Ephesians 5:31

“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”

                                                                                          Shaelee & Derek   1/17/15

Mark 10:7
For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife,

This was our daily devotion today. Something that has struck very close to home since our daughter was married on January 17, 2015 and our son on September 19, 2015. We often forget as parents that there comes a time when we have to cut the apron strings and let our children grow into the adults they were meant to be. I have to say with our daughter it was a little bit harder just for the fact that you have to trust another human being to take full responsibility and care of your child. But how important it is to step back and let them connect and become one. This is not easy but I know that Rod and I have to step back and shut our mouths!! This takes a lot of prayer and each other reminding the other that we have to let them live their lives. Rod reminds me that I am the “Mother-In-Law” and that what I want does not matter anymore to the kids. Tough reality but very true.

                                                                                        Chandler & Stephanie 9/19/15

Matthew 19:5
and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh'?,

When our daughter in law Stephanie had her shower I found an old apron and cut the strings off of it.  When she opened it she was just trying to be so sweet and thanking me for the apron. I had also written a letter to her explaining the apron. She started to read it but couldn’t finish and had to safe it for later. In the letter I just let her know that we loved Chandler dearly but it was time to cut the apron strings and let him become her husband. That he was to put her above everything else. From this day forward Stephanie is to always be his first priority. I wanted her to know that we treasured her and their marriage. I think sometimes we as parents sometimes forget how hard marriage can be especially if you have controlling parents that are in the middle of everything. We knew we really had to cut the strings and step back when it came to their marriage since not only is Chandler our son but he is also our business partner.  

 Rod and I didn’t feel like we were losing our children but actually gaining two more. It also was able to strengthen our marriage because I was not a wife that put her husband first, to me the kids always came first and what was left was for Rod. I am sure that is what caused some of our struggles, If only I knew what I know now. But thankful now I have changed and I can put my husband as # 1!!  I am extremely lucky, I am madly in love with my husband still after 26 years, not saying that we have not had our struggles and failures but we have completely put our trust in God and let him be the center of our marriage. Three strands are not easily broken; God, Me and Rod.  Now it is our children’s turn to experience the love that we have.

I have been surprised at the people that tell me that cutting the apron strings is stupid. If it is so stupid why does God continue to put it in the bible over and over again. I think we are the ones that are not so smart we need to learn to listen to “God.”

 

Rod, Jill, Stephanie, Chandler, Shaelee & Derek

                                           

Genesis 2:24
That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.

All the long hours and hard work are worth it! So far a 100% calf crop!

It is January 29, 2015 and we have been calving heifers since January 16. We started with 28 Heifers and have 13 left to calf. We artificially inseminated our heifers to a low weight heifer bull then cleaned up with one of our own bulls since AI does not have a 100% guarantee of taking. With our son back he thought it would be a good idea to AI. He said it is a good way to get better genetics without the cost of buying a new bull which makes since.

This is a stressful time of year just for the fact that Rod does not get a lot of sleep. He checks the heifers every 2 to 4 hours. Sometimes more, like last night, I don’t think he was able to sleep but maybe 2 hours. He usually sleeps on the couch so he won’t wake me, which is not my idea I would rather he wake me up and be in our bed, but he worries since I have to go to work the next morning. If things get rough and he needs help he will wake me but if not I get to sleep. Right now Chandler lives about 20 minutes from the farm which makes it hard for him to help out with the heifers.

We went to bed about 10pm last night and he got back up at 11 to check on a heifer that he knew was trying to calf. I waited a little bit and noticed he had not come back in so, since I was not fully asleep I went out to the calving barn. Unfortunately the heifer was unable to have the baby on her own so we had to get her in the calving pen to try and help her out.  Usually Rod can pull the baby with just chains but not tonight! The baby was big and stuck! Thankfully he was able to use the puller and get the baby out safely. The little guy was stressed and had trouble breathing but Rod was able to get him going.

 My main focus is to pray, give moral support and hand things to Rod as he needs them. It is always such a blessing to get to watch a new baby come into this world but exhausting. I went back up to the house about midnight but Rod stayed to make sure the little guy did well. Then a couple hours later he had to do the same process all over again with a different heifer! What a night for Rod, but as always he was still cheerful this morning with only having about 2 hours of sleep.

Hi! My name is Jill Berning, I am a working farm/ranch wife. I just want to share my story to hopefully help inspire all farmers’ wives. I work at a local feed yard doing books from 7 am to 4 pm Monday thru Friday and every third Saturday from 8 to noon. Since my husband is a farmer I need to work so that we can have insurance, I am sure that is familiar to lots of farm families. I work in a field that relates to the farm which makes it helpful at work and on the farm.

My husband (Rod) and I have been married for 26 years and have two children, now four since our daughter (Shaelee) married in January of 2015 and our son (Chandler) married in September 2015. Busy year!! Chandler who is now 23 is back on the farm and his sweet wife (Stephanie) works at the local library and helps on the farm when she can.  Shaelee lives 15 miles away and works at a bank. Her and her husband (Derek) have a manure spreading business and Derek helps out on the farm during harvest. We are a tight net family that prays together and works together not always an easy feat! Rod and I are trying to make “the family farm” a peaceful place. When we were first married he farmed with his Dad and Uncle and it was extremely stressful causing a lot of conflict for us and his family. It was a struggle at first for Rod and Chandler but they have seemed to work out their major differences.

 Every morning on the way to work I spend that half hour in prayer. Always starting with the three men in our lives, praying for safety, kindness, and a good working environment. That seems to help. Rod and I also start our day out with a daily devotion. That starts our day on a good note, it’s funny how our readings on most days relates to what is going on in our personal lives. If we miss a day or so it effects our relationship and our attitudes so that is a ritual we try not to miss. God works in mysterious ways.