Reflections

When the water in our pond is moving due to wind or activity in it, it doesn't have a reflection. However during quiet and calm times it looks and acts just like a mirror. Sometimes in life we need to stop and look at where we are at and listen to where God wants us to go. 

As we are just ahead of a busy time I really like it when we take the time to keep things neat. It reflects an appreciation for what we are entrusted with by God and others.

Thanks to Brian and Becky for getting me a ticket, I attended the Willow Creek Global Leadership Summit simulcasted to 300,000 folks in 125 countries. Any organization will only be as healthy as it's leader wants it to be. 

On Thursday afternoon Jan picked up Brian and Becky's kids and headed for the State Fair. We met her there after the first day of the conference and attended the Francesca and News Boys concert. During the concert their was an hour and a half rain delay and Jan and I headed home.

Hennie is a friend from Malawi, Africa. He was born, grew up, and farmed in Zimbabwe. Due to government unrest he was driven out of his home country. He had to leave everything he owned. He now manages a large tobacco and macadamia nut farm in Malawi. When Hennie reflects on his past he says he could not have survived without his faith.

Hennie enjoyed his visit to America. When asked about his first impressions, he says everything in America is big and organized.

A friend brought over his helicopter and gave us a chance to look at crops from the air. 

While going from one farm to another we crossed over Oskaloosa including the fairgrounds and racetrack. When I asked Norm, the pilot, what the rules were as far as flying over town he said, "don't hit nothing".

It was interesting to see our church as we crossed town.

This is exit 60, our intersection off of Hwy 163, just south of Oskaloosa.

This is coming in for a landing on our yard on Wednesday evening.

We enjoyed having company over Wednesday evening during out customer appreciation supper. Jan again did an amazing job with the meal.

I'm also thankful for the girls. They served and greeted our guests.

Rich, better known as Griss, is retiring from the Sheriffs department after 25 years of service. He and his wife Melissa were so helpful in helping us purchase our promotional gift for seed orders this year.

One of the many speakers at the Leadership Summit was Alan M. He led Ford Motor Company's transformation and turn around. He said a good leader is needed in an organization to go from "I" to "we" to "service".

John M. says everything worthwhile in life is uphill. Progress takes effort. It takes being intentional. Often folks have uphill goals with downhill habits. We have leadership responsibilities in many areas. One of the most important area is family. Just as our pond water has to stop to reflect, stop this week and ask yourself how are you doing. God has our days numbered. Don't have any regrets in heaven.