December 13, 2010 Relaying a neat post

I received this my in box today and thought I'd pass it along.
 
Man Minute by Jason Cruise

"November 4th the Lord added to the roster of Team Cruise by bringing us our second son, Tucker.

I'm forever amazed at how, through the birth of a child, a parent can instantly love someone so deep, so fast, and so full. It is a kind of love that must be experienced first person in order to be understood, and even then it is unexplainable.

It wasn't until I became a dad that I finally understood what it meant to be ready and fully able to give my life for another person. I would gladly exchange my life to insure that my two sons could keep theirs. Yet, in that same moment, I cannot find any reason to give either of my two sons lives for someone else. You can take me, my possessions, my money. Take whatever you want, but you cannot have my boys. Call me unloving, call me less than a Christian, call me whatever you want to call me. No person's life is worthy the death of either of my two sons.

My mind drifts to a night years ago when a mama held a baby in her arms, while a guy, just like me, looked on in speechless amazement. Thirty-three years later that same mom and dad would look in amazed disbelief watching just a few yards away as blood flowed out of His body, the same body that they once held in their arms. No pain is so great as that of watching your kids hurt from being injured. I cannot relate to the feeling Joseph must have felt standing there on the dirt of Calvary's hill. I cannot relate to the feelings going through the heart of God as He watched Jesus gasp for breath, all the while knowing that it was the both of them that blew breath into Adam. 

That night in the manger, the Heavenly Father, present there in the barn along with Joseph, knew the outcome for this pretty little baby boy. The Heavenly Father knew He would have to give up His boy if the whole world were to have access to forgiveness, for "without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins."

It is love I do not understand, for the raw truth is that I am sure I would have let the whole sin-sick world suffer in order to save Cole or Tucker. To give His son is love of the deepest root, planted in the heart of a God who knew there was no other way.
 
I stand amazed in the presence."

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October 30,2010 Haul

My in-laws came for a visit and surprised me with some spectacular loot!  It's been a long time since I was able to read some of my favorite outdoor magazines.  It took me about 30 minutes to read the first 10 pages of Deer & Deer Hunting.  At this rate I should be good for the next 6 months.

NATIONAL HUNTING & FISHING DAY

In association with the National Hunting and Fishing Day the North Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission is sponsoring a special day in honor of NC's fishing and hunting heritage.  The event will "provide opportunities to connect with nature, test outdoor skills and learn about wildlife conservation through exhibits and demonstrations, many of which are interactive and hands on."

For more information visit the NCWRC webpage.

September 8, 2010 Dove Death

Every year I read or hear about hunters and fishermen who die while pursuing their dreams afield due.  The WRAL article below reminded me of an incident that happened on my first dove hunt. 
Louisburg, N.C. — An 18-year-old man was killed Monday afternoon while hunting near Louisburg, according to Lt. John Reams of the state Wildlife Resources Commission.
Reams said an uncle and nephew were hunting near Rocky Ford when the uncle swung his gun to shoot a dove. The gun went off at the base of the nephew's head, killing him instantly, Reams said.
An autopsy will be performed on the teen’s body at the Office of the State Chief Medical Examiner in Chapel Hill.
More details, including the identity of the victim, haven't been released. 
I was around 12 years old and my brother asked if I wanted to tag along on a dove hunt.  Not sure he wanted his snot-nosed brother to tag along but I didn't hesitate.   He'd given me a BB gun the previous Christmas but it wasn't exactly dove killing material.  So I sneaked into Daddy's closet and "borrowed" his.  It was a beautiful Browning 12 gauge and, although I'd handled and fired guns before, I had no idea what I was doing.  No instruction, no training, no hunter safety course, nothing.
We, my brother, one of his buddies and me, headed to a local farm and my brother paid the farmer a small fee for us to hunt.  I don't remember much about the hunt itself but something happened right before we left that I will never forget.
It was a large cut-corn field with a hedgerow running through the middle.  Hunters were spaced around the circumference of the field and along the hedgerow.  We had arrived a little later and were relegated to middle of the field, with no shade, in September, in North Carolina.  It was hot!  The birds weren't flying so after a couple hours we all joined up to drink Pepsi's and eat snacks from a small cooler.  Man, that Pepsi tasted good and it was so cold it burned going down.   Sure enough, it happened.  As it always happens.  Three hunters standing in the middle of the field and a group of birds fly over.  I pulled up my (errrrrr "my father's") shotgun and when I broke the first rule of firearms, "Always point the gun in a safe direction."  Instead I pointed the barrel right at the head of my brother's friend.  No one else even noticed but boy did it shake me.  What if I had pulled the trigger?  What if he died?  I was done for the day! 
We got back home and I sneaked the Browning back into my father's closet, unbeknownst to him.  I deserved a trip to the woodshed that day.  For more than one reason!




Note:  My prayers go out to the family involved in the tragedy above.  May God give them peace in the eye of this emotional storm!

September 4, 2010 Doves!

This is the second consecutive year I've missed the opening day of dove season.  I pray the weather cooperates and NC sportsmen and women have a safe and productive opener!