Can you believe you’re already halfway through the year? 2026 is known as the “Year of the Fire Horse,” a special year that only comes around once every 60 years. It’s often associated with momentum and moving forward with purpose. Now is the perfect time to pause and check in with yourself. How are you doing with your goals, dreams, and deadlines? Have you kept the momentum going, or has life gotten in the way?
One thing I’ve learned is that momentum works a lot like laundry. When you stay on top of it, it feels manageable. But when you let it pile up, it can feel overwhelming to get started again. The good news is that it’s never too late. If you’ve lost momentum, today can be your fresh start. Revisit your goals, give your dreams a deadline, and take one small step forward. Before you know it, you’ll be building momentum again, one intentional choice at a time.
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Grab your journal, head to your favorite spot (coffee shop, park, your backyard) and take a few moments to reflect on the questions below since we are at the mid-year point of the year of the fire horse!
What are you most grateful for so far this year?
How’s your momentum on projects you’ve wanted to accomplish? Where do you need to pause and change course?
What lesson has this year taught you?
What challenge helped you grow?
What has brought you the most happiness?
Are your daily choices aligned with your core guiding values? If not, how can you improve?
What’s one dream you want to pursue during the rest of the year?
What’s one brave step you can take this month?
Who can you encourage this week?
What do you want to look back and celebrate at the end of this year?
Let’s continue in my series called “The Herd Behind the Healing.” I want to share the story of Bugz with you. In this series I share the stories of the horses who help make Happy Success Ranch Retreats such a special place full of happiness and healing. Bugz is actually Jennah (my Director of Operations) horse. Bugz is 23 years old; the same age as Jennah. Bugz is a tall appendix quarter horse. She is from the bloodline of King Fritz. Another one of our horses, Ladybugs, is also from the bloodline of King Fritz, which makes them distant cousins.
Bugz is from Bend, Oregon. I commented on a Facebook post of some really cute goats. The lady replied and asked if I wanted the goats, and I said no. The same lady asked if I would ever want her horse. I told her how we already have a lot of horses, but I wondered if I could convince my husband if it was a horse for Jennah. The lady was moving to Idaho and was battling cancer and wanted to make sure her horse found a good home. Bugz is an amazing healer. We use her in a lot of the women’s groups. She is great around others because she is so sweet, and she is a very powerful healer. She is a great leader in the herd.
If you’ve been following along with me lately, you know I’ve been talking about the importance of identifying your guiding values. When I completed the exercise myself, my number one value was love. It wasn’t a surprise because I’ve always found myself drawn to Bible verses that remind me of God’s incredible love and His call to love one another.
Today, I want to share one of my favorites from 1 John 4:7-8, which reminds you that love comes from God and that God is love. Every act of kindness, compassion, forgiveness, and encouragement reflects His heart. Let God’s love fill your heart so completely that it naturally overflows into the lives of the people around you. When you choose to love like He loves you, you become a beautiful reflection of His presence in the world.
“Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God.But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” (1 John 4:7-8)
Let’s continue in my series called “The Herd Behind the Healing.” I want to share Roanie’s story with you. Roanie was born pure black. She has an Arabian mother who was pure black and an Andalusian father who looks just like she does. She’s now 11 years old. She will eventually be almost all white with the gray mane and tail.
Roanie was a rescue horse. She used to be at our neighbor’s place. Our neighbor has now moved. When she lived there, she would play in the pasture all by herself. She had no friends. She also had no shelter. We would see her in the cold mornings shivering under a tree. I told Dave how much I wanted to rescue her. She is such a friendly and extroverted horse, but she did not have a herd mate. In 2019 my husband Dave decided he was going to get her for me for my birthday, unbeknownst to me. I tell him he doesn’t need to get me any gifts for any occasion anymore, since my gifts are out in our fields.
Roanie has not done a lot of the equine gestalt healing work yet, but she loves to leech. Leeching is when it looks like the horse is yawning, but they are actually pulling toxins off you. If Jennah and I or Dave and I are out with the horses, and if we have had a hard day or something sad happen to us, Roanie knows and starts to leech. When we leave the pasture, we feel so much better.
In this series I share the stories of the horses who help make Happy Success Ranch Retreats such a special place full of happiness and healing. Click below to hear more about Roanie’s story.
Have you heard the quote before from Lao Tzu that says, “Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished”? You can trust the timing of your life. It is always perfect, even when it might not seem like it. Nature has a beautiful lesson to teach you about timing. Back in March, I spent time sitting beneath blooming cherry trees on my birthday, and I noticed something beautiful. While the cherry trees were in full bloom, the azaleas hadn’t opened yet, the rhododendrons were still waiting, and some trees were still bare from winter. Each one was growing exactly as it was meant to, in its own perfect season.
Another story I want to share about perfect timing came to me after one of our horses passed away. Friends sent thoughtful sympathy cards right away, but one special card didn’t arrive until two months later, on a day when I was deeply missing the horse who passed. The card came at exactly the moment I needed it most.
Moments like these remind me that God’s timing is often different from your own, but it is always purposeful. If you’re in a season of waiting, don’t lose heart. It’s never too late for your dreams. Just as every flower blooms in its own season, don’t forget that your story is unfolding in the perfect timing, too.
