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    He Holds the Reins: Christian Cowboy Poems
    He Holds the Reins: Christian Cowboy Poems
    He Holds the Reins: Christian Cowboy Poems
    Ebook246 pages1 hour

    He Holds the Reins: Christian Cowboy Poems

    By Brad Curtis

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    About this ebook

    As a pastor of Mountain Top Cowboy Church I have discovered that there is little material designed specifically for cowboy churches or cowboy ministries. Although I have been in the ministry for 16 years I had never considered writing a book however the Lord had other plans. In October of 2009 I broke my leg while competing at a 40 and over bull riding which required surgery. I do not believe that it was Gods plan for me to ride a bull at the age of 46 but my books are an example that the Lord will use every situation we are in for good if we will allow Him to use us. During my time of recovery I started writing poems and short stories about my rodeo days then it turned to cowboy poetry. In the beginning it was a way to pass the time and deal with my situation. As I continued to write I began to relate my poems to scripture and it was then that the Lord truly began to use them to reach others. After sharing a few with my church I discovered that they could be a useful tool in cowboy churches and ministries or those in the western culture. My first book of poems and proverbs On The Trail was just another example of the Lords Grace and Mercy in my life. He Holds The Reins is a continuation of that Grace and Mercy. Now that I am On The Trail with Christ I allow Him to take the reins of my life while I ride toward heaven on the narrow trail.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAuthorHouse
    Release dateFeb 15, 2012
    ISBN9781468549775
    He Holds the Reins: Christian Cowboy Poems
    Author

    Brad Curtis

    ABOUT THE AUTHOR Brad Curtis makes his home in Vilonia, AR with his wife Janet and children Lindsey and Fletcher. He was born in Harrison, AR at the age of 12 his family moved to Conway, AR where at 15 he began competing in local rodeos. His senior year of high school he qualified for the National High School Rodeo Finals in the Bareback Riding. He is a 2 time Arkansas Champion Bareback Rider and a former Bareback Rider Rookie of the Year in the International Professional Rodeo Association. It was on the rodeo circuit that Brad came to know Christ. In 1996 Brad surrendered to the ministry and began filling in at churches that were without a pastor as well as doing revivals and preaching at Cowboy for Christ meetings. Brad’s motto was Have Bible Will Travel. He approached his ministry as he did his rodeo career, giving it 100 %. With the support of his wife Janet, Brad had the opportunity to preach in over 150 churches throughout Arkansas while working a fulltime job and attending Boyce Bible College at night. Now as a pastor of a Mountain Top Cowboy Church in Heber Springs, AR he uses his past rodeo cowboy experiences to present the Word of God.

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      Book preview

      He Holds the Reins - Brad Curtis

      Contents

      Dedication

      Foreword

      Preface

      The Sounds of Thunder

      Blu Healer

      Welcome Home Cowboy

      End of the Trail

      Grand Entry

      Frontier Faith

      Hot Iron

      The Captain’s Call

      Schoolin’

      The Rising Son

      Lead the Way

      Sheep Up

      Saddle Tramp

      The Flyin’ J

      Rustler Revealed

      Ringo Red the Rustler

      Working on the A Bar G

      Little Man Big Ol’ Tree

      Ben and Purdy

      Buzzards and Bandits

      Ol’ Pep

      True Grit

      Bushwhacker

      Justices of the Peace

      The Gun Slinger

      When the Dust Settles

      The Wanted Poster

      Ranch Rules

      Milk Pen Gentle

      The Quick and the Dead

      The Last Drive

      Pastures of Peace

      Hit the Trail

      Back in the Saddle

      Stirrup Deep in Trouble

      The Bar 0 Zero

      No Fear

      The Lost Ranch Revival

      Timothy the Kid

      Doctor’s Orders

      Cowboy in Snakeskin Boots

      Advice from Ol’ Cookie

      Open Range

      Family Reunion

      Slow Hand

      I Thought He Was Broke

      Bunkhouse Door

      Recipes from Prairie Pete

      The Scout

      Commander and Chief

      Cowboy Rest

      Back in Camp

      Happy Trail

      Fine with Me

      Struck it Rich

      Sam the Carin’ Cowboy

      The Helping Herder

      Beatin’ the Bunkhouse Rules

      It’s in the Past, Pard

      Just Limpin’ Along

      The Drifter

      Singin’ Joe

      Branded 1 Bar 3

      All the Boys

      Salty Pete

      Praising with my Pards

      Barnyard Reminder

      Cowboy Christmas Gift

      Cow Camp Christmas

      Wild Ride

      Heavenly Herders

      Ride to Renewal

      Just Passin’ Through

      The Northern Drive

      A Twister Named Ruby

      Code of the Best

      The Triple Tree

      The Big Spread

      House Top Husband

      Tongue Tamer

      Well Water

      Shady Sam

      Deadly Decision

      Ready to Ride

      Dust the Dirt Off

      Wrangler Wade and the L & M Boys

      Sky Rider

      The Guidin’ Light

      Partin’ Ways

      Buildin’ a Loop

      A Boost Up

      Rough as a Cob

      Broke and Happy

      Stranger in Camp

      Breakin’ Pride

      Lat and Twiggs

      Heart of Gold

      Let’er Buck

      Ride Devil Ride

      Hobbled

      Runnin’ on Empty

      Holy Hill

      Let the Lord Take the Reins

      Prayer

      Dedication

      As I reflect on the past years, I find it difficult to point out a select few people in which to dedicate this book. There have been so many along life’s trail who have been used by the Lord to get me on the trail and have helped keep me there. Some of whom I am still very close to and others whom I have had only a brief encounter. However, I dedicate this book to the one who has dedicated her life in the service to the Lord with me.

      How can any pastor be a man of God without the support of a Godly wife? Everything the Lord has asked me to do He has asked my wife Janet to support, and she has with all her heart. The first five years of my ministry, I was a supply preacher here in Arkansas, preaching in a different church every Sunday. Janet took our children to church, which she did faithfully, and she never complained when I was off preaching revivals. While I was attending Bible College, she allowed me time to study, and she took care of the house and the children. The daughter of a truck driver and the wife of a rodeo cowboy helped prepare her for the work the Lord had in store for us.

      Other than the Lord, Janet is the only reason that I have a ministry. It is because of her dedication that I am able to go where the Lord leads. Now that the Lord has led me to pastor Mountain Top Cowboy Church in Heber Springs, Arkansas, I would like to dedicate this book to my wife Janet for all her love and support. Love you!

      Foreword

      My first horse was like me, young and foolish. But when we rode, I could imagine I was the embodiment of a cowboy. The cows we chased were more than a few Black Angus, they were thundering herds, and the fields we rode were the Great Plains of the far west. Brad Curtis has recaptured this sense of the rough edged cowboy character in He Holds the Reins. Dialogue reminiscent of Zane Grey and John Wayne with plots worthy of Glenn Ford, Brad’s poetry recalls a cowboy experience about which we have all dreamed.

      Brad has been careful not to glorify the cowboy lifestyle. As a pastor and a preacher of the Gospel, Brad has taken care to glorify only He who alone is worthy of glory. It would not matter if his cast of characters were Wall Street bankers or Ivy League professors; the hero of his poems is always Jesus. Never glamorizing the fallen character above the honest report of the depths of the fall, nor elevating the redeemed character above the Redeemer, Brad’s poems rightly portray sin, repentance, and redemption, and restoration according to God’s plan.

      Pastors and preachers can use this book to illustrate biblical texts, family and friends can share it with people they love, and all of us can read it to remember the simple truth that God saves sinners. Finally, reading it caused me to remember the weight of the saddle as I threw it at a horse, which stood higher than I did, and the joy I felt as he ran.

      Emil Turner

      Executive Director of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention

      Little Rock, AR

      Preface

      As a pastor-shepherd, I have a great understanding that I am still a sheep as well. Every day is an opportunity to grow in my Christian faith and walk. I also know that there are times that I get off the trail. He Holds the Reins is a continuation of my first book of poems, On the Trail. I am thankful that I am on the trail with Christ but more thankful that He holds the reins. Like a young colt, there are those times I pull back and try to break free but thank the Lord that He is the one who is holding onto me. The purpose of each poem and this book is to present God’s word in a way that those in the cowboy-western culture can relate. In the process, come to understand that He holds the reins and will never let go when you’re on the trail with Him.

      Psalm 20:7

      Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we will remember the name of the Lord our God.

      The Sounds of Thunder

      When Bob came through the gate

      All of heaven took note

      He said, Pete I’m a rounder

      Where’s me a young colt

      I don’t want me no dead-head

      That some kid could ride

      Give me a rank one

      Then Pete, you step a’side

      Yep, I’ll break ’em all

      The Lord will have a string

      Them there white ponies

      Will be fit for the King

      That’s when one of the saints

      Said, They’re gonna let him in

      Don’t they know

      His life was full of sin

      Why he use’ta drink

      Now I don’t mean to fuss

      But that cowboy there

      Well, he was bad to cuss

      That’s when the Lord spoke up

      Said, Bob is my good friend

      He’s a real twister

      And he can rope the wind

      Yep, he was a sinner

      Running fast and wild

      Then one great day

      He became my dear child

      So Bob belongs here

      On my father’s place

      Not because he was perfect

      But because of my grace

      If you will remember

      You were lost in sin

      But I died for everyone

      And I let y’all in

      Heaven grew silent

      As Bob gathered up his tack

      Roped a young colt

      Then climbed up on his back

      When that colt began to buck

      All of heaven watched in wonder

      As Bob spurred that colt

      There was a clap of thunder

      So when you hear the thunder

      And see a lightning bolt

      That’s just ol’ Bob

      Snappin’ out another colt

      Matthew 9:10–11

      Blu Healer

      The Lord looked down on Blu

      A dirty sinful man

      Said, Blu, saddle up

      My Pa has a plan

      You’re the one he’s picked

      No other cowboy will do

      The herd is a bit wild

      They’ll be just right for you

      Pa said not to worry

      He knows what you need

      Yep, you’re rough as a cactus

      And tough as tumbleweed

      Pa sees your heart

      And he holds your soul

      He knows you’re a new hand

      Kind ’a like a sucklin’ foal

      Your walk ain’t that strong

      ’Cause you were just reborn

      But when Pa is finished

      You’ll be sharp as a thorn

      Yep, you’re still on milk

      But Pa will build you up

      You’ll be after the herd

      Like a blue heeler pup

      At first folks will doubt

      Because at times you’ll fail

      But you follow my Pa

      And stay on the trail

      Yep, you’ll get kicked

      But just stay on the herd

      Your bite will keep ’em gathered

      ’Cause it’ll be Pa’s word

      The herd is runnin’ wild

      But they’ll listen to you

      Tell ’em about the healer

      That’s why Pa picked you, Blu

      1 Samuel 16:7

      Welcome Home Cowboy

      In

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