KC

We enjoyed a quick weekend trip to Kansas City. It started with a Saturday evening supper of JackStack BBQ brisket at church. They know how to treat company! We were blessed by the ordination ceremony of brother-in-law Randy. There were five Elders and a retired Elder present. I was on my best behavior.
We also enjoyed the late night activity, food, and discussions at the K-berger Hotel afterwards. Always great hospitality there. It was good to see all the friends and relatives that were together for the weekend.
I also appreciate the cheap gas (relative to IL) in Missouri.


And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed.
Acts 14:23

Plowing Bee

Because of the late, wet harvest last fall, very few fields of wheat were sown in our area. We were asked if part of our field could be used for a "plowing bee" for antique tractors and plows. We usually use the whole field to apply our natural fertilizer (manure) on until harvest, but we saved 30 acres for them to plow.
Saturday was the big day. We had .4 of an inch of rain overnight, so the ground was a little muddy on top. There was a lot of mud on the tires and a lot of wheel slippage. But the show went on and everyone seemed to enjoy it, and it was fun getting neighbors together. There were about 20 tractors plowing throughout the day, and the organizer brought extra plows to use. One problem is that not many in my generation and younger know how to set a plow any more. It's getting to be a lost art. When I plowed as a youngster, my Dad would set the plow.
Even our old Massey Harris 44 got in on the fun! We still use it every day, so we hardly consider it an antique. Maybe next year the JD 60 will give it a try.

Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope.
1 Corinthians 9:10

Rejoice

I believe that someday on my deathbed, there will be only one thing that really matters to me. That my children are all born again believers.

Today we had the privilege of attending the last baptism.

I am a blessed man.

I thank God for his great love, mercy, and for sending us Christ.
I thank Jesus for his sacrifice of life and blood.
I thank my wife for sharing my life and her faithfulness.
I thank my parents, extended family, and church family for their support, prayers, and heritage of faith.
I thank my children for their compliance, submission, and obedience to the Gospel.

Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:
1 Peter 1:8

I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.
Mark 1:8

Stroll

We had a nice 1.5 inch rain the end of last week. It was just what the crops needed for relief from the extremely hot, humid weather we have been experiencing. The heat has really hastened the development of the corn crop especially, and an early harvest is probable. This rain should be enough to finish the crop.

This evening the humidity was much lower than it has been and the temperature was around 81 degrees. The old farmer took his wife out to eat at the Mexican restaurant in Washington and afterwards we drove to the town cemetery (Glendale). We had a very pleasant stroll around the paths looking at the old tombstones and stopping at the graves of old neighbors, landlords, and friends. We walked in the shade of the big old trees and enjoyed the slight breeze.

It was peaceful and beautiful out there this evening.

I thought of all the entombed bodies waiting for a resurrection, and wondered how many souls would be looking forward to judgement day.

And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,
Matthew 27:52

Dog Days

Its hot and humid here in central Illinois. Very hot and very humid. I seem to spend most of my time in wet clothes. We are upgrading our grain handling set-up and this week the bin erection crew were here building the new bin. Working on and inside of a metal grain bin has to be one of the hottest jobs to do in the summer. But they were all young guys on the crew, so they seemed to take the heat in stride. I seem to loose my desire to work by the middle of the afternoon. The hogs don't eat much in this weather. They just lie around panting. Ground feed starts setting up in the bulk tanks. The weeds grow, but the lawn and the crops dry up. Our road is a melted tar mess (although it's not hot enough to fry an egg on--daughter #2 tried it). The air conditioning in the cars and the house strain to keep up.
The dog days of August.


My skin is black upon me, and my bones are burned with heat.
Job 30:30

Vacation

The first two days of work after vacation have been tough ones. The temperature and humidity make physical work almost unbearable. I spent the days drenched in sweat. Today I went through two sets of clothes. When I come in the house into air conditioning, it feels freezing. The good thing is that I think we are starting to get caught up with our work. The feed mill continues to give us problems, but we keep plugging along.

I spent my week at Kentucky Lake resting up from the previous weeks of work. I slept late every day, ate a lot of food, took naps every day, and ate more food. I got caught up on some of my magazine reading, and I made it to the beach a couple of times. We had Internet access, so I was able to keep up with the markets and my email. The fishermen weren't having much luck the first 6 days, so I didn't bother to buy a license. The old farmer's wife cooked our traditional meal of haystacks one night - always a hit. The other meals did not disappoint. Newcomer Ron made his special caramel corn one night, and grilled fish for us on the last night. The entire family made it for at least part of the week, except nephew Brent and his family. I believe a good time was had by most.

Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:
Proverbs 6:10