SUNDAY SENTIMENTS

Put a Helmet On! - Ephesians 6:17a

The helmet that IS Salvation

The Helmet was to protect the Soldier from the Broad Sword

Satan's broad sword has two sides: Discouragement & Doubt

Understanding the 3 tenses of Salvation is the key to putting on the helmet of your Salvation

There was a great spirit among God's people today

The new song "Even So, Come" was well received & well sung

Past tense: Justification: I'm saved from the penalty of Sin

Present tense: Sanctification: I'm being saved from the power of Sin

Future tense: Glorification: I will be saved from the presence of Sin

The Hope of our Salvation points to our future final salvation

I am sealed by the Spirit, the Son has me in His hand & He is in the Father's hand...who is greater than all - John 10

God is good & his plans for me are to give me a hope & a future (that will bring Him ultimate glory)

Good visuals today - I always like a good object lesson

The food at the fellowship meal was sooooooo good. Loved Norma's black eye peas

Great meeting with the men after Q&A

Next Week: Worship in our new Digs!!!! See you there!

Deer Deer Everywhere

Well, I took Anna & Becky (my niece) hunting the other night. A young buck walked out but it wasn't big enough to shoot in our hunting club. It meandered into the pines & about 10 minutes later, it came out right under the box stand. What a joy to watch that deer feed literally right under us. Then just at the end of shooting light, a doe walked out. My scope had fogged up as I shot...and I clean missed it.
Then I took my nephew Garrett a few days later for a very early morning hunt. A nice shooter buck walked out & we both shot at the same time...& we both missed. I need to go sight my scope in as I believe it may be a little low. We looked for blood & hair - but there was nothing. We got back in the stand & about 45 minutes later, it was time to leave. I was listening to my voice mail when I looked up & in the fog I saw a deer walk out into the logging road. I literally dropped my phone. I told Garrett to shoot. His safety was on so the hammer dropped & stopped short. The deer heard the click & was ready to bolt. I squeezed the trigger & she dropped down and faltered in the front. I knew I hit her. Garrett was so excited. We got down & when we got to the spot...NO BLOOD! I couldn't believe it! I got on my hands & knees & found some white hairs. Then I found a little piece of meat about the size of a pencil eraser with one white hair in it. I told Garrett that I hit that deer low & way to the front. I couldn't figure out why there was no blood though. We went into the pines and I figured the deer would circle down & away from the stand toward the creek. We searched in concentric erratic circles for about 20 minutes to no avail.
When we got back to the logging road, my son Jr. was walking our way. He is an excellent woodsman. He disagreed with my 'logic' & said the deer was just as likely to circle back towards the stand. He also looked at the evidence on the logging road and said with confidence that the deer was down in these pines. This time I went to the far right. The game trails in there are really something. I was trying to make circles but ended up following a well worn trail. I took me about 80 yards back in the direction of the stand and then took a sharp left...towards the creek. That made sense to me. I walked just a few yards on the down slope of the trail & there lying in the brambles was a nice big healthy doe. I hit her in the brisket & she eventually folded up. I was so thankful that we found her.
What a great experience for Garrett. I've never seen him so excited or energized. The shot was such that we didn't ruin any of the meat. Amazing! God is so good.

Thanksgiving Surprise

The look on Mom's face is priceless

More Hunting News

I actually think I'm slowing down on the hunting front. Paul Jr. harvested a big doe on Friday morning. She was betweed 8 & 9 years old based on her teeth. I took a button buck on a quota hunt at Rum Creek WMA. I shot him at a dead run at 250 yards. I'm making corned roasts of of him.
The creath fellas gave me a couple of Virginia deer & my son Zack spent the better part of a day processing the meat. We'll process the two deer from last week on Monday. My niece Becky wants to go hunting so I may take her this week. With my luck we'll get another deer.
I was skinning & gutting my buck at the rum creek check station. Another hunter came up with his buck & we got to talking. Turns out he was a deer processor. Merry Christmas to me! He & his buddy schooled me in the fastest & neatest way to process a deer. What a God send. They were also Christ followers & we had some great fellowship talking about God's Word.
I got to hunt my good friend's land on Saturday morning. I must confess that I was dreaming more about the waffles his wife was making at the house than the deer around us. We had a great time of fellowship that morning. I'll be making my ever evolving venison pin wheels for Thanksgiving again this year. Hopefully I'll have this year's recipe & pics on thanksgiving night to post.
Thanks Chuck for reminding me how lax I've been in my postings.

Ellie's First Deer

My three eldest children were off at a youth retreat this weekend & we had the three youngest at home. Elizabeth mentioned that it would be a good time to take Ellie hunting & spend some time with her. I had just convinced myself of not going hunting on Saturday when my wife mentioned that to me.
Ellie & I got a late start & stopped in the shooting range at the Beaverdam WMA at 3:30 pm. I had to sight in the new 243 youth model rifle that I picked up for a steal last month. It only took 3 shots to zero it in at 40 yards. I gave Ellie some instructions & then she loaded the rifle, aimed, & fired. About an inch to the left of the bull's eye. Next shot, an inch high. Third shot, an inch to the left...good enough.
We drove around & found what looked like a food plot on an aerial map I found of the place on the Internet. Sure enough, just a few hundred yards down a closed logging road was a beautiful food plot just full of deer tracks & sign. It was Walmart for deer. We set up our ground blind with some tangled bushes for a backdrop. Several hours of hushed conversation & reading went by. About 6:15 pm I saw a brown spot at the end of the field. My eyesight is failing (for real) so I asked Ellie to look. "Its a deer daddy!" she whispered with great excitement. She wasn't in the right spot for a shot so she slowly stood up & I moved her stool to give her a shot at the deer. It took her about 5 minutes to find the deer in the scope. By this time the deer had moved to about 75 yards & politely turned broadside for a clean shot. "I see it now" she whispered with an amazing calm. I told her to just squeeze the trigger - "Crack!" - before I finished my instruction.
The deer seemed to drop it's rear end by a couple of inches but it didn't move. I pulled up to take a shot. Just as I squeezed off my shot the deer disappeared from my scope & my shot went off into the woods. "Where did it go?" I asked Ellie. I thought it ran away. "I think it fell over" was her reply. Well, we went to see. Sure enough, there was the young buck (6 points) lying in the tall grass. Ellie is reserved & not really all that excitable but she was shaking with the thrill of all that just took place. We folded up the blind, chairs & hunting bag & together drug the deer to the truck. She assisted in cleaning the deer & our good friends, the Metcalfes, agreed to help skining & quarter the deer at 10 pm on a Saturday. My big boys were at camp & not available.
It was a picture perfect moment that I look forward to having with all my children. I was with Paul Jr. & Zack when they took their first deer. Now Anna is on fire to get her first deer. I hope that happens soon for her so we can all get some rest around here.
(I'll post pics as soon as I get them from Don)

Macy's Baptism

A Happy Momma
A Delighted Dad

In obedience to the command of our Lord & Savior...

Baptism...the frosting on the cake of ministry

Standing up & Stepping out for Jesus

Buried in the Likeness of His Death

I believe the Jesus is the Christ, the son of the Living God

Greatful Dad & Grace filled Daughter

A Faithful Mother

Its not ALL pretty!

Macy is a sweet young lady with a beautiful testimony. She has grown up in a wonderful Christian home & her parent's have kept her before the cross. Macy recently turned 16 & God had begun to awaken her to her need for Christ through some illness. Sweetly & graciously, God made Macy His own & she was able to trust Christ & His finished work on the cross of Calvary to rescue & remake her into a daughter of God.

What a joy to be able to do life with such families. I just realized that Hayward & I have baptized all three of his children together over the past several years.
We are real family - for eternity. The DNA of the risen Christ unites us to our Father in Heaven.

Praise God from Whom all blessings flow!

Doe with a Bow

The fruit of my labor & God's provision

Bella meets Bambi

Patience - an elusive virtue that is only needed when not wanted by him in greatest need of it. I shot a nice doe in the same location last year. I gave it an hour & started tracking it. I jumped it, it ran, tracked it over a mile, never recovered it.
Last evening I got to the stand way too late - 6pm. I decided to set up as quietly as possible & sit until dark. I jumped 3 does on the way in - a good & bad sign. About 7 pm I looked to my left & much to my surprise, there was a nice doe not 15 yards from me. I put the pin just behind the shoulder & released. She was quartering away from me so everything was perfect. I listened to her run & heard her crash. Unlike last year, I eased out of the woods, went home to get supper, gear, & help. I gave the deer nearly 3 hours to expire. I figured it would be easy to find her knowing that she was within 30 to 40 yards of the stand. Not so. She made circles all over that swamp. The blood trail all but dried up. I left my girls standing at last blood & started 'making circles'. You walk in 10 yard over lapping circles. It was so thick that 'circles' were impossible. As I made my way back to the girls, I followed a small overgrown creek. On my hands & knees in the mud I came to a tight bend in the creek not 12 feet from the girls & there was the deer, laying partially submerged in the creek. Getting her out of there was a chore as was the next 2 hours or so of getting it quartered & in the cooler.
I was able to take my girls & nephew with me plus my friend Randy & his boys (it was on his land). My son, Paul Jr. came over & was a huge help in processing the deer. I love that he never shys away from hard work. It was a memorable & tiring night. I went to bed at 2 a.m. tired but grateful.