Posts with the category “daily-devotions”

I had my rifle but I wasn't expecting to see anything. I was on a trail that was a mixture of tundra, black spruce and birch, choked with willow brush. It was impossible to move quietly. When I came to a muddy spot, there was a huge grizzly track in the trail. It was fresh and moving the same direction as me. I only had two days to hunt.  I wondered if he would come back along this same trail. How...  Read More

My kids also grew up loving the snow. At some point every August they could see fresh snow on the distant mountaintops, and there would be a collective, "Yes!" This would be followed by my audible groan. You must understand that the snow doesn't melt away from our yard until early May. How could they be excited to see it coming in August? To me that still doesn't make sense. But then, over half of...  Read More

Winter has always been part of my life. When I say 'winter' I don't mean, "It's chilly outside. Let's grab a jacket."  I mean long periods of everything covered with snow. As strange as it may seem to you, I love winter. But that's because I'm not battling to survive. Because I know that my hardship is temporary, it is much easier to endure. In fact, one of my favorite things is to come into my ca...  Read More

There is something I love about being the first one to make tracks on a fresh blanket of snow. It isn't the trail I've left behind me, it's the untouched landscape before me. It somehow feels like the world in front of me has endless possibilities. It's true that a thousand different things that could trip me up are buried several feet beneath the snow, but I'm living above all of that. In the hig...  Read More

When I say that I've spent hundreds of days on long Alaskan snowshoes, I am not exaggerating. I wore out one pair and patched them up again and again with 550 cord and various lashings. Except for possibly my friend Roger Huntington, I don't know anyone who's spent more time or walked more miles. Snowmachines changed winter travel, didn't they? I love my snowmachine, but there is something beautif...  Read More

'Tuck-A-Duck-Away' (Tuck) was an exceptional bird dog. He loved the water, was utterly immune to cold, and often hunted at temperatures of −30°. After hours of working the willow brush for birds, plunging through deep snow, the only evidence that he was a normal dog was that even he could get tired. When we were between willow patches and traveling rather than hunting, I would break trail for him....  Read More

Every winter hundreds of Alaskans excitedly buy their first snowshoes. Then, they go up into the mountains, spend five minutes plunging through the snow to their crotch and trying to pull their snowshoe up out of the hole, go back to their cars and never go again. Why? Because those cute little and midsize snowshoes need dense snow- the kind you get in states with warm daytime temperatures- the ki...  Read More

After Laura and I got married, I began picking up one good piece of hunting equipment each year. The first year was a Hoyt bow, then a Bibler tent, Sequel raingear, and a Feathered Friends lightweight goose down sleeping bag. The better that I was equipped, the better I was able to endure Alaska's harsh conditions. Are you 'well equipped' for adversity? It isn't hard to get there. Attend a strong,...  Read More

One of the hard things about Alaska is that our hunting and fishing seasons are so short that you are forced to choose between good options. This is why I don't fish Coho (Silver) salmon or hunt ducks in September. Getting a moose or caribou has always been higher priority. But one year when my parents were visiting us in Copper River, I had all of my meat in the freezer early enough to fish. My d...  Read More

This was my first and only attempt to get a Dall sheep with my bow. As a young man I was an avid bow hunter, and had already taken elk, antelope, whitetail deer, black bear, moose and caribou with a bow. I knew what I was doing... but you can't plan the weather. It was August 10th, I was in the Brooks Range above the Arctic Circle, and it was snowing sideways. Everything was perfect except for the...  Read More

When I said that my assistant wrestling coach Tim Hand is the strongest man pound for pound I've ever known, let me brag on him for a moment. At our very first wrestling practice, I was stunned by his cat-like quickness and obvious power. At 5' 7" and well over 200 pounds, I didn't expect this. After practice, I asked Tim how much weight he could bench press. He is truly a very humble guy and said...  Read More

Dall sheep hunting in Alaska is extreme. There is a certain willingness to embrace suffering that is an absolute necessity. Carrying a heavy load up a mountain is crushing. Carrying a ram down a mountain is even worse. You must be prepared to sweat profusely as you climb, to be wet for days on end, and to be shivering cold when you stop to glass. The payoff for those fortunate few is a beautiful r...  Read More

While Laura's climb ended with disappointment after she missed a trophy Dall sheep, she continued to venture into the wilderness with me.  On our next trip, I made sure that she had all of the right gear, and she took her first caribou. On our first trip, she had intended to relax at camp with a good book while my partner and I hunted moose. Of course any smart (physically fit) hunter heading into...  Read More

There was a time in my life when I was pretty much the worst hunting guide ever. The Alaskan wilderness was all new to me. My rain jacket and pants came in plastic envelopes and cost .99 cents each. It can be no surprise, then, that when I took Laura into the wilderness to go moose hunting, I didn't buy her boots. In fact, she didn't have any hunting clothing at all. I had not yet learned the crit...  Read More

I was clinging to the outside of an upside-down raft in Class V whitewater and the freezing cold water was sapping my strength. In fact, I didn't have the strength to drag myself out of the water to get on top of the raft. I needed a rescue. In my generation, American men were taught to be proud of being independent- to do things on our own- to not need help from anyone. The problem is that there ...  Read More

Finding the rope on the outside of the raft and pulling my head above water were major victories, but my problems were far from over. Even with a dry suit, the 35° water temperature was rapidly taxing my strength. I had been flushed through a gorge while under the raft, was now in a calm (but fast) elbow of the river, and I could hear the roar of waterfalls in front of me. Life often hits us with ...  Read More

And just like that, we were upside down. If you've ever been trapped under a raft in Class V whitewater and lived to tell the story, you are fortunate indeed. In a matter of seconds I had swallowed mouthfuls of water as I plunged my arm out and up- trying to find the outside rope on the raft tube. Trying to rescue yourself while being flushed through a gorge underwater at a frantic speed is an int...  Read More

Hospitality (opening your home to entertain others) is somewhat of a lost art in our modern world. On America's frontier, with most people living in one or two room cabins, it was common to find travelers or other guests sleeping on the floor. Not only did settlers make room, they were excited to have 'company.' In today's culture, people are far less excited about a knock on their door. As Christ...  Read More

You haven't really lived until you've sat in a tree until midnight covered with mosquitoes. Okay, just kidding. Even so, I have done that many times- a few of those with one of my kids. Some people are natural born 'still' hunters. They thoroughly enjoy the experience of being in a stand or sitting out in the wilderness with their binoculars. For me, sitting still is torture. I've always been that...  Read More

A little over a week ago I had one of those rare mornings I had the opportunity to climb a mountain with both of my daughters. This is rare not only because they are both busy wives and mothers, but because one of them lives in Georgia. No, it wasn't on one of those warm sunny days. It was raining and foggy. I would describe it as a PERFECT morning in IMPERFECT conditions. So often people miss out...  Read More

Happy birthday America! Thanks to all of you who have served in the military to keep our nation free. Because we are the first and only nation on earth founded upon the gospel of Jesus.Christ, God has blessed us above all other nations. Why has patriotism plummeted in the last fifty years? Because people in positions of influence, starting with our educational systems, have rewritten our history. ...  Read More

I watched my partner head out with "his' moose as I made something to eat. I was now hunting on my own. A lot of people would probably have quit, but I had limited time to hunt and two families (ours and Laura's parents) counting on me to bring home meat to last through the winter. I saw a number of cows during the day, but no bulls. I decided to pull up and move to a second walk-in area, and just...  Read More

About a half hour later, my friend came trudging up the trail with his enormously heavy load of meat. I let him tag this moose because he had hit it just above the hind hoof before I shot it. Having 2 men to cut and pack a moose is a blessing, and we had about about a day and a half now to go and find one for me... so I thought... When he got back, he said, "I have a lot of things I need to do at ...  Read More

About fifteen minutes later, I saw my partner coming towards camp without his pack full of meat. He was angry and upset. We had ATV's, but we had camped at the edge of a 'walk-in only' area. He said, "I'm going to take my ATV in and get the rest of that meat." We had a lunch cooler with Pepsi on ice. I handed him a Pepsi and said, "You'll feel better in a little while." Twenty minutes later he wal...  Read More

We waded the river, each with half of a young moose's boned out meat in our packs. The other shore was a near-vertical soft, silty hill leading up to the ridgeline. By using the scrub willow brush growing there we were able to pull ourselves up as we climbed. At the top, however, we faced another problem. We had no more brush to pull us forward, so before we could climb up onto the ridge we had to...  Read More

I stood watching as the bull we could have had 100 yards from camp crossed a shallow river and disappeared into a willow patch over a mile from camp. My partner had missed two easy shots and had left all of his ammunition back at camp. I sat holding his empty rifle and watching the spot where the moose disappeared, while he carried his bow and arrows back to camp to get my rifle and his ammo. When...  Read More

The bull was standing looking at us 100 yards away. One hundred yards of flat, level ground with very little brush. Getting the meat out was going to be an easy pack.... that's what I was thinking. My partner had a different idea. He wanted to try to get it with a bow and arrow. It was the 1st of September and the rut hadn't started. I knew that there was absolutely no way he could get close to th...  Read More

It was my first time hunting with this partner. I had taken him to one of the few spots where I had consistently found moose. At first light, there he was- a young bull standing 100 yards away, barely visible through the fog that hovered over a small pond. Even though it was my hunt and my spot, I decided to let my partner shoot this moose. I had killed many moose and was more interested in his ex...  Read More

According to studies, the average four-year-old laughs 400 times a day. The average 40-year-old laughs only 4 times a day. The medical benefits of laughter are profound. Laughter strengthens your immune system, it diminishes pain, decreases blood pressure, regulates heart rhythm, and lessens depression, anxiety and stress. What happened to our laughter? Most  respond with something like: "Life bea...  Read More

Be careful who you follow. He said it would be easy. He said it would be no problem. I discovered that his definition of 'easy' and 'no problem' was very different from my own. There was a group of us with four wheelers and side by sides. Virtually everyone was stuck in the first muck hole. Thanks to our winches and extra hands, we only spent about an hour to go 100 feet. Then, we started up a ver...  Read More

There is a movement, though very small, of people becoming what they call 'minimalist.' Small homes, a few possessions, only a few changes of clothes... something about this kind of life appeals to me. At the same time, a part of me would love to have the right piece of heavy equipment, a boat that goes out on the ocean, a Supercub, and a giant track rig for hunting moose. I've said many times tha...  Read More

It seems that everywhere on earth has its own scent. Alaska is that way for me. It smells like HOME. So much of our culture today doesn't understand that feeling. So many homes are filled with stress and anger and disappointment that a large number of people have a longing to 'get away' from what they think of as home.So let me tell you what home SHOULD be. It should be a place of REFUGE, of PEACE...  Read More

When we look at those people who started with very little and built a successful life, it is easy to be envious. We never see the sacrifice It took to get there. It's like the photos that we take on top of a mountain. People who have never climbed get images of 'The Sound of Music' and frolicking in the Alps. The photo doesn't reflect the physical punishment of climbing. Everyone wants to be on to...  Read More

When Jesus said to a small group of commercial fishermen, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers (literally 'catchers') of men"- what did he mean? While there is certainly a degree of value to fishing- to being out on the water with the wind in your face or standing knee deep in a river casting- fishing would be pointless without the 'catching.' Every good fisherman knows that there are things we...  Read More

We all have different gifts. My friend Lynn Pryor understands all things mechanical. He can weld, bend, fabricate, and overhaul. That's not me. Like all men who are willing to admit it- I wish I could do those things. I have a friend who hunted with a giant track rig called a 'Thiokal' for decades. Every year he shot his moose, and every year he drove right up to it. I, on the other hand, typicall...  Read More

Relationships are the fabric of life and shared experiences are the threads woven into that fabric. We were created to be in relationship first with God and then with one another. God is our Father, Savior, Counselor, Redeemer, Protector, Strengthener, and Provider. These are not simply words, they are reality. Every Christian on earth is quite literally our brother or our sister. We're not a 'rel...  Read More

Many of us have experienced the frustration of putting a lot of time and energy into something only to discover we were doing it the wrong way. Just because we're moving doesn't mean we are headed in the right direction, does it? My dad and I had spent days looking for caribou without success. We finally saw a small band of cows miles away on top of a mountain. My dad is an excellent hunter, but h...  Read More

Since we're on the topic of marriage, I must respond to the question, "What advice do you have for those of us who are struggling in our marriages right now?"There is only one person in this marriage you have the ability to change, and that is YOU. First, become your best self spiritually, physically and emotionally. Get up early in the morning when the house is quiet to spend time with the Lord. ...  Read More

Yesterday I shared that a key ingredient to a happy marriage is to CHOOSE WISELY. Yet so many Christian men and women- especially women- choose poorly. Why is that? One of the following two reasons is overwhelmingly true, but after I share these, I will also share the underlying reason for what drives those two choices. Why do Christians seeking to be married choose poorly?1) Loneliness. Being sin...  Read More

People are always wondering what is the secret to a good marriage. First, I would tell you this- CHOOSE WELL. Ladies, the man who loves God FIRST will love you BEST. Choose a godly man who is gentle and kind, who loves children, and who is committed to being a good provider. Men, the woman who loves God FIRST will love YOU best. Choose a woman who is generous and kind, who loves children, and who ...  Read More