Power Fishing -- Power Bait -- Power Living

Since the end of last year’s fishing trip in Oklahoma, we’ve looked forward to this day, this year. We’ll re-enact it all over again. It’s our Payton’s 20th birthday today and as has been requested by him for many years – we’re celebrating in grand “hook-line-sinker and power-bait” way – his favorite way!

I’m all in. Geared up, fishing clothes, enough food to feed this hungry crew and beyond, water shoes, hats, sun screen, bug repellant – all the necessities are checked off the list. It’s the list that was made originally by Papa and I years ago. Now it’s updated and all items are present and accounted for plus all the items for the guys' cabin. Changes came this year. Larry, Staci, Alexia and I will be staying in their super-sized RV. Payton and his two friends’ bachelor pad will be in a cabin.

It's Payton's birthday and it may sound like this is all for him -- oh, but not so. I remember last year, after fishing almost all day, we stopped to go in for dinner. It was getting darker and Larry asked Staci: “Wanna’ go fishing?” Her reply was “Morning, noon and night!” LOL! This girl is the real fishing deal. She vowed to fish in 50 different fishing holes across the U.S. this year – now that they have this RV. So, Payton gets his love for fishing honestly --- not to mention, he was Papa’s fishing buddy as long as Papa was on this side of heaven.

Fishing is a natural AND spiritual experience for us. We'll fish and pray, fish and praise, fish and meditate. It’s so natural to flow like that, especially when we’re smack dab in the middle of God’s creation wonderland. Fishing brings to mind how often we hear Bible stories of someone fishing or being eaten by a fish. Yikes! Jonah, what were you thinking?

It was the fishermen brothers, Peter and Andrew, who Jesus first called to be His disciples. It was fish that Jesus multiplied to feed the 5,000+. It was fish that Jesus cooked up for His disciples. It was in a fish’s mouth that Jesus sent the disciples to get the coin to pay their taxes. It was fish that Jesus likened to, when He said to His disciples “Be fishers of men”! There’s something about fishing. Jesus set the example, and we’re simply doing what He did. There’s a little competition, but mostly relaxation and a potential fish meal (or meals) in store, as the fruits of the rewards of fishing are bountiful. Aw! I can taste that beer-battered fried fish now! Great expectations!

By the campfire, we'll laugh and talk about our adventures in each day. We’ll rattle on about the “big one” that might have gotten away or the fishing techniques that an old fisherman might have shared with us. We’ll make lots more memories that we’ll continue to share for years to come.

This place may not fit into your idea of a dream vacation, but it is ours. I’m still remembering the many fishing trips when our kids were kids. All those memories continue to mount up – even to the point we know Payton and Alexia will want to bring their kids back here some day! Might I suggest that you ponder about the memories you'd like your kiddos to want a “repeat” with their kids. I promise. It's worth it! Now, until you hear from me again, we’ve GONE FISHING!

GONE FISHING

We’re (my Wallace clan and me) heading out this morning for our annual fishing trip, but this year we’re diversifying from the trout camp we went to for years and heading for a fishing hole (or holes) at Beaver’s Bend in Broken Bow, OK. The list of "must take" items that were made by Papa and me years ago was updated, added to, and all items for the cabins, the food and, the most important, fishing gear, are all present and accounted for.

In addition to all that -- a dear friend's husband handmade some beautiful trout flies for Payton's fishing expedition! I loved listening to Bob explain the best techniques for catching trout!

Our little piece of heaven at the Marvel Trout Camp was reconsidered last year when the water-release gates at Tenkiller Lake's dam never closed because of the overabundance of rain. It raised havoc on our little hide-a-way fishing hole. Though we caught plenty of fish for a good fish fry, we didn’t haul in the mother-lode like we always did before. A sweet couple saw our family trying every tactic we could to entice those fish to jump on our lines, but those little swimmers had wised up and passed us by. The couple had been at this Beaver’s Bend location just before stopping over at Marvel and they had caught so many fish that they couldn’t catch anymore.

So, on our way home from Marvel, we drove to Beaver's Bend to check it out. We found far more places to fish, additional fun activities, and the cabin was larger and could accommodate all of us instead of having to rent two cabins. Payton brings a friend -- after all, this trip is HIS birthday choice because it was Papa and his "go-to" place for best fishing and camping. I’ll fill you in later about this new adventure and new location. The “unknowns” are sometimes exciting to think about while also a little nerve-racking. At Marvel, we knew what to expect. At Beaver’s Bend, it will be the “thrill of the hunt” – rather the “thrill of the cast”!

We're in good company with Jesus and His disciples. After all, it was Peter and Andrew, brothers who were fishermen, that Jesus called to be His disciples. It was fish that Jesus multiplied to feed the 5,000+. It was fish that Jesus cooked for His disciples. It was in a fish’s mouth that Jesus sent the disciples to retrieve the coin to pay their taxes. It was fish that Jesus likened to when He said to His disciples “Be fishers of men”! There’s something about being a fisherman. Jesus set the example, and we’re simply doing what He did. There’s competition, calm relaxation and a potential meal (or meals), as the fruits of the rewards of fishing are bountiful. We’ll be having a huge fish fry while we’re there. Great expectations! Aw! I can taste it now.

We’ll sit by the campfire and laugh and talk about our adventures in each day. We’ll talk about the “big one” that might have gotten away or the fishing techniques that an old fisherman might have shared with us. We’ll make lots more memories that we’ll continue to share for years to come. Fishing and rustic cabin adventures may not be your forte or fit into your idea of an oasis, but for us, it holds the promise of making lots of memories. No doubt, this family sport will continue for years to come. It all started with a “family-loving-man” who wanted to create memories for his family. And, those memories will continue to mount up – even to the point we know Payton and Alexia will want to create memories like these for their families one day. Are you taking time out to make memories with your little ones -- so much so that they want to carry on the tradition when they have little ones?