The garden is almost in for the season except for a few minor things. maybe tomorrow night. And it sure does look good out there. In fact tonight I only planted a whole bunch of hills of vine crops. Cucumber, melons, muskmelons, three different kinds of pumpkins and a bunch of dill . The beans are up, the taters need hilling, the peas are beautiful, been eating radishes and onions, life is good! I have so much sweet corn planted I could feed an army come late July and August! Gotta get the cultivator on the old John Deere and start some of the corn fields, they ain’t very weedy but I like to give em at least a once over, kinda fluffs up the already healthy soil. Then cut some hay starting later this week, (maybe), and that’ll take a few weeks of fairly constant work. It’ll be a busy time but it sure is looking good compared to the last couple of years!
I tell you, this working in the fields and in the gardens is about the best place a man could ever be if he wanted just to talk with God! I always carry a little pocket bible, it got to be little cause I wear denim work shirts and the only Bible that’ll fit in them pockets is a small one. A New Testament plus Psalms and Proverbs, that standard little Gideon Bible. Funny, for being such a small little thing its fairly easy to read even with my over 50 eye sight. There’s allot of times during the day when I pull that little Bible out of the front pocket and read just a little, kinda like getting a cool drink of water on a hot day. I like reading the gospels the best and sometimes I really enjoy reading the Psalms. Whatever mood or situation a person is in he can find something of that order in the Psalms. That has to be one of the best books ever written for the common man that I can think of. I suppose some bigtime Bible scholars can really get down to the nitty gritty in them and find all those meanings that a regular guy doesn’t see, but that’s what they get paid for and I ain’t getting paid a plug nickel for anything to do with faith matters so there might be a slightly different perspective coming from a dirt farmer.
Hmm, I wasn’t even thinking about that when I sat down but its true. There is a different perspective that comes from the common man, some might call em the simple minded people or backwards, but don’t matter much, been called worse! But the most entertaining thing for this simple man is listening to preachers, almost every preacher that I know, talk about the sheep. I tell you, I almost bust out laughing when some of these folks act like they know what they are talking about. I have said, before anyone should be allowed to preach about sheep, they should have to raise them for a minimum of one year. Yup, that’s what I figure. I can’t believe how there have been so many sermons that have been so off base that I almost bust a gut or else want to just shake my head in sorrow they are so far off on understanding sheep. And if the perspective preacher can’t raise a flock of sheep for a year, yup a flock would be required because how can a person figure out sheep when they only have one, well then they should take a crack at raising some goats because they’d cover a multitude of sermons by themselves. Now I know Rev Josh has raised goats so he’s pretty qualified to preach it nowadays. And I had around 400 sheep at a time, plus one billy goat named Billy Bob so I figure half of my seminary training is already completed. Plus cattle on a thousand hills, (and sometimes those hills are the neighbor’s with my cattle on them uninvited), so that should be good for another quarter at seminary.
But the grass is green for them cattle on a thousand hills this year and I’m so thankful that its hard to explain. I look forward to the work instead of dreading it like the last few years. It seems right this year. And almost all day long a fella can talk with God doing these kind of jobs. trouble is sometimes when I talk to God He answers and then I get into all sorts of trouble when viewed from a humanly flesh point of view. The Lord has a call on everyone, but its allot easier to down play that call or not listen to it all together. One thing I know, when a person asks God what He wants them to do, He will answer and most of the time quick, anyway its usually a quick answer when I ask. So allot of times I beat around the bush asking cause I know the answer will be coming along shortly and if I don’t get around to asking my flesh don’t have to worry about an answer it would hate. Now if this dirt farmer theology ain’t making to much sense to anyone, don’t worry about it, I’m winging it tonight, just letting the fingers do the talking. Sometimes I like to do that.
Oh Lord, things are good tonight, feel good and tired from an honest day’s work. God’s answering, my flesh is mad, my spirit is soaring! Come fall when the season is done with and things slow down I’m looking forward to the off months with allot of hope, hope that I can get out more than I do now and spread the Word. Don’t see why not, Lord willing, get on out and do what I’m supposed to do. Keep my nose in the Bible every available moment till then, get that Word of God in me till it overflows, yup, and hit the countryside letting that overflow spread around. I ain’t in some dream world, I know that folks might not take all to kindly to it, but I won’t be answering to them folks on Judgment Day. When I cross that old River Jordan I won’t be represented by my church, by my neighbors, by my friends. It’ll just be me in front of Almighty God answering for the things I did and didn’t do. I figure its a lot better to be told “well done faithful servant” than to try to explain and fail to explain why I didn’t listen or obey the great call on my life. Because any call anyone has from God is great, no exceptions.
