps, these would be segregated, boys vs girls bunkhouses. The kids would learn to ride, to care and feed horse, to work cattle, and about cowboy principles and the behavior of a gentleman and a lady. Church meeting's at the tabernacle would be regular and frequence, and counselors would be readily available in both bunkhouses, and throughout the ranch.

On the road from the ranch to town, and around those parts, you'd have road signs like in the old days. The roads would pretty much be dirt roads, like in those days, with an occasional road intersection, and signs directing you to the town, or to some other area of the ranch. These could be a ficticious nearby town, or an Indian reservation, where an Indian village could be constructed, if the interest and support are there.

I'd also like to have an area where they could go fishing! A stock pond, or lake, river, etc. Something along those lines. For swimming, I'd like to have a swimming hole just outside of town. It needs to look like a naturally occuring spring, or stream, so the bottom and sides would have to be made to look natural - not the usual concrete. This one could be called "Hot Springs", or something similar, and could be "heated" during the cooler times of the year. This area would have wooden logs built into picnic tables, and large treed areas where folks could ride, or hike, out to the area for a swim and a picnic! We could even have a changing room for men, and one for women, that is styled similar to an outhouse. Of course, there would have to be outhouses here for folks who "had the need".

The difference in these outhouses is that these would actually have toilets and sinks, with running water. An emergency "old western style" telephone would be there on one of the walls, should someone need. You don't have to know any numbers. You just call the local operator, to get anywhere. The operator could get some help out there, should a need arise.

The ranch would have a large swimming hole, a pool, geared for the kids and for large groups during seminar times. The ranch would also have buckboard wagons, buggies, and even a conostoga wagon for trailrides, with the "kitchen" included! Campouts would be offered, where we sleep outdoors, by the fire, and do things a great deal like in the old days.

Look for this vision on my website at: richallcorn.orgI will be posting it up soon, and developing it as it comes to me, in hopes to some day soon bring it to reality!

*NOTE: These ideas, dreams, and plans, are the creation and design of Rich Allcorn, of Rich Allcorn Ministries, and are therefore protected and proprietary writings.


written by Rich Allcorn
©Copyright - April 2001, Richard A. Allcorn