SELF-CONTROL

I don’t do well with self-control, and this past Thanksgiving was a perfect example. Because extra pounds have been creeping their way onto the scale, I’ve been trying to watch what I eat. I did pretty well during dinner, eating only one plate of turkey with all the fixings. However, when it was time for dessert the flood gates opened and I ate four pieces of pie with ice cream and Ready Whip. My stomach aches just reminiscing about it.

Since this is an outdoor blog, not a food blog, let’s get to the area where I have the least self-control…firearms deer hunting season. Now, I could give you all kinds of reasons and excuses as to why I lack self-control during the firearms season and so I will. First, I love deer hunting! I love everything about it - the time spent with family, time in the woods, and all the prep work leading up to it. Second, the minute I get home from the hunt, I start looking forward to next year. The list goes on and on. 

This year, like many previous years, I told my hunting partners that I’m only going to shoot a buck. Also, this year, like many previous years, they scoffed at me, knowing I lack the self-control. When opening morning arrived, my anticipation was very high. A couple hours after sunrise, my son sent me a text stating a doe was heading my way with a buck 30 seconds behind her. He even said, “wait for the buck, it’s right behind her.” This got my heart pounding with excitement, so much so that I’m sure the space station could hear it. Sure enough, a moment later the doe came right toward me. My mind raced with thoughts of what if the buck doesn’t come this way, or what if this is the only deer we have an opportunity to shoot? BANG! I decided quickly and harvested the doe. Sure enough, 30 seconds later here comes the buck. BANG! There were no “what if” thoughts for him. Sure enough, that evening my hunting partners harassed me about shooting the doe. NOTE: no other deer were shot that weekend and I brought home the big buck trophy (second year in a row).

1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

STAY IN THE LIGHT

Even though it’s been getting darker and darker on our evening walks, our dog, Ruby, doesn’t seem to care, she just loves going for walks.

Enjoying illuminated trees at night

Recently, I’ve noticed things changing.  As soon as it starts to get dark, the song birds stop singing and settle in their nest; the squirrels, who seemed to be everywhere just a few weeks ago, suddenly disappeared up the trees and nestled in for the night. There are also less people out and about.

Once all seems quiet, creatures of the dark start to wake up. First, the predators start to prowl over the area. Owls will suddenly appear, perched overhead looking for a tasty morsel. Foxes will constantly be on the move looking for their next prey. Then, as the night grows on, the scavengers slowly creep out from their holes. Raccoons and possums waddle around looking for any scraps that may have been left behind.

One similarity about the creatures of the dark is that they stay in the shadows and on the fringe of any light. As Ruby and I walk in the dark, these creatures start to creep near us. When we get near an area of light, the creatures fall back and keep their distance, but as soon as we enter the darkness, the prowl begins again.

John 8:12 Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”

BEAUTY IN THE VARIETY

Photo Credit: Renee Leigh Bailey

Ah, fall has arrived, which means the leaves are changing and bringing about some of the most spectacular colors of the year.

If you’ve been anywhere near a park or even a cluster of a few trees over the past couple weeks, you may have noticed people out with their cameras. Some may be taking high school senior pictures, wedding engagement or family photos, or just trying to capture the beauty of Creation. One thing’s for certain, they’re all taking advantage of the beautiful colors. The variety of trees and shrubs is what brings out the various colors - the evergreens hold onto their deep green foliage,  oaks slowly turn from their summer green to a dull brown as the fall progresses, birch leaves quickly turn yellow before releasing them early in the season, and maples (my favorite of all) have a variation of yellow, orange, and red.

Photo Credit; Jon Quijano

Photo Credit: Renee Leigh Bailey

As the season progresses the leaves disappear and only a skeleton of trunks and branches remain, making it hard to tell the difference between them.

Revelations 7:9 After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb…

Photo Credit: Me and Minnesota's North Shore

REJOICE AND BE GLAD

There was a tug on my fishing line, so I let some out to allow the fish to devour the entire night crawler.  After a few seconds, I reeled up the slack in the line and then set the hook…

A month ago, my oldest son and I made plans for a fall fishing trip. As we coordinated our schedules, we reminisced of a fall fishing trip several years previous where we absolutely hammered the walleyes. You could say, we had visions of walleyes dancing in our head. My son expressed that he hoped we’d catch a few hogs (aka big, fat walleyes).

I headed north from home and my son headed west from his college town - it was a two-hour drive for each of us to meet. We got the boat ready and launched it into the water and through a narrow river leading out to the lake. As we came around the final bend in the river, we began to feel the blustery cold wind. The weather forecast was wrong!  Instead of the predicted light breeze, it was more of a harsh 20 mph wind. However, we came to fish, and fish we did.

We fished with the wind, across the wind, and against the wind. We tried several different techniques and bait…nothing was biting. As we continued to fish our way down the lake, the wind was finally started to let up. Suddenly it happened, there was a tug on my fishing line. It didn’t feel big, but it was something. As I reeled in, the anticipation was growing, and when the time was right, I lifted my catch out of the water…it was a pair of pliers. To be exact, they were hook-out pliers, the ones used to remove hooks from deep in a fish’s mouth. It was better than nothing, and I even took a picture since it could’ve been the only thing we caught for the day. We continued to fish and eventually my son caught a nice walleye; not the “hog” of our dreams, but still nice. Unfortunately, that was the only walleye of the weekend. We didn’t let that stop us - we caught several perch, sunfish, many bass, and a crayfish…yes, a crayfish.

We didn’t get exactly what we came for, but we sure had a good time creating memories.

Psalm 118:24 This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.

HOW WE GET THERE

It’s very inspiring and humbling for me when someone sends a picture of themselves wearing their Timber of Faith hat while out and about.

Recently, a lifelong family friend, Desi, sent a picture of her husband wearing their hat in Springfield, Missouri. Desi grew up in the upper Midwest. We spent a lot of time together in our youth because our parents were best friends, which gave us the opportunity to become friends. I think it’s safe to say, Desi never pictured herself living in Springfield, MO.

Over the years Desi has lived on the west coast on two separate occasions. During the second occasion, she met her husband, Jake, whom has been an incredible blessing in her life (pretty sure she never pictured that happening either). Their path seemed to be heading exactly where they wanted when all of the sudden, like for many of us, the path changed. The thing I admire most about their situation is they used that opportunity to become closer to God, which inadvertently brings them closer together. Even though they’re still on course for their life together, the steps taken may not be ones they planned.

 

A happy model

Proverbs 16:9 In the hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.

MAKE IT BETTER. BE BOLD

Looking back on the past 31 years of whitetail deer hunting I’m reminded of how much the hunting techniques my family uses have changed…and for good reasons.

The very first time I went deer hunting my stand was a branch that measured about three inches thick in diameter. It was nailed between two tree trunks, and the “bench” stood about two feet off the ground. Twenty minutes into the hunt my skinny butt was already sore, and I couldn’t sit still. Needless to say, all the fidgeting around prevented a deer, let alone any animal, coming within a hundred yards of me.

The next year we brought metal folding chairs to sit on. The chairs were more comfortable, which enabled us to sit still longer, creating more opportunities to see deer…emphasis on “see”. Sitting on a folding chair on the ground meant we were at eye level with the deer, which means, if you can see them, they probably already saw you. In this situation you have about one second to shoulder your rifle, find your target, and squeeze the trigger. (Think about it, it probably took you at least three seconds to read that sentence). We were definitely seeing more deer, but our success rate was still very low. Harvesting one deer between the six of us was a good year. We clung on to this technique for way too many years because things were “good.”

One year, my oldest brother took a bold step and used an abandoned stand that was elevated and deeper in the woods. He immediately had great results - he could see the deer before they saw him, giving him ample time to be ready. His success rate sky-rocketed, and within in a few years we all were hunting from elevated stands. We didn’t shoot every deer we saw, but the hunts were a lot more enjoyable.

This picture doesn't span the entire 31 years...we didn't have many reasons for pictures early on

Imagine if we allowed ourselves to stay in that comfort zone of things just being “good.” Thankfully, my brother took the bold step that led not to only enjoyable hunts, but great memories for our family!

2 Corinthians 3:11-12 So if the old way, which has been replaced, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new, which remains forever. Since this new way gives us confidence, we can be very bold.

FALSE ADVERTISING

The wife and I planned a day trip to Taylors Falls , MN. While making plans we talked to some friends who had just been there. These friends also informed us there are no falls at Taylors Falls. Secretly I thought our friends were crazy…no falls at Taylor Falls?!…ya right! In fact, my wife and I felt confident there were falls at Taylors Falls. In fact, the reason we felt so confident is that we thought we remembered being there and seeing falls.

We started the day with a long leisurely drive following the banks of the St. Croix river. When we arrived at Taylors Falls, it felt like I walked ridiculously fast to the river. Expecting to see the falls around the next bend, I readied my camera to prove our friends wrong…or maybe the next bend, or the next bend, or maybe not. Eventually we found a park ranger and asked where the falls were. With an awkward smile she said, “there are no falls”. “No falls at Taylors falls?” I asked. The ranger explained how the power company installed a dam on the river over a hundred years ago and now there’s only rapids.

Taylors Rapids...aka Taylors Falls

Despite the disappearance of the majestic falls we thought existed, we thoroughly enjoyed the day.  It got me thinking, what if we sold ourselves as what we used to be instead of what we currently are? Picture yourself back in high school. I’ll use myself as an example - there were many different groups or cliques people were in, and I was in the rocker/burn-out crowd. I had long hair, wore all black attire, smoked, drank, and poked fun at everything different than me. I’m not ashamed of my past, but thankfully by the grace of God and a loving woman by my side, I matured a great deal. However, if people came looking for the old me, they’d be surprised - hopefully pleasantly surprised and not disappointed they didn’t find the person who existed long ago.   

Hebrews 6:1 Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God.