Beautiful Brokenness, home of The Center for Equine Assisted Discipleship

Welcome to the Center for Equine Assisted Discipleship (EAD)

Beautiful Brokenness Ministries , home of EAD

"Ask the animals and let them teach you ..." Job 12:7

Beautiful Brokenness is a Christ centered discipleship and teaching ministry offering practical help for families and individuals who desire a deeper awareness of, and intimacy with, Jesus.

The Center for Equine Assisted Discipleship is our brand new campus located in Mineral, Virginia!

Jesus makes several promises that may or may not feel true when I am faced with pressure. He promises that He will never leave, nor forsake me. He promises that He will supply my need. He promises that nothing can separate me from His love.

These promises can sound dim or dead when faced with pain.

Painful circumstances can include:

Death of a loved one

Divorce or conflict in marriage

Trauma

Abusive or painful relationships

Suicide

Substance abuse

Exhaustion from daily living

Our greatest joy at The Center for Equine Assisted Discipleship is to help participants see how to process their circumstance through the lens of Truth, rather than struggle to make sense of Truth through the lens of pain. (Job 42:5 "... my ears had heard of You, but now my eyes have seen You ...)

Our other joy is to help believers take hold of concepts like identity, belonging, rescue, redemption and reconciliation. These are HUGE concepts that are often shaped by our experience. We LOVE to help Christians see and appropriate the Heart of The Good Shepherd through our tangible metaphor of beloved rescued horses.

Horses are our modern day sheep and they help us see His Shepherd heart, His constant presence, and His perfect provision.

Our focus at The Center is The Shepherd. Jesus is the reason for everything we do, and are.

Jubilee The Love Story is in the running for the Author Academy Awards!

I (Katy) began writing Jubilee in 2004 as a way to explain what horses have meant to me and my walk with Jesus. I have loved horses since I could see. I was one of those girls. The ones who read every horse book written, who draw horses endlessly, who canter instead of run. One of those girls.

Jesus has allowed horses to help me understand His amazing love and passion for me and all His kids. He has used horses to help me experience the heart of The Shepherd.

I hope readers will identify with some of Clay Westin's struggles and I certainly hope readers will identify with Clay's victory and peace.

What folks are saying

“From the first pages of Jubilee: The Love Story, I was fascinated. Katy Pistole writes as a terrific artist, beautifully conveying a story that captivates and motivates the reader to wonder and care deeply, leading to a surprising and thoroughly triumphant conclusion. It’s outstanding. I pumped my fist and shouted, “Yes!” I think you will, too.”

RALPH HARRIS, best-selling author of Life According to Perfect and God’s Astounding Opinion of You, and founder of Ralph Harris Ministries

“Katy is a masterful storyteller who understands how to weave the divine seamlessly into a beautiful love story. I began the book with curiosity, then was so captivated that I raced through the middle of the book with wonder. By the end I had to slow down and savor every morsel of truth through watery eyes. My emotions ran the gamut from anger to pleasant surprise to pure delight. There were transcendent moments that caused me to be aware of how impactful this extraordinary book will be.”

BARBARA ROLEN, blogger at pursueabundantlife.com

"I was not prepared for Jubilee ~ not from Katy, not from anyone. This is a

fine piece of writing on a subject Katy knows better than anyone else I’ve

met: trust. Horses learn trust inside a round pen, but as Katy illustrates, so

do people. In Jubilee she took me into the round pen, not with a whip, but

with a story of love, searching, freedom, and fulfillment that is powerfully

magnificent." PRESTON GILLHAM, leadership consultant and author

Find out more

How Can Brokenness Be Beautiful?

Beautiful Brokenness

Broken. verb

past participle of break.

adjective

reduced to fragments; fragmented.
ruptured; torn; fractured.
not functioning properly

Brokenness is not a term found in the Bible, but I hear believers talk about brokenness often. The definitions of brokenness vary, depending upon our understanding of the word. I spent years believing that God was out to "break" me ~ no matter what. This made me feel afraid when painful events occurred, and I would get busy trying to figure out how to make God stop. What did I need to do better? How could I be more pleasing, obedient, useful?

Yikes!

No wonder I was afraid!

What if Jesus has BROKEN the law of sin and death? What if God is committed to revealing His heart, His perfect provision, His sufficiency in ALL things?
What if Romans 8:1,2 are true?

I believe Romans is true. As is the rest of the Bible.

I hope you will explore the pages and chew on how Beautiful Brokenness is different than you might think.

Why Horses?

Did you know that 80% of girls identify the horse as their favorite animal? I was one of those horse-crazy girls. Jesus allowed me to see the difference between that generic love and a very personal love when I was 12. I got my first horse, and BlackJack changed my world. Jesus used that beloved horse to show me His heart for me.

Horses and humans are enemies by nature. Horses are prey animals (they provide meat) and humans are predators (we eat meat). This law of predator and prey offers an amazing analogy for the law of sin and death. Scripture says, "while we were yet enemies, Christ died for us ..." Jesus initiated relationship with me. Apart from His proactive, unconditional rescue, I would still be lost in my sin and death. All of the horses here at Beautiful Brokenness have been rescued from something. Just like me. And you. All of the horses here are in different stages of understanding the heart of their rescuer. The relationship with each horse is my responsibility. The rescuer. Jesus is the Author and Finisher of my faith and yours. Do you know how rescued you are?

How Does it Work?

Katy loves to share Beautiful Brokenness in a variety of ways. From live demonstrations to women's retreats, youth retreats and online programs, Beautiful Brokenness is all about sharing a tangible picture of Rescue, Redemption and Reconciliation, and practical, real life, moment-by-moment applications.

"Beautiful Brokenness Ministries truly has been life changing for me. The picture of brokenness Katy uses to show us how much God loves us truly opened my heart and mind to seeing God's love for me in a way like never before. I wish everyone could see the presentation live and in person. I highly recommend it to anyone, especially young women. "
Sandy Walton ~ Demonstration participant and Women's Ministry Leader