Everyone says religion and politics don’t mix. But whoever said anything about pumpkins and politics?

On a recent day-trip to Carroll’s Pumpkin Farm just outside of Grinnell, Iowa, with a group of friends, I had a chance to see the farm and meet its owners. That’s right. Four twenty-somethings ready to hop on the hayride to explore a pumpkin patch full of bright orange treasures.

After being greeted by a woman in a festive fall turtleneck and paying the $5 per head admission fee, we pulled forward to see what a large operation it is. A pasture-turned-parking lot is staffed by attendants eager to fill the space with minivans and SUVs. Hundreds of kids swarm about, petting farm kitties and jumping on tractor tires. Billy goats climb a plywood mountain and eat feed from your hand. On the second floor of the barn is a magician who performs every hour on the hour.

In the distance, there is a corn-cob cannon that shoots cobs 200 feet into a bean field and a catapult that lobs pumpkins even farther. All the while I see people rummaging through vines, searching for their beloved jack-o-lantern.

Danny and Joy Carroll, who have been harvesting pumpkins for 27 years, created this fall hotspot. In 1991, their family opened the farm to the public. At the time, the only entertainment was a show put on by their children who danced and played the fiddle.

“Each year we would try to think of something else to add to it,” Danny says. “We tried to think of typical things you would do on a farm, but we would do it bigger.” The result includes a shed with hay bails and rope swings and a wheelbarrow obstacle course

To the Carroll Family, their farm is a service to the community. “This morning we prayed that one family would be positively impacted because they visited the farm,” Danny says. “One marriage saved, or a healed relationship between a child and a parent.” They believe God can use their pumpkin farm and the experience of it to help grow and build families.

Wearing a denim shirt and a John Deere hat, Danny fits the bill of a farmer. It is hard to imagine the humble man is also a seasoned politician. Even in the busiest month of the year with the pumpkin farm in full swing, Danny is on the campaign trail. He has been involved in government since 1983, serving in the Iowa House of Representatives from 1994 to 2006. This fall, he is running to regain his seat in the Iowa House.

“Both we do because we really feel like it’s what God has planned for our lives right now,” Joy says of the pumpkin farm and Danny’s political career. “They go hand-in-hand, though it can be a challenge at the same time. We feel like we want this to be something that God can bless—and the politics, too. Otherwise we wouldn’t do it.”

It’s evident that the Carrolls live their lives in obedience to God’s direction. Danny wasn’t planning to run this fall; but with the encouragement of family, friends, and pastors, God seemed to be leading him to throw his John Deere hat in the ring.

“I don’t necessarily know that I’ll be victorious,” Danny says. “In fact, we don’t pray for victory; we pray for righteous leadership and for truth to be established. That’s our prayer and that’s our goal. If that means victory, fine. If that means defeat, we will trust God to lead in that way. All we can be sure of is that he has called us to run.”

Danny’s campaign is based on increasing jobs, limiting spending in the state, and upholding traditional views of family. He was instrumental in organizing the “Let Us Vote” campaign to allow Iowa citizens the right to vote on a marriage amendment that would define marriage as a one-man and one-woman institution.

As a politician, husband, father, and business owner, Danny has a unique perspective on the future. He knows that today’s twenty-somethings will have some decisions to make. “You will have to decide what is really worth living for,” he says. “Is it just the next vacation or the next concert? Is it the next big thing that amuses and satisfies the senses, or is it something deeper than that?” Our votes on November 4 offer an opportunity to demonstrate how we may answer those questions in the future, Danny says.

He also urges us to look at the messages that the world is spewing at us. From vanity and wealth to abortion, there are decisions we must make about how we are going to value life. “Young people will have to sit down and figure out what is true, what is lasting,” Danny says. “With all of the information coming at you from hundreds of cable channels, and zillions of web pages, and politicians on every corner, you’ve got a challenge to choose what to listen to and what to disregard.”

Danny has determined his philosophy: Christ is at the center of it all. “I’ve worked in government for over 20 years trying to solve problems that people face,” he says. “But the more I live, the more I observe society, the more I realize that Christ is the only answer that really satisfies.”

The Carroll family proves that pumpkins and politics not only mix, but can both be used to impact Iowa. And Danny may just wheel-barrow race his way into the Iowa House this fall.