The people's voice of reason
The people's voice of reason
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The Jimmy Carter administration faced a number of challenges, but arguably the high-water mark of achievement was the Camp David Peace Accords between Egypt and Israel. Carter invited Prime Minister Menachem Begin and President Anwar Sadat to the presidential retreat to discuss some 50 issues remaining from the war of 1967. The anticipated several days became nearly two weeks and was beset with problems. Both men grew angry and threatened to leave. Carter summoned Vice President Mondale to Camp...
The way Baptists do it probably isn’t best, but nobody yet has made us change. Some denominations require an apprentice program for fledgling ministers. But when a Baptist young person declares a call to ministry, the pastor says, “Great! You can preach next Sunday.” This is like throwing someone in the lake to teach them how to swim. I know this because I was once cast into the ecclesiastical lake. Heaven holds great reward for patient church members who’ve listened to 16-and 17-year...
I was the new pastor still learning my way around when Jim came to see me. He was chair of the budget and finance team. He wished me well, then shared a concern. “The committee met lately, and we have an issue with the visitor’s envelopes you’re using,” he said. “We believe we shouldn’t ask visitors for money.” Churches used to welcome visitors and give them a card requesting contact information and sometimes a ribbon to wear. This was before we learned to call them “guests” and since learned mo...
My mind goes to so many outdoor activities this time of year. It's the middle of February so mostly I'm planning for the next couple of months. Not only will turkey season be upon us soon, but some of the best pan fishing is knocking at the door. The walleye run will put fishermen elbow to elbow in the river and the crappie will have boats side by side at the lake. These two fish are my all-time favorite varieties to eat. And the bonus points my wife gives me when I bring them home are enough...
She sat next to me at the hair salon. She leaned over and said, “Mister, has anyone ever told you that you have a striking resemblance to Harrison Ford?” Of course, I was pleased with my introduction to her, and immediately felt gratified that she thought I looked like a movie star. I told a friend about this later and he deflated me. “Well, Harrison Ford is a bit ‘long in the tooth’ now!” he said. Ouch. Anyway, this was my introduction to Cherry Starr, wife of legendary quarterback Bart Starr....
The college I worked for asked me to go to Washington, D.C. for a seminar with the Council of Christian Colleges and Universities. I didn’t have to be asked twice! It was a great several days on the CCCU campus a few blocks from the U.S. Capitol. I met with 30 or 40 college students who were interning in government that semester. We later invited a CCCU rep to our campus in Marion to explain the “Best Semester” program, and as result, had a number of our students to attend one of the three...
The wind in my face was bitterly cold in downtown Dallas a few years ago since the winter weather was yet lingering. My continuing education classes had ended at the seminary in nearby Ft. Worth, so the afternoon was free for some sightseeing. A chill came over me independent of the temperature when I walked onto Dealey Plaza and saw firsthand those sights emblazoned in my memory from childhood: Elm Street, the triple overpass and the sixth-floor window. I thought back to that terrible Friday...
The largest youth archery competition in Alabama, the National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP) Alabama State Championship, will be held April 4-5, 2024, at the Multiplex at Cramton Bowl located at 220 Hall St. in Montgomery, Alabama. The media and public are invited to attend. This year's event will feature nearly 2,000 student archers in Grades 4-12 from schools across the state who earned an opportunity to compete in the state championship after competing in one of eight regional...
Winter undoubtedly thwarts many outdoor plans in most parts of the country. If you don’t believe me, just wait until the first warm weekend in February. There will be more lawnmowers heard than any other time of the year. It’s not that they want to mow their lawn, but it’s just that they have cabin fever. Another problem with the winter is the amount of light in each day. There have been several times when one could hunt all day and stay out less than twelve hours. That means twelve hours in th...
Ever since last summer, I have been watching one particular buck. He’s not a giant but he has a short third beam that protrudes straight out from the bottom of his main beam. It’s only about 5 inches long but has another point growing from that. The deer is a mainframe 8 but this anomaly has always made the rack intriguing to me. And I decided early on, if I had the chance to harvest this one, I would. It would be my first non-typical. During hunting season, it has shown up on my trail camera ma...
This time of year, orange fills the woods. It confirms gun season has come. I’ve sat in many places, thinking I was the only one around, only to scan the horizon with my binoculars to discover an orange vest in a tree closer than I wanted. I can remember one time while hunting in Muhlenberg, Kentucky, staying in a hotel, and nearly every single occupant either leaving early that morning or coming in late that evening, with an orange hat and vest on. It was a hotel from heaven. Years ago, fish a...
I’ve been waiting for this week for some time. I’ve only hunted 2 times because I wanted to save all my energy and all my wifey-points for these next 2 months. I plan on spending several hours each week looking for the biggest bucks my area offers. Plus, I’ve got a couple of away trips planned as well. There’s no doubt this is the best time of year to see the biggest bucks. But while I have not been hunting, I have been making all the preparations for the hunt. My heart has been in the tree st...
One of the difficulties in hunting mountainous areas is that we not only have to set our stands up according to the wind directions but also according to what are called thermals. Thermals are normal wind currents that change as air cools down or heats up. In the evening the cool air falls and when the temperatures heat up in the morning, the warmer air rises. This means if you are hunting from a tree stand on the top of a ridge in the evening, your scent is most likely going to be carried into...
One of the aspects I dislike about hunting and fishing is getting ready for the first day. Whether it’s the first turkey hunt of the year or the first deer hunt, there’s always the need to make sure nothing is forgotten on that opening day. One of my on-going paranoias is to be in a tree stand when a deer walks by and realize I have forgotten my trigger release. I’ve actually dreamed several times about such an episode. The first day of fishing is the same way. Gathering up rods and reels and m...
first decade, my knee put me on the shelf. During that time, I learned to enjoy road biking. And I still do. But my love has always been to run. There are a lot of reasons, but the number one reason will probably sound odd to you. I have actually never felt closer to God than when I run. Many of you tell me that same thing about your time on the water or in the woods. I get it, but my experience comes from running. I’ve never been much of a crier, but I’ve never cried more than when I run. I k...
Let’s talk about doubt. We all have it. We all use it. Even in the most certain areas, doubt is always present. I can have a trail cam picture of a certain buck that shows up at a certain time of the day, and set up there on the following day, and still have doubt the buck will show up. I can catch fish for five straight days off one point, and can show up the next day, and doubt will still rear its head to play with my head about the possibility of a sixth straight day. Pure doubt itself is a...
It’s been a season of hard-charging faith documentaries, including “The Secrets of Hillsong” and “Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets." Both saddened me. I never watched any of the Duggar series on TLC, though I was aware of the basic plot through word-of-mouth. The “Shiny” documentary intertwines with the ministry of Bill Gothard, the Duggar’s mentor, with whom I’m more familiar. Gothard was popular in the faith community of the 80s and 90s. A pastor friend encouraged us, his pulpit broth...
There’s one thing about hunting. One will have to get used to walking in the dark. I have noticed lately how each morning, I begin my turkey hunt, walking through woods and across a field in the dark. This year the lightening bugs have put on a daily pyrotechnical display. I tried to film it one morning, but there was not enough surrounding light to show its real beauty. And sometimes the sky is so clear, it’s almost that one can’t see a spot without a star. And then there are the times when...
I don’t remember being so annoyed as I was the other day. There I was sitting with a friend, sulking about a lost opportunity to pull the trigger on a tom turkey. The night before, we had seen a gobbler and a hen move into a certain part of the woods. We surmised they would certainly roost there, so our plans were to be their wake-up call the next morning. The next day we were in place as the sun began to rise. The woods all around us were being filled with a chorus of gobbles. None of them, how...
Some of my most vivid memories come from the days of being on the lake. I can remember catching stripe bass as fast as I could cast but I can also remember being scared to death because I had not left early enough to beat the lightning storm. It seems we always think there’s enough time for one more cast. As I got older I began to value my life more. Now if there’s a storm within a hundred miles, I leave. There’s just something about holding a graphite rod in my hand in the middle of a lake...
I spent the afternoon looking for antler sheds. It’s really too early, but the weather was beautiful, especially for February. For about two hours I traveled the well-worn paths looking for any glimpse of the rare treasures left by an unsuspecting buck. I’m not sure if they know they are falling off or if they suddenly feel the release of their unique characteristic. Hunters name bucks according to the individuality of their rack. Without it, they are the deer version of John Doe. For sma...
A beautiful buck came out about sixty yards to my right. Just by the size of his rack, I knew he was a good deer – a definite ten-pointer. I didn’t have much time to gather myself for a good shot because he wasn’t going to stay around long. When I fired I wasn’t sure I had made a good shot, from the way he ran. But shortly thereafter I realized my shot was perfect. He was a beautiful animal with a wide rack. As I began to count his points, I discovered my ten-pointer was only an eight. I say ...
This time of the year, my preferred hunting location is close to a heater. That means I’m either in a barn or a blind. Since I’m either rifle or muzzleloader hunting, I can give myself a little leniency when it comes to smell. Not only will I fire up my heater, but a mug of coffee sure helps knock the chill as well. Add those with a comfortable chair and my shooting sticks, and I’m pretty much able to stay as long as needed. What I can’t do anything about is my inability to see in every directi...
Next week I’m going on my annual trip to Missouri. I’ve been deer hunting there for years and have some wonderful friends there. My memories are many. I think about everything from the times of extreme weather (one time I hunted without a shirt) to trying to find my lost deer with a famous deer dog, that happened to be a dachshund. I can remember seeing some monster bucks just out of range and missing some within range. But no matter what the past held; I still look forward to going back eac...
I made my way to the tree stand on opening day of Tennessee’s deer season. The weather was perfect, including a chance of light rain. I had prepared for this hunt by being meticulous about being scent-free as much as possible. I should have arrived a few minutes earlier, but all in all, everything was good. I was sitting on the edge of a field where deer normally skirt. If they came out, they would do so about 125 yards away and then hopefully make their way below me and maybe within the r...
