Vintage Ben

Ben is his own man...even though he's still a little boy. I took him hunting last Sunday evening. We sat for 3 hours in a cramped & rickety stand. He did great! At one point he heard some leaves rustling & said, "I hear a deer!" I figured it was an armidillo as they sound like an elephant coming through the woods. Sure enough it was. I watched Ben as he first spyed the armor plated pest. He 'wispered' - "look Daddy, a piggy!"

Gotta love that boy!

Recent Pics

Turns out Emma is the one baby of ours that doesn't like Daddy's harmonica playing! I tried fast, slow, happy - nothing doing - she listened for a few bars & cried. Everyone's a critic!
Lauging with Momma! Beth had her laughing out loud for the first time. Glad I was there to see & hear it

Ben cleaned up on High Ho Cherio! I'm thinking of taking that kid to Vegas!

So exciting to be in 36 pants again! Zija Weight Management System is the bomb! Check it out at www.drdz777.myzija.com

Laughing with Daddy...as long as he doesn't play the harmonica!

Gut Be Gone!!!

Random pics found on the camera. Anna's close up

Ben's first deer hunting trip. He did great!

Virgin Hunter & An Epic Hunt

My nephew Josh came by for a visit this past week. I haven't seen him in a quite some time. He asked about going hunting so Jr. & I took him. Josh couldn't believe that you just sat still for hours. I could tell this wasn't going to work for him so after about an hour we did some stalking hunting. We covered about a mile & saw 7 armadillos. One just about ran over Josh's sneakers! He was amazed by that. We did jump 2 deer but we didn't have a shot. Along about 6:15 pm we heard a shot ring out over near where Jr. was hunting.

When we got there, Jr. was knelt down near the entrance to the forest. I told Josh that he was either kneeling by the deer or by the last blood drops. It was last blood. We marked it & Jr. & I made a few careful forays into the dense woods. No deer.

We needed a better flashlight for tracking. The way the blood trail dried up, I figured we'd better give this animal time to die & not push it clear to the next county!

So we went to town & got a couple of good flash lights & something to drink. After an hour or so we were back to tracking our wounded game.

Josh proved to have excellent eyes for blood tracking. We hit a couple of 'dry' spots but the young fellas with their young eyes always seemed to find the next spot.

We hit a dry creek bed & saw where the deer leaned up against a tree. It was good blood - a lung shot based on the color & the bubbles in it. I told the guys that the deer wouldn't be far. It was 10 yards from that spot but the trail dried up. I decided to drop back into the creek bed to search further down for more blood. Not 15 feet from there was the beautiful young buck.

Jr. put a fantastic shot on him but it was a little high so the blood stayed in the animal which explained the light blood trail.

I knew there was a quicker way out of the woods so I headed due west. I could see the logging road only 20 yards ahead. Then I stumbled over something. When I caught myself I shined the light on a grave from the 1800's. Pastor Washington Cromwell Cleveland - born in 1803 died in 1869. The inscription read, "His death was a triumph of God's Grace"

There was a 7 year old daughter buried next to him with this inscription, "Here lies our sweet little daughter. We will be with her again soon"

One grave with a little lamb on top of the stone was that of a one month old infant.

I had several emotions & oddly enough, fear was not one of them. One was a sense of blessing to find such a lost treasure. The thought of how blessed I am to live in the 21st century where my babies don't die from now curable diseases. I also thought of the truth of those inscriptions. This primitive baptist Pastor knew the same Jesus that I know. He served the same master that I do. I will meet him one day as I sing the praises of the lamb around the throne. It was a hallowed spot & a holy moment. I was reminded that death is as much a part of life as birth is. I was also reminded that one day I too will be laid to rest. People will say nice things about me & then life will go on. I may be as forgotten as Pastor Cleveland only to be discovered again a century & a half later by a Father & Pastor. Maybe my grave will serve to shake him out of the lethargy of the moment and into the urgency of the Kingdom. Here was my take away: Life is short so live for what lasts longest - eternity. Life is hard, ie - burying several of your children - but God is good & you can still die in his service without being bitter at His sovereign hand in your life. Life is good, this world may forget about me & the forest my take over my resting place but because of Christ, no trees of this world will ever blot out what my Jesus did on that old rugged tree on skull hill outside of Jerusalem over 2000 years ago. Life is good because God is good even when you bury your babies. This man died with his pastoral boots on even though several of his babies preceded him in death. The verse that comes to mind is Hebrews 11:4 "He being dead yet speaketh". Pastor Cleveland spoke to me even though he's been dead since 1869 thanks to a well preserved vault stone. He spoke to my son & nephew as well. I reminded them that this was a hallowed spot & that though we would document what we found we would in no way desecrate that place or the memories of that family. They were in full agreement & what a time we had.

Josh was taken a back a bit by his earthy uncle & cousin but was more than up for the traditional face painting for all virgin hunters on their first harvest experience. We let him off the hook really as local tradition calls for a bite out of the still warm heart.

All in all it was an epic hunt. I was proud of my son for his commitment to find that animal even if it took all night. That young man has some great ethics which are the markers of greatness.

What a night, what a hunt, what a God & what a Gospel!

Big Shoes To Fill

Every boy love to wear his Daddy's shoes. Ben loves my boots. So here he is in my new hunting boots. They kind of work like waders for him. He knows how to turn my hat light on without looking just like an old hunter.

I may take him hunting with me before the year is over but after taking Sam the other night, I'll need a few weeks to forget.

Before & Half Way to After

I started at very close to 240lbs. At 5 feet 9.5 inches that is either too much weight or not enough height. I couldn't do anything about the height so I decided to do something about the weight.

I went on the Zija Weight Management System. Here's how it works in a nut shell: Flood the body with nutrients at the start of the day, late morning some dutch cocoa xm3, & some moringa tea before bed.

Sounds crazy I know. Here's what happens. The body gets what it wants & needs - over 100% of the daily nutrients including all 9 essential amino acids that the body cannot produce & is almost non existant in our daily diets anymore - It tends to bring itself into balance.

Then hit the brain with a dose of "Don't Worry-Be Happy" chocolate based xm3 that knocks out cravings, flips the full switch in the brain & gives a pretty good boost of energy to boot.

At night before bed - drink a steaming mug of miracle tea that serves to absorb all the toxins created by burning fat all day & gently 'flushes' them out of your system in the morning - a moving experience some say - pun fully intended.

I've never eaten less food or enjoyed it more. I keep waiting for the bottom to fall out but the only thing that is falling is my pant size: from 42 - 36 since July!

Believe it or not, I'm making money so its not costing me anything. My food bill has decreased $300 a month since my wife & I started the system.

I'm trying to find the negative & I can't...because there isn't one.

Try it for yourself. There is a 30 day money back guarantee. All you have to lose is the weight & all you have to gain phenominal health & the energy of a toddler on cotton candy.

Check it out for yourself at www.drdz777.myzija.com

Come "Drink Life In"!

Say Hello To My Little Friend

Beth & I were coming home from the store the other evening & as she started around the van I heard her scream. I've lived with her long enough to know that it was a "big bug or reptile" scream as opposed to a mouse scream which can break glass...but that's for another post.

I quickly came to her side & she said, "Its a snake". It was dark outside but I could see a small coiled snake not too far from her foot. The snake thought better of it & slithered under the van. "I don't like the shape of that snake" I said as I quickly retrieved my flashlight & machete. I could only see the outline of it but it had a thick body & a triangular head - tell tale markings of a pit viper.

By the time I got back out to the drive, the snake was making a break for it-heading under the wagon. I foolishly tried to cover it with my hat it struck at me - barely missing my hand. The next time I used the machete to try to hold it down. It saw that coming & went under the car.

I met it coming out the front of the car & was able to get the flashlight on it - It had the Hershey kiss marking all the way up it's body. The only snake in north America that has that is a copperhead.

It coiled again...and for the last time. The machete made short work of the little viper. I don't kill snakes unless they are venomous & near my house. If I had come across that viper in the woods, I'd have let it go in peace.

The light green tail is interesting. I thought maybe it was used by this juvenile snake to attract small lizards or other such critters for it to eat.

I'm sure thankful that my bride didn't step on that thing & that it decided to flee rather than fight as she almost stepped on it.

Happenings Part 1

Grahm & Dad - Q?"How has Christ Changed You" A: "My Conscience is much Bigger"
Kristen & Grandpa

Cindy Stands for Christ...all the way from Trinidad

Carol - Rejected her works for the finished work of Christ

No place I'd rather be - "We will not Orphan one of these New Believers"

Book End Brothers

Zack's last playing for CWW for a while...sniff, sniff

God's Men Blessing My Boy-The last time we did this was at his barmitzpha

We've been living at the speed of Life as of late. So much has been going on that it has my head spinning!

Zack recently moved to KC Kansas to live with his grandparents & study the piano under Roxanne Adrian. It is temporary but tell that to my heart. I had a tough time letting my boy go. I still get choked up when I think about Zack not being here. I really miss him. Beth reminded me that we'll get to do this 6 more times. Our house is strangely quiet with our Zack.

The Baptisms were a huge blessing! I love seeing new life in the body of Christ. Praises to God from whom our rescue flows from the finished work of Christ on the Cross! We Believe!

Fishing on the Farm

3 Nice Bass
Goat Galore!

Horse & Hay Barn

I've always loved to look at those big round hay bales

Sam's Big Brim

My Bigger Bass

3 Men in a Field

Burgers on the hoof - Doc was picking out a steer

We had Dr. James Raiford in for our Autumn Bible Conference this year. He is a most skilled bible expositor. Everyone enjoyed the time we had listening to him teach through the book of 1 Peter.
We enjoyed fellowship with several church members & with Mr. Ken - our friend from Camp Eunice. We went to his farm to fish for brim. The fishing was slow so I migrated over to the other pond that is known for it's bass. Doc came over & crawled under the fence to fish with me. We each caught our big bass at the same time! We enjoyed a great lunch of venison & beef burgers. Ken then treated us to homemade banana goat milk ice cream!

That was a great day all the way around.