StillwatersIowa

What are little girls made of? Sugar and spice and everything nice. What are little boys made of? Frogs and snails and puppydog tails. Wow. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to determine who got the better end of the deal in that little poem.   We as guys have big shoes to fill. On the one hand we are to be tough, strong, a problem solver, and a good provider. On the other hand we are also supposed to be tender, caring, and supportive of our spouses.   For the most part we have the good provider and problem solver part down pat. As guys we put in long hours, mark things off our list, and feel good about a hard days work.   The part I've needed improvement on over the last 37 years is to slow down and take time for the people I love. The following advice are things I have worked on over the years and hopefully am getting a little better at.     Often times it seems us guys help everyone except the folks closest to u...

Attitudes form actions. Our actions of giving, sharing, and helping is a direct reflection of the attitudes in our heart. Winston Churchill once said, "We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give." So what happens in the years when things come up a bit short? Should our actions change toward helping and sharing? After all there is less stuff to go around, right? And what is our attitude? Are we thankful or disappointed?   Are folks encouraged or discouraged when they are around us? When we do things for folks that count, we don't need to stop and count those things. Keeping score only belongs in sports. Everything we have has been entrusted to us from God to use for His glory. So, it is not how much we dare to give away. It is how much we dare to keep. People make me angry when they steal others folks stuff and call it their own. This past week we had two large motors stolen off of our augers. I wond...

There are times in life when unexpected circumstances come. Sometimes they slowly transpire and sometimes they suddenly pop up. Hang in there Amelia. Farmers are some of the most optimistic bunches in the business when it comes to unexpected circumstances. Below the custom combining crew is taking a break. Thanks for the buffalo burgers Mark. Farmers are generally ahead of the curve when it comes to adjusting to circumstances beyond their control and making Plan B. Our children watch us. They notice how we handle situations both good and bad and our attitudes when things don't go as planned.   Sometimes our unexpected experiences are a test. Will our attitudes make the grade? Below we are packaging our insurance test strip corn samples in nylon hose so it can breath and sending it to the lab for aflitoxin testing. Occasionally when unexpected changes start piling up it's tempting to get overwhelmed. Our normally confident attitudes start to wonder. Below ...

Being happy is not a result of accumulation. Being happy is an attitude. Life consist of ten percent circumstances and ninety percent how we handle those circumstances. Pablo is always happy. He is fun to be around and his personality rubs off on those he works with. Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. Cell phones have changed the way we live and operate. We can make folks we care about happy when we call and let them know what we are up to and that we are thinking about them. We can make those same folks unhappy when the cell phone interrupts meals or quality time together.   Occasionally things don't always go as planned. Breaking down in the field can test a person's patience. Solving the problem and getting things rolling again is always a good feeling. Wives, nothing makes us guys happier than when you show interest in what we're doing. Hopefully we remember to return the favor. Having common goals as spouses can mak...

  Labor Day is known for two things. It honors the working class. It also marks the end of summer and is used for a weekend of relaxation. Both reasons are good.     I googled the "working class" and "labor" to get a definition. It came up with words like wages, unions, strikes, protests, and pickets. I don't relate well to those definitions. They all sound negative and make work out to be a chore.  Work needs to be enjoyed and have a worthwhile goal. A person needs to look forward to getting up in the morning and thankful for things to do. These fellows below are catching up at the end of a work day while their grain trucks are being loaded for the following morning. When I'm gone folks could summarize my life in three lines. He loved his God. He loved his family. He loved his work. When I was a kid I always wanted to farm but worried about God wanting me to be a preacher because that's what my Grandma B. always said she thought I should...