Please Pray for the Foster Family

Tim, Tom, Debbie, & Mark
Jana, Debbie, Stephany

Please pray for my friend Debbie and her family in the sudden loss of her brother Tim. Debbie is a dynamic,renowned, national speaker and I have had the privilege to call her friend. We have fellowshipped at numerous conferences, camps, and I know her heart is breaking. Tim suffered fatal injuries in a horse riding mishap. Below is a tribute written for Tom by his nephew Jeremy Foster.

A tribute to Tim Foster - Friend, Gentleman, Cowboy

My Uncle Tim passed away last night. He was in Arizona working with horses when the horse that he was on threw him and the fall resulted in a head injury that ended Tim's time on this earth. He died doing what he loved. I know that he's riding on the rolling hills in everlasting meadows where the sun never dips below the horizon and the grass is always stirrup high. His riding partner is a cowboy named Shiloh and together they're scouting trails for the rest of us. He passed from this life the only way a real Cowboy would ever want to go...he died with his boots on. Uncle Tim, you'll be missed.

A few memories - Even though he lived in California Tim was a Texan to the core, he didn't mince words when it came to the Texas Longhorns. Every year at Christmas we had a tradition, we would place all of our ball caps on the counter, one on top of the other. The caps logos included LSU, USC, Oklahoma, and The Longhorns. Somehow the Texas cap always wound up on top. He had a passion to help people and spent the better part of his life giving his time to "at risk" students as their Principal, Teacher, and most importantly, their friend. He said every now and then one of these teens would get out of hand and he'd have to cowboy up and show them who was boss. That's one bronc I wouldn't want to try and saddle. I've heard him tell many stories about putting his arm around a teenager who had gone astray in life and talking to them for hours. He gave them something that no one else would, a future. There's an old saying that says, "The outside of a horse is good for the inside of a man". Tim used this philosophy when he started the SHILOH ride program that showed "at risk" students how to care for a horse. In doing so it gave them maturity and responsibility. Tim taught these kids to love and be loved simply by giving them his time. The program was named after his son Shiloh who passed away in 1994. Tim loved his family the most. There's no where he'd rather be than busting broncs with his dad and Mark, Tom, Steve, Robert, Stevo, Jonathan, Hayden, and me. He loved coming home to gumbo whipped up by Grannie, Aunt Debbie, Aunt Gayla, Tasha, Jennifer, and my mom Paulla and then sitting around the table and laughing till late into the night. He was a great father to Cheyenne and a wonderful grandfather to Huck and Shiloh Grace. He dearly loved his wife Debroah and she cared deeply for her cowboy.

Tim had several famous sayings, some borrowed some coined:

"Don't squat with your spurs on."

"Always drink upstream from the herd."

"There never was a horse that couldn't be rode; Never was a cowboy who couldn't be throwed."

And the last one that he ever wrote on my facebook page,"Makin' it in life is kinda like bustin' broncs; you're gonna get thrown a lot! The simple secret is to keep gettin' back on!"

Those are words to live by. Thank you for the years Uncle Tim, go rest high on that mountain.

Goodnight Cowboy

The grass is tall and the sun is low

and through the trees a soft breeze blows

When winter wind comes and the snow is through

We'll saddle up and hit the trail for you

As for now keep the saddles warm

And the horses fed in the great beyond

Cause we're coming to meet you at the end of the day

We know you didn't leave, you just rode away.

Goodnight cowboy.

Written by jeremy