The Meaning Of Family

Words that coincide with family are household, parents, kids, relation, ancestry, dutch bingo. Basically a group of related people. Mark, Stacy and I along with 12 grandkids went to the Farm Power Show in Des Moines on Wednesday. We also had the older boys' friend, Justin, join us as well.

After a morning of walking, looking, and visiting, we all went to Perkins for lunch. Several of us had the "Tremendous 12", a large breakfast.

Family is a strong word and has other meanings as well. It means security. Respect for. Love. People to count on. Responsibility. Influence. Protection. Growth. Also serving. And surrender.

The beauty of a farming occupation is that family gets to hang out and learn to help if you take the time to promote it. Jackson is helping his dad put thermostats in their semi while cousin Gideon watches making sure Kurt is doing it right. :) 

It was really cold at the beginning of this week. Wednesday was -45 below zero windchill. For you that measure temps in Celsius that's cold. Karl and Kristin moved out many loads of hogs in-between other folk's semis jelling up.

A couple baby calves were born in that cold. Being inside out of the wind with bedding they got along just fine thanks to Kasey who chored for BJ this week.

Kasey did have a couple of days of chopping ice out of the buffalo waterers. He even had to haul hot water a couple of nights.

During that cold snap Kasey and I would see this raccoon all curled up in some bedding. Our temps moderated fast in just two days. Yesterday it was 50 degrees above zero. The farm gravel roads went from solid ice to solid mud. Also quite a bit of fog with the extreme temp change.

While moving around the country as a kid Andy grew up in a single parent family. He came to know Kurt and Karl while living in Osky and became friends. Later he started helping us on the farm part time. In September of 2017 Andy and I went to a farm auction at the Deep River Community Center. Andy was the final bid. In 2018 a wind farm came to the neighborhood and a wind turbine went up on Andy's ground.

Today Andy and Amara are a family and live near Barnes City. On Wednesday we all went to Andy and Amara's open house for their new hog finisher facility also located on their farm. God had and continues to have a plan.

Gideon and John have been hanging out at Grandpa and Grandmas. We've enjoyed having kids live with us again for just a week. The kids have only been to school a couple of days in the last two weeks because of the snow and cold. Gideon went to work most days at Outer Limits, a truck repair shop, and John helped around here.

On Friday I was to pick up John around 3 pm. from school. I noticed a line of cars developing however I was just sitting in the parking lot. As the school day neared to an end I realized the line of cars was several blocks long and I kind of looked like a fish out of water. Fortunately the eighth grade teacher, Jana, came and asked me if I knew what I was doing. I assured her I didn't have a clue. I was just told to pick up John. She told me how things work as far as being in line. However she said she would have John come out and find me.Thanks Jana. And thanks Jake for telling her not to give me too hard a time.

Families come in different sizes at different times. You start out as a child in a family. Then you leave home and are maybe single. Many find the love of their life. Get married and have kids. Or teach kids, right Lois? Have a room full or house full. Then your children grow up and move out. Now it's back to two. And some of you have lost a spouse and it's down to single again. Wherever your at in that timeline, let the folks in your home know you care about them and love them. A couple of nights this week Jan would just bring me a cup or glass of something just because she's thinking about me. Wow. Friday night John and Gideon were at a basketball game. We had decided on just salads for supper earlier. Then about 7ish while I was working in my home office Jan unexpectedly brings me this small dish of miniature penne noodles with meat sauce and shaved parmesan cheese on top. Just something she said she threw together. Thank you.

How would you describe a church family? I think my son-in-law Brian nailed it a couple of Sundays ago. In his message at Sully he explained it. Fellowship. Generosity. And sharing burdens. Paul describes a church family in the Bible. Your homework this week is to read the last 5 verses of Acts 2. The words that jump out at me are "they shared great joy and generosity". The last verse says that folks noticed, wanted to be included, and people were added to the church daily. Is that your church?

In Bible times. In the old days. And today, you can't do fellowship without food. Sometimes it's as little as a cup of coffee or cold drink and a cookie. Often it's a potluck meal. Yes, it's extra work. However most things in life worthwhile and productive are.

 There are no perfect families on earth. Occasionally there can be dysfunction. Disappointment. Misunderstanding. Let-down. Lack of communication. Sarcasm. Keeping score. Nit-picking. Too little time. Too much self.

 The cure for these imperfections is to give 110%.  Not be scared of responsibility you've been given. And to care for each other more than self. There are a number of you folks as part of this visit that are my age or older. I have some personal advice for you. Make sure you have the guts to have a specific plan for your stuff after your gone. No, your kids can't or choose not to read your mind. No, after your gone your kids may not live happily ever after. I've seen and been visited to by many good families who are torn up because of lack of planning on their parents part.

I couldn't visit about family without talking about the family of God. While trucking yesterday I made a friend who loaded me in Muscatine with feed ingredients. He was so kind to me since it was my first visit there. It took two hours. We talked about everything including kids, grandkids, and family. I asked if any church. He said yes, quite abit in the old days, but hadn't been for awhile. I'm not worried about families missing church. I'm worried about families missing Heaven. Don't just care in your mind for folks. Be an example. Make sure your life, your manners, and your speech reflect your Heavenly Father. And have the guts to treat them like family.