LET'S CELEBRATE

When you celebrate something do you do it by yourself, or with others? Now, there are moral victories that we may celebrate alone; like not eating that third piece of pie, maybe it’s shutting off the TV and going for a walk, or resisting whatever temptation you struggle with. Those moral victories are something we typically celebrate alone. What I’m referring to are those “high five” moments. Stuff like job promotions, retirement, scoring the winning point of a game, or harvesting whatever fish or game you’re after. Those are the times when you look for someone to give a high five to. Have you ever tried to give yourself a high five because no one else was around? Well, it’s pretty lame. It’s more like clapping and when you’re clapping by yourself it just seems silly. When it’s time to celebrate, having others around to share it with can make it more enjoyable. At this point you may be saying to yourself, “other people stress me out,” or “I like to do things on my own.” Believe me, I completely understand those statements. I grew up with three brothers, now married, have two sons, and deal with customers daily to solve their problems. So I understand how other people can add stress to your life and how it’s easier to just “do it myself,” or by yourself. However the amount of joy those same people can bring to one’s life far outweighs the stress. So, for now let’s focus on the celebration side of things. Since my childhood celebrations always had other people involved; from being able to start my first campfire, shooting my first deer, marrying my high school sweetheart, to graduating trade school. There was always someone to celebrate with.

 

There came a point in my young adult life that I wanted to boost my deer hunting experience by archery hunting in addition to using a firearm. My philosophy in the particular woods we hunted was that with a firearm “if you could see it, you can hit it.” Archery hunting would be more of a challenge. So, I purchased all the gear needed to archery hunt. I spent countless hours at the range improving my accuracy. Scouted the woods for deer sign and located the best hunting spot. I was going to do it alone. The morning of the first hunt arrived and off to woods I went…by myself. It was going to be a beautiful September morning. The air was cool and fresh. I was in the stand well before sunrise. The sun came up, and the woods came alive. Birds were chirping and squirrels were scampering around. Then it became very quiet. I heard a twig snap behind me, turned around, and there were two whitetail bucks 15 yards away. I drew the bow back, got the larger buck in my sight and let the arrow fly. The arrow found its mark and it was all over. I let out a YAHOO! As the adrenaline rushed through my veins I savored the moment. My first archery hunt was a success! The adrenaline was still flowing as I arrived back to my truck. I was pumped and there was no one to share it with. No one to high five. I tried calling my brother who I knew would love to hear the story but, there was no answer. The adrenaline rush was gone. I missed the camaraderie of celebrating with others. Eventually another hunter came driving down the road and pulled over to look at the deer. He got out of his truck, walked over to me, we high fived and exchanged stories of the morning hunt. That's just how a celebration should be…with someone else.

Gods want us to be happy.

1 Thessalonians 5:16 “Rejoice always.”

Ecclesiastes 3:12-13 “So I concluded there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves as long as we can. And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God.”



PRUNE YOUR BRANCHES

If you lead a busy life you know how important it is to get away for a weekend. That can be easier said than done. Usually, the week leading up to your getaway already has you busy with your job, along with getting everything prepped for the trip. Finally, it’s Friday and your work week is done. You start packing gear into your vehicle, pack the cooler and load it, maybe hook up a camper or boat, and then load any other people in the vehicle. Then, you get on the road and hope traffic isn’t bad. Finally, you arrive at your destination, unload all your things, plop yourself into a cozy chair and let out a big sigh, “AHHHH!” In a few days you will do it all over again to get home. Hopefully, between arrival and leaving there was time to relax and unwind. Isn’t that the point of a getaway? To unwind and relax, right? Some people who plan and take weekend getaways don’t really getaway, they stay busy the whole time. They’re making plans to see this, do that, organize some event, plan meals and so on. Busy like a bee, some may say. The difference is that the bee is very focused in the animal kingdom. Their focus is to fly from flower to flower gathering nectar and then buzz back to the hive, resting periodically and then buzzing back out to gather more nectar.  In the human world, we get up in the morning, make coffee, shower, eat, go to work, and maybe pick up groceries on the way home.  Then, we may go to a child’s sporting or music event, volunteer at a church or school function…maybe both, mow the grass, walk the dog, do the laundry, clean the house, check social media, watch a favorite TV show, go to bed, and then think of all the things that need to get done tomorrow. No wonder we humans get stressed out! I am one of those humans; I routinely take on a lot. My wife encourages me to stop volunteering for every opportunity that comes along…I don’t always listen. The life of a bee sounds pretty good.

All of the above said tasks are good things, but there is such a problem as too much of a good thing or more appropriately, good things. When we have all those tasks to complete it’s like a tree with too many branches, they start to choke each other out.

I know how this tree feels, time to prune.

 For a tree to be healthy its branches need to be pruned. There may be dead branches taking up space and energy, or there just may be too many branches to allow for more substantial growth. When excessive branches are pruned, more energy can be put into the remaining ones. The remaining branches grow stronger and over time, those strong branches start to sprout other branches. As seasons pass, more and more branches sprout until it’s time to prune again.   

How do you decide on what to prune and what to keep? This is a challenge for me, so I try to rely on my faith, family and good friends. Those three influences help me stay focused like the busy bee; not the busy-body human.

 

Matthew 11: 28-29 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

 

 

THE WAVES

Every Saturday morning I devote time to pray and listen to God. There’s a park near my home with a bench in a perfect location to admire the trees and overlook the city. This past Saturday started like most. I was up at sunrise and getting ready for the day. Looking out the kitchen window I could see the pine trees being strained back and forth from the strong wind. It was 15 degrees Fahrenheit with a 25MPH wind; not the most favorable conditions to sit on a park bench. I decided to stay home. We have a sunroom with large windows that looks into our backyard and it’s a good substitute. The view faces east through the pine trees, a perfect view of the sunrise. Now don’t get me wrong, I’ve been in the woods under worse conditions and am not intimidated by it. My focus is to pray and listen to God. However, it’s hard to stay focused when your teeth are chattering. During this time of worship my attention kept getting drawn to the trees flexing from side to side and twisting in every direction. The branches whirled around with every gust of wind. The trunk flexed slightly, but held it composure being anchored by its healthy roots. The long needles of the white pine resembled waves in the water; rolling up and down, from small ripples to huge rollers. It reminded me of the first self-guided fishing trip to Lake Superior with a good friend.

My fishing boat is a 17.5 foot deep V with a 115 horsepower outboard motor. If the conditions were right there wouldn’t be any problems. The first morning on the lake seemed perfect. The lake was calm with heavy fog. As the morning went on and the fog cleared we got more confident on the big lake and headed further away from the marina. Being our first trip out we did a bunch of online research, but had no idea of what we were really in for. The fishing was terrible because a huge storm had blown through the night before. The further we got from the marina the windier it got and the bigger the waves got. At that time we didn’t know enough to check wind and waves reports. We later found out a small craft advisory had been issued for that area, which means if we ran into trouble we were on our own. There came a point that we realized we were out of our element and started to pull in the fishing gear. By the time the gear was all in we were even further away from the marina and the waves were still growing. There was a peninsula ahead that would be a perfect location to get behind, turn around, and head back to the marina.

We should've went surfing instead

Knowing the trip back was going to be rough; we secured everything and headed into the waves. The look on our faces was probably of astonishment as we came around the peninsula. The waves were four feet tall with swells up to five feet. We were indecisive on how to proceed. So, I started into the waves just a little faster than an idle speed. The wind was blowing us from side to side, while the waves were rolling us up and down. Our view was either into the water or up at the sky as we bobbed around. We weren’t getting ahead and remained at the mercy of our surroundings. Waves were starting to crash on the bow of the boat. Something had to change. I made the decision to increase our speed. By increasing the speed I was able control our direction better and focus on keeping the bow up. It was still a very rough ride, but we weren’t at the mercy of our surroundings anymore.

We finally made it back to the marina. Later that day we found an inland lake with puny one foot waves and caught a few nice walleyes. We have returned many times to Lake Superior with much better results.

James 1:6 "But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind."





My buddy's video of the trip:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UO2JxJ8rxW4

 



THE BEST DEER HUNTING SEASON OF ALL TIME???

Several years ago was going to be the best deer hunting season of all time. The main reason was that my oldest son (then 14) and my youngest son, who had just turned 11, were both coming.  The oldest son was going to be in his deer stand by himself for the first time; for the youngest, it was to be his first trip to our deer woods.

The season always begins with scouting the land earlier in the fall. We hunt state owned land that is open to the public in North Central Minnesota. It is a very densely planted pine forest. Over the years we have hunted the same 200 acre section of the land. We pretty much stay in “our” section and other hunters would stay in “theirs;” things usually turned out just fine. Some of the land around us was owned by a paper company and every few years the paper company would come in clear cut about 100 acres. It never bothered us since we were in the state owned land. Since we hunted these woods for so many years we had a really good idea of where and when to be to see deer. We always put the new or youngest hunters in the highest opportunity locations. Opportunity didn’t always equate to harvesting a deer, but just seeing one in the wild was a sweet adrenaline rush.  A positive first outing can fuel a passion for life.

The drive up to the deer woods in early fall is full of stories from previous years. My youngest was already getting a good sense of what to expect, advice on what and what not to do, and when to do it. As we turned off the county road and started heading down the gravel road to “our” woods something was different. It was too bright; usually it’s darker because of all the trees. As we drove further a sickening feeling started to take over me. This is wrong! I thought were we on the wrong road; there were no trees…anywhere! I couldn’t believe it. This was supposed to be the best deer hunting season of all time. How was that going to be possible with no tees? We aimlessly wandered around and eventually found an area that had enough trees left for us to hunt. The ride home was long and quiet. I thought, why bother; there are no trees so there won’t be any deer. Certainly, the deer aren’t going to just stand in the middle of a clear cut area and wait for us to shoot them.

As an admirer of trees, this is a sickening sight for sure 

Deer hunting weekend had finally arrived. It was the tradition of the weekend that kept me motivated. We arrived to the “woods” Friday and saw that even more clear cutting had been done. That sickening feeling was back. Fortunately, the area we planned to hunt still had some trees; however I just knew we weren’t going to see any deer. 

The alarm screamed at 3:30am the next morning. That sickening feeling was still with me, but I did my best to stay upbeat. We arrived at the woods and got our guns and gear ready. I gave my oldest some final safety tips and we went our separate ways. Shortly after that my youngest and I were settled into our tree stand and were waiting for sunrise. The area got light pretty quick since there weren’t many trees to absorb the light. Not long after sunrise I heard something behind us…it was a deer! It cautiously walked in our direction and worked its way in front of us. My son was struggling to get a clear shot at the deer and eventually said, “Dad, you better shoot it.” I did, and felt relieved that we would at least get one deer for the weekend. While cleaning the deer, another gun shot rang out from the direction of my oldest. We use radios to keep tabs on each other and since I hadn’t heard from anybody, I gave the radio to my youngest and continued to clean the deer. My youngest said, “Dad, the radio volume was turned down” and then said his brother shot a monster buck and needs help with it. I heard him say, “it’s a ten pointer; no, a twelve, it may even be a thirteen.” When we got close to where he was we could see the massive rack. It was a thirteen point buck - a beast; the biggest even shot in our area!

Our hunting party shot four deer by 9am that first morning. In years past, we’d be lucky to see four deer. I gave my youngest the option to hunt or not hunt the next morning; he wanted to hunt. Sure enough, at sunrise the next morning a young buck came walking by and he made a great shot. It was a true blessing for me to witness his excitement. Turns out, it was the best deer hunting season of all time!

2 Corinthians 5:7 For we live by faith, not by sight.



AHHH...TO BE A KID AGAIN

Can you remember the excited anticipation of the many “firsts” that you had as a kid?  Was it riding a bike for the first time, your first kiss, or maybe jumping off a diving board was more your thing? These are things that you never did before, but you were excited to learn.  Just before taking that first step your heart may have been racing and you probably played the “what if” game in your head many times. “What if I crash my bike?” “What if I kiss like a fish?” “What if I belly flop?”  However, eventually you took action; you started to peddle, you puckered up, and you jumped! You were nervous, but you did it anyway. Afterward you probably strutted around and thought, “it wasn’t that hard.” As a kid there were many firsts and each one had its own level of excitement and anticipation.

The “first” that stands out for me was fishing alone in a canoe. I was 12 and at Boy Scout camp. We arrived Friday evening and after getting camp set up, I wandered the area and found the Mississippi River bordering one side. This was where it was going to happen. Standing on the sandy bank I scanned the landscape. Next to me were canoes overturned to keep rain water from puddling up in them. The bank was wide open and hot from the summer sun beating on it all day. Looking out to the river, the speed of the flowing water was tough to gauge for a newbie. A leaf in the water seemed to quickly sail by; a branch lumbered by considerably slower. Next, the opposite bank of the river caught my attention. Large trees created a canopy overhead; it looked much cooler with many shadowy places. The water seemed slower there as well. The sun would be setting soon so I headed back to camp to get a good night sleep and be rested to hit the water at sunrise.

A good night sleep didn’t happen. My mind was racing with thoughts of which lure to use first and how to maneuver the canoe through the current. Eventually, the weight of my eyelids won. The sun was coming up after what felt like 30 minutes of sleep, but it didn’t matter because I was quickly heading for the river. Arriving at the river bank I grabbed a canoe, turned it over, threw a paddle and fishing gear in, and slid it towards the water’s edge. Slowly I pushed the canoe perpendicular into the river. The leading point of the canoe was quickly grabbed by the current, so I pulled the canoe back ashore. This forward and back action went on for several minutes keeping my goal of reaching the other bank out of reach. Finally, I decided to just go for it. I shoved the canoe into the river, jumped in and was quickly drifting down river. The excitement was immense as the canoe swirled in the current. I grabbed the paddle, gained control, and worked my way to the opposite bank. It was more beautiful than first suspected. There were backwash areas, lots of underwater structure, and the current was much slower. It allowed for many casts to be made before the need to paddle. The lure of choice was a frog pattern, Hula Popper. This top water bait makes a low “plump” sound when the rod is jerked slightly. The calm backwash areas were perfect for popping the bait. After one of the low plumps the water exploded and a small mouth bass wraps its lips around the artificial frog and proceeded to dance above and below the water surface. Eventually, I brought the bass into the canoe where it weighed just less than 3lbs.  I released it back into river; that was enough for the morning and I was getting hungry. I paddled back to the other bank, landed the canoe, and strutted around on the river’s edge and thought, “that wasn’t hard!”

Who wouldn't want to wrap their lips around this?

As adults we can get in our own way and lose at the “what if” game. Thirty plus years later, I remember that morning like it was yesterday. There will always be naysayers or excuses that keep you from achieving your goal.  When there’s a goal you want to achieve, think like a kid and just go for it.

Deuteronomy 31:6 "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."

   



PROTECT YOUR TRUNK

You wake up in your tent and lie in your sleeping bag enjoying the peacefulness of the morning. You reminisce about the long weekend. The weather was perfect, you did everything you wanted to, and you really enjoyed your time in God’s great outdoors. It’s not as bright out as you think it should, so you peek out the window and notice the heavy cloud cover. The clouds that were predicted to move in later that day are hovering low overhead.  They are drifting by rather quickly and then you here thunder off in the distance. You are now wide awake and jump out of your sleeping bag. If anyone is with you, you quickly get them moving as well. You bundle your belongings up and throw them in your vehicle, no time for neat packing this morning. Everything is out of the tent and you start taking it down, then it starts to rain…of course!  The rain is light at first so you move as quickly as possible, if you have kids with you, the tension may start to build. You may start barking orders at anyone in ear shot. Something like: “Hurry! Untie the fly! Zip the doors closed! Drop those poles! Move, let me do that! LET’S MOVE PEOPLE!” The tent is finally down and all that’s left is to pull up the stakes. Then the rain really starts to come down. You’re getting soaked, the rain water is running down your back and making its way to your underwear. One more stake left. You pull on it and it doesn’t budge. You suddenly remember this particular stake was also a challenge going into the ground when you set up camp. A tree root or rock has a fierce grip on the stake. Your shoes are full of mud and at this point, not an inch of you is dry. You keep pulling on the stake...nothing. Next you pull the tent loop away from the stake, thinking to yourself, “I’ll buy another stake;” “No one’s looking;” What’s the harm in leaving one stupid stake in the ground?” You throw the tent in your vehicle, jump in your seat, turn on the wipers, and crank up the windshield defroster. As you drive down the gravel road leaving your campsite and that stupid stake behind, you see a sign that states, “Thank you for removing everything from the campsite...” Ugh, a character failure to say the least. What you think and do when no one is around shines a little light into what your character is made of.

Photo credit: wallpaperscraft.com
 

I connect many things in life to trees. One’s character is like the trunk of a tree; you know a good one when you see it. It stands solid with a good root system supporting it. It’s poised with confidence and strong enough to support the branches up above. You’ll also know a bad trunk when you see it. The bark is peeling off or there are woodpecker holes everywhere. Sometimes the holes are big enough to house a colony of rodents. There can also be some trunks that deceive you. You’ll notice these ones after a storm, that’s when they really show their weakness. They will be torn apart revealing a hollow shell. They may have looked good on the outside, but the inside has been eaten away by pests. In our lives pests can come in many different forms; lies, gossip, selfishness and guilt can eat away at our insides like bugs. Surrounding yourself with negative people or leading an unfulfilling life can poke holes in your character like a woodpecker. Leading a life filled with honesty will reflect the sturdiest of trunks.

"Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things."

 

 



DARKEST BEFORE THE DAWN

Have you ever been in a situation where it was pitch black? Pitch black to the point of not being able to see your hand right in front of your face? They say when you lose one of your senses the other ones become more sensitive. This becomes very apparent to me when I hit the woods turkey or deer hunting. I like to get in the blind/stand at least an hour before sunrise. That way the woods have a chance to quiet down before the action starts...if the action starts. After getting settled in the woods things get very quiet and if it's a cloudy night, it is very dark…pitch black. While sitting in the pitch black the first sense to kick in is my hearing. My hearing has been abused over the years so immediately the loud ringing kicks in. The ringing (which sounds like a train whistle) starts to subside after about 20 minutes. At that point the slightest noise sounds like a crash of lightning. A pine needle falling from an overhead branch sounds like a turkey flying out of gun range, or as a dried up oak leaf falls to the forest floor it sounds like a monster buck stomping behind you. The sense of taste also elevates and the toothpaste feels very effective. The smell of the toothpaste is so strong that any creature within 100 yards could smell it. Touch gets into the game as well. If it’s cold enough your fingers and toes have already made you aware of their uncomfortable presence. Heaven forbid a mosquito found its way to your skin, drilling into you like a dentist who forgot to use Novocain.

Eventually the pitch black starts to give way to the sunrise. This is my favorite part of the day. It’s when God’s incredible creations start to become visible. His light breaks through the darkness. First it illuminates the tree tops waking up the squirrels sending them up and down branches, then it cuts deeper in the forest and birds start to sing, then it touches your face and you feel His warmth, eventually it reaches the forest floor, and soon, if it’s His plan, the action really kicks in.

Ahhh, another chance to feel Gods light

Sometimes the darkness seems to last a lot longer than we care for. When it’s cloudy His light can seem out of reach. Feelings of loneliness, anxiety or depression can start to invade us. Whenever I’m find myself in a place where the turkeys aren’t gobbling, the fish aren’t biting, or His lights not warming my face, it’s time to move. Every day the sun comes up and God wants to shine his light on us. Hunt for His light; it is darkest before the dawn because God is showing us that He’s the way out of the darkness.

John 8:12