Men of the Outdoors

  This Devotion was written by Sportsmen Devotional and posted with permission Bible Study Verse: I Timothy 4:8  For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. (NIV) Thoughts: This summer and early fall, my son and I have worked diligently together to get our new hunting property up and ready to go. We have cut trails, put up portable tree stands, built permanent ground blinds, put in food plots, developed a spot for us to camp at, and have been scouting together recently. We have prepared well for this upcoming season. We have rolled up our sleeves side-by-side to accomplish our goal of giving ourselves the opportunity to be successful white-tail hunting. My son is learning the value of hard work . . . he is not getting this hunting opportunity without sweat on his brow! Action Point:  Preparation. Preparation. Preparation. This is what we have spent a good portion of our la...

This Devotion was written by Sportsmen Devotional and posted with permission Bible Study Verse: John 5:22 “...the Father judges no one, but has appointed all judgement to the Son.”  Thoughts: This past weekend, I had a chance to go to Canada to do some perch fishing through the ice. Man, did we have a great time and were the fish ever hitting - 390 fish in three days to sort through! But what we learned from our outfitter was that almost all the perch we were going to catch were females getting ready to spawn. So with hearing that, I was curious as to what percent of the fish we took home were actually females. I ended up bringing home 79 perch, so as I was filleting them, I kept track of how many were females. As I opened them up, I kept finding one sack of eggs after another. At the end of my cleaning, 79 out of 79 were females. Pretty amazing!  Action Point: I thought that was fascinating, but you know how I found that out? I opened them up to see what was inside. Someday,...

This Devotion was written by Sportsmen Devotional and posted with permission Bible Study Verse: I Peter 5:8  Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. (NIV) Thoughts: While I was hunting deer recently, a large black bear approached me. When he was still about 40 yds away, I leaned my muzzleloader against a tree and dug my camera out of my pack.  When about 12 ft. from me, he began to circle, getting inside of 8 ft. At that point, I realized that I had moved several steps away from my gun. If he had wanted to attack, I would have been in trouble. I tried to scare him off, but he wasn't about to leave. Throwing sticks at him, shouting, suddenly raising my arms and trying to look as large and as intimidating as possible seemed to make him more interested.  He studied me for almost five minutes. He had no fear; and I'm sure I could have moved closer--even close enough to touch him. Bear experts say that w...

 There will be a BWCA planning meeting held on Wednesday, May 20th at 7pm at Emanuel Lutheran Church.  This year there will be two trip to the BWCA; July 26 - Aug 1 and Aug 24 - 29.   If you are interesting in learning more about these trips or would like to go on one please join us for the meeting.  If you are not able to join us in person you can join through a Google Meet or contact Chris Doran 920-538-2739 for more information.   

This Devotion was written by Sportsmen Devotional and posted with permission Bible Study Verse: Psalms 51:10-13  Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you. (NIV) Thoughts: I'm not a great fly tier, but I do enjoy making flies and then catching fish with something I created. The bigger the fly pattern the better for me, I can use a bigger hook and have more material to work with. I like making dragonfly nymphs. They are fairly large and very productive when it comes to fishing. What fish won't eat a dragonfly nymph? I have been successful using them on trout, bass, pan fish, and even bullheads. The life cycle of a dragonfly is very interesting. They go from aquatic to terrestrial, not unlike a lot of other insects. Once ...

This Devotion was written by Sportsmen Devotional and posted with permission. Bible Study Verse: Colossians 4:2   Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving. (NASB) Thoughts: How many things do we actually devote ourselves to? We have many interests, but we are not devoted to most of them. However, I do not know an outdoorsman who is not devoted to his/her outdoor interest - be it hunting, fishing, hiking, camping, four-wheeling, etc. Devotion to an outdoor activity is, after all, what makes one an outdoorsman in the first place. And, there is nothing wrong with being devoted, even passionately, to it, as long as it does not take precedence over more important areas of devotion . . . like prayer.  Action Point: Prayer is key in our relationship with the Lord. It accentuates our devotion to Him and His purposes. It keeps our minds alert to His leading and direction. It gives us greater awareness of His presence and His care for us. F...