4th of July sparklers

Today

Today is the 4^th of July. I picked up a box of sparklers and invited friends over for supper. I don’t think we will BBQ as it is supposed to be over 100. I am hoping we can jump in the neighbor’s pool.

Earlier this summer, we were also with friends and someone brought out a package of sparklers. Who would have thought that a bunch of teenage kids would go crazy over sparkers but they did.

I got to thinking about sparklers and the 4^th of July. Today is a good reminder to celebrate our freedoms: freedom to own property, freedom to worship, freedom to teach our children about God, freedom to speak. I also thought about things that are not free: the rights of the unborn, the freedom to worship God or even have a Bible in some countries..

So, today, grab a box of sparklers and make your own list of freedoms. Thank God for the freedoms we have and pray for the freedoms that are not.

And when you light your sparkler, think about ways you can sparkle for God. Each and every day we have the opportunity to light up the darkness in this world. Ask God to show you where and how. People need to know about Jesus.

If you do not know Jesus, I pray that you will know that he is real, he loves you and he died and rose again to save you from your sins. Commit your life to him today.

We closed down our business the first of June.It was a business that was in trouble when we purchased it but you know how it is some people always think they can succeed where others fail. Last week all of the checks had cleared the bank so I closed the bank account. Well the State of Iowa finally sent the refund for the vehicle registration of the reefer truck. I stopped by the bank today to deposit some small checks and thought I would cash the check from the State of Iowa. The check of course was made out to Iowa Farm families LLC. I took along with me a binder with all the pertinent information that I was the sole member of the LLC and other legal documents.I was counting on having to prove that the whole $147 belonged to me as I had never run any accounts for the LLC through our personal bank.I asked the cashier how I needed to endorse the check as it was made out to the LLC so I could cash it.Her response was "I can not cash a check made out to an LLC and you can not deposit it into any account except an account in the name of the LLC". I told her I had closed the account and there was no account in the name of the LLC anymore. She went to discuss this turn of events with her supervisor. After 15 minutes they came to the conclusion that the government regulations state that the check could only be deposited in the account of Iowa Farm Families LLC. So I opened an account for the LLC which requires a copy of the articles of Incorporation, a copy of the by-laws and other documentation (about 30 pages). A copy of my drivers license of course in case I should be a terrorist, money launderer, or drug dealer all of which are common among 53 year old white guys in rural Iowa. I asked if there was an account that had a low minimum balance so all I would have to deposit was the $147.00. Since it would have to be a business account that narrowed the options but they did have such an account for nonprofit organizations. The nice personal banker lady asked if it was a nonprofit organization. My response was it certainly was not profitable. She thought that was close enough to being a nonprofit organization. Shoot most of my life has been nonprofit. I do wonder now if I could start receiving tax deductible donations. Oh and by the way, I can not close the Iowa farm Families checking account for 90 days without a penalty from the bank. I think there is no minimum balance though so I might write a check for $146.50 oh like tomorrow. There is one consolation to this though. That 30 pages of copies along with my drivers license need to all be sent to the State of Iowa so a bureaucrat can verify all of the information. Ah yes your tax dollars at work paying some bureaucrat office worker to monitor that account set up to cash a $147.00 check from the State of Iowa to little old me.