Twin Springs Ranch Legacy

Twin Springs Ranch Legacy

Several years ago, I went to a cowboy church, and the pastor was a counselor who was doing equine therapy. I was very interested in it, and I volunteered to help him. We did some neat ministry and even got to spend time doing equine therapy in Seneca Missouri with the Eastern Shawnee tribe. These were trips and people I will never forget! In the back of my mind, I thought, Wow, this is amazing how God can use horses to minister to people. I would love to do this! 

Fast forward a few years, and my daughter was the equine director at Teen Challenge Adventure Ranch in Marrow Arkansas. I got to volunteer and go with them on campouts with the horses and boys. Eventually they sent her to equine therapy training for staff development. I signed up for the training and went with her and loved every minute of it. Again, I thought, Wow, it would be awesome to do this. In 2021, my husband and I bought my grandparents place, Twin Springs Ranch.

In the back of my mind, I thought, What can I do with this place to honor God and my grandparents and their legacy? They built a cabin on the property for missionaries to rest while in the ministry.

In January 2021, I told my grandma that I had decided to go back to school and get another master’s degree in counseling. My grandma was very excited for me because she was only 15 credits away from having a bachelor's degree in psychology. A few weeks later, she handed me a postcard that said, "Come to our open barn event at Cookson Hills." I said, "Thanks, Me-me, I will try to go." A week later, she said, “Don’t forget about the open barn.” Jess, I said, "Okay, Me-me." A few days later, she said, "Did you write down the date of the open barn, Jess?" Yes, Me-me. 

A week later, she passed away very unexpectedly… 

So fast forward a few weeks, and I decided I had better mind my Me-me and go to this open barn event. I got there, and I bet you can guess what they were doing... Christian equine therapy! It was amazing! I just smiled and whispered, Thanks, Me-me! I met the man who designed their program (Johnny Clark), and I signed up for his training program The Spur Model (which I completed in October 2022). I was starting to plan and develop my legacy with the help of God and my grandma! 

The Dream: 

I had been praying about what I could do with Twin Springs Ranch to honor God, and for the first time in my life, God not only answered my prayer but also gave me a vision in my sleep. In the vision, I was standing by the barn, and a little girl was with me. I knew she had been abused and had gone through unspeakable trauma, we had just finished a session of equine therapy and had walked back to the barn. I turned to her, got on my knees, and reached for her tiny hand. At that moment, God told me the words to say to start the process of healing and restoration. I told her she was loved, she was wanted, she was a good girl, God knew her before she was formed in her mother's womb, he had good plans for her future, there was hope, she was a daughter of the Most High King, and he desperately loved her! 

At that moment, my very vivid and very real dream was over, and I realized that God wanted to use me to heal people, and he wanted me to do it right there at Twin Springs Ranch. What could be a better legacy than doing what I love to do to help the people that God tremendously loves and wants to restore!! Now I am a licensed professional counselor who does equine-assisted psychotherapy at Twin Springs Ranch and at Cookson Hills. In fact, I will be demonstrating at their open barn event this week!