Blessed in Libby

We were in Libby Montana last week for the Nordic Fest Show and it was a great weekend. After we set up our booth, we went out to our Amish friends for dinner. Roy makes the best hickory rockers that you can find. I was able to visit his shop to see how they are made with a labor of love.


On Friday a couple from Creston, British Columbia stopped by and before they left we had some new friends up north. They are great Christians praying for revival in their area. We look forward to seeing them again.

Later a white haired gentleman, named Richard Lang, came to the booth raised his hands and said God would bless our work and make it successful. He also had a prophesy for me that was the same as Pastor Tracey Armstrong prophesied to me two weeks earlier. That got my attention! Richard also had one for Ardella. Over the next three days we visited with Richard and were very encouraged by his words. Ardella is working with a prayer team to transform Sandpoint for Christ and Richard is for Libby. We have common ground across state lines and in British Columbia. The Lord is working!

We stayed at our friends, Trent and Peggy who have a beautiful home on the Kootenai River. One morning as we enjoyed a cup of coffee, a bald eagle flew up and perched in a tree on a small island. A person could spend all day on their deck and enjoy the river and beautiful scenery.

We said our goodbyes to everyone Sunday afternoon and headed home feeling very blessed. Richard was right; we had the best show in the four years at Libby as we had very little to load in the van. Selling the carvings was nice but the new friends we have made the weekend priceless.

Remove the Training Wheels

Our granddaughter, Hannah, recently announced that the bicycle we had for her when she stays here was too small. Grandma and Aunt Connie found one at a yard sale and Lizzie claimed it so Hannah gladly took the pink bike that Lizzie had been riding. Hannah’s old bike had training wheels and the one Lizzie had been riding didn’t so this presented a challenge to the little girl.


As the family gathered here on Sunday, the girls wanted to ride their bikes. Uncle Thane went out with them and it wasn’t long before Hannah burst into the house with a proud smile that she could ride without training wheels. Everyone ran out to watch Hannah ride with confidence. She has discovered a whole new freedom in her life.

Christians are often reluctant to get rid of our training wheels. Jesus tells us to raise up disciples, pray for the sick, and help those in need. Just going to church twice a month isn’t enough. Jesus wants us twenty four seven and that is a challenge to most people. It is easy to hide behind the pastor and let him help us along.

God expects us to use the gifts He gave us to serve Him. So if you are still peddling around with training wheels, it is time to remove them and find the freedom in Christ that will propel you to new levels.

Anticipation

The seasons are changing and I am anticipating spending time in the woods pursuing elk and deer with my bow. I am looking forward to the quiet time among the trees as I listen for the grunt and bugles of bull elk. My practice groups at thirty yards are good and now I need to fill my pack with only those items needed to be in the woods after dark and pack out an elk. Extra flashlights, game bags, sharp skinning knives, water, and some food will fill my pack. A big can of bear repellent is necessary since I don’t carry a hand gun as there are grizzlies around. It is always important to carry everything I need to spend a night alone in the woods.




I like the bow season and being alone in the woods as it provides me time to talk to

God and listen to what He wants to tell me. We need to slow life down and listen for his voice; Jesus did and it worked for him. Have you ever noticed that God sent men into the wilderness to teach them? I feel God calling me to use the wilderness to teach men his principles and truths. There is a lodge just west of Sandpoint in a forest setting that God keeps in my mind for his work. I need to get off my procrastinating and develop a plan to teach men in the wild. So this bow season, God will be revealing to me just how that should look.



We all need to take some quiet time and listen to what God wants each one of us to do to serve Him

Forty Five Years

Ardella and I celebrated forty five years of marriage yesterday. It doesn’t seem that we have been married that long. Marriage is about teamwork and some give and take. I have learned a few things like not suggesting a shortcut when we are hunting in the mountains. I also learned a number of years ago to not buy your wife a chainsaw for an anniversary present. I was redeemed when I took her to Alaska for our thirtieth anniversary.


So by now you are probably wondering what we did on our special day. We went up to the woods and I pulled out logs with my tractor for firewood. That’s romantic isn’t it! The evening before, we went out to our favorite restaurant. We came home after wood getting and cleaned up and went to dinner at our friends Ken and Dee. Today we had dinner at Connie and Thane with the rest of the family and then everyone watched Thane drive a race car at the track in Post Falls.

I’m fortunate that Ardella likes the outdoors as much as I do. It helps to marry someone with similar interests. See, I’m smarter then you thought.

When Tragedy Strikes

Tuesday morning I turned on Fox news and saw that a plane had crashed north of Dillingham, Alaska. That is where I flew out of during the five years I was a hunting guide so my anxiety level shot up and I knew I wouldn’t be okay until more information came forth. I know the pilot and his wife from one of the flying services and the outfitter that I worked for is still operating both fishing and hunting camps in the Wood River Park. While I was there I got to know other outfitters and guides so the news really hit home. I said a prayer for the people as they indicated there might be survivors. About two hours later I found out the type of the plane and thought it probably didn’t belong to anyone I knew. That didn’t end the twisted feeling in my stomach because someone was out there in the wilds in need of help.


Alaska’s weather is very unforgiving and can change in minutes. I found out that it isn’t the brown bear that is the most dangerous thing in Alaska, it is the weather. I have seen storms rip tents to shreds, pick up a boat with a motor and toss it one hundred feet. Alaskan storms can last for days and stop everything from moving. An Alaskan storm can definitely improve one’s prayer life. The storms were often devastating on some men’s morale but I looked at them as an adventure and realized the power God can unleash in nature.

It is hard for us to understand why tragedy happens. It helps me to go back to the Garden with Adam and Eve when the serpent entered the picture. Until that time everything was at peace and God walked the earth and sought a close relationship with them. Sin caused separation and chaos. Jesus Christ came to bridge that separation between us and God but we are never fully immune from tragedy. We are required to walk by faith no matter what happens.

It is important that we pray for people that experience a loss of someone and ask that they will seek comfort from God. My prayers go out to the families in that plane crash and may they find the peace that only comes from God.

Random Thoughts

I haven’t written for a while as life has been extremely full. For those of you wondering how our horse Spud is doing, I’m happy to say he is walking much better. Spud is still on a diet to lose about one hundred pounds. He is on a high vitamin and mineral supplement that seems to be helping his hooves.


I have been busy carving birds and trout for the art show at our city beach today and tomorrow. Over one hundred vendors will be there and usually a large crowd shows up and our weather is forecast to be great. We no longer have a website, instead Ardella created a blog site which we can have for free and she can change easy. The new site is woodnwings.blogspot.com.

Ardella is on her way to Iowa with our daughter Connie to visit relatives. They are already missing the mountains.

Yesterday I turned sixty five and thought back to simpler times. I remember when:

Gasoline cost twenty nine cents a gallon. A handshake was a good as a written contract. All stores were closed on Sunday. When I looked under the hood of my car I knew what everything was. Our country honored God. Prayer was allowed in schools. Fountain sodas at the corner drug store were five cents. Doctors made house calls. A milkman delivered milk to the door.

We need to pray for our neighbors, town, country and people in this world that don’t know Jesus. These are dangerous times but we can have faith that God is in control. The Apostle Paul always had complete confidence in God even in the darkest prison. Paul could see the victory no matter what happened to him. We need to ask God for the same confidence in our lives. Have a great week in Jesus Christ.

Testing Our Faith

This has been one of those weeks that seemed to be a month long. As I wrote a while back, our horse Spud has been battling founder or sometimes called laminitis for quite some time. He has slowly been getting more lame. Dr. Bob came out and took x-rays and called that they didn’t look good and Spud might have to be put down. This has been a week of tears and restless nights thinking how much the little horse has captured our hearts in a year. Bob recommended that we call Jim Walker, a farrier, and have him look at Spud.




We were torn between losing Spud and being greedy keeping him alive but in extreme pain. Jim showed up this afternoon and said he could trim Spud’s hooves to shift the weight and make him walk better. So I held onto Spud as Jim worked on the hooves. Spud was very good and soon started nibbling on my belt loops and anything else he could find. As soon as Jim finished, I let Spud go and he reached over and gave Jim a kiss. Spud is walking much better and is on a strict diet to lose one hundred pounds fast. This will take stress off his hooves. I hope he likes the diet as much as he enjoyed the trimming.



Was I stressed this week? OH YA! I felt deep down that the condition with Spud was really an attack from Satan since he knew this was a way to shake my world. I had a few talks with God, especially this morning as I worked on a landscape project in town. I desperately wanted to turn the whole night mare over to God but found it hard to completely let go of it. I know God cares about everything in our lives even Spud. I also know that my God is all powerful. Peter said the devil goes around like a roaring lion devouring everything in his path. As Christians, we have the blood of Jesus to protect us from the lion as He defeated the devil on the cross. “The battle is mine” says the Lord.



God also sent two wonderful people in our lives. Our friends, Ken and Dee came over at noon to be here when Jim arrived. Their concern and feelings were a blessing. I can never thank them enough for what they did. They even brought a get well card from their mule, Blanch for Spud. What about those friends