small town shoppin'...
i usually only go shopping at the local supermarket if absolutely necessary or if i see a few good sale items in the ad. last week they had strawberries and raspberries for only $1.50, way less than anywhere in poky. however, there are other items that are outrageously priced and must be for those desparate people who can't/won't drive to the "big" city to hit up winco. anyway...one thing about grocery shopping in my little town is that they always have a bag-boy who is also the one who brings your purchases to your car. at first, it's a little embarassing having a shy teenage boy walk with you to the car, pushing your cart. however, today i was thinking you know, this is kinda cute and it's great service that they can't offer at the bigger stores in bigger cities. so even though i only got 3 gallons of milk and one bag-full of items, i was provided with service with a smile:) made me smile today:)

i don't understand...
yeah, there's a lot i don't understand about life right now, but let me just vent about one of them. conrad works his butt off doing the absolute best job a person can do on all his crops. he gives up sleep, time with me, health, financial security, etc. to do what he loves and provide a service to everyone who likes to eat. his dad does a less than mediocre job, always running late (still hasn't planted his barley, maybe won't...), makes insurance claims that in my mind are fraudulent (90% of the time), takes advantage of people (his favorite being his own son), and yet gets away with it all. the hail that hit yesterday demolished conrad's spring wheat crop. the fall wheat is okay, but was also hit hard. the beets look as if someone shot holes in all the leaves (but they will be resilient b/c of the stage they're in/chemicals conrad's putting on). his dad's stuff is so late that it wasn't at all affected by the hail. once again, saved by mediocrity. what is up with this??? isn't there a verse in the Bible about the wicked being prosperous? i know it only means prosperity in this life, and i'm not calling his dad wicked through and through...but. grrrr. sometimes i question things that happen to conrad and i and wonder when (if ever) things will be normal...having a family, financial stability, him reaping the rewards of the excellence he displays in everything he does. i do know i am tremendously blessed in a lot of ways: an amazing husband, an awesome family, great friends, wonderful kids (jack and gracie lou), a beautiful home (though we've comtemplated more than once whether we can keep it or not), and lots of freedoms. one of these days things will look brighter......i've gotta stay believin'. there's my rant and rave, and believe it or not, i held back:)

something to lift the mood...
The owner of a drug store walks in to find a guy leaning heavily against a wall. The owner asks the clerk, "What's with that guy over there by the wall?" The clerk says, "Well, he came in here this morning to get something for his cough. I couldn't find the cough syrup, so I gave him an entire bottle of laxative." The owner says, "You idiot! You can't treat a cough with laxatives!" The clerk says, "Oh yeah? Look at him, he's afraid to cough!"

HAHA!! i needed a laugh tonight:)

my hot farmer man...
in case no one has guessed...and i probably don't say it enough...i am absolutely amazed by and in love with my farmer husband. he's such a hard worker--persistent, demonstrates endurance, and focused. this shows when one looks at his fields. the crops look GREAT this year. they do every year, but there's just something about this year that makes us think that the yields will beat his last 4 years. the rain has been a blessing from God...usually we're paying thousands a month for power to irrigate/crossing our fingers that the dry farm wheat won't burn up/hoping for time together since conrad has to watch and move irrigation systems. this year, he hasn't even turned the irrigation on at the malt barley field, and it looks amazing! God blessed this field, as well, because about 6 weeks ago, conrad and i went to look at it and the dirt was crusted over, inhibiting the seeds from breaking out of the ground. we dug and saw that they had sprouted, but the hard dirt was making them curl back over and stay under. conrad called around and tried an option that was the last resort before reseeding ($3000 just for seed! thank God he didn't have to do it twice!). we were praying this would do the trick and it did! conrad went last week to check on the crop and said he started laughing when he pulled up. i had the same response monday night when we went to see it...here's a few pictures...i think the landscape is just beautiful. he has some barley under a pivot (the round part in the backround) and some under wheel-lines. this is just one of his amazing fields:) thank you, God for your blessing on his farming this year!!

the freshness of it all...
today we went to church at the church conrad grew up in. it's had its share of trials...splits, lack of commitment, etc. attendance has been pretty meager since i can remember going with conrad while we were dating. i've never preferred the worship...old style, slow, everyone sits down. and though the messages are good and the people are sincere, i'll admit i've had a bit of compassion because i know of the trials, but also a bad attitude about me not getting fed when i go there. i've been convicted about it over that last year or two----believe it or not, it's not all about me...who woulda thought?? they got a new pastor about a year ago and he's done an amazing job of bringing what's left of the congregation together, and also in outreaching to the community. a couple followed him to idaho to do youth ministry. the open gym on friday nights has gone from 4 to 40. teens are hungry for positive relationships and for Jesus. there was probably 75 people there today...the most i've ever seen for a sunday morning church service. this is up from the usualy 15-20 a year ago and has been a regular amount for a few months now. there was a special speaker/singer there today who was very in tune with the holy spirit and did a mix of singing songs she and her songwriter have written and talking about different aspects of God/patriotism/etc. people were very touched. i saw some old christians wiping away tears, but most of us sat there and enjoyed the beat of the music (how sad is that...?). what touched me was the response from some of the people who have begun attending this church in the past 6 months or so. grown men weeping, a mother who had come to watch her 14 yr old get baptized got a special word from God, and the overall positive response to the altar call. PEOPLE ARE HUNGRY!! basically what i've been thinking, without going on all day, is that after years of walking with the Lord, i've become complacent. i don't think i'm the only one. we sit in our little church seats and do our weekly "duty" by gracing the church with our presence, paying our tithe (well, studies show 3% of us do) and give ourselves a pat on our back. this is NOT what it's all about. yeah, we have our little "highs" but those are all about us. what if we all started doing things because of JESUS??......reaching out, bringing people, getting involved in our church so we can have programs, speaking positively about our church family, praying faithfully for our leaders, etc, etc. i'm so sick of people (myself included) complaining, but yet not doing anything to change the situation. satan loves complaining, especially about the church/pastor/body, because it makes us weak, individually and corporately. God, bring back the excitement of sharing my faith in you, give me a passion for my little town and for my big town, help me to be a good example, help me to speak positively of my church body and leaders, and help me to draw people to you!!!! because it sure isn't about me.

okay, there's a wee bit of my soap box.....