Christmas Relationships

Merry Christmas from our family to you'all this morning. Other than some grandkids in college we live on various places around the Oskaloosa community in southern Iowa. You'all are neighbors, folks we work with, folks we go to church with, classmates of Jan or I, friends from Arizona, Michigan, Indiana, and other states. And friends we hold dear in Africa, Israel, Cayman, and a few other countries. A few of you I don't know. However I consider it a privilege you join us in this weekly visit, and I truly hope to meet more of you someday. Thanks for setting up the picture Becky.

                             

This past Wednesday evening our crew celebrated Jan's birthday at Georges in Pella. Close to 40 of us enjoyed 16 pizzas.

We often have scheduled guests in our office in the farm shop first thing in the morning this time of year. Friday morning Brian and Mark brought breakfast pizza compliments of Bank Iowa. Thanks for the visit, and thanks for working with our family guys.

We're also working with Brad, Kiley, Andy, and others from Musco Lighting. Brad and Andy came on a very cold, windy, morning to climb our new grain leg just east of our home farm. They were measuring, and are designing a combination Bethlehem star, cross combination.

Since it's still in the design and development stages, it won't be lit and displayed yet this Christmas week. Early this fall when the facility was being built, we had a goal that it might be used for more than just a place to move and store grain for ourselves. Among other ideas was one that we could use the height to help celebrate the seasons of our Savior's life. The leg is visible for several miles, including the 4 lane highway just a mile north of our farm.

Kudos to grandsons Ethan, John, and friends who put a new clutch and exhaust system in one of our trucks that Jim drives.

We continue to haul contracted grain to the processor. This is the time of year when one finishes paying off this past year's crop notes, locks in crop inputs for next crop year, and hopefully shares with charities and others less fortunate and in need.

This time of year it's sometimes just a matter of hours between mud and frozen fields due to temps ranging from single digits to mid 40s. We use those few hours to continue to chisel mostly flat bottom ground going back to corn. 

The tiling and dozing crews continue to work continuously, going from job to job, until the frost in the ground reaches 4 to 6 inches.

This is a bit of an unusual picture of the shepherds in Bethlehem 2000 years ago. However I'm using it because I want you to think deeper than just a nativity scene sitting on yards. Think about the relationships these common farming folks experienced on what in their minds was going to be just another ordinary night of watching and caring for their livestock. Read Luke 2 starting at vs 8. They are sitting in the back 40 when they encounter and are in the presence of, "An angel of the Lord". Terrifying and awesome at the same time. Then they take a risk and decide, "Lets go see", and find young parents they don't know in a barn. Next they see and are given understanding that this is their young Messiah, "Lying in the manger, just as the angels had said".

The shepherds encountered two final relationships on that Christmas night. Verse 17 says, "After seeing, accepting, and worshipping Him, the shepherds returned to their flocks, telling everyone. And all who heard were astonished". Verse 20 closes this part of the story with ,"The shepherds glorified and praised God for all they had seen and heard".

God didn't use kings, or church leaders, or even those that were educated to accomplish His purpose of Salvation. He used a very ordinary, poor, young, couple, and some blue collar farm hands. Our response? Listen. Let's go see. Accept and worship. That gets us to Heaven but it's definitely not the end of the story. We are to go tell others of all we have seen and heard. That takes relationships. Have a great Christmas week!

Herod The Great

Herod the Great accomplished many things during his 40 years as a Roman Jewish king. He became known as a colossal builder. Including a palace, fortresses, and other public buildings. He even rebuilt the temple in Jerusalem. He was a close friend to many of the leaders in Rome. These connections helped him gain power. He and his family would later become part of the Christmas story.

History will remember the world basically being shut down during the spring of 2020 due to a pandemic. Because of the slowdown in the economy, materials and help were immediately available. We hired a crew of young ex-Amish folks to build a shed across the road. We are still friends with many of those fellows today.

Rudy and Toby from that same crew later attended and graduated from the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy. Today they are both police officers in small southern Iowa towns. We had a last minute conflict and regretted missing Toby's graduation party yesterday. However isn't it amazing what folks remember as crisis in history is just another day in God's plan for all our lives? Thanks for the picture Rudy and family.

Early last week Dean, I, and an assortment of grandkids including John, Ezra, Elijah, and Elliot chiseled a farm on the north edge of Ottumwa. Layton, Alex, Karl, and Kurt, worked on applying NH3 for next years corn crop in other areas.

Then later in the week, winter came with snow, ice, and single digit temps, stopping field work. However Mike continues to run dozer, and BJ and John continue to tile.

On one of the cold days Kurt built himself a snow pusher. Karl and Malaki have been selling fat hogs. Jim and others continue to haul grain. Karl and I continue to work with farmers on seed appointments.

2000 years ago Herod the Great's accomplishments led to self-confidence. Self confidence led to self-centeredness. Self-centeredness led to pride and wanting power. Power hungry folks feel uncomfortable unless they are in control. So when the wisemen stopped to ask him where the new King of the Jews was born, Herod felt threatened. He killed baby boys in Bethlehem. His son, also King Herod in the New Testament, had John the Baptist killed. And was part of Jesus' crucifixion. His grandson, King Agrippa, was also part of Biblical history during the apostle Paul's life. All of their families were a mess with many killing each other.

God bypassed the proud and powerful, and used small towns and common ordinary people to accomplish His purpose that first Christmas. He does the same today. So how are we to fight the temptation of pride? We pray for help. We give God the credit for our accomplishments. And we consider others more important than ourselves. I know, easier said than done. Blessings.

A Boiling Pot

This past Monday morning at our Becks Christmas get-together in Indianapolis we were introduced to Daman. We listened to his life story. Great athlete from Fort Arthur, TX. Lost his identity after sports. Gave up everything to become an addict. Did high profile crimes. Arrested. Trial and sentenced to 65 yrs. He identified trials and troubles as a boiling pot.

 

We all deal with trials and troubles to some degree or another. Half the battle is showing up. The other half is getting started. Kudos to these fellows. They made a major combine repair look routine. Mark's combine is ready for next harvest.

Speaking of routine, On cold mornings Mike always heats his dozer blade with a flame thrower to keep the frozen dirt from sticking. Thanks for the picture BJ.

BJ and Mike are both busy working on the same project for Luke. The four inches of frost in the ground this past week doesn't affect dirtwork much. Thanks for the picture.

Karl continues to schedule and haul Becks seed in to our seed shed. We are also busy with appointments helping farmers think about next crop year. We discuss seed, biological treatments, fungicides, tillage, cover crop, and ways to budget cost during depressed grain markets.

The month of December is not only for planning the next crop year, but also for evaluating the past one. Extra bushels made up for less price this past fall. In any business one needs to know where they've been, where they're at, and where they're headed. This includes marketing. Elijah and Elliot helped Grandpa load contracted soybeans yesterday to be delivered to Burlington this coming week.

Thanks for this cool picture Kurt and Emily. Their son Jackson is checking his traps. It's cold. Furs aren't worth much, however it's character building. I remember our kids getting up and checking traps before school.

This old coal furnace brought me back in time. We moved often from rented farm to farm. Several of my childhood homes had coal furnaces like this in the basement. Thanks for the picture Nate.

Back to our first story. When Daman got to prison he met an older inmate named Mohammed. Mohammed told Daman three things. Prison is about race and gang families. The strongest men in prison walk alone. And prison is a pot of boiling water.

Mohammed told Daman that he would become one of three things in this boiling pot. He would turn soft like a carrot.

Or he would turn hard like an egg, with a shell. Including his heart, like the yolk.

Or, he would become a coffee bean. In the previous two options the water changes the carrot and the egg. The coffee bean changes the water. Daman became a coffee bean. He stopped looking at his troubles as punishment. And started looking at troubles as opportunities. He changed the prison atmosphere. He was paroled in seven years and three months. He is currently a motivational speaker.

2024 was Jan and my 50th crop. I won't bore you about the old days and our share of obstacles. I will say obstacles build character. Character gives a greater perspective. A perspective of realizing our dependance on God.

How do you handle adversity in this boiling pot called life? Will you become soft and ineffective? Or will you become hard and obstinate? Or will you be a part of helping change your own and other's surroundings by seeing opportunities rather than obstacles? Blessings.

 

Schadenfreude

In 1994 I wrote an article called "Tips For Success". I found it Thanksgiving morning looking for something else. I was these boys' father's age back then. Kurt, their Dad, was their age. Thanks for spending time with your kids Kurt. Thanks for your favorite view of the day Emily.

Success is doing the best you can with the options or assets you're given. Brynn helped Grandpa put up the old Christmas tree we found in an abandoned house Mark was cleaning up last year. We had a tree like this when I was a kid. They were popular in the 1950s and 60s.

Be Generous. Back then my article had 10 tips on how to succeed. I'd like to share them with you this morning. The pictures of our work week might have to speak for themselves so this don't get long winded. Thanks for this picture Doug. Mike is volunteering his time and mulcher at Developing Great Relationships future retreat site.

Be a Person of Vision. See further than tomorrow. Believe in something. See the big picture. Don't have tunnel vison. And don't worry about nit-picky details.

Have the Right Kind of Outlook. Stay positive. Help folks feel better about themselves. Don't complain. Compliment others. 

Always be Willing to Learn. Never lose your curiosity. Be willing to grow. Don't be a know it all. Know how to handle mistakes.

Be Persistent. Never quit. Thanks Jim, Jon, Pablo, Matt, and others for continuing to haul grain. This pays the obligations and helps us prepare for next year.

Know How to Love. Yourself-have self esteem and stick up for what you believe. Your family-be comfortable in telling your spouse and kids you love them. Your friends-know how to express your affection in an appropriate way. Sometimes a hug or other times a helping hand. Your country-we were blessed to watch our flag unfold over a football field and listen to our national anthem at an NFL game last week.

Know How to be Yourself. Don't always try and impress folks. Don't be something or someone you're not. Thanksgiving afternoon we continued our tradition of shooting clay pigeons. All ages from 7 to 70 participated. Below the grandkids are playing Annie-Oakley. 

Know how to laugh. You can't laugh and worry at the same time. This was the scene at our farm shop on Friday morning after Thanksgiving. We enjoy each others company at early morning coffee when it's too cold for NH3 or chiseling and do our share of laughing, often at each other. 😊

Know How to Forgive. Pray every day for a rival. Don't keep score. Learn to live unoffended. Kurt and I had to take the bean head off on Tuesday when a log got in the feederhouse custom combining re-replant bottom soybeans. They were planted in late July.

Schadenfreude is a German word. I couldn't find one in English. It means taking pleasure in others' failures. Feeling good at others' misfortune is NOT a way to succeed. However it's something we're all tempted to do at times. One thinks they will feel better about themselves when others' stumble. It's artificial, temporary, and definitely not Christ-like. Be authentically and genuinely happy when others succeed.  

A Season For Everything

With the northwest wind blowing and nights below freezing it's evident the winter season is knocking at our door. This time of year makes one thankful for the aroma of a cup of coffee in the morning.

When we finished our harvest a month ago and moved on to other jobs the pace of life dropped a notch or two. It was like moving on to the next work load season. This past week when we rebooted and started custom harvesting again we had to get back into the grove. But there is satisfaction in doing our best and helping others. Thanks family and crew. Thanks gals and spouses. I know harvest season makes heart rates go up. Thank you Lord for opportunities to be your hands and feet to others.

Mike heated up his frying oil and we had a catfish fry one noon. Thanks to landlords, Eileen and Buddy, for keeping us supplied in delicious fish. Jan added a corn casserole and several blooming onions. 

Tuesday morning we started working on getting combines ready for harvest next year. This is Mark's JD 9770. Thanks to Dean for his experience and supervision.

Thanks for this picture Emily. This is Kurt and Emily's Lane. Emily's grandfather, John. And Karl and Kristin's, Sydnie. This is what family is all about. This is faith in action. We can still be productive. Even those of us in the winter season of out lives.

This story may be controversial. Last Sunday evening Jan and I watched the last episode of season 4 of The Chosen. Dallas Jenkins does an amazing job of showing Mary washing Jesus' feet with very expensive perfume. She didn't know at the time Jesus was soon going to die. It was just a true act of worship. Folks there were offended. This past Sunday morning our church praise team sang, There is a Redeemer. The chorus, "Thank you oh my Father for giving us your Son" was a true worship moment for me. I impulsively raised my hand to Heaven. Do I need to worry about offending people and what folks think when I do? How about what God thinks when I don't? We need seasons of worship. Yes, teaching, and prayer, and offering, and fellowship with others. But more. True adoration and expression for our God.

In Ecclesiastes Solomon talks about life's seasons. He starts chapter 3 with a time to be born and a time to die. Everyone of us have or will experience both. If we accept the gift we celebrate this month, of God sending His Son Jesus, we can celebrate both, living and dying. When I leave earth I hope my family has a going away party with lots of food. 😊 

I didn't even get around to the season of generosity. Have a great Thanksgiving week.