A Hole In One to Remember!

During bow season this year our good buddy Phil had this buck walk out just 20 yards or so from his blind. He waited patiently for a decent crossbow shot. The buck finally gave him a quartering away shot. Phil leaned in, aimed, & squeezed the trigger. Just when the bolt took flight, the buck turned slightly...HOLE IN ONE!

I'm not making this up. The poor thing didn't run that far ( I understand that!). When Ken came to pick Phil up he says that, "Phil had a sheepish look on his face". "Did you get anything" asked Ken. "A buck, come & see" replied Phil sheepishly. Ken said when he saw that deer, he just busted out laughing.

Right then, Ken hatched a plan to get a replica mount of Phil's "Hole in One" & give it to him for Chirstmas. I don't know if you can hear Ken on the video but he says, "We were going to get the front end mounted but we couldn't get the look off his face!"

The Hole in One now hangs proudly over Phil's desk in his office. Now when he's having a bad day, all he has to do is to look up & realize..."It could be a lot worse!"

No Way!

The above is the summit viper classic climbing stand. I have to make a confession here - I've been lusting after this thing since before hunting season started. We've come on some lean times financially & I just couldn't see my way clear to buy it. I can usually talk myself into any selfish purchase but no dice this time.
One of the features I really like is the quick connect system that is very quiet as well as quick. The solid climbing brackets were also a great feature.
My hunting partner & mentor, Mr. Ken Goings, has been an off the hook blessing to me this past year. He manages a 1,000 hunting club in Crawford county. I hunted Turkey with him there this past spring. I lost my lease in Monroe county this past summer. Ken decided to give me a membership to his club which he paid for. We've had some amazing hunts there already this year. I harvested 2 does last Friday morning. I shot one at 8 a.m. & one at 9 a.m. Both were big does. Ken took an even bigger doe that evening & one two days later.
On opening day of bow season, Ken noticed that the cable on my climbing stand was cut nearly in two. He advised me not to use it. I'm ashamed to say that I didn't take his advice & I was pretty nervous.
Ken called me Monday to meet up with me so I could pick up the cooler with the last deer in it. We met at Dicks sporting goods in Macon. I put the cooler in my truck & Ken then sheepishly admitted that he had an ulterior motive. With that Goings grin he said, "I'm gonna get you an early Christmas present - the Summit Viper climbing stand." NO WAY!!!
I am the very proud new owner of the latest in quick & quiet climbing technology! I cannot wait to give it a test run soon.
God has sure blessed me with good friends like Ken. He meets not only my needs but my wants as well. Simply Amazing!

In Celebration of a Good Man

The 'Farm Bureau' Cake Co-workers
Good friends

Well, Jim Williams has finally retired after nearly 40 years with Farm Bureau. Jim was the head of the Pulpit committee that brought us to the Church of the Wildwood. He & Norma have been like parents to us. In fact, Jim reminds me very much of my own Father...stoic, pragmatic, but acutly caring underneath it all. Norma got some of these pictures together for his celebration on Sunday. It was fun to hear all the "Jim" stories from friends, co-workers, & family. Through all the laughter & stories, one common theme emerged: FAITHFULNESS. Jim Williams is a faithful man.

I don't know if there's a better tribute to a man than to call him faithful. Jim loves Jesus Christ & has been so faithful in his walk with Him. I've seen Jim on the mountain top & in the valley of the shadow of death & he's the same man in both situations.

We've been in some ministry scapes together & some of those were all out battles. I've seen Jim difuse a heated situation with a calm, Spirit filled word. As proverbs says, a soft answer turns away wrath...

Norma was thrilled to finally have suprised Jim with this celebration party. Its hard to 'get over' on a guy like Jim but she did.

We had so much fun celebrating this man's faithfulness. May God allow him to finish as well as he has been up to now.