What Winning Looks Like

Twenty five years ago the little town of Beacon, Iowa had a Caseys convenience store. A rough looking elderly lady named Mary always got up early to make donuts there. She smoked Marlboro cigarettes. She had a fifty year old son who would come in and ask her for money. One Easter Sunday morning I walked in the store to get a cup of coffee. Mary hollers from the back of the store, "Hey Steve, He has risen". She surprised the socks off me. I stuttered back, "Yeah, He has". She says, "No Steve, you're supposed to say, He has risen indeed". 😊 Yea Mary. That's what a win looks like.

Our helper Jim showed me an idea this week. He reeled out a tape measure to about 75 or 80 inches, and says, "That's the average life expectancy". Then he asks me where I am on that tape. 66 looks like I've got a lot more inches behind than ahead of me. Yesterday I asked Jacob, Matt's son and Dean's grandson, to put his finger on the tape measure number of his age, 10. I decided winning is the journey, not a destination.

Scott Beck borrowed Henry Ford's quote last week when he said, "Whether you think you can, or think you can't... You're right" in his State of the Company message. Attitude determines success or failure in most areas of our lives. Karl delivered seed most of the week.

We've been wanting and needing a sheep's foot for some time. We found one north of Pella and Mike went to pick it up yesterday. Thanks Mike and Mike.

I wasn't around Mike, Mark, or BJ's jobs this past week to take pictures of them in action. They were all moving dirt some way or another. Jan and I did go on a Ranger ride last Sunday evening southwest of Eddyville and took a picture of Mike's rig on the job site for Nathaniel's father-in-law and Mark's landlord. It's interesting how things progress. Many of the boy's machines use base stations now like the one sitting on the tripod.

Toward the end of the week we got serious about fieldwork. Dry soil while planting is a gift in southern Iowa. The soil temps will soon take care of themselves. Kurt's father-in-law, Jon, has been working ground for us.

Kurt and BJ plant most of our corn. We started with 5647Q, a 106 day corn on corn number. We then went to 5909AM, a 109 day corn on bean number. Both are Corteva genetics purchased by Becks. In the past couple of years Corteva genetics have been doing well on the earlier hybrids while the Bayer genetics have had an advantage on the longer season. It's a winning combination for us when Becks offers both. I brought Kurt seed north of Eddyville yesterday.

We have a dedicated driver and planter for soybeans. Alex plants beans the same time the guys are planting corn. It allows us to get our beans in early so we can custom plant for others. Soil conditions are great. The biggest risk on early beans is a late frost in May.

Jan is planting as well. And she was right on time planting her potatoes on Good Friday. We soak her garden and sweetcorn patch with hog honey for fertilizer. She also puts a little dry starter fertilizer about 2 inches under the seed potato.

During the 2012 presidential campaign we met Rick who was running for president. He and his family have stayed at our home a number of times. Rick was the pro-life champion in the early 2000s. He was in Iowa this past week so we went out for supper together at the Latin King in Des Moines. Thanks for supper as well as the friendship Rick.

I have zero tolerance for bad sportsmanship. 12 million folks watched LSU beat Iowa in the college girls championship game Sunday, an all-time high. 14 million people watched the boys championship game one night later, down from close to 30 million in previous years. Also I'm not very knowledgeable about sports, but what you wear and how you look doesn't make you a champion. Thanks for the picture Bev.

The conversations from the 26 million folks that watched college championships last week wasn't about the scoreboard. It was about a set of classy Iowa girls that gave 110%. That weren't scared of responsibility. And that cared about each other. And Lisa, their coach, who created a culture where everyone is valued. That's what winning looks like.

Our community has had multiple events of needing God's comfort, grace, healing, help, and closeness this past week. Just like the women on Passion Week heading for the tomb, it's often the darkest just before the dawn.

I have experienced it's darkest just before the dawn frequently in fieldwork and farming and a few times in life. Again, just like the folks of Passion Week, winning is looking forward and not backward.

What a full moon early Thursday morning! But remember, the moon generates no light of it's own. It's reflecting the sun's light. That's your and my job in a dark world, reflect the "Son's" light. Dawn is coming.

It wouldn't be a complete Easter Sunday story without a word about an empty tomb. I took this picture in November of 2019. Why do folks think this was possibly the tomb Jesus was in for 3 short days? Because it's the only one in the area that's empty. Remember Mary from Caseys, "He is risen indeed". Remember Jim's tape measure, If we "just believe", when we run out of inches, a grave is not our final destination either. That's what winning looks like. Thanks friends for taking time to stop by and join in this visit.