Tag: faith

Thank You Seems Inadequate

Memorial Day is a day set aside in the United States to remember those who gave their lives for our freedom. Many of us also remember all the family members and loved ones who have also gone on before us. Some will decorate graves with flags and flowers.

Sometimes, I wonder. Is one day enough to pay our respects to our military families, or the soldiers who gave the ultimate sacrifice?  Shouldn’t we be thinking of them, praying for them, and showing our appreciation every day?

When I was growing up, we would visit my grandparent’s home in Iowa during the summer. In one corner, grandma had a little display area where she kept photos of my step-uncle, along with his medals and the flag that draped his coffin. He died when I was a toddler, so I never had the chance to meet him. Grandma would tell us stories of Johnnie, and we would always look at his bedroom upstairs, which was decorated exactly as it was when he left for Vietnam. Whenever Jonathan and I have been to Washington, DC, we always stop by the Vietnam Wall on a night tour. All 4 times we have taken this tour, it is either foggy and freezing cold, or raining. The weather makes this visit very emotional every time. But I wonder, is an occasional visit to a monument honoring these men and women enough?

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Uncle Johnnie….John B Ulfers

 

 

Right now, my youngest brother is serving in the Army. He has been deployed for the past 10 months, leaving his wife and three sons state-side. I am loving the fact that they are in Minnesota, although with our winter, I’m not sure they are as thrilled! Although I haven’t been able to see them in person as much as I’d like, I have gotten to know them a little better. It is difficult for the extended families to really get to know the children of military families when they are living so far away. I feel blessed that we’ve been able to connect with our nephews this year.

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Bruce, Heidi, and their boys at a Twins game July 2012

 

While we have been able to connect with our nephews, my brother has missed out on many of their milestone events. They are fortunate that Bruce has been able to come home for short visits a couple of times, but that doesn’t make up for the things he’s missed.

What this year has taught me, is how important it is to support the military families as well as those who are deployed. My sister-in-law is a single parent to these three very active boys while her husband is away. I have always admired the way Heidi gets the boys involved in sports, and takes them off base to explore the area they are in. She has also gotten involved in spouse groups (mostly other women, but there’s been a few men as well), and has been active in running groups, and Bible studies. While in Minnesota, though, they have not had the advantage of living on a military base where everyone is pretty much in the same situation.

It seems as though people really can’t grasp the scope of the impact a deployment has on a family. There have been some incredibly insensitive comments from “friends” of hers on Facebook that are quite appalling. Once again, I have to admire Heidi, and the way she handles these people. This makes me wonder, is saying “Thank You” one day a year really enough?

Today, my Facebook and Twitter feeds are full of emotional photos and memes telling us how we need to remember the fallen, and thank those who are currently serving. It is good to spread that message, but how many of those who are posting these memes today will shake the hand of a soldier tomorrow? How many of us have sent an encouraging word to the military spouses who are being single parents while their husband or wife are deployed? How many of us have volunteered to watch their children so they can have a day to relax? How many of us have helped to mow lawns, or shovel driveways, or pick up an extra car-pool shift?

Remembering the fallen on Memorial Day is good. But sometimes, saying thank you to those who are currently serving just seems inadequate. Please, take the time to show your appreciation throughout the year.

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Thank you for your service, Maj. Bredlow! We’re proud of you, brother!

 

What Does it Mean to Love Our Neighbor?

The Gospel lesson and sermon in church this past Sunday touched on some things that have been running through my mind lately, especially after reading a blog post that was directed at one group of people in particular. The title of that post seemed to serve no other purpose than to belittle the group that they had a difference of opinion with.

The Gospel text was from John 13, where Jesus is instructing his disciples, and gave them a new commandment. Verses 34-35 say, “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

The sermon went on to explain that this means we are to love our neighbors. Douglas John Hall of Canada’s McGill University states: “It may be good enough, legally and politically, but it is not good enough for the one who did not say, ‘Tolerate your neighbor’, but ‘love your neighbor.”  Uff da! To love someone as Jesus has loved me is not easy.  That would mean an unconditional love. No judging, no scoffing, no name calling…unconditional.

We live in an age where, at any given moment, we are able to communicate with our fellow man – our neighbors – anywhere around the world. How are we supposed to show this love to neighbors we’ve never met in person?  As our speaker, Jason Swenson, mentioned: “Biblical love is not all hearts and flowers, but actions and deeds.”

Actions and deeds… The beauty of living in this cyber age, is the ability to reach out and show our love through our actions, which in most cases, is conveyed through words. Unconditional love through words…hmm.

I did a little searching on the internet for quotes or thoughts about unconditional love, and the power of words. Besides a myriad of Bible verses, I found a ton of quotes by authors, philosophers, statesmen, and religious figures. One of the quotes that stood out to me was by an unknown author who said, “Let people march to their own beat of the drum and feel safe to be real around us. That’s what unconditional love is all about – being an encourager of people’s passions, loves, and dreams, even if you may disagree with them.” Look at the last part of the sentence again…”being an encourager of people’s passions, loves, and dreams, even if you may disagree with them.”

When we write blogs, Facebook posts, Tweets, or whatever…are we being encouragers or discouragers. Are we willing to show our love for our neighbor in the words we choose? Another unknown author asked, “If someone were to pay you 10 cents for every kind word you ever spoke and collect from you 5 cents for every unkind word, would you be rich or poor?”

It is so easy for us to hide behind the anonymity of user names on forums, to hide behind our job titles, or educational titles. We feel we can type whatever we want, and it won’t matter because we are right, or we are smarter, or they need to be educated. But those of us who are followers of Jesus, can we really say whatever we want without regard to how our words may affect another person?

I will admit, there are times when I have not shown love towards a neighbor…those are the times when I must ask forgiveness for my thoughts, and my words spoken in anger. It took being called out by my daughter, Laura, in a college paper to make me really look at how the words coming out of my head affect other people. That’s when you realize how true Psalm 16:24 is: “Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.”

Loving our neighbors does not mean that we all have to think the same thing, shop at the same store, or belong to the same political party. We can have lively discussions, and still show love. We can disagree about how to manage our businesses, and still show love.  The key is in our actions and our words. Weigh your words carefully before you post something online. Leave out the inflammatory adjectives that are there mostly for spite. Ask yourself, am I building up the people around me, or am I tearing them down?

Ephesians 4:29 “Do not use harmful words, but only helpful words, the kind that build up and provide what is needed, so that what you say will do good to those who hear you.”

R-E-S-P-E-C-T….

 

When I first thought about using this song in a blog, I was pretty bummed about the nasties that get thrown around on the internet. It is way too easy to post something negative or mean when you are not saying it to a person’s face. I was dismayed at some of the horrible things being said of my friends in response to agriculture issues, simply because they disagreed with their methods of farming.

Recently, I had an incident happen that was really unfortunate. It really hurt to be treated in a mean girls fashion, like I didn’t have any feelings, or like I didn’t exist in their world. I don’t usually let that kind of crap bother me, but this time, it did. Maybe it was because I thought these people were my friends, and I trusted them too much. Or maybe I just wasn’t in a good place mentally.

I did a lot of thinking after that incident, about why this one bothered me, when others just make me shake my head. One thing I have noted, is the amount of time I spend putting myself down. Yeah, I’ve gained all the weight back that I lost a few years ago, and the reasons are many. But, instead of picking myself up, dusting off, and getting back on the road to a healthier body, I have wallowed. When I wallow, I become unhappy with me, and basically, I don’t respect myself. If I don’t show me respect, than when others hit a nerve, it all seems so much worse. I have troubles answering in a respectful manner, which never helps a situation.

I was explaining my issues to Jonathan, and he very gently reminded me that I need to stop being so hard on myself.  He is such a great encourager. Just what I needed. There were a few other friends that I shared with, who also were full of positive words. What a difference it made when words were positive, rather than the negative. I typically try to be careful about my words, especially on social media sites, but because I was having issues with me, I didn’t censor my words. Some of you would think what I said was no big deal…and no, I am not going to go into detail…but to me it was a big deal. I felt horrible for letting my negative attitude get the best of me.

One of the great things about life, is if you don’t like what your attitude is, you can change it. And that is my plan. To start respecting myself…showing me some love…and in turn, respect others that I communicate with, both in real life, and online.  Hopefully, we all can make the effort to show a little respect…to others as well as ourselves.

 

 

Many Parts, One Body

I’ve been thinking about this post for awhile. Jonathan and I have attended three farming conferences in January. All three had important sessions that we could use on our farm, yet the conferences were very different. This is what started the theme rolling in my head…

I was reading my friend’s blog about his trip to the American Farm Bureau’s annual meeting a few weeks ago, where the theme was “Many Voices, One Vision.”

In church this past Sunday, one of the scripture lessons helped make the theme that was swirling around a little more clear.

1 Corinthians 12:14-26

New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

One Body with Many Members

14 Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15 If the foot would say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear would say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many members, yet one body. 21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 22 On the contrary, the members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and those members of the body that we think less honorable we clothe with greater honor, and our less respectable members are treated with greater respect; 24 whereas our more respectable members do not need this. But God has so arranged the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior member, 25 that there may be no dissension within the body, but the members may have the same care for one another. 26 If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it.

Many parts…one body. What an awesome concept. It works with everything in life, really. It is the same with a school board, our government, or our occupations.

With farming, we have such a wide variety of passions…a wide array of crops…and a very diverse landscape. If we all tried to grow just corn, some would fail while others thrived. Our soils and our climate is not the same north to south, or east to west.  While some states are great at growing wheat, others are more suitable for peanuts. Isn’t that awesome! Because of the diversity, I can make peanut butter cookies.

I would love to see us all embracing the differences, knowing that we are all part of the body of agriculture. “If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it.”

Confessions…

I think it’s time I aired a few things…  I am not perfect.

I use too much hairspray, swear too much (sorry, mom), drink a little (again – sorry, mom), am addicted to good coffee, and have a temper.  I never finished college, and I don’t have perfect grammar. I am overweight because I love good food, and I don’t exercise enough. I am super scared of mice, and I hate spiders.

I have good qualities as well. I am a christian, am active in my church, and I love to give back when I can. I am involved on many agricultural related committees and task forces. I am a wife, mom, aunt, sister, cousin, and friend. I love my whole crazy family – the in-laws and outlaws, too.  I try to be respectful at all times, whether I am communicating in person, or on the internet. I am loyal to a fault…yes, I’m still a Minnesota pro sports fan.

Jonathan and I hang out with very different groups of people.  We have our neighborhood card club, made up mostly of Belgian-American farmers that are pretty much all related to each other. We are the only Scandinavians in the group.  Then there is our dinner club, made up of 5 couples from church. Our ages range from early 40’s to mid-70’s.  It is a very eclectic group, but we have tons of fun.  I am active in Farm Bureau, and count amongst my friends farmers from all over the US and Canada.  There are many different farming styles represented by my friends.

I’m pretty sure there are no others on the planet that have the same personality quirks that I do. I am an individual, unique, even a bit crazy at times. Yet, I am welcomed into each group because I have at least one thing in common with them.  The whole six degrees of separation thing has proven itself many times!

Does this sound any different from the rest of you?

I am an organic crop farmer. I’m not a 1st generation hippie farmer like some would like you to believe. Our farm will be celebrating it’s centennial this year. 100 years of continuous Olson family farmers.  Jonathan and I started farming together in 1988. We farmed conventionally until 1998, when we started to transition our first field into organic production. We finished transitioning all of our acres just a few years ago.  In the early ’90’s, many farm economists were talking about value added opportunities, and finding alternative crops to grow to stay viable. So, we did. We love our method of farming, and we are proud of what we grow.  That attitude is pretty much the same attitude that Jonathan’s great-grandfather had when he moved his family to this farm from Iowa. It is the same attitude that Jonathan’s grandfather had when he started raising seed for the Minnesota Crop Improvement Association in the 1940’s.

More confessions – we do not eat an exclusively organic diet. We eat more meat than vegetables at some meals, and don’t feel bad about it. I buy groceries based on taste preferences, and what’s available at the time. I don’t like turnips or tons of root vegetables. I have never tried kale, and part of me thinks there is no way it can be good for you. I don’t like heavy whole wheat breads. And, I don’t feel guilty for my food choices. I know that whatever I choose to eat, a farmer is involved.

I don’t think I fit any stereotypes for organic farmers. Funny thing is, I don’t know too many who do.

The point of this whole thing? Every farmer is unique. We all do things a little differently on our farms, like to eat different foods, and cheer for different sports teams. We can get along when we are face to face at meetings, on trips, or just hanging out. Why, then, does it seem like we can’t get along on the internet?  Why do people feel free to put down others in a medium that is viewed by those who may not understand the subjects we are arguing about? Just discussing the pros and cons of certain GM seeds, or different organic methods can quickly turn into a battle between farmers. What’s the point in that? What are others hearing when farmers are putting each other down?

I shared some my laundry at the beginning of this blog – not to make myself feel better, but to point out that we typically only see a small portion of who a person is.  Agriculture is the same way. What we talk about on social media is only a small portion of what farming is. Instead of focusing on the faults, why not take a look at the whole picture?  You might find that you have more in common with each other than you think.

I can't seem to take a decent photograph...
I can’t seem to take a decent photograph…

Merry Christmas From our Farm to You!

Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year from the Olson family!

The Christmas season is typically filled with the hustle and bustle of baking, shopping, and decorating. This year, we added a trip to the Mayo Clinic for Anna’s yearly checkup, and grain hauling into the mix. Some decorating didn’t happen, but Christmas isn’t dependent on how festive the house looks.  After all, Jesus was born in a stable, surrounded by farm animals.

I am so thankful for Anna’s positive check up. Her MRI showed no new Multiple Sclerosis activity, and her physical tests showed no major declines in strength or other issues. That was our first Christmas gift this year.  Anna and I left for Rochester a day early, due to a blizzard warning in that area. We wanted to get ahead of the storm, and avoid driving in the wide open spaces in wind driven snow. This was the third year in a row that we have spent extra time in Rochester due to winter storms. Our hotel was great when Anna’s first appointment went long, and we were late for checkout on Friday morning. They didn’t charge us a late checkout fee, even though they could have. That was our second Christmas gift this year.

On Christmas Eve Day, we started out with fresh caramel rolls for breakfast.  We all went in to our church’s candle light Christmas Eve service that evening, where we served as the greeters. I love seeing all of the families who have come home for Christmas. Having our girls home for Christmas was our third gift this year.

Our family opens gifts on Christmas Eve, following the candlelight service. I love the laughter, the delight, the joy at gifts given and gifts received. Two of the girls did the majority of the gift buying this year.  It was a fun night.

Christmas day dawned bright and cold.  It was a day of playing games with Jonathan’s cousins from town, and eating delicious appetizers and cookies.

In the midst of all the merriment, Jonathan has been out working in the single digit temperatures to load out semi loads of grain, as well as the usual pig chores. The cold temperatures always bring equipment issues, but typically things get fixed in short order. We are thankful for our dairy friends who are out in the barns every day – holiday or not. I haven’t heard any complaints about working holidays, or working in the extreme cold. This is the life we have chosen, and we are thankful for it.

So, from our farm to you, we wish you a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!

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It’s Quiet…Kind Of

Tuesday morning I drove Jonathan, Laura, and cousin Denise to the airport for their missions trip to Tanzania, Africa. There are 18 people on this trip, mostly from two churches in Southwest Minnesota. They have been planning this trip for almost a year (or so it seems), and were really looking forward to finally seeing what they had been talking about for so long. Laura informed her college professors on the first day of classes about her trip, and had been trying to get a lot of work done ahead of time. They were definitely ready to go when it came time to load up the van.

While Laura was writing her 4 papers and giving a presentation, Jonathan was writing notes and making phone calls. We counted the other night, and I believe he has 20 people (including me) lined up for things. It is amazing how many people he has contact with in any given week. He wrote out instructions for the guy hauling the seed soybeans, the guy doing our pig chores, and for me. He sent emails to a few more people, trying to keep them in the loop.  Right before we arrived at the airport, he handed me his cell phone. Gulp.

Here is what I am responsible for keeping up with:

My house is empty right now, so it should be quiet, right? It is for the most part. I have already needed to check the cheat sheets a few times to go over instructions or changes of plans with a few people. The recurring thought I have is, “I should have asked more questions!”  I am pretty worried that I am going to screw up the paperwork that has to accompany every truck load of seed, and that I will miss the barn alarm’s phone call.

I am so thankful that Jonathan and Laura have the opportunity to do some short term missions work. I am also thankful that Jonathan has enough faith in me and my ability to run things here that he didn’t hesitate to say yes, I will go.

Truthfully, I am thankful that it isn’t so quiet around here…but I will be so happy when Jonathan and Laura come home!

Jonathan & Laura, shortly after arriving in Tanzania…after over 20 some hours of travel.

Not Really Fond of Roller Coasters…

Note: This entry was originally written last Thursday…dictated to Anna, as we were heading down the road.

I was thinking this morning about the movie “Parenthood” with Steve Martin.  There is a scene where he is having an argument with his wife about accepting her pregnancy. He is not sure he can handle the chaos and uncertainty of the new child.  The grandmother comes in and starts talking about roller coasters.  She loves them – the anticipation of the climb towards the top (the clicking of the chain as it pulls the cars up), and the thrill once you are over the hill and rushing back down.  She goes on to say that some people cannot handle the roller coasters.  They don’t like the ride. They just ride on the merry-go-round.  Then she leaves the room.  Steve Martin’s character completely misses her point until later in the scene when they are attending their daughter’s school play.  The youngest son charges on stage, thinking they are hurting his sister. Chaos ensues, and the audience starts yelling that Martin’s son is ruining the play.  Then Martin starts feeling like he is on the roller coaster, and you hear the clicking and the screaming associated with those on the ride with him (the camera angles make it look as if the whole auditorium is on the coaster).  Martin looks like he is about to become sick, and is not enjoying this ride at all.  But then he turns and looks at his wife, who is laughing and enjoying the ride.  He then starts to look at things from a different perspective.  The ride doesn’t seem so scary after all.

This last month has been a roller coaster ride for our family.  We started out in May with small grain seeding and Mother’s Day. This was the exciting part of the ride.  The day after Mother’s Day, I hurt my knee while helping Jonathan with the grain drill.  I “bruised the heck out of the knee-cap” as my doctor put it, and wound up on crutches for two weeks.  A month later, I still cannot bend it all the way, although most days are relatively pain free.  I found out that I am not a very patient patient. I had too many plans and activities to have to deal with this.  I had to learn to accept help from others, which is a difficult thing for me to do.  During that time, I started to feel more anxiety and felt a little depressed because I couldn’t help Jonathan or do as much as I wanted to.  The bright spots during this time were when the girls moved home from college and the visit from our exchange daughter’s parents.  Christina and Laura were able to work with Jonathan, helping to plant corn and soybeans along with other field work. I was very proud of the way they jumped in to help.

Viktoria’s parents immediately felt like family, and we all connected like friends who had known each other for a long time.  Melanie and Ulrich helped prepare for Viktoria’s going away party. Ulrich even did some field work! Melanie jumped in and helped out in the kitchen.  As fun as this was, I could hear the roller coaster clicking…  We said good-bye to our German family on May 28th.  Many tears were shed on both sides as the roller coaster came rushing down the hill.

Things were pretty smooth for awhile, until we got word that our Pastor’s wife had passed away.  Candy was a bright spot in many lives. She had many health challenges, but she handled them all with grace.  We loved visiting with her and getting to see hints of her humor along with her compassion.  We will miss her.

The following day, we attended church, where the atmosphere was rather somber.  Late that afternoon, we were outside enjoying the beautiful evening before a game of cat and mouse broke out.  We were having a little fun with the 4-wheeler and Ranger Utility Vehicle, taking turns on who was the “cat” and who was the “mouse”.  This is a game we have played many times. You could say it is a favorite of ours.  But, you know what they say, “it’s all fun and games until someone winds up in the ER at 10:00 on a Sunday night.”   I was the “cat” on the 4-wheeler while Jonathan and Anna played the “mouse” on the Ranger.  The cat was about to pounce, when the mouse darted, tipping the Ranger onto its side.  Anna had her seat belt on and was okay (she would bruise where the seat belt held her, but otherwise was okay). Jonathan went to the house quickly after he crawled out, clutching his hand.  I went into the house to check on him, asking if he was okay.   He asked me to get him an ice pack and take him to the hospital right away.  This is never good coming from him.  He usually argues that it isn’t necessary.  I grabbed the ice pack and a towel, checked on the girls, and then we left for the ER.  After much fussing, pain meds, x-rays, cleaning and stitching, we were able to leave around 1:00 am.  The following morning, Jonathan had surgery to place two pins in his broken left index finger. They also cleaned out the cuts on his finger and stitched them up.  While he was under, they scrubbed the rest of his abrasions to help prevent infection.  His middle finger was also broken, so he now sports a cast surrounding the first two fingers on his left hand, extending up his forearm. They sent him home with pain medicine and heavy antibiotics.  He had quite a bit of pain until later in the week.  He will be in a cast until the first week in July.  Can you hear the screams as we are hurling through the loops on this roller coaster?

Today (Thursday), we attended Candy’s funeral. I am having Anna write this entry as we are driving on our way to Austin, MN to meet her ride to Milwaukee. She will be spending the summer there with Campus Crusade.  This is the part of the ride where the clicking begins again.  Friday, Saturday and Sunday I will be at the SW MN Synod Assembly, where we will spend time in worship and Bible study, business will be conducted, workshops presented, and fellowship will happen. It will be a fun yet exhausting time for those of us on the planning committee.

As much as I fear the anxiety of the approaching descent of this phase of the roller coaster of life, I am finding that it is much better than just going in circles on the merry-go-round.  I am surrounded by people who love me even though I am not completely healed. But more importantly, I am surrounded by the arms of Jesus, who is sitting on the seat beside me riding with me the whole way.

Photo: (back) Jonathan and Ulrich, Viktoria, (front) Carolyn and Melanie

Viktoria’s Parents

Why I Care

Twenty two years ago, I went from city girl to farm wife.  I moved three hours away from my family and friends to start a new life with my husband, Jonathan.  We were married in a drought year, which meant harvest had started within a few days of our wedding.  We decided to come home a day or two early from our honeymoon to help my father-in-law.

Our house had been “decorated” by Jonathan’s friends, so we had a little clean-up to attend to before we could help move corn wagons.  My in-laws had surprised one of the guys doing the decorating, and suggested we enter the house carefully.  After a little cleaning and unpacking, I learned how to hook up the wagons to the John Deere 4020.  Eventually, I learned how to drive the 4020, and how to unload the corn into the bin.  It was a lot for me to remember and I made many mistakes.  Jonathan and his dad were so patient with me, that I wasn’t afraid to try all the new things.

The patience and caring that I was shown as a new bride in a new atmosphere has had a lasting impact.  I try to live by those same principles, and treat others with respect and care.  Their example has also fueled a passion for agriculture and its importance in our world.

Jonathan and I have three beautiful teenage daughters. We have both become active in our church and community. I am currently serving as president of our county Farm Bureau, and have served on a few State Farm Bureau committees.  I look forward to sharing some of my perspectives with you about the farming industry, and what goes on in our family during the different seasons.