Deer Hunting Pictures

I have to say, these little doe deer taste great. They don't look so appetizing in the pictures, but they are very tasty. Here is a little secret.

Once the deer is hanging, as in the above picture, you cut out the interior loins. This is the same section of meat that makes up the small half of a porterhouse steak on a beef. Take them in the kitchen, or to the campfire and cut them across the grain of the meat into medallions. bread with flour, salt, pepper and a pinch of sage. Fry them up in butter and olive oil mixed. Make gravy out of the oil in the pan and you have a delicious little reward meal for all the work and sitting in the woods you just did. As you can tell, I have had this meal four times this week and will finish off the leftovers at noon today.

My wife had to make little muffin sized pumpkin pies for the boys classes to eat today at their Thanksgiving celebration. She had enough filling left over that she made a full sized pie too! Fifteen years of marriage and we finally had a pumpkin pie in our home!!! Stephanie hates pie. So, between the loin medallions, mashed potatoes and gravy, and pie, the food was pretty good at my house last night.

"Bless the Lord O my soul, and forget not all his benefits..." Psalm 103.

A Little Experement

OK, this might not go so well, but whatever.

If five people to comment on this post I will post a picture of the two deer I shot on Friday morning.

Just a little experiment.

Back in blog land

Back from vacation.

How God Provides

Friday morning I was deer hunting. I had already shot two deer and so I purchased two extra doe tags for the rest of the week. I was sitting in the stand at 7:20 when two female deer came into view. I was able to shoot them both, filling all my tags. Since I knew they were down and all my tags were used, thee was no need to be quiet. At 7:26 I called the house and left Stephanie a message that I had just shot two deer and that I was going to climb down and get them.

Stephanie called me back a little later and explained an amazing story to me. She and the kids had gone to the donut shop as usual on Friday morning. We always arrive there just before 7:00 a.m. and then leave at 7:25 for school. At the shop she looked up at the clock and it showed 7:10 a.m. which made her think about me hunting. She said, "Oh, boys we forgot to pray for daddy to get a deer. We need to pray right now." Gabe said, "Mom, we need to pray that dad gets two deer." So, mom had Gabe lead in prayer at 7:15 a.m. that dad would get two deer, not just one. All our friends who usually visit with us each Friday at the donut shop were present. I can't wait to tell them this testimony!

God is so good. He hears and answers the simplest prayers. It is not coincidence that I shot two deer just ten minutes after Gabe had prayed that his dad would shoot two deer. Here are a few thoughts. First, we need to pray about all kinds of things. Even the fun things in our lives. Second, we need to pray specifically so that God gets the glory and we receive what we need. Third, we need to believe as simply as a 6 year old boy who has no reason to think that God will not do exactly what he has promised, and we have asked. Fourth, when God answers like this we need to tell everybody. Give God the glory.

It was a great week of hunting and meat processing. I have three deer in the freezer and I gave one to my dad and brother to split and it too is in the freezer. I am not a trophy or antler hunter, I hunt for meat and so this year was great because I got doe (female deer) meat.

Blogging Out

I will be out of town November 16th through 24th. I don't think that I will have access to the Internet and so I will catch you when I get back.

Productive

This week I am spending a lot of my time getting ready for next week, I will be gone! I am going hunting for a week. Today was espically productive because several people came into the office to help prepare the bulletins and newsletters. Then we were finished so early that we began to clean the building! Very good day. Now I am tired and want to take a nap, but need to get ready for Leadership Council meeting tonight.

Fixed Laws vs. Grace

I have struggled with a thought for a while. There are many who believe that there is no such things as miracles. All events can be rationally explained. God made laws in nature and if those laws are broken by God, then God has become a liar, breaking his own rules.

Recently, I listened to a sermon by a Pastor in our area who said just that in a sermon (though he totally contradicted himself later by claiming that we can expect miracles). There are many Christians who expect nothing miraculous from God. They believe that the rules of nature will never be broken by God. However, our faith is based on God's grace and his ability to break the rules of nature in our fallen world and offer us gifts that we do not deserve.

In Jeremiah 33:19-26 God speaks to Jeremiah about his promises to David and to Levi. To David God promised that he would have a dynasty that would last forever. To Levi he promised that his descendants would minister before the Lord forever. God says, "If you can break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night, so that day no longer can come...then my covenant with David...my covenant with Levi...can be broken..."

God explains how solid his promises are to us, his children. Will God break his covenant that day and night will continue? No. But what about the time that the sun stood still? What about the time when the shadow moved back six steps to confirm God's word to Hezekiah? God altered the routine of the heavens! So, how do we understand the working of God?

First, our world is in a fallen state and God is in the process of redeeming it. That means, that there are times when God will work graciously, rather then by the strict rule of the law. Philip Yancey said it something like this, "The opposite of justice is not injustice, the opposite of justice is grace." (What's So Amaging About Grace) God is sovereign over all of his creation. He can dispense grace where he wills. Grace is when God gives us what we do not deserve.

Here is an example. Adultery (sex outside of marriage) and fornication (sex before marriage) is wrong, it is breaking God's law. The good news is that God in his grace forgives these when we call upon Jesus for forgiveness. Just think, God is serious enough about his moral laws for us that he holds us eternally accountable! But, he loves us so much, that he is gracious when we accept his son Jesus!

Let's expect God to do miracles! God can work in you to do a miracle of repentance, so that you can quit that habitual sin that hounds you. God can do a miracle of motivation, so that you can begin that work that he is calling you to begin. God can do miracles of healing in your emotions, mind and body. Let's trust God for his grace when he has promised to do miracles for us!

Photo Directory

Pat Harr is helping to take photos for a new and revised church directory. If you wish for your previous picture to be used we will do that. If you do not want to be in the directory, then simply don't have your picture taken. If you need to change any information please let me (Pastor) or Pat Harr know.

Pat took our family picture yesterday and then caught a candid shot of me. He was nice enough to send them to me in an e-mail.

Weekend Rewind

Yesterday was youth Sunday. It was really great! Dylan and the youth did a great job with everything. The drama was particularly moving and really impacted a lot of people. Attendance was 148. Feels great to be pushing the 150 mark so frequently this year.

Election Re-Cap

First, let me say that each election cycle shows us more drastically that we are headed toward the one-world government depicted in the New Testament in the final days before Jesus comes again in Revelation 19:11-21. Read this quote from the Associate Press article titled, Obama victory sparks cheers around the globe.

""What an inspiration. He is the first truly global U.S. president the world has ever had," said Pracha Kanjananont, a 29-year-old Thai sitting at a Starbuck's in Bangkok. "He had an Asian childhood, African parentage and has a Middle Eastern name. He is a truly global president."

Though many US citizens are not anxious to have a "global president," many around the world are.

Second, I believe that we must prepare ourselves for the impending persecution that will come our way as we continue to hold on to Biblical values pertaining to the family, abortion and euthanasia. The media today has already determined for all of us that a pro-homosexuality stance and a pro-choice view are morally acceptable and that conflicting views (traditionally Christian, Biblical Views) are immoral. I would rather suffer through four more years of financial difficulty, as opposed to the persecution that is looming on the horizon for Christian ministers and business owners who will be pressured to conform to the liberal social agenda of the left that is soon to be in power.

Third, we must pray for our leaders as the Scriptures have instructed us. So that we may lead peaceable and Godly lives. I have already begun to pray for Barak Obama. Following his acceptance speech I turned off the TV and began to pray for him. Pray for his health and safety and the safety of his family. There are still those in our world who hate them due to the color of their skin. Those wicked individuals must be stopped! Even if I disagree with his social policy, I see a man, a wife, and two small children who need God's protection in a dangerous world and a highly visible office. All Christians must get busy and prayer for our leaders.

Fourth, I join with all the voices of Tuesday who ended speeches and meetings with the words, "May God bless America." May God bless us, but not with wealth or tools for feeding our sinful and greedy desires. May God bless us with righteousness and Godly living that exalts a nation.

Weekend Rewind

Sorry this is so late. This has been a grueling, and yet very fulfilling week. The blog has taken the back burner to allow time for prayer and personal ministry that is essential this week at the hospital and in a number of followup contacts.

Sunday our attendance was 142! That is great. I just got October numbers and we received more than we spent! That is great. Sunday was marked by zealous and faith-filled worship! Sunday night was absolute celebration! God is good and he is gracious. I believe that God set some people free from sins that were plaguing them.

More good things to come I know!