But Lord I'm a Nobody!
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But Lord...I'm a NOBODY!
Getting Over Excuses to be God's Everyday Ministry Tool
By Rebekah L. Holt
"But...Lord! I'm a NOBODY! I'm uneducated--a Jane Doe! They won't listen to me. And if they do, they'll laugh and say, 'Oh, you're still wet behind the ears!'"
Overwhelming feelings of inadequacy many times restrains and over powers our attempts at ministering to others. As laypersons, we feel that God could use others He has called--ministers, missionaries, Christian educators--far more effectively than He could ourselves.
Though there may be partial truths to our excuses of insignificance, we cannot view ourselves as the world does. While the world questions our credentials, God looks at the heart (1 Samuel 16:7). Our Father has called every committed believer, whether genius or run-of-the-mill, to follow Christ..."Take up your cross and follow Me" (Matthew 16:24).
A Unique Cross to Bear
My cross has certainly been unusual. As an equine riding instructor, I have taught horse crazy kids the basics of horsemanship and the foundations of riding and carting. The Lord turned each lesson into a form of ministry. My "tools" consisted of three pudgy ponies and a couple of full size Quarter Horses. The barn might appear an unorthodox setting for integrating Biblical truths but God frequently sent children who had never heard of their Creator.
Horses of Medieval Europe
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In the Right Hand: Horses of Medieval Europe
Firn Hyde
Much of medieval European society was built upon the steady shoulders of a noble horse. This creature played an important part in many aspects of life for all classes of people, from farmers to soldiers to royalty, shouldering tasks as diverse as carrying ladies, pulling ploughs, and charging into battle.
Of course, the same type of horse could hardly be used for everything, so horses were bred – then as now – for specific purposes. In that time, horses were not yet classified as breeds, but referred to as types, and each type had different uses.
Many obscure terms were used for the types of horses, sometimes interchangeably and frequently in contradiction with one another, in medieval texts. However, historians have uncovered three basic types of horse; namely, chargers, palfreys, and sumpters.1