Howdy Neighbors!

Here's your morning farm news headlines from the Director of Farm Programming for the Radio Oklahoma Network, Ron Hays. We are pleased to have American Farmers & Ranchers Mutual Insurance Company as a regular sponsor of our daily update- click here to go to their AFR web site to learn more about their efforts to serve rural America!

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Here's the latest Winter Storm Warning as issued by the National Weather Service in Norman. (issued in the 4 AM hour this morning)

THE WINTER STORM WARNING IS NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 PM CST THIS EVENING.

* TIMING: ALL OF TODAY AND THIS EVENING

* MAIN IMPACT: HEAVY SNOW AND STRONG WINDS. NEAR BLIZZARD CONDITIONS AT TIMES. SNOWFALL WILL AVERAGE 4 TO 8 INCHES- BUT SOUTHERN OKLAHOMA MAY RECEIVE 8 TO 11 INCHES- GENERALLY BETWEEN LAWTON AND PAULS VALLEY.

* OTHER IMPACTS: THE CHANGE FROM RAIN TO SNOW WILL BE DELAYED THIS MORNING IN CENTRAL AND NORTH CENTRAL OKLAHOMA, INCLUDING OKLAHOMA CITY, GUTHRIE, STILLWATER AND PONCA CITY. A MIX OF FREEZING RAIN AND SLEET- POSSIBLY HEAVY AT TIMES- WILL CREATE VERY SLICK AND HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS BY MIDDAY. HEAVY SNOW IS THEN EXPECTED DURING THE AFTERNOON."

I have the link to our weather page on our website- and from there, you can go to either the News9, News on 6 or National Weather Service websites. Stay updated- and make sure you don't get stranded in these potentially nasty conditions.

Click here for the OklahomaFarmReport.Com page for Weather.

We do encourage you to go our website- we will have updated farm news items as we run across them today through the weekend. That will include reaction from our Senators on the passage of the Democratic plan to do a drastic makeover of the US Health Care System. And we have stories from the soybean and beef industries, as well as a reminder of a meeting happening in January being put on the OGSP.

Click on the link below for our website's home page- and enjoy a thought or two that we have about Christmas on the 24th of the month.

Click here for our website and the latest farm news- even on this Christmas weekend.

As we were wrapping up the morning- I had the chance to ask Clay Pope about the newest member of his family- and he grinned and pulled his phone out and started showing pictures of his daughter. One of the pictures he was especially excited about was from a Christmas pageant in their church, where his older son and daughter were Mary and Joseph- and the newborn was baby Jesus. He laughed and said he was the proud father of the whole Holy Family. It was also a visual message of hopefulness- as it captured the season so well.

This Christmas season has felt different because of the push in Washington to change the course of this country by the Democratic leadership. You may agree with them- you may not- but it feels like they have almost trespassed into a sacred time frame as the Senate votes on Christmas Eve on the National Healthcare bill that Senator Reid desperately wants to pass before his coalition is pulled apart.

Yet, it was the hand of government some 2,000 years ago that pushed Mary and Joseph (minus Clay and his Iphone) on a five day journey from Nazareth to Bethleham where Christmas was consummated. I have an interesting perspective that I found for this Christmas Eve that I wanted to share with you that gives us a look at the night of birth of Jesus Christ through the eyes and words of Joseph.

This isn't the way I planned it, God. Not at all. My child being born in a stable? This isn't the way I thought it would be. A cave with sheep and donkeys, hay and straw? My wife giving birth with only the stars to hear her pain?

This isn't at all what I imagined. No, I imagined family. I imagined grandmothers. I imagined neighbors clustered outside the door and friends standing at my side. I imagined the house erupting with the first cry of the infant. Slaps on the back. Loud laughter. Jubilation.

That's how I thought it would be.


But now. Now look. Nazareth is five days' journey away. And here we are in a- in a sheep pasture. Who will celebrate with us? The sheep? The shepherds? The stars?

This doesn't seem right. What kind of husband am I? I provide no midwife to aid my wife. No bed to rest her back. Her pillow is a blanket from my donkey. My house for her is a shed of hay and straw.

The smell is bad, the animals are loud. Why, I even smell like a shepherd myself.

Did I miss something? Did I, God?

When you sent the angel and spoke of the son being born--this isn't what I pictured. I envisioned Jerusalem, the temple, the priests, and the people gathered to watch. A pageant perhaps. A parade. A banquet at least. I mean, this is the Messiah!

Or, if not born in Jerusalem, how about Nazareth? Wouldn't Nazareth have been better? At least there I have my house and my business. Out here, what do I have? A weary mule, a stack of firewood, and a pot of warm water. This is not the way I wanted it to be! This is not the way I wanted my son.

Oh my, I did it again. I did it again didn't I, Father? I don't mean to do that; it's just that I forget. He's not my son. He's yours.

The child is yours. The plan is yours. The idea is yours. And forgive me for asking but, is this how God enters the world? The coming of the angel, I've accepted. The questions people asked about the pregnancy, I can tolerate. The trip to Bethlehem, fine. But why a birth in a stable, God?

Any minute now Mary will give birth. Not to a child, but to the Messiah. Not to an infant, but to God. That's what the angel said. That's what Mary believes. And, God, my God, that's what I want to believe. But surely you can understand; it's not easy. It seems so- bizarre.

I'm unaccustomed to such strangeness, God. I'm a carpenter. I make things fit. I square off the edges. I follow the plumb line. I measure twice before I cut once. Surprises are not the friend of a builder. I like to see the plan before I begin.

But this time I'm not the builder, am I? This time I'm a tool. A hammer in your grip. A nail between your fingers. A chisel in your hands. This project is yours, not mine.

I guess it's foolish of me to question you. Forgive my struggling. Trust doesn't come easy to me, God. But you never said it would be easy, did you?

One final thing, Father. The angel you sent? Any chance you could send another? If not an angel, maybe a person? I don't know anyone around here and some company would be nice. Maybe the innkeeper or a traveler? Even a shepherd would do.

"No, the Bethlehem sky is not the first to hear the pleadings of an honest heart, nor the last. And perhaps God didn't answer every question for Joseph. But he answered the most important one. "Are you still with me, God?" And through the first cries of the God-child the answer came. "Yes. Yes, Joseph. I'm with you."

"There are many questions that we won't be able to answer. Many times we will muse, "I wonder"

"But in our wonderings, there is one question we never need to ask. Does God care? Do we matter to God? Does he still love his children?

"Through the small face of the stable-born baby, he says yes.

"Yes, your sins can be forgiven.
"Yes, your name can be written in heaven.

"Yes, death has been defeated.

"Because God has entered the world.

"Immanuel. God is with us."

For you oldtimers- you know that I will take special times of the year- especially Christmas and Easter- and remind you of what I believe. I do this not to shove it down your throat- but hopefully I do it in a way that it will encourage each of you to think about where you are in life right now- count your blessings and perhaps renew your relationship( or even begin that relationship) with the Creator of all things.

It's my hope that you and yours will be able to fully enjoy and celebrate and incorporate in all that you do the real meaning of the Christmas season here in 2009- and especially as you go about your life in the beginnings of 2010.

Oh, I do have one more request.

"The count of the neutrafils type of white blood this morning was a disappointing zero. Brittany went with me to the hospital again today. Jeff can only have immediate family visits because his immune system is so very low and any bacteria or germs no matter how mild, could cause a severe infection. As immediate family, we are required to wear gloves, mask and gown every time we enter his room."

Karen adds that Jeff has had a tough week emotionally as he was really wanting to get back home for Christmas Day- and now that will not happen. Yet, she takes time to comfort us and remind us of the reason for the season- Jesus Christ and the gift that God gave as He sent His Son to this earth.
I would ask that you continue to pray for Jeff, his wife Karen and daughter Brittany as they deal with his illness- including this current issue that the Doctors are trying to address.

We also invite you to check out our website at the link below to check out an archive of these daily emails, audio reports and top farm news story links from around the globe.

Click here to check out WWW.OklahomaFarmReport.Com

Here are some links we will leave in place on an ongoing basis- Click on the name of the report to go to that link:
Our Daily Market Wrapup from the Radio Oklahoma Network with Ed Richards and Tom Leffler- analyzing the Futures Markets from the previous Day-
Ron on RON Markets as heard on K101 mornings with cash and futures reviewed- includes where the Cash Cattle market stands, the latest Feeder Cattle Markets Etc.
Previous Day's Wheat Market Recap- Two Pager From The Kansas City Board of Trade looks at all three US Wheat Futures Exchanges with extra info on Hard Red Winter Wheat and the why of that day's market.
Daily Oklahoma Cash Grain Prices- As Reported by the Oklahoma Dept. of Agriculture. <
The National Daily Feeder & Stocker Cattle Summary- as prepared by USDA.
The National Daily Slaughter Cattle Summary- as prepared by USDA.
Finally, Here is the Daily Volume and Price Summary from the Texas Cattle Feeders Association.