Mosley is now 3.5 months old, and I am working on walking him with Max on a leash.  The Land Sharkness comes in when giving treats to him while he is paying attention. And let me tell you he isn’t polite about taking them yet – thus the slices in my hands. Since he still needs another shot, I can’t walk him on a walking path, since I live on a busy street it’s not safe to try to wrangle him on the road. So, I take them up to my church parking lot where there is tar – less distraction than trying to walk him in the grass or fields. We’ve been doing this a couple of weeks now and h ..read more

 It’s been a busy day.   Traveled one and a half hours for a board meeting. Left home at 7:30am. Got back home around 3:00pm.   The LAST thing I wanted to do was to walk Max. Yet, he loves it. And I need it.   It really was beautiful. 57°, sunny, slight wind. Perfect for walking but all I physically wanted to do was take a nap. Stretch out, wrapped in a blanket, and drift off.   The whole time I walked I was convincing myself I needed to do the two miles instead of one. I pushed past the one-mile mark and got to the turn around to come back to finish with two. Just a ..read more

Yesterday, Saturday, the day before Easter our church had a community activity. We served lunch and had 16,000 candy filled eggs spread over the township park for kids to discover.   Farmer and I helped. The day wasn’t the best. 53°, cloudy, rainy, blghhh. Long underwear and umbrellas traveled with us to the park. Grilling and wrapping hundreds of hotdogs and hamburgers was our job. There were hundreds volunteering. Greeters, parking, safety, food servers, ice cream servers, bouncy house controllers and more.   What started as a cold, rainy blah day turned into a cold, rainy wonderf ..read more

Divine and Human. What were his thoughts as he traveled into the city for Passover? Were you on his mind? Was I? Human and Divine Was he thinking about the pain? Did he wonder how long he would last on the cross? Was he focused on rejoining his Father in heaven? Divine and Human Love covered it all ..read more

Many years ago, I put a cross in our field with the help of Barrett Mills It was up on a hill in the middle of a field where we had harvested sand for an extension on a farm building. A few years ago, the guys mining our sand pit removed it and broke it in the process. Then a wonderful total stranger Ron Christman came along and built me a beautiful new one. Through the years I place material on the cross the week before Easter taking it down on Saturday evening and replacing it with a victorious royal colored cloth to celebrate the risen Savior. I also hang a flag on the cross on Memoria ..read more

I took this picture a while back and new I wanted to write because of it.  This is the view when you turn onto my road from the west. Even when I walk and turn to head back home the feelings of this sight haven’t dimmed. Coming home. The farm was my identity to me for so long. And I loved that. I was proud to be a farmer. And I will always be but it was different then. When I left to have my first son the fields were full of corn and because I was in the hospital for nine days with him when I returned the fields were stripped clean – harvested. And there weren’t as many silos then but ne ..read more

Hey there God, it’s me again. Back to school time and prayers. I remember when I prayed that my kids would behave, learn, be kind and find good friends. What a different world it is now. I must make you sad. So, Lord I’m praying for my grands now. I ask for protection from so many things. Protect them from the violence that is intruding. Protect them from the insane ideas the systems are trying to push. Help my grandchildren have the courage and strength to stand for truth. To speak up to disagree kindly. Help them understand they can be kind, loving and yet have a different opinion. Help the ..read more

Yes, God is all for diversity.   Especially in humans. He created man and woman. Within man there are thin ones, heavy ones, strong ones, smart ones, funny ones and on it goes. They have diverse abilities such as great with business, creative with words, builds amazing items. Within women the same and with different qualities. Some can sing well, cook well, dance great, teach well and on it goes. They are authors, teachers, mothers, carpenters, and doctors who heal greatly. Men and women can be tall, short, and everywhere in between. He covers us with white skin, brown skin, black skin ..read more

Well, it’s been about a year since we’ve sort of, kind of, maybe  retired. I personally don’t believe in retirement – I read it nowhere in the Bible. I think we just change what we’re doing. We went from field work, feeding calves, slogging through Quick Books to only moving cows in one fell swoop. How do I feel about it? Depends on the day, the hour, the minute. Can you tell I’m conflicted? It came way too fast. I’ve only been here 52 years. I just figured out how to back up the merger without turning the steering wheel the wrong way on the first try for crying out loud. And now I’m don ..read more

Oh my – the stories I’ve been hearing.  This post is for both ends of the transitioning persons. You can do this without creating and living with regret. Here are a few suggestions: Do what you say you’re going to do – don’t make empty promises. Show a little gratitude and appreciation for what was built in the past. Give encouragement. You can disagree without severing relationships. Keep the business separated from the family. Don’t spread your “issues” with other family members. Be transparent. When you try to manipulate with secrecy there is nothing but mistrust being bred. Put yours ..read more