as told to JD Malone
 

“I press on toward the goal to
win the prize for which God has
called me heavenward in Christ
Jesus.” Philippians 3:14

Allen:  I heard a wonderful sermon the other day!  The preacher called it drinking from the pool of the past, present, or future.  He used the book of Samuel as an example.  Samuel was a profit.  God had told him that He would send him the next King of Israel.  Samuel anointed Saul and eventually Saul’s anointing left him. When Saul lost his anointing Samuel was very bothered and was having a pity party.  Samuel chose to drink from the past instead of drinking from the present and looking to the great things of the future! God had Samuel anoint David.  Of course David was a great person of faith and went on to do great things.  Samuel should have been hopeful of what God had in store for the future!

Clay: Just like Samuel we all have a tendency to find ourselves at times being complacent or thinking about the past or something other than upward and onward.  God in His word tells us to have zeal and a zest for our life and to press toward the mark.  Romans 12:2  “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – His good, pleasing and perfect will.”  This gives us a clue that we should be constantly renewing our mind to God’s will and God’s word.  Follow the leading of the Holy Spirit to keep climbing that ladder of knowledge and wisdom.

Allen: I see so many parallels with the story of Samuel and people who rope.  This year at the Strait I did not rope well at all!  It goes both ways.  Last year at the Strait I roped really good and won 1st and 2nd.  But I can’t live off of last years anointing!  I have to rope for today.  I can’t think because I roped really good there last year that the same thing is going to happen again.  There are certain principles we have to follow. If we sew the right seeds in our lives and trust God to grow them for us then we will reap the rewards that He wants to give us.  Take for instance this year at the Strait, I’m not going to make any excuses, I just did not perform well!  I was going back and forth to Houston.  Every time I back in the box I have learned that this is a new run and I don’t look back behind me!  Even though I didn’t do any good at the George Strait I didn’t let it bother me at Houston.  I could have chose to live in the past and dwell on my performance at the Strait but I chose not to do that and as of right now we are setting second in the average and should be setting good for the short go! Someone told me a while back “Today is yesterdays tomorrow”

Clay: Roping is no different from life.  Everything in life operates by the same principles.  To rope for a living where that is the source of how you feed your family there is a pressure there and a psychological battle that each one of us face on a day-to-day basis.  When the stakes are at its highest is when the battle is most ferocious!  But everything operates by the same principles, you are not going to win every time but you are not going to loose every time either.  Just like in our walk with God, if we work hard everyday to get better and we are preparing ourselves each and every day we give ourselves a better opportunity to be successful.  I heard once “luck is where preparation meets opportunity”!  You have to be prepared and ready mentally, spiritually, and physically.  You have to be prepared for success as well as failure.  You can’t live on that rollercoaster mentally.  You have to be at a place where you can accept the losses and the winning at the same time.

Allen: Victory not only comes materially but also on the inside.  I encourage all people especially young people to realize the mental victories they have and learn from their failures but choose to forget them and don’t drink from that pool of the past!  Whose mental game is going to be tougher?  A guy who chooses to live in the present and maybe remembers all the high teamers that he has caught or a guy who chooses to live in the past and keeps digging up all the failures.  We all miss high teamers and we all catch high teamers!  The smart thing to do is if you choose to remember anything is remembering the ones you catch and build on those.  You can’t live off of those but you can build on them. Php 3:13-14 “Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.  Press toward the mark of the prize of the high calling in Christ Jesus.”  God put those things in the bible for us to use them!  The ones of us that want to use them and apply them to everyday things in our life find that they are tools for successful living!  So I ask you, WHERE ARE YOU DRINKING FROM?

CONGRATULATIONS TO CLAY FOR WINNING 1ST AND 3RD AT THE GEORGE STRAIGHT!