Live For The Journey

I remember helping my Dad. I remember my kids helping me. Now I watch my grandkids help their Dad's. In all three cases it wasn't about how much was being accomplished. It wasn't about getting from here to there. It was all about enjoying the ride.

So often as adults we think in terms of destinations and accomplishments and we forget to enjoy the process. 

Many times jobs can be hard, even dangerous. However when you think about it how often can you say you've had a big fury animal with horns lower his head and snort at you.

We are in full harvest mode. Crop moisture is running around 20%. Yields are very good. We have a crew of four folks in the field. Our goal is to harvest between 120 to 150 acres a day.

Thanks to our bookkeeper Linda and Kevin's families trucks and our landlord Jerry's trucks helping we have nine trucks going to Eddyville full time and a few others part time.

Cargill/Eddyville has had some struggles with it's milling process and new computer system and has had to cut back on hours of receiving corn.

One couple that enjoys their journey through retirement is Pastor Paul and Ellen. They are from Michigan where they have four grown children. Pastor Paul is our interim pastor for the next few months. During their full time ministry they pastored five churches including Pella II in the 1990s. They also interimed a year at Calvary in Pella in 2013.

We hooked up and tuned up our chisels and will be chiseling as soon as we start applying next years fertilizer.

I heard a comment made this past week that we sure have a fun crew. One of the most important ways to enjoy the journey is to value, appreciate, and be grateful for the folks you work with. It is so rewarding to watch folks help each other out, kid each other on the 2-way, and just enjoy working together. I am so thankful for our team.

Speaking of teams PCHS is enjoying another good football season and had a win Friday evening.

I have fond memories of PCHS's journey building a new campus along the 4-lane in Pella where Arvin, Randy, myself, and others spent 5 construction seasons working together. There are 3 buildings in my life that are related and resemble each other because of being the same design. In 2007 Bernie and Eric helped our family build our machine shed. In 2008 they helped build PCHS's fieldhouse pictured below. And in 2009 they helped build our cabin.

As I was driving through Leighton early yesterday morning I was reminded just how blessed we are here in rural southern Iowa with our small communities that know and care about each other.

So often in our worship services folks think about destinations rather than enjoying the journey.

Some folk's destination is just where they are, to worship just the way their grandparents did, and value traditions. That's not all bad.

Some folk's destination of worship is a dream of something more joyful and uplifting, maybe even moving. That's not all bad either.

I think God summed up worship when He said, love and serve Me with everything you've got, and love and serve each other as much or more than you love and serve yourself. It's time for church. Let's visit again next week.