More Power To You

 When I was in grade school our church at the time (Calvary CRC Pella) had a prison ministry. I remember going along with my Dad and Dan (Loren from LDJ's father) to either Oakdale or Newton one evening. As I was riding in the back seat I listened intently as the men in front talked farming. Dan told Dad he had just bought an IH 1456 tractor. I thought ,Wow, that was the most powerful tractor made. I dreamed about having a 1456. We just had an IH 806. In 2006 my dream came true. My cousin Darryl sold me the 1456 pictured below.

Last Sunday as my father and I were driving to Montezuma to visit Mom, we drove by the farm in Union Mills where we lived during a couple of my grade school years. We currently custom this farm for a retired school superintendent. My Dad asked, "Did you plant this farm?" I answered we did. He then asked, "Are you going to combine it this fall?" Again I said we will. He said, "Well more power to you".

I hadn't heard that phrase from him for 50 years or more. He used to use those words to folks as a compliment. It got me thinking about other phrases my father used to say. Like "Cotton Picken" when he was disgusted. Or "Son of a biscuit eater" when he was angry. I never knew then and still don't know today who a biscuit eater is. He used to tell me, "Let me not forget it" when something was important. And finally one that got me in trouble in high school. He would say, "Sock it to Me" when he did something wrong. I said that accidentally in Mr. Blankenspoor's class one day after I goofed. My English teacher said, "What did you just say?" 😊

Labor Day was the only day this past week we did any harvesting. We plan on getting an early start first thing in the morning.

Our dry spell is over. It's been a wet week. We've had 4 inches of rain over the past 5 days. It came easy with about an inch a day.

Karl and Kristin spent a rainy day going after honeywagon parts. Karl and help have been rebuilding the toolbar which happens about every year. A honeywagon is a 7000 gallon tank that hauls and incorporates hog manure on our fields providing excellent fertilizer for next years crop.

For a couple of years now we've struggled with "01" being underpowered. So we decided to have a Detroit Diesel specialist check it out in Altoona. Two of our crew Kasey and Andy went to pick it up one rainy day last week and stopped to enjoy lunch. Not long ago Andy and Amara celebrated their daughter's first birthday. This past week Kasey told us he and Sydnie are expecting. Congratulations. New life is a blessing. You both are and will be great parents as you rely on God's power and grace for the future of your children. Thanks for the picture Andy.

Thanks to Rudy and his helpers we worked on getting the new shed walls insulated. Closed cell spray foam has an R value of about 14 for two inch depth. That would be equal to about 6 inches of fiberglass bat insulation. We hope to blow in insulation in the ceiling.

Donna's husband Roger came yesterday with his homemade log splitter and he and Devin split a wagon load of wood for us. Since it was wet we moved operations inside. If you remember, Donna and Roger recently moved to Iowa from Colorado.

Of course a logsplitting crew wouldn't be complete without stackers. And Jackson, Ezra, Malaki, and Jayden were up for the challenge.

There is power in compliments. And like Dad did to me we need to bless others with them. So often it's easier to feel competition when others succeed and that's not right. We need to remember that it's all God's to start with and He just entrusts family, things, and opportunities to our care. There is also power in a thank you. A few weeks ago I shared about receiving a turkey from Nicole. Well yesterday Ephraim and Emmet brought us a thank you and a gift for supporting them in 4-H. The BBQ sauce they brought us is made in Pella by Jenny's cousin. Thanks Seth, Jenny, and family.

Sometimes we wait too long to use our assets, thinking we have power and security in piles of stuff. Then what we're hanging on to loses it's power to produce. I still have 10 pizza lid coupons from Caseys on my desk and as many of you know they are now worthless.

Folks remember 9/11 and that's good. I also remember 9/12. There was power in America on 9/12. Stores sold out of American flags. And we stood proudly when it waved during our National Anthem. We respected each other and were united. The media and others were not filled with hate. We stood shoulder to shoulder and not 6 feet apart. It didn't matter what our skin color was. Folks ran toward trouble to help and not away from it. On flight 93 Todd said, "Let's roll" as he and others knew they were giving their lives in order to save others. And we as a nation prayed (kneeled) together asking God for help.

There is more power in prayer than anything else we can do. Sometimes God's answer are not immediate. Sometimes they are. In 1986 I was up on this hill asking God for help when I gave up trying to fix troubles on my own and everything seemed to be going wrong. He's been helping me ever since. I needed to be reminded I was powerless without Him. We can pray anywhere. However it's powerful to have an intentional place to talk to God.

What about power as a Christian? We often think of Christians as meek and mild. Peaceful and quiet. Turning the other cheek. Having humility. Yet in humility we are to be bold. A voice for those who can't speak for themselves. Active for justice and integrity in politics. We are to be assets, even leaders in our communities. We are to be intentional about keeping apathy out of our churches. And not having a complacency toward those who we have an opportunity to help. We are to use our God-given power to help folks be fearless rather than fearful. With God's help, "More power to you". Thanks for the friendships. And blessings to you all.