I may be yard manager, but that doesn’t mean I don’t get very, very soppy about my friends the horses sometimes. I think a defining characteristic of the real horsewoman is that deep down, she’s still a 12-year-old girl who loves ponies.

Music and horses seem to dance hand in hand, too. Their very gaits and songs follow the same beats. I shamelessly listen while I ride; it helps me focus and the horses don’t seem to mind at all.

So today’s dose of sappiness involves celebrating my dear pets with the lyrics that make me think of them, with a heart of gratitude to the God Who should be punishing me.

This is from a random song my buddy Erin found on the Internet, “Dragonhearted” and it’s totally Arwen’s anthem. She’s the horse that never quits believing and it works for her. Misspelling absolutely intended, by the way.

This one is from a local artist, Elvis Blue’s “Lighthouse”. It’s something of homecoming and the graceful curves of the old, gold charger have always been that for me. A taste, perhaps, of what awaits us once we really get Home for good.

Basically anyone who knows Casting Crowns knows “Just Be Held”, which is all about the fact that God is holding onto us even when we’re too feeble even to grasp His outstretched Hand. That was a lesson I learned in no small part through God’s powerful use of Magic in my life.

MercyMe is a new one to me, but “The First Time” broke my heart. God’s mercy and grace are new every single day and undeserved every time, and just when I think I’ve seen the limit of His love, it turns out to be a false horizon, a hilltop from which a whole world of valleys and forests and fields of mercy rolls away in all directions into the everlasting. Thunder is a cherry on top, a blessing I don’t even need, but God saw fit to let me have him anyway. I feel so humbled.

As for Faith, Casting Crowns’s “Oh My Soul” has just always been her song. She arose from the sorrow of Nell’s sale and the tragedy of Rainbow’s death. And I can assure you that there will be dancing.

Dancing with horses, hand in hand with my King. Each step one waltz closer to our forever home.

Glory to the King.