"Everyone should farm something."
I like lists. Good lists seem to be the only way I get anything done. I have a work lists, I have farm project lists, I have Tractor Supply lists, I have honey-do lists and so on. The Apostle Paul is known for his lengthy statements that are always filled with doctrinal truth. What we see in these verses and the ones that follow is almost like a bullet-point list. Last week we studied Paul’s description of the Read More
During the recent Ag and Art Tours, we met tons of nice people and gave many tours of our farm. One couple wanted to learn how to process chickens, so they returned on processing day, jumped right in and did a great job. I remember one other couple in particular, because when we got to the chicken processing overview (overview, not demonstration), the wife said “I don’t want to see that” to which I promptly asked “Why?” She explained that Read More
Our culture today seems obsessed with self. Self image, Self Magazine, self help, selfies. One popular self-help author’s message was summed up like this: “we alone have the power within us to solve our problems, relieve our anxieties and pain, heal our illnesses, improve our golf game or get a promotion.” It is dangerous to become too obsessed with your own self image, because when you do you start believing stuff like that. This sermon was preached on Read More
Yesterday was our first poultry processing day of the year. Since we are still a small, family farm with no paid staff, we rely on fiends to help out on these days. There is a core group of folks I can always count on to help out, and we added a few more this year. It amazes me that people are willing to give up an entire morning, come out to the farm and work with us. We cannot afford Read More
Wendell Berry has the best answer to this question: “Why do farmers farm, given their economic adversities on top of the many frustrations and difficulties normal to farming? And always the answer is: “Love. They must do it for love.” Farmers farm for the love of farming. They love to watch and nurture the growth of plants. They love to live in the presence of animals. They love to work outdoors. They love the weather, maybe even when it is Read More
“When the family is strong, government can be small. When the family is weak, however, the government must compensate for the loss. By focusing on the family, we respect and better the community.” – Dr. Albert Mohler (“Toward a Christian View of Economics”, Tabletalk Magazine, February 2017) Strong families are the answer to big government. Could it be that simple? Yes. Strong families build strong communities. Just think of how many government programs that would not be needed if families Read More
Earlier this week, I was downtown Columbia at a staff lunch, and while we were waiting to be seated, I turned around and spotted a friend from high school that I hadn’t seen in years. Suzie and I were in the same class all the way through school, so I have known her all my life. She and a co-worker were also waiting to be seated, and after greeting one another with a hug because it had been so long, Read More
As much as we all like Carrie Underwood’s music, there is a line in her song “Smoke Break” that I wish she would change. It goes like this: “He’s a big-city, hard-working man just trying to climb the ladder First generation to go to college instead of driving a tractor Never had nothing handed to him on a silver platter It’s hard to be a good man, good son, do something good that matters” I don’t think for a minute Read More
Today was a big day for us: we delivered our first two cows to the processor! By the first of February, we will have our very own grass-fed beef for sale in the farm store in addition to our eggs and poultry. We will only have ground beef this first time because the cows we processed were older cows who have served us well but are no longer calving. This ground beef will be made from the entire cow so Read More