Over the years of growing up on the farm I heard some really good advice and counsel from my Dad, and I would like to remember it all. Many of the best lessons and principles were in one short sentence or motto so they are easy to remember. One of my favorites is, “you don’t have to act the way you feel”, I have passed that on to my kids. One I got from my Dad after the tongue of the hay wagon fell on my foot (I lost 4 toe nails), and he said, “just because you get hurt doesn’t mean you have to yell”. Another good one from Dad, “Just rub dirt on it”, that is what he said when I got hurt, and had a cut, bruise or whatever. That is a great trio of motto’s for tough guys or wanna be tough guys. “You don’t have to act the way you feel”, “Just because you get hurt doesn’t mean you have to yell”, and “just rub dirt on it”. There isn’t a day goes by in my life that I don’t think of those and try to put them into practice. Another one from my Dad, “You always do the right thing, because it is the right thing”, you shouldn’t need any other motive or reward. One time while we were watching the news and they were showing a bunch of college students demonstrating against the Vietnam War and I asked him what he thought and he said, “There is a right way and a wrong way to change things that need changing, the right way works, the wrong way doesn’t“, and then he went on to say, “you change things by serving, not by acting stupid”. A great time management motto from him was, “If you want to get twice as much done in a day then work twice as hard as you are presently working”. One of my favorites was, “If you are a 30 horsepower motor and want to become a 40 horsepower motor work like a 40 horsepower motor and you will become one”. This one is one I heard from him a lot, “don’t just stand there, do something“! The counsel he gave me that resulted in my being a pastor was, “Give it a try for one year, sometimes you don’t know what to do until you have done it, then you know”. One time I called him when I was at an all time low pastoring and asked him if I should quit and come back to the farm and he said, “never make a decision when you are down, it almost always is wrong, wait until you are winning and then choose”, that is why I have been at JBC for 44 years. I was at a seminar a few years ago and heard this one and I thought, that reminds me of my Dad, “you don’t feel your way into right acting, you act your way into right feeling”. Another bit of advice from Dad on impulsiveness vs decisiveness, “don’t make a decision until you have to so you have time to gather information and get counsel, but when it is time pull the trigger, pull it”. One more, “never be rude to a waitress or anybody else for that matter“.