Posts with the category “daily-devotions”

Some people claim that my 'hunting ideas' aren't always the best. For example, when my wife Laura drew a lottery moose tag a few years ago, she and I and our son David rode triple on a four wheeler (Laura behind me on the seat and David on the front rack). After eight miles which seemed uneventful to me and death-defying to Laura, we hunted on foot. Now- why in the world would I have us ride tripl...  Read More

May 3 and still ice on the lakes. My yard high on Bear Mountain is down to about a foot of snow. Think about it- COLD makes things HARD. Water freezes, and if the cold continues, the ice gets thick enough to drive on. In fact, it gets thick enough to build a fire on. For me, the wilderness experience is all about the fish and game and the country I'm in. For my kids it was all about the snacks and...  Read More

Some men are just plain 'steady.' In other words, you know that you can count on them. My friend Chuck Bohling is like that. He has a great sense of humor, can recite wilderness poetry around a campfire, and has invested many years in behind-the-scenes leadership at The Crossing. As you look around your 'friend' and 'work' circles, identify those things in other people that you wish were true of y...  Read More

For many years after our Vacation Bible School I would take our youth group on a 'climb.' After a 4 hour 'Bear Mountain Loop' Laura and I would feed all of them an Alaskan meal (usually moose chili and bear roast). The climb itself was difficult for many and extremely difficult for a few, What was the most important job on this climb? The leader? No, the leader's job was much like a cowboy holding...  Read More

Sometimes danger is clear- no one could miss it. Other times it isn't so obvious. At the end of a mission trip to Uganda we spent 2 days on and along the Nile River. The riverbank was lined with large crocodiles- clear danger. But to our surprise, our native guide told us that BY FAR the most dangerous animal was the hippo. That was unexpected. Some of life's dangers are clear, and we cross those ...  Read More

If it wasn't for a good friend who is a more successful hunter, some years moose meat would be almost non-existent in my diet. The moose in my freezer right now is from a roadkill and I'm glad to have it. Perhaps the Lord has kept me focusing on being a 'meat' hunter by not giving me large moose, or perhaps it's just a combination of the country I'm hunting and my own deficiencies. But ONCE- just ...  Read More

Up at 4, off to the airport and waiting for a 6 AM flight. Travel to and from Alaska means something different than it means to most of the world. I just spoke to someone who flew RT between two nations in Europe for $39. We have villages in Alaska where the cost from Anchorage is closer to $1,000. It's simply a part of living in the last frontier. And yet- we CAN travel. We CAN buy a ticket and s...  Read More

Though we have collected an almost unbelievable amount of stuff over the years, for my wife, Laura, none of it matters. Life is about people and relationships. She is a lover of people, and the beautiful thing is that it doesn't matter who they are or how old they are. Seeing her interact with others is like a momentary glimpse of heaven. She SEES you and wants to KNOW you and BLESS you. How about...  Read More

In my experience, usually violent winds on top of a mountain blow horizontally. In other words, all you need to do is drop off the summit to find calm- the wind will be blowing above you and you won't feel it. Occasionally, however, those incredibly strong winds will blow straight down the side of a mountain like a freight train going downhill. That was our Friday morning. We were forced to look u...  Read More

I had the privilege of coaching in Alaska for more than 30 years. What is the purpose of competition? Most of the world gives a 2 word answer: TO WIN. I disagree. I never pushed my athletes to win... but I DID push them, and I pushed them HARD. I wanted each athlete to become the very best that he or she could be. I wanted individuals to learn to work together as a team. I wanted them to love and ...  Read More

We've talked about joy, but do you have PEACE? In other words, do you have the ability to set your struggles and your longings on the shelf, accept where you are in life at this moment, and simply be your best YOU today? This is what it means to live by faith, not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7). In spite of our challenges, we are blessed beyond measure and have an amazing life ahead of us. This is why, eve...  Read More

Joy often escapes us. You want to be joyful- you want to be the one who lights up a room as you go in, but you forget. Why? Because you choose to live a REACTIVE life. You walk into a room thinking of your own responsibilities and stresses and disappointments. You choose to live as though you are carrying the weight of the world. Everything in your face and demeanor, in your tone and questions and...  Read More

I've always enjoyed fishing from shore much more than fishing from a boat. I trace this back to my childhood when we would launch our boat on the Mississippi River in the dark and be out all day. No bathroom breaks, no stopping in somewhere to eat lunch, just long days in a small aluminum boat out on the water. Don't get me wrong. I'm not opposed to fishing from a boat. In fact, I generally like i...  Read More

I grew up in Minnesota and then lived in Montana before the army sent me to Alaska. One of the questions I get from my friends outside this time of year is, "Have you been catching any fish?" It's inconceivable to them that in late April we don't have open water. Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens." From the moment Christ ascen...  Read More

It has snowed for 7 days in a row at my house. This came after 7 days of glorious sunshine. While this is little more than interesting trivia, I would point out that we are beyond our 6th month of winter. Why do people choose to live here? For many reasons, but for me just one- God has called me here. I never intended to come to Alaska, and I never intended to stay. And yet, in this far away place...  Read More

From the moment of birth, life is a series of 'firsts.' We remember a baby's first crawling, first steps and first words. Later, it's the first day of school. As young adults, we have our fist day on the job or first day of college. For men who hunt, it may have been your first turkey or your first deer (or in Alaska, your first caribou or moose). And somewhere along the line, whether in early chi...  Read More

I've gotten back into my practice of morning climbs. Heavy socks, heavy mountaineering boots, hiking pants, 2 light layers under a thin wool shirt, gaitors, warm hat, light backpack with emergency gear, crampons,  hiking poles, warm gloves... this is my morning regimen of getting dressed for the climb. The photos from the top of the mountain are fantastic, but it isn't just the photos- BEING on to...  Read More

Every sunrise is special. It brings hope for a new day. It signals a fresh start. No matter what you went through yesterday, today is brand new. Psalm 118:24 says, "This is the day that the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it!" Why should we rejoice? Because the God who created the universe knows us by name! He loves us and is preparing our future home- a NEW heaven and a NEW Earth wi...  Read More

They say that a picture is worth a 1,000 words. Sometimes a picture seems to perfectly capture the innocence of a child. There is something a little surreal- holy- about that moment in time. Somehow, deep within us, we all recognize that this is how life is supposed to be. In that innocence we see a glimmer of perfection- of what it means to be created in the image of God- wonderfully and marvelou...  Read More

By the time we were back at the bottom of the mountain, we had little more than a hopeful guess as to the direction of the bear. We split up in the timber and began a slow meander trying to find the clearing. Soon I heard a shot, and my partner, Tim Hand, had a beautiful cinnamon colored black bear. It was then that we discovered another mistake. We had been in such a hurry to get to the bear that...  Read More

I laid in my tent waiting for daylight. As soon as I could see I climbed to the summit and began walking the ridgeline glassing for bear. My partner, Tim Hand, simply set up his spotting scope next to the tents and sat down to wait. I have never been good at sitting still. I walked a mile or so and then came back to the tent. I hadn't seen a thing. Tim, however, had spotted a bear at the bottom of...  Read More

I was in the best shape of my life, but even so, it was the worst climb I've ever done. It was far from the highest mountain I've ever climbed and the hike in to the base was easy. We were climbing with our full packs, intending to set our camp up high. But on this particular mountain, the only one I've ever been on like this, the vertical incline didn't stop even for a moment. The steep pitch was...  Read More

Beginning 'winter' mountain climbers find out very quickly the difficulty going up. What surprises them most is discovering the unexpected difficulty coming down. It's so easy for us to aim for a certain 'high' only to discover that we ended up in a bad place. In all of my years of sheep hunting, I've never gotten into trouble going UP a mountain, but have been in incredibly dangerous positions th...  Read More

I've hunted caribou over 1,000 miles south of Anchorage and nearly 1,000 miles north... all in Alaska. Unlike the Adak hunt, the northern hunt was with a bow and arrow. In order to take a caribou with an arrow, you need to get close. Some things can be done successfully from a distance. For example, praying for or sending money to a missionary in a foreign land. Other things require close proximit...  Read More

Years ago, hunting caribou on Adak Island was 'walk-in' only. A friend of mine who works for Alaska Airlines 'buddy passed' (free flight) me to go hunt caribou with he and his brother. We had no idea what we were getting into, but fortunately met a man from Adak on the flight out who let us sleep out of the incessant wind and rain in his apartment. The hunting was extremely tough. I shot two bulls...  Read More

My dad used to say, "I've never been lost, but once I was bewildered for 4 days." I was born with an amazing internal compass. I somehow intuitively know what direction I'm walking, and no matter how much I wander I can turn around and point toward my starting place. But last year, in the middle of the forest, my destination was not where I thought it would be. I expected to come out in a clearing...  Read More

I've never been passionate about ice fishing. This is because I froze my toes to the point of tears every time I ever went as a child and never once to my memory did we catch a fish. I might enjoy it more nowadays, because I see these beautiful shelters with satellite dishes out on the ice. In fact, some are actual campers. I could see myself watching a football game and cheering for my favorite t...  Read More

The temperature was −32° and getting warmer. I called my buddies and said, "Let's go." We had agreed upon −30° as our 'cut off' for whether or not to go ptarmigan hunting on our snowshoes. As crazy as it sounds, we had learned through trial-and-error in the severe cold that we were able to hold our shotguns with bare hands at that temperature. Not right out of the truck, of course, but after pilin...  Read More

Yesterday in Alaska and around the world, thousands of men, women and children had their first true taste of the resurrection of Christ. What I mean is, for the first time in their lives they heard and responded to a clear presentation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul, formerly an enemy and persecutor of Christians, said, "I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the POWER of God u...  Read More

He is risen! The man who told us he was with God before our world began. The man who told us that he and God the Father are 'one.' The Miracle Worker who taught like no one ever taught before and loved us like no one ever loved us before. The one they crucified and sealed in a tomb. The one who said he came to SAVE us. HE is risen! This earth-shaking news spread quickly throughout the Middle East ...  Read More

For those who had been WITH Jesus, the Saturday that he lay in the tomb was the darkest day of their lives. By 'with' I mean that their HEARTS were with him, their LIVES were SURRENDERED to him, their FAITH was RESTING in him. For THOSE people this was a dark day. Why were they confused? Why, after Jesus had told them that he must die and rise on the 3rd day, did they not see what you and I can se...  Read More

GOOD Friday. A day of weeping as the Savior was taken from us.Matthew 9:14-16 says, "Then John's disciples came and asked him, "How is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?" Jesus answered, "How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them- then they will fast."One of the beautiful, w...  Read More

To RESOLVE- to have fierce determination- this is what is needed in the Christian life. You must RESOLVE to get up early enough in the morning to have quality time with the Lord. You must RESOLVE to keep a prayer journal with all of your friends, loved ones, leaders and their needs. You must RESOLVE to be kind, generous and encouraging. You must RESOLVE to maintain a healthy diet and exercise. Fro...  Read More

My biggest problem in life has always been ME. SELF. Pitiful, but true. SELF-denial is something I was never naturally good at. I began at a very early age to work hard and save money, but the goal of both was still so that I might buy things for mySELF. But then I'm not the only one, am I? Selfishness is a part of our fallen human nature. Let's call it what it is- SIN. This is why Jesus said, "If...  Read More

Jesus said, "WHEN you pray..." and then told us how we should position our hearts for prayer. He also said, "WHEN you fast..." In the same way that Jesus expected his followers to pray, He also EXPECTED us to fast. Like prayer and reading your Bible, fasting is a spiritual discipline that will strengthen your daily life. Through fasting bad habits that have become strongholds can be broken. This i...  Read More

In Matthew 6:16-18 Jesus said, "When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father who is unseen. And your Father, who se...  Read More

When I am by myself, I often do NOT do good things (or healthy things) that I would ABSOLUTELY do with someone else. The first place that I ever served in ministry as a new Christian was as 'game leader' for a high school youth group. I only agreed to serve because others were doing it with me. This was also true of the first time I attended a Bible study, the first time I attended a Sunday night ...  Read More

Men, in general, are more reserved when it comes to singing out loud in front of other people. In worship, this can cause us to become more SELF- conscious than we are GOD- conscious. But don't imagine it's because Christian men won't worship. We love it when ours is one of many voices that become ONE voice. This is what happens when you fill a room with godly men... or godly women... or Christ fo...  Read More

One thing about our incessantly difficult weather is that most of us TREASURE a beautiful day. I spent 5 hours with two friends this week drinking in the sunshine. From our 0° start to the day, the temperature by mid-afternoon had risen more than 20 degrees. The trail in was both difficult and unpleasant, but we eventually broke into open country with deep powder. We prayed together and openly tha...  Read More

A week ago I climbed an inactive volcano named 'Koko Head.' During WWII they actually lay rail tracks up the vertical slope and put defense bunkers on top. To get to the top, you must climb what seems like thousands of railroad ties one step at a time. Some things in life can only be accomplished that way. If you want to be a nurse, you must first graduate from high school or get your GED. Then yo...  Read More