A View From The Earth

Believe it or not, it is Saturday and I'm not at work! This is the first Saturday that I've been off since October and I will be having Sunday off also. I knew that there were going to be some weekend work when I took this job but I didn't think that there was going to be quite this long of a stretch. But we did get a whole bunch of acres of dry fertilizer applied this fall, in total it was about 30,000 acres. That isn't too bad for a single coop location.

Our front yard after the snow had fallen. Starting yesterday, Tuesday, December 8th, snow started falling and didn't stop until this afternoon, I would say that we ended up with about a foot of snow. The wind picked up and we got a bunch of blowing snow which has made the roads impassable. As a result I didn't make it into work today but I stayed home and worked here. Maybe tomorrow sometime I will make it into work.

My car after the tire encounter. Last Thursday night, September 3rd, I was driving home with my 16 year old daughter and my 10 year old son from the Iowa State football game in Ames, Iowa. While I was cruising down US highway 20, a pickup truck passed me, which in itself isn't unusual because I tend to drive at or slightly above the posted speed instead of 10 miles per hour over it. What was unusual is that the pickup had it's tailgate down and was loaded down with wooden posts which were tied down with a rope, the spare tire was also tied with a rope. Unfortunately, the tire was hanging down over the passenger side edge of the pickup box. As it went by I thought to myself, "There is an accident waiting to happen." A couple of miles later there was suddenly this tire bouncing in my lane. At first I thought it was going to land on the car but I ran into it just as it hit the ground. This caused my car to ramp up onto the tire, then turn over on it's side and ...

The addition at Church of the Saviour in Clermont, Iowa is progressing nicely. The photo above shows the flooring that was salvaged out of an old house in Decorah, Iowa. It matches the flooring in the Church and is of approximately the same age (about a 140 years old). The flooring is leaning against the former exterior stone wall which will remain uncovered when the addition is finished. As one can see, the ceiling is not completed as of yet since the carpenter is now finishing up the outside of the building. In about a month or so, the much anticipated toilet will be installed and flushable, so there won't be any running to the park or the gas station for personal needs.

In loving memory of Beth Patterson Beth is the oldest daughter of a dear friend. She was a light to all that knew her. I am positive that Beth is now listening to the choirs of angels in heaven. Below is her obituary. Beth Marie Patterson, 24, of Elkader, died Sunday, April 26, 2009, at Central Community Hospital in Elkader following a sudden illness. She was born October 4, 1984, at the Delaware County Hospital in Manchester to Brien and Brenda (Rosburg) Patterson. Beth was baptized March 27, 1986, at the Wadena Presbyterian Church and confirmed at the United Methodist Church. She was raised in Wadena (from 1984 through 1996) and Strawberry Point (1997 through 2003); attended Valley and Starmont Schools and graduated from Starmont Community Schools in 2003. Beth was in 4-H for nine years and served on county council for three years and Area Council two years. She was a member of Valley Superiors 4-H Club in Wadena. In 2002, Beth received senior 4-H Volunteer Award. She was a de...

My son Thomas, who has been known to doubt on occasion. This was a sermon that I gave at Jimmy's Cafe in Elgin, Iowa to the congregation of The Church of the Saviour in Clermont, Iowa on April 19, 2009. The service was moved due to construction at the Church. The scripture basis for this message is John 20:19-20:31 Thomas must have felt that he had a bit of a raw deal. For he really missed out on that first Easter Sunday. Thomas must be the definitive everyman, for there is a little bit of him in each of us, and what he missed has much to teach us. Firstly, Peace. “Peace” Jesus said to the disciples in the locked room. What a relief for them, a frightened, persecuted, and bewildered group, hidden away in a locked room “for fear of the Jews”. It could conceivably have been the same upper room that was the site of Christ’s final, most significant teaching: triumph become disaster within only a few days. His first words were “Shalom” – “Peace”. He could have spoken first of his ...

Modeling a hat stolen from one of my daughters. Yep today is my birthday. I'm now a whopping 41 years old and feel like the best years of my life are ahead of me. Of course, my foresight is normally as bad as my eyeballs without glasses but that is besides the point. Anyway, I hope that all have a reflective Ash Wednesday and keep thinking about the important things in life as we move towards Easter.

Steeple at St. Sebald Lutheran Church, rural Strawberry Point, Iowa Here is the sermon that I gave at Church of the Saviour in Clermont, Iowa on November 30, 2008. The scripture that formed the basis of this message is Mark 13:24-37 On 13th September 1759, one of the most significant battles of the 18th Century was fought – the Battle of the Heights of Abraham. You haven't heard of it? Well let me tell you a bit about it. The Heights of Abraham are the cliffs above the St. Lawrence river in front of the city of Quebec. Louis, the Marquis de Montcalm - who was in charge of the French defenders of the city of Quebec - felt secure because of the natural protection against a river side attack afforded by the Heights of Abraham. And so he sent only a small detachment of French soldiers to watch the cliffs and repel anyone foolish enough to try and scale the Heights and attack However, the British General Wolfe found a route up the cliffs, that led to the top. When he got to the t...

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY OF YOUR 29th BIRTHDAY! Today is my lovely wife, Marcia's anniversary of her 29th birthday. I won't say how many anniversaries it is, that would be inconsiderate. But I can tell you that is more than what I've had. So for those who look at this humble little blog, pop on over to her new blog at http://wdmapowell.blogspot.com/ and say "hi". By the way in the photo above Marcia is being her typical self by multitasking, here she is talking on the phone and preparing to make the bulletin for Church with a Bible and a Book of Common Prayer.

The bell tower at Church of the Saviour, Clermont, Iowa This is a sermon that I gave on November 23, 2008 at Church of the Saviour in Clermont, Iowa. The scripture basis for this is Matthew 25:31-46, Ezekiel 34:11-24, and Ephesians 1:15-23. The following is a brief meditation based on writings by Claudia Burney: "Jesus' family lives next door. He’s got an eight-year-old niece and her three-year-old brother. The Son of Man is the uncle of those starving Ethiopian children. They only gets breakfast and lunch at school, when they make it. His sister is a crack addict. His aunts are illegal immigrants, and the processing plant is closing. Poor King of Kings. Jesus' brother is two houses down and has six children. and his sister-in-law’s pregnant with the seventh. I don’t know if they haven’t figured out what birth control is, or what, but how can his brother feed all those babies on that salary? That means hardworking taxpayers’ money has to go for the Christ’s...

Painting of Jesus at St. Sebald Lutheran Church, rural Strawberry Point, Iowa This is a sermon I gave at Church of the Saviour, Clermont, Iowa on November 9, 2008. The basis for the message is Matthew 25:1-13. Today we heard Joshua say that we should “Serve the Lord” and then we heard Paul telling the Church in Thessaloníki that Jesus will return one day. The Gospel is from Matthew and Jesus combines those two ideas. We have been reading our way through Matthew this year. As Jesus told this parable in chapter 25 he was already well into a lengthy explanation of events surrounding his second coming in chapter 24. Jesus had spoke of his death and resurrection before, but this concerns his second coming. Jesus has said in Matthew 24 that “this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” However he has also said that “no-one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the son, but only the ...

St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Maquoketa, Iowa This is the sermon I gave at the Church of the Saviour in Clermont, Iowa on October 26, 2008. The basis for the sermon is 1 Thessalonians 2:1-16. Bill is a 20 year old college Student. He’s been active in church for 5 or 6 years, he got active because of his youth group. He volunteers as a leader of the youth group on Friday nights. His friends call him Blue because he has red hair. Violet is a 77 year old retiree. She’s still energetic enough, in bursts at least, to continue her ministry in the church, by doing lots of pastoral care. Ruby is a little over 29. At least that’s all she says. She’s an IT specialist. She leads a small group and is involved with the outreach ministry in her local church. Jack is a father of 3 teenagers, an accountant, and in his late 40’s. He’s just old enough to be considered a baby-boomer but young enough to think of himself as a Gen-Xer. He’s a leader of the men’s group at his church as well as ...