Stop and Look Around Once in a While

In the words of the great philosopher, Ferris Bueller, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you'll miss it!" That is so true, and unless you're my age, or more, you may not give those words a second thought now -- but give it a few years, and believe you me, you'll understand them so much, you'll be glad you did or you will regret NOT stopping and looking around.

I woke yesterday morning early to get my blog posted as usual and then getting breakfast going for the gang. Some of us departed our separate ways. Alexia and Gracie (who came in the day before) are heading to Nashville, Alexia’s friend, Zeke, is headed to Colorado and I am heading home. Payton and his friend, Chris, moved from the cabin to the RV. Larry, Staci and the guys still have more fishing and adventuring in them for a couple more days. There’s just too many hungry trout calling their names! Biggest catches of the day was yesterday as Larry and Staci took to their kayaks aka fishing-boats-extraordinaire that brought in the greatest trout haul so far!

Honestly, this group lives by John Wayne's famous words, "Hurry it up! We’re burnin’ daylight!” Usually it isn’t yet daylight when we're headed to the river. You know you're a "red neck" when your biological clock is set to the time that fish are feeding.
It is such a joy to hang out in the great outdoors with my children. My daughter, Staci, is at the helm of the adventures. In the great outdoors. She's not the girly-girl we normally see. She's an adventurer and outdoors-woman to the core, so just the thought of those fish being there for the taking, gets her "engine" revving. You know you're a "red neck" when you sleep in your clothes -- ready to hit the ground running.

The beer-battered fish didn’t disappoint and neither did the fried squirrel. You know you’re a red neck when squirrel is your appetizer. Boys will be boys! Oh, me! You know you’re a red neck when squirrel and “coon” hunting, finding and feeding is the best-of-times to you!

I overheard the three guys in Cabin 45 (my grandson and his two friends) who had so many adventures that started with the mind-set “Daylight’s burning so let’s get in as much as we can!" They dreamed out loud about having a restaurant called Cabin 45 – specialty wild game and delicacies that represent the great outdoors. By the way – no cell coverage in Cabin 45 – so their imaginations went wild! They were able to STOP, LOOK and LISTEN to the “call of the wild” and the “call of God” Who starts with dreams and visions planted in their hearts. Isn’t that what He wants for His kids? That's the stuff that God's goodness is made of -- great ideas, being creative, living with a grateful heart in the ups and downs, and enjoying the littlest of things that makes the biggest of things seem so trivial. It can only be had when we stop, look and listen.

Maybe it’s time to come to a screeching halt to the fast-lane and go off-road to all that God could be putting into your pathway! Life is a great adventure!

How awesome it is to "Look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living!" Psalm 27:13. So, to put John Wayne's "Daylight's a'wasting" to scripture words, "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!" Psalm 118:24









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The Older Teaching the Younger has its Rewards

The last several days, my family and I have been at Beavers Bend in Broken Bow, OK. We’ve had plenty to eat--all the cargo I brought with us and the best of all -- the trout meal we had last night from our big haul of fish. Beer-batter rainbow trout! One of the great rewards of our labors, rather Larry, Staci and Payton’s lab
Alexia and I are two free spirits: fish a little, take care of the meals, and capture lots of sweet moments in photos. We are fair-weather fisher-girls. The others--rain or shine--are after a haul. Patient, diligent, and unrelenting. There are so many things that inspire me on a trip like this. This time I was so impressed by how Larry was an amazing, tender-hearted image of what Jesus must have been like as he kept instructing the disciples in the way they should go.

We learned our best fishing skills years ago from Papa and he learned them from old fishermen. They were happy to tell their favorite fishing tips--the best spots to fish, what to fish with, (the best bait), how to hold the rod and reel that causes the fish to chase after the lure, and how to fillet and cook the fish. The older taught the younger. Now I’m watching Larry and Payton pass it on.

A single mom had her 13-year-old son here from Dallas, spent the night in their van, and was desperately wanting her son to catch at least one fish. He was rigged up for a bass (big hook and big lure). Larry not only told him how to best catch trout, he hooked his line up exactly the way to make it happen. Small hook and small power bait. Immediately he caught a small trout and then a larger one.

Yesterday, again, Larry was showing a man and his son how to rig up their lines. I saw Payton taking a young boy under his wing and showing him step-by-step what to do and how to do it. I can’t help but think about Jesus and His disciples and teaching them.

The fishing they did wasn’t a sport or a fish for a day fishing excursion. Fishing was what they had been trying to do, what they did for a living. So, when Jesus came walking by the seaside and said to them, follow Me and I will show you how to fish for people, why did they go with Him? The Bible doesn’t tell us but I just wonder......

Had the fishing been so lousy that day for Peter, Andrew, James and John that it was a no-brained to give up fishing and follow a man they had never met before? Maybe on this day their nets kept coming up empty, maybe the net-mending was especially monotonous, maybe the heat and humidity were almost unbearable. Were they looking for a good excuse to change occupations — from fishermen to anything-could-be-better-than- this! Had they heard reports about Jesus and His powerful ways enough to pull them away from their nets, their boat, and follow Him?

Why did Andrew, Peter, John and James follow Jesus that day? Did they have any idea that following Him would mean a radical change in their lives? Maybe they thought “Follow Me” simply meant “You deserve a break today.” Maybe they figured they deserved a holiday and tomorrow be back to fishing again. Surely, they couldn’t have guessed what lie I had for them — the excitement, the fun, the grief, and the joy of it all.

We don’t know why they followed Jesus. But we do know that immediately they left their nets and followed Him. To follow Jesus means that we cannot predict what that decision will lead to. Is Jesus calling you to leave your nets? Sometimes the call to follow Jesus Jesus is as loud and clear as a fire siren. Sometimes, His call is more like a still, small voice.

One thing the Bible makes clear is that the call of Christ is the same One who calls us is the strength, the resources, to follow. Maybe, after all, that was the decisive factor for the four fishermen who left their nets and their boats to follow Jesus. Maybe they sensed at some deep, unconscious level, that this was Someone who could be trusted; Someone who, if he asked much, would give even more.

When the disciples followed Jesus instructions (John 20:6), they caught so many fish that the net could not be brought in. That great catch of fish gave the disciples a foretaste of what God was going to do through them as “fishers of men.”

Just imagine the possibilities of what God could do for us if we will faithfully follow Him! Are you ready to do some fishing? Grab your pole. Get your tackle ready. Set some priority time aside. Follow Jesus to the river and expect a great catch! “Come follow Me and I will make you fishers of men.” (Matthew 4:19)

Work Hard. Play Hard. Fall Hard.

This day is dedicated to my grandson (Happy Birthday Payton Wallace), and his wish for his 17th birthday TODAY, to be here at Marval Camp in Gore, Oklahoma. This first couple of pics are from Tuesday when we arrived here (note the coveted photo with the ginormous trout letting us know of things to come), and then the rest from yesterday when we started our day out at 5 am (yes, we are serious fisher-people) to get to our favorite fishing spot by daybreak, just below the Tenkiller Dam. It is a picture of heaven (at least in a fisherman's eyes) to arrive to those quiet, calm, peaceful, glass-like-waters (except for the fish jumping and saying (in our imagination) "Come get me", long after the dam gates from yesterday were closed, leaving behind all those hungry trout and striped bass to jump on our hooks. We like to think those fish are people-whisperers, and we are fish-whisperers. LOL! They were no doubt disappointed by the breakfast they went after because they will end up in our tummies tomorrow, but we weren't. By 8:30 am, we had reached our limits on the number of fish we could catch.

Bless Larry Wallace's heart -- he spent so much time getting all the poles rigged up, helping getting lines untangled, taking the fish off the hooks for the girls, that he didn't get as much time fishing, but when his line went in, he made up for the lost time by the number of fish he hauled in! Of course, Staci's line is in the water from start to finish -- they cleaned the fish we had back at camp -- and then fished more at the river. Notice that fishing necklace around her neck? That was her Daddy's. She represents him well in her love for fishing as much as he did. Alexia Wallace has become a great all-around fisher-girl too so now, it's a total family affair!

The boys (Payton Wallace & his buddies from church, Matt and Darian) ventured over to the other side of the river to see what their take could be on that side. They were gone a couple of hours and then we saw them heading back. They decided to walk across rocks in the river in order to stay dry. No sooner than they started across, that the horn started blowing that signals the huge dam gates are opening to let the heavy flow of water come through. In their haste, all three guys fell in the water. Hence the photo of the soaked and cold guys here! LOL!

That incident leads me to where I'm at right now as I type this post. All those wet clothes were bundled up and I'm doing their wash at the Gore laundromat, which by the way, has free wifi! Thank you, Lord, for helping me to stay on point to my commitment to You -- to post a daily encouragement on Facebook.

So what is my encouragement for today, particularly in the light of my not being in a church or cathedral or the privacy of my home? As I sit here listening to the hum of the dryers here in this unconventional "online" setting, the first scripture verse that came to me was John 10:10 "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." I totally get it. The enemy of our souls wants our thoughts to be on the politics, the concerns and the lives of those in the public's eyes -- most of which deals with negativity. He wants us all consumed about matters of the world and matters in our little worlds, rather than taking to the words of Christ to heart "I CAME to give you life and have it to the full". All I know, my life is FULL and running over with God's abundance and blessings. That's what I purpose to fix my mind on -- and NOT those things that the enemy purposes to use to steal, kill and destroy my good thoughts and good attitudes! So, until next time, I think I'll get back to my gang and continue with celebrating the life of my awesome grandson and celebrate that abundant life Christ came to give us! http://ow.ly/OYhD30c10HN

Gone Fishing - Day 2

For the guys in their cabin, it was up and at ‘em at 4:45 am. Then, off they went to stake claim on our patch of “holy” ground below the dam of Lake Tenkiller where we’d hang out with other ambitious and die-hard fishermen until the horn bellowed that the dam's water gates would open to release tons of water into the Illinois River. In the girls’ cabin, we got to sleep in until a robust 5:30 am. There wasn’t a second to lose. We didn’t want to miss those hungry fish that were waiting for us. Landing a 9+ pound stripper bass before we ended the day fishing on Friday at 9:45 pm, was Payton’s friend, Will, and if he didn’t land another 9+ pound stripper bass the first cast out yesterday morning. What a way to start the day! Payton landed one of the largest rainbow trout I’ve ever seen, followed by Larry, Staci and Lexi each pulled in bass and trout. Me, on the other hand, have enjoyed watching them, because those fish passed up MY delicious buffet’s entrees. How could they turn down those yummy power bait glaubs? What in the world? I can relate to the disciples who had fished all night and caught NOTHING! LOL!

Seriously, what enjoyment it is just to be a part of this joyful time with my family. We all shut down for a short while for a little afternoon rest. Then Larry said to Staci “Wanna’ go fishing?” Her reply was “Morning, noon and night!” LOL! There’s something about fishing that relates to 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 obtain the coin to pay their taxes. 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 topped tonight off with celebrating Larry's upcoming birthday (the 9th) -- with yummy burgers & hot dogs grilled on the fire pit, then chocolate cake (my finest) and then words from each of us telling him how special and how loved he is by each of us. Then it was finishing the night off with s'mores....and, oh, yes, more fishing.

We’ll be having a huge fish fry tonight – my beer-batter fried fish, as well as my baked trout in foil with lemon and onions. Aw! I can taste it now. Lexi, our animal activist and future veterinarian, on the other hand, wasn’t all that thrilled about the notion of harvesting them for food, but then, again, we reminded her of Jesus’ stamp of approval on fishing. She got over it.

So grateful for these sweet times of embracing God’s creation AND His creatures. And I think to myself, “What a Wonderful World!”