A Life Worth Living: Mitchell’s Jody Lamp co-authors a history book about Nebraska agriculture

A Life Worth Living:

Mitchell’s Jody Lamp co-authors a history book about Nebraska agriculture

By Voice Staff - March 9, 2017


MITCHELL – Earlier this month, Jody Lamp of Mitchell and her American Doorstep Project partner Melody Dobson of Billings, Mont. announced the title of their new Nebraska book, “A History of Nebraska Agriculture: A Life Worth Living.”

The timing of the release on March 1 coincided with Nebraska’s 150th Sesquicentennial Statehood day celebrations.

“As we celebrate Nebraska’s statehood for years to come, we honor all who contributed to Nebraska’s agriculture advancement,” Lamp and Dobson said in a press release. “This Nebraska agricultural history book is not all-inclusive of farming, ranching or the significant role Nebraskans have played in the success of technological and biological advancements in the past 150 years. But it is with utmost integrity and desire that we bring attention and recognition to what we refer to as the “SPICE” (spaces, places, inventions, commodities, events) and the people of the Cornhusker State who helped us to narrow and identify the stories that were selected.”

Lamp, who grew up in Scotts Bluff County and graduated from Minatare High School, signed a multiple-book publishing agreement with The History Press in 2016 to produce a series of agriculture history books, beginning with “A History of Nebraska Agriculture: A Life Worth Living," which debuts in retail outlets, book stores, museums and similar venues throughout Nebraska in early June.

She met Dobson while she and her husband Mike and their children Mark and Jessie lived in Billings, Mont., from 1997 to early 2015. They began working together in 2012.

The Lamps moved to Mitchell in 2015, but she has continued to work closely with Dobson through the American Doorstep Project. She and Dobson will do similar books on agriculture history in Montana and North Dakota in 2018 and 2019.

Lamp has a journalism degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and when she is not busy working as an independent consultant and national project director for the books, she owns Lamp Public Relations and Marketing, LLC.

The cover art and illustrations on Lamp and Dobson’s new book was done by nationally-renowned Nebraska artist, Gene Roncka.

The book’s front cover image, Sunset on the Sandahl Home Place; was a commissioned piece Roncka painted for the Dean Sandahl family farm near Wakefield, northeast of Norfolk. The back cover image, River Bottom, tells a story of several generations that have lived and continue to live in a typical Midwestern farm house.

Both prints and other examples of Roncka’s work are featured at Willow Point Gallery/Museum at 1431 Silver Street, in Ashland, the town where Roncka and his wife, Mary, live.

“We are honored and humbled to have the opportunity to work with Gene and Mary Roncka and to feature someone of Gene’s stature in the art world in our first book,” Lamp and Dodson said. “We’ve been fans of his work since we stumbled upon the Willow Point Gallery and believe the Ronckas’ to be as much a treasure to the community of Ashland and the state of Nebraska, as Gene’s beautiful illustrations.”

Local artist’s work chosen for book on agriculture

 Local artist's work chosen for book on agriculture

ASHLAND – Paintings by a local artist will grace the cover of a book celebrating Nebraska’s agricultural history.

Gene Roncka’s work has been selected for the front and back covers of “A History of Nebraska Agriculture: A Life Worth Living,” which will be released on June 12. Presale orders are being taken Saturday, March 4 at Roncka’s Willow Point Gallery in downtown Ashland.

“A History of Nebraska Agriculture: A Life Worth Living” is written by Jody Lamp and Melody Dobson. The business partners have an office in downtown Ashland where they spend time at least once a month while on this end of the state.

The book is the first in a series of three agriculture history books written by Lamp and Dobson as part of their American Doorstop Project. The other two books will be about Montana and North Dakota.

The book tells stories of the state’s farmers and ranchers that may not otherwise be documented in print.

“Overall, the book is about Nebraska’s agriculture history from the standpoint of bringing stories to life that have been forgotten or not even written about,” said Lamp.

The book includes stories about homesteaders, a five-generation farm in Ogallala, the Grand Island horse and mule markets, the state’s dry bean industry and more.

“From Saunders County to Scotts Bluff County, we feature stories of Nebraska’s agricultural history with a whole bunch in between,” Lamp said.

Lamp and Dobson chose art created by Roncka, a Nebraska native, to connect his work with the history of farming and ranching in the state.

“In particular, we wanted to feature someone in Nebraska whose illustration and art would be forever documented and associated with this type of literature,” Lamp said.

Initially Lamp and Dobson chose a painting by Roncka called “River Bottom” for the front and back cover of the book. However, when they showed their editors at The History Press another painting Roncka had done, they were even more impressed by it.

The painting, called “Sunset on the Sandahl Home Place,” was of a farm near Wakefield that had been in the Sandahl family for 100 years.

The editors fell in love with the painting, which was commissioned by the family of Dean and Della Sandahl for their 60th wedding anniversary. As a result, the painting became the cover art for the front of the book. The editors chose to use “River Bottom” was on the back cover.

The choice of a second piece of art meant even more of Roncka’s work would be featured.

“Better that we have two of his pieces of work on the front and back cover,” said Lamp.
Mary Roncka, Gene Roncka’s wife, said her husband is pleased that his art was chosen for the book.

“He’s very excited about it,” she said.

Some of Roncka’s art is also featured inside the book. For example, a painting he did of the historic Beetison house outside of Ashland is used on the introductory page to the section on education, Lamp said.

“We wanted to feature that because the Beetisons were farmers and ranchers in that area,” she added.

Lamp is a big fan of Roncka’s work. She learned about the artist after she and her family considered moving to Ashland in 2014. They ended up moving to Mitchell to be near family instead, but Lamp and Dobson chose to open an office in Ashland.

While exploring the community, they came across Willow Point Gallery, which is located on the same block as their office.

“When Melody and I first came to Ashland, I just fell in love with Gene’s work,” Lamp said.

Little did she know, Lamp had actually been a Roncka fan for many years. About a decade earlier, her father had given her a print of Memorial Stadium that had been done by Roncka. A graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lamp loved the print, but didn’t put the name with the artist until she visited Willow Point Gallery and saw a copy of the print there.

When she stays in Ashland, Lamp enjoys spending time at Willow Point Gallery, where she has gotten to know the Ronckas well. She also eats at area restaurants and does business in the local shops when in town, which is at least once a month.

“I just love Ashland,” she said. “I call it my little Hallmark town.”

Lamp grew up in Scotts Bluff County and after graduating from UNL with a degree in journalism and minors in psychology, anthropology and history, she worked at a newspaper in Beatrice. She was hired by an ag-based public relations and advertising agency and moved to Wisconsin and later Montana, where she started her own public relations and marketing business.

While in Montana she began collaborating on projects with Dobson, who is from a fourth-generation farm/ranch operation in the northeastern part of the state. The pair has worked together for five years.

Lamp and Dobson spent about four years researching before they sat down to write the book, which took less than a year to finish.

“The bulk of the Nebraska book was written within six months,” Lamp said.

Through their American Doorstop Project, Lamp and Dobson plan to give back to local communities.
“Melody and I want to get to the point where we are philanthropists,” Lamp said.

They plan to give back to the community of Ashland during their March 4 event to celebrate the upcoming book. At Willow Point Gallery, they will offer a discounted price on pre-sale orders of their book.

Lamp and Dobson coordinated the publication of the Nebraska book to coincide with the state’s sesquicentennial in 2017. They were a part of the Statehood Day activities in Lincoln on March 1 and plan to join the community in marking Nebraska’s 150th birthday at the “Ashland-Nebraska Connection – 150 Years” celebration on March 4 at the Ashland Public Library from 2 to 4 p.m.

A book signing is also planned during Ashland’s Stir-Up celebration in July. The book will be on sale at stores throughout the state beginning June 12.

The book puts the spotlight on agriculture, a key element in the formation of Nebraska and the villages and cities that make up the state.

“We get to tell people how agriculture shaped their towns,” Lamp said.

And they get to do so with the help of a beloved local artist.

“We feel so fortunate, so honored to feature Gene’s work in this book,” she added.

American Doorstop Project Announces Two New Partner Sponsors for Nebraska Agriculture History Book

https://brianallmerradionetwork.wordpress.com/2016/06/01/06-01-16-kelley-bean-company-and-north-platte-natural-resources-district-join-growing-list-of-nebraska-agriculture-supporters/

The Kelley Bean Company family and its employees have had the support of several generations of dry edible bean growers to be one of the largest originators and marketers in the United States.

Add Nebraska has more irrigated acres of land than any other state in the nation and is the only state that manages its water through Natural Resource Districts, known as NRDs. aption

American Doorstop Project National Coordinators Sign Fiscal Sponsorship Agreement with Montana History Foundation

Media Contact:

American Doorstop Project

www.AmericanDoorstopProject.com                                                              

jody@AmericanDoorstopProject.com

(406) 698-9675

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

American Doorstop Project National Coordinators Sign Fiscal Sponsorship Agreement with Montana History Foundation

Billings, MT – Nov. 18, 2015 – Independent strategic planning consultants and national project coordinators, Melody Dobson and Jody Lamp, of the American Doorstop Project, announce they have signed a fiscal sponsorship agreement for their new joint-agriculture advocacy venture with the Montana History Foundation (MHF), a 501(c)3 independent nonprofit corporation dedicated to preserving and protecting the rich legacy of Montana's past.

With its mission and vision of raising funds to support history projects across the Treasure State, the Montana History Foundation will provide support for American Doorstop Project, allowing philanthropists, individual donors, institutions,  corporations and grantors, within and outside Montana, a tax-deductible benefit for their contributions towards the project.

“We are pleased to work with the American Doorstop Project and its coordinators and endorse their efforts to showcase Montana's number one industry and the significant role Montanans have contributed to our nation's agricultural history,” says Charlene Porsild, President and CEO of Montana History Foundation. “We believe it's important to collect these stories and record this history before they are lost forever.”

Both Dobson and Lamp share generational ties to the land and come from their ancestral homesteading roots in both Montana and Nebraska, respectively. They plan to direct and promote this national agricultural focused ambassador advocacy campaign through a collection of local and regional stories, which will be featured as a series of books and within a large-format book.

Dobson says funds received through the Montana History Foundation will help the team elaborate each story within the American Doorstop Project to be accompanied by website links, video vignettes, integrated social media channels, national and community engagement events, signage, and oral history narratives.

"Montana is a leader and diverse in its production of commodities that feed the nation and the world," says Dobson, a third generation  eastern Montanan. "It is also rich in providing abundant human resources who from their well-spring of 'Big Sky' learning and living can make an impact nationally."

The American Doorstop Project team will continue to travel the United States to research, collect and preserve the stories that shaped the development of American Agriculture through the Agrarian Discipline. As the creators of www.YourOnePowerfulVoice.com, Dobson and Lamp also recently worked with filmmaker Conrad Weaver of ConjoStudios, LLC, serving as national coordinators for the Great American Wheat Harvest documentary film, which received a 2015 Mid-America Regional EMMY® Award for Best Documentary-Cultural. The team currently works as the strategic planning partners for the U.S. Custom Harvesters, Inc., and will help the organization launch its Strategic Plan 2016-2020.

Dobson and Lamp bring a collective 40-plus years of professional communication experience and historical preservation knowledge. They work to create relationships of integrity that build the “esprit de corps” necessary to launch and fulfill the strategic plan and fund development program identified for a phase one project completion by Spring 2017.

To learn more about the American Doorstop Project and to find out about how you can make a tax-deductible financial contribution to help honor the legacies of our past and shed light on our nation’s agricultural history, visit the www.AmericanDoorstopProject.com website. For more information about sponsorship packages, media interviews, speaking appearances, call Jody L. Lamp, at (406) 698-9675 or by email jody@AmericanDoorstopProject.com

 

About American Doorstop Project

The American Doorstop Project is a joint-venture agriculture advocacy collaboration between independent national coordinators, Melody Dobson and Jody Lamp. The project preserves and promotes historical places, spaces and events that have shaped our country over the past hundreds of years. American Doorstop Project features a collection of stories that were instrumental in shaping America’s agricultural roots and had they not happened, America, as we know it, would be different than it is today. The strategic plan and fund development program for a project phase one completion is planned for Spring 2017.

Resource Links

Website & Blog: http://www.americandoorstopproject.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ShareAgHistory?lang=en

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AmericanDoorstopProject

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/shareaghistory/

YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCijrIr3NPyKlVMnWDNbBvrA

Instagram: https://instagram.com/americandoorstopproject/

 



 

About Montana History Foundation

Established in 1985, the Montana History Foundation is an independent, non-profit corporation preserving the rich legacy of Montana's past -- one story, one community, one project at a time. We grant funds, mobilize the generosity of donors and collaborate with individuals and and organization to explore and honor Montana history.

Resource Links

Website: http://www.mthistory.org/index.html

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mthistoryfoundation?ref=hl

Lamp Public Relations & Marketing Expands Business; Opens Offices in Nebraska and Launches New Logo

http://agwired.com/2015/05/26/lamp-public-relations-marketing-announces-expansion/

Billings, MT, May 26, 2015 -- Lamp Public Relations & Marketing announces an expansion of its current business, while maintaining its current clients and office from Billings, Mont.; in addition, the public relations and marketing firm will open offices in both western and eastern Nebraska to become even more centrally located and aligned to service its agriculture-based clientele and industry.

Lamp Public Relations & Marketing presents a team approach that includes interpersonal communication skills; leadership education and training; brand development and management; creation for team growth and collaboration opportunities; direction, development and distribution of national legacy strategic plans, projects and funding programs.


Current national clients and work include:
All American Pharmaceutical, based in Billings, Mont., a leading manufacturer of dietary, food and nutritional supplements, that specializes in producing private label and custom formulations for General Health and Sports Nutrition to anti-aging products and food products;


and the U.S. Custom Harvesters, Inc., a non-profit Association of professional Harvesters, (combine, forage, hay and cotton) all serving the needs of the American farmer.


Lamp Public Relations & Marketing works with businesses, organizations, associations and individuals from a communications baseline approach of respect, integrity and best practices with the end in mind to grow capacity and sustainability. The firm puts a special focus on agricultural, food, energy and education related sectors and utilizes its leadership training program featured at www.YourOnePowerfulVoice.com.


For more information contact Jody L. Lamp at 406-698-9675 or at jody@lampprandmarketing.com.

News and Updates from the Producer/Director of the Great American Wheat Harvest documentary film

 

 We're in the middle of wheat harvest season across the country and our film crew has been traveling and capturing footage and interviews with harvesters, farmers, and others involved in the wheat industry. Check out our Facebook page to see photos and updates from our journeys! We've been to the following places: Vernon, TX; Guymon, OK; Canadian, TX; Shattuck, OK; Garden City, KS; Leoti, KS; Colby, KS; Goodland, KS; & Limon, CO. Check out the map of our path on the right.

 

Here's our upcoming schedule and tentative locations:

July 22-24: Imperial and Scottsbluff, NE
July 25-27: Wall, SD and surrounding area
July 28-30: Billings, MT and surrounding area

 

 

T-Shirts are Available! We've put together an awesome design for a T-shirt promoting the Great American Wheat Harvest film. Orders are coming in quickly from all over the world! It's amazing to see how many people around the world are interested in our film! Be sure to order your T-shirt here.

Sponsorships Available We've recently announced that A Total Manufacturing Company has joined us as a Silver Sponsor! With its roots deep in the agriculture industry, TMCO and National Manufacturing work with wheat breeders, food research laboratories, universities and companies worldwide that all have direct links to the food supply chain. We're so grateful for their support!   NOW is a great time for your company to join us as a sponsor! We're looking for Producer's Club level sponsors and we're looking for someone to step up an become our first GOLD Level sponsor.   For more information about all of our sponsorship opportunities, please contact me, National Executive Co-Coordinators, Jody L. Lamp at 406-698-9675 or send an email to: jody@greatamericanwheatharvest.com   To make a contribution now, click here:  Thank you and hope to see you as we travel North with the harvest crews!

 

How I Spend My Sept. 11's since 2001

I believe like most Americans do on this day since Sept. 11, 2001, I spend today reflecting and appreciating the blessings in my life: my parents, my husband, my children, my family, my friends, my country, and most of all, my relationship with my Lord and Savior.

One of the most famous pictures from 9/11, photo of three firemen raising the American flag at the site of the World Trade Center attacks. Shot by Thomas E. Franklin, of The Bergen Record, the photo first appeared on Sept 12, 2001 under the title, Ground Zero Spirit. The paper also put it on the Associated Press wire and it appeared on the covers of several newspapers around the world. The photo was a finalist in 2002 for the Pulitzer Prize in breaking news photography.

Sept 11, 2001 ~  
"Where were you when the world stopped turning ....on that September day?"

The north face of Two World Trade Center (south tower) immediately after being struck by United Airlines Flight 175

I will be forever grateful that on that particular Tuesday morning, my day began like nearly every other day had been for me the previous four years.When my husband and I moved to Montana in 1997, the Milwaukee, WI/Lincoln, NE-based public relations and advertising agency I worked for then ~ Bader Rutter & Associates ~ allowed me the opportunity to continue working with them and set up an office in my home.

My husband had already left for work and our nine-month-old son was playing on the living room floor when I turned on NBC News in New York City to watch Katie, Matt, Ann and Al and catch the morning news. By that time, five hijackers had already crashed American Airlines Flight 11 into the World Trade Center's North Tower. I called my mom in Nebraska to see if she had been watching the news earlier that morning and had heard anything. She hadn't, so we said our "love you's" and hung up. Soon after, I watched in shocked as another five hijackers crashed United Airlines Flight 175 into the South Tower.

At that point, I picked up my son and held him as tightly as I could. I knew what was happening could be no accident. I started to rock him more for my own comfort than his. Through tears, I prayed, "Dear Lord ~ please be with all those babies whose mommies and daddies went to work in those Towers today."

I called my husband's work and was talking with his boss when the five hijackers flew American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon. There was no doubt that our country was under attack and would never be the same.

 What Are You Thankful For Today?

What I was thankful for in 2001 and what I am thankful for and passionate about in 2012 has only intensified. Beyond the blessings I mentioned earlier, I consider it great honor and privilege that I continue to work with individuals and businesses in the public relations and marketing field advocating, promoting, educating, and sharing information about all aspects of agriculture.

Everyday I awaken with an attitude of gratitude for the ability to live and work in these United States of America. Herein lies my passion:

Meeting up with my fellow ag advocate and dear friend, Heidi Nelson of Harvest PR & Marketing, at the Ag Media Summit in Albuquerque, NM

"Amber Waves of Grain" ~ The beauty of an eastern Montana wheat field right before harvest

Talking with  Conrad Weaver, executive film director for the Great American Wheat Harvest (Wheat Harvest Movie) documentary film, and Tracy Zeorian of Zeorian Harvesting & Trucking, who was here all the way from Manley, NE to harvest spring wheat with her husband, Jim, near Jordan, MT. I wore my Husker hat and shirt to make Tracy & Jim feel at home. Melody Dobson, my business partner and national executive co-coordinator on GAWH took the pic.

Taking a pic of my co-National Executive Coordinator, Melody Dobson, as we meet up with the Zeorian Harvesting Crew, who are featured in the Great American Wheat Harvest documentary film trailer.

May We Never Forget 

This week as I travel to Nebraska for Husker Harvest Days and Kansas with my co-National Executive Coordinator to represent the Great American Wheat Harvest, I find myself recommitted, dedicated and driven to fulfilling the purpose of the life God has granted me. I love what I do. I hope that you in turn love what you're doing, love who your are becoming and love who you are yet to become.

The events of 9/11/2001 are a reminder to us all that life is too short not to love every minute of it.

"Tonight, I ask for your prayers for all those who grieve, for the children whose worlds have been shattered, for all whose sense of safety and security has been threatened. And I pray they will be comforted by a power greater than any of us, spoken through the ages in Psalm 23: 

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me.” -- President George W. Bush September 11, 2001.

 "Did you weep for the children who lost their dear loved ones

And pray for the ones who don't know?

Did you rejoice for the people who walked from the rubble

And sob for the ones left below?

Did you burst out with pride for the red, white and blue

And the heroes who died just doin' what they do?

Did you look up to Heaven for some kind of answer

And look at yourself and what really matters?"

"But I know Jesus and I talk to God

And I remember this from when I was young

Faith, Hope and Love are some good things He gave us

And the greatest is Love......." 

Lyrics from "Where Were You When The World Stopped Turning" by Alan Jackson

An Agricultural Metaphor ~ Back Home!

It takes about 6.5 hours to drive the 450-mile stretch between our home in Billings, Mont., to my former stomping grounds in western Nebraska. After 15 years, I know nearly every crack and crevice of the two interstates and two-lane highways just about as well as I'm beginning to know the wrinkles carving their way onto my 43-year-old forehead. With the entire family (hubby or Papa & two kiddos) or by myself, the trek continues to require a couple necessary pit stops in Wyoming.  

Having lived away from my Nebraska Panhandle now longer than I lived there, I remain a Husker at Heart! Other than seeing the faces of my mom, step dad, three sisters, family and friends, nothing says "YOU'RE 'BACK HOME'" more to me than the view of the Scotts Bluff National Monument in my windshield. I admit, I've shed a happy tear or two even seeing that sandstone rock from the window seat of an airplane upon returning home for a visit from college.

Not only for myself, but I'm certain for other former Panhandle residents, the Monument serves as a natural "landing page" in our memory-recall. Even diaries and journals of 19th century westward emigrants, who traveled by covered wagons along the Oregon, Mormon and California trails, noted the natural marvel. History reflects that more than 250,000 travelers made their way through the area between 1843 and 1869. 

Scottsbluff and Gering, a.k.a., the Twin Cities, today boasts about 22,000+ residents. Besides the North Platte River, a little cross-town rivalry occasionally separates the two cities. But you see residents pulling together like recently, when Teresa Scanlan, from Gering was named Miss Nebraska 2010 and later Miss America 2011, becoming the youngest Miss America crowned since 1937. And when the 2011-2012 Scottsbluff High School Boys Basketball team brought home the state Class B Championship trophy for the first time since 1955.

Sunday = Fun Day!
I know its easy to take every essence of the people and environment around you for granted when it's all that your eyes see daily. Objects and emotions become sedentary......complacent.......unattached. For those reasons, that why I appreciate going "Back Home" to Nebraska. I always look forward to recalling the memories I made during my formative years and the new ones I make with my own children and extended family now.


Sunday's have and will continue to be my favorite day of the week: waking up to read the Sunday paper....hearing meadowlarks sing from fence post perches....heading off to Sunday school and then church.....anticipating the mmmmm....mmmmm...goodness of my mom's fried chicken and mashed potatoes.......responding to my dad's desire to go for a Sunday drive to only-God-knows-where....and topping off the day with some ice cream from the local creamery and a good Disney movie on TV. 


Sunday's have been days of celebrating births.....baptisms........Easter holidays......graduations......visits from friends........reaping the harvest for which we have sewn..... and most importantly for me now than ever before, listening intently to God's word. 


On this last trip back home, I was able to attend church service with my sister and mom in the same church that my hubby and I were married in nearly 16 years ago. The scripture reading for the day came from John 12:20-36. As I looked to find the passage in my Bible, my ears perked when I heard the worship leader say, "Today's timeless word is an 'Agricultural Metaphor', in which Jesus predicts His own death and explains to His disciples in verse 24: I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds."

"AGvocacy"
 I sat in amazement of God's grace and steadfastness when I realized how much he has always made Agricultural an integral part of my life. From as early as being a 4-H'er in Scotts Bluff County; showing market lambs and stocker feeders; participating in livestock judging; majoring in journalism and getting the "Ag Beat" for my J-School newspaper; writing for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Institute of Agricultural & Natural Resources; being hired as an agricultural reporter and photographer my first year out of college; only later to be recruited by a public relations and advertising agency to write for one of the largest fertilizer company's; and now having my own public relations and marketing business to work with those associated with agriculture.


Which, when you drum it down, we ALL are associated with Agriculture. Farmers and ranchers grow and raise food. We, as consumers, eat food for nourishment and sustainability. Pretty simple! 


So, when I have remained faithful and obedient to God's nudging, He has always brought something to do with Agricultural into my life. I look forward to being the New Ag Columnist for the Gering Citizen Newspaper and helping meet the public relations and marketing needs for the upcoming documentary film, the Wheat Harvest Movie.   Looking forward to both adventures and having additional outlets to "agvocate" for our American farmers and ranchers.


I hope you will join me on this journey! Because, as in life, recalling the Agricultural Metaphor of Jesus, when you have a seed and it sits by itself ~ it bears no fruit! We need to work as a community of "seeds" to thrive!