To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven...and for our family, this time of year means...
Our mighty hunter is off in pursuit of "Great Trophy!"
What can that be? Well, for my rough and ruddy husband it is more then finding a "Boon and Crocket" or "Pope and Young" buck. It is greater then finding the all illusive trophy whitetail he's been after for years. It even goes beyond receiving inspiration while field testing his Hardwoods pattern or creating new ideas.
What is this amazing trophy?
It is the Lord Jesus Christ who is the Greatest Trophy a man can pursue. In receiving salvation from sin, gaining eternal life, he finds healing for the heart and home, giving him real hope for the future. This gain goes beyond seasons or time and is without measure. Inhaling the refreshment of hours spent alone with the Lord, the beauty of the outdoors and seeking wisdom from above is my husbands true treasure house. This quiet time with God makes him a great leader for our family.
An Outdoorsman After God's Heart 
Archery develops disciplines which carry over into daily life. Bowhunting takes great skill with extreme patience, endurance, intense planning, self control, ability to overcome varying conditions, adversity, along with gaining many other character qualities. Young men could benefit from the life lessons learned in bowhunting and training in the field. Those who truly know my husband say he lives these qualities out and I agee. I believe bowhunting honed and sharpened his character through it's extreme discipline.
It has been said that love is spelled T-I-M-E. When a man keeps his family a priority all year long, spending quantity time with them, he will find great excitment for his hunting trips. Our home has been blessed with a man who faithfully commits his time to us. We are thankful for the many wonderful ways God has spoken through his hunting experiences and hours in the woods. He comes back refreshed "Super Charged" teaching many biblical principles, adventures and lessons learned. We have great fireside chats but what I love the most is what God teaches him personally through it all.
Let Us Stay On Target
8 comments:
thank you for sharing the post with us! My dad is not a hunter, but your words were still encouraging. God does speak to us in the quiet.
Yes, Jennifer He does!!! I do want to encourage other women to be free in their hearts to support their husbands need to have quiet time alone with the Lord. For many busy men, it will only happen when they are out hunting deer, duck or other such times. They need to look at it as a ministry unto their their husbands and not resent his time away.
I know I have greatly rewarded when I support this time for my husband. The blessings come back 100 times over.
I should probably emphasis that my husband makes our family a priority all year long and we know it and feel it:>) Though I miss him when he is gone, I know he has honored the Lord as a husband, father and family leader. We wives must not be selfish.
Thanks, Mrs. Hollinger. I enjoyed reading your post. I'm not a hunter, but this reminds me to be disciplined and stay on target in all my activities as I focus on Christ.
Lisa this is beautiful. I had emailed you and sent you a card last week.Did you get any of them? I also phoned and left a message a week ago.
Lydia
Lydia,
I am so glad we finally got caught up tonight!
Love Lisa
This is something that concerns our son, who is a fisherman and a hunter. He wants a wife that will accept that and be happy about it. We know several young men who have married and had to sell their fishing poles and guns because their wives didn't like it.
Well, I do understand this one!
Usually when a wife wants her husband to give up fishing or hunting~ it is a sign that he has not fulfilled the biblical mandate of a husband, father, spiritual leader. Support for time away is better received if he has wisely obeyed God's mandate of loving biblical leadership, winning and keeping his families heart, providing the needs of the home, investing time to oversee their spiritual and physical protection while serving his family during the off season times. If his home is top priority, his wife will feel secure, knowing her husband has not left her for another love~which in this case would be the great outdoors!
This same violation can happen with golf, other sports, hobbies, education, computer, games, work or just about anything a husband makes a priority above his wife and family.
On the other hand~
Now to wives, I would say that even if the husband doesn't see his love of the outdoors the same way you do, then you have an opportunity and a choice.
An opportunity to grow closer to the Lord while your husband is away and the choice to grow better not bitter.
You may need to apply 1 Peter 3:5 with patience and understanding to his needs. Sometimes a husband's need to get alone, is motivated by the Lord, so He may speak to him without distractions in a clearer life changing way. Your husband may even hear things you have been trying to tell him all these months.
This may bring a husband closer to his family which is what you want in the first place, especially if you show loving support.
He is not trying to make you feel less then loved when he goes hunting or fishing and you must remember that you are called to be your husband's helpmeet. That means to adapt yourself to his plans. There is room to appeal to him in love, if he his excursions are causing detriment to the family. But are they really? Or is it that you are mad that he left you with the kids or the household duties? I think we need examine our own motives. Maybe you struggle with fears of being alone or unprotected. God usually speaks to both my husband and myself while he is away hunting. We both grow and are so happy for it.
A husband may not even be aware of an area God is trying to help him grow and mature in. You may need to make him aware of your struggles too.
If you are a creative woman, you can find always to go with him and you may build an even a closer bond. But don't let it be for wrong motives of control and selfishness on your part. You may miss a blessing or weaken your husband's manhood.
If your motives are pure, you can really grow closer together~
I remember one year, I went hunting with my husband. I filmed down in the flora and fauna while he was up high hunting in a tree. Sometimes my husband gets up at 2-3 a.m. to hunt. It was a funny memory as a big buck literally blew right by my ear, waking me up from my stooper:>) My tripod feel over and down went my shot. What a humorous time for us.
Our family has had joyful times looking for nightcrawlers with our flashlights while preparing to go fishing. We even went night fishing in the middle of the Platte River on a sand bank. We loved every minute of it. You just have to be willing to get your hands dirty, let your hair down and have fun wallowing in the mud. Some women like to shoot or bow hunt with their husbands and that blesses their husband's.
Our daughter Seanna has gone scouting many times with my husband in the woods. As a little girl, he would cross rivers with her on his neck, joke and joyfully travers through corn fields. They have had many happy memories.
If that is not an option for you, then sometimes it is an issue of letting go of control and trusting God.
I do understand this struggle but the Lord taught me one year, that if I adapted myself to my husband's plan (as scripture teaches) that I would lack nothing in the areas I needed most. He has more then blessed me and gave my husband even greater time with our family. It is too much to tell in this comment box but God gave such a blessing, more then I could contain~as a result.
This will be a beautiful time for you to attend "God's Beauty School" while your husband is away. You will also develop more of a gentle and quiet spirit that is pleasing to to the Lord if you let Him. This will best serve your family in the longrun.
that is so absolutely right... it is something i want to say to most every lady i know...."don't worry so much about your husband being gone doing something he enjoys. Its probably something he needs or is good for him." stressing and freting about it just creates a problem ... just find something positive about it and don't fret....
this is so encouraging to hear that you love your husband the way God instructs us to... thank you
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