StillwatersIowa

What's the best advice you were given this past year? Often the most effective advice is by example. Mike is giving his son Cody advice while they tackle a painting job together. Wisdom is advice from God. Wisdom has little to do with age or experience. What risks did you take in 2023? There are risks in business and making a living. There are risks in relationships. There are risks in serving the Lord. Most risks require us to get out of our comfort zone. Most risks pay off. 10 year old Jackson is taking a risk and learning to sand on his cousin Cody's car. Thanks for the picture. What was the nicest or most memorable thing someone said to or did for you last year? Making someone's day often involves time, sacrifice, and surrender. Our past week was filled with planning for 2024, trucking, hog work, seed selling, tiling, and shop work. However this morning we're going to share some bits of wisdom that I've either received from others or learned from experience. Eli...

It was Christmas candlelight service 1974. Friends were asking to see Jan's Christmas gift from me, an engagement ring. We had a March wedding planned. My folks were not in favor of their 18 year old son getting married. I had graduated from high school in May. I had bought this IHC 856 with an FHA loan and had harvested my first crop. Folks advised that teen-aged marriages often don't last. They said, "You can't live on love". We said, "Let's go see". What prompted this story in my memory? Well BJ had a wagon load of corn he wanted to grainbank in town at Ozinga Feed. So Thursday I took it for him. It had probably been 30 years since I'd brought a load of corn to town on a tractor without a cab. This trip got me thinking about those early years when I would drive all over the county doing custom work for Farm Service with that first IHC 856. Doing field work for others was my plan to support and provide for a wife. You see, I was like the rabbit...

What are some of your most memorable days or moments? The day you were born? Probably not. The day you bought your first truck? The day you married? The day your business started or grew? The day someone helped you? The day you lost someone? These are all moments in history. When the time came. Big sister Brynn is listening while Grandpa tells Tatum a story. Who you are, where you're at, and what you contribute in His-story does not just happen by chance or coincidence. The Christmas season reminds us of giving, sharing, and good-will. However God gives us opportunities year around. And I too often miss them. Jan and I took a morning off last Monday and went to Rutledge, Missouri. When the time comes for change or moving forward, the Amish resist because of their beliefs. And any change is decided by the district elder. Does this hinder them from sharing the story of Christmas to their unsaved neighbors? We continue to get field work done. Dean finished chiseling a bottom Friday. B...

What are you hunting for in this last month of 2023? For the workload to slow down a little? A bonus? Maybe for our nonseasonal weather to continue?  Kurt, Karl, and friends went hunting for deer yesterday. And found some nice ones. Thanks for the picture Randy. How about in life? Are we hunting for real and authentic in a deprived culture? Affirmation at work? Better relationships? Are we all growing in our faith walk? We've been blessed with a good number of family and friends visit for early coffee, and are often on our 4th or 5th pot by 7:30am. You often find what your hunting for. When I drive I see the road, traffic, and maybe some weeds and trash trees growing along the right-of-way. My mind thinks how neat it would look if the road sides were mowed. Jan can pick out these Conifer trees a mile off. Or the little blue berries on the Cedar trees. Or red berries. Or hedge balls. Or switch grass tops. Jan sees possibilities. Her mind has already cooked up the idea.Then on a Sund...

 In our fast paced lives today we're not all that crazy about just sitting and thinking. It's become boring. With so much news, information, entertainment, conversations, and ads at our fingertips we grab our phone or tablet. Without even thinking about it. There is nothing wrong with screens. You and I are using them right now. The question is, do we use screens, or do they use us. The clock and the calendar are devices used to measure time. The sand in the bottom half of the hour glass is gone, the past. The sand in the top is what's coming, the future. The in-between is now, the present. Are we putting the now to good use? The day before yesterday we turned our current calendars to the last page of the year. Last week we visited about abandoned farmsteads with 50 year old calendars on the kitchen wall. Old barns tend to measure time in their own way. Attitudes and actions need to be intentional today in order to have a barn full of good memories tomorrow. Early this week...