Stuck in the rut!

Here it is one week before the start of rifle deer season here in North Texas and there is a cold front coming in. It makes my imagination run wild of visions of being hunting and the rut kicks into full gear. Big monster bucks coming out looking for love in all the wrong places. Generally deer are very timid creatures that almost will never come out into the open, but in the rut they have one thing one their mind and do you want to guess what they are thinking about. They have one thing that they can think about and one thing only. In deer language it means "let's par-tay!"

Enough with the kidding around, What happens is that the Bucks get so intent on the does that they are not concerned with anything else around them. If you are lucky enough to ever to be able to watch a buck chase a doe you will notice that he has thrown caution to the wind and has given in to the desire to do what they were created to do and that is to thrive and reproduce a strong new generation of deer so that they will ensure survival of deer as God created them.

I think that as Christians we could learn a lot about our faith walk by watching deer. The Apostle Paul spoke in Phil 3:12-14 "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Just as the deer are pressing on to take hold of the goal and to win the prize so should we be in such a state of mind that nothing will sidetrack us and hinder us from doing what we were created to do and that is to Worship God without any distractions and to reproduce a strong generation that will in turn chase after God with same desire to be near their creator. That is what God wanted from man before the fall of Adam in the garden. I believe God was deeply hurt when that happened and I also think that he is over joyed when his children want him as bad as we want to breath and I am sure that in that, we achieve what GOD created us for and that is to be with him.

May we all stay stuck in the Rut. Happy hunting

Deer Season is finally here!!!!!!!!!!

Praise the lORD! It is almost deer season! I am a hunter and love to see the change of the weather knowing that deer season is right around the corner. I really don't ask much in life but my hunting is one thing that I can do that relaxes me like nothing else can. Unfortunatly, when I go hunting I don't need to harvest a buck every year, but it is the time out in nature seeking after God that I need more than any thing.

It is an awesome experience to be able to go to the deer camp and sit in my tree stand with no distractions, I feel like I am drawing closer to God every year because I find that I need him more and more every year. To me it is like I am having Revival with in my Spirit just like some denominations schedule a yearly revival meeting at their churches so do I in the East Texas Pineywoods.

I find as a new dad wanting to be a Godly father to my son, there is more and more that I don't know about being a father. I find that I am so desperate for God, even to the point that I can not stand to be without him and his direction for my life, and that is when my soul cries out in a desperate need of God.

A couple of weeks ago my Pastor wrote about when a deer is running from something it will have a strong desire for water to the point that is the only thing on it's mind. I know that as a hunter here in the south that this is true because when the deer's body is under a high degree of stress it produces something called Lactic acid which can help the body produce emergency energy in case of a need for a quick get away, but when the body produce too much over a long period of time it can start turning back on the body and can slow down a deer to the point of exaustion or even death, unless it gets to water and and is able to drink. It has a way of resetting the metabolic system of the deer which causes the deer's body to start healing itself.

I find that I am like that deer under extreme physical stress longing for that water except for me it is God that I long for. With out him I will die because my body was never made to take the stress of this life with out him. He is my Savior and my friend. Psalms 42:1-2 As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?

As the writer of Psalms 42 asked God "When can I meet with you?" we need to get out and spend time with God. Ask him when can we meet I bet he want tell to get your people to call his people so you can do lunch together some other time. He is there for you when you are ready to spend time with him.

Please take the time to pass down these two legacies to your children.
1) As being a hunter
2) Being a Hunter for Christ.

Blessings and happy hunting

Standing alone

Today I received an email from a man that I consider to be one of my spiritual sons. He asked for forgiveness for a few things which was between us. Not realizing that I still love him and miss him. He recently got married to his long time girl friend and moved away to train for the Olympics. I am so proud of him and all he is trying to do. I am watching from afar hoping he will let me back into his life again and to be able to speak the Truth to him.

The biggest thing that came up between us was that I wanted to see him step up and be what God called him to be as a leader and he was just not able to see himself as a leader but someone outside of the group looking in. Just like in this picture if you are standing alone it makes you an easy target for the enemy and allows the enemy to keep you from achieving all that you can for the Kingdom of God.

In the military we used to say that "better sense is the better part of valor", and that "the only hero's that we knew of were dead men." We used to try and teach our men not to be dead hero's but alive men who did their jobs that saved the lives of a lot of men, that is called team work. So remember before you allow yourself to wonder too far away form the herd ask yourself why are you making the decision to be separated from the group and what good can become of it.

For the young man that wrote me today, I will not mention his name but, I love you and miss you. I will pray for you and your marriage and remember you always have a place in my house and my heart.

Blessings,
Stan

Unshakable Faith

When you see the caption it talk abouts an intense time, but I have found when you are out in the deep end of the water you will always have intense moments but remember "If God is with us who can stand against us. Don't let the threat of danger stop you from doing what God has called you to do.

True Faith

Here is a real heart breaking story of how Jesus Christ will help you and walk throught the the hardest times that you can have. The Amish people are usually very peaceful people who tend to keep to themselves so they can stay away from the sin in the world and live quiet and productive lives. Here is a clip from a news article that blew me away. See how a mother of one of the slain children can forgive the shooter simply because Christ forgave us. Our hearts and prayers are with the families of all the school shooting victims this week.


‘They honestly have forgiven’
Meanwhile, Rita Rose, a local nurse and midwife who delivered several children in the Amish community, told NBC’s Ann Curry that the mother of a 13-year-old girl who died has forgiven Roberts.

“She holds no ill will toward the shooter. She’s very forgiving. Christ forgave us, and we in turn forgive, and they honestly have forgiven,” she said. “Even last night, there was no anger toward the shooter.”

Rose described the teenage girl, who she did not identify, as “just beginning to blossom; she was very sweet.”

She added that the tragedy would likely strengthen the religious beliefs held by the Amish community, despite talk from outsiders that the lack of a phone or other modern amenities might have averted or cut short the tragedy.

“There’s two things that happen to your faith,” she said. “Either you let it go and get bitter, or you grow stronger — and we’ll grow stronger.”