AdAgrA 2014 Conference

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AdAgrA: Adventist Agriculture Association

Alan Seiler

Morning Devotional

Thursday Morning Devotional

Larry Lesher

Friday Morning Devotional

Darren Greenfield

Sabbath Morning Devotional

Whitmar McConnell

Sunday Morning Devotional


My name's Alan Seiler. My family and I run a very, very, very, very teensy-weensy, eeny-weeny little farm in South Central Oklahoma. And it's been a wonderful experience. And I'm just going to share a few things, 4 points that I've learned, and doubtless other people have learned them as well, but some that have been really important to me that when I say learn, I mean I'm still learning. This is a long-term process here of learning, so I'm not claiming to have these perfectly down pat or anything like that, but God has been good and hopefully you all receive a, we will all receive a blessing, me included, this morning.

So let's start with a word of prayer. Dear Father in heaven, I just want to thank you for this day, for this morning, for this time that we get to spend together. May we receive a blessing, and may we continue to honor and glorify you in everything we do and say. In your name we ask, amen. So we're going to go over 4 points this morning.

And I'm just going to list them out and then we'll talk about each 1 a little bit. First point that that I've learned in this agricultural experience is don't bite off more than you can chew, be patient with the process, don't be afraid to fail, And where is my last 1 here? Worry doesn't help anyone. So I'm sure you can all relate to some of these things, but the first Bible verse that I want to go to as we start out here is John chapter 16, 12 through 13. John chapter 16, 12 through 13.

And It says, I have yet many things to say unto you, but you cannot bear them now. Howbeit he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth. For he shall not speak of himself, but whosoever he shall hear, that shall he speak, and he will show you things to come." The part here I want to concentrate on this morning is, I have many things to say unto you, but you cannot bear them now. When we started out more seriously a few years ago, right now we're only growing one-seventh of an acre. So back then it was even less than 1 seventh of an acre.

And the farmers seem to always have, at least for me, in my experience, seem to always have this desire. It's like, oh, let's go half an acre, then an acre. Let's get a tractor, you know, and all this kind of stuff. And, you know, I can't tell you how a blessing it's been. Because of our acreage, we only own 2 acres total, and part of that's rock.

So it's been a lot of work to try to get the rocks out so we can actually grow in the soil. But I can't tell you how much of a blessing that actually has been, because it's forced us to stay small and to do things better in a small way, to be more ingenious with the space we have. And to overall just not overwhelm ourselves, because when you do make a mistake, you're making it small, right? So don't bite off more than you can chew. So right now, we're going to have a little interaction with everyone here.

So this is what I want you to do find someone that you don't know and I want you to share with them for about so introduce yourself 15 seconds then 30 seconds each 30 seconds each and This is a thought that I want you to share with that other individual that you don't know Think of a personal example or of someone you know that learned their lessons or whatever on a small scale that helped them out in the long run. Now, this doesn't have to be a personal experience, preferably a personal experience, and it doesn't have to be about farming. Just an experience where someone learned on a small scale, either you or someone else, and that helped them out in the long run in what they were doing. So let's do that right now. 15 seconds, introduce yourself, and then each 1 share the idea.

OK, wonderful. So thank you for all sharing. I love all this conversation going on. It's great. People getting to know each other and hopefully, yeah, great, great, great, great.

The audience has grown quite a bit since we started, so I'm just going to reiterate a little bit, real briefly, what we're talking about here. We're talking about 4 points that I have found valuable in the farming experience that have helped me out a lot as as I've gone along the road here. And just to go over the 4 points again, and then we're going to talk about each 1. We're now on the second point, but the first point is don't bite off more than you can chew. The second point is be patient with the process.

The third point is don't be afraid to fail. And the fourth point is worry doesn't help anyone. So let's move on to the second point. Be patient with the process. And this is a quote taken from Patriarchs and Prophets, page 247, paragraph 4.

And it's talking about Moses and his time in the wilderness. And it says, man would have disposed with the long period of toil and obscurity, deeming it a great loss of time, but infinite wisdom called him who was to become the leader of his people to spend 40 years in the humble work of a shepherd. The habits of caretaking, of self-forgetfulness, and tender solicitude for his flock, thus developed, would prepare him to become the compassionate, long-suffering shepherd of Israel. No advantage that human training or culture could bestow could be substituted for this experience." You know, I, And this is a much inferior example, a personal example, to Moses' 40 years, right? I'm not even like half that age, you know?

But nonetheless, it's my own experience. I love growing cucumbers. And this year, we planted 4 crops of cucumbers to kind of keep it going through the season. We planted the first crop, it was looking well, and it flopped. I mean, it flopped on its face.

And the second crop, oh, maybe we'll do it this time. It flopped. The third crop, it flopped. The fourth crop, we started learning a little bit more, but overall, it was at the end of the season, it really didn't count much anyways. But, you know, I was, oh man, I was impatient with these cucumber plants.

It's like, if you can't grow a cucumber plant, you can't grow anything, you know, kind of thing. I was just so frustrated. And you know, at the end of the season, it's like, you know, this is a process. And if I continue to be frustrated over the experiences of not being patient through this experience, I'm going to kill myself over it. I'm going to be so frustrated, it's going to take the joy out of what I'm doing.

And being patient with the process, You know, Moses thought he was a failure, but little did he know that that experience is what was preparing him to be the leader of Israel and to take them into the Promised Land, almost into the Promised Land. But, you know, as we go along in this farming experience, let us understand that it's a process. It's not a sprint, it's a marathon. And you can enjoy it every step of the way. So, interaction again.

I want you to find someone you don't know. Take 15 seconds to introduce yourself, 30 seconds for 1 person to share, 30 seconds for the other person to share. Okay, and this is the thought that I want you to share with them. Think of an experience that you thought you failed, but it was actually preparing you for something bigger. This doesn't have to do with agriculture.

It could be anyone, it doesn't have to do with agriculture, and it could be anyone you know or have heard about as well. So personal, anyone you know, or anyone you've heard about. So let's go ahead and do that. 15 seconds to introduce yourself. Find someone you don't know.

And then 30 seconds for you to share that idea of an experience that you thought you failed but it was actually preparing you for something that bigger and better or greater. Okay, thank you everyone for sharing. We are going to go ahead and move on to the next point. And yeah, this is great. Hope everyone's been able to get to know a lot of new people here.

So, second point. For those who have walked in, We've also gotten a little bigger just going on we're talking about 4 points that Make it a lot easier in the farming experience a Lot easier in any experience that you're a part of to tell you the truth This is not just about farming, but since I'm a farmer. I'm going to use my own experience. So anyways, so just a brief overview of the points. First point, don't bite off more than you can chew.

Second point, be patient with the process. Third point, which we are going to tackle next, is don't be afraid to fail. And the fourth point is worry doesn't help anyone. So third point, don't be afraid to fail. The verse for this point is Ecclesiastes 11, verse 6.

And I'm sure a lot of you are familiar with it, especially if you're farmers. But in the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand. For thou knowest not whether shall prosper either this or that, or whether they both shall alike good. Be good alike. Be alike good.

And I just wanna say right here that all these points are really hand in glove. 1 does not do well without the other. If you are a beginning grower and you bite off more than you can chew, you should be worried about failing. It's going to happen, most likely. So remember, take it into context with all the other points.

And It's really how it's supposed to work. So don't be afraid to fail. So this year, we're doing 1 7th of an acre and we decide to do a CSA. Now, for those of you that don't know what a CSA, basically the basic gist of the idea is that before the season starts, people in your community or whoever you can find basically pay you up front for that produce that you're gonna be getting to them over the season. So it's a real good deal for a farmer.

It's like, hey, get the money before. But also it puts an extra stress level, an extra fear factor in the mix, because now you have people that are depending on you, and if you fail, yeah, it's not a good thing. But we did accordingly, that we didn't do too many for our small little acreage, but it was a step out in the unknown for us for sure, because it was the first time, it's, we're gonna have enough crops, are we not gonna have enough crops? Did I plant enough, did I not plant enough? The thought is is that we can't let this type of fear paralyze us into not doing anything.

And, you know, I can't tell you how much of a blessing it was this year to actually have that happen, because we were able to meet our community. Yes, you can meet people at farmer's market, but when people are financially connected with you in some way, week after week after week, you see these people, you have a connection and bond that you would never have otherwise. And I would just challenge all of you that don't let fear paralyze you because there's a lot of beautiful things out there that God has in store for us if we can get beyond this fear factor, and we're going to tie this in right in the end to the whole thing that where we can actually surmount or get over that. So, interaction again. So find someone you don't know, 15 seconds, introduce each other, 30 seconds apiece to share, and here's the thought that I'd like you to share with each other.

Share a personal experience of a time that you were afraid to do something, but you did it anyways, and it actually worked out better than you thought. Okay? 15 seconds, introduce yourself. 30 seconds a piece. Share a personal experience of a time that you were afraid to do something, but you did it anyways and it actually worked out better than you thought.

Okay, let's move on to our last and final point, and then we'll wrap this whole little devotional up. Okay, final point, final point. Worry doesn't help anyone. Is anyone can probably can, I mean who has experienced some worry in here? Okay, The verse that goes along with this, and man, this is a challenging verse.

I think it's challenging me every time I've read it in the scriptures because it hits at the root of really human experience in a lot of ways. But Matthew chapter 6, verse 27 through 30. Which of you, taking thought, can add 1 cubic unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow.

They toil not, neither do they spin, and yet I say unto you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like 1 of these. Wherefore, if God so clothed the grass of the field, which is today and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, oh ye of little faith? In the farming experience, there's a lot to worry about. There is. I'll be honest with you.

I worry a lot. And that's why I said I haven't really learned these lessons to the perfection that I would like to. But that's okay. That's okay. Facing up with our fears and our worries is a good thing.

It's a blessing in a lot of ways. And I think probably what causes a lot of the worry in the farming experience, at least for me, is most of the time for me I find that worry comes from things that I can't control but I really want to. An experience. In Oklahoma We have a lot of rough weather, a lot of rough weather in the spring. And if you're in Oklahoma and you have usually a weather radio by your bed and you have your iPhone ready to weather underground, okay, and you're like, oh, it's weather tonight, and oh, look, it's blowing.

Wait, it's, oh, it's still, Uh-oh, there must be a front coming in. We better look at the weather, see what's coming. So this is really a worry for us, especially in the springtime, because it can knock you out for a good portion of the season if it happens. And last year, we had a lot of rough weather in Oklahoma. We actually had a, some of you know of the Moore tornado that went through and quite destructive.

But we got our share of it down where we were, too. And we got a hail storm that took out about 83% of everything we were growing. And you know I was in the shelter there and you know it's like Lord please don't let it hell, please don't let it hell, please don't let it hell, please don't let it hell. And you know you start hearing this ting ting ting ting ting ting ting and it's like nope this ain't gonna be a good day. You know, kind of thing.

Ain't, we say that in Oklahoma. But, and this is really where it comes to the culmination, because if you read on within that chapter, within Matthew chapter 6, we get to verse 33. And it says, But seek ye the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you. And in the context of the chapter, it's really talking more so about material possessions, because he's mentioning raiment and food and clothing and such things. But I believe that God wants to give us more than just those things.

He wants to give us peace. He wants to give us those things that he taught Moses while he was in the wilderness. Compassion, long-suffering, caretaking, self-denial. And in that storm shelter I just said, Lord, if you want this crop to go, I'm okay with that. And when we got out of the shelter, everything was like someone came through with a shotgun and just blew it all away.

But the strangest thing happened. I had so much peace from the Lord. And you know, through this experience, seeking the kingdom first, it's all about that. It's all about an experience within our lives that the Lord wants to teach us. And whether we lose the crop or not, or whether we have success or not, I'm not sure how you define success.

Is success in how much you grow? Is success in how much you make? Is success on how well you live? Is success on how much you know? Or is it success in the experience of letting God reign and be in your life and making you who you are.

Isn't that what it is? And I would pray that this experience would become all of ours, whether you're in agriculture or not. I think everyone should be involved with it to a certain extent, but you might not be called to this. But God wants to work out these characteristics in your life. Remember, Christ was a carpenter.

Was he involved in agriculture? He probably was to some extent. But he was a carpenter, so it doesn't have to be agriculture. But I have to say that some of the most unique and most challenging experiences in my life, challenging me as myself and who I am and why I do what I do, I have found in this field of agriculture. And I would pray that to those that decide to take this up, they would have that experience as well.

So let's close with a word of prayer and then we can go have breakfast. Dear Father in heaven, we just want to thank you for this day, for this time, for The experiences that you want to teach us in the garden, I would just pray that you would reveal to us why we do what we do and that seeking first the kingdom, not the kingdom as far as going to heaven, but seeking you, your principles, your character, and even in seeking them, realizing that only you can work these things out in our lives, only by your grace, by your power, it's all about what you do in us, as it says in Corinthians, let him that glory, let him glory in the Lord. In your name we ask, Amen. And much more. If you would like to know more about Audioverse, or if you

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