Cedar Bluffs Nature Preserve

Sunday was such a beautiful day. Finally the weather was moderate enough to enjoy being outdoors. It was Micah's last Sunday home before he leaves for college so I wanted to do a family thing. We decided to check out Cedar Bluffs Nature Preserve  in Mahaska County located near the Skunk River. You have to walk a bit before you get into the preserve but it was a lovely area to take a walk. I think it will be really beautiful in the fall.

Here is the view from the bluffs over the Des Moines River Valley.

On the trail.

Going across the bridge.

The clouds were beautiful.

Iowa has many lovely parks and nature preserves. If you live in Iowa, there are probably several located near you. For some reason, people tend to think of Iowa as flat but I think Iowa is beautiful with many types of terrain. We hope you take some time this fall to visit a park with your family and appreciate God's wonderful creation.

Shingling Bethel

Micah and Matthew have been working for R&R Roofing again this summer. The job they are working on now is Bethel CRC Church. The roof has a high steep peak over the sanctuary.Sharon was considerably worried before they started the job but they are using lifts to stand on for most of the roof.

If you look at the picture below you see Micah working, but Matthew seems to be in a bit more of an advisory capacity or maybe just day dreaming. They tell me he was feeding shingles and Micah was nailing, sure that explains it, I think.

Either way I think I am just as happy working at ground level, and not on 2x6 stringers above the reach of the cat lifts. That way if I fall it is only going to hurt a little.

If you closely you can see Matthew is working in the picture below.

It has been a hot summer and the work is hard but the boys have not complained. It is a lesson I can learn about life. Sometimes the work we are called to do to build the kingdom of God is hard work.Sometimes it takes teamwork. 

 Sometimes it even looks as though it could be dangerous, if nothing else, dangerous to our pride. 

Jesus washed the apostles feet when no one else in the room wanted to. Are we willing to do the jobs that no one else wants to do because they look hard, or are not the glamorous jobs? I think I need to try to do better. I need to listen and look for the opportunities God is placing in my life to be about His work.

Our home

We live in town. We used to live in the country. That was another life. But I know that God gave us this home. It is perfect for us. It is a gift. I prayed for this home. I wanted a closet in my room – I did not have that in the country. I wanted a family room as my boys were getting older and I wanted them to have a place to hang out with friends. And I wanted a nice kitchen. When we were looking for a home, we were living on borrowed time in a place that was no longer our own. We walked through many houses. Many were nice. Sometimes we made offers. Every time we placed an offer, the house immediately sold to another person at a higher price. These were houses that had been on the market for over a year. It even got to the point that all we would do is look at a house picture and it would sell. Seriously. The realtor even noticed it. We were getting discouraged.

Finally, we walked into this house and I realized that this was IT. From the moment I came through the front door, I knew I had come home. It was not just a house. The asking amount was a little more than we wanted to pay. We decided to make an offer anyway. We reasoned that if God wanted us to have this house, he would see us through. When we placed the offer, we couldn’t really even remember what the place looked like. We didn’t even do an inspection. But you know the rest of the story – our offer was accepted and we had our home and the things I prayed for.

                              This is what the house looked like from the street when we purchased it

                                   Picture from last fall

 Our yard to the north of our house

Rock terraces we put in, notice the house has not been stained and sealed yet

I tell you this story because I want you to know that God cares about the details of your life. He cares about you – your hopes, your desires, your longings. Yes, he wants your heart. He wants you to love Him. But He also loves you, He really loves you. You, yourself, as you are. Because He loves us, He longs to give us good gifts. The Bible tells us this. But the Bible also tells us that sometimes the things we long for are not good for us. Then God says no or wait. Don’t hesitate to lay your desires before God in prayer. But always ask God that His will be done. Trust Him and you may find yourself humbled and amazed by His good and perfect gifts for you. SS

50th Wedding Anniversary Celebration

On Saturday, July 20, we celebrated my parent's 50th wedding anniversary with an open house. It is certainly an incredible blessing to celebrate 5o happy years together. I am very glad my parents could have this opportunity. We had a wonderful time visiting with friends and relatives who attended.

Their actual anniversary is in January but it worked better with the family to celebrate it this summer. It happened at a very busy time this summer so we know there were several who could not attend but we enjoyed the ones who did. 

It was a very fun family weekend. We also did family pictures on Mom and Dad's farm, using the fields and the old John Deere as a background.

We played games and what Iowa weekend is complete without some time on the go-carts.  On Monday we even ventured to Adventureland. The weather has been very hot in Iowa. We spent quite a bit of time in the waterpark but also enjoyed some other rides. It was not as bad as I feared. It's a place where every age can find something they like.

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.

Jr. Sr. Banquet

Matthew getting ready for the banquet. - Dad, I need help with this tie.

Matthew ready to go.

Matthew arrives at the banquet. The tractor originally belonged to his great-grandpa Leo Van Dusseldorp of Prairie City. Grandpa Bandstra and Joshua restored it a couple of years ago. Matthew was quite a hit.

Matthew walking in. Note the people in the background taking pictures of the tractor.

Grandpa drives it away.

Scenes from the banquet. i was on the decorating committee. It was called "Evening at Tiffany's" - very elegant with lots of 'bling'. It was a lot of work but I did enjoy getting to know some new people and seeing it come together.