Today my feelings range somewhere between angry and hopeless. I know these emotions will not take up permanent residence in me because I am like a broken piece of china held together with Band-Aids and super glue. Whatever fills up this vessel eventually trickles out. A while ago my Sister-in-law gave me a book. The title is Prayers for Emotional Wholeness by Stormie Omartian I found this prayer on page 199 and it stuck with me today.
Lord I cry out to you today and ask you to give me relief from the difficult things I am facing. Bring them to a good conclusion as only you can do. I know you understand all I am going through, and you see all I do and what I am up against. You even know my thoughts about my circumstances right now. Help me navigate these rough waters so that I can not only survive, but come through victoriously.

This prayer is based on scripture from Psalm 138:3 In the day when I cried out, you answered me, and made me bold with strength in my soul.

If you find yourself facing down a corporation or just trying to make it through the day…Here’s hoping we all have a little of God’s strength right now.

I couldn’t sleep last night I was up early and I found comfort sitting and looking out at the trees. With Autumn upon us their leaves begin to change from the usual deep green to shades of orange, red, and brown and as the breeze comes they gently release from their branches and float to the ground just starting to pile at the base. Watching them I began comparing my life to a tree. My Tree of Life once so big and green. Under its grand canopy I could find shade from the heat that life cooks up, or hold tight to its trunk for safety during one of life’s many storms. And occasionally when life gets too much to handle I could climb up into the shelter of its leaves to hide for a while.
Just as autumn has come to my back yard it has also come to my life through this tragedy and my tree which was once so bountiful is now baron and empty. As I stand here looking up at this new tree I can’t help but think maybe it could be useful too. No it is not the shelter it once was but perhaps its empty branches could be used to reach out to someone, or as a walking stick to lean on while I shoulder this heavy burden. And when winter comes and the blinding snow and rain fall all around and life has chilled me to the core maybe I could use its fruitless wood for a warm embracing fire. The desolate arms that were once my hiding place no longer exists but I can climb up its sturdy trunk and rather than hide I can stand. From high atop I can look out and see clearly the things below, which require change. When spring returns my tree might once again blossom and begin to show signs of life. It will be different now, some of its branches broken or missing. The scars of our journey visible on its trunk, but I know this tree will somehow be useful too. I am learning that life may take from us, but the tools we need to survive it are always there, if we choose to see them.

I was handed a stack of another 20 incidents involving the Yamaha Rhino. So far there have been too many injuries to count and the death toll is rising. The stability of the Rhino has been compared to that of a bar stool by The Engineering Institute and yet nothing has been done. We suffer at the hands of Yamahas lack of concern for there own consumers and quite frankly I find that appalling. At what point does the loss of human life begin to matter to them the way it matters to me? Every story I read only fuels me and motivates me toward the goal of prompting change. But why does a matter that involves death take so much prompting? These I suppose are not questions for us to answer; however, when the ostrich pulls his head out of the sand on this one what a hell he has to face.

The ATV Awareness Walk this Saturday was a great success! We had the opportunity to spread the word on the dangers of the Yamaha Rhino and let people know the damage this ATV is causing. The J.T. Crow Memorial Fund along with our organization Bubba’s Angels had the opportunity to present our first two Bubba’s Angels awards. This is an award that is presented to people who help spread the word on ATV Awareness. Our first recipient is a young lady named Sunny Chism. She lost her arm while riding on a Rhino. Though she is only 13 years old she has found the courage to share her story with others. I am amazed and very proud of her efforts!
Our second Bubba’s Angels Award went to a Game Warden named Ellis Powell. He was the officer first on the scene the night of J.T.’s accident. He has also helped tremendously in the effort to protect people from injury. He spoke at the walk about some of the accidents he has witnessed and we were honored to have him attend.
The J.T. Crow Memorial Fund also had the privilege of sharing our first efforts toward awareness by distributing our pamphlet on ATV safety, which you can download off of our website. Thank you to everyone who attended, helped, and hugged. Please continue to spread the word and we will see you at our next event!

I spend a lot of time on J.T.'s website hoping that people are finding it and reading it. I know that by learning our tragic story on the website, where just today the hits have surpassed 1500, or at one of our events than you have gained the knowledge to keep this from happening to your family. Our lives were so different only 4 months ago. I found a picture today and in it I see what was, but with this knowledge this picture could have remained what is, and I want all yours to do just that.