Things Change

Without a doubt, my dad is the man most responsible for developing the hunting and fishing and anything outdoors nut that I am today. He taught me, took me, and tolerated me when I was just a “whipper snapper” and “knee-high to a grasshopper” and those early experiences lit a fire in me that burns hotter as the years go by. But with the kind of work Dad did for a living being slim pickins around home when I was growing up, he had to work away from home quite a bit. That’s where Uncle Carl comes into the picture…

Uncle Carl was and still is the coolest uncle ever! He’d challenge the kids to a “foot race” every Sunday at Granny’s house, and he’d play us a game of basketball on the plywood goal that was nailed to a towering pine tree in Granny’s front yard. And whether he realized what he was doing or not (I have great suspicions that he did), he would fill in the blank spots in this boy’s life when Dad was away making a living. Hunting in West Bay and fishing at Toledo Bend with Uncle Carl still conjure up some of the fondest memories from my childhood!

Normally on a Saturday in the month of March, I would either be on my way to or in the process of launching my boat in the same waters of Toledo Bend that Dad and Uncle Carl introduced me to so many years ago. However, as much as I am a lover of the Great Outdoors, I have, over the last 20 years, been in the growing process in a relationship with the Great God that created the Great Outdoors that I am so very fond of. So in a few short hours (it’s 6 am right now), I will be off to the little North Louisiana town of Bernice to speak at the annual Wild Game Banquet that is hosted by the church a friend of mine serves as pastor. The message will be simple, but challenging: Whatever has been passed down to us, we should be careful to pass it on to someone else. (2 Timothy 2:1-2)

My Dad and Uncle Carl passed on to me a great love for hunting and fishing. God Himself has passed on to me a great love for my Creator and Redeemer. This little blog is part of the way that I attempt to pass both of these things on. A passion for the Great Outdoors and the God who created it all is something that I want to reproduce in the lives of others that hold similar interests. So with that in mind, I realize that the fishing will probably be good today – someone on my favorite lake will catch a 10 pounder today…someone will catch a limit of slab-size white perch…someone will get hooked on fishing today, because another Uncle Carl somewhere will spend some time with them. And prayerfully, as I proclaim the message of Jesus, someone will do as I did some 20 years ago…follow Jesus and become a fisher of men (Mark 1:17) – not to forsake the fun of fishing for food, but to also find fulfillment in fishing for souls in need of a savior.

Maybe on Toledo Bend…maybe out in West Bay..,or maybe even at the next Wild Game Banquet, I hope to see you in The Great Outdoors!