Nov 17, 2010

"Bruiser"


 I always thought that hunting out of state was untouchable or never an option.  I thought that it would be way too expensive, or to risky to spend that much money on a trip and not tag out. But I was wrong. The trip was so much fun being able to see new territory and have a hope for a truly giant buck.

I was approached by a friend of mine to go to Ohio he said the trip would be about $500 and we would be gone for a week. I said ok lets go so we went. We were on the road the whole time I was traveling I couldn’t get the thought out of my mind, what if I drive all the way up here and don’t shoot a deer,  but I went anyway. I was committed to doing whatever it took to put my Ohio tag on a big buck.

We left on a Friday and the deer movement was slow for 4 whole days and it was now Wednesday and so far we had only hunted morning and evening and had only seen 1 shooter buck a 140 inch 8 point that was following but not really chasing a doe so we decided to slow it down a little. We all slept in one morning and decided to hunt the mid day through evening hunt.  At about 2:00 pm I began my hike up the ridge and down into my stand and then climbed into my stand at about 2:50pm.  I had no idea that I would shoot the deer of a life time.  Now I’m from North Carolina and truly big deer are few and far between and if you see one it will only be for a minute and then he’ll be gone. So back to the story at 2:57pm I heard a deer walking and looked to my right and here he came now all I could see was his left side I saw 4 tines on his left and said he’ll do. At 3:00 Pm my buck walked in and stood at 23 yards when I released my arrow.

 I’ve heard it said that big bucks don't move when it’s hot but I'm here to tell you they do it was almost 70 degrees when I shot my deer. He was old almost 6 to 7 years. He rough scored 166 and some change by the buck masters standard but that didn't matter he was mine, and he was gonna take a ride in the back of my Jeep back home to North Carolina. I had an awesome time and enjoyed every minute of it and give God thanks for allowing me the chance at a deer like this.

Copied with permission from Addison's Blog, Livin' Life Through a Peep Site.

Nov 1, 2010

Outtake Psalm 65:9 (Amplified Version)


"You visit the earth and saturate it with water; You greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water..."

Oct 20, 2010

Outtakes: Psalm 65:11NLT


You crown the year with a bountiful harvest; 
even the hard pathways overflow with abundance.

Sep 11, 2010

2010 Benjamin Moye Classic

3rd Annual Benjamin Moye Classic is Saturday, September 25th.  

The Benjamin Moye Classic Youth Fishing Tournament is an annual event hosted by Sportsmen for Christ. Experienced anglers are paired up with youth from the Mills Home in Thomasville, North Carolina for a fun day of fishing.  For more information visit the blog or FB group.

Aug 10, 2010

Outtakes: Genesis 1:20

And God said, "Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the firmament of the heavens."
Genesis 1:20

Jun 11, 2010

Out-take: Psalm 95:4-6

In one hand he holds deep caves and caverns, in the other hand grasps the high mountains.  He made Ocean--he owns it! His hands sculpted Earth! So come, let us worship: bow before him, on your knees before GOD, who made us!  Psalm 95:4-6 (The Message)

May 10, 2010

It All Began There

I remember the longing like it was yesterday. As a young child, I desired to go to the woods and learn the ways of the hunter. It was deep inside me busting to come out.  I thought in my own mind that I had to learn to clean a rabbit in order to be a man.
I sought out people who had some resemblance of hunting in their life.  There were many, but one that continually sticks out in my mind was a neighbor two houses down from where I lived.  His name was Mr. Sheeps.  He had retired to Florida from up north and had been in Florida longer than I was old.  He was a man that stayed to himself much of the time working in his yard and a few times grouching at us kids. He had two beagles next to his house in a well made kennel. His dogs were graying older dogs that barely barked when I would approach.
One day, as he was working in his yard, I got the courage to approach him alone and ask him if he hunted.  His reply was slow as he raised his head to look me in the eye.  His reply was, “Why do you want to know about that?” So I told him I was interested and wanted someday to do it.  He told me to come back around 3:00pm and he would talk to me about it.  That was the longest 4 hours of my summer vacation.
At 3:00pm on the dot, I was on his door step waiting. He came out of the house and we sat on the carport ledge.  In his hand was a stack of pictures. Over his arm was a tanned deer hide with a bullet hole in it.  Many of the pictures were old black and whites and a few faded color ones mixed in.  I absorbed every picture.  Deer across the car hood, deer in the back of a truck, many deer hanging from a tree, rabbits lined side by side with hunters behind them and so much more.  I felt the hid as I listen to every story, every word as if I lived the adventure myself.  Time had past that afternoon – way to fast.  Mr. Sheeps said he had to go, but before we said good by he turned to me and told me to stop by behind his house tomorrow and look on top of his trash cans.  There would be some magazines tied together and they would be for me. 

May 2, 2010

"goin fishin after school"

I got the news today that Jacob had died. 17 year-old reflexes, a 4800 pound SUV, and a split-second decision intersected resulting in irreversible consequences and grieving families. My first reaction was, “Oh man, not again.” It seems too common for the young to leave us - unrealized potential, unfulfilled dreams. With tears I struggled through questions and immediately a memory surfaced, crystal clear, of my first “real” encounter with Jacob.
It was November 2002 and we were at the Sportsmen for Christ Thanksgiving Turkey Shoot. I noticed him as soon as he got out of his dad’s car. Nine, maybe ten years old, he was about to bust with excitement. Excited to be there with his Daddy, excited to be “one of the guys,” excited about the gun case containing HIS .410, excited to win the big prize. I liked him already!
He sort of reminded me of a banty rooster. I’m not sure if Jacob had fired a gun before but he knew, knew, KNEW that he was going to win. He walked up to the line, took careful aim, breathed a deep breath and squeezed the trigger. The barrel of his little .410 barked and a load of #7’s pelted the target. He turned around with a smug, no, it was more dopey than smug, grin on his face and strutted, yes “strutted,” back over to his daddy. I really like that kid!
Several other people shot and I walked down to view the results. Sure enough, the target in lane 1, Jacob’s target, had the best score and he won round one.
We proceeded through three rounds. Jacob would walk up to the line, shoulder his shotgun, peer down the barrel at the site and shoot. Each time he finished at or near the top of the heap. At the end of the day Jacob claimed 1st place. The memory of him, smile larger than life, hefting that turkey, nearly as big as him will forever be burned in my mind. I loved that kid!
After I heard the news I logged onto Facebook and checked out Jacob’s page. His last entry said, “…goin fishing after school.” He never made it to the lake on Friday….
RIP JFN! 

Apr 23, 2010

Blame it on Curt Gowdy!

What was I doing? What was I doing waiting in the predawn dark…a linens and things door buster sale…waiting for an Apple “whatever” to go on sale…nope I was a 49 year old lady on her first turkey hunt!
I guess I could blame it on Curt Gowdy. As a navy brat, moving all over the country, one of my favorite shows growing up was Curt Gowdy’s “American Sportsmen.” I loved seeing him hunt and fish with different celebrities. I usually watched by myself. Other than my Granddad who lived in another state, no one in my family hunted. Granddad would have never dreamed of taking a girl hunting anyway. So I just enjoyed the show. I never really thought about going hunting. It wasn’t even a dream. God so graciously gives us more than we can even dream of.
My dad finally retired to Central Florida. I went to high school there, married and had two children. I loved to walk in the woods but that was about as far as my nature experience went. Until my son Michael grew up and became friends with one of the new ministers at our church. Rusty began to teach Michael about many things one of which was hunting. Together they harvested hogs, Osceola turkeys and deer. I loved hearing about Michael's adventures and there always was an adventure involved when the two of them went hunting. Michael and I talked about hunting but we never had an opportunity to go.
Three years ago God called my husband and I to work as church camp caretakers in southeast TN working with…Rusty. Shortly after moving here Michael was diagnosed with cancer. While he was sick we watched a lot of hunting shows and as we talked many nights he shared with me what he had learned. After a 16-month battle God chose to heal Michael by calling him home.
I began to think about going hunting and Rusty found another member of the Schwartz family to encourage and teach. I was able to harvest a nice doe this fall with Michael's 30-06. When Rusty invited me to go turkey hunting though I had to ask what you wear..I think I missed that episode with Curt Gowdy!
So that was how I found myself in a blind with my friends David and Rusty on a cool spring morning in Tennessee. As the sun came up enough to see the decoys they had set out I could see we were sitting on the edge of a pasture with small rolling hills surrounded by a tree line. There was a deep, quiet creek running just behind us. The trees were the hundred different shades of green that spring brings. The dogwoods and redbuds were blooming.
Just as it was getting light we heard the first gobble in front of us-then one on each side and behind us. Oh my! What a sound. Rusty sat behind me calling…sounding like a very attractive hen. Shortly we saw a tom on a hill in front of us about a third of a mile away. The tom was only interested in the hen he could see nearby though. Suddenly Rusty said “turkey on our right.” Coming up over a little knoll out of the tree line was a nice tom. He paced back and forth just out of range for a while. It seemed like a long while. Rusty kept calling and eventually he headed our way. He got closer…and closer. As the tom turned to strut Rusty told me to get my gun up. As Rusty counted down I could hear Michael telling me “take a deep breath and hold it”..3-2-1. I shot Michael's 12 gauge and… missed. The tom just ran towards the decoys and stopped. I had another chance! “Reload, reload” I pumped to put another shell in the chamber and waited for him to put his head up. BOOM. Turkey down!! I had done it on my very first turkey hunt I was able to harvest a nice 19 pound eastern turkey with a 10 inch beard and 7/8” spurs. Thanks to some great friends and patient teaching God fulfilled the dream. The seed of which was planted so many years ago. Pursue the dreams God gives you..its never too late.


Mar 23, 2010

Finding the Center

Indoor archery is all about form and focus. This was my first indoor league and I thought oh I can hit a dot 20 yards away. Ha-ha, it’s harder than I thought.
For the first year of shooting indoor league I opted to shoot in the hunter class which is your basic hunting setup. 12 inch or shorter stabilizer and either a single pin or multi pin sight with no magnification. The rings are moved out a step so the normal 10 ring is now my X ring and so forth and a normal indoor shoot is 30 arrows, 10 ends of 3 arrows.  Equipped with my hunting bow with my HHA and Postern stabilizer I entered the building. There weren’t that many people there that night so there wasn’t a whole lot of pressure but the better I do the more money I win, so the pressure was still on. As I stepped to the line I repeated my mantra I had read and adopted as my own from Bernie Pellerite’s book Idiot Proof Archery: find the center, find the center of the center, find the center of the center of the center, and by this time your release should have gone off.
So lets fast-forward to December 20th, 2009.  It’s the last end, last target and so far I have shot a 299 with 22 X’s.   As I draw I settle in and I begin my mantra: Find the center, find the center of the center, find the center of the center of the center. I can see my pin hovering in on the X ring. I begin to relax, knowing my pin is in the X, and I squeeze the release.  My aim is true. The arrow finds its mark within the X ring. What a relief!  I had done it! I had shot a 300 with 23X’s. I was and still am thrilled. There aren’t many people who can say they have done that with an open set up, much less a hunting setup with fat arrows. It was my finest moment as an archer and I wound up winning the lead in overall points winning the shoot down at the end of the season.
How thankful I am to have a “center” like Christ that I can focus on to lead and guide me!

Mar 2, 2010

Out-takes: Psalm 29:3

"The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the LORD, over many waters." Psalm 29:3 (ESV)

Feb 22, 2010

A Chance to Act: 5th Annual Oxford Children's Home Fishing Tournament

In a couple of months you will have the chance to bless a child or teenager through your love for the outdoors. The 5th annual Oxford Children's Home Fishing Tournament is scheduled for Saturday, April 24th. From cooking hotdogs, buying fishing rods to catching bass, there are ample oppotunties to get involved. Contact Mike & Paris Routh for details. You won't be sorry!

Below is a copy of a blog post from May 2009 about last year's event

If I had to choose between a beautiful sunrise and the smile on a child's face the decision would not come easily. On Saturday, at the 4th Annual Oxford Children Home Fishing Tournament, I experienced both and there are fewer things in this world that compare.
Mike and Paris Routh did another excellent job and had the most participants, largest number of volunteers and highest amount of donations thus far. Below are some pictures of the day. The 5th Annual Tournament is on slate for April of next year. To get involved send me an email! You'll be blessed and that's a guarantee!

Feb 16, 2010

Out-takes: Nehemiah 9:6

You're the one, GOD, you alone; You made the heavens, the heavens of heavens, and all angels; 
The earth and everything on it, the seas and everything in them; 
You keep them all alive... Nehemiah 9:6 (Message)

Feb 9, 2010

The Winning Drive

Its that time of year again......and the Super Bowl is practically upon us. There are two teams that were #1 seeds that are going to play for professional football's most coveted prize....the Super Bowl Trophy. There are two teams that have sacrificed, worked hard, put in long hours, faithfully put in the time in the rain, snow, cold, heat, you name it. Simply put, a price was paid for admission to this game. And if its like this year's game, and like some of the the playoff games, the team that has the ball last ends up winning. And they have to figure out a way to do that. Great teams and players do just that.....figure out a way to turn something into a win.
Such was the case with a recent trip with regular customers and friends Larry Tomar and Dan Camia. We've spent many a day on the water doing trips together, and in all types of weather, and Larry and Dan are pretty good at this fly fishing game. Whether good conditions or poor, they usually do really well. Give them the right set up, direct them to the right spot, and its a done deal. They know the game, and they get the job done.
We were fishing one of my private waters in Virginia, a stream whose limestone pools are stacked with twenty inch trout. Some are true leviathans.....some are 10lbs or more. The water was up, had some color to it, and I knew we'd kill them. A rare gift....this day was going to be one to write home about.......like, "get ready guys........we are going to whack 'em good today and you guys are leaving with sore arms." Well, that was the way a typical day usually goes.
But not today. We fished rigs that work well on this river I know well, I mean, I know where the fish are under most any conditions and can pretty much guarantee that the guys are fishing where the fish are....and in this river....its not a question of whether fish are there or not....'cause they are.

Jan 29, 2010

Faithfulness

It was early November, and the weather was becoming cold. I had the opportunity for a mid-week hunt due to a recent job loss. The time to get outdoors could not have come at a better time. I made it to the woods about 45 minutes before daylight. I set up on the ground in some tall weeds in the corner of a soy bean field, to my right and a wood line to my back and left.
As I waited for sunrise, there were sounds of ducks and geese from the nearby lake and as sunrise approached the air began to cool and frost fell across the land. The feeling of God being near was so real. I took time to focus on Him and pray for the day and my family as they were preparing to leave for school. Not knowing what the morning would hold I asked God to make my arrow fly true if presented with a shot.
As day light began to appear I made out a form that seemed to appear from thin air. Caught off guard, I was unable to ready for a shot and come to full draw. The deer stopped and looked directly at me. As I studied the animal I was able to make out antlers. Unable to determine the total number of points, I was able to judge the antlers to be high and about two inches outside his ears. As I sat motionless the majestic beast began to walk down the tree line closing the distance. As the deer came closer he could tell something was not right with his territory. Oddly he did not stomp or blow trying to get me to reveal my position. After coming to about 15 yards the deer turned and stepped into the woods behind a large cedar. I started to breath again, remaining still and alert, I knew the deer was near. As I listened I could tell the deer was close and had continued to come down the wood line toward me. I slowly turned to look to my left into the woods. The alert deer was now about 5 yards from me and caught my movement. I heard the deer bolt thru the woods to safety. What an encounter! Now the deer was gone, I replayed the event as I enjoyed the peaceful sunrise and thanked God for allowing me to be part of His creation.

Jan 5, 2010

Out-takes: Psalm 8:3-9


"When I look at the night sky and see the work of Your fingers—the moon and the stars You set in place—what are mere mortals that You should think about them, human beings that You should care for them? Yet You made them only a little lower than God and crowned them with glory and honor.  You gave them charge of everything You made, putting all things under their authority—the flocks and the herds and all the wild animals, the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea, and everything that swims the ocean currents.  O Lord, our Lord, Your majestic name fills the earth."  Psalm 8:3-9 (NLT)

*Be sure to check out the surrounding verses for context.