The Weekend Joyride

When the Track Opens Up

Rhoni & Mac Season 3

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0:00 | 33:14

Mac and Rhoni talk Kentucky Derby excitement, comeback moments, and what happens when life starts moving again.

From a dramatic final stretch run at Churchill Downs to launching a long-discussed boutique dream, this episode is about momentum — and the surprising way faith often begins with one small step forward.

Along the way, the conversation turns toward Kentucky revival history, the Red River and Cane Ridge meeting houses, spiritual awakening in America, and the idea that sometimes the track opens up right when you decide to move.

Topics in this episode:


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Intro

Mac

Hey, welcome to the Weekend Joyride. I'm Mac, and this week Rhoni and I talk about horses and hope and revival history and what happens when the track opens up in front of you. Glad you're here.

Rhoni

Very exciting week.

Mac

Why?

Rhoni

Because the derby was exciting.

Mac

You have just always loved the Kentucky Derby.

Rhoni

I love the Kentucky Derby. I love the horses. I love the fashion. I love the excitement. I smile through the whole thing. I pick my horses based on names and colors.

Mac

You don't have any sheets or anything, do you?

Rhoni

Now, I did like Bob Baffert and Wayne Lucas horses.

Mac

So you like those trainers.

Rhoni

I do like those trainers, but first off, I usually pick them by the name. And this year, as you know, Golden Tempo was one of the names I picked. And of course, I picked So Happy. Why would I not pick So Happy?

Mac

Of course, yeah. So Happy had a better, had better odds to win. I don't even look at those, though.

Rhoni

I look at the names.

Mac

You look at the names, yeah.

Rhoni

And Golden Tempo was my horse. I was so excited. Yeah.

Mac

And then Golden Tempo ran last and came from behind. Why do you think so many people are fascinated with horse racing?

Rhoni

I think people are fascinated with horses. Horses are not an average creature. They are sensitive, strong, smart, intriguing creatures. They are. And of course, we're Texans and we were raised around horses. So I've always loved horses. And these are the best of the best. They are so well bred and they're so beautiful. And this year in the Derby, there was this fascinating horse named Great White. Oh, yeah. Do you remember how huge he was? Huge horse. And he had a little episode and fell. So that's just fascinating. But I think people love horse racing because we love horses. Especially we in the south.

Mac

Yeah. And we go to horse races. We've been to horse races around here. They're not like the Derby. Because they're quarter horses, not thoroughbreds.

Rhoni

You can really tell a thoroughbred, a difference between a thoroughbred and a it's just amazing. Oh, that was amazing. The whole story around the derby this year was emotional because you had the owner of So Happy, who had just lost his wife.

Mac

Oh, yeah.

Rhoni

And that was an emotional story. So the world was pulling for that horse, So Happy, and it was a favorite.

Mac

Yeah, it was.

Rhoni

But then the trainer of Golden Tempo was the first female trainer to win the Derby. And that was exciting.

Mac

Yeah. So and to watch her, I've watched her reaction videos. Oh, yeah. I think from every different direction and many times. And it was so I I mean, even now, if I were to pull up one of those videos and watch it, it would it would cause a tear to come to my eye because it was emotional, yeah. Because that horse was in last place.

Rhoni

That horse was in last place. But it's not uncommon if you watch the races, it's not uncommon for the fastest horse to lag behind and save their energy for the last quarter mile.

Mac

Yeah.

Rhoni

That's not uncommon. Yeah. But this horse was really last. And then he just started pulling forward by strides. It was so exciting to watch. And it was so touching to see her and all the people around her so excited for her.

Mac

And this didn't get as much press that the horse that was right beside Golden Tempo as they crossed the finish line, like what, half a nose or something like that, was ridden by the writer that was on Golden Tempo. That was his brother on the horse next.

Rhoni

Oh, yeah. Yeah. So it was two brothers that won person. Yes.

Mac

And that's cool. And they've they've wanted to do that.

Rhoni

It's just that you know, one good turn can change a race.

Mac

Yeah.

Rhoni

And that's a thought to hold on to today.

Mac

Yeah, absolutely.

Rhoni

One good turn. That's all it takes to change a story for not just a horse and the rider or the trainer, but for anybody. We're gonna talk a little bit about that today.

Mac

Yeah.

Rhoni

The Derby hats, they intrigue me.

Mac

They do.

Rhoni

I'm not a hat person because I have short hair, so it's hard to find hats that look cute on me. Oh. But I do like them and I'm fascinated with them.

Mac

What is it that they're called? I guess that's what they're called. Fascinator.

Rhoni

Yeah, because I'm fascinated with them. So when my kids went to the Derby last year, my daughter wore a fascinator. She has long hair and she just looked beautiful. Yeah. But there were a couple of really gorgeous hats, brimmed hats with these gorgeous flowers. I'm taken aback by all the colors and the beauty of that. Yeah. But at the same time, some of them look kind of clownish to me. Like they can be a little so outlandish that they're so wild.

Mac

And I believe as we were watching the race or talking about it afterwards, our daughter said, said no, it she said the part that intrigued her was that the hats don't have to match the outfits. They would be totally outlandish.

Rhoni

Yeah, and that would freak me out. I would have to match.

Mac

Matchy, matchy girl.

Rhoni

I have to be matchy, but I did notice that some of the ladies that were around the reporters, I was noticing how some of their outfits were just almost silly. They were they were just so outlandish. Now that's I can't I don't want to sound judgmental because I I wear bold prints. I wear bold things. Yeah. But some of the hats are just funny and some of them are gorgeous.

Mac

It just looked like they were trying to attract attention anyway. It's like, oh, I can't wear a hat today, so that's where the goofiest one I can find. That's my take on it.

Rhoni

But some I think I think the culture of that place, though, the hat is the draw.

Mac

Yeah, absolutely.

Rhoni

And the women do try to top each other with the hats. Oh, yeah, absolutely.

Mac

There's no doubt about that.

Rhoni

But anyway, that was such a fun race to watch. Just just watching that Golden Tempo horse pull forward like that. And then just the excitement of the trainer and the happy tears. You and I choked up through it. Just so happy for her.

Mac

And then you've got the the setting itself. Churchill Downs is gorgeous. Well, I've never been. Alyssa talked about how when they went last year, I said, Oh, your mom's always wanted to go to the Derby. She said, I really want to go back.

Rhoni

I think we should plan it for next year. I think we ought to be there.

Mac

Might be way cool. And then when they get around the track and that intensity comes in there at the end. I mean, it doesn't always happen like this. But this year it was all the horses were bunched up together. And you know, you see the ones that are starting to pull ahead and the ones that are starting to pull behind. Maybe even maybe even horses that have been in the lead the whole race are starting to drop back a little bit. And then to see that that positioning change and all that.

Rhoni

It's exciting for me because it's emotional. And I know that every one of those horses and their owners and their trainers and their team. It's such an honor to get into the derby. And I just I'm honestly pulling for all of them because I want them all to win. Yeah. It's such a big deal.

Mac

You do that in every race, no matter what it is. I do. I don't care if it's kids running down the street.

Rhoni

I don't like to see people lose at all. I I pull for people. Yeah. But in that, it's almost like I'm pulling for the horse, I'm pulling for the rider, I'm pulling for all of them. And it's so disheartening when they don't win. Yeah. So the whole thing is just an emotional roller coaster for me. And I love it. And I smile through the whole thing. And I I jump up and get excited about the whole thing. But that was a fun race. And Golden Tempo was my pick. And when that horse pulled forward, it was exciting. I think we should just relive that moment of Golden Tempo crossing the finish line. That was so exciting. And to listen to Cherie Laveau, the trainer, realizing that her horse is about to win. So exciting. So so exciting. So much like that. Again, it's how it just takes one moment. It takes one curve. How quickly your positioning where whatever station you're in in life right now, the slightest turn God can use to pull you ahead. Yeah. Where suddenly opportunities appear, or maybe your vision about something suddenly changes.

Faith Requires Motion

Mac

Maybe a door opens. Yeah. And then it's it's interesting, and I've always said this that you know, if I'm expecting God to come at me from the front to do something with me or for me or whatever, he it it rarely happens that way. He usually comes from behind and surprises and he works progressively, not just suddenly, oftentimes. It's not magic, it's not hype, it's just it's momentum that matters and you keep on. We started off the show this week by saying, Oh, what an exciting week! You yeah, you have long wanted to have like what you call a trunk boutique.

Rhoni

Yeah.

Mac

Where you just put a bunch of clothes in a trunk and open it up and and put the stuff out for sale. You've got a great eye for color, and people are always complimenting you on the things that you wear. So you finally made the step and bought some inventory.

Rhoni

I did. Yeah. So let's let's align this. We happen to be in Houston because we had a family obligation, and every time we go to Houston, I keep saying I need to do this certain thing because I still want to do this trunk show boutique. And I knew we were going to be pretty much camped out in the house while my kids were doing some things. Yeah. But honestly, while we're watching the derby, I had my iPad open and I found my vendor and just started stocking it. We spent a day on Sunday afternoon just going through names. I don't know what my name to be and what should it be.

Mac

And we I wondered what you were working on. You were sitting over there just feverishly working on it. I don't like this, I don't like that. That sounds silly.

Rhoni

This sounds too chic. It sounds weird. It still sounds a little weird. My boutique is honey by ya. My daughter wanted it to have ya, which is my grandmother's name. Yeah. And I don't know where honey came from. Maybe we mixed. Maybe there was somebody suggested honey and sage. Well, that already sounds like a place somewhere.

Mac

You and I call each other honey.

Rhoni

We call each other honey. Anyway, somehow honey by ya landed. There actually are quite a few ya type boutiques, but we landed on a name, and I thought, okay, we'll try that. And I just sat there on the couch watching horse racing all day, placing items in a cart and considering inventory. Yeah. And it was almost like the dream just started moving like that horse. I mean, I'm just lagging behind. Should have done it a long time ago. Yeah. And I just made the first move, which there's a nugget in this. Faith requires action. Uh-huh. Faith requires motion. And you talked about that in previous shows where you were ready to go to work for Spirit 1059. Yeah. And you cleaned your desk out.

Mac

I did. Where I was.

Rhoni

While you were waiting to be hired.

Mac

A couple of months. I mean, when I applied, I cleaned my desk out. Yeah. And I'm sure Brian, if you're listening, you know that's why I clean my desk so well. But anyway, yeah. And that's where that's where your your boutique idea fits so naturally in all this.

Rhoni

Yeah. And I don't really want to own a store and have to go into a store every day.

Mac

Yeah.

Rhoni

I like the mountain of education. Yeah. I like that arena. I want to be in an educational atmosphere. But I also love shopping. I love boutique-y kinds of things. So I just thought, well, we also are part of a travel club. So all of these things kind of fit together.

Mac

So let me ask you as I'm interviewing you for this job, how much experience do you have in creating your own boutique?

Rhoni

Hmm.

Mac

None. Yeah.

Rhoni

What do you mean by boutique? Like I'm just thinking, you walk in my closet and you're like, No, I'm actually. There's a meme that Mac shared with me recently about a lady that comes to the doorway where her husband is and says something like, These are cute shoes.

Mac

How cute these shoes are. And he starts throwing her shoes at her.

Rhoni

Like hundreds of pairs of shoes. So when you say boutique, Mac would say that my side of the closet might be a boutique.

Mac

But this is something you wanted to put out to the public. And it is. Yeah, and you hadn't really, you hadn't really done anything about it. You've had the idea for several years now. I have. Yeah.

Rhoni

But again, that day, faith requires motion. And I just thought, okay, well, I'm going to, I'll find my vendor, I'll start stacking my inventory. And by the next morning, Sunday, uh by Sunday afternoon, I had ordered my trunk. I had placed in a merchandise order. I've had my rack coming. And it was like, okay, it just here's the nugget. This is the faith nugget here. Just like that horse, once it began to turn the corner, once I took the step, it's like the wind came behind my back. And the rest of those steps became easier. Yeah. Now that was on a Sunday. By Wednesday, I had boxes arriving at the door. And by today's Saturday, I've already had a trunk show party.

Mac

Yeah.

Rhoni

And made several sales. And made lots of sales. Yeah.

Mac

It's really funny.

Rhoni

So a dream that starts moving requires action. And and this brings us to our faith thread of the show today. Ecclesiastes 11 4 says, He who observes the wind will not sow. Meaning if you wait for all the conditions to be ripe, and we've seen so many opportunities over time, people wanting to do this or wanting to do that. And then the next line is, yeah, but I've got to wait until I have the money. Yeah, but yeah, but I've got to wait until so-and-so graduates. I need to wait until this. But if you wait for perfect conditions, you may never move.

Mac

Yeah. And at some point you have to just realize you gotta quit messing with it and just go forward.

Rhoni

Right. I had to stop researching, finding vendors. I had to just make a decision and place an order.

Mac

Yeah. And then how did it feel?

Rhoni

It felt exciting.

Mac

It was exciting. What even for me, and I don't care a thing about the things that you're selling. I'm not gonna wear one. Yeah. But you know, yeah, we both got excited about it. And I started the inventory spreadsheet and got it all set up and everything.

Rhoni

Which is good because I would have just, I don't know, take that one. I think it was the green one. Mac is the one who would keep my data for me.

Mac

Yeah, you gotta get them tagged.

Rhoni

He got them tagged dotted for me and all that was great. But but back to the faith part, new things usually begin messy or unorganized. Don't wait for the right computer program to show up. Just you've got to take the step.

Mac

I like this line. Motion creates clarity. Yeah. You start moving and things get clearer as you move through them.

Rhoni

It does. And remember this we are promised in the word that the path for the righteous, that's us. Go back and listen to our last week's show if you want to understand that more deeply. But the path for us, God promises, is gonna grow brighter and brighter. Yeah. But it may start messy. And sometimes God is going to be guiding by putting people in position for you.

Mac

Right. And you know, we've heard this too before. Uh there's a story that that goes out about, well, you know, I'm not gonna do that because I don't know exactly how it works. You know, I don't trust that. I don't know.

Rhoni

I'm gonna research that a little more.

Mac

Next time you walk on an airplane, yeah, you don't know how any of that works. Normally, you you have no idea how to fly the plane, you don't know what the pilot knows, any of that. And yet you're gonna go on and take that step of faith across that threshold into that airplane and let God have the rest. And that's just kind of what you've done with this.

Rhoni

It is, and I I think the thing for me, one of the things I know that I'm called to do is to help people chase a dream. That's what I'm called to. Even in the world of education, one of the things I'm passionate about is helping kids tap the dream, tap the thing that they're passionate about. So that's something that's exciting to me. But on the faith side of it, we are wired for a call. We're wired in a way, created in a way, that makes us the only person in the world that can do in the way that God's gonna help us do whatever that thing is. And so the dream that's in your heart, you're not too old for it. You haven't missed it like we talked about last week. Your story's still being written.

Mac

Absolutely.

Rhoni

But the things that are in your heart, and this is the righteous person I'm talking about, the person who is right with God. You know, God resides in the heart area, right? God leads you by your heart. And so the things in your heart were put there by him. The things that make you light up, those were put there by him. And so it's not to say that every single thing you step out and try is gonna be the thing that is gonna become your legacy.

Mac

Yeah.

Rhoni

Like, I don't know what this little trunk show boutique might be for me. It might just be extra money, it might just be delight. You know, we like to see our children delighting, and maybe this is just something that's gonna be fun for me, that, but nonetheless, we've stepped out and acted on it, and we can be assured from the word that the path for us is going to grow brighter and brighter. That's biblical. So you really don't have to see the whole road, the whole picture. You don't have to have it all planned out to take a leap of faith.

Mac

Seems like always or for years had the dream about opening a bed and breakfast. So I wonder.

Rhoni

No, it's still that's still out there. It's still out there. We just see what might become of that.

Mac

While we're on the subject of horse racing and all that, Kentucky is a place that we both want to go back to soon and spend more time. We were just up there in backs kind of before, but this is uh it's a lovely.

Rhoni

It's so lovely. And I'll tell you how we did it. We flew into Nashville, and the reason we flew into Nashville is because we wanted to go to some specific places in Nashville. And so we decided we would land in Nashville and we would get in a car and drive through Kentucky because we wanted to see the Ark. If you've never seen the Ark, it is worth everyone going.

Mac

Mm-hmm. I cried when we came over the hill in the bus and saw that. Because you park in a big parking lot and then they have buses that take you to the arc. It's about, I don't know, another two-mile drive back in there. But you do, you round a corner and you come up over a hill and you look and you see this thing and how huge it is.

Rhoni

The magnitude of that.

Mac

Amazing.

Rhoni

And just the whole sense of this is a replica. And how God gave this man a dream. Yeah. To build this thing. Back when there was no Google, there was no, you know, didn't have cell phones.

Mac

He probably didn't have a reliable ruler, you know, whatever.

Rhoni

But to build this thing to spec. Yeah. And then you go in it, and it's just, I can't even describe how eye-opening and how enlightening, yeah. Understanding more about what that looked like. Yeah. I I recommend that trip to every believer. I just can't say enough things about that. We went to the Ark, and then not far away from that is the Creation Museum.

Mac

That was neat too, yeah.

Rhoni

But I think one of our most memorable moments was crossing the Tennessee line, and we had been interested. We found out on a whim that there were two locations on our path to the Ark that were actually meeting houses that were established during the second great spiritual awakening in the United States.

Mac

You're talking about the Cane Ridge Meeting House and the Red River Meeting House. We made it a point to go to both of them, and they were both moving.

Rhoni

Yeah, so Red River Meeting House is just across the Tennessee line. And this was a place in, I believe, 1799, where there was the second great spiritual awakening. It was a place where they held revivals and tent meetings, but there was a log cabin there that interestingly is just wide open for you to walk in, and there is a Bible, like a Bible from back in the day out on the pulpit. The way they describe it is that it was a pivotal, explosive camp meeting or a series of camp meetings that ignited the second great awakening in the United States frontier. So they talk about how during these meetings, thousands, maybe ten thousands, came from all around to worship, and there were miracles, there were outpourings of the Holy Spirit and big old revival. A big revival.

Mac

And the doors, the doors to the building are open, and it's an old log cabin building that I mean it looks like they just wrapped up their service and all got in their horses and buggies and took off. It's that kind of feeling when you walk into this place. It was reverential. It was very reverential.

Rhoni

It was quiet. And you and I walked in and we just kind of sat down and went, wow. Like when you realize that this is a place where the Holy Spirit was poured out upon people in this country. And just to give you an idea of the birth of the country spiritually speaking, it says there were mass gatherings, and they say that it transformed America Protestantism. So out of that came this rapid growth for Methodist and Baptist denominations.

Mac

Okay.

Rhoni

But when Mac and I were sitting there, we just felt led to pray for our country. So we sat there and we prayed.

Mac

Yeah.

Rhoni

We sang. I mean that sounds silly. It does. Yeah.

Mac

No, I was just thinking that. It sounds silly to tell you that yes, we sat there and we sang. We sang songs that we knew.

Rhoni

We sang praise and worship songs. But at one point I felt like I should go to that Bible. And I went up there and I flipped through the pages, and this is amazing. People who had come, who knows how long ago, would leave little scraps of paper that said, prayed for the country.

Mac

Uh-huh.

Rhoni

You know, and you know, left by so-and-so. It was just like Americans.

Mac

History. Americans. Americans. Yeah.

Rhoni

Right. It was beautiful. That was so memorable.

Mac

Yeah.

Rhoni

So the significance again of that Red River Revival Meeting House was that it was considered the birthplace of the second Great Awakening, but it it absolutely sparked the revival fire that moved from Kentucky to Tennessee. And they say it set the stage for the larger Cane Ridge meetings, which Cane Ridge was a little bit more north into Kentucky. And so that too was a very interesting place. There was a revival there the next year in 1801. That was Bourbon County, Kentucky.

Mac

Yeah. And again, thousands and thousands of people. And mind you, on horses and buggies, yes. Coming in and spending, I mean, you know, they had to travel for days or even weeks to get there.

Rhoni

Yes, and think of the scale of this. 10,000 to 25,000 people. And this is 1801. Like it makes you think there weren't more than that amount of people. Existing. Everybody in the country must have been there, right? And they gathered for this week-long meeting.

Mac

Amazing. And it did bring about another great awakening in the United States, early United States. And it's, I don't know, it was just so fun spiritually. Fun spiritually to go there. It's very moving. Yeah, I probably cried. And uh we both did. Yeah. It was and we would go back again.

Rhoni

And so I would say that if you haven't done any research on that, it's just interesting. Red River again was the pioneering event. They called it the well of revival that really broke tradition. And then Cane Ridge was this massive, pretty much culmination that spread this movement's influence across the nation. It was an important event. And we did feel compelled to pray for our country and our president at both of those locations. Right. Very interesting. Yeah. Which is really, I think we can say that we are also experiencing now what they say is a third great awakening in the United States.

Mac

Yeah, with the the reading of the complete Bible that was going on for days and days. Yeah. And you know, including the president. I read from the Bible as part of that part of that thing. And then coming up next weekend or this coming Sunday is is the Freedom 250 movement. It's what they call rededicate 250. Freedom 250. It's a gathering in Washington, D.C. to rededicate the United States to its original principles that it was founded on.

Rhoni

Yeah, rededicate the country to God. It's so moving. We are approaching 250 years, and here this Freedom 250 is a national prayer emphasis, and it just is taking us back to our spiritual foundations in this country. So we've been privileged to do a little exploration of the roots of the second Great Awakening. And here we sit in the midst of the third Great Awakening.

Mac

It could be the third, yeah.

Rhoni

Um it's just it's exciting to think about how revival starts oftentimes when ordinary people get spiritually hungry.

Mac

That's exciting. And the Freedom 250 thing, if you'd like more information on that, you can I'll have a link in the at the end of the show on the notes, but it's freedom250.org, and you can go and make plans to go. You know, I mean in DC, there's gonna be thousands of people there. It's gonna be gonna be amazing.

Rhoni

Habakkuk 3.2 says, Revive your work in the midst of the years. And I think I would bring us back to how we started the show today. That it just takes a turn of a heart.

Mac

It just takes the next turn, the next corner.

Rhoni

The next turn, and and God will come along behind you. It's exciting to see people turning toward God. And those of us who are believers, Psalm 85, 6 says, Will you not revive us again? And he will, and he is, and we're in the midst of it.

Mac

And maybe this is a season where, just like the derby, it just that last turning corner, things started to change, things started to get different. Ronnie ordered her trunk boutique materials, and things started to turn, things got different. We've had a different attitude this week, just kind of like, hey, this is fun of this week, and that's been kind of a change for us. It's been a lift. We've we've been very much a lift.

Rhoni

Yeah, and I guess those who follow us know that March was hard. April was hard. Our our pastor went to heaven. Our pastor and really close friend went to heaven. So March and April were hard.

Mac

Let me just say that maybe this is the season where where things actually begin moving again. Yes, you feel it. Yeah.

Rhoni

So maybe this will encourage you. Life can feel stalled until suddenly it isn't.

Mac

A race changes on a turn.

Rhoni

A dream starts with one shipment.

Mac

One conversation.

Rhoni

Just one prayer.

Mac

Yeah, and an act of faith.

Rhoni

Sometimes life changes when you make the turn and you see the track opening up in front of you.

Mac

Yeah. You're gonna watch those races. I sure am.

Rhoni

It would be exciting on the year that we have a great awakening. That's right.

Mac

And the year that you decided to go on and launch this thing in faith.

Rhoni

Yeah.

Mac

Fun.

Rhoni

Yeah. What are you dreaming of? Maybe this is your year too.

Outro

Mac

This is the weekend joyride. Glad you came along with us. See you next time.