First day in the Penthouse

Today was the first day that I hunted my Penthouse stand. It's deer/turkey archery season in Tennessee. I took my bow and camera and was in the stand at 3:00 pm. About an hour later these 5 does came out. They left 30 minutes later and several more does showed up.


Then here comes a small buck. He was eating like he was trying to get fat. I have a "trail camera" set to take pictures of whatever moves in front of it. It hangs on one leg of the tree stand. I had my computer with me so I checked the pictures it has taken over the past week and several does and 2 bucks had their pictures taken. So I know that I have 3 different bucks using the area.


I hope to take many more deer pictures. If I take a buck with the bow he will have to be a big one. I would rather take pictures. I want to thank the Lord for blessing me with such a beautiful place to live.

Blessings,

Dwight

Gone Fishing

For a couple of months now I have been planning a week of fishing with my brother from Indiana. He will be coming down to Tennessee next week and I am taking a week of vacation and all we are going to do is fish, fish and then fish some more. We are both excited and can't wait. I have 4 more days to work and then I am off for 2 weeks. The hours at work are starting to drag by. I am worse than a kid at Christmas time.

The water is cooler now and Kentucky Lake has dropped to it's winter pool (about 5 feet lower than in the summer). We will have to change everything that we were doing in the Spring. The places that we caught tons of fish this Spring will be bare ground now. We are up for the challenge.

For years and years now I have been waiting for another event. The soon return of our Lord Jesus Christ to take us so we can be with Him forever. The waiting has been so hard but I know it will all be worth it on that Day.

I call my brother from time to time to be sure he is still coming. Each time he excitedly tells me that nothing will stop him. I believe he is more excited than I am. Well, from time to time I have to go back to the scriptures and read where Jesus says that He is still coming back. He promises us that He will and in alight's translation it says, "I wouldn't miss it for the world".

Come Lord Jesus!

alight

Save Me!

When I was about 17 years old a couple of friends and I were hanging out at Kentucky Lake. There is this island about 2 or 3 hundred yards from the bank. We decided to swim to the island and back. Well, off we go and about halfway across in about 20 feet of water one of my friends just stopped swimming. I was about 25 feet ahead of him and for some reason I looked back.

I went back to him and said for him to come on. He said that he couldn’t swim anymore. I told him that if he didn’t he would drown. He said, “I can swim anymore!” Guess what, he didn’t and started to sink. I told him to not fight me and I will help him to shore. I looked around and noticed that we were a little closer to the island than back to the shore so I flipped him over on his back and took him to the island.

I was not going to touch him if he was still kicking and flinging his arms. If I did he would have drown us both. Once he completely gave up I was able to save him. Hmm, which reminds me that God is the same way. God wants to save us from our sins but until we stop fighting with Him, He just waits. When we come to the point that we realize that we can’t save ourselves then God steps in and takes a hold of us and forgives us of our sins and breathes new life in us.

Blessings,

Dwight

Amost Persuaded

Acts 26:28 & 29 says, Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You almost persuade me to become a Christian.” And Paul said, “I would to God that not only you, but also all who hear me today, might become both almost and altogether such as I am, except for these chains.”

As I read these sad words I think of all the ones that I have witness to but did not except Christ as their Lord and Savior. Many times I have thought afterward that maybe I should have said different things or used different scriptures. I am not the type to pressure anyone or try to scare them with Hell (but I do mention it). Sometimes I wonder if I should use more pressure.

What I have decided is that I cannot persuade anyone to be saved. It is the Holy Spirit who must do the persuading for the salvation to be real. I am glad it is not my job to save people but just to tell the Good News.

Dwight

I'm getting too old for this!

This evening our running club went to race a local high school's cross country team. I have not raced in years but I was game. We met at the school and found out that they had a very nice course on campus that was 5-K (3.1 miles). Starting off you run down this small hill and then through some muddy flat land. Next you ran into the woods and the trail winded between trees and across ditches and creeks. Then you came out of the woods and up through thick grass with lots of 90 degree turns and lots of twist and turns.

I am use to running on roads and this was very different. I am just too old to take the jumps and sharp turns. I am writing this today before the soreness sets in. Tomorrow I might not want to talk about it. But today I was very happy with myself that I could hang in there with the young boys. I finished in a time of 22:02 and was 4th overall.

One day I will have to slow down when it comes to mission trips and soul winning. But that is not today! My prayer is that the Lord will allow me to keep up the pace and even someday let me retire and do missions full time.

Now I am going to find the Bengay and the heating pad.

Blessings,

Dwight

Who are you trusting in?

Yesterday I noticed that a banking stock that I owned stock in went "poof". The ticker symbol GFG was delisted because the bank failed. It was the second largest bank in the U. S. to fail this year. It operated 160 banking centers in Texas and California. Mainly financing houses in the California area was it's downfall. Too many 110% loans on houses that were not worth 60% will get you in trouble.

According to the FDIC that makes 82 bank failures this year in the U. S. Losing $17,000 was not the end of the world but it was a setback to my retirement. Oh well! There is a lot of things in this world that we cannot trust in completely. Thank you Jesus that You are trustworthy and will never fail us. You are always faithful even when we are not.

Blessings,

Dwight

The Penthouse

This afternoon I finally finished the Penthouse. The Penthouse is the name of what we call in Tennessee a fancy deer stand. It will be used mainly to photograph wildlife. Although I do hunt deer and turkeys most of the time I prefer taking pictures.


I built the Penthouse just like you would build a house. It has 3 insulated windows and a insulated door just like in my kitchen at home. The walls are insulated as well as the floor and ceiling. It gets cold in my part of the world during the winter and I plan on staying warm.


I will be heating with a propane heater. I will enjoy watching the blue flame that this heater uses to heat with.



OK, it can be very warm during September and October so I found this very quiet fan that I will be using. Oh, I forgot to mention the Penthouse has electricity. With lights I will be able to read and write and work on the computer. I made the curtains myself, took forever. As I was hanging the front curtains a wild turkey came walking out of the corn. When I hung the back curtains a doe and her fawn came walking in from the woods. The fawn had to be only 2 or 3 days old. It was so small.


I am standing on the porch taking this picture of the field that is planted in clover, wheat and other salad type things. All it needs is a little rain and it will be green in just a few days. The crop to the left is corn and soybeans. On both sides of the fields is clover and grass. Behind me is another field already planted in wheat and clover.

I look forward to spending many hours in the Penthouse reading my bible and maybe some blogging too. I will be taking some awesome pictures and will surely post some for you see. So come on back some time and see what I am up to.

Blessings,

Dwight

Can we talk snakes?

Of all the subjects to talk about in my blogs I never thought that I would talk about snakes. Well, I am a country boy who still lives in the country and we have snakes. Mainly I see black snakes and chicken snakes but from time to time I see poisonous rattlesnakes and copperheads.

As I was mowing the grass this evening after work (7:30 pm) I ran upon a very large copperhead crawling across the front yard. I saw it right before (oops!) I ran over it. The event happened so quickly that all I could do or think about was to raise my feet up as high as I could. I will save you from any further details except for the fact that there is one less copperhead in this world.

It is against the law to kill rattlesnakes and copperheads so don't ask me if I have ever done such a thing, especially on a regular bases. My wife is a pet sitter so the snakes are not welcome in our yard but every now and then one shows up. Most of the time I am the one who spots them and will always tell Dale about it so she will be careful when outside walking the dogs.

I am reminded of that ole serpent the devil (d-evil) how he comes around uninvited and can be so dangerous. Sometimes he announces his presences like a rattlesnake but most of the time he is quiet like a copperhead and you never know he is there until you are right on top of him. In both cases he is to be respected for his danger and harm that he can cause.

I was told one time that most snake bite occur when someone is trying to kill a snake and secondly when someone steps on a snake not seeing it. Either way you are bit. When Satan shows up and is making a lot of noise like a rattler then it is best to keep your distance and continue to move away. I suggest that you turn and face Jesus. It will be the opposite direction in which you see Satan I assure you.

The times when you are right on top of the ole serpent before you know it, well, be very careful or you will get bit. Cry out to the only One who can take care of the problem, again, Jesus. He will know what to do every time.

Now I will have to pray, sing praise songs and read some bible before going to sleep tonight or guess what I will be thinking about?

Blessings,

Dwight

I heard from a dear friend yesterday!

I was blessed yesterday by hearing from a dear friend. We are separated by the Atlantic Ocean and I truly thought that I would never hear from my friend again. I was smiling the whole time I read the email and while replying back. My wife noticed and asked me if I was having fun. I said that I was and told her what had happened.

To me Jesus is such a dear, dear friend and I also can't wait until I hear from Him again. Oh, I see His handy work everyday but one day I will see Him face to face. What a glorious day that will be! Come Lord Jesus!!

Today I start my 4 days of 12 hour shifts. I dread the long hours and by Wed. it will be going nuts but Thursday at 6:30 pm I will be off for 8 days. This wait for Jesus to come back is also long but the time and eternity we will be together will make the waiting worth it all.

Oh if God only wore a watch He could see that it has been a long time. As I try to look at it from God's point of view I see that He is waiting for that very last soul and for everything to take place that He said in His Word to take place. I know that all that He does is good and perfect and will come to pass.

Well, it is time to head out the door so here we go again. I will be watching the clock and the clouds.

Blessings,

Dwight

Rain, rain and more rain!

I don't know if July was the wettest July in history but I know it had to be close. For the past 2 years it stopped raining about the last week in May and didn't start back up until October and October is our driest month. Now today, the first day of August guess what? More rain.

I can't help but thank the Lord for the rain and all other blessings that we for sure have no control over. Rain, unlike some I love to see it rain. I like to sit on my porch and watch it come down. I even like to watch the thunder storm clouds come racing through. Now I am a golfer, fisherman and hunter (mostly picture taking these days) and even though rain keeps me at home I welcome the rain.

My many trips to dry parts of Africa also reminds me that rain is good. So when you hear about rain moving into Tennessee you can know for sure that there is one boy praising the Lord!

Blessings,

Dwight