The Great Trophy Hunt

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...

(Brian's Hardwoods design)

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

So ladies, do not fret when your husband is gone for a season to hunt. You may find the Lord will speak to him in ways beyond anything you could imagine and in turn you will be blessed. It is such a good thing to be quiet with the Lord, your husband will be strengthend in his manhood, leadership and he will find refreshment for his soul.

"He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,

Which yields its fruit in its season

And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers."

Psalm 1:3

Gone From My Sight

"I am standing upon the seashore...

A ship at my side spreads her white sails to the morning breeze and starts for the blue ocean.

She is an object of beauty and strength.

I stand and watch her until at length she hangs like a speck of white cloud just where the sea and sky come to mingle with each other.

Then someone at my side says: "There, she is gone!"

"Gone where?"

Gone from my sight. That is all.

She is just as large in mast and hull and spar as she was when she left my side and she is just as able to bear her load of living freight to her destined port.

Her diminished size is in me, not in her.
And just at the moment when someone at the my side says: "There, she is gone!" there are other eyes watching her coming, and other voices ready to take up the glad shout: "Here she comes!"

And that is dying."

Henry Van Dyke

...before the throne there was something like a sea of glass, like crystal

Revelations 4:6 (a)
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever. The angel said to me,

"These words are trustworthy and true"...

Revelations 22:1-5

This article is in honor of those who have lost a loved one to death and in

Memory of Eleanor Daehnke

mother of my dear friend Barb Hansen