A Full Quiver

What does Solomon mean in Psalms 127 by a father being blessed with a full quiver? He is valuing family as a source of strength and a blessing from God.

Last Sunday we attended Oakley's 1st birthday get-together at her parent's (Gideon and Emily) place northwest of Sully. Gideon is BJ and Cassia's oldest. BJ is our 3rd child.

This is one of the last times my father visited our farm office. In late 2020 he is enjoying two of his favorite things, coffee, and his great-grandchildren. Since I'm the oldest of 6 children, Dad was strict. However as I see the demonstrations in our cities around the country this past week, I'm blessed and thankful he taught me right from wrong.

                              

There were five things I'm thinking about this morning my father gave me; (1)Brothers and sisters. Because of all the responsibility he gave me he (2)taught me to work. When I found my boss dead of a heart attack as a 11th grader, and Walter's children offered to rent me the farm, Dad gave me the (3)opportunity to rent the farm. Dad left the next generation a (4)good reputation. He gave me the (5)love of farming.

Farmers don't get stressed out by what they do. Farmers get stressed out because they forget their passion and purpose in doing it. Farming is not a job. It's a lifestyle that requires faith in planning, in planting, in weather, in marketing. In Ecclesiastes 11:4 Solomon says, "Farmers who wait for perfect weather never plant. If they watch every cloud they never harvest".

I read this past week that only 12% of farms make it to the 3rd generation. And only 3% make it to the fourth generation.

Mike and Mark worked together some this past week on building a pond north of here a ways. Thanks for the picture Mark.

Kurt and Emily were invited again to serve pizzas out of their wood-fired pizza trailer at Friday after Five in the Oskaloosa square. Jan is visiting with her highschool classmates from the Class of 73.

Do any of you locally here remember the tabernacle barn that sits on the old Vernard College campus grounds? Thursday evening Jan and I attended a camp meeting service the Iowa Holiness Association was holding there.

We started this morning with Solomon valuing family as a source of strength and a blessing. We get to enjoy both. On Mondays Jan still gets as many grandkids as are available to play together and help Grandma. I've been asking for grandkid help on Saturdays. Cousins get to work together on projects. It's a joy to see the older ones showing and helping their younger siblings and cousins. Yesterday I asked that they wash each other's vehicles as an act of service and caring.

Last evening Mike and Suzanne asked Jan and I out for supper at Hu Hot. It's a Mongolian grill in West Des Moines where you go through a salad bar type of thing, pick out your ingredients, and then watch them grill your meal. Thanks Mike and Suzanne.

As an earthly father I'm a cracked pot, meaning I've fell and been broken many times. However God has and is using this broken vessel. And with His light shining in my heart, the cracks have become who I am. And God can even use cracked pots to light the way for others.

Somewhere in the Bible it talks about flowers that are here today and gone tomorrow, an analogy of our lives here on earth. When we're gone there is one thing we leave, a reputation whether good or bad. And one thing we take with us, our full quiver. Somewhere else in the Bible it says, "There is no greater joy than that your children (and grandchildren) love the Lord".