Defining Maturity

The dictionary has all kinds of definitions for maturity. Adulthood. All grown up. Finished. Ripe. Responsible. Ready. I have a few as well. The ability to respond in an appropriate manner. Knowing when to watch and when to act. Not making excuses for mistakes. Realizing how much I don't know.  

Kurt and Emily's Jayden loves to hang out in the shop with the guys. And he prefers tools to toys. Getting dirty is not something that bothers him either.

 Once in a while maturity can be a bad thing. This is a cow pasture with mature dry grass. It's getting mowed so when it rains young tender green grass will again grow for the cattle to eat.

 Mature weeds are also a nuisance. They are hard to kill and they go to seed making them a bigger problem in the next growing season.

 As we have talked in earlier visits our rains have been scattered. Our crops to the north have had adequate rainfall. We also have crops that have had little rain since tasseling although surprisingly we are still expecting a pretty good yield. However dry conditions have speeded up our corn crops maturity in areas. We have fields of corn that have black layered.

 So, what does black layered mean? It means if you scratch the bottom of the kernel you will find a black tip. It takes about 30 days of normal heat to mature an ear of corn from pollination (tassels) to dent and another 30 days from dent to black layer. It means the kernels of grain have reached physiological maturity. That means they're done. All they need to do now is to lose moisture and dry down. At black layer corn is testing approximately 32%. After black layer current hybrids will dry down from a half to a full point a day. We start harvest around 25%. Corn will store at 15%. 

 So you're hearing it's going to be a good year. Are there ways of checking? Yes there are. It's done by trying to find average, representative ears and then counting kernels. For example: 18 rows around x 36 rows long x 33 ears = 1/1000th of an acre which is 17'5" on 30 inch rows x .01116 which is a value of kernel weight = 238.6 BPA. Now remember, finding average ears is the trick. :)

 Corn is not the only crop getting mature. Jan harvested, processed, and froze peppers this week.

Our cabin has been busy this late summer. Earlier this past week we enjoyed a Ranger ride with Dr. John and his crew and their families from their dentist office.

 We have been watering trees 24/7 all week. Our year old transplants and even some two year old are showing the effects of lack of moisture.

This past Friday evening was a scrimmage football game between PCHS and Grinnell. Mike helps coach and he and Suzanne's son Cody plays. School helps train and mature young people and team sports help show kids life isn't about instant gratification. It takes work to succeed. Sports also teach working together for a common goal.

Kids are into all kinds of activities these days however nothing helps them grow up more than helping their Dad. Learning to work, learning responsibility, and knowing they are cared about is a maturing process that some think happens too fast. As with most things in life there needs to be a balance.

A sign of a mature healthy family is one that has meals and devotions together around the kitchen table. Thanks for the picture BJ and Cassia.

So I'd like to wrap up this morning with things I think define maturity. Listening more and talking less. Being aware and considerate of others. Living life being grateful. Being flexible. Sharing and helping others without expecting credit for it. Thanks for helping us get equipment ready for fall Pablo and Paula.

Having genuine joy for other's success. Recognizing when things aren't working and being willing to change and try something else. Not only having the ability to forgive others but being able to admit wrong and ask for forgiveness. Realizing people are more important than stuff and hanging on loosely to our material things.

So what does spiritual maturity look like? I think it can be summed up in one word. Surrender. Now that doesn't sound like winning does it. But remember it's not about us. So often in our conversations with God we ask Him to come to us, to bless us, to heal us, to fix this and that, because we have plans. When in fact we need to go to Him with those same requests asking what His purpose is for us. 

I used to think that folks that talked about God all the time had their heads in heaven and weren't practical and productive on earth. Maturity has shown that's so untrue. We ask for blessing so we can bless others. We ask for influence so folks listen when we share stories about God helping us. I ask for His presence in my life and in our operation because I'm not enough when it comes to His purpose for me. And I ask for protection for all of us. Yes, we are all prone to accidents around here. But mostly protection from the devil because on our own he would love to trip us and take us down.

We have no idea of God's plans for us on our own. Many of you know Jan asked for a pond for her 50th birthday. I was a year late however in 2005 we built a pond. In 2009 we built a cabin because our big family get-togethers didn't fit in the old farm house. Jan and I asked God to bless them and allow us to share them. When we shovel out God shovels back and God has a much bigger shovel. This past week a congregation from Eddyville came to the cabin and had five baptisms. As I'm wrapping up this morning folks are rolling in from a congregation in Oskaloosa to spend a late summer day with God out here and more baptisms. Wow God.