Just Stay Hillbilly!

Glory to God, its a Friday night. Although that don’t mean all that much here on the farm, but what the hey, I guess most other people are happy its Friday evening so I guess it spreads a little. Now I was getting a little spring fever a week ago or so, but the temps have dived and there’s a sea of crusted over mud all over the place. The wind has a bite to it and I  lay low as much as possible, the kind of wind that’ll make the glands swell up almost instantly in a feller’s neck. Funny how there ain’t much problem with that in the dead of winter when its bitterly cold, but come March and early April it can get a little tricky staying in good health.

Wrote a little while ago on Northern farmer, but I guess I feel like writing some more because of the day being so uneventful. Although its easier to write when it is eventful, except then there probably ain’t enough time to write because of the events! Boy, can I go on and on or what! But I was thinking today, and sometimes that gets me in trouble, but I was thinking. This is a strange year, a strange year in ministry for me cause there’s a couple different directions I feel called to go and I just don’t know which to do. One or the other or a combination of both. As most folks that know me know, I’m more of a down home feller. Besides, I do farm full time and that really keeps a person close to home, everyday. I’d like to get out more, but many times I can’t because of putting food on the table, so I do stay home. I’m absolutely loyal to our little country church and try and do as much as I can over that way. But I do feel inadequate in much of the things I do.

I know I can never preach, cause I don’t think I got it in me. I can spin a country yarn without a problem. Or maybe I should rephrase that. I can’t teach like what is normally considered teaching. Whether to children or adults. But let me talk farming, or country stuff with it, well then it becomes easy. Hmm, I’m answering my own ponderings tonight, not bad, not bad at all. I can’t talk like big time preachers, or small time ones for that matter. I bore myself with that. No, just good old farming and country talk are easy.

You ever want to see someone get uncomfortable, well you just put me with some professional preachers and you’ll see one uncomfortable farmer in the crowd. So now where does this leave a farmer with a preaching license that gets more and more confused as the days go by. The way I figure it I’m just going to quit worrying about it. Quit worrying about if I’m making a fool out of myself and stop trying to act like a regular preacher and all. I’m just a farmer that loves the Lord and I ain’t going to try and be someone I ain’t! And the reality is there are people being touched by just being who I am. This is not bragging, heaven forbid, but I do reach many more people every week than any pastor that I know of in our area, and I don’t even have a church. Again, this ain’t a head count, its just flat out reality.

But a person has wants, like actually seeing some fruit, which might be selfish in reality, but that happens anyhow. (Things like this pop into a person’s head when the weather is disagreeable and I don’t work hard enough to get all tired out.) But come spring time, real spring things take a turn. A person gets busy and things just flow. Now I shouldn’t be complaining and in reality I’m not cause no one is on the safe road to hell when they come over this way. Three weeks ago a couple stopped by I hadn’t seen for years. Just a good old boy type guy and all, but as unsaved as I was years ago. Well, him and his wife got the gospel preached to them and they were unbelievably receptive! I had to laugh at the absolute shock on their faces when after a while of talking I told them I was a licensed minister of the Lord. man, what a Kodak moment. But they didn’t run for it and there might be a couple more folks coming through the pearly gates because of that Saturday afternoon on the farm!

I’ll get er pegged down one of these days, which way to really go in ministry. But the covering we have for the ministry recognizes this, that it is a period of finding our own path and all. Takes a little time and the thing is, no one can really tell you which way to go except the Lord. Until then I’ll just keep doing what I’m doing. The Kingdom of God is getting more and more citizens as time goes on out here in the countryside and every one is important. Will I ever have a church, I doubt it, it would drive me half nuts to be truthful. It’d be the same as taking care of a big room full of two year olds the way I figure it. No, just do what a person does in the countryside, spread the Gospel and live life to the fullest!