StillwatersIowa

We are all unique. We each have our own identity. Our own personality. Our own likes. That's a good thing. In fact, it's normal. Below five cousins from three families are catching up before church last Sunday.   What we don't understand and see as abnormal God knows and sees as normal. Because of our uniqueness's we are all full of possibilities. Our job is to be intentional about seeing those possibilities in others and encourage them. When you hear "hearsay" folks are saying that seems abnormal about someone how do you react? Are you a lifter-upper or a putter- downer?    Three weeks ago this morning there was snow blowing in my face as I came to the office for this visit. Many of us were sure we were in for a late spring. Two inches of snow in April in southern Iowa is abnormal. After a week of cold weather, a week of slow moderation, and a warm week of field work the 2018 crop is just about in. Wow. And it's still April. Years from n...

We were made to look forward. To growing up. To having a family. To how we spend our lives. Maybe to retirement. Even to a better place after struggles here on earth. Emily took this picture and was looking forward to gardening with her boys. However one year old Jayden wanted to eat dirt and four year old Jackson told his Mom he was going to "tile" her garden. In 2002 I received a call from Bob. Bob was a 38 year old manager for Cargill/New Sharon. Cargill had bought this crop supply business from Greg and Bonnie who we used to do business with. Bob asked to take us out to lunch at Bonanza on the east side of Oskaloosa. Cargill was growing fast and Bob asked us if we would consider 3rd party spraying for them. That means instead of a business purchasing more equipment and help it would sort of custom work out part of it's work load. Bob said he had found a sprayer we could lease the first year and purchase it if things worked out. Although I had done custom...

The transition from winter to spring is full of contrasts. Things that have been inactive for months start to come alive. There is a sense of expectancy and energy that comes with the warm temps and southerly winds. These bags of alfalfa are waiting for Karl as he finishes one custom seeding job and prepares to start another.    The winter landscape in Iowa tends to be black and white and often dull and dark. Spring by contrast is strikingly different. Colors come and life starts to brighten. Days get noticeably longer. The treated alfalfa seed show up colorful against the green drill. Seed is coated to protect it from disease and rot as it lays in the cold soil waiting to germinate.  Our farm has a variety of color when it comes to machinery. We have a green tractor on a red planter. We have a red tractor on a green planter. And we have green tractors on green planters. I need to correct a story from last week when I mentioned Ethan wrote a letter to Success...

I'm sure you have either heard or been part of a conversation that goes something like this: Person 1: Oh! you know Fred? Person 2: Fred? yeah! he's my cousin. Person 1: No way! he's my wife's cousin too on her Mom's side! That my friend is called Dutch Bingo. We enjoy creating links. We were built to have connections, kinships, relationships. God created family so we would have connections, so we have folks to appreciate and care for, to lean on when times are tough, and to thank and be generous to when times are good. Family not only happens at home. It happens at work. It happens at church. It happens in community.   Connections are vital in business as well. Connections bring opportunity. Connections are the hook-up that help us with purchasing. Connections help get things done and make things happen. Connections are the link that help market our products. Connections are relationships.   Well, Mike and BJ did so...