Today Is Enough

The question we've been asked the most over the last two weeks has been, "So, now that harvest is finished, what do you guys do?"

Well, BJ is busy tiling currently just north of Ottumwa. Mike dozes every day. He finished up north of Wright on a farm with terraces for Harold and Joel.

Mike then moved to Jason's farm and is currently building a pond.

Alex has been busy applying nitrogen on our fields for next years corn crop. Anhydrous Ammonia has taken a price hike over the last ten days and may stay higher going into spring. So all our contracted smoke that can get on yet this fall will be a savings.

The guys have been tankering hog manure near Marshalltown from a sow unit to the field all week.

Karl and I have spent most of this past week selling seed ahead of the early pay deadlines. We both enjoy visiting and helping folks make a plan for a positive next year.

We are also chiseling, seeding cover crop, trucking beans, running track hoe, re-emptying hog pits, and choring.

I was visiting with a friend recently about juggling helping others, work load, relationships, and events. If we give our best effort, have the right motives, and care about those we work for and with, we can walk to the house at the end of the day and say to ourselves, "Today is enough".

Well, Jan is gaining on her tire project. Now we just have to figure out arms and decide where to set it.

Karl bought a standby generator for his two hog sheds. Jay and his son from Sanborn delivered them Friday evening while visiting family in Pella.

Jan and I attended Steve's funeral in West Des Moines on Friday. Steve's wife Connie grew up on a farm in the Oskaloosa area where she and Jan were high school friends. Steve grew up in the Sully area. Both are from decent sized families and are related to half the folks we know. :) We have stayed in touch and been friends for the past 40 years.

So this next story is confession time.  When I turned 16 years old my parents told me I could drive to church on my own on Sunday nights, sit with my friends in church, and hang out afterwards as long as I was home by midnight. Well my age friends weren't really coming to town yet so I hung out with the guys a year older than myself like Dale, Leon, Alan, and others. One Sunday evening Steve was home from Dordt and took his date, Connie, to her home church which was Bethel in Oskaloosa. Well the first time I ever skipped church on Sunday night us guys lifted Steve's Volkswagen and set it between two evergreen trees on the north side of Bethel Church. We all then hid to watch the results. The only thing I remember is we ended up lifting the car back out of it's parallel parking spot between those two trees. Wow. As I'm writing I'm feeling guilty. My apologies Connie. :)  

Steve worked for a paint company. An associate from his company spoke at the funeral and shared what a servants heart Steve had, how much his fellow workers respected him, and the impact he had on everyone's life. His daughter-in-law shared about him being a great father and grandfather. Steve had fought cancer for at least two years. Last Monday God said, "Today is enough", and took Steve to his heavenly home, free from struggles, sickness, and tiredness. Steve cared about people and had a way of making people feel valued. He lived his 63 years in service to others. Well done.