Death Shimmer: Why I Can't Wait to Hit the Water

Some time ago my buddy Jason Baggett tweeted about a new spinner bait known as Death Shimmer.  As one who loves to fish, I marveled at the innovation of this particular spinner and knew I wanted some.  So I asked him if they were available at Bass Pro or Cabelas.  He told me they were made by Law Lures and were not yet available at the big outdoor stores, but got me in contact with the owner Rich Lau.  Needless to say I am the proud owner of three Death Shimmer spinner baits, two pictured here:

I have yet had the opportunity to hit the water and give these bad boys a proper breaking in, but in a couple of  weeks my mom and dad will be coming in from Dallas, and the one thing dad wants to do every time he comes, have me take him fishing (he never gets too living in the concrete jungle).  So T-minus 17 days and counting till death hits the waters of SW Oklahoma.  So excited, can't wait, and what a blessing it will be to have my dad along with me!

P.S. Special Thanks to Rich Lau, God bless you brother!!!

Why the 2012 Turkey Season will be the BEST EVER!

Okay, so by the title one might think that I might have some inside information about turkey quantities, movements, habits, etc., or some scouting secrets to get you onto more birds.  The truth of the matter is, for me this season has nothing to do with the turkey themselves, but rather the hunt, and more specifically whom I get to hunt with.  This season, I will have the opportunity and privilege of taking my 8 yr old son Joshua out for his first Oklahoma Turkey Season.  As a father of two boys, I have been looking forward to this moment since they were born:
 
1.  The opportunity to pass down to my sons the joy, knowledge, and responsibility of hunting and the outdoor life. 

2.  To pass along the appreciation of God's wonderful creation of nature and wildlife, and our call to have dominion and stewardship over it. 

3.  The blessing of spending quality time with my sons and teach them how to hunt, both ethically and for success.

This list is by no means exhaustive, but it outlines a few of my reasons why, for me, the 2012 Turkey Season will be the BEST EVER!!!

Lord, lead me so I can lead

As men, we are created, called, commanded and ordained to lead our families.  This leadership is not limited to financial, but also encompasses emotional leadership as we love them, and spiritual leadership as we draw them closer to Christ.  However, in order to fulfill this role, we must first be led ourselves.  The apostle Paul wrote,

"Wives, submit to your own husband, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.  Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church" - Ephesians 5:22-29 (ESV)

The Word states that we are the head of the family, but in order to lead correctly, Biblically, we must be under Christ's headship.  Christ must first lead us in order for us to lead them. Our headship is not a dictatorship, through which the husband can lord over the wife commanding her to obey his every whim, but rather it is a role that requires sacrificial, unconditional love!  As head of our home, we are to love, nourish and cherish!  He goes on to say,

"Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord." - Ephesians 6:4 (ESV)

As fathers, it is our responsibility to teach, train, and instruct our children in the admonition of the Lord.  We are to be the model and example for them, particularly our sons, to pass on to their family!  In this investment, through God's grace, we have an impact on generations to come. We must diligently pray for our families and ourselves that Christ rule!

Lead Me
by Sanctus Real

The "Fanboy" Transformation was made Complete

Okay, so I realize that this post is likely going to earn me the label of "Fanboy", but I am okay with that.  The reality is I am an Apple Fanboy.  It started small with desiring to get an iPhone.  When the iPhone was launched 5 years ago, they were to pricey for this preacher, so I had to bide my time.  Then it happened, with the launch of the 3GS, I was able to purchase my first iPhone.  Now, I already had owned iPods and was familiar with iTunes, but who knew it would be so nice to have a computer, camera, apps, music, etc. all in one device.  Then came the iPad, which I purchased about 4 months before Apple announced the launch of the iPad 2 (early bird may get the worm, but the tortoise gets the iPad 2).  Anyway, the usefulness of the iPad for me was immeasurable, in that I daily used journaling apps in conjunction with the Bible App, for preparing sermons, bible studies, and personal growth.  Yes, I know you can do those things with a pad, pen and bible, but the fun and ease of copying and pasting, along with being able to sync between my iPhone and iPad was great.  I have since upgraded to the iPhone 4S when it launched in November.  All of this is meant to get us to the complete transformation.  You see, though I loved all these Apple products (iPod, iPhone, iPad) I was still a PC guy.  I even had a friend, on more than one occasion, try to convince me to go all Apple and get a Mac.  Of course I scoffed at the idea, I was a dinosaur of habit.  The PC, and Windows in particular, were familiar to me and I had fear of a new learning curve, as well as software and hardware compatibility.  Then it happened!  My family and I were at my folks house for Christmas, and my PC laptop started acting up once again.  I had had it!!!  Of course my friends encouragement had begun to sway me, but this was the last straw...I was done with PC, and knew I wanted a Mac.  I went to Best Buy with the initial intent to buy a Macbook Air, but then decided to get the 13" Macbook Pro (Late 2011) model (the very model I type this post on).  It was now done, every electronic device that I owned and now used was Apple.  If I am honest, I was initially scared of the learning curve when I took it out of the box.  However all that fear was for not, as Mac OS X is about as user friendly as anything I have ever used.  I am thoroughly glad I made the switch and now will never go back to PC.  During that time during Christmas vacation, the transformation was made complete!

P.S. I also must say that my watch is now an iWatch.  My old iPod Nano (which I had passed down to my wife long ago) was up for recall because of battery issues.  So through Apple Replacement Program, I was able to get a new iPod Nano 6G (which my wife loving and graciously let me have back).  I then purchased a iWatchz band and voila:

Misunderstanding

Have you ever missed the Lord? Though He has indeed spoken, you have missed what He was trying to tell you? Jesus said, "My sheep hear my voice..." (John 10:27a). But when you miss it, the enemy tempts you to think you are not His "sheep" or else you would've heard clearly. Your misunderstanding can give way to doubt. It is in the second half of this verse that we have the truth that sets us free from such a lie, "...I know them, and they follow me." (John 10:27b). We are know by the Lord! I do believe we, on occasion, miss Him, misunderstand His words. This of course is no fault of His clearness, but rather of our sinful, finite nature. But this lack of understanding doesn't mean we are less His sheep, anymore than your children misunderstanding your parental instruction makes them less your children! Though they have misunderstood, they still hear you, and more importantly you still know them. Don't allow the devil to try to steal your identity in Christ based on your misunderstanding. Rather continue to seek and allow the Holy Spirit to lead you into all truth. You are His, you are known by Him, and can hear His voice!

2011 Oklahoma Hunting Season

Well unfortunately I didn't make it into the deer woods very much this season, in fact only twice.  But on both occasions (both during bow season) I saw plenty of deer, and managed to put some venison in the freezer.  On both trips to the stand I had shooting opportunities.  This first night, I had a group of does come out onto the food source.  I watched them for a while, and waited for "big daddy". Since he, a nice tall, thick 10 pt., who stayed back behind me about 80 yards off and never came out, I decided to take one of the does.  She had come out to 40 yards, and was slightly quartering away when THWACK! A nice young doe on the ground and wonderful venison in the freezer for my family.

 Taken with my Mathews Switchback XT (yes I know it is an older bow, but it's still SMOOTH):

The next night the same opportunity presented itself and I decided to pass.  So though my deer hunting was limited, I had a success rate of 1/1 in arrows released to deer taken, saw plenty of wildlife (which for me is one of the most enjoyable parts), and got to be in the Lord's marvelous creation.  No trophies taken, not a lot of days spent on stand, but in my book a blessed and enjoyable 2011 Oklahoma Deer Hunting Season!

How to Reconnect: Slowing down a Busy Life

There is no doubt that the majority of people find themselves in a busy, hustle-bustle lifestyle.  Even if you are not part of the so called "rat race", your attention and time is pulled by work, family, responsibilities, etc.  Sadly, it often is time with the Lord that gets sacrificed.  So how can we make sure that we remain abiding in Christ (John 15:5-6) in the midst of a busy life?  Obviously the first step is to simply SLOW DOWN!  But Scripture gives us a model:

1.  "After bidding them farewell, He left for the mountain to pray." - Mark 6:46 (NASB)

Jesus had just spent significant time preaching and healing.  He had also received news of the execution of John the Baptist and was grieved.  He wanted to get away from the crowd, so He and the disciples went into a desolate, secluded place, but the people followed.  There He performed a great miracle in the feeding of the five thousand.  Then we get to verse 46, Jesus had been very busy, and needed to get away by Himself. Scripture says He went away by Himself to pray.  For a moment, He had to disconnect from the franticness of the world and just spend time in communion and koinonia (fellowship) with the Father.

STEP #1
Get away and spend time in prayer. Spend time in communion and fellowship with the Father!

2.  Martha and Mary: "And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to His teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to Him and said, 'Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.'
But the Lord answered her, 'Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things,but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.'" - Luke 10:39-42 (ESV)

Sometimes, our busyness doesn't have to be a byproduct of this world, it can even be in serving the Lord.  Martha had gotten so caught up in the busyness of serving, that she had become distracted from what is most important, the ONE whom we serve!  Jesus said that Mary had the correct response, she sat at the feet of Jesus and listened.

STEP #2
Spend time at Jesus' feet.  Spend time seeking Him, listening to Him, worshipping Him!

3.  ""Be still, and know that I am God..." - Psalm 46:10 (ESV)

There is little need to expound much further on what the Psalmist is saying, simply BE STILL and KNOW.

STEP #3
Be still.  Be still and rest in who God is!  Rest in His presence, rest in His goodness, rest in Him!

4.  "Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light." - Matthew 11:28-30 (ESV)

Jesus bids us come to Him and find rest.  He tells us to not yoke or burden ourselves with the things of this world, but rather to take His yoke, which is easy and light and learn from Him, that we may find rest for our souls.

STEP #4
Come to Jesus and rest.  Take off the yoke of the world that so easily burdens us with busyness and toil, and put on the yoke of Christ and rest in Him!

5. "Cast your burden on the Lord [releasing the weight of it] and He will sustain you..." - Psalm 55:22 (AMP)
And
"Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully." - 1 Peter 5:7 (AMP)

what an amazing two verses!  God says, cast all your cares, fears, doubts, worries, anxieties, concerns, etc.(which all of that is like a rocking chair, it will give you something to do but will never get you anywhere) upon Him; releasing all the heavy weight, burden, and despair it brings, once and for all, because of His great love and care for you!  HE WILL SUSTAIN YOU! 

STEP #5
Cast away (release) all of the stress and weight the world brings and let God sustain you.  Don't worry, be happy, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!