StillwatersIowa

Early Tuesday morning Jan and I headed for Lancaster County Pennsylvania. The eastern American landscape is town, forest, and farmland all stirred together. The present and past all run together in equal amounts when it comes to commuting in eastern Pennsylvania. Amish buggies as well as English vehicles are everywhere. And the roads go from country blacktops to eight lane freeways in the same county. When we drove east to Maryland, Virginia, and DC, less than one in a hundred cars were American companies like Chevy, Ford, and Dodge. When getting away from home I often work on my goal to do more listening. Listening takes patience. Meaning not just waiting to talk. Listening takes persistence. Meaning discerning and caring. And listening takes process. Meaning asking questions. Thanks for the picture Jan. We attended the play, Daniel, at the Sight and Sound Theater, in Lancaster, PA. It was totally sold out for the month of July. However we drove in and they found two single seats in t...

Our local County Fair was first held on October 23,1852. In 1858 and 1859 the Iowa State Fair was held at the Oskaloosa fairgrounds. The livestock pavilion was built in 1919. The grandstand was upgraded from wood to metal in 1950 at a cost of $50,000. Thanks for the info Jim and Shawn. That was the beginning of the way forward for the Southern Iowa Fair our community enjoys today. On Thursday evening the grandstand event at the fair was motorcycle and 4-wheeler races. Mark and his boys competed and did well. Mark and Stacy's daughter Amelia competed and was chosen fair queen. She attended all events and handed out ribbons. This little guy won a Lego contest by building a fair queen with his Legos. Thanks for the picture Stacy. On Wednesday evening our family sponsored free tickets for the 4-H kids for the stock car races. Attending the races with Grandpa are Elliot, Tyson, Ezra, Queen Amelia, Elijah, and nephew Luke.   Mark and Stacy's kids showed hogs and chickens. Allison is ...

In 1949 a young North Carolina preacher came to Los Angeles to hold revival services. Billy Graham was concerned about the small crowd size the first few nights. A disc jockey in town attended a service, was convicted by the message, and gave his life to Christ that evening. The following morning Stuart Hamblen told his radio audience about his experience. As a result the crowds came, and the Crusade lasted six weeks.  Thanks to seven year old Jayden for helping mow yard. Later, that same radio DJ attended a party at the home of a neighbor and actor, John Wayne. The conversations were around the troubles of the day. Stuart mentioned that it was no secret what God could do to help with those troubles. As Mr and Mrs Hamblen were leaving for the evening, Mr Wayne, the host, told Stewart he ought to write a song about his comment. Thanks for helping spray 3rd pass beans this past week, Kasey, Alex, Dean, and Kurt. The Hamblens returned home around midnight. And as his wife put curlers ...

Our eyes tell our story. Often more expressive than words. By simply looking one can see if someone is tired, worried, afraid, angry, defeated. Or happy, content, bright, engaged, and confident. This past Wednesday Jan was feeling blessed, serving tenderloins, onion rings, and french fries that Mike helped deep fat fry in our farm shop during a regular visit from our chiropractor. That's right. Dr. Mark makes house calls to our farm. In 2020 when our government leaders required us to social distance, we told him life was normal at our place, and invited him just to come out and adjust us on the farm. And he has been coming on a regular basis ever since, helping get the kinks out from motorcycle oops, bouncing in a tractor hauling dirt all week, hoeing in the garden, or power washing for hours. 3400 years ago Moses was born during a ban on Israelite boys in Egypt. He was hidden as a baby in the Nile river, raised in the palace of the enemy, worked as a shepherd for his father-in-law...