The state of Iowa has adopted many different slogans over
the years. One of the most unsuccessful
was “Iowa: A State of Minds.” It was
lampooned and ridiculed all over the nation, and didn’t last long. The current
slogan (as of the writing; it is subject to change at the whim of the state
legislators) is “Iowa: Life Changing.” Before that it was “Fields of
Opportunity, which sounds a lot like the former Arkansas slogan – “Land of
Opportunity,” of which the wags used to say, “it means leave at your first
opportunity.
Anyway, we had a different
slogan when we first came to Iowa in 1977. I had some vacation time coming when we left Houston, so we
took the time to visit family and friends.
Along the way, I was invited to speak at several churches. I had developed a sermon I called, “Just As I
Am” (used the Cinderella illustration in it).
One night the kids asked, “Dad, what are you going to preach on
tonight?” I said, “Just as I Am.” Their response was, “Oh, No.” One of the disadvantages of being a PK is
having the listen to your Dad preach the same sermon over and over again.
My mother in law came with us when we moved to Iowa to help
us get settled. There were seven of us in our ’74 Impala. We
stopped the car at the state line on I-35 as we entered the state near
Lamoni. The sign read “Iowa: A Place to
Grow,” which was the state slogan at that time. For us that was a good omen.
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