Others

The calendar says spring is supposed to be here. Our current weather and forecast feels likes it's trying, but not quite yet. Still, we had a busy week. And I was reminded of the blessing of getting to work with others. Mike continues to doze. Mark is cleaning trees off of bottom dikes. Kurt is fixing tile holes and intakes. Karl's main focus has been seed. And BJ has been busy tiling, using both the trencher below and his Wolfe plow.

On Sundays we often hear about our vertical relationship with God. That's "Love the Lord with heart, soul, mind, and strength". The rest of that verse goes, "And the second is equally important. Love others as you love yourself". If we claim a vertical relationship with God, it will show through horizontal relationships with others. Dads working along side their children is a huge building block to those children's future. Karl and Malaki are building a hay rack.

Another father/son dual this week I had the blessing of helping was BJ and John. We are pattern tiling some ground close to home. Pattern tiling means installing 4" tile every 30 feet across the entire field.

We also have a brother/brother dual business. Grandsons Gideon and John shine trucks for others in-between work, school, and farming. They have the equipment to shine wheels, fuel tanks, steps, and grills on semis and trailers. They are so busy they are hiring friends to help.

Diversity is essential in any business. Especially in farming. And this past week proved that around our place. The seed business has always helped us stay cutting edge on decisions and management. Another benefit is working with others. We get to help customers with the most important decision of their crop year. And we get to work with a great extended Becks family whose values parallel ours. Below Karl and I delivered John and RJs seed.

When the grandchildren hang around and help on the farm they not only learn from their fathers but develop relationships and learn from other adults. Malaki is watching Jim fix a hydraulic drive hose on one of our skidloaders.

For years churches in our area have collected used clothing and furniture in a semi trailer. Then about once a month someone would volunteer to hook up the trailer with their semi and head for Cary, Mississippi. Many years ago Kurt, Karl, and I did just that with a load of donated goods. We spent the weekend sharing and helping folks. Then Monday morning we unloaded our semi load in Rolling Forks, Mississippi. Friday night a tornado literally took Rolling Forks off the map killing many. Our prayers for those we may or may not know. Thanks for the picture.

What's been the best day of your life? How about the worst? My guess is both answers have little to do with stuff. And everything to do with either gaining or losing others. Maybe remembering a great event or relationship. Or struggling over a bad one.

We had to take one of our sprayers to Altoona to get an oil leak repaired between the engine and hyrostat. The cab had to be removed. Then the engine and hydro split to replace one little oil seal.

On Friday afternoon the Samson trencher motor started complaining. It sounded expensive. We were north of Rose Hill tiling, putting in intakes for terraces at the South 80.

Joe suggested cutting and examining the oil filter. Fortunately we found no metal filings. The turbo checked out ok. The 3306 Cat motor needed a new set of injectors. They will be here Tuesday.

That's when we came home, jumped in the plow, and started putting in tile around home. A tile plow is much faster. And simpler. It's basically lots of horsepower, plenty of footing. and a large knife that installs tile. Of course GPS technology now controls depth. It's just when you plow you don't know what other tile your crossing. However that's irrelevant if you're pattern tiling.

Dealing with others isn't always a great experience. Often we don't get treated well. It may be competition or jealousy. It may be something others have heard that may or may not be true. Some don't have time or room for others. My suggestion is it's always best to give those folks grace. Instant reactions are usually regretted.

Last week we featured a couple of helpers. A couple of more this week. Alex has been around over a dozen years. We put him in charge of soybean planting. Often nitrogen application. He is also an excellent backhoe operator. Thanks for being part of the crew Alex. Not only our work, but helping others as well in the custom work business.

Dean retired last year after over 40 years as a farm implement mechanic. We welcomed him to help us as time allowed. He has been a huge help since many implement dealers have become short of help. Dean is currently recovering from open heart surgery. We can't wait for his wife Connie to bring him out for coffee soon. In the picture he is visiting with Chris. Chris and Jared keep our technology going.

 

We started our visit with The Greatest Commandment. Loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength (might). Yesterday morning at coffee Mike asked, "What does it mean to love God with all your might"? It means loving Him with everything we've got. Time, treasures (stuff), and talents (abilities). And we show that love by following the next part of that commandment. Others. Jesus finishes this thought to His disciples by saying that the entire law (Bible) is based on these two commandments. One of Jan's many abilities is baking. And she often sends me off with the Ranger to deliver goodies to improve someone's day. That friends is loving God with all your might. Blessings.