Ordinary Faith

Extraordinary miracles point out the need for ordinary faith.

           https://youtu.be/WLdqk8s7er8         

Tom Sawyer

Sometimes I think the Lord orchestrates natural disasters just so Dad and I can have fun. Like this dead tree that fell across West Tensleep Creek up at the cabin. What better way to spend the feast of Pope St. John Paul II than in the mountains playing in the water.

She fell within the past few weeks. Nature can take care of herself, but we thought we better get it out of there before the spring runoff turned the cabin into an island.

She would have looked just like this ole girl. About a 100 footer. 

So we chained up White Horse and strung out as much chain and cable as we could.

The first 1/3 was already broke and came right out.

But the last section had to be cut in half and took a little more encouragement.

No match for these mountain sawyers though.

There's two ways of looking at life, through your good eye or your bad eye. I choose the former. Nothing can happen outside of God's will. That doesn't mean everything is easy. But any disaster can become good if we turn to Him in faith and trust. Experience has taught me that every obstacle is an opportunity. An opportunity for God to bring good out of evil and even make life fun. 

Fired Up

The last thing the world need is timid Christians.

           https://youtu.be/OSgO7Ks3fTo         

 

Pitchfork Ranch

I was telling Dad the other day that I think I've regressed in my feeding technologies. I went from little square bales to a pitchfork. 

Believe it or not, I've spent many hours behind a pitchfork; cleaning pens, strawing beds, and feeding hay. A pitchfork is standard equipment on any ranch. Guys that get good at them can switch hands so they don't wear out their backs. This also allows them to work next to each other in the same truck. Before balers came along, a pitchfork is the only way hay got put up and fed.

I'm not a purist though, I use mechanized muscle when I can. 

The girls don't care how it gets to them as long as it's in front of them. We're now on the down hill slope, only five to go before the first of the year. Then we can go snowmobiling! 

Zoom Out

Patience is more attainable if we think less about immediate results.

           https://youtu.be/633hBzEq2cY         

St. Luke

When I think of St. Luke I think of faithfulness.

           https://youtu.be/kJtOv-R8nFA         

Synod

 Be open and seek the truth.

           https://youtu.be/GcoUJJV6Lz8         

Father Jacob

Jake and I had been planning an October hangout since June. To welcome his arrival from Kansas, our Lord blessed us with a fresh blanket of snow. What a gift. Not what were expecting, but we wouldn't have had it any other way. 

Fr. Jacob and I go way back to seminary in Denver. In fact, I still remember the first time I met him. You might say he has an impressionable personality. About the only person I can think to compare him to is Matt Dillion. Both hail from Dodge City. And both are a force to be reckoned with. Both seek true justice and both know how to work hard and have fun. I appreciated Jake's friendship and encouragement in school. There was no storm he wouldn't endure to help a guy out. Guess some things never change.

He's no stranger to a butcher shop so we spent quite a bit of time at the trailer trading stories. You can tell a lot about a man by how sharp his knives are. Fr. Jacob's are never dull to say the least.

Part of our mission was to process a cow we hung up for him. In no time we had her steaked out and burgered.

With a little extra time on our hands we decided to go frolic in the snow. We had gotten hit with quite a shot, so we thought it might be a good time to get the cows out of the Black Hills. Getting up the hill to Joe's place is a ride Jake will probably never forget. I was impressed White Horse broke trail as good as she did. Once on the hill though, she took a set of tire chains to get backed up to the chute. After that, the three girls walked right in and we brought them home.

While we were at it, we thought we'd trade some slaughtering tips as well.

After so much fun, a cheers was in store. Thanks for popping the top on this new lucky 7s. Just Ledoux It partner.

Wear that hat with pride Jake. You inspired me back then and you continue to do so today. Few people can weather a storm with a smile the way you do. Keep it up. The Church could use a few more cowboys like Father Jacob Schneider.

Saved by Grace

 Dad and I love to skid.

           https://youtu.be/urGKe4j92l0         

Jolly St. John

 It's your Church Lord, I'm going to bed.

           https://youtu.be/7o2xQ_p5UG8         

All In

Is there anything that prevents us from following Jesus with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength? If so, it's time to call Big Iron.

           https://youtu.be/p_xzNFw6eRs         

Diggin' Beets

Raising sugar beets runs deep in our family. My great grandparents came over from the Russia/Germany area in the late 1800's and migrated around the US working in the beet fields. In 1942 Grandpa Adam bought a farm south of Worland and started growing his own sugar beets. Four generations later, the legacy continues.

Growing sugar beets in the Big Horn Basin has been around since 1905. But at the turn of the millennium  the Worland factory was about to call it quits. So in 2002 the farmers banded together, along with local investors, to buy the factory and form Wyoming Sugar Company. Today, WSC is a 100% grower owned cooperative. 

In the early days, digging beets was a chore. Back then, the measure of a man was how many tons of beets you could shovel.

Over the years tractors replaced shovels. A three row digger was the norm in the 60’s and 70's.

In the 80's, six row pullers were the most common and Lungren's would run two in a field.

It was always a family affair: Dad and Uncle Vance.

During the 90's, us cousins would spend every Saturday we could in the beet field. Even the boys from Rawlins would come up.

Clint and I logged plenty of hours picking up loose beets and throwing them in the trucks.

Today the family digs on. 

And they're still running two old six rows.

Keep on farmin' in a free world partner.

I'm forever thankful for the farmers who have persevered through thick and thin to help sweeten our lives. The sugar is great, but the flavor they bring to the world is irreplaceable. Little draws a man's heart closer to his Creator than dirt. It's where we came from. If we forget that, we loose touch with reality Himself. Life is a beet field, all we have to do is dig it.