Follow the Leader

A couple of weeks ago, my wife and I were blessed to be able to take a week away from our work and family and cruise with another couple through the Western Caribbean. Two of our day excursions involved snorkeling around the island's barrier reefs where we were stopped for the day. It was my first time ever snorkeling, and my first try at it in Grand Cayman was difficult both physically and mentally, but it was during my second try off of Haiti when I figured it out. For those of you who are snorkeling naturals, I am probably preaching to the choir, but it was extremely cool to be able to see all the various coral designs and vegetation, not to mention all the various fish and crustacean species living throughout its expanse. Well, the boat that took us from the ship out to the reef could not pull right up on top of the area where we were to snorkel, so it had to anchor on a sandbar maybe a quarter of a mile away. Once all 35-40 people were geared up and in the water, our captain instructed us to follow him out to the reef and not to get ahead of him during the journey. The group was fairly calm and organized while following him out, as most folks kept their eyes on the captain while taking periodic looks beneath the surface to see what we were swimming past. However, when we reached our furthest point, and he instructed all snorkelers to begin working their way back to the boat, things got a bit crazy. Some folks had had all they wanted by this time, and attempted to go straight back towards the boat. Others were so caught up in what they were seeing beneath the surface that they swam in circles or erratic patterns, often bumping into others or the kayak positioned to keep folks out of the shallows. Still others, though, managed to steadily snorkel their way back to the boat at the same angle in which we had gone out, scanning the reef below while keeping an eye on the captain, and as a result, staying out of the shallows and off of the delicate reef.

Psalm 119:1-3 (Message)
You’re blessed when you stay on course, walking steadily on the road revealed by God.
You’re blessed when you follow his directions, doing your best to find him.
That’s right—you don’t go off on your own; you walk straight along the road he set.

The Road Not Often Taken

I'm driving to work one morning this past week in yet another one of our region's recent snow bursts. As has become habit to this die-hard sportsmen, I am checking out all the fields and waterways that I pass for various types of wildlife. Well, I approach one particular wheat field that is often frequented during Spring by a large flock of turkeys, and I am thinking, they certainly are not going to be out in this weather. Surprisingly, in the back of the field, I see the boss gobbler in full strut amongst the large flock of hens and jakes. There he is in all his glory, un-phased by the adverse conditions around him. He's one of God's creatures, doing what he was made to do, just simply living out his God-given purpose.
 
Philippians 3:12-16 (The Message)
I’m not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don’t get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back. So let’s keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us. If any of you have something else in mind, something less than total commitment, God will clear your blurred vision—you’ll see it yet! Now that we’re on the right track, let’s stay on it.

The Best Made Plans

I took the opportunity last Monday to try something I had never done before - predator hunting. My primary reason for wanting to learn how to do this is to thin out some of the coyotes that have been moving into eastern Virginia. Many area hunt clubs saw significantly fewer whitetails this past season, and popular opinion is that coyotes are playing an impact in these lower numbers. Well, the presence of coyote tracks and scat, as well as sightings by deer hunters, indicated that a pack was spending time in our hunting vicinity, so we felt pretty confident that we could have at least one come into our setup. However, despite being well camouflaged, setting up in locations with good predator sign, playing authentic-sounding wounded rabbit sequences on our electronic call, and keeping the wind in our favor, we did not have any predators, including coyotes, come into our multiple set-ups. What we did discover, though, was that there were plentiful numbers of crows in the area that were curious and that even responded to our coyote calling. Fortunately, we had a couple dozen crow decoys in the truck and several crow sequences loaded on the call, so we decided to change gears, change firearms, and take advantage of the crows' receptiveness. We had a huge group of crows come into our layout within the first 30 seconds of playing the initial fighting crow sequence, and had a great time shooting that group and those that followed as they circled back on several occasions to check out the commotion. We were even able to replicate our setup and have similar success in another other area before the action slowed.

Proverbs 19:21 (NIV)
"Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails."