2020 Has Been Tough, but Not Terrible

2020 has been tough, but not terrible.

And I say “has been” and not “was” because there are still two weeks left: two weeks in which to celebrate the holidays with family, take some time to reflect and relish in candlelight, to soak in the sweet pine smells, to enjoy music filled with hope and joy in Christ’s coming.

Yet, I am constantly being told by media and others around me that we should say, “Good riddance, 2020,” or “There was nothing good about 2020,” or “This was the worst year ever.”

But I just don’t believe that.

Adventure, Farm, Home, Transitions

The Kiwi Hoosier’s Top 10 Posts of 2018

Christmas wreaths on the Jackson Bridge.

Buried deep in winter, it’s startling to look back at photographs taken in the summer. Deep, green grass feeds cows and calves, and everyone is in short sleeves.

Winter is a good time for reflecting on the past year and planning for the new year. For me, 2018 was the first time in three years I’d experienced all four seasons. I started a chicken enterprise, continued to adjust to driving on the right side of the road, and moved to a new house.

These events and other thoughts have been chronicled in some way on The Kiwi Hoosier. so to reflect on 2018, I present the top 10 blog posts from this year: Continue reading “The Kiwi Hoosier’s Top 10 Posts of 2018”

Character, Faith, Farm

Love, Lead and “Go All Out”: Reflections on the 2015 Indiana FFA State Convention

The name of this blog is “Roots Run Deep,” yet I spend much time in the avoidance of penning the things that strike me deep. I don’t write about the Purdue University “All-American” Marching Band outside of my occasional note about recent performances. I don’t write about what ten years in 4-H meant to me. And most of all, I don’t write about the National FFA Organization, other than surface postings of the FFA Creed and congratulations to the new state officers. It’s tough for me to write about what it means to be an FFA alum, an ag communicator, a Purdue Boilermaker, a writer, a Christian. So I don’t.

The first time the 2006-2007 Indiana FFA State Officer Team took the stage.

But last week, I cried more than I have since my team’s state FFA convention or even in my last few days at Purdue.

And the National FFA Organization — more specifically, the Indiana FFA Association — was the reason why. Continue reading “Love, Lead and “Go All Out”: Reflections on the 2015 Indiana FFA State Convention”