Hey, it’s Ruthy here, and I love being part of Stars & Spurs week here at the hoppin-est Western group of cowboy-lovin’ gals there is…
What is it about Western images and culture and determination that makes us think of flag and country?
Well, it could be that flag flyin’ high at ranches all across the West/Midwest.
Or those small town celebrations that make us remove our hats, put a hand over our hearts and feel a prayer even if not one cotton-pickin’ word comes out of our mouths.
Or it could be at the graveside of a young man, the sharp knife of a short life, gone too soon in defense of his country. According to Wikipedia, over 80,000 soldiers, marines, sailors and airmen/women never plowed another field or husked another ear of corn following World War II, the Korean conflict and the Viet Nam War…
From some of the least-populated states came tens of thousands of Homeland Heroes.
From the “fly-over” states came the sound– and the cost– of freedom.
The sound of “Taps” being played on that single horn.
Bagpipes toning the tear-jerking chords of “Amazing Grace”
And the sight of a cowboy, on horseback, hunting that last calf as the sun dips down behind him.
The reminder of Christ and that shepherd we all love so much, leaving the 99 safe and sound to go after the one lost sheep.
When I think of Stars and Stripes and Spurs, that’s what comes to mind.
That in an amazing country that had been so divided 85 years before, shedding the blood of so many in a Civil War that tore us apart and bound us together, so many stood strong in the face of international terror when faced with the scourge of Hilter and Mussolini and Stalin, heartless men whose selfishness and greed dictated the loss of millions…
The image of a cowboy, standing guard at the gate or delivering a calf or a lamb or rocking his own baby floods our hearts with the goodness of the American West. This thought-provoking photo comes from Priscilla Du Preez over at Unsplash.
Because in the West it doesn’t matter how tall you are…
But how tall you stand.
And may God bless America….

Ruthy is giving away two copies of her newest Love Inspired Western “Healing the Cowboy’s Heart” to a couple of lucky cowgirls or boys but you’ve got to carry on the conversation below because when it comes to faith, hope and love, the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom stands strong, doesn’t it? And don’t get your knickers in a twist if you haven’t gotten your books from last month… you know our Ruthy lives on a farm and the grumpy farmer has been fighting rain, rain, and more rain so every little job doesn’t get done once… or twice… but three, four or five times. But they know they’re blessed to have jobs and lives beyond the farm, so there’s no lamentation… just a time-drain, folks. And one of these days our Ruthy will get to the Post Office and send out the last few weeks of books…. Sure as shootin’!
Feel free to shout out the folks you know who have served… they have blessed every one of us by that sacrifice of time and safety!