Get in...Sit Down...Shut Up...AND HOLD ON!

I dare you to check these links out...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fp1T_7WYPiE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Y-e0qPIBAI&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_zTkmh2d6w&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQSeFPLLz54&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhU4BaW91XE&feature=related

This is the author that I am reading right now. I am sure you are on your way out the door to the bookstore.

Did I open up a can of interest?

Oswald...

There is a great, little, powerful book out called My Utmost For His Highest and I really like to read it! It is the writings of a man named Oswald Chambers. This book was compiled by his wife after his death. In fact, if you are looking for another great book, Oswald Chambers' biography called Abandoned To God is a powerful read.
http://www.amazon.com/Oswald-Chambers-Abandoned-Author-Highest/dp/1572930500/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1209580660&sr=8-1

In today's reading, Oswald says this, 'If we try to prove to God how much we love Him, it is a sure sign that we do not love Him.' Wow! Uhhhhhhhhh... That could make your brain spin a few times if you don't watch it. If we try to prove to God how much we love Him, then it's a sure sign that we do not! What does that mean? That seems just a little backwards compared to humans. Personally, Taylor really likes it when I 'show' my love to her by doing whatever ... spending time with her, gifts, touch, kind words, sweet notes, acts of service and the such. Do you know what I mean? Can you relate? I sure can relate to Taylor more so than I can relate to God. I want to know (and SEE) that you love me! I think that I want you to prove it... Yep, I do want you to prove it. If you love me, you will call. Make time for me. Write a letter. Pray for me. That's how I think. Is this the opposite of what Oswald is saying? Food for thought...

I have been in the office since 9:30 this morning and it is time for be to depart! I am heading to Wal-Mart. I am hoping to get them to donate to Young Life this year and help a kid (or 10) go to camp!

We are having an Ice Cream Shindig / Social / Party at our house tonight in celebration of us finishing the Song of Solomon Study last week. What a joy and treat that study was. I mean, how many of us, especially high school kids, know and understand what the Bible says about Love, Sex, Dating and Romance? And the 'kicker' is, is that the Song of Solomon was written 2,000 years ago and it still relevant and useful today. As is the ENTIRE Bible! Word of God.

Looking for another set of novels to read? I would highly recommend these four: The Last Jihad, The Last Days, The Ezekiel Option and The Copper Scroll. They are incredible! Strong! Very Engaging! I think you would love them.
http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=joel+c+rosenberg&tag=yahhyd-20&index=aps&hvadid=17761562511&ref=pd_sl_5jgmnoz7zo_b

OH SNAP! It looks like there is another book or two out that I was unaware of! I guess I am swinging by the book store on my way to Wally World.

Happy Reading...

Psalm 19 ... meditate on this!

I read this Scripture this morning and would love for you to meditate on it:

Psalm 19: 7-11
The Law of the Lord is Perfect ... Reviving the Soul.
The Statutes of the Lord are Trustworthy ... Making Wise the Simple.
The Precepts of the Lord are Right ... Giving Joy to the Heart.
The Commands of the Lord are Radiant ... Giving Light to the Eyes.
The Fear of the Lord is Pure ... Enduring Forever.
The Ordinances of the Lord are Sure & altogether Righteous.
They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold;
They are sweeter than Honey,
Than Honey from the Comb.
By them is your Servant warned;
In keeping them there is Great Reward!

Psalm 19:14
May the Words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart by pleasing in your sight, O Lord, My Rock and My Redeemer!

Simply Be...

A Sense of Shame...

A friend of mine went to a Leader Summit a few months ago in Waco put on by a mega church in Chicago. He was at a Satellite Center where they 'fed' in the conference. With it being a 'Leadership' Summit, they interviewed 'Leaders' in todays world. One of those leaders was Collin Powell. Does that name ring a bell? If not, google him (that's for you mom!) and you will find out all you need to know about him.

Anywho, they asked him about his upbringing. Collin said that his parents taught him two things ... the first one I (jdr) cannot remember, but the second was this --> A Sense of Shame! A Sense of Shame! Collin's parents taught him this. They taught him to be ashamed of some things. I like that. I felt like I was taught the same thing.

Taylor and I were driving through the Wal-Mart parking lot on Sunday and this girl and guy were walking in front of us. She was pregnant. My guess is is that he was the father. They looked liked 'normal' people. Much like you and me. If you would call that 'normal.' This girl wore a black 'hoodie' with the words F*CK OFF at the bottom! Seriously? Who does that? No Sense of Shame! About a year ago, I was walking in to the Killeen Mall and there were two guys walking out of the mall towards me. One of the dudes wore a shirt with ENORMOUS letters on the front that read: F*CK YOU, I'M FROM TEXAS! OoooooooK? And? Dude, why are you wearing that on your shirt ... for starters?

I am not sure if it is my age or what, but people are getting more and more bold it appears. Have you noticed this? I was leaving the bank the other day turning right at the light. Our light was green and there were two lanes to turn right on. There was a lady in front of me and she was turning right as well. As she began to turn right, a guy coming from the other direction (whom I sure had a green light as well) began to turn rather than waiting for her to turn since we did have the right of way. Stopped and honked in amazement. He stops mid intersection, lifts his hand and begins to 'wave with 1 finger!' This guy was giving this 50 something year old lady The Bird. I could not believe it. So I pulled up next to him and repaid him the favor. Just Kidding!!! I did not do that, but I wanted to. Is that bad that I wanted to do that?

Anyhow, all that to say that it seems like our world is lacking in the Sense of Shame Department! Would you agree or disagree? Let me know your Wisdom...

Club last night was great again. We had a few less kids, but lots of energy which makes all the difference in the world! The kids sang loud. And then Buddy McPherson and Skippy came out. Skippy, Buddy's Amazing Wonder Fish, is going to Sharptop Cove summer camp in June and is inviting all of the kids to go with him. Yes, he is a Real Fish! Believe It! Why would I NOT get a real fish? Thank You. Skippy has blobbed. Skippy has fetched a knife and a camp flyer. Skippy has zip-lined. And last night, Skippy walked on a Bed O' Nails!!! Well, he really didn't walk on them, but rather was punctured by them ... because Buddy threw him on the nails. It was Classic. The kids loved it. Skippy is more than 4 months old and smells really bad.

Dan gave the Club Talk and spoke about knowing 'where you are.' He told a great story about his tour in Iraq and one of the times that they were fired upon by the Enemy. You had to know where your men were and where the enemy was as well during this fire fight if you were to survive. Dan challenged the kids to take a closer look at Jesus and decide that night 'where they were' with Him. Then Dan got inside a boat (which is very convenient since we meet at Texas Boat World!) and challenged the kids to step out of the boat. Just as Peter did. He did a really great job. He is gonna be missed...

Please continue to pray for kids to sign up for Sharptop Cove this summer. Thanks for sending in money to help kids go to camp. It is making a difference! Pray against the Enemy seeking to Kill, Steal, and Destroy our efforts for kids to meet Jesus.

Pray for a Sense of Shame...

Buddy and Skippy


Buddy and Skippy and Bed O' Nails!

I just don't know...

Life is funny sometimes. Other times, it's very crazy. We seem to be in one of those crazy times right now. And I guess it's good. And I know that our Lord uses relationships to further His Kingdom.

Last Thursday I got a call from this lady who got my name / number from a priest in town and she needed some advice and whatnot. We finally connected on Monday. Here is the scoop: This lady is a single mom barely making above minimum wage. She has 3 kids. Her ex-husband molested her 3 little children. But, she has this neighbor girl who has been using her house as a refuge. The girl is in high school (this is where we come in) at Killeen High. Her dad is a truck driver. Her step mom is addicted to drugs. The girl is physical, emotionally and psychologically abused. Yes, the cops have been called. Nothing. Her mom buys food for herself and her aunt, but not for this girl because she is overweight. This girl now has a boyfriend. So ... this lady is moving and she wants to know what to do with her. What can she get involved in? This girl does not have a cell phone nor is there a home phone. The only phone belongs to the step mom and she will not let this girl borrow it. Please pray for this scenario. My heart is heavy with stories like hers. There are 10,000 high school kids in our community. She is not the only one who is struggling..

Last night at Campaigners, we finished up the Song of Solomon series with an interview with Tommy and Theresa Nelson. It lasted about 37 minutes and was really insightful We had 4 girls last night. It was really perfect. The day before, I had told Taylor that I wanted her to lead Campaigners. She got nervous, of course. But she did lead it and she lead so incredibly well. I am so proud of her! Those girls really respond to her! She is such a delight to me.

After two of the girls left, the other two stayed to talk. One of the girls has been in a relationship for 2 years. They are both seniors. He is going off to college 5 hours away and she is staying here. She feels like a burden to him. He never wants to hang out. He would rather hang with the guys. They are sexually active. His mom is one of her best friends. I think that she needs to end it with him. But during this discussion, she begins to tell about her conversation that she has with her boyfriend. She goes into how great her family is and how wonderful her life is ... and then she says, 'but yet I feel so empty inside!' She is telling us about this conversation with her boyfriend, whom I hang out with sometimes. So she says to him, 'do you ever feel like that?' He says he guesses so and then asks her if she is getting all of this crazy talk from jruss (that's me).

This young girl is so Hungry! This young girl is so Thirsty! She is right on the edge of Inviting Jesus in to her life. She desires to Trust Him. Please pray for us as we minister to high school kids. Please also pray for our high school friends.

This Saturday is Prom. Crazy things happen on Prom Night. People do dumb things. And we are going to be out of town. Pray that God would protect our children...

It amazes me...

So, I guess it was just beginners luck on the Turkey Hunting gig because we have been out about 4 more times and have come up empty handed. And this morning was no different! But this time, Taylor went with us!!! We got up at 5 o' clock. PY showed up at 5:35. We loaded up and headed for the Land O' Turkeys. When Paul and I went last Thursday morning (before Taylor and I left town at 10:30), we really started strategizing about these smart birds (turkeys). Where they were roosting. Which way they were coming off of the roost. Where they were headed once they hit the ground. And so we went on an expedition. We found the tree they all sit in. We scoped out the land and found spots for us to set up the decoys and where we would sit. And today was the day...

Except that we went too far! Our goal was to 'flank' the birds. Take a long route around the bushes, trees and shrubs which they were in and get into position ... fighting position , if you will. Taylor was gonna sit by me. Paul would be to our right and the birds would do just as we had planned. We saw the birds roosting and decided to get a little closer. We had a perfect spot picked out and Paul wanted to push the envelope and really get a good look at where the birds were now ... and then it happened! BUSTED! The hen saw Paul. And off she went!!! She flew the coop. And now 'everyone' was very suspicious. There were at least 2 Toms and 4 hens left. They saw us too. We went too far. We got busted. But we will be back! Tomorrow. 5:45 a.m. It's US vs. THEM! We shall prevail. Only 8 days left until the end of Turkey Season. We must get at least 1 more...

Last night at Young Life was really awesome! I feel like the past 2 clubs have been some of our better ones this semester. There seems to be a little more energy lately. Is it the end of school? What is it?

Tony (from a previous blog) called yesterday in regards to me being present when he speaks to a friends mom about his drug use and him bringing her daughter into it with him. They 'smoked out' together. Although it wasn't his weed, it was hers. And she is gay. I actually spoke to the mother a little bit yesterday about her daughter coming to YL Club last night. She was skeptical because Tony was going to be there. She is not letting her daughter hang out with him anymore. I told her that I thought that it would be a good idea for her to let her go to Club and so she did.

There were more hair colors, piercings, belts and ages at Club last night than ever before! What is the deal? It was really great! And the kicker is ... is that they always listen when it comes to Jesus. Jesus is Captivating!



I talked with this same girl after club. Her soul is hurting! She doesn't feel loved by her parents. She said that she never really has. She can remember being in 5th grade and not feeling accepted by them. She is gay. She smokes weed (marijuana, pot, cannivas sativa, MJ, etc.) and enjoys it. She doesn't plan to stop. Her parents are Christians. They tell her that she is possessed by the devil and that she is going to hell because of her choices. WoWsers... Can you imagine hearing that from your folks. It doesn't seem like there is much unconditional love. Nor Acceptance. I don't know what it's like to be a parent. I really don't. And I cannot imagine being a parent right now. I did have a pastor tell me one time that the 'easiest kids to raise are other peoples.' What would you do? How would you handle this girl as a parent? Is telling her that she is demon possessed the best route? Man, I just don't know...

She got tears in her eyes as she told me that she feels 'like a lost little girl with no where to go and no support.' Her parents are PCSing (Permanent Change of Station ... Army term a.k.a. Moving!) to Hawaii in June and she does not want to go with them. She is a junior. Would her parents let her stay in Killeen to finish her senior year? Would that be the best thing for her? For the Family? Would it draw their relationship together or further separate it? What would you do? I have seen both. I have seen both succeed. And I have seen both fail. So?

It amazes me how we speak to one another. We sure do feel free to say whatever we want to, don't we? Especially to those closest to us. Lord, please help us to guard our words. May they be loving. May they be harsh, but gentle, if need be. May our friends and family know our Love in how we speak to them.

I don't have all the answers. By any means. But I do know that Love Wins. It has to. It has.

So there ya have it.

I bought a GPS and I am loving it so far. We shall see how it works this weekend as we venture to Tyler for my brother-in-laws wedding. It amazes me how incredible technology is! Check it out... http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=1186006186875&type=product

Please pray for our YL kids. So many of them have horrible / strained relationships with their parents. It hurts my heart. We carry their burdens...

Will (a YL Leader in Army uni) with Justin and Antonio in backgroung.


Will a.k.a. Lil' Will for a skit at Club

Do you love me...

I feel like it has been too long since I have written on this here blog site thingy. Now, if that doesn't sound Redneck, I don't know what does!!!

Lots goes on in a week of my life...

I last wrote about Young Life club last week when we had Kidnap Club. It was Genius! We loved it. Campaigners went well also on Wednesday. Anytime you can pour into someone's life, teach them the right and wrong ways to live life .... and they LISTEN! ... That is what can be counted as Successful. These kids are Hungry. Hungry for how to have Relationships. Right Relationship! Tommy spoke about the Art of Commitment. In a society with a divorce rate of around 50%, the words 'till death do us part' has become less of a Covenant and more of a joke. How do we stay Committed? Why are few staying Committed? What is the draw away from Commitment? Personally, I think in general, people are getting much less Committal. People don't want to commit to anything! You can see it in PTA's, churches, ministries, schools, sports (actually, sports probably gains the MOST commitment out of anything! More than family, school and church, for sure!). It makes my heart sad. And it affects all areas of our lives. Are you committed? Do you stand by what you say you believe in? Or is it just lip service? Tommy said that the only thing better than performing a Wedding is performing a funeral of a man or woman who had been married for 65 years. 'That man can talk to me about Committment!' Tommy said. These Hollywood men who go from one woman to another can speak nothing to me about Committment. They speak as though they are great lovers, but they are simply sipping from one woman to another! Are you committed to your Spouse? Your Family? Your Work? Our Father? Sports? Who gets your Prioirity?

On Thursday, Taylor and I flew from Austin to South Padre, Texas, for our annual South Texas Young Life Staff & Spouse Retreat on the Beach! It was so much fun... Our speaker, Fil Andersen (http://www.journeyresources.org/fils_book/book_review.htm) did an amazing job by bringing us to the feet of Jesus. Fil's first talk reflected on when Jesus was getting baptized by John. God verbally speaks to Jesus and says, 'This is my Son whom I love; with Him, I am well pleased' (Matt. 3:17). You may be saying, what's the big deal? Well, the Big Deal is ... is that Jesus hadn't done anything yet! No Miracles. No Healings. No Nuthin'! And yet He was / is loved by the Father? So, performance has nothing to do with the Father's Love for you and me? Is this for real? How can this be true? I love you regardless of what you do! God does that? YES, GOD DOES THAT!!! God meant what He said.

In a world driven by Performance, these are refreshing words to hear. Most of us like to Achieve. Most of us like the Recognition. Most of us appreciate a Pat on the Back ... everyday! Is all of this about us? Or do we give Him the Glory? Too often, it seems like it is about us / me. What is up with that? The question posed to us was this, 'What do you believe God believes about YOU?' Honestly? Wrap your mind around that one and you will be set for life. And not only do you believe it, but do you live that way?

I will let you chew on that for a whole minute...

So we are back in town for a few days. Our new flowers are looking incredible. I need to get some pics of the house up on this here blog, right?

I am gonna buy a handheld GPS today. Whatcha think about that? Is that a good idea or a bad one? It sure will come in handy when we travel to foreign cities.

Until tomorrow ...

Hopefully there will be more to the story of Gobble, Gobble, Bang! We are going hunting again tomorrow morning. Turkey season is almost over. So hard to believe. I have found something else that I really enjoy!

'This is my Son. Listen to Him...' - - - God

Last Night = OTC...

Last night at Young Life was OTC (Off The Chain!)! We had our 1st Annual (or better yet Bi-Annual!) Kidnap Club last night and it was really incredible ... to say the least! I feel like me writing about it will not do it justice, but I am gonna give it a try.

Kidnap Club ... kids show up to Young Life at 7:59 on Monday as usual and we hand the kids and leaders a sheet o' paper that has a list of 30 people / animals on there that they need to go, find and bring back to Texas Boat World. For example: a bearded high schooler (250 points), a sophomore softball player(200), a kid with lots of freckles (325), a gerbil (50), a student under 5 foot tall (135), and so on and so on...

The kids bought into it Hook, Line and Sinker!!! We had one hour. Be back in 1 hour or your team will be deducted 500 points per minute that you are late! We started with 10 kids and ended the evening with 31 kids! There was so much energy in the room. It was marvelous!!! We sang two songs and then I gave the quickest, most precise club talk of my life. I drew out the Bridge Illustration and shared Romans 3:23-24, Romans 6:23 and Ephesians 2:8-9 with the kids. You could have heard a pin drop during my talk. It was most amazing!

I had picked up two guys before club to take to club. One of them being the young man that I wrote about several weeks ago from our Campaigners night. Black hood. Long black hair. Shy at first and then opened up like a Champion. Ring a bell? If not, check out the old blog and read up on it... www.johnnyrussell.wordpress.com.

I will call him Tony for writings sake ... Tony invited his next door neighbor to come to Club with us. This guy had a Mohawk and was wound tighter than a snare drum. He had WAY TOO much energy. He was excited about the night! His mouth was offensive, but it had only just begun.

These two guys ride with me as we drive around town calling people and picking others up for Kidnap Club. They are both in Alternative School, so they don't know many kids that are not in Alternative with them. We go and pick up one girl who has a mouth like a Marine (this is a stereotype). I could not believe it. Tony started to tell her to watch her mouth because she did not know who I was and what I did. People tend to 'straighten up' around me once they find out what I do. Tony calls me his Pastor. Pretty funny. He later called me his Mentor. We ended the evening by running this girl by a friends house who happens to be Tony's best friend. They had to go and pick up 'something.' A shirt is what she claimed. I found an Adderall in my front seat today after all of the kids were gone. Adderall is the drug used to help 'cure' those that have ADHD. It is also the drug of choice for many kids to help them 'chill out.' You can buy them on the street for about $5 a pop. Not a bad deal if you are looking to 'calm down.' Tony asked if he could talk to me later that night about some very stressful things that were going on in his life. I was interested in what he was going to share.

Tony asked me how I felt about Weed (marijuana, pot, etc...). Good? Bad? Ugly? I have never done any drugs because I think that I would like them. I have an addictive personality and so I knew that I would never have the time nor the money to get involved in that so I never did. I told Tony that it was against the law. His response, 'yeah, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's wrong.' Wow, I didn't know that! I thought that is exactly what it meant! Tony likes to smoke weed. Daily. But he says that he not a 'druggy' or addicted to it by any means. Nor does he do any other drugs ... although the Adderall in my front seat would speak differently.

Next, he was in a rock and hard place. He met this girl the other day while 'smoking out' and he feels like they just hit it off! They talk often. The only problem is ... is that she is ENGAGED! To a Large, Black man. 'Johnny, what should I do?' he asked. This was the big stress in his life. He said that he thinks he loves her. Tony is a 20 year old senior in high school. We talked through what all of that looked like from each persons perspective. He really values my opinion. How did this kid walk in to my life? It's the strangest thing!

I need to write more, but I also must head to the high school.

So, until next time, make today count!

We got the decoys...

Yep, that's right! We remembered the decoys this morning ... but we forgot the Turkeys! It seems like we did better without the decoys. Same routine this morning. 5:45. Field by 6. At Stations by 6:30. Daybreak. Shock Calls. The Whole Nine Yards...

Except the yards weren't 9! More like 1. We only heard 1 Tom calling from about 150 yards away. I was tucked into some bushes pretty good. I had not heard any turkeys near by so I thought that I would raise up on my knees. To my dismay, there was a turkey about 40 yards from me. He was moving very cautiously. The weird thing was, is that he had not gobbled yet. That's why I had not heard him. I could not see a beard on him. The grass was pretty tall. Paul was about 20 yards from me in another thicket of bushes. He was doing a hen call and this turkey came off the roost (the place where turkeys stay at night --- usually in a tree) and came into our field. I did not see him land. I just happened to see him walking towards us. The turkey suddenly stopped and he took notice to our decoys. See pic below. The hen is on the left lying on the ground. She is being 'submissive' to the Tom on the right. This is a pretty big Tom.



When the Jake (this is a year old bird) saw the big Tom decoy, he became intimidated and was not interested in the decoys any longer. The Jake proceeded to walk towards PY. PY stopped calling and he was basically busted because the Jake knew PY was in the thicket. He ended up flying off and we never saw him again. That was ok. I could have shot the Jake, but I did not want to shoot one without a beard. Their beards are so cool...

It sure is fun and such a blessing to be able to hunt during the week...

This is Paul in his camoflauged head gear. The less flesh you can have showing, the better!

Pretty Sunrise in the field

It's a great day to be alive! We have a Young Life Garage Sale tomorrow. We are raising money to send kids to Sharptop Cove this summer. We (a couple high school guys and myself) are gonna start moving stuff to the locatio around midnight and then we are going to sleep at this location until the Garage Salw starts at 7:30 ... which really means about 6:45 or 7.

Have a marvelous weekend. Hope to see you back here on Monday.

Because High School Kids Are Worth It...

For the record...

Just so you know, I do not do anything illegal. There may have been some confusion in some of these blogs ... the latest? Would I have shot a hen if it walked out in front of my gun? No, Males only. I simply knew better than to shoot a hen. Hope this clears up any ethical confusion on who we are...

Last night at Campaigners, we watched The Art of Romance, Part 2. This is such a great series! We absolutely love it. Tommy started off by saying this profound statement: What came instinctively when you were dating, must be a discipline in marriage ... That's how you keep the Flame burning!

He also spoke about the E's (or Ease) of an Affair! This is how you allow an affair to happen to you in marriage:
1. Elimination - you eliminate tenderness, sensitiveness, compassion in the home and you begin to just go through the motions. You lose the things you loved when you were dating.
2. Encounter - not necessarily planned, but rather plutonic.
3. Enjoyment - Something inside of you 'jumped' when you had this encounter.
4. Expedition - You begin to 'scout' this person out. You find reasons to stop by and talk with him / her, walk by their desk or home, frequent the restaurant where you saw them.
5. Expression - You cautiously express yourself to them to see if they 'take the bait.' Are they interested as well? You test the waters!
6. Experience - You follow through with these feelings.

Note ---- Satan will provide for the need of your mate if you don't!!!!!!

Lean into Jesus. He is our Rock! He is our Salvation! Affairs are ripping through the belly of our nation. May we be proactive. May we be aware. May we be accountable.

Flee...

Gobble, Gobble, BANG!

If that title of this blog does not 'grab your goat,' then I don't know what will! This morning was wonderful...

Paul (my father-in-law) a.k.a. PY picked me up at the house at 5:45 and we headed out to the Land o' Turkeys. Paul told me yesterday that we would go. He first told me that he had to work early in the morning (he has a sprinkler business), but then found this land that is really close to my house and figured that we could be in the field by 6, shooting by 7:30 - 7:45 and back at the house by 8:00. Well, he was pretty close on all of his guestimations.

We do get to the field by 6. We park the truck, hop the fence (hmmmmmmmmm...) and start scouting the land. Once again, I have a sweet headlamp and PY is still workin' his dinky lil' headlamp! I need to get THAT on video...

Paul told me yesterday that we would not be using the tent blind. We were going on a reconnaissance mission! No Tent Blind! We were going All Natural. We would be using the trees / bushes as cover. I was a little worried about that because I am pretty figgity when I sit down for a long time. Half way from the truck, Paul says, 'Ahhh, Shoot (or whatever word you desire to substitute in here), the decoys are in the back of the truck!' I volunteered to go back and get them and he said that we would go without them today. Reconnaissance Mission, remember? I think he didn't want me to go back to get the decoys because then he would be without my headlamp showing us the way.

So we are gonna back into some trees for cover. No decoys. We are gonna sit in different spots and we will go from there. PY said to shoot any bird. Got It? Good.

Turkeys are funny. There is a term used when Turkey Hunting called a Shock Call. When turkeys here a loud noise, it startles them (or 'shocks' them) and they gobble automatically. So before sun up, a plane flies over and is loud. Both of us are in position already. Right when the plane goes over, at least 4 turkeys gobbled. PY had never been hunting turkeys on this land before. He just had a hunch that they were there. I told you he was good! And we knew we had hit the mother load ... at least that's what we thought!

Morning is 'breaking' and we can hear turkeys. I hear Paul calling them in and the turkeys responding. We had no blind. We had no decoys. Reconnaisance ... riiiiiiiiiight? I had been sitting Indian style for at least 40 minutes now and my left leg had fallen asleep. Can I move? Are they close by? Will they see me? I am hid pretty good, but I'm not invisible. Anyhow, to make a long morning / story short, I did not see any birds. I heard them, but did not see them. I was getting restless and I could tell that Paul was losing momentum on his calls. The birds were going away from us now. That is NOT good if you want to kill one.

I was pretty disappointed, to say the least...

Paul comes over to me and tells me of all the action that he saw. It was behind me! UGH! 'If we would have just had decoys, they would have come off the roost right here' is what he said. We had no decoys. Well, we did, but they were in the back of the dang truck!

Anyhow, two Toms had run by him earlier and we could see them about 100 yards away running sporadically to and fro. I told PY that I wanted to sneak up on them. Nix that, turkeys have great vision he said. But I just wanted to see them. So I move 30 yards closer to the Turkeys and stand behind this 5 foot cedar. The 2 Toms were running wildly. From hen to hen. It was really strange. So I crouch down per Paul's suggestion by way of a whistle and hand motion and Paul gives it another whirl. He begins calling and I can see that it is getting the attention of one of the Toms. I signal to Paul that I can see the Tom and for him to keep 'calling' him in. I can't believe it! This turkey is walking right towards me! My heart is racing. Should I look at his beard or just shoot regardless? Paul said to just shoot, so I make up my mind ... if he does get within shooting range, then I would shoot ... regardless. This Tom was SO excited to see the 'hen' that was calling for him. He had no idea I was hiding behind that bush. Poor Tom!

He was practically running for the hen when he slowed down to gobble. I had taken up a better shooting position (rather than a sit or stand, I was crouching) at this point and had raised my gun. He got about 40 yards away. He walked right into it. I pulled the trigger and down he went! One shot. One kill. I call this a 'One Hitter Quitter!' YES... Paul comes darting out of the bushes / trees with his hands in the air! He seemed to be more exited than I was. We were both really into it! It was marvelous... We gave a High Five!

We walk over to the turkey and he is still flapping his large wings. He asked if I saw the beard and I said, 'no.' I just shot since he was the only one that I was gonna see that day. We lifted him up and there sat an 8 inch beard! Incredible! The bird was beautiful. I was very surprised. And so was Taylor! Paul is a great story teller. We talked about everything that happened that morning on the way to the truck. I was carrying the turkey over my shoulder. It was about 18 pounds, Paul said. He was heavy to me.

Taylor is at home waiting for us. She was so proud of me. I provided food for our table. Oh Yeah...

Paul came back over to the house 2 hours later and cleaned the turkey. He breasted it and cut off the tail, breast feathers and beard...

This morning was really great! And guess what we are doing tomorrow morning? Believe It! We are goin' Turkey Huntin', again...... and again...... and again!

Enjoy the pics... (this turkey was for you Winkie!)

Changing like the Wind...

When life throws you a curve ball, swing like a Champion! Last night as Chris and Dan went to Texas Boat World to set up for Young Life Club, they noticed a ton of trucks there with about 50 older men milling around outside all in the same shirts. They asked what was going on and they told them that they had a B.A.S.S. Masters meeting inside Texas Boat World tonight from 7 till 'whenever.' Alrighty Then... (You gotta say that in your best Jim Carrey accent!)

So, Chris comes up with the Brilliant idea of having Young Life Club on his and Dan's Patio! PERFECT! Way to Go Chris Trickett! Job well done... And that we did. Chris and Dan live in a 100 year old ranch house on the Yowell Ranch. It sits right on Stagecoach Road and it suits them very well. It is the perfect bachelor pad!

We set everything up on the patio, put out chairs and couches in the front yard and went to town. It was really wonderful. It was the perfect night! Kids showed up. Music was fun. the game went great. And Chris did a wonderful job telling kids about Jesus, the cross and what that means to each and every one of us! It is because of the Cross that we are able to be Free. John 3:16 says, 'For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal Life!' Jesus had to die for this to take place. In fact, this is the sole reason that Jesus came to the earth ... to die! How profound is that? Unbelievable is the Love that God has for you and me.

Here are some pics from last night! That is shaving cream and Fruit Loops on the guys faces!








Turkey Hunting has now moved to Thursday. I shall wait. It is better for those Turkeys anyhow! The Turkeys must be saying their Turkey Prayers!

It won't be long before kids start signing up for camp. Please keep praying that this would have the snowball effect. If we can just get a few kids signed up...

Whatcha think of the new blog? I sure do like the pics and whatnots.

Never live like you're not Loved!

Where did she go...

I dropped Taylor, my wife, off at the airport yesterday around noon or so. She is in North Carolina for a National Marrow Donor Program Convention. Say that 5 times really fast, would ya! She will be there until Tuesday...



Last night was really strange going to bed by myself. I had always heard couples saying that it was strange going to bed alone once you got married. I thought it was a bunch of hooey gooey! Not so any more. It was STRANGE! I didn't like it. In fact, I got up in the middle of the night for whatever reason (I have been sleep walking and talking quite a bit lately) and noticed that Taylor was not in bed with me. Then I thought that I saw her, but it was only the pillow that I keep under my legs that had moved over to her side of the bed (which is about 73% of the bed ---- at least when she's home!). I poked at the pillow thinking that it was Taylor. She is not that Fluffy! So I ventured into one of our spare bedrooms to see if she had moved. It was on my way to the bedroom that I realized that Taylor was not home, she was in North Carolina and that she will be home on Tuesday. Duh...



The letters are going out. 'The Eagle has left the nest. I repeat, The Eagle has left the Nest!' Remember those letters that I told you that I was sending out to raise money for kids to go to Sharptop Cove, a Premier Young Life Camping Facility? Yep, those letters. They are in the mail. On their way to see you. Please be kind. Please be generous. Kids are still hesitant. I feel like it is gonna 'take off' really soon. I keep waiting and waiting and waiting... Your donation will have an eternal impact and it will make all the difference in the world. If you think that you may not get a letter and would desire one, please email me and I would gladly send one out to you.



I had a lot of compliments on the Turkey Hunt blog that I wrote. Pretty funny, huh? Why yes it is... I can't wait till sometime this week. I am looking forward to going and killin' me my first Turkey, dead! I will put a picture or video up so that you can see it. But I don't want to scare the Turkeys off. If I did that, I may get shot! By my Father in Law. Then I'd have to shoot him back. Wait a second...these aren't bb guns any more! I don't wanna get shot! It would hurt.



Yesterday at our Young Life leader meeting, we got to talking about the Old Testament (which I am so fascinated with!) and how crazy it is. How foolish some of the people lived their lives. Dan says, 'Would I live my life differently if I knew books were being written about me?' I had to write that down. I thought that was really great. Well, would you? Would YOU live your life differently if you knew books were being written about you? That's Strong. REAL STRONG...



Matthew 16:26 says, 'What good is it for a man to Gain The Whole World, yet forfeit his soul?' Are you trying to gain the world world at the expense of your soul? If it's not you, it's someone close to you. We see it day in and day out. It's like Solomon says, 'It's like the chasing of the wind.' We try to catch it, yet we never quite get it, do we? That is why we are empty. We are wired for more of life. To Live It! To Experience It! To Enjoy It! To Be Set Apart. To Show God's Love.



And Trust Me, people are hurting more and more each and every day. I got a phone call from a mom last night who was crying because her heart is breaking for her son who is denouncing God and has chosen to buy into the world of Atheism. Brilliant Kid. 'Too smart for his own good' as Jackie Russell (that's my mom) would say.



My heart breaks for so many high schoolers who have nothing. Well, they may think they have the world, but the reality is is that they are simply 'chasing the wind.' Teenagers who have great relationships with their parents, especially with dad, is a rarity these days. Divorce is astronomical. There are very few kids who lead. We have more communication today than we have ever had, yet our depth of relationships is as shallow as it has ever been. Isolation. Apathy. Unmotivated. No Ambition. Zero Dreams. Content with doing absolutely nothing. Kids have few people to 'pour' into them the goodness of Parenting and Authority! And there is not much difference between a 17 year old and a 25 year old. Then not a huge margin between a 25 year old and a 55 year old.



Here is a picture of some of the kids that my heart breaks for. They long to know Jesus ... and they don't even know it. 'Chasing the Wind' ...

Here we go, Domino...

It looks as if we are gonna move 'shop' over to Blogspot.com rather than Wordpress.com. This seems a lot easier to upload pics and videos and the such. I think it would bless each of you to see videos and pics of what's going on ... although the imagination does need some exercising every single day!

Let us know what you think of the new site. Is it better or should we switch back? Maybe we should all give it a day or two.

Off to the weekend...