More Than the Banner

If you've spent much time in a barn, you know this life has a way of becoming part of who you are.

The early mornings. The long days. The friendships. The victories. The disappointments. The lessons learned while feeding, fitting, hauling, and showing livestock. It's a lifestyle that shapes you in ways few people outside the industry fully understand.

Our family has celebrated championship banners and unforgettable wins. We've also driven home after weekends that didn't go the way we hoped.

Looking back, it's funny what we remember most.

We don't remember every placing.

We don't remember every judge.

We couldn't tell you where every banner ended up.

What we remember are the conversations in the truck on the way home, the prayers before walking into the ring, the laughter around the wash racks, and the ways God used both the victories and the disappointments to shape our hearts.

That's why we wrote this devotional.

Over the next thirty days, our prayer is that you'll discover a simple but life-changing truth:

Your identity has never been found in a banner. It has always been found in Christ.

Whether you're reading these pages in the barn, on a trailer ride, or at home after chores, we hope you'll be reminded that no matter what happens in the show ring, you are fully known, deeply loved, and created for a purpose far greater than any championship.

- The Schlipf Family