Happy 4th of July friends. Jan says according to the shelves in the stores canning is making a comeback. Pressure cooking meat and vegetables make them tender and easier to work with. Canning preserves and seals food for later use.
Several years ago friends of ours and part of this blog family were bringing me to the airport in Malawi, Africa after a two week stay helping folks farm. I had given away the last of my money and was really looking forward to seeing my family. When I checked in the airline had lost my return tickets. I watched the plane taxi down the runway and take off. I found Harrison and Miriam in the lobby and told them my predicament. That I was 7000 miles from home without a dime. I'll never forget Miriam's response in broken English, "Oh Steven, don't be so pressurized". That pressure cooking incident made me more tender and easier to work with. God used that time of total dependence to prepare me for later use. Thanks for your friendship Harrison and Miriam.
Kudos to grandson John and team who won 1st place in both Junior Varsity and Varsity shooting skeet at the state championships. I think John was 4th overall as an individual.
Jan and I were invited to North Mahaska's fun shoot last Sunday evening since we donated a couple of rifles to their raffle fundraiser. It was an enjoyable evening. Thanks for the invite Tracy
Grandsons Ezra and Elijah have been helping out on Tuesdays and Thursdays around here. HyVee had mulch discounted 40% so we picked up load number 3 for the year.
In my opinion there are three hurdles that a corn crop crosses during it's growing season. The first is emergence when the baby plant comes out of the ground. The second is pollination when tassels and silks appear. And the third is black layer when the grain reaches maturity. Weather and adequate nutrients play a huge role in all three hurdles. Forward marketing becomes less of a risk as each hurdle is crossed. We saw our first tassel on July 1. Black layer is generally 60 days behind full tassel. Then another 10 days to 2 weeks of drydown until harvest.
Brian and Rachel along with their 3 sons Luke, Tyler, and Zach are visiting Brian and Becky this weekend and staying in our cabin. So yesterday we took a Ranger ride and went to watch Mike and BJ build a pond in the back of the pasture to be used for watering cattle. Brian is a high school teacher at Hudsonville Christian in Michigan and Rachel helps with landscaping. We are enjoying their company.
I use Memorial Day, 4th of July, and Labor Day as goals to keep things mowed. Mowing is relaxing for me and takes some pressure off. I hope my kids and grandkids continue the tradition.
Today is Independence Day in the United States. We are at a crossroads. As a culture we are being pressurized to become more supervised by our government. I believe they have used our past experience with Covid as a low hanging cloud to create a culture of fear and lack of hope. I visited with a women this week whose husband has dementia. Until recently she hadn't seen her three daughters in over a year because they lived in states where they were made to be afraid to live. One cannot live in fear and without hope. So our crossroads is either we trust in our God or our government.
I enjoy reading and writing a positive story. I value relationships ahead of things. However there are weeks when I get pressurized. Not workload. Not Covid. Not age. People stress can get me down. When I forget where my help comes from (Maker of heaven and earth) I try and solve problems on my own. God's plans have been bigger than my dreams. However we are not a perfect family and we don't live a Pinterest life. Thanks for the picture Karl.
You often hear speakers and read stories about folks who have been through struggles, overcame their trials, and are now encouraging others and that is good. However I'm telling you this morning you don't have to have it all together for God to use you to be an encourager. Thanks for the picture Emily.
Early Wednesday morning I attended prayer time at the Hub in Ottumwa. While praying I heard a song for the first time. It's called "New Wine" by Elevation Worship. The message in the song is as we surrender, God transforms us through pressing and crushing times into the vessel He intends for us to be.
Three takeaways this morning for those crushing and pressing times. Although details are often important, remember the bigger picture. Ask yourself if this certain issue will be of consequence a year from now. And ask God to use being pressurized to help you become more tender and easier to work with. And to preserve and seal you for later use.
Enjoy your holiday and thanks so much for stopping by.
No comments:
Post a Comment