Ripple Effects

 Just like ripples spread after a pebble is dropped into the water the action of an individual can have far reaching effects. Both good and/or bad. Drop a word of encouragement or an act of kindness and the ripple spreads. On the other hand drop an unkind word and the ripple also starts. Have you ever tried to stop a ripple? Sydnie, Malaki, and Jayden are feeding a hungry kitten.

It was another beautiful week for harvest. About midweek we switched one combine over to soybeans and went completely to soybean harvest late Thursday. If you look closely you can see a full moon coming up. The first of two full moons this month. Some call that a blue moon. You've heard folks say, "Once in a blue moon". A full moon comes around every 29 1/2 days. So our next full moon this month will be on October 31. That's right. Halloween. 

The girls continue to take turns bringing supper to the field. Kristin brought us round steak in gravy with fall green beans from the garden, a salad, and coconut cream pie. Kristin is expecting and she and Karl and family are looking forward to their new addition next month.

Harvesting soybeans is more finicky than combining corn. We can start harvesting corn early in the morning before it is even daylight. The morning dew needs to be dried off for soybeans and as soon as the night air comes in bean harvest is tough. Once in a while if the wind is blowing soybean harvest can continue into the night.

Contribute means to give something to a larger cause. It means you become part of that cause. Being one part of a bigger picture takes the emphasis off of self. This past week we had folks hauling soybeans to Burlington. We had help haul to the bin. We had graincart drivers. We had combine operators. But we all worked together when needed like fixing the combine head, or greasing the combine, or moving an auger, or working through the technology that receives and stores our yield data in the combines and carts.

Part of that contribution to harvest last week came from our grandchildren in graincarts. 9th grader John kept the soybeans away from his dad,BJ, and his Uncle Kurt and loaded semis. 7th grader Ezra followed my combine. With a shorter unload auger on this smaller combine unloading on the go can be tricky. However Ezra did a great job. I heard on the 2 way 9th grader Amelia was running graincart for her mom, Stacy, on their operation while her dad, Mark hauled the crop away. When Ezra had to leave to go to a friends house 1st grader, Jackson followed his dad, Kurt, but would stop to unload. My point with this story is that having our younger generation contribute and giving them responsibility is a huge part of the growing up process and has ripple effects wherever life takes them.

 This is a heavy story. Our local Christian Grade School and other places were vandalized with graffiti this past week. The ripple part of this story is that the media and some politicians are demonstrating and encouraging hate. When our president went to the hospital with covid many news organizations said he deserved it and a few politicians or their staff said they hoped he would not recover. That's scary. Not just for our country but for their eternity. When Jesus was on earth he said that anyone who hates is a murderer and has no part in the kingdom of heaven. Thanks for the picture Chris.

This picture reminds me of Jan and I before we had children. We would farm together including chores. Jan took care of 10 litters of pigs in one pull together farrowing shed and I had ten litters in another. Jan would run the combine and I would haul in and keep the dryer going. 

Blessings to you Collin and Morgan on your marriage a couple of weeks ago. Your love and care for each other will have ripple effects on your family. Collin's grandmother and my father are first cousins. Thanks for the picture Collin.

On Thursday afternoon Jan, I, and Cassia went to a Faith in Leadership event in Des Moines sponsored by The Family Leader where I serve on the board. One of the special guests was Joel, a friend and an American/Israeli author who writes fictional political thriller novels. BJ's wife Cassia is a fan of Joel and has read all his books. It was fun to introduce her to Joel and to catch up on he, his wife Lynn, and their four sons who all live in Israel.

I'm sure you've seen the "my pillow" guy on advertisements. Mike is a great guy. His desire to promote the welfare of others has had rippling effects across our country. It was enjoyable visiting with him Thursday. Mike lives in Minnesota. 

Secretary Carson is a retired neurosurgeon and is on the president's cabinet. He and his wife, Candy, came to the event in Des Moines on Thursday. He has an amazing story both growing up and saving lives in his previous profession.

We were also blessed to hear from our vice president Thursday. Our vice president truly lives his faith. The ripple effect of his contribution to our country is all the good folks the president has on his staff. He and his wife Karen raised their family in Indiana. He was one of six children and his parents ran a successful convenience store as he was growing up. He often says he is grateful for the grace of God in his life. A ripple effect for all of us.

I'd like to close by sharing a conversation I had with a banker a few years back. He told me about the difficulties of being an ag loan officer back in the 1980s. We talked about a young man who came in with no backing, little collateral, and lots of debt. The young farmer had few options. However this banker gave him a second chance after the farmer's  previous bank had no confidence in his operation. The banker's name was Mike and he was killed in a car accident this past Tuesday near Eddyville where he worked. The young man he helped was me. He believed in me when few others did including myself. The ripple effect of Mike's act of kindness in 1987, in Albia, Iowa, is much of what you are reading today. Jan and I were Collin and Morgan's age.

God has chosen the time and place we were born. For such a time as this. He has given us family and friends. He has a purpose for each of us during these crazy times. How can we have a positive ripple effect? How can we contribute for the good of others? How do we love in a world of hate? It starts with one pebble at a time. And then watch the ripples. Thanks so much for stopping by.