Sunday's Peace

Abide With Me

Abide with me! Fast falls the eventide.

The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide!

when other helpers fail and comforts flee, 

Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me.

Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day. 

Earth's joys grow dim; its glories pass away.

Change and decay in all around I see;

O Thou who changest not, abide with me.

I need Thy presence every passing hour.

What but Thy grace can foil the Tempter's pow'r?

Who,like thyself, my guide and stay can be?

Thro' cloud and sunshine, oh, abide with me!

I fear no foe,with Thee at hand to bless;

Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.

Where is death's sting?Where,grave, thy victory?

 I triumph still if Thou abide with me.

Hold thou Thy cross before my closing eyes; 

Shine thro' the gloom, and point me to the skies.

Heav'n's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows flee!

In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me!

                                              --Henry F. Lyte, 1793-1847

Shine On

Just as I headed out the door to feed calves in the December monsoon weather,

 I received the phone call that was cancelling our church service this morning at 

Vaughn  Presbyterian Church due to flooding roads and hazardous conditions in our county. 

I was all geared to continue celebrating the Christmas season in music 

but since that isn't happening, I thought it might be fun to include the

 words of  Star of Bethlehem and give you one verse and chorus in piano. 

Regardless of the weather, Jesus love shines on.

Star of Bethlehem

O beautiful Star of Bethlehem, shining afar through shadows dim,

Giving a light for those who long have gone,

And guiding the wise men on their way,

unto the place where Jesus lay,

Beautiful Star of Bethlehem shine on.

O beautiful Star, the hope of light,

guiding the pilgrim through the night,

Over the mountain 'til the break of dawn,

And into the light of perfect day

it will give out a lovely ray,

Beautiful Star of Bethlehem shine on.

O beautiful Star, the hope of rest

for the redeemed, the good and blest,

Yonder in glory when the crown is won,

For Jesus is now that Star divine, 

brighter and brighter He will shine;

Beautiful Star of Bethlehem shine on.

Chorus:

O beautiful Star of Bethlehem,

Shine upon us until the glory dawns,

O give us Thy light to light the way

 into the land of perfect day;

Beautiful Star of Bethlehem, shine on. 

         --Adger M. Pace

Milking to the Music

What kind of music do the cows like? That was the question from one of the visiting University of Arkansas students a couple of weeks ago. We were standing in the milk parlor watching the cows being milked when the student spotted the radio suspended from the ceiling. I quickly responded,"Country, of course, and sometimes in Spanish!"

After laughing about the music, we did have serious discussion about how the cow's environment affects their production performance. In past studies about the affect of music on cows, it has been found that cows adjust to reasonable levels of continuous sound. Farmers and researchers have also agreed that continuous radio play with a variety of talk and music can actually have a calming effect and may stimulate the milk let down reflex.

Our dairy cows have always been exposed to music at low volume while they are being milked. Low volume is important because loud or alarming sounds can startle cows, causing erratic behavior. We make a point to use a calm gentle voice and keep the music at a pleasant level. No matter what kind of music is played in the barn while the cows are being milked, we are committed to our cow's health and well being everyday because that is how we provide you with safe,high quality milk and dairy products!