Listening To Advice

In Exodus 18, Moses' father-in-law Jethro, said to his son-in -law, "Now listen to me and I will give you some advice. What you are doing is not good." I always smile when I read that as I could relate and appreciate listening to a father-in-law full of ideas.  

Last Sunday Brian reminded us in his message that we have promised God in baptism and are to teach our children to listen not just to their parents but also to God's calling.

 Elijah loves to listen when his folks tell him he can mow the yard. He just graduated from kindergarten.

 We took down a building at Kurt and Emily's farm that had a lot of history. It was Anthony's father's shop at the turn of the century. Anthony was my parent's landlord when I was born.

I would like to thank the brave soul that called me this week and informed me there was a reflection in a window in one of last week's pictures. If you missed it, Good. If you happened to see it, I apologize. My goodness, God sure comes up with unique ways of humbling me sometimes. :)

 Our kids all made grandkid arrangements and we grownups went out for supper this past week to celebrate my birthday late.

 We have so much to be thankful for as we celebrate our countries birthday this past weekend. Our country started as an idea that we could have not only religious freedom but also a system that allowed us to pursue our dream and then pass that dream on to our children and grandchildren.

 So what is happening to our country? We have done away with our absolutes, those foundation blocks that truth sits on. We have also removed God. Will we be able to continue to pass on our values, our liberties, and our dreams to our grandkids? Only if we go back and rely on God rather than government. Thanks for sharing the picture Lisa.

I first met my father-in-law while dating Jan. He was a hardworking farmer with the ability to tackle anything. As he evaluated me one of my shortcomings was growing up on red tractors. He was all green.

 My mother-in-law helped him constantly outdoors and she loved it. I could tell she liked me and she would smooth over her husbands occasional rough edges.

 Although he never told me I could tell that he was soon ok with me as well and loved it when I would help him with his work. He even drove my motorcycle once.

He would send me to do jobs I had never done before without instruction or supervision like dozing or chopping. I learned fast and what I would find out later was that he trusted me.

He had lots of advice for me. Nearly all of it was good and he taught me about being independent and daring to tackle projects.

 Back in the day he and a friend were in charge of a local tractor pull where they pulled a tractor backwards and tried to measure pull with something between the tractors. That didn't work so they built the first tractor pulling sled in Mahaska County in his shop. It held the tractor being pulled and men would step on the sled to add weight as it passed down the track. 

We used to bale small square bales all summer. I remember two things he told me when I first started helping him. First he said you're not a farmer if you don't wear a pliers. I've been wearing a pliers ever since. Second he said your gloves will just get in your way when you are handling wire tie bales. I've baled tens of thousands of bales in my day and haven't worn gloves since listening to that advice.

 I had never seen anyone bale hay before and not pull a rack behind the baler. Gene said a hay rack and crew slows down the baler. We still bale with wire and drop them on the ground.

 Grandpa Gene was a generous man and always paid his hay help well. You never stopped for morning coffee time, something I was used to. You always stopped for lunch at the house and were always on time. You always had afternoon coffee time right at 4pm. Gene never drank coffee.

 Grandpa Gene would have been proud of his grandkids on the rack and great grandkids in the mow this past week.

 My father-in-law passed away yesterday afternoon, losing his battle with a stroke he had on June 7. I spent his last night on earth with him by his bed. His wife Bev, Jan, and I were with him when he died. I will miss him greatly. He left myself, my children, and my grandchildren a legacy. He loved his Lord. I hope to bale hay with him again someday in heaven, without gloves.