The Heart of a Sportsman

Kansas deer, laffy taffy and sleep deprivation!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 01:30:00 +0000

Kansas deer, laffy taffy and sleep deprivation!

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Record Book ?

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 04:08:00 +0000

Today was a good day...No, today was a great day! Today, I hunted with my soul brother Alan Davis(pictured above with me) on his farm in Kansas - and harvested a monster Kansas buck. The events surrounding this momentus kill are much to detailed to describe here (but, you will surely get tired of me telling them when I get home!).

Every whitetail hunter dreams of killing a deer big enough to get his name in the record book. Today, that dream became a reality for me. I havn't got the deer scored yet but am confident that it surpasses the 125 inches to make the Pope and Young record book. God is so good!

I was thinking today as we talked about the deer making the record book, that God has a record book too. His book is called the Book of Life. His book contains the names of every person who has accepted his gift to us, of His son Jesus. Those whose names are in that book will spend eternity in heaven. Having your name in that book is more important than any record book! It is our prayer that your name is there - in God's book ... Revelations 20:15.

Live From Kansas

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 10:49:00 +0000

Podcasting Live From Kansas.

Listen Now!

Children of the Corn

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 12:25:00 +0000

I once heard about a woman driving down the highway and saw a dog hanging off the back of a truck that passed headed in the opposite direction. The dog appeared to be hanging on to the truck with his paws for dear life. She quickly turned around in an apptempt to catch up to the truck and to get the driver of the truck to stop. When she finally caught up to the truck she was amazed to find the dog still standing on the rear bumper and holding the tailgate of the truck. However, the dog was not just a dog, it was a coyote. And it wasn't alive - it was a coyote that had been mounted by a taxidermist and placed in that position on the truck as an advertisement for his taxidermy business. Now that's creative!

In the business world you've got to be creative to survive. If you don't believe it just watch the commercials on TV. Companies come up with some really neat ways to make contact with people and get them to buy their product. I got to thinking about that and realized that the same is true for those who wish to win people to Christ. In order to make contacts with people and to reach people with the Gospel - we too must be creative. Face it - there's a lot of people out there that are committed to not coming to church. How is it then that we make contact with them. How do we even get a chance to meet them and get opportunities to build relationships and try to sell them on the product that we know is the best ever - Jesus... We've got to be creative.

This past weekend the Heart of a Sportsman fellas got creative. Sometimes being creative means just looking at the obvious. We got to thinking about deer hunters and started asking what is it that deer hunters love. What do they buy? Here in NC, deer hunters by tons of corn to bait their hunting spots with. So, if deer hunters can use corn to attract deer, why can't we use corn to attract the deer hunters? So we decided to have a corn sale. We worked with a local farmer and sold corn for a day at a special price and man did they show up. These folks, we affectionatley call the "children of the corn " came from everywhere. In five short hours we sold 37,500 pounds of corn! That's over 18 tons! Our guys loaded up truck beds, trailers and the back seat of cars all the while talking hunting and life and building relationships with people. We made contacts with over 60 people who we didn't know - who we'd probably have never known if it hadn't been for the deer corn. It was a lot of hard work and all our backs are sore today, but we'll definately be doing it again, 'cause we want the children of the corn to be children of the King!

"Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God..." - John 1:12

A chip off the old Brock!

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 02:24:00 +0000

I've always said the our buddy Shane Brock can catch a fish in a mud puddle. He just has the nack for setting the hook and haulin' in fish when no one else can. Well watch out, it seems that his daughter, 5 year old Sarah Beth got the "fishing gene" from her old man. On a recent trip to the North Carolina coast, she caught her first Spanish Mackeral and was grinnin' from ear to ear. Dad sure was proud too!

Proverbs 22:6 - Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.

Big Ole Doe

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 01:46:00 +0000

A man who just shot a deer is asked, "what did you get?" The man who shot the deer harvested a female of the species. No man in history has ever responded by saying, "I got a doe." No, the universal answer to that question is always, "I got a big doe." It's like they don't come in any other size, except BIG! That's the case for our fellow "blood letter" Roy Brooks who has laid the hammer down on a couple "big does" this year already. One might think that we poke fun at Roy each week at his response when we ask if he got one, but no, we are actually envious because we have yet to pass one of our broadheads through the vitals of our own BIG OLE DOE. Great job Roy.

Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, [a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground." Genesis 1:26

The Elk Example!

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 13:45:00 +0000

What an awesome moment caught on tape. That hunter must have felt the bull elk breathing down his neck (literally). There's a great spiritual lesson that can be taken from this "close encounter" footage. If you notice, once the elk realized he was in a bad situation, he tucked tail and ran. He's lucky that the hunter didn't have a chance to stick an arrow through his vitals. We should follow the example of that bull elk when tempted. I could compile a long, long list of things that satan uses to temp men in general. You know what tempts you. If you hang around it long enough, the evil hunter, Satan, who hates you and wants to destroy your life might just be pursuasive enough to make you give him a shot at your vitals.

II Timothy 2:22 (the elk example) tells us to "flee" from sin. We men don't normally like to run from things, but we should make a tactical retreat like the elk to avoid satan's attempts to ruin us. Remember that God will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able to take and He gives us a way out when tempted by the evil one(I Corinthians 10:13.

Combating temptation with prayer, with Scripture and a good tactical retreat will surely bring eternal results.

"Blessed is the man who endures temptation..." James 1:12

Whacking and Stacking 101

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 14:09:00 +0000

The September goose season is in full swing here in NC. HOS brotha's Jonathan Seamon and Joe Finney have excersised thier trigger finegers on more than one occasion while Whacking and Stacking some "honkers." Early mornings,some good calling, and great shooting have paid off as these pics profess. However probably what plays the biggest part in their success is their hard work. These guys burn the roads up during the preseason scouting and finding out what the birds are doing and where they are at. They stop and talk to people and burn the phone lines up getting permission to hunt these places. Then, they go the extra mile to make sure that things are done right on the day of the hunt. These fellas don't just talk about it they work hard to make it possible. You won't find anyone who works harder to make it happen. Jonathan and Joe are staffers for Lodge Creek Calls - check out their wicked Lodge Creek trailer.

"All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty."
Proverbs 14:23

Bret Farve, Picnic Shelters and Jesus...

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 19:30:00 +0000

“It is finally finished!” Those were the words uttered this past Tuesday night as we attached the last piece of metal on the project we were working on. Note the exclamation point at the end of the first sentence. It’s not a “my Lord I’m glad the agony is over” type statement...it’s more like a victorious “Wow, we have accomplished the task set before us.” The Heart of a Sportsman summer mission project this year was to construct a shelter at the Iredell County Fairgrounds. The shelter will be used during the South Yadkin Baptist Association’s ongoing fair ministry, where the workers at the Iredell County Fair will be ministered to by folks from local churches in our association (see previous blog: “From Start to Finish” for pics of the project)
I couldn’t help but say those words (it is finished) when we were packing up the tools. This shelter had been a long time in the making. This project, a brainchild of Sandra Harrison, had been a series of ups and downs for the past several years. Things like: Permission from the county to build the shelter at the site, money, and time. Not to mention Inspectors and building plans. Plans that had to be drawn by highly trained professionals, I might mention. High-tech, highly engineered plans that ended up being much like the ones for a skyscraper in New York City. After looking at the plans, this shelter obviously must have been designed to sustain the strongest hurricane, tornado, flood, and even an earthquake. However, in God’s time He brought it all together...and it was finally finished!
While hanging out with the fellas and eating a hamburger after we were done, one of the guys mentioned that Bret Frarve had just announced that he was coming back...again. If you follow NFL football, you know he retired from the Packers and said his career was finished. Then, he came back to play for the Jets. Again, he said he was finished. But he couldn’t stand it and he is now back in the NFL as the quarterback with the Vikings. Don’t get me wrong, I love Bret Farve and I’m glad he’s back. I just thought he was finished.
Some of the last words that Jesus spoke on the cross were, “It is finished!” It was not a “oh shucks it’s over” statement, but much like us finishing the shelter, it was a victory cry for mission accomplished! In fact the Greek word used here means it is “accomplished.” Jesus had accomplished what He had set out to do. Jesus had completed all that was required by the Father for our salvation. Everything that was needed to atone for our sin, a perfect life of righteousness to present as an atoning sacrifice had been completed. Nothing more was or is needed. No other sacrifice is required. There is absolutely nothing you and I can add to the sacrifice of Christ. There is absolutely nothing you and I can contribute to his sacrifice – Jesus has done it all that is why he said ‘it is finished.’ It’s not a Bret Farve “I am finished” – but a guarantee! In fact you can bet your life on it! All you have to do is decide whether or not to accept His sacrifice. When Jesus said it’s finished, he meant it. However, if you really think about it, Jesus is like Bret Farve in one way for sure; He’s coming back! Coming back for those who are His.
1"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God[a]; trust also in me. 2In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. John 14:1-3

From Start to Finish

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 19:07:00 +0000

2009 Heart of a Sportsman Mission Project
Iredell County Fairgrounds - Shelter Project

Men of the Outdoors - Stanleyville First Baptist

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 03:03:00 +0000

Our buddies up in Forsyth County - Stanleyville Men of the Outdoors (MOTO) - from Stanleyville First Baptist have a blog! I had the opportunity to hang out with these fellas tonight at their weekly meeting. As always I had a blast with these guys. These fellas are a bunch of good ole down home boys who love the outdoors,who love God and love sharing their passion for both.

I'm excited to see what God is doing through this group of men. Keep up with MOTO on their blog - www.menoftheoutdoors.blogspot.com

The 70

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 21:51:00 +0000

Top Picture: Cornerstone Baptist - "Heart of a Sportsman"

Middle Picture: Stanleyville Baptist - "Stanleyville Men of the Outdoors"

Bottom Pictures: Colonial Baptist - "Colonial Outdoors"

You can crack on a man’s pick-up truck, make fun of his coon dog, you might even get by with tellin’ a fella that his mama is looks funny....but don’t ever tell a man that you can catch more catfish than he can. If you do, you’d bess be ready to back it up!
Well, the “Heart of a Sportsman” men at Cornerstone Baptist in Cleveland, NC decided to have a little catfish tournament and sent out a “friendly challenge” (see June 26, 2009 blog post) to the guys at Colonial Baptist Church in Cary, NC and Stanleyville Baptist near Winston-Salem. That’s when and where we found out that you cross the line with an outdoorsman when tellin’ a guy you plan to catch more fish than he does. After all, a man does have his limits and can only take so much! We might have embellished a little on the video challenge we sent the guys, and we might have been a little over dramatic on the consequences of the outcome – BUT it did bring the guys out of the woodwork. I don’t know if it’s true, but I heard that guys cancelled vacations, fixed boats that hadn’t worked in 15 years and practiced for weeks leading up to the event. Whatever the case, on Friday July 24, 2009, 70 men from three churches came together for a great evening of fun, fellowship and fishing.
You might not have caught what I just said so I’ll say it again. 70 men!!! 70 of the baddest, toughest, roughest looking (we like to think of it as ruggedly handsome) country boys from NC that you have ever seen. Hard working men. Regular guys from regular jobs across the state who happen to enjoy their role of highest rung on the food chain by harvesting critters and using them for nourishment.
Impressed by the large number of men at the event, I heard one guy say before we started and after seeing all the boats beached along the shoreline at the tournament that “the night was already a success even if we didn’t wet the first hook.” Another fella said, “it’s awesome to see this many guys who don’t even know each other come together for a night of fellowship.” One church leader said, “Just think, one year ago our guys didn’t even know each other and now we’ve got over 20 dudes together for this event.” That’s what it’s all about. We came together to not only fish but to glorify the one who created the fish, and the lake and the land around the lake: the Almighty God.
Seeing all these men come together made me think of those guys that Jesus used. They were regular men. Many were tough, rugged men - Men who liked to fish – just like these guys. He chose 12 regular men just like this to change the world. Imagine what He can do with 70! It is my prayer that we fish for men as hard as we fish for fish!
God is good all the time...and all the time God is good!

Special congratulations to Brian Cain of Stanleyville Baptist go for the biggest fish of the night (28 pound flat head catfish) and Eddie Ritchie of Cornerstone for the smallest fish (unable to register a weight on the scales). Oh yes, Cornerstone did get lucky and won the Ironman trophy with 98 pounds of cats on the night – but the real trophy was hanging out with 70 cool dudes. Thanks for all the fun...we look forward to doing it again!

That's a Big Check!

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 23:15:00 +0000

A couple of days ago I had the opportunity to meet some really cool folks. Residing in the hills of northwest NC, they call themselves the Tri-County Ridge Runners, and are a chapter of the NWTF. These guys and gals where my kind of folks...they love youngans, they love hunting (especially shooting tukeys in the head), t
hey genuinly care about others (and teaching them to shoot turkeys in the head), and best of all they love Jesus. In fact this particular chapter, drawing hunters from Surry, Wilkes and Yadkin Counties, was formed with the particular interest in mind of promoting Christian ethics.

The Tri-County Ridge Runners have joined the effort to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ through a creative evangelistic DVD, that revolves around what else...but turkey hunting. It's a perfect fit for these folks. The DVD is called "Lord of the Spring" and will debut at the 2010 NWTF Convention in Nashville, TN.

On the night that these folks let me hang out with them they presented the "Lord of the Spring Project" with a check for $1,000 to be used to purchase DVD's to be given away at the convention. Special thanks to Keith Hutchison and Lee Freeman (pictured above)for casting the vision and for the rest of the chapter for the support, not only in conservation of our wonderful natural resources and passing on our sporting heritage, but most of all caring about where people spend eternity! These guys work together and get things done...May God Bless their efforts!

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

NEW Lodge Creek Logo

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 22:55:00 +0000

There are a lot of catchy slogans in the outdoor industry. "Speak the Language" by Primos, "Catch us if you can" by Matthews, and "Bad to the Bone" by Muzzy Broadheads. But one of the coolest on the market is "When we call, Nature Answers" by our buddies at Lodge Creek Calls. Mark McDowell and his pro- staffers have put out a new cutting edge logo for thier products. We thought we'd give you a peak at what it looked like even before they get it on their website. Check out their entire line of products at www.lodgecreekcalls.com. Their calls sound WICKED!!!

Catfish Ironman

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 15:31:00 +0000

It's gonna be an event of olympic proportions. The event I'm referring to is the "Catfish Ironman Challenge." Let's just face it, we men are competetive. It's one thing to tell a man that your truck is better than his or that your mama's Walker coon dog that has only three legs could tree more coons than his blue tick hound ...but tell a man that you can catch more catfish than he can; we them there's fightin' words as we found out recently.

Well, we may have added a little fuel to the fire by making a video cahllenging some guys to a "friendly" fishing competetion. Basically we wanted to hang out with some guys who are making a difference in their communities by doing outdoor ministry across NC. The guys we are referring to are Stanlyville Baptist Church near Winston-Salem and Colonial Baptist Church near Cary, NC. We figured that the way to make it happen was to issue a challenge, tell them that we would commence to "monkey stomp" their hind-ends and then rub their noses in it. Well, it worked...men have taken boats that havn't seen the water in years to be fixed, guys have already been scouting the lakes, and vacations have been cancelled: just to be sure that they prove us wrong.

July 24th is sure to be a great night...especially great for some!

Of Quivers and Arrows

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 02:41:00 +0000

I was cleaning out my garage yesterday and I came across an old quiver. Those of you who are fond of the stick and string method of “blood letting” on deer know what I’m talking about. The quiver just didn’t look right, so I found a handful of carbon arrows and stuck them in it. I think it made the quiver smile! Well, actually it made me smile because it got me to thinking about archery season. I know that it’s a good ways away, but I have extra reason to smile this year. My smile is a little more toothy than usual because one of my best friends invited me to archery hunt with him in Kansas this fall if I get drawn (In the name of Jesus, Lord please let me draw a tag this year... ) Sorry, I have to pray every time I even think about it!
As I looked at the quiver, I remembered the verse where the Psalmist wrote, “blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.” The “them” that the Psalmist is referring to is children. In the verses preceding this one, the Bible calls children a “heritage from the Lord” and likened them to arrows. Many might read Psalm 127 and take from it that the man who has lots of youngans is a blessed man. Well, blessed he may be, but to someone reading this verse years ago it was viewed in a much different light.
We must remember that the Psalmist, Solomon, is talking here about how we spend our time. He is quick to tell us that unless the Lord is in it, the time we spend is in vain. People of that day had all made arrows at one time or another. They understood the lengthy process by which it took to complete the making of arrows. The arrow maker would have to travel many miles to find the right wood to make the arrow, split the wood to make the shafts, and sand the wood to shape the arrow. Next the maker would straighten the arrows, add a nock, and add a point using sinew from an animal that had already been killed. Finally, the archer would attach bird feathers for fletching. The process from beginning to end took a great amount of time. But, taking the time was a must if the maker wanted the arrow to be effective. Solomon is comparing the arrow making to spending time with kids – and blessed is the man who puts time in with the kids that God has brought into his life (whether they are yours or not).
Imagine if the arrow maker decided to skip any part of the process to make an arrow. The end result would be that the arrow would not fly in the direction you shot it – ultimately missing its mark. That’s putting it in terms that any bow hunter can understand. Take time with your arrows to ensure that they fly straight. Not just those inscribed with Easton getting ready for the upcoming season, but those called Johnny and Billy, Susie and Sarah, or whatever the names of the ones in your life’s quiver. These are the most important arrows – taking time with them get’s them ready for the seasons of life.
Recently a buddy of mine named Lonnie took his son to a local archery tournament. His son, 8 year old Gabe Hinceman (pictured above) hit the mark with his arrows and took home first place in the Pee Wee Division. Lonnie is a proud daddy to say the least. Lonnie is not just proud because Gabe won the tournament, but because he loves his kids. After all, he’s in the arrow making business – and you are too!

Happy Father’s Day to all you arrow makers – May all your arrows fly straight - God Bless!

Fish Tales...

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 02:46:00 +0000

I'm usually a little depressed this time of year. Putting the shotgun in the gun cabinet until next season just does that to me. It's seems like such a long time till we can get the fire power out again in search of furred or feathered critters. However, today something happened that made my heart ache a little less. OK, actually it got me excited! I've never been much of a fisherman, but today that might have changed. There are finned critters out there that offer some excitement too - and today, with the help of someone who know what they were doing, I got to sore-lip a few.
If you want to know where the fish are biting, what they are biting on, what time during the day to go after 'em, what time of year to catch 'em, what fish think about, or anything else to do with a fish the man to talk to is Tony Sharum (pictured above). Tony is one of my friends, who just happens to be my Sergeant at work. When Tony is not catching people fishing illegally, dreaming about fish or eating fish, he's on a boat trying to catch fish. It doesn't matter if its bluegill, perch, largemouth, stripers, or catfish...he’s been known to jerk a knot in all their lips. I don't know if I've ever met someone who loves to fish as much as he does. Today, I had the opportunity to hit the lake with Tony and learn a few things about catching largemouth bass.
And what a time we had...We caught so many fish that the boat nearly sank. Fish were so massive that they were actually pulling the boat around the lake. We must have landed a couple hundred and quite possibly a state record or two. In fact, I caught the biggest bass I’ve ever caught at 12 and a half pounds...did I say 12 and a half, I really meant 5 and a half pounds. Well, that may be stretching the truth a little – but any story about fishing has got to have some “truth-stretching” in it. Truth be told we literally caught fish from the time we got to the lake till the time we left. I had a blast...thanks Tony.
I was thinking on the way home about fishing in the Bible and recalled the story of Jesus and Peter on the Sea of Galilee. Peter was a fisherman by trade and had been out fishing all night without any luck. Imagine how that would feel – breaking your back at work and coming home with no pay check to show for it. When Peter came in from working all night and was cleaning his fishing nets, Jesus got in his boat and asked Peter to take him out a ways so he could preach to the gathering crowds. After Jesus had finished preaching, Jesus told Peter to cast out the nets again in the deep water. After having been out all night with nothing to show for it Peter reluctantly did as Jesus said and guess what happened. He caught so many fish that it filled two boats and the weight nearly caused them to sink. Peter and the rest of those around were amazed at this miraculous catch of fish – and awestruck at what Jesus had done.
We often get caught up in just remembering all those “big” things that Jesus did for people - Healing the sick, driving out demons and raising people from the dead and such. But we are reminded in this story that Jesus cares about the daily activities of our lives too. God is interested in not only saving us, but providing for our needs as well - and that’s no fish tale!
The next time you’re a little unsure about how you’re going to make it through something, remember to put your trust in God – like Peter did – and cast the net of your heart into the deep hope and love that Christ offers. You might be surprised at how much you catch.

“...they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break.”
Luke 5:6

Brandon's in Alaska

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Tue, 26 May 2009 21:02:00 +0000

Last year a group of men from our church went on a mission trip to Alaska. Two of our team members were a father and son, Raye (pops-left) and Brandon Brothers(son-right). God worked as only He does and Brandon is back in Alaska for a second helping this summer. If you'd have asked Brandon a couple years ago if he would have ever thought he would have been to Alaska once, much less two times, he would have probably told you you were crazy. But there he is, back in the Last Frontier taking the Gospel to people again. Really interesting things happen when you follow Jesus. Keep up the good work, dude!

Brandon is working with Brenda Crim, Charlie Parnell, and Spring (who is fixing to be Charlie's wife) on the many ministries that they are a part of. Please pray for them as they do God's work.

If you like to keep up with Brandon and his mission - check out his blog:
www.Brandon-fishingwithamission.blogspot.com

Double Bull Podcast

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 24 May 2009 12:49:00 +0000

Turkey season wrap-up, the Double Bull Blind story, Lord of the Spring, and Brad is home for a few days before heading to Iraq!

Listen Now.

"Lord of the Spring"

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Tue, 05 May 2009 21:33:00 +0000

Do you love the Lord? Do you love hunting? Have you ever wondered how you could combine your love for both? We are currently working on a creative project called "Lord of the Spring" that combines the two in an effort to reach hunters with the Gospel message. We are excited to be a part of this ministry and hope that you will partner with us in an effort to tell others about Jesus. If you are interested in supporting the project financially, watch the video promo and find out how you can tell others about the "Lord of the Spring."

Emma's First Turkey

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Tue, 05 May 2009 21:16:00 +0000

After only a couple,...well...several...failed attempts to harvest her first turkey, my daughter Emma, gave up on me,…her DAD!,…. and started going with her Pawpaw hunting.

I really don’t blame her, though, its hard getting up at 5:30 in the morning for nothing. Man, I had the most absolute, perfect, mind blowing, place to hunt. Everybody who knew my “honey hole” was overcome with some down right mean jealousy. Only Emma and Me were allowed to hunt on this prime piece of real estate. I just knew that on youth day it would be a “sure thing” for my daughter to kill a monster turkey….and…. she actually had a chance. That morning, on youth day, we got to the blind at 6am and set out a decoy. About 30 minutes later the sound of 4 different gobblers woke us both up. Man they were tearin it up. They would gobble at everything. I did a few hen calls, did a fly down call and got a TRIPLE gobble from what sounded like a monster. I new it was only a matter of time. Sure enough at 8am I saw turkeys on a road bed about 100 yards from us and one was struttin his stuff. I broke out the binoculars….3 Jakes. We made the decision that if they came close enough she would take one. While watching the jakes make their way toward us, out of the blue came a monster gobbler right in front of us!!! Where that big boy came from I have no clue. Emma got her gun up and ready but the gobbler wouldn’t stop. He must have seen us and got nervous. Emma moved her gun and tried to get ready. I whispered to her, “Make sure you get it on his”... BAAMM!!!! Before I could say “head” she shot!...and missed. My heart sank for her. She was a little upset only because she thought she disappointed me. After making up some good excuses for her miss, we had another opportunity. Those jakes had made their way up to within 75 yards of us. We could tell they were a little spooked and uneasy. I did some fairly aggressive calling and they came, but, they were among some trees and Emma couldn’t get a good clear shot at the head. During those moments, though, I realized that my 10 year old daughter had IT. WOOOHOOOO!!!! She’s got TURKEY FEVER!!!! She was shakin’ all over and breathin’ heavy. She was a tee total wreck!!!! I WAS SO PROUD! I think she was even seeing double… She said something about 5 jakes and there were only 3!!! Unfortunately the turkeys figured something wasn’t right and moved away from us. We sat there in our blind for a little while and figured it was time to leave. I just knew that we could come back and have a chance at another.

WRONG!!!! We went back the next Saturday and nothing. I mean NOTHING!!!! No gobblin, no tracks in the road, no evidence of fresh scratching in the woods, NOTHING!!!! We hunted hard….walkin and callin…setting for a while in different spots….we saw and heard NOTHING. We gave up and came home only to hear that everybody else had turkeys gobblin their heads off. The “honey hole” was DRY??!! You would have thought that Jeremy Harrill had walked around on the property, and put upon it, his curse of dryness…. that’s how bad it was!!!

A few more dry days and Emma finally gave up….. ON ME! Pawpaw (my Dad) offered to take her and she accepted. The first day with Pawpaw she missed again!! But Pawpaw was proud because he realized also that she had that turkey fever. He laughed as he told how she was shakin all over and breathing heavy. Anyway… they went again and this time, they went down a road bed to a river bottom. Dad said they got to the blind at 6am and at 6:30 the gobblers were doing their thing. At 7:00 a hen flew in and started feeding on some clover in a deer food plot about 30 yards from them. Dad saw movement up the road bed and sure enough….it was a gobbler. He said that bad boy strutted the whole way down to them. It came within 30 yards and kept drawing circles around the hen in front of them and never would stick his head up for more than a second. Dad told Emma to ready herself and follow him around and when he stuck his head up take the shot. Well…. The gobbler made that fatal mistake. Emma laid the big ol kaboom on its head and bagged her first gobbler. A 21 lb monster with a 10 inch beard and 1 3/8” spurs!!!!!! WOW!!!!! Can you say PROUD!!!! WOOOHOOOO!!!! ….that’s my baby girl!!!!!!!

I love the outdoors. I love to hunt and fish. It’s needless to say that I am very proud of Emma because she loves the outdoors also. She too loves to fish, now she loves to hunt, and she’s looking forward to deer season. I already have the 243 ready and waiting. Even though I am proud of her for her interest in what I enjoy, that means absolutely NOTHING, when it comes to eternity.

What I want my family to see me the most passionate about is my love for them and for Jesus Christ. I am the MOST PROUD of Emma for her acceptance of Jesus as her Lord and Savior. When she accepted Christ that was by far one of the best things that has ever happened in my life and hers.

Do you know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? If not, I challenge you today to make a decision. We have no idea if that gobbler will answer and come when we throw at him our best hen call, but I guarantee you that Jesus WILL answer and WILL come to you if you call upon His name today. “For ‘whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved”’ Romans 10:13

For those of you who do know Jesus, isn’t it awesome when a loved one comes to know Him...

Alan Davis

Love is in the Air

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 02:53:00 +0000

We turkey hunters head to the woods, set out a variety of decoys and commence to trying to lure a Tom turkey within gun range by imitating the sounds of a hen turkey. Yes, basically we try our best to deceive a love sick gobbler so we can put an end to his life. I love it! Although the season has been tough for some of us, a few of our huntin’ buddies have been successful at giving one of these big birds a “dirt nap.”

Top Picture: Hunter Norman
Second Picture: Scott Isley
Third Picture: David Hinceman
Bottom Picture: Jason Cruise

If you think about it, Satan likes to work the same way. He lures us in with all kinds of things of the world that call to us and tell us that it’s ok, it will feel good, that everybody’s doing it, and nobody will know. He is a great deceiver.
If we continue to answer his calls, we eventually find ourselves within gun range of the evil one who wants to ruin our lives. It pays to be diligent at what we put into our minds. The great deceiver will tell us all kinds of lies. In fact, the Bible tells us in John 8:44 that Satan is a liar and the “father of lies” and the truth is not in him. Examine what you are putting into your minds. Ask God to help you put into your mind what is good and pure. Read God’s word and pray. Paul reminds us in Philippians 4:8, “Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.”

Love is in the air in the turkey woods this spring. And because it is – we turkey hunt-a-holics will continue to hunt; because after all turkey hunting is lovely...and we should think about such things.

Do you have the "Heart of a Sportsman"

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 12:03:00 +0000

Check out our new Heart of a Sportsman video. Folks who check out our church website can see the video about our ministry. Our church website is www.cornerstonenc.org - check out the site and visit us at Cornerstone...

Turkey Huntin' Youngans

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 21:42:00 +0000

The NC Youth Turkey hunting day on April 4th kicked off the 2009 spring turkey season. On that special day adults can take a kid hunting and they have the woods to themselves (before we adults mess everything up). It was a great way to start off the turkey season. Many great memories were made this year - a few even involved the killing of a bird.

Top Picture: Cade Harrill
Second Picture: Jack Borders with his dad, Brad
Third Picture: Mathew Hefner who harvested a big Tom with huntin' buddy John Isenhour
Bottom Picture: Zack Ridenhour who harvested his first turkey

Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.
(Proverbs 22:6 ESV)

Big Oak Archery Shoot

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy) — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 01:34:00 +0000

Today, some of the fellas headed to the Big Oak Archery Club to participate in a 3D archery shoot. For most of us, it was our first time. We shot at a total of 28 targets which included: bears, wild hogs, antelope, turkeys, a raccoon, a mountain lion, an elk, several deer, coyotes, a wolf and even an alligator. The distances we shot from ranged from 15 yards to around 40 yards. We had to shoot in all kinds of environments and in all kinds of terrain: through small openings in bushes and trees, while standing on sticks and logs, from elevated platforms, and even a few while kneeling on the ground and sitting on stumps. I wanted to shoot a perfect score. For one, as a hunter, I want to be highly proficient with my hunting equipment that I take into the woods during the season. And second, (if I must be perfectly honest) I wanted to beat my buddies so I’d have bragging rights! It didn’t take long...well, actually the truth be known, after the first target my hopes for the perfect score were ruined. However, if you can say anything about me or my arching cohorts, it would be that we’re consistent. I consistently missed the mark. In fact we all did. Even our best archer of the day, Allen Kerley scored a 271 out of a possible 336 points, coming up well short of perfect scorecard.

Archery is a lot like life. I think every archer knows what it is to miss the mark (or the entire target). Nobody ever gets a perfect score in these events. Just like in archery, none of us are perfect in life. I think we would all admit that we miss the mark (for me, many more times than I care to admit). God’s word tells us in Romans 3:23 that “all have sinned and come short of glory of God.” We miss the target of righteousness. It’s interesting to note that the word used for sin in the Scriptures is an archery term meaning to miss the mark. God’s word also tells us that the penalty for that sin is death (Romans 6:23), which actually means eternal separation from God in a terrible place. If you just read that part of the story you’ve missed the best part. His word goes on to tell us that He (God) loves us. He loves us so much that he actually made a provision for us by sending His son, Jesus Christ to die on the cross to take our punishment upon himself. Jesus actually paid our sin debt. When we realize that we are sinners and humbly come to God seeking his forgiveness, He has promised to forgive all of our sins (I John 1:9). If you look at your life’s scorecard, what does it say? As much as we love to catch fish, kill deer and bust turkeys in the head we know that the most important thing in the world is our relationship with God and with all our hearts pray that you also have that saving relationship with Jesus Christ. Romans 10:9-10 says, “If you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

If you are a bow hunter you know that often times you only have one chance to make the shot on that deer you’ve been waiting on. Wait too long and you miss out, never to get another chance. One of the worst things that I could ever imagine would be for someone to hear about Jesus and how to come to him, but wait and then miss out only to spend eternity separated from God. We should all be ready to take the shot when we have it. We are not promised tomorrow. One day, there will be no more archery shoots or opening days for each of us – so take the shot of a lifetime today.

______________________________

Had a good day with some great friends – Ron, Matt and Mark Ridenhour, Chris and Kevin Simon, Allen Kerley, Brandon Brothers and Butch Chapman. Also special thanks to my buddy David Hinceman for helping me with my archery skills this week...you’re the man, David!