Moving

Rachel's parents are moving to Breezewood, PA this week. As you know Rod's are in Mexico and they left a lot of stuff in Dad's garage. So, Dad and I have been loading a 26 foot U haul and a 6x12 foot U haul trailer since 1:30 this afternoon. Lots and lots of stuff. oooo my I and the pop-in-law are shot......
My feet hurt.....
My back hurts....
Ok, I will stop wining and complaining now.
I will say this, we did a very good job...... We got a lot of stuff in that trailer and the truck.....

Sales - Birthday Party - Travel

Yesterday was the school sale, our fifth. It went really well. I am always some what surprised by the ability of our people to work together on this huge project. I find it very rewarding in that regard.
Last evening after the dust settled we had Sierra's birthday party with Grandpa Kauffman's.
Some time today we will be heading for OH to help Grandpa Kauffman move to Breezewood.
One funny little note from yesterday during the auction. We had a rocking chair we were going to auction off and my Mother-In-Law found it be quite comfortable during the sale. (We didn't have room to put it on the stage.) I was the one deciding what we were going to sell when and I suddenly had this funny little idea. When I decided to sell it she was still sitting in the chair and I told the auctioneer to tell the audience we were going to sell the Grandma in the rocking the chair......

Flood Watch

We are currently under a flood watch until sometime tonight. I would guess we have had close to 5 inches so far. We have %100 chance of rain today and into the night with a %50 chance of showers tomorrow morning.

School Sale

Our fifth annual school sale and benefit auction is upon us. Rachel and I along with Norman and Dorcas Yoder are in charge of the auction. We will be quite busy the next several days. I am looking forward to it. I find it to be an exciting and challenging event. I think this has been used to touch lives also...

More Rain

It began raining just before lunch and rained till almost three. They are calling for rain the next three days or so. The interesting thing is our annual school sale/benefit auction is this Saturday. The last three years or so it has rained each school sale weekend. I am beginning to think we should have the school sale in July or early August. Maybe it would rain in the summer if we did...

Technology (Or Not)

We seem to be living in a state of technology deficiency that is less than some third world countries. We keep discovering it will be two years till high speed internet is available. So, we have checked into satellite internet, not TV. Do any of you have it? Do you like it? I have talked to one person who has it and he can't stand it however, he also says it is much better than dial up....
PS The wife and I had our date tonight. Twas great....

Date Day

This morning Grandma took Aleya on a date. While this occurred Sierra went with her Grandpa and her Daddy over to Dons to drop of some heifer calves. This afternoon Sierra went with Grandma on a date. Grandpa went along. He has gotten fed up with dial up internet and decided it was high time to sit in the library and use some wireless internet so he could get somethings done. Meanwhile, Aleya went with Daddy to Brookneal to get some milk- replacer. Rachel had to stay home all day but at least she didn't have all the kids all the time... Maybe I should take her out on a date, what do you think?

Zoo

The Natural Bridge Zoo was a big hit. We were too late for the elephant rides however. The monkeys, my favorite, were pretty boring. They had a bear cub that was very active and giraffes were neat. They had two baby camels which we were able to pet. The tigers were growling. The boys were running all around enjoying themselves until the Lamas that run loose came up and tried to give them kisses...

Today's Plans

I just got in from milking and Rachel left a few minutes ago for some huge yard sale or something up in Lynchburg. I think they have nice stuff for little money...
We are planning on going to Natural Bridge Zoo this afternoon. The website says they offer elephant rides now so we will see how that works out. Sierra says she will get on one if someone goes with her. We shall see.

Rain

We had some rain today. Need I say more???

Tim Rumsey

I have been informed by Mr. Rumsey himself that he is currently commissioning a new piece of music for us. I asked him if he would consider writing a song for us based on Habakkuk 3:15-19. He responded by saying yes and he is hoping to have it done by the end of Jan. I am so excited. I have long wanted these verses put to music and Rumsey will do an amazing job with them. He said he will be arranging for not more than 10 voices but probably not more than 8 and he may leave it at 4. We are paying him a nice fee but I feel it will be well worth it.

Animals

Several weeks ago I was getting cows in to milk early in the morning. When I walked past the pit I was surprised to see this white thing walking around on top of the manure. I thought it was a cat. So I directed my flashlight in the direction of this being and discovered it wasn't a cat it was an Albino Skunk. It was actually quite pretty. Skunks spend a decent amount of time walking across the top of the manure and picking out the grain.

Finished

We finished hauling ash about lunch time yesterday. We are now finished with all our fall field work. What a relief. Now we will begin doing other things. Shop work and other such things. The vet comes this morning and I am unsure what the rest of the day will hold.

Sunday School

I don't know if I mentioned this fact or not. For this quarter we have been doing a study on nonresistance and are using CLP's study guide which was put together by John Coblentz and Jim Goering. I will say I was somewhat skeptical when we started but we have had some very good discussions in the adult mens class. Yesterday we got to talking about being sued. When is it right to defend yourself? Is it right? Is it one of those deals where you say If they can live with it I can live without it? Is their a time for confrontation?

Water Play

The boys were playing with the water hose the other day. The thing that struck me with this picture was how brown the grass is. I knew/know we are dry but it still kinda shocked me...

Today's Activites

I finished planting last evening at 6:30. Very good feeling. I must give a loud shout out to Lowell for his unending devotion to the 4-150 White tractor seat this week. We would never have gotten done if he hadn't helped us out. Today I am going to take Aleya out for breakfast for her birthday. This is long overdue but needs to be done. I think we will be taking some dead trees back to Lowe's and Wal-Mart in exchange for one that is living.
Fall has finally arrived in all it's glory. We were having summer weather until Thursday. Low temperature was 50 and the high was 84. Yesterday we had a low of 44 and a high of 70. Tonight I think we are headed down toward our first frost. I am looking forward to crisp fall mornings.

30 left

I have 30 acres left to plant today. I will be glad when this is over. I have a sore throat and a stuffy head from all the dust. We are suppose to be singing this Sunday afternoon. Not a good combination....

Special Spot

I have this tendency to put things in a special place. Things like tools or parts. I do this so I know where it is the next time I need it. For example, the bearing that went out on the disk. I had some faint recollection of having some disk parts but I couldn't remember where they were so I assumed I had used them. I found some bearings at Phillips Equipment that would work but were $146 a piece. Yesterday morning we were looking for a spacer to space the disks on the shaft and I found my disk parts. I had put them in a special place. I found two bearings, a bearing housing, two bearings that were locked up, some spacers, and some bolts. The bearings I found I paid $14 for so my $146 bearing will be returned. Last night a shaft broke on the disk so Sonny will weld that this morning and hopefully we will finish disking today.
Back to the special spot, do you put things in special place and then can't remember where that special place is?

More Dust

We covered close to fifty acres yesterday. A bearing went out on the disk about 5:00 and we were unable to purchase a replacement. I think I have found one that will get us going. Hopefully we will cover another fifty acres or more today....
So far we have planted 67 acres of Rye. We have 50 acres of Triticale and Peas and 55 acres of Wheat left to go.

Dusty Job

We began disking today. I was surprised how well the ground worked up. Pretty decent for not raining in the last two months. I planted 25 acres of rye this afternoon. I finished up the last field about 7:30. I noticed when the sun went out of sight that the breeze disappeared. This meant the dust just hung low to the ground. I tend to plant back and forth and I was eating dust big time. Then once it was pretty much dark and I was about falling off the tractor seat to see where I had driven last a touch of breeze came along and swept the dust away. Dust is a nasty thing. One thing dust has going for it is its ability to make it look like someone is working hard....

60th Anniversary

Last evening we had a Yoder gathering back at the pond. The pond is located on Granddaddies, Ernest & Lovina's, property. We were celebrating 60 years of commitment. Grandaddy has been and still is a man that has no enemies. He has this way of making people feel very worthwhile. Grandmamma is full of energy and enjoys her family. When I was up spreading manure for Delvin, she climbed into the truck and rode with me for a load. I don't know another 80 year old lady who would do that. I am very blessed to know these people. Only it is more than knowing them. They are part of me, they are my heritage. They are part of who I am. I want God to work in my heart so when I have been married 60 years people will see the love and commitment in our marriage that I see in theirs.

Do Women Do This?

Wednesday evening Daddy wondered if the men wanted to go out for breakfast Saturday morning. The men he is referring to are my Uncle James, Uncle Bob, Grandpa, Jon Alan, and Ben. Uncle Vance was invited but they went back to Harrisonburg last evening. My question is this: Do women go out for breakfast? If not, what do they go out for, tea? By the way, guys, what is so special about breakfast? I would much rather go out for breakfast then for supper/dinner. I wonder why that is? Is it just a man thing?

50th Anniversary

This Sunday is our annual hymn sing. Every year for the last fifty years on the first Sunday in October we have a Mennonite home coming. Because of this monumental occasion relatives of mine are flocking in. Tonight we have a Zehr reunion. Haven't seen these people for quite some time so it should be fun...

Ash Boy

This morning we spread the hot pile of ashes. It had gotten so hot the ashes had turned to powder and were very dusty. Sonny was running the loader and got very dirty...

Hot Ash

Yesterday evening I was informed that one of our fields was on fire and the fire department had been summoned. I hastened my body out to the field and discovered some small flames licking at the corn stubble. I also discovered a very white pile of ash. They are suppose to put water on the stuff when they load the trailer. I don't know if they didn't put enough on the load or what happened. The pile is extremely hot. It is also close to the woods, like 30' close. Now I am wrestling with a decision. IT is unsafe to leave and it is unsafe to spread. If I could get my manure truck full of water and have it sitting out there I would feel better but I don't have a good way to do that. Also, due to lack of rain we are under a no burn law. The field is going to burn so how much trouble will I be in with the forestry people. I am going to call them this morning and see what they say about my problem.

Retreat Notes

For those of you who care too know what I said on Sunday morning, here it is. I didn't say everything I have here but this was the gist of it.

Finding A Balance Between Musical Excellence and Worship
Introduction: I am somewhat surprised where this topic has lead me the conclusion I have drawn. This conclusion is this: there is no balance between musical excellence and worship. If you weren’t listening you are now… I have decided not to talk about different musical styles. I am going to focus more on God’s gifts to people and what we do with those gifts. Regardless of their attachment or involvement with music. Some people are more gifted in music than others. I am the weak link in VOP’s chain. I don’t have the best ear. I am very poor at rhythm. So I work harder. People tend to work harder at things they enjoy. People who don’t work hard at music because it doesn’t interest them is ok. (I will say people who do not work hard at music because they are lazy is not ok.) However, they should try to understand it is ok for someone else to work hard at music.
Questions =
1. What is music? Where does the word come from?
2. What is worship?
3. What does the Bible say about worship?
4. How are you led in worship? Does nature lead you in worship? The stars, flowers, butterflies, thunderstorms, God’s creation?
5. What is the purpose of worship?
6. Is excellence wrong? Is it a sin?
7. What does the Bible say about excellence?
8. Is it possible to combine music, excellence, and worship?

What is music? Where does the word come from?
The word Music is taken from the word Muse. Basically the word Muse is referring to people who are deep in thought and are humming.
As persons do when idle, or alone and steadily occupied.
Psalms 111 1-3
I will praise the Lord with my whole heart, In the assembly of the upright and in the congregation. The works of the Lord are great, Studied by all who have pleasure in them. His work is honorable and glorious, And His righteousness endures forever.
Music, then, should draw people into contemplation of the Creator. Music is also a result of our thoughts. Songs tend to come to mind when we are doing things we don’t have to concentrate on. Like driving tractor or milking cows.
What is Worship
First a definition of worship. I went to our trusty friend Mr. Webster . Mr. Webster tried to write a version of the Bible because he felt a high percentage of people could not understand King James’s version. I heard a fellow talking about Webster’s first edition of the dictionary and how he used scripture in his definitions so I now have in my possession a Webster’s first edition dictionary. In this edition he says worship is, and I quote
Paying divine honors to the supreme being, reverence or homage paid to him in religious exercises consisting in adoration, confession, prayer, thanksgiving and the like.
Worship also = to adore; to pay divine honor to; reverence with supreme respect and veneration.

What does the Bible say about worship?
Psalm 29;2
Give unto the Lord the glory due to His name; Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.
Psalm 95; 6
Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.
Exodus 14:31-15:1
Thus Israel saw the great work which the Lord had done in Egypt; so the people feared the Lord, and believed the Lord and His servant Moses. Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the Lord, and spoke, saying:
This song was a result of their salvation or being saved from the Egyptians. They worshiped. They gave the Lord the glory due unto His name. If you read the song of Moses you will notice they realize God’s amazing power. However, they had a short memory. God tells them later in
Exodus 34;14 (This is the reference Webster used after his definition of worship.)
(for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God,)
We know the Israelite’s forgot God’s power and His ability to keep them and preserve them. We know they worshiped the Golden Calf. How did they forget who the Father is when the Father was dropping manna from the sky, spilling water from the rock, leading them with fire and a cloud of smoke. We are commanded to worship no other God as well. It is easy to worship idols. Excellence can become an idol. Musical excellence can become an idol. Musical excellence is a tool which can be used for God’s glory. A tool to be used to draw people to the Father.
How are you led in worship?
What does worship mean to you?
Is worship a reaction a result of something?
Does nature lead you in worship? The stars, flowers, butterflies, thunderstorms, God’s creation? How does music lead you in worship? Does the excellence of music have effect your ability to worship? What is the purpose of worship?
What did God say about His creation?
Genesis 1:31
The God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

Is excellence wrong? Is it a sin?
Excellence = Mr. Webster again….
Any valuable quality. Any thing highly laudable, or virtuous, in persons or valuable esteemed, in things. Purity of heart , uprightness of mind, sincerity, virtue, piety, are excellencies of character. Strength and beauty are excellencies of body. Having a knowledge of an art is an excellence of the artisan. Whatever contributes to exalt man or render him esteemed and happy or to bless society is in him an excellence. Coupling the excellencies of character with a desire to bless society should make excellence in music okay. Excellence in music should increase our ability to bless society.
God is a God of excellence
Psalm 36;7
O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is your name in all the earth!
Isaiah 13; 5
Sing to the Lord, for he has done excellent things; This is known in all the earth.
Can we say whatever God does is excellent? Is this an accurate statement?
What does the Bible say about excellence?
Is music a spiritual gift?
Is it possible to combine Music, Excellence, and Worship
Yes, it is. God expects us, commands us to do our best.
I Cor. 14:12
Even so you , since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, let it be for the edification of the church that you seek to excel.
Eph. 5:19
19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, 20giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21submitting to one another in the fear of God.

Is it safe to say someone who is not doing their best is sinning? To give God less than our best is not pleasing to Him. God doesn’t like laziness. A few verses from Proverbs.
Proverbs 15:19
The way of the Lazy man is like a hedge of thorns, But the way of the upright is a highway.
Proverbs18:9
He who is slothful in his work is a brother to him who is a great destroyer.
Mathew 25:26-30
“But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed. So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
Would we do something on the job half way? Would we only work at our marriage or relationships with half of our heart? Marriages that are only half as good as they could be because people aren’t willing to work at it? Would it be acceptable if pastors were only half ready to preach on Sunday morning? Music is often not held to the same standard as speaking. I have felt at times that VOP has been criticized for worship of excellence. For example, if I told you I had 20 hours of preparation in this topic you may be very impressed. On the flip side if I told you that we (VOP) spent the same amount of time rehearsing for 40 min. program, some of you would think much differently. Some feelings I have gotten in the past hint at these kinds of thought patterns: hmm they are trying to be to good, they must think to much of themselves. They are trying to be too professional. They are worshiping excellence. It really doesn’t matter what you sound like. God doesn’t care what you sound like. Make a joyful noise…
My point is this: Those of us who are married, if we are honest. Would have to admit that our marriages at times are NOT what they could be, for some people the marriage may never be what it should be because people are not willing to work at it. Not willing to admit or take responsibility for mistakes. Our relationships with our children, church people, etc. are not what they should be. Our Sunday school teachers don’t study enough for Sunday school class. Oh well it doesn’t matter… What does God do with this? Does God accept a lazy or poorly done gift? What do you think? I think not. Paul tells us in
Col. 3: 16 -25
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. 17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. 18 Wives submit to your own husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. 19 Husbands love your wives and not be bitter toward them. 20 Children obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord. 21Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged. 22 Bondservants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eye service, as men pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God. 23 And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men. 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance ; for you serve the Lord Christ. 25 but he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality.

I have heard many groups sing and I have never heard one that was so good I couldn’t worship. The way a program is presented has affected my ability to worship. Finding a balance between entertainment and worship would make for a very controversial topic. If VOP is not concerned about improving or trying to improve , I'm not sure we're living up to God's expectations. VOP members feel the music’s ability to draw you to the Father is greatly affected by our singing ability and how well we know the music.
The goal of music should be to lead people in worship. Draw people to the Father.
The better we do at singing, rhythm and notes, will enhance your ability to worship. Interpretation of the songs has less to do with musical ability and more to do with life experiences. Feeling or interpreting the song. What is the message of the song ? This should be sung loud this should be sung softly with a lot of energy and emotion. These things are affected by our life experiences. How does this song speak to my heart? How does it relate to me and what I am experiencing today?
We want to hide behind the music by excelling at it. We want to be able to bless people with our gifts for God’s glory.
I want to encourage each of us to work at perfecting or excelling at the gifts God has given us. The purpose of this should be to call other people to worship or to move your self to worship. Excellence will look to different to different people based on personality and background. Lets not condemn each other for their levels of perfection or excellence.
I am of the opinion excellence is God’s call to His children in ALL they do unless it becomes what you worship. God has given me gifts. What I do with these gift’s is my gift to God. These gift’s should not be taken lightly. I need to do my best…

Lawsuits

If you remember, I rear ended a fellow the end of June. Nothing serious. The driver of the other vehicle drove his car away. No blood no broken bones. Nothing more than a racing heart. Saturday we received to pieces of mail. One was certified and the other was priority. Both contained nice simple letter from a lawyer stating we were to get our insurance people to contact them immediately. This caused me some alarm. Had they never payed for the damages? So I call them and ask them what is going on. Well, you are being sued! Oh, well this is a nice kettle of fish. I don't know how much they are suing for. I do know they are suing for bodily damage that didn't happen and I also know the driver is in a bankruptcy situation and his banged up car is the only thing he has in his name. So put two and two together and you get a million dollars I guess.... The insurance company is handling all of this and they will have to pay if it goes through. I think it is ridiculous. I could have been a real pain in the neck when it happened and told the cop that the other stopped to fast and made up a big story.... Maybe I could sue him for suing me.... I wonder if that has ever happened..... It's a funny world we live in...

Quartet Retreat

It is over and we all survived. We had a very good weekend although it was very small. One other quartet was present then there were 7-8 guys there who are interested in music and wanted to learn. The mass choir sang 7 songs under Rich Denlinger's direction. He is very good and I enjoyed singing under him. The workshops all went well. Jon Alan had to take Kelvin Good's workshop because Kelvin couldn't make it. Something totally out of his control occurred. My session? It went really well. Glory be to the Father...