Workin' for Working Ranch

Just droppin' a note to say that I'm gonna be blogging for Working Ranch magazine for a bit to see if it works out. They are a tad skeptical on how many people will actually read it. I was hoping you all could help me out. Just click on the Working Ranch link on my homepage and go to the blog section. Or to make things easy just click here. So mosey on over and take a gander and help a greenhorn writer out.

Stock Tank Memories

I was always a little jealous of them city kids when I was young. Their parents bought them pool passes. They got to ride their bikes on pavement while I was forced to ride through boulder sized gravel. Any time they wanted to hang out they just walked across the street. There was no waiting for Mrs. Melon to stop tying up the party line to call your buddies. Then there was the 2 mile bike ride or 1 mile as the crow flies walk to meet up. Naw, them city kids had it made.

Lookin' back though I don't think I'd trade them suicide rides down a gravel road hill for pavement. I bet not many a city kid ever got to jump 20 ft into a heap of silage. How many of them high-rise hayseeds got to swim and fish in their pool. Now, don't get me wrong. I'm sure they had their share of fun, but so did I.

Captain Green Thumbs

I have to say that I am somewhat proud of my garden this year. It's nothing to make Toby Tobin (I'm sorry, but that can't be his real name.) proud, but I stuck with it the whole year. I know the year isn't done yet, but I'm already thinking of next year, e.g. small electric fence posts are no substitute for tomato cages and a dog will probably do a better job of keeping the critters out than peeing a perimeter every evening. A friend was telling me of a way to raise vegetables year round on fish poop. That'll add to my gardening experimentation for next year. Hopefully when I don't have any leftover onions next spring the guild won't revoke my card. I still need it for a discount at the video store.

Jeep for Sale

My boss has recently decided to part with his beloved Jeep. It's a 1991 Grand Wagoneer with 399, 000 miles. He was hoping to make the 400, 000 mark, but upon turning 80 he decided that a more reliable vehicle might make for a wiser means of transportation. I have to say that I am disappointed. I'm not sure if I'll be able to recognize him coming down the road anymore. I've seen him in other vehicles and it's just not the same. I was for sure that the only way that Jeep and he part would be when the good Lord took either one of them. Which reminds me of a good joke. His wife was asked by a friend who wrote obituaries what she would want for her husbands. She quickly replied, "McKie died." Her friend reminded her that there is a five word minimum. She responded, "Jeep for sale." I guess she's gonna have to think of a different three words.

SN103TW Chronicles

In the fall of 2007, Kirk, the manager at the ranch, was kind enough to give me one of his heifers, SN103, from that Spring's calf crop. I bred her myself, A.I.'d her that is (insert joke here) to Big Sky, gave her her full tag #, SN103T, and had a bull calf (SN103TV) with a little help from Kirk. Calf and mom are doing well. Had I been doing this blog at the time I probably would have started then, but instead I will update you time to time on her second calf and follow him/her wherever he or she ends up. Hopefully I will get a good heifer so I can continue this for a few years to come. I'll start where all life starts: conception. Here is Mr. 248T going out to do what he does best. The second pregnancy is the hardest to get so stay tuned for the rest of the story come Fall and preg checking.

Rodeo Bible Camp

Last weekend I had the opportunity to be a team leader for 8 guys at a F.C.C. (Fellowship of Christian Cowboys) Rodeo Bible Camp. It was the junior camp ages 10-13. I've been doing the camp for the last 9 years off and on, only missing a couple of years. I have to say that I thoroughly enjoy each camp and the people, adults and campers, that I've met. I've been limited to just the Jr. camps the last few years. It's just three days long and on the weekend so only one full day off of work is needed. I have a limited amount of vacation time and long to spend most of it with my family.

This year's camp was pretty standard. I had all the guys. There were eight. There were 29 girls. Girls love their horses. Trick riding seems to be the biggest draw. Horsemanship is second, esp. in the Jr. camp, and the timed events vary year to year. I had three ropers, Fynn, Tommy, and Brody; four steer riders, Lane, Logan, Ryan, and Justice; and one trick rider Franklin. I had Lane, Fynn, and Franklin last year. The rest of the guys were all new. Tommy was the son of a neighbor, Tracy Hines, that I grew up with. They seemed like they were all good kids.

I wish I had done things a bit different as far as my discipleship of them went, but between Ty, Ronnie, the instructors, and myself the gospel was presented. Now the ball is in their court. I hope that if they read this they will know that I will be praying for them and hoping to see them again next year or even before that. I hope they follow the advice offered in 1 John 2:15. This world is passing and there is only one guarantee in life: death. I hope everyday they ask themselves where their priorities lie and where their heart is. I hope they got the message that where you hang your hat for eternity doesn't depend on how good you are, how much money you put in the collection plate, how much you go to church, read your bible or even pray. I hope that they realize their only hope is in Christ.

A famous missionary once said, "He is no fool that gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." Give all you can guys. Give your heart and know that Christs' blood on the cross and his resurrection are the only guarantee. It's not about you and your righteousness. Religion is hell. Christ is life, peace, and freedom. God bless.

Crazy Cale's Clefty Club Calves

Get 'em while they're hot!

A Thought

As I was trying to build an electric fence with heifers in the the pasture I had a thought or a money making scheme if you will. I'm gonna copyright the phrase "stupid heifer". Of course I'll have to copyright all associated phrases such as "dumb heifer", "ignorant heifer", "idiot heifer", and many others that I will refrain from listing. I figure I'll be a millionaire overnight.

No more Sundays

Yes, it has been a while, but nevertheless I am back with more adventurous tales from the wild, wild west. Well, more like normal normalness from eastern Kansas, but that's not quite as exciting is it?

Anywho, it has been a long three weeks. We did our last branding on Saturday and moved some cattle around and got them to breeding pastures Monday. Kirk and I spent yesterday and probably the next couple of days rebuilding a fence that a tornado remodeled a month of so ago. I've heard on the news that it was only an F0 or maybe an F1. I can't imagine the power of an F5.

The final move of the chess match will be the bulls going out on Thursday. We put four out with our heifers last week after we A.I.'d them. Artificial Insemenation is the reason this has been a long few weeks. I have to say that we have much improved from last year. We got a new chute with a palpation door. Previously we used what you call a dark box. It's basically just a cage with a tarp over it. We would run them in and Shorty would shove a pipe behind them to hold them. We did 300 heifers last year this way and I don't know how we did it. Most of the time they wouldn't go all the way in on their own so we would have to jump in behind them and shove them forward so the pipe could get behind their legs. As you can imagine you were kicked and smashed quite a bit and them you'd have to try and A.I. as they jumped around. Using a chute was so nice. Their was no jumping around. The worst that happend was a tail in your face or getting caught in your gun.

Soon all the spring work will be done. The bulls will be out. The culls will be sold and hay season will begin. Before I know it Fall will be here and I'll be choring everyday, so right now I'll just be thankful that I dont' have to work Sundays.

Chicken Fried Steak and a Branding

Spring is here. The grass is starting to grow. The trees are blooming. More importantly, branding time is here. The babies are almost all born and ready to go. Our cattle are divided into calving groups and spread across several pastures. Last week, the heifer pasture was all calved out and ready to be worked. Kirk and I put in a few calls and rounded up some help and we were ready to go.

Saturday turned out to be a perfect day. It had rained on Thursday night into Friday morning. Before we could bring the heifer pasture down we needed to move some first calf heifers out of the way. Kirk and I were going to move them on Friday, but the creek was now up and them babies are hard enough to get across when it's down so we decided to wait until Saturday.

As I said, the babies are always a problem when moving pairs, especially with first time mothers leading them. Our crew did well though. I had to run the feedwagon first thing and move a group of yearlings to another pasture so I had to watch helplessly from the tractor. After a little cussing, a lot of running, and a horse that decided he would rather go for a swim than work Kirk, my brother Ty, a friend Jay, and Shorty got the heifer pairs moved. I brought the yearlings across and we were set to bring the pairs down from the heifer pasture.

The rest of the day went smooth. We had no problems bringing the mommas and the new crop of calves on their first move. Experienced mothers tend to lend to this. The working pens were pretty dry considering the rain Thursday night. There were still a few bogs so Kirk worked the gate and I sorted the cows off horseback. I have to brag on my horse. Despite me, she's turned out pretty good. She's getting fun to ride. Don't worry though Tim, I won't camp on her.

We got the babies worked and headed to town for lunch. We thought about working the cows first, but hopping on a horse with a full belly is not ideal. Some ground work to let the chicken fried steak settle a bit is a wise choice.

The cows were run through and paired up with their bawling babies. Reunited and it feels so good. We let them settle a bit and did a count to make sure all is well. Jay and Ty needed to go soon, so we let the pairs sit and rode south and took 72 fall cows to the north end of the ranch. We split them into two pastures and headed back to headquarters. Jay, Shorty, and Ty had to leave so Kirk and I were left to run the freshly worked pairs down south. We ran them under the turnpike and to their new home with no problem and called it a day. I always love it when a plan comes together.

I can do it!!!!!!!!!!

I have to brag on my little man. As parents we have all heard these words from our children. "I'll do it." "I can do it all by myself." You may, as I have, denied them the chance as you try and speed things up. "I can do it", is the usual reply. Hudson was with me in the tractor the other day and was insistent upon shutting the door after we got in all by himself. Finally I gave in. The door is pretty stiff and I thought he couldn't do it. What do I know. He tried at first to simply grab and pull as he observed me doing. He couldn't close it. Did he then feel sorry for himself and ask me to help or to close the door for him? No, observe.

As I observe this independent spirit in my kids I hear the words of Christ, "Unless ye become like little children...". I also have to wonder why does time kill this self-motivated will in us adults? Perhaps it's the uninhibited nature in children that makes this possible. They have yet to care or think about what happens if they fail. They have yet to learn to use their peers as a mirror for their own self worth. I really believe he just wanted to be more like dad.

As you read the Old Testament, you see the gradual shift from an independent and self-motivated desire to be free and judge yourself according to an inner standard that calls and leads us, to the desire to be ruled, protected, and cared for by our fellow man. In Genesis, Abraham is called by God to leave his country and his people to go as God leads. In Exodus, Moses leads a people out of captivity that constantly desire to go back for the security of food and shelter. In Judges the people did, "what was right in their own eyes", but still sought a ruler amongst their own, e.g. Gideon. He told them, "Let the Lord rule over you." After Judges you have 1 Samuel where Israel demands a king. God through Samuel tells them, "...he will take your sons and appoint them to himself...he will take a tenth of your sheep...you will cry out in that day because of the king you have chosen; and the Lord will not hear you in that day." Israel wanted to be, "...like all the nations," to have a king to judge them and "to fight our battles.

Don't misunderstand. We all need help. God removed many kings whose "hearts were lifted up." However there is a huge difference in wanting help and wanting someone to do the task at hand for us. Before we set out to do the impossible, we must remember God has created us for a purpose. After we have done the impossible we must remember that God has created us.

Proverbs 24:30-34

I have some helpful advice for all my fellows in the guild of lazy gardeners. Are you troubled by grass and weeds? Does the mere thought of travailing under the July sun with hoe in hand make you weak kneed? Is the beckoning call of the couch, an air-conditioned house, and watching Die Hard 2 for the twenty-fifth time too much to overcome? Fear not! A great truth has been revealed unto me. Let the grass grow. Let the shade of the weeds shelter thine onions. What's that you say? You canst not find thine onions amidst the weeds. Thine carrot tops have been vanquished? Fear not! The grass will brown and the weeds will stop. Runnest thou the mower over thine crop and wait, and fear not. Spring will come after the snow, and lo, there appearest thine onions and carrots, preserved in the ground where the frost toucheth them not. Dig then my hearty fellow! Dig not as the fool who labours forth in the summer heat, but dig now after being well rested for the summer, fall, winter, and the early spring, and enjoy thy bountiful crop of soggy onions!

In hot pursuit of some meaning

I'm sure many of you think inspiring romantic thoughts of the cowboy life. I once did and still do. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy what I do, but my naivete has been waining over the last five years as I have discovered a great truth: No matter what you do in life, it eventually becomes work. One of my favorite speakers, Ravi Zacharias often quotes G.K. Chesterton saying, "meaninglessness does not come from being weary of pain, rather meaninglessness comes from being weary of pleasure". As I wrote before in a previous post, I used to watch people drive by on I-70 and think, "suckers stuck in the rat race." The task at hand yesterday made me feel very ratlike.

To pelvic check or not pelvic check? That's not a question, but a necessity unless you enjoy chasing a frantic heifer at 2 a.m. in January with half a calf stuck out of her back end . Pelvic checking is done to ensure that a heifer will have enough room to heave one out. Although this doesn't guarantee that you will never have to, in the words of Roscoe P. Coltrane, be in hot pursuit and assist the poor struggling first time mother, it does help decrease the chances of that late night rendezvous with the calf puller and very cold hands.



The ratness of pelvic checking is the monotony. We did 135 heifer yearlings yesterday and that took about 6 hours. The routine goes like this. The heifer gets in the chute, George (the vet) measures her, we do the math, old ear tags are cut off, if she's big enough Kirk writes down her weight, #, measurement, etc., I vaccinate her, deworm her, and give her a new tag. Kirk also takes a chunk of her ear that is sent off to a lab to see if she is P.I. positive (persistently infected w/B.V.D. (bovine viral diarrhea)) (Is it grammatically correct to have this many parentheses?)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

Anywho, I know that I have probably lost you by now so I'll stop with the details. My point is that I don't see how some can do the same thing over and over, day in and day out. Part of what I love about this job is the variety. One day we are horseback. The other I might be putting up hay. I have a friend who works at a GM assembly plant. He says his job varies day to day, but there are guys there who do the same thing every day and they've been doing it for twenty years. We all dream about what our life would be like if we had this career, lived in this location, had this house, or whatever our little hearts can imagine other than what we have. This idea of greener grass has pervaded the hearts of mankind through out the ages. Paul writes, "...for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, to be content." Evidently the only cure is a learned one. Apparently these assembly line fellas have learned this lesson, or they are scared of change. Either way I have found the joy in the balance. I do enjoy a change of the routine, yet there is something to be said for a little stick-with-it-ness. (Is that a word? It is now). Once again, Paul sums it up best. "Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God: And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance; for ye serve the Lord Christ."

Mr. Robbinson

A chill wind was blowing yesterday. I'm pretty sure that it wasn't the wind Mr. Robbins talks so Shakespearean about. Bundled up, coffeed up, and fed up (not a good idea when spending a day on a young and rough riding horse) we set out to grab some pairs in the Graf pasture that will be shipped on Friday. We had a couple of stray pairs that didn't belong, so after we cut them out we headed on out. Inevitably a couple of calves made their way to the wrong side of the fence. Naturally they didn't do so well finding their way back. After 30 minutes or so of throwing a lot of empty loops, we managed to get them back to momma. The rest of the trip went smooth and no more inept roping was needed on my part.

We made it to the pen and sorted of some stray heifer yearlings that came over from the north for a visit as a result of the previous night's rain that shorted out the electric fence. Another couple of light pairs were sorted off and replaced with some from a different pasture. Now we were ready to seperate the calves and work the cows.

As I mentioned before I was riding my younger horse Cooper. At times he goes by many names. B. S. is one of them. (Big and slow, what did you think that stood for?) He's good for gathering in the pasture, but painfully slow in the cutting pen. Part of the problem is my legs are too long to spur well, that and I need to add an L to the BS. I bet you can figure out what the L stands for. We got the job done though and in the end that's what matters most.

The cows were worked and reunited with their babies and put out to pasture to await the truck on Friday. The day help gathered their horses and scedaddled perty quick (I think they had had enough of the chill wind), and I went home, took the family to dinner at the Chinese/Mexican restaurant, had a hot shower, and finished the day on the Homemedics massaging back cushion (stupid horse). All in all a good day down on the Tailgate Ranch.

Ruled by nutz

I haven't had many deep thoughts lately, so I thought I might wade over to the shallow waters and discuss everyday life. Kirk and I took the bulls to the doc yesterday to make sure their man skills are up to par. The skills are summed up as a recent e-mail joke goes, "The geography of a man: Between 1 and 70 a man is like Iran, ruled by nuts." I guess what we did yesterday could be called the Laura's Lean Beef test.

I accidentally loaded a bull that we weren't planning on using, but I guess God looks out for those who aren't thinking. For lack of a theological description, we'll just call it the Forrest Gump clause. Turns out that bull had an infection and was only shooting straight half the time. The Forrest Gump clause can make those of us who invoke it look perty darn sharp. That is if we weren't dumb enough to be honest about it. (Of course I won't mention that I poured him on so we can't sell him for 45 days. Oops, did I say that out loud?)

Considering only one bull got rowdy after he was on the trailer I'd say things went well. Well, of course that now we are down 3 bulls maybe not, but I can always find something to be thankful for. One, I didn't get run over. Two, I work for the ranch and don't own the ranch, hence I don't have to buy 3 new bulls. Now if that isn't a congressional way of looking at life I don't know what is.

Get along little dawgies

This July of 09 will mark my fifth year at Tailgate Ranch. Upon my entrance into the cowboy culture I was very excited, but also very much a dude. The first time I was working horseback I was in the north turnpike. This is a pasture that I-70 runs right through. I remember watching all the cars drive by and thinking, "Suckers stuck in the rat race that have to work for a living."

Not me though. I got to be John Wayne. However, as the green has worn off I have learned a very important lesson for all of us daydream believers: Whatever you do in life eventually becomes work. Now, don't get me wrong. I am happy to punch a few cows on a sunny 60 degree day.

At 3.am. when it's 2 degrees out with a windchill of minus 20 and I've got my arm shoved up a cranky heifer...

well, you get the point.

Nothing to draw with

If you've never read My utmost for His highest by Oswald Chambers I highly recommend it. The book was given to me by my pastor, David Moore, when I graduated from high school. The daily devotional pretty much collected dust for the first ten years I had it. It had always been too convicting for me. For the last three years I have come to the end of me and decided to pick it back up again. I can't believe what a fool I was. I'm amazed on how we think we can fool God by hiding from our convictions. I guess for years I thought I could turn off God like a radio sermon or put him on a shelf like I did with this book.

Chambers amazes me on how he gleans so much from such as half a sentence of scripture. Today's entry is no exception. He says it better than I can so..."misgivings about Jesus start from the amused questions put to us when we talk of our transactions with God - Where are you going to get your money from? How are you going to be looked after? Or they start from ourselves when we tell Jesus that our case is a bit too hard for Him. It is all very well to say "Trust in the Lord," but a man must live, and Jesus has nothing to draw with - nothing whereby to give us these things.

Recently I am rereading Rebel with a cause. It's Franklin Graham's autobiography. When I was twenty something, Joni Qualls, a woman who went to church with my mom gave me this book. She said God told her to. She said she was walking on her treadmill when God spoke. I figured God really spoke or it was a low blood sugar level. I'll go with God.

I read the book. I wasn't a big reader. I think at this point in my life I had read about three books. That doesn't count all the jacket summaries I read in high school for book reports. (How did the English teacher know?) Anywho, nothing jumped out of me at the time.

Recently I've been obsessed with Islam. I'm driving my wife crazy with the documentaries I make her watch. I'm in the process of reading the Koran with a blog commentary. Recently in my search for all things Islam I came across The devil came on horseback. It's about retired marine captain Brian Steidle that became an unarmed military observer of the cease fire in Sudan. I know as Americans we are bombarded with so many save Africa campaigns that we have become numb. However, Steidle's pictures spoke to me. That lead me to pick up Rebel with a cause again. Franklin speaks of an idea called Godroom. He learned from a man named Bob Pierce. Bob taught him that God will only work when we have reached the limit of our capabilities. He says that if he senses that God has showed him a need that needs to be met, he has to step out in faith and allow God room to work. Chambers really speaks to that point today. I'm not sure where God is calling me. My wife and I have talked about traveling the world. We both agree that we can't use missions work as an excuse to fulfill our geographic fantasies. That wouldn't work. However as I watched Steidle's documentary I couldn't help but have the desire to pick up my rifle and my bible and head to Sudan. One point in the documentary really moved me. Brian and his sister were talking with an older gray headed gentleman who looked like he was 70, but probably around 50. He was crying as he thanked Brian for what America has done to help. "You are the only ones who come, " he said. "We are muslim and no muslim country ever comes to help." His gratitude is what makes me want to help. Of the many sins listed in the bible, ungratefulness is listed right along with adultery and drunkenness. I believe that is our biggest sin in America. God has blessed us and we have forgotten to thank Him. I'm so sick and tired of America being portrayed as the bully. Yes, we aren't perfect, but I still believe we are a light on the hill for the world. If you don't believe me just wait. The day is coming when America will be no more. Hindsight will truly be 20/20.

Whether we are forced to go oversees because of discord here or if we simply hear the call I don't know. God has blessed me and my family immensely. I don't believe God blesses us with seed so we can store it. We are to spread it out and tend to it and watch it grow. God has blessed us here in America like no other nation in history. Hopefully we will scatter the seed before he scatters us.

Dumper Update

I found a phone number on one of the bills I found, so I called it. The woman who answered sounded much too old to be a wife or girlfriend so I'll assume it was mom, although I did hear a baby in the background. She seemed suspicious or maybe even wary at first. When I asked to speak to (Let's call him Bob) she acted as though he was right there. I told her my first name only and then she said he wasn't there. I played the innocent and said that I had found some of Bob's things along the road and thought that he might want them back. Overly elated she thanked me for calling. I knew we were speaking the same language. I explained where the trash was. She said that he used to live by there, and the person that moved into his old house probably found some of his stuff and they were the ones that dumped it in the ditch. Yes, this must be true. It was a setup. The new owners convienently placed the bills with Bob's info on it to throw the bloodhounds off the trail. She then continued to thank me for calling and I continued to act concerned about Bob's heirlooms in the ditch. She then said that Bob wouldn't be back for a while (hmmmm, jai...naaa). She said with a very pity-seeking tone that maybe she could come get the stuff. She then skipped hinting around and asked me if I could just pick it up (and I might and then bring it to her only to get a pic). However, I will give them time and see what happens. I've pondered send out a calling schedule to concerned citizens who could take turns calling and letting them know they found Bob's stuff. For now I'll give them a chance.

Takin' a dump

I'm not by any means a radical environmentalist, but there are certain eco violations that just piss me off. Dumping your crap along the road is one of them. I live in a rural area and I have pulled more than my fair share of trash bags out of the creeks and ditches than I'd like. I always put on the latex gloves, open them up and see if I can find the long lost owner. I've had a couple of gold strikes in the last couple of days that need to be shared with the world. If I can figure out how to do it, I'll be posting a wall of shame for my local dumpers.

I have to admit that of all the trash I've picked up, most people are smart enough to remove anything with their name on it. One person even took the time to cut out their name and address from several bills. I can almost admire that. Hmmm, I wonder if they put that much effort into it if it would be easier to just burn their trash or call a disposal service? But hey, I have yet to soar to their depths of thought. I suppose that I could give them the benefit of the doubt that it fell off their truck. Nah.

By the time I get to Phoenix

Yesterday was a rough day. I'm probably going to have to stop listening to talk radio. I was rolling out a bale of hay and had a thought. Wouldn't it be great if all I ever had to think about was feeding these cows and trying to make a living to support my family? But no, I have to worry that congress will bankrupt this country with the "stimulus package". I'm thinking great, now I have to go home, get on the net, and read this thing. Then I hear it's over 1000 pages long. The people who I elect to read these bills don't even have time to read it, but hey, let's just vote yes anyway. I hear that drug wars continue to spill over from Mexico and that freakin' Phoenix, AZ is the #2 city in the world for kidnappings. No need to worry about that though, we just elected the AZ gov to head homeland security. I think I've heard it said before if I can't trust you with the little responsibilities, then you just need bigger ones. No, I'm not sure if that is...

Anywho, I could go on and on. I think that you get my point.

Yes, I am a republican. I am a conservative. Above all though I am a Christian. Perhaps I need to find a new word. I heard a preacher say he asked 14 people in a week's time if they were Christians. They all said yes. He said that he needed to ask a different question.

I've toyed around with calling myself an adopted Jew. That would probably take too much of an explanation, but that I don't mind. What bothers me is that I would probably be labeled a racist. Oh well. Christian will have to do.

What I mean when I say that I am a Christian is God is the center of my world. More specifically Jesus Christ. This is the reason I don't have to worry about all the afore mentioned problems. Does that mean I can take an ostrich's view of the world? No, obviously not.

There are two traditional lines of thought here. Conservatives tend to think that with hard work and the right decisions in life, one can pull themselves up by the bootstraps. Liberals tend to believe that one's success in life does depend on working, but for some reason, luck has a part in it as well. I think that they are both wrong. Both political ideologies in a secular sense lead to the same end: achievement in this world. Liberals think that you need help beyond yourself, conservatives don't. Wait a minute. Maybe I'm more of a liberal than I thought. I know that I am stereotyping here, but for this arguments' sake, generalizations will have to do. We can hash out the details in the comments section.

I believe that there is only one God. That would make the most sense, right? Who would want to work for a company with two CEOs with equal power? A house divided cannot stand. Next, we would have to reason that this God would have to reveal himself to humanity in order to hold man accountable for knowing Him. "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse." Romans 1:20 I know that I need to go into more thought here, but this will suffice for the purposes of my point.


What is the point of living? Why are we here? Jesus said that in order to see the kingdom of God we must become like little children. No one asks why more than a child. Why do we stop asking why? Perhaps we stop because we think we have the why figured out.



The reason why I am here is to serve God. I'm here to serve Christ. He saved me. Christ didn't come to make bad people good. He came to make dead people alive. We are dead to God. That's the problem. We are eternal. If you don't believe that ask yourself why doctors can't resurrect people. Why can't a doctor give someone who's had a heart attack a new heart and jolt him back to life? A car can sit in a field for years and I can resurrect it. A car has no soul. We do.



So why am I still here? Why can't heaven begin today? I have a job to do. I have to tell a dead world that there is life out there if they want it. I have to be specific and exclusive. All roads don't lead to Baltimore. Nor do they to God.



The world is falling. Christ knows this. He loves me. I'm His son. He has promised to take care of me. Read Luke 21. The worst thing that can happen here is that I die. This world and all that is in it is temporary, both pleasure and pain. We are meant for eternity.

Ain't Skeeeered

The other day I was driving out to check on my calves when I began to ponder how well these particular heifers were calving out. For all of you with a non-ag background a heifer is a cow that has not had her first calf. When they are bred they are commonly called first calf heifers. Calving out heifers is not just a job. It's an adventure. To say the least they are high maintenance. Bred heifers make me feel like Homer Simpson when he finds a rare caterpillar in his backyard. The EPA forces him to care for it and one of its attributes is that it's sexually attracted to fire. I think that heifers are sexually attracted to stupid.

Anywho, let's get back on point. As I began to ponder how well this heifer experience was going I began to fear to have that thought too loudly. The superstition began to creep in. Christ talked of fear frequently. "...do not fear those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul." "Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows." Fear not was a common preamble for Jesus. What made me fear being glad calving was going well? What a ridiculous fear to have. I was behaving as though the world was ran by an omnipresent boogie man whose only goal was to make life miserable for as many people as possible. The only problem is that Mr. Boogie is incredibly inept. He can only perceive life is good if you let the cat out of the bag. "So, you like when calving time is going well, ay? I'll fix that, ha ha ha ha ha!"

As I now began to ponder Mr. Boogie instead of calving I began to realize how mentally retarded I was to think this way. I began to see how fear can rob you of your joy. I began to realize why scripture addresses fear so much. I began to understand what FDR meant.

Now, I'm not a health and wealth guy. I do know bad times will come and bad things will happen. I also know that worrying about them won't stop them. "Which one of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?" I know that I am secure in Christ. I am built upon the rock. The rain descended, floods came, and the wind blew on both houses. The difference was the foundation.

"Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the LORD guards the city, the watchmen stay awake in vain." Psalm 127:1

"For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:38-39

The end of me

I sit here waiting for the inspiration to come. Will today be just another day? Right now I am wishing I had a great and profound idea to share with the world. I am trying to think of some wisdom to share or some great truth God has revealed through me, but I am coming up short. God says that he loves those with a humble and contrite spirit. Perhaps that is the reason for my block. Perhaps God needs to empty me right now of myself so I can see who I am without ideas given by Him. What will I fill my vessel with today? Will I seek to make myself an enemy of God by desiring the friendship of the world? Will I be wise enough to see and to trust Him to work through me in the ordinary of today? What kind of father will I be today? What kind of husband will I be today? What kind of friend and servant will I be today? Will I waste today on me alone?

I am empty right now, but am confident I am set apart for a purpose and confident that God will work that purpose out in me today even though I can't feel or see that purpose at this moment. I know that my life is bigger than this moment as I anticipate what God will use me for today.

A Gale force

Gale Shelton is a man who will always be a legend in my mind. I grew up in a small rural town and Gale was a neighbor. I went to school with his boys and we all went to church together. Gale was a worker. That's what I remember most about him. He did a variety of jobs. No job was too big or too small. I can't really even give you a title. He just flat out got after it.

One title he did hold was the janitor at our church. I think the man showed up at 6 a.m. every Sunday. I remember thinking as a kid, "Who gets up that early on a Sunday?". Man, I still think that. I think Gale had his bed rigged to prop up and drop him into those trademark coveralls at 5 a.m. with a cup of coffee in one hand and a shovel in the other ready to get after it. He always was in his work clothes and always was driving an old van or truck that he drove about 90 m.p.h. down gravel roads loaded to the hilt with plumbing, electrical, carpentry, and anything else that you can imagine to fix whatever it was that needed fixing. You could call Gale for anything at anytime. I remember one time our stove went out in January. A blizzard had just hit and it had to be 3 degrees out. Gale showed up at 8 p.m. with an old stove he got from who knows where, converted it from natural gas to propane, helped me set it up, and hauled our old stove off. He charged me $50.

To me Gale was and still is an inspiration. This country has a lot of problems. I hear a lot of talk from a lot of people about what we should do to fix them. I haven't talked to Gale in a few years, but I imagine if he were president his stimulus package would be an alarm clock that went off at 5 a.m., the desire to serve others before yourself, and big match attached to our backside.

"...let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need."