So if you have any experience in farming, you know that while this image looks AMAZING, that it didn’t get that way without a ton of hard work and investment.
Our theme this week started with BOLD FAITH… so much so that you’d “BET THE FARM” so to speak. That got me thinking about a life of excellence and how farmers really are pretty much the best of the best in demonstrating the value that comes from hard work and a few other key practices.
I had the opportunity to grow up around a farm (not directly, but grandparents…) and I can tell you two things:
- It is HARD WORK. PERIOD.
- Riding on the back of a truck while they are baling hay is not for the faint of heart. Snakes are literally jumping up while the ground gets pulled up and out! YIKES! It was obviously a clear memory, so it must have been fun? Not so much! What I know was fun was summer “pool” time in the cow feeding trough! Hey, you gotta do what you can to have fun in Jasper, Missouri!
The lessons on the farm are too many to count, but here are a few that I feel you’ll really be inspired by. I certainly was! (Thanks to the good words from jeremiekubicek.com)
- Lesson 1: BUILD A STRONG FOUNDATION – Healthy crops come from healthy topsoil. This is true in business and life. YOU MUST HAVE A CLEAR DIRECTION and GROWTH PLAN. If you don’t have one, today’s the day!
- Lesson 2: POUR INTO THE FIELD – Farmers fertilize their fields and invest in the best products to ensure a healthy outcome. In life, we must “pour” into our children, our calling (work), our friends, etc. We can’t expect friendships to develop, careers to grow, children and grand children to excel, etc. without great fertilization! Are there any key areas you are lacking in “pouring into?”
- Lesson 3: ELIMINATE THE WEEDS! – I love this one, but truly don’t like to even weed my own flower beds… (Or rock beds if you happen to be my neighbor – LOL). For farmers, weeds choke the life out of the crops and damage the potential harvest. WOW, isn’t this one so true for all of us? We must weed out the negative…thoughts, habits…and sometimes even people from our lives that are holding us back! What do you need to “weed out” today?
Make it a great one! Thursday we talk about LOCAL FARMING! Don’t you just love a good farmer’s market?
(Photo Credit: Pinterest)