CONTENT IN ALL THINGS

The alarm sounded at 2:30 a.m. I jumped out of bed and headed for the shower. While walking through the hallway I could see my son’s bedroom light was already on. By 3:00 a.m. we were both grabbing snacks from the kitchen and packing up the remaining gear. At 3:15 a.m. we were pulling out of the garage and heading to one of my favorite places. We pulled into a gravel parking spot at 4:10 a.m., donned in our camo clothes, backpacks and other gear, grabbed our shotguns and started the hike.

Our headlamps illuminated a narrow tunnel 15 feet ahead, but everything else around us was black. The path was a mixture of mud, frozen puddles, crunchy leaves, and snow. We carefully placed each footstep to make as little noise as possible. Eventually, we arrived at our destination and shut off the headlamps. As we were setting up by the light of the moon, to our disappointment another father and son team hiked past within 15 feet of us. My son was able to get their attention to let them know we were close, and we wished each other good luck. A few minutes later we were hunkered down in our blind waiting for the sun to rise. It wasn’t long before we noticed another headlamp bobbing down a trail east of us. Shortly after that, two more headlamps were west of us on a field’s edge. We were definitely not going to be alone this morning.


As the moon was setting on the western horizon, complete
darkness fell over the woods. The cool, damp air also began to set on us. Soon the sun started to creep its way up in the eastern horizon. The sky was just starting to lighten up when a thunderous gobble echoed from the woods behind us. Ah yes, my favorite place to be…the turkey woods.

The morning’s hunt didn’t turn out as planned. We spent the next three days hiking numerous miles through dense woods and thistles, wandering up and down hills, and marching through grassy plains.

The thick brush and thistles 

At times we would lean against the base of a tree motionless for hours trying to call turkeys to our location. We encountered coyotes, horseback riders, hooting owls, drumming grouse, various waterfowl, female turkeys, and young male turkeys that almost ran right over my son. We endured the blazing hot sun and cold rains. However, we never saw the adult, male turkeys we were stalking.


Even though the hunt required a lot of preparation and we didn’t get exactly what we wanted, we were blessed with many sights and sounds that not everyone gets to enjoy.

My son was so content, he took a nap

Philippians 4:12-13 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all things through Him who gives me strength.

ONE DROP AT A TIME

One tiny snowflake softly floated down from the gray winter sky. It seemed lonely at first as it gently rested on a blade of grass. Shortly after that, another snowflake drifted down toward the earth, swaying back and forth in a casual motion. It wasn’t long before several more flakes drifted from the skies above to join them. Soon, more snowflakes were falling at a faster rate, until the ground had a layer of snow covering it like a thin white sheet. The snow continued to fall throughout the night and left a thick blanket of wet snow that covered everything in sight.  

By morning, a heavy eight inches of snow overwhelmed everything beneath it. The sky was clear and quickly lightened as the sun rose. As the sun gleamed down, the bright white snow reflected the blinding light in every direction, making it difficult to look directly at the snow without sunglasses or through a tightly squinted eye. Warm rays of sunlight began to slowly melt a fallen snowflake causing it to condense. A single droplet of water formed as several more flakes condensed. The warmth from within our house kept drops of water liquid as they trickled down to the roof’s edge. Clinging to the edge, the liquid froze in place. The sun continued to melt each snowflake and one by one, droplets of water made it to the edge of the roof. Each droplet of water made it just a little bit further than the previous one before it froze in place. The next morning, icicles ranging from six inches to six feet long hung from the roof’s edge.

When even the smallest items built together, they can have an incredible growing impact.

Ephesians 4:16 From whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, make the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

ARE YOU LISTENING

Listening to what people are saying is a very beneficial skill that comes easy to some, but usually not so easy for adolescents.

Dad was always good about taking my brothers and I fishing when we were younger. It was an affordable way to keep the four of us entertained, and most times we brought home a bunch of fish, which was also an affordable way to fill our seemingly bottomless pits for stomachs.

The situation of icing and gear looked something like this - Dad and my uncle built an ice fishing house big enough for about 2 adults and 4-5 kids (it was pretty sweet for the early 1980’s.) When the ice was at least 12 inches thick we’d haul the fish house onto an area lake, drill holes down through the ice that lined up with holes in the bottom of the fish house, put the house over those holes, turn on the propane heater, and start fishing. Each of us had a little fishing pole. We’d put a worm on the hook and lower the line down the hole. It was then just a matter of waiting for the bobber to go down, setting the hook, and pulling up a fish.

On one occasion, my dad drilled a hole about 30 yards away from the fishing house. He set up a “tip up,” which is a device that when a large enough fish takes the bait, it releases (tips up) a flag into the air letting you know a fish is there. In hopes of luring in a big fish, Dad loaded the hook of the tip up with a large sucker minnow.

After an hour of fishing the sun was starting to set, and we had already caught several fish by this time.  Suddenly, Dad yelled, “TIP UP!” He hurdled over two kids and much of the equipment that was between him and the door like a finely trained olympic athlete. Busting out the door of the fish house, he ran to the tip up and started pulling up line. The rest of us watched through the window and door in awe. After what seemed like an eternity, Dad starting yelling something at us while waving his arm. Without listening, we ran out to him to see what all the commotion was about. As we got close to him, he turned toward us and yelled, “I said, GET THE GAFF!” (A gaff is a stick with a large hook on the end of it. Ours was an old broom handle with a large hook duct taped to the end.) One of us finally came to our senses, ran back to the fish house, retrieved the gaff and gave it to Dad. He extended his entire arm and the gaff down the hole into the water, and in a quick jerk, he hoisted the biggest Northern Pike I’d ever seen, up through the hole and onto the ice. It was awesome!

James 1:22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.

MAKE THE BEST OF A CHILLY SITUATION

This will come as no surprise to you, but it’s been really cold in the upper Midwest this past week. Everybody is talking about it, and most people are probably getting tired of hearing about it. Nevertheless, I’m going to blog about it because there are some really cool things that can be seen and done due to the extreme cold.

The first one that caught my eye was a picture that captured spectacular Sun Dogs. A friend took it on the way home after his morning workout. Sun dogs occur when tiny moisture particulates in the air freeze and reflect the sun's rays causing a spectrum of colors. The air is frozen! Take a few breaths and let that sink in.

Photo Credit: Chris Richardson   

The next few items are ways that show how people can be creative by finding ways to enjoy the extreme cold.

To begin with, there is a couple of brothers who build detailed snow sculptures every year. First of all, they need snow, and second, they need it to be cold, so the snow doesn't melt. No problem with it melting when it's below zero.

 2018/19 Bartz Snow Sculptures

The next one is a fun project to do with kids. Take balloons, fill them with water and food coloring, then let them freeze. Once frozen, cut away the balloon. Some call them dinosaur eggs...makes sense to me. Who would have thought water balloons would be fun all year round.

The final one I'll share shows that it has been so cold, your pants will freeze. A guy in our neighborhood started this project many years ago. This year, I wanted to give it a try. I ran a couple pairs of jeans through the wash to get them thoroughly wet, then brought them outside.With the air temperature at -25 degrees, it only took three minutes for the pants to freeze. I shaped them as fast as possible, then stuck them in the snow. 

Photo credit: My work pants

I'd be interested to see how you make the most of a chilly situation outdoors.

James 1:2-4 Consider it pure joy my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 

DON'T GET FOOLED AGAIN

My work van has a remote starter, which is pretty awesome this time of year. Being able to stand in the warmth of my house on a blustery winter morning, push a button that starts the vehicle, and then climb into a warm van 10 minutes later is pretty cool. When the vehicle starts the horn honks, the engine fires up, starts rumbling, and the parking lights stay on. The process is anything but subtle.

The past few mornings have gone like this - I start my van and continue getting ready for the day. After brushing my teeth, I grab my lunch box and head out the door. The van is parked outside in front of the garage door. Opening the garage door is a squeaky operation when it’s frigidly cold. Walking around the front of the rumbling vehicle, each footstep crunches on the frozen snow. One particular morning as I stepped toward the driver’s door, a scared rabbit darted out from under the hedges…which, in turn, startled me. I laughed it off, thinking to myself how weird it was that the rabbit didn’t scare away from the other commotion happening around it.

The same thing happened the next morning, and I was startled yet again. Day three, you ask? Yes, and both the rabbit and I jumped…again. Eventually, the rabbit wised up and found a different bush to sleep under - I’m glad it did because I’m not sure how much more my nerves could handle.

Romans 7:14-17 So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin. I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. But if I know what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. So I am not the one doing wrong, it is sin living in me that does it.

TAKE IT ALL IN

Hello winter! You know, the time of the year when it’s dark when you leave the house for work in the morning and dark when you get home too. Yesterday morning I drove an hour and a half southeast to a job site that I’ve been to many times. The area is very scenic and because I’m heading southeast in the morning, it also means I’m driving directly into the sunrise.

The first 30 minutes of the drive was busy as I weaved my way through traffic in the dark. Soon I was out of the city limits and ready for a casual drive for the next hour. While heading down the highway I noticed the horizon was starting to get light as sunrise was nearing. A heavy line of clouds was drifting east toward the horizon and it appeared as though it was going to block out the sun. Good news for me because I don’t care to spend the next hour driving directly into the low hanging winter sun. A short time later, the line of clouds was just about to the horizon and the sun was just starting to pierce the earth’s crest. I love sunrises, and this one was quickly turning into a beauty right before my eyes!

Realizing this was going to keep my attention for a while, I figured it would be safer to pull off the highway and enjoy it. As the sky turned a glowing powder blue, the clouds started to change from gray to orange. Soon the sky was a brilliant amber and the clouds were turning pink. The horizon skyline narrowed as the clouds drifted closer the edge. The clouds took on different shades of purple and were cascading down to a burning pink line at the horizon.

This would look a lot better at the Omni Theater

I whipped out my phone and began taking pictures. Looking at the sunrise, then at the pictures on my phone, then back up to the massive sky, I realized it was impossible to capture what my eyes were seeing so I decided to put the phone back in my pocket and just take it in. Ten minutes later it was all over, and I was back on the road. Sometimes, we need to put everything aside and just take in the moment.

Zephaniah 3:17 The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.