The Count Down Begins

14 Days!

The Weekend

Blah

It's been quite awhile since I have posted on here. Life has been pretty crazy as I am trying to wrap up my last semester of college. 5 weeks to go, doesn't sound like enough time to get everything done that I need to. Oh well, it'll happen.
Life has been changing a lot. God is at work and in all reality, that is all that matters.
Hope to get back into the routine of blogging soon, but don't hold your breath on it because I don't know how 'soon' it will be. :)

God Bless

Streak?

I guess I just keep getting later and later with these posts...I must be a college student or something. :)

Got to talk to Kerry today!! Oh, so good to hear his voice again...even better to give him a hug this weekend. 

God Bless!     Psalm 37:4

Well, tonight is even later than last night, well the post is anyways. Didn't get to sleep until 2:00 this morning, yeah makes for a long day at college. Don't know if tonight will be any better. I mean I am tired enough to go to bed right now, but all I would do is toss and turn and get frustrated with myself. 

Life is getting more complicated as the hours go by. Why? Because it is my life and my life is always complicated. Some day God will allow me to get everything straightened out and life will be grand. 

Counting down the days until I get to go home this weekend. The tractor, haybine, and the hay fields wait for me. Have had some pretty good rain towards the end of the summer so I think that there will be a decent hay crop this fall. As long as I don't have any major breakdowns, I'll have a  good time! 

As far as I know, my brother got back to the states from India today. Who I get to see along with another brother this coming weekend. So excited!

God Bless!    Psalm 37:4

Thoughts

It is approximately 10:52pm CDT. On a regular night I would be sound asleep by now, but not tonight, or any other night in the past week, in that case. It is interesting to see how ones activity levels affects ones sleeping abilities. I mean, during the summer I have no problem getting to sleep because after a hards days work out in the sun my body is ready to lay still for awhile and not move. But then in college when all I so id sit around all day, I can't sleep at night.  So, as I feel anyway, my schedule is all screwed up: I stay up late at night, can't get up when I want to in the morning, and therefore my days aren't always the best. It doesn't do me any good to go to bed until I am really tired because all I do is toss and turn and make myself even more frustrated. So here I sit, so I decided that I would post. Haven't to regular...oooops!

Other than that, I've been trying to get into the swing of another college semester. Not the easiest thing for a farm-boy to do, but I only have one more left, so I need to push it out and finish strong. Classes don't look like they are going to be too bad. Animal anatomy and physiology will be the only class that I am going to really have to work at. I'm excited to be working on an individual project this semester, but I have to be keeping up on my other classes in order to be working on that. It is so much easier to work on something that one is excited to work on than something that one has to work on.  The roommates are great this year, but kinda sad that I will only be able to be with them for only one semester. I have gotten to know a couple of the guys very well through my time here at Dordt and will deeply miss them. 

I was hoping to be working on a ranch in Nebraska in January when I got done, but that has fallen through. Not really sure what is going to happen next. If I don't find another ranch position between now and then, I'll probably work around the home area until graduation. God is going to have me where He wants me to be and that is all that matters. ( I just need to remind myself of that a little more often :) ) Milking cows isn't the worst of jobs. I helps me get on a good sleeping schedule and allows me to be with cows. And also being home with my parents and the home farm will be well worth it as well. 

God Bless!!  Psalm 37:4

God Timing

As I have reflected upon what has happened over the last few weeks, the only thing that I can really say is that GOD'S TIMING. So, calving took up the first six weeks of my summer because it is hard to have a job and still watch the animals like I need to, I usually don't work unless a neighbor needs me for just a little bit. But calving ended on June 22. Well, now that calving has ended and I still need to pay for one last semester of college, God is once again providing me with work, pretty amazing! After I was up on Randall for the week, I come home and find out that a dairy farmer is looking for help on his farm. So I give him a call and well lets just say that God was quite evident in this one for how well it worked, besides giving me a Bible believing boss!! So, I am back on a dairy farm again this summer, due to the fast that it is a job and also the lack of beef cattle farms around here to work on.
Got the rest of the low land that we hay cut yesterday. Hoping to be baling this afternoon the stuff that was cut a few days ago. The weather sound good the next two days. So, Lord willing it will all be able to be baled! Dealing with a few breakdowns, but slowly getting the hay made!

As I type this, my brother Kerry is flying over the Atlantic Ocean on his way to India where he will spend the next ten weeks. That means that I get to take care of his two 'kids' (cats) until I leave for school.
Got a week off from the farm last week. It was good to have some seperation from the place especially since the first month home was pretty rough with livestock trouble and other mountains in life. Went up to Randall, MN and helped a family friend make hay for the week. Absolutely had a blast. Basically drove tractor the whole time cutting and raking hay and hauling round bales. Definitely needed and definitely enjoyed.

Catch-up

Initially, I planned on having more time during the summer months to sit and write on this blog. But, as one can easily tell, I have almost been home for a month and this is my first post. So, here I sit with my cup of coffee, taking a few minutes to write whatever comes through my mind.
Four days from now I will be able to see my brother that I haven't seen since Christmas. Words cannot express how I feel right now. It can be tough being the youngest child, though many think that they are spoiled beyond belief, because it it hard to see your older siblings grow up and move away not being able to see them everyday. I will be up when you get home Kerry, and maybe this is a warning, but be prepared for one of the biggest hugs in your life. :)
Eleven days from now the whole family will be together. That is an accomplishment all by itself as the family is spread out all over the Upper Midwest and with Kerry being on the Gulf Coast the last few years. Tears are in my eyes at these times because we are able to be together as a family, yes Amy you ARE apart of the family too and it is wonderful to have you with us! Knocking on wood, I hope that I am able to go on the trip, calving season has been pretty rough, so I hope that everything levels out so that I attend. It would be pretty tough if my excitement would be crushed.
Calving season is in full swing around the Herdegen Family Farm (HFF). With three cows left to calve, the end is almost in sight and I am ready for it. Birthing has gone well, only having to pull one calf so far. But I have been dealing with sick calves. Though I haven't lost any, thanks Lord, it has been a struggle to continue to work with the cows and giving shots on a day-to-day basis.
I am pretty excited for this summer. There are many things that are happening in my life and I eagerly await what God has in store for me. Though there are many uncertainties that are also present, I know that the One that is in control knows what is best for me. A buddy and I are trying to start up a small guys Biblestudy, excited what will happen, we are ready to see God work in our own lives as well as the lives of the other guys that attend!

"It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man." Psalm 118:8

Worn out

Like many other college students, I am worn out with a few days left before spring break. My body is tired and just want to sleep, but yet if I sleep to much, it is worse than if I would not get enough sleep. There is a lot to do before I head for home Thursday morning. Will it all get done? I hope so, I know so.
This past weekend was pretty incredible. My brother, Kevin, ended up coming up to Dordt for 24 hours. Yeah I know, that was a really short time, but I needed it and I think Kevin needed it too. The bond that we once shared has been effected quite a bit since he got married and now lives in Iowa City, but the bond still remains. It was nice to do something other than homework on the weekend. Sure I sometimes do stuff with friends on the weekend, but there is more to it when you are with a sibling.
Four days and I will be home. Hoping to average 6 hours a night for sleep the next three nights. It's going to be long I know, but the Lord is my strength and He will see me til the end.
Psalm 37:4

Wonder

As I sit here in a computer lab looking at a screen, I wonder why I am not doing homework or at least something that is more 'productive' that this. There is a lot to be done within the next week before Spring Break, but some how lately I have stopped caring/getting stressed out about it all. Sure, I am a little behind on stuff, but I would rather be that then running myself into the ground like I have done so much in the past. As the end of college is getting closer and closer, I have lost the enjoyment of learning and have counted it as more of a piece of baggage than anything else. Don't know what is to come, but am waiting to see where God leads me.

Time

There is a time for everything,
a season for every activity under heaven.
A time to be born and a time to die.
A time to plant and I a time to harvest.
A time to kill and a time to heal.
A time to tear down and a time to rebuild.
A time to cry and a time to laugh.
A time to grieve and a time to dance.
A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.
A time to embrace and a time to run away.
A time to search and a time to lose.
A time to keep and a time to throw away.
A time to tear and a time to mend.
A time to be quiet and a time to speak up.
A time to love and a time to hate.
A time for war and a time for peace.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

I'm not supposed to know

I sit here tired, but not tired enough to go to bed. Many questions surface in my mind that are of recent happenings. I am not sure that to make of these question, only to realize that I am not in control, but am here to obey the call when it comes. Questions, usually a sign of worry or lack of faith in the Almighty. But as the quietness is around me with only minor hums, one of which being the gentle melody of Chris Tomlin, I have peace that all is going to work out for the good and someone does know what will come and that someone will allow me to understand their workings when they see that I am ready to receive them.

The not fun slip and slide

This morning I slipped, fell, and blacked-out in the shower. Unexplainable.

One of those days

The more it happens, the more I realize the uniqueness of God's creation in humans. Most people can sleep in and feel refreshed and the day that is ahead of them goes well. I, on the other hand, am completely tired the rest of the day when I sleep in. Like this morning, I slept in until 9:45. I mean for many people that isn't even sleeping in. Anyway, practically four hours later, I still can't wake up. With a lot to do this weekend, I better keep that coffee pot going. :) Procrastination shall be defeated this afternoon and progress shall reign. Time will tell.

The wonders of caffeine

So, only got four hours of sleep last night. My procrastination skills are improving better than I think I want them too. But after a lot of caffeine, the day is through and I survived. Amazing.

New Beginnings

A new thing, a new time. What will come of it? Who knows.