PRCA Saddle Bronc Rider Cole Elshere
See the Cole Elshere testimony on page 3.
Cover photo by Westfall Photography
“The Lord directs our steps so why try to understand
everything along the way. Just because things look
from our point of view to be the right way and the
best way, doesn’t mean that it is.” Proverbs 20:24
THE LINE RIDER is published monthly by the
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Editors: Lynne Schricker & Linda Scholtz
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CONTENTS
mAY 2015
FEATURE ARTICLES
3
Cole Elshere Testimony
By Rachel Reinhold
For God Alone
OK, it’s getting a little tough, but
anything is possible with God!
MONTHLY COLUMNS
6
Graphic Design: Annie Thomas
8
12
13
A Western Woman’s Heart:
By Robin Reinhold
Spring Cleaning
You’d be amazed at what I find on
my kitchen table!
Spotlight On Youth:
By Rachel Reinhold
Interview with Danny Reinhold
I am just so thankful to be able to live
where I do and do what I love!
Bible Study:
By Mike Shields
God’s Perfect Wisdom
Calving time is beyond fascinating.
Down the Road:
By John Kissell
He Called My Name
I was eight hundred miles from home
and out of the darkness this fella called
me by name!
14
IN THIS ISSUE...
Spring is here! God is calling us
to listen up, look up and clean
up. Spring is a time of renewal
in the pastures and in our hearts.
We pray that God will use our
Line Rider columnists to renew
your spirit this May.
Steer Ad:
Help the Fellowship of
Christian Cowboys
Cole Elshere’s Testimony
For God Alone
With Rachel Reinhold
C
ole Elshere, 24 years
old, grew up on his
family’s ranch near
Faith, South Dakota. Born into
a ranch and rodeo family, it is no
surprise that for a living, Cole is
doing what he loves--ranching
and rodeoing. A humble threetime Saddle Bronc Qualifier
for the National Finals Rodeo,
Cole testifies his love for his
Savior every day. Here is Cole’s
testimony.
RR - When did you come to
know Christ?
CE - When I was eight years old
my sister and I went and spent
the week with my Grandma, Joy
Elshere. We went to Vacation
Bible School and there is where I
Lord?
CE - I have struggled with all the
temptations of success and failure,
and through those I have learned
that coping with those feelings
in an earthly manner leaves you
empty and not content. The only
thing that brings true joy is trying
to act in a manner that pleases
God and follow His will.
asked Jesus into my heart.
RR - Has there been any significant events that have strengthened your relationship with the
NFR Cowboys visiting the Children’s Hospital.
RR - As a young person in the
sport of rodeo, what have you
done to stay focused in your life
on Christ?
CE -Having Christian parents
has helped me immensely. They
have always motivated me to walk
the straight and narrow, leading
by example. So going home was
always good for me.
RR - So kind of
along the same
lines, how has
your family
and community impacted
you?
CE - My
relatives and
Church family have always
been very supportive of my
rodeo career
and encouraged
me to go shine
for Jesus. Having that support
and encouragement always
makes me feel accountable for my
actions, which has helped me stay
grounded.
RR - Through the ups and downs
of life and your rodeo profession…How does one keep the
proper perspective?
CE - Rodeoing has so many ups
and downs. When you put so much
effort into something that is as
inconsistent as winning it can really
tear at you.
When I finally reached the
point where I understood that
every moment truly controlled by
God and His Will is always done, I
was able to accept my position as a
believer in my successes and fail-
ures. Now instead of trying to be in
control of everything, I ask God to
let me be on His “A Team”. With
Him as my coach, I focus on being
successful in His eyes.
RR- Where would you like to be
25 years from now?
CE - In 25 years I hope to own a
family ranch and host a Roughstock
Bible Camp.
Cole was recently able to share
his testimony at a Cowboy Church
Service in Rapid City, SD. These are
some of his highlights from the year
and the NFR:
CE - So after you figure out you
made it to the NFR finals you’re
pretty pumped. You get home and
you start doing pushups and thinking about all the broncs you’re going
to get on and you hope you draw
the rankest one and you feel like
you can ride them. And every night
you pray to God, “Alright Lord, I’m
going to give all the glory to You,
and every time I win, someone is
going to interview me and I’m just
going to give all the glory to You.”
You’re thinking through the whole
process and how good it’s going to
go and you’re going to glorify Him.
Well, you get there and it
didn’t quite go the way you planned!
After round one, I ended up dropping my rein and got bucked off.
The physical pain out there is no
big deal …it’s the emotional stuff
that really gets a guy. So in the next
rounds I get a couple rode and place
in a round. You can still kind of see
where you might reach the goal of
being a world Champion.
Pretty soon you’re like, “OK,
it’s getting a little tough, but anything is possible with God!” So you
still gotta hope! Then I got dumped
the 9th round and thought well…
let’s end this on a good note… leave
with a win, you know, go home
happy and start over fresh next
year. Well I came out for the last
go and drew the horse of the year.
I nod for my ride and do like a
helicopter, 360° buck off and I don’t
even know how I landed. I thought
I landed on this side and everybody
told me I landed on that side. So
that’s how clueless I was! So I go to
the locker room and it’s kind of a
relief after that round where there is
nothing else I can do. You can’t try
any harder, you can’t push yourself
any more. It’s over. And at the same
time it’s sad because you feel like
you have more in you, but there are
no more chances.
A verse that helped me
through that was Proverbs 20:24.
“The Lord directs our steps so why
try to understand everything along
the way. Just because things look
from our point of view to be the
right way and the best way, doesn’t
mean that it is.” God sees something from a totally different angle
and He has got something better!
During the week of the NFR.
We went to a children’s hospital
with a company called Cowboys
Who Care. They grabbed a handful of cowboys and we went around
and took cowboy hats and delivered
them to all these kids that were in
hospitals. We would just go in and
shape hats for them, color pictures,
and have a good time and just try
to put a smile on their face. They
didn’t care if you got bucked off the
day before or if you won, they were
just happy to see you and so tickled
to just be around a cowboy.
“You know I can
use you right where
you are, because I
got a whole street
that’s gold, I don’t
need a gold buckle.
I just need you.”
And then I also got to go to
this Exceptional Rodeo they have
every year where they bring in a
bunch of kids and a handful of
contestants, whoever wants to
come, is invited. Most of the barrel racers always show up because
they’re all nice ladies. We go around
and we take a kid and we go rope
a dummy, go ride a real horse and
ride a bucking machine and help
them out, just be their buddy for
a bit. I was walking through and
this kid grabs me and says, “I want
to go with you.” I said, “Alright,
sounds good.” His name was Jarius.
So we go around and he’s roping
the dummy. He’d swing it and then
stop, and then he’d just chuck it!
And he never missed! I wish I roped
that good! Then this lady comes
up to interview us and she says,
“So why did you pick Cole?” He
said, “Because he looked like the
best.” And right there it just hit me,
“Wow”; you know, I’ve been getting
bucked off every night. He must not
have watched this on TV! So we get
done and they take our picture and
we sign each other a thankyou card
and he writes on there, “You are the
best.” It felt like somebody gave me
a gold buckle right there… just really, really was warming.
Rev. 21:24 says, “The twelve gates
were made of pearls, each gate of
a single pearl and the main street
was pure gold as clear as glass.”
For me that meant… Yeah, I really
wanted a gold buckle and I wanted
to win that for God, but He told
me, “You know I can use you right
where you are, because I got a whole
street that’s gold, I don’t need a gold
buckle. I just need you.”
At the finals this year, it really
helped me understand that there’s
a lot that I can do. I don’t have to
win every day for myself. I need to
win every day for God. I’ll finish by
reading 1 Corinthians 10:31. It says,
“Therefore, whether you eat or
drink, or whatever you do, do all
to the glory of God.”
And so my goal for this year is
no matter what I’m doing, it’s going to be for God’s Glory. Whether
it’s winning or losing, as long as it
brings people towards Him then it’s
a win in His book!