Winning Art by Clarissa Magley - Children's International Arts Festival

Siloam Springs, Ark. June 24, 2008 -- A 12-year-old girl from Siloam Springs, Ark. has been named one of 12 winners of dude ranch vacations by the Children’s International Arts Festival.

And because the festival is ongoing until March 31, 2009, other local children are invited to send in entries for a chance to win a similar vacation in the summer of 2009. Entry forms can be downloaded at www.KidsTalkAboutGod.org.

As her prize, Clarissa Magley, 12, will spend a week with her family this summer at Sweet Grass Ranch in Big Timber, Montana (www.sweetgrassranch.com).

"The lady said I can ride horses all day long if I want,” said Magley, after being told over the phone by Sweet Grass Ranch owner Shelly Carroccia she had won. “I can't believe it. It's my dream come true. It’s the best day of my life. I can't believe I won. This is so cool."

Clarissa became a winner in the Children’s International Arts Festival by painting art to answer the question, “Why does the Bible call Jesus ‘the Word’?” (John 1:1-5). Her answer: “The Bible calls Jesus the Word because everything was made through him, all things were formed and put into place at the sound of his voice." She illustrated this beautifully with a watercolor painting of Jesus creating the universe, which can be seen at www.KidsTalkAboutGod.org/clarissa.

Clarissa is a home schooled sixth-grader. She was born in Hays, Kansas and moved with her family to Siloam Springs, Arkansas in 2005. In 2007 she won the Benton County Writer's poetry contest. In May 2008 she won the Northwest Arkansas Aquatics logo contest and has authored and illustrated three books. Her latest book, Tumi, is available on Lulu.com. Clarissa is also fluent in Italian.

Her parents are Rick and Lidia Magley. Rick is a graphic designer for Dayspring Cards, a subsidiary of Hallmark Cards. Lidia has been an independent sales director for The Pampered Chef for 10 years.

Clarissa recently spoke by telephone with Shelly Carroccia of Sweet Grass Ranch in Big Timber, Montana. Clarissa loves animals and hopes to be a veterinarian some day, so she was thrilled to learn she’d be around horses for a whole week. She’s eagerly anticipating “getting to ride horses all day, because I love horses immensely.”

The Children’s International Arts Festival is sponsored by KidsTalkAboutGod.org and participating dude ranches. Festival organizer Carey Kinsolving writes a weekly Kids Talk About God column, distributed through Creators Syndicate, and has produced a series of popular TV spots for ABC affiliate that can be seen on the Kids Talk About God website.

Kinsolving said the response to his work has been enthusiastic and heartwarming. Readers are reminded of what Jesus meant when he said we must enter His kingdom with the faith of a child.

“Children have a way of touching our hearts and reminding us that we must come to God with childlike faith,” he said.

To enter the festival and become eligible to win a dude ranch vacation prize, children ages 5 through 12 are asked to answer Bible questions and draw art to illustrate their answers. Selected drawings and essays will be published in Kinsolving’s latest project, the “Kids Color Me Bible Gospel of John.”

Clarissa encourages other kids to enter the online arts festival for future prizes. When asked what advice she might give other children who might submit festival entries, she said, “First ask God for help, read the Scripture repetitively until you understand it. Draw the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of your answer. Add humor to it.”

For entry information, visit www.KidsTalkAboutGod.org and click on the “Children’s International Arts Festival” link. Information about the participating dude ranches also appears on the site.

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Click on a picture to download it.

Winning Art by Clarissa Magley, age 12

Question: Why does the Bible call Jesus "the Word"?

Clarissa's Answer: The Bible calls Jesus the Word because
everything was made through him, all things were formed
and put into place at the sound of his voice.

Question: What does the Bible mean when it says Jesus was full of grace and truth?

Clarissa's Answer: It means that, when Jesus came to Earth, he was
full of grace and truth to share with us, so that we might be saved.

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Clarissa's Ranch Journal Blog

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Clarissa and family enjoy a day of riding at Sweet Grass Ranch. Today I went on the morning and afternoon rides. In the morning the view was beautiful, but it was scary because we went down steep winding trails and climbed rocky hills. In the afternoon we did little ups and downs but not so much. Again, the view was incredible.

After supper Gwynne, Erin and I went into one of the big pastures, It has a large slope overlooking most of the ranch buildings. From there we took a few pictures of the horses, but we took more down in the main part of the pasture because that's where most of the horses were grazing. That was really fun. We went exploring a little too, and I found Moore! The horse that went with my horse, whose name is Benjamin. The joke is that there's two PAINTS named Benjamin and Moore. Moore is a dark brown and white tobiano pinto. The other paints are Comanche, Teabone, Minni and Oreo.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Clarissa and Benjamin Today we went on the short all-day ride, which is from 9:00 am to 3:30 pm. We rode through unmatchable beauty. We ate our lunch at "the Falls," which is a clear bubbling river with rapids and big waterfalls. The trail was narrow and rocky and steep in some places but good overall. For lunch I ate PB & J and two delicious chocolate mint cookies. Our wranglers swam in the frigid water. It was pretty funny to watch them jump off the ledge into the river, then swim back as fast as they could.

The names of all the horses on that ride were Sidney, Spike (Rebecca rode him), Charger (with Perry), Benjamin (with me), Shorty (with Jonatan), Mary (with Mom), Hobbs (with Dad), Pedro (with Rick), Bonita (with Allison) and Cha Cha. On the ride Jonatan and I both had a nose bleed from the altitude. Fortunately, Rebecca had a pack of Kleenex. The way back was smoother, and when we got back we went for a swim in the creek. It was extremely cold, but very fun and after that I took a nice long nap.

For supper we had London Broil that Pat made which I loved! All the food is super yummy and the people are all very nice. There are people from Connecticut, Ohio, Oregon, England, New Jersey, and even the Netherlands.

Monday, August 18, 2008

Today was our second day at the ranch. I got to ride in the morning, but we did other things in the afternoon. The horse I'm riding this week is a beautiful chestnut overo pinto named Benjamin. Another paint here is named Moore.

On the ride we saw big blue mountains and green valleys. Our wrangler found a deer antler and I got to keep it!

This afternoon we went swimming in the creek; the water was FREEZING- but it is really fun.

They also have cows here and a pig. There are also six dogs, Jesse, Jack, Roobi, Haze, Hannah, and Mouse. I met a girl named Erin who is 10 years old. Tonight I'm going to sleep in a big red tent with seven other kids.

I watched the sun go down through the door of our tent. The sky was suddenly vibrant with bright oranges, deep reds, shining yellows, and lush purples. A perfect way to end a perfect day here at Sweet Grass Ranch.

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Arriving at Sweet Grass Ranch in Big Timber, Montana After 16 long hours of driving in the van from Bird City, Kansas, we finally drove through the deep valleys leading to Sweet Grass Ranch. The sun had already fallen behind the blue grey mountains to the west as we drove slowly over the rocky road leading up to the main house. To the left were a row of dark log cabins with red roofs. The cabin at the end is to be our home for the next week. I'm so excited to finally be here!

We were the last ones in and a little late for a dinner of delicious baked potatoes, meat, salad with strawberries, and vegetables. Mississippi mud pie with a curl of dark chocolate on top came last.

Clarissa rides her horse-for-the-week, Benjamin, at Sweet Grass Ranch in Montana This morning we finally got to ride. I think I got my horse last, but I got the one I really wanted. Benjamin, a beautiful paint, is a good size for me and has a mind of his own but I love him. We rode up in the mountains along a ridge about half way up for several hours. We got to lope and trot as well as walk. The wranglers very patiently gave us all instructions before we left and along the way. Mom's horse kept stopping to eat all the time and then had gas.

Now it's time for lunch!