He Just Knows

I just about spit out my coffee while reading a recent email that proposed I take over a certain position.  It would mean a commitment to something I barely knew anything about.  It would mean I would lead a group of people who didn’t even know me.  And it would mean a sacrifice of time, energy, learning, and compassion. 

As fast as the email came in, was about as fast as the thought exited my mind.  I wasn’t qualified.  I had no time for this. My knowledge was way below average, and I could name about 10,000 other things I would be better suited for. 

I can’t tell you how many times this has happened to me.  An idea was introduced, and I immediately dismissed it as something I could never do.  Motherhood, writing, homeschooling, backing a manure spreader down a hill into position, starting an IV in a cow, the list goes on and on of things I said I could NEVER do and yet found myself doing exactly that.

My problem is, I think I should be 100% qualified to do anything I try.  In my mind, this ensures that I won’t fail.  But that’s not how life works.  We are constantly challenged to do something new, something we may not be qualified to do, and that’s where we have to lean on our Creator to make up the difference.

As much as we would like to think we can order our days and control the outcomes, we can’t. No amount of work, worry, planning or strategizing can guarantee that everything will work out in our favor.

We were not created to hold tomorrow, or the entire next month.  No matter how hard I try, I can’t predict, create, order, or conduct tomorrow or the next day or the next.  I would like to try to control it all, but I can’t.  God is in charge of tomorrow and next week, and next year and we are all better for it.

So, as I venture into the future, my job is to contemplate what’s presented, serve those around me and leave the results up to God. Afterall, He has told us that we are not called or equipped to worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow has enough trouble of its own.   

He knows best.  He knows all.  He just knows.

 

Fill Your Spot

 “Sometimes it’s better to appear a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.”

That was a quote my dad repeated often. Not in a derogatory way, but he knew that I needed to listen more and talk less. I was the talker in the family.  My report cards from elementary school always had a comment from the teacher about excessive talking in class.  I was constantly ‘shushed’ at the library, so much so that I hated going there. Why would we all go into a room and not talk?

While I’ve tempered my tongue slightly, I still tend to ask questions, make suggestions without being asked and I usually speak up when I should quiet down. While at a show recently, I suggested to the ring steward that she move the final lineup of cattle to a different spot so that it was easier to get a better photo. She refused.  In fact, she didn’t speak to me for the rest of the show. I told my husband about it and he kindly explained to me that sometimes I come on a little strong. Years ago, that would have crushed me, and I would have found myself bent over backward trying to please her and apologizing profusely.  Today, not so much.

God created all of us with a unique personality and gave us a spot on this earth with purpose and a plan. Some of us are talkers, others remain quiet and pensive.  Some of us move in quickly trying to fix a problem while others stand back and evaluate. Some of us like to share our opinions, while others would rather chase renegade cows back to their pasture than speak their mind.

But no matter your temperament or personality, whether you like libraries or get your energy from talking with crowds of people, your contribution to this world is not only necessary but it’s expected. Maybe you lack confidence and fear grips your gumption. Throw that fear off and do the scary thing. Someone somewhere is depending on your fearlessness and needs your influence.  Whether it’s your spouse, your children, or your employees, show up, work to your greatest potential, and fill that spot created just for you.

Moms, Your Season is Coming

 FOMO is real and is plaguing people of every generation.  It adds anxiety, builds discontentment, robs you of your present joy, and steals every moment that would normally bring you happiness.

Fear Of Missing Out.

It’s funny that something that has nagged people for years now has its own abbreviation and is used on every social media platform by millions. We have all felt it.  No one wants to miss out on an opportunity of a lifetime or the chance to do something fun but what price are we willing to pay to keep FOMO at bay?

Young moms everywhere have been told they can have it all, it only takes balance. They are told, if you don’t have a fulfilling career, you are missing out.  If you don’t experience all the joys of motherhood, you are missing out.  If you work full-time at an entry-level job, you are wasting your time.  If you stay home with your children you are wasting your earning potential and your family will starve. We have convinced a generation of women that motherhood is the goal, but you better make sure your career is Instagram-worthy and pays well too. We haven’t even taken into account the time and energy it takes to be a wife who loves and respects her husband who may be a full-time farmer in need of all kinds of support both emotionally and practically.

While this may seem hopeless and overwhelming, it doesn’t have to remain that way. There is hope but it comes by way of sacrifice. The result is no regret and another new season of life waiting for you with unimaginable opportunities and plenty of earning potential. As much as this sounds like an infomercial for a pyramid scheme, I assure you, it’s real life.

I spent the 90s as a pregnant stay-at-home mom.  I spent the first decade of the 21^st century chasing children, and cows and supporting a husband and a farm.  The second decade began a change that I never saw coming.  As my children started to leave the nest, my time as the school carpool mom, classroom cookie provider, and uniform cleaning service began to wane, and I discovered I had more time for things I wanted to pursue.

Over time, more projects found their way to my inbox which have turned into travel opportunities and marketing avenues that I had only dreamed about in my ag journalism classes in college.  If I could have described my dream job, it wouldn’t have even scratched the surface of what I wake up to do every morning.  It challenges every piece of intelligence that I ever thought I had and allows me to express myself in ways I once considered daunting at best.

No one ever told me this season was coming.  I only heard from well-meaning empty nesters that my children will grow up fast and I’ll miss these younger days when they are toddling around spooning oatmeal off their highchairs and stuffing pieces of syrupy pancake in the DVD player.  While I’ll admit I enjoyed the crayon-authored Mother’s Day cards and bouquets of dandelions, what kind of parent is sad about their adult children who are successful in their own careers and happy in their own homes?

What did I pay for this second season of life without regret? Boxes of $.33 macaroni and cheese, pancakes, and homemade syrup for days on end because it was cheaper than cereal.  Dress pants for junior high boys from the thrift store and bags upon bags of hand-me-downs from the neighbors.  Cheap shampoo, worn-out minivans, used appliances, and second-hand barn boots bought on eBay. The dollar menu at Mcdonald's was a family favorite, along with boxes of day-old donuts from the neighbor who worked at the local bakery.

I spent my share of time storming the gates of heaven on behalf of my family and our farm. And I wouldn’t trade a single tear for all the gold in the world. It humbled me. It kept me on my knees, and it made me experience the faithfulness of a God whose promises are always yes and amen.  He worked all things together for good, He gave me strength to do all things and He continues to move mountains and do the impossible so that I can speak of His faithfulness and His steadfast love.

Stop with the FOMO. Instead, embrace your family and the path that God wants to lead you down. He will bring you unimaginable joy and the only thing you’ll fear is missing out on what He has planned for you.

Young moms everywhere, your season is coming.  I promise. 

Tromping Around the Wheat Field

 On one of the hottest days of the year, I took my camera and met my son and his intended bride in the wheat field so I could snap a few photos for their engagement announcement.  

Luke and Jessie have been together since 7th grade....that was 2007.  And he finally decided to propose.  She said yes, and we all said....finally!

They will be married in October, but I thought I would post a few of the photos that we took last week!

                             

                                

One Morning in a Pennsylvania Parking Lot

I was putting the last of my things in the car while my husband was checking out of the hotel in Erie, Pennsylvania.  It was Father’s Day and we were headed home from a sale we had attended in New York. 

The beautiful morning sun made for a great start to the day and while I was standing there waiting, a young dad came out and was loading luggage into his pick-up truck.  I said good morning and then curiosity got the best of me and I asked about the sticker on his back window. It said “NVR SMR.”

He encouraged me to guess, so I stood for a few minutes and guessed the first one, never.  And he enthusiastically said, “Yes! You’re so close, you can do this!” And then I blurted out “Summer!  Never Summer!”

He said, “YES!” And then gave me a high five.

Of course the follow up question, “What does that mean?”

He told me it was a brand of snowboards and that he and his family love winter and all the snow sports. We meandered down that path of where he goes, how often he goes and that he and his family should definitely go to the Rocky Mountains and enjoy real powder on real slopes.

He asked if I skied, and I proceeded to tell him about my one downhill skiing experience with my dad in the Rocky Mountains in Montana.  You remember, the one where we stood in line on the bunny hill to get our one skiing lesson from the professional only to have my impatient father say, “We don’ t need lessons, come on, let’s go get on the chairlift and go up to the top.” Of course, I followed because if my dad believed I could do it then I knew I could…. until I got to the top.   The chair lift dumped us off, and I collapsed in a heap and started scrambling to get out of the way of the people behind us getting dumped off.  It was literally all down hill from there and I never went again.

This total stranger obliged my story, laughed with me, noted the confidence I had in my dad and we both recognized the importance of the father role in a family giving his kids encouragement to try new things. He had no idea that my dad had passed away or the enjoyment I received reminiscing over a fun story I hadn’t thought of in years.

I will likely never see this man again, but I walked away thinking how gratifying that five minute conversation was in the hotel parking lot in Erie, Pennsylvania.  That human connection is exactly what we were created for as we traverse our brief time on earth.  Don’t waste the time you’ve been given closing off the rest of the world, instead greet people with a smile, you never know what you might learn or the blessing you will receive. 

Green Meadow Farms: “Where the Latch String is Always Out”

 Green Meadow Farms turns 100 years old this year and, in their generosity, they invited everyone to the farm to celebrate. As they prepared for this day of celebration cleaning up the old barns and pulling out their historical photos and memorials of milestones, they discovered an entire side of Merle Green they had never seen before.

According to a feature in the Michigan Dairy Cattle News, Merle Green was the organization’s founding father, purchasing the original farm at 18 years old with co-signing from his father, who owned a lumberyard. He joined the Holstein Association in 1919 at the age of 14, buying his first heifer calf at 13 when the transaction - including calf shipment - was made through the mail. As they sifted through records, photos, and transactions, they found letters written by Merle for all of his livestock pursuits.

On his Greendale Stock Farm letterhead, a 14-year-old Merle Green wrote a letter to M.J. Prince in Bloomer, Wisconsin trying to sell a choice boar of the litter of his Duroc Jersey Hogs.  He enclosed a pedigree of the hogs and said the mother to these boars was the best brood sow that he had ever owned, and he would sell a pick of the boars for $45.

Did this young Merle Green have any idea of the legacy he would leave in his wake?  Did he know that Greendale Stock Farm now known as Green Meadow Farms would host a century celebration where his efforts would be displayed, and his hard work and tenacity admired? When he was applying for a lifetime membership to the Holstein-Friesian Association of American on February 13, 1919, did he know that Green Meadow Farms would be the largest Registered Holstein Herd in the country?

As a teenager Merle had no idea he would have two sons, Duane and Velmar who would take the leadership of the farm, have a record-holding cow named Green Meadow Lily Pabst, be one of the first farms in the country to install a methane digester while exhibiting champion cattle from Michigan to Tennessee to Tulsa and every state in between.

I’m sure Merle never envisioned a governor who would celebrate his accomplishments, a herd sire flown in from California or thousands of visitors descending on his brick tie-stall barns to witness firsthand the fruits of his decades of labor.

People like Merle take one step at a time as they move toward their dream of owning a farm complete with champion livestock. They aren’t inhibited by fear of failure.  They are not limited by their age nor are they concerned with social norms.

When I visited with Velmar at the centennial celebration, he said there should always be something going, you can’t just stay the same as he pointed to a piece of equipment that was the beginning of a new biodigester with carbon credit technology. They will be one of three farms in Michigan to install this new biodigester.

As the farm continues into the next century under the leadership of Craig and Darcy Green, they will lead the way in adopting new technology while remembering the value in exhibiting cattle, merchandising genetics, and serving the industry on local boards and state associations. 

Green Meadow Farms: “Where the Latch String is Always Out”