StillwatersIowa

Good morning. Sundays are a gift around our place this time of year. It's still early morning. It's still a full day however a different kind of busy. The machinery is parked. There's church and fellowship and sometimes potluck. There's visits. With you. To some shut-ins. To family. The cabin is usually occupied. Sometimes a Ranger ride.      Last Sunday morning Justin joined us for church. It was fun to catch up with his busy life. He will soon be leaving for his missionary responsibilities. Thanks for your servant heart Justin.   After church and our visits Jan and I headed for Sioux Center in the afternoon. Jan drove so I could rest after many nights in the field. It was a good ride seeing our state from southeast to northwest. I had an ag advisory board meeting on Monday at Dordt College. I enjoyed touring their new Ag Stewardship Center on their farm.   While at Dordt I enjoyed a visit with Jana who works in advancement at the co...

Just one week ago the fields in southern Iowa were wet and getting wetter. Farmers were waiting, wondering, and worrying about harvest. Attempting harvest one week ago was not always productive. The days were gray and cloudy. The crops were turning gray and black. The machinery was dirty and gray from all the mud. And attitudes were gray watching crops deteriorate in the fields. Then about Tuesday the sun came out. Both days and attitudes brightened. And farmers started making progress again with their work. Having courage to accomplish something is often affected by the environment we work in and the folks we work with. With it already being mid October, lots of crops to get out, and a window of opportunity, the days on the farm got longer and many courageous folks put in long hours. Dictionaries say the opposite of courage is lack of bravery. I think the opposite of courage is lack of hope.   About mid week farmers were thinking and hopin...

  It's been a wet couple of months. Crops in fields that were dry this summer are turning black from excess moisture. Soybeans are swelling and in some cases sprouting in the pods. Thanks for the picture Jason. Many areas have received around 20 inches of rain since late August. As the quality of this big crop becomes progressively worse the soft fields are hindering harvest. If you look close in the pic below you can see a new crop of soybeans growing under the mature crop.   We harvested a corn field Friday and yesterday where much of the crop was standing in water. Ground that was not tilled much this spring has a firmer base than ground that was chiseled last fall.   Naturally the hardest job is to get the crop from the combine to the road. When our grain cart on tires sinks we rescue it by unloading it to the cart on tracks. We've had folks ask why not wait till conditions are better. Good question. We have 3 reasons why we need to work at ...

How do you react when someone shares with you the storms they are experiencing? Do you listen and care? Or do you turn the conversation to a storm you have experienced or are experiencing? Do you think the church adequately disciples folks to respond helpfully to those who are suffering storms? Storms are often scary and lonely. Folks driving in a  storm usually can't see what's ahead. Most often we can't calm the storm however we can  be intentional about being their white line beside them along the road of life so they can keep going.   When rain is falling hard in our own lives we need to do what Noah did. Trust God. Have faith. Get to work. Believe in miracles. Weather the storm. See the promise. This harvest season has been hard on equipment. Early Friday morning Mark and Stacy had an axle break on their grain cart. Mark has spent a couple of days working on getting things back together. Our combination of a grain cart a...