StillwatersIowa

In life we like to be enough. We feel affirmed when we think we are more than capable and able to accomplish a job or project. However, when I focus on myself and what I think are my accomplishments, I don't leave room for God's grace and others abilities and potential. Jan canned 25 quarts of Bumbleberry pie filling this past week. What's Bumbleberry? Let's see if I remember. Rhubarb, strawberries, raspberries, and one more. With all the rainy days our 1st and 2nd pass spraying on crops are starting to run together. The guys put in a long day on Thursday. The planters are currently all home. We still have a few acres of our own and others to plant yet. The acres we need to still plant are growing if we replant the river bottoms that flooded this past week. We've had farms receive anywhere from 2 to 8 inches this past week with much flooding. The guys also helped friends clean up tornado damage. Below is the terrace above our new Morgan pond doing it's job. If y...

Last evening cousins, Amelia and John, along with 57 of their classmates, graduated from Pella Christian High School. Their speaker, JD, talked to them about being more than themselves. Their class verse in Isaiah 41:10 talks about not being afraid or discouraged. God also says He will strengthen, help, and hold us with His victorious right hand. That's good advice for overcoming. Farmers have had to be overcomers this spring. While the moisture was needed, the window for getting in crops has been small. Friday night Matt was planting beans just east of Oskaloosa. Wet days have been used to get hay equipment ready for the summer hay season. BJ and his son John are working on their big square baler. Overcoming obstacles on semis and trailers can be a fulltime job. This past week our crew replaced tires, brakes, and wiring, on a sprayer tender trailer. Our warm wet weather has put the rye growth in high gear for the cover crop folks. This rye field we worked in yesterday for custom w...

I had been asked to check out a field of oats and alfalfa we had drilled for someone. It had a 120 foot strip that didn't look right. We decided it was herbicide carryover. And suggested we come back in late August and replant the strip. As we finished our conversation the farmer said, "Thanks for everything".  Our crew starts drinking black coffee young. Right Lane? My brother received a call about a controller acting up. He went to check it out and found he was able to reprogram the faulty device. The next day the farmer called my brother and said,"Thanks for everything". It hasn't worked this well for a long time. The business industry recommends companys strive for satisfied customers. You seldom hear from satisfied customers. When a customer calls to say thanks, or good job, it means you've made a difference. When someone responds with a "thanks for everything" it's a comprehensive heartfelt form of gratitude that says this is not just...

Fifty years ago this month our senior class of 1974 left early on a Friday morning on two buses for our class trip. After a fun day in the Ozarks we were to be in our rooms by 10 pm for at least quiet time. Later that evening the resort managers let our chaperones know that not all kids were in their rooms. To make a short story shorter, our class was loaded up and headed home early Saturday morning because of being disobedient. As far as I know our high school class was the only one in the 85 year school history to be sent home from a class trip. This event back 50 years ago created a reputation. Below is the current 8th grade class of Oskaloosa Christian Grade School. Two of our grandchildren, Anton and Adi, are part of these graduates. Thanks for the picture. Abraham Lincoln said "Character is like a tree and reputation is like it's shadow". Ben Franklin said "It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation, and only one bad one to lose it".  Below, Karl ...