Herding Cows

We were working together as a family in the pre-dawn hours. The task was illuminated with reflections of headlights and intermittent emergency flashers.  Like my family, I was dressed in my Sunday best. Essentially- I was moving a thousand-pound animal back to where it belonged. The mood was complete calm. “This” is how I was raised…

Growing up in the midwest, I learned that Iowans seem to live by a few simple cowboy/farmer codes of behavior:
You quietly work hard without complaint.
You help your neighbor when they need it.
You reap what you sow.
I watched our community live by these codes of conduct.  It was a safe and happy place to be.

My Dad was given the tireless opportunity to serve as our church congregation’s Branch President. He was asked to help the members of the local branch with their spiritual progression and to make sure their temporal needs were met as well.  I didn’t understand much as a young girl regarding the details of his call to serve for hours each Sunday in meetings, and counsels. However, I often saw him on his knees in prayer and in his home office with closed doors as he gently spoke on the phone with love to those who sought out his aid. Sundays were days of service.  Before dawn, my dad drove us in the family station wagon to church. After the meetings and worship service, we tried our best to patiently wait for Dad to finish his (God’s) work for the day so we could return home.

One Sunday dressed in our best, we napped in the back seat on our way to the neighboring town where we attended church. Without warning, Dad slammed on the brakes, flashed his brights a few times and turned on the car’s red flashing emergency lights.  He parked the car in the middle of the road, and told us- “Girls! We need your help!” We all quickly filed out and soon realized we were not alone in the street on that early Sunday morning. A local farmer’s cows were out…seemingly ALL of them… 
I knew from my Iowa upbringing that dangerous car accidents occurred with livestock having found a hole in a broken fence-line and wandering into trouble.  It was a double tragedy: Potentially fatal car accidents, AND a farmer losing an important resource.  

Dad had us spread out and form a line around the herd.  We were told to put our arms straight out from our sides (making us seem visually larger to the cows?) On Dad’s cue we were to slowly walk forcing the herd back towards the farmer’s property.  Dad made “cow sounds” mooing as he walked, and I followed his lead, doing the same. I was amazed that a ten-year-old girl and her sisters could help move a herd of cows…From the middle of the road…Back to where they belonged…Safely behind a fenced enclosure.
Absolutely everything Dad told us to do worked perfectly.  We walked the cows back into their pasture through the hole in the fence from where they emerged. Mom had gone to alert the farmer and he was already working to repair his fence as Dad and us girls brought the cows back home.   
When the job was finished, we returned to the car and finished the drive to church as if the experience we just had was completely normal behavior. Perhaps I thought it was.  

Certainly working hard and helping others along their way was a normal way of life.  Perhaps that’s why as I learned at home and church of Christ, the stories and messages were seemingly easy to believe.  I saw this behavior in the world around me. Thus, a book of scripture with accounts of a man who dedicated His life to serving God-  seemed more like a non-fiction history book than a far-fetched unbelievable fantasy.
  
Growing up in Iowa and having hard-working faithful parents: I was one of the lucky ones.  I know it. My parents talked of Christ, taught of Christ and lived in a way to honor Him and His role in our lives.  
My choice was to individually and independently learn, or neglect the simple teachings and ignore the proof of the existence of God that surrounded me.


-JC

Gingersnaps

½ cup oil
½ cup soft butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
½ cup molasses
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 ½ cups flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons ginger
½ teaspoon cloves
½ teaspoon nutmeg

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Cream oil, butter, sugars, and molasses with an electric mixer on medium-high for 1 minute or until fluffy. Hand stir in eggs and vanilla; don’t overmix. Add dry ingredients all at once and mix until fully incorporated. Add 2-3 Tablespoons more flour for high elevation. Scoop out approximately 24+ 2” balls of dough.  Gently roll into granulated or coarse sugar. For a richer flavor and smoother texture, form cookie dough balls, flatten slightly and refrigerate or freeze until ready to bake. Place on greased or parchment paper on an aluminum cookie sheet.  
Bake at 375 degrees for 12+  min. Let set. Share!