Hunter's Dinner and Fellowship

I have  been doing a lot of peeling lately. Every fall, I can expect to go out to my car after worship and find gifts of bags of apples. I make apple pies, baked apples, apple bars, and applesauce out of them. I usually share the applesauce as Christmas presents. It gives me a good excuse to stop and visit people who I normally would not and who are not members of my congregation.

This morning, members of my congregation and I am sure some visitors will be gathering together to peel potatoes and rutabagas. We are preparing for our annual Hunter's Dinner which is tomorrow. I am looking forward to spending this time sitting around buckets of veggies and just communicating with others that I don't usually get to spend too much time with. Tomorrow is the eve of the first day of the Yooper Holiday known as deer season. We will celebrate that event as we gather together in fellowship over a meal in the church basement with visitors from near and far that we have not seen since the last hunting season. We will share many stories. But, most importantly we will give thanks for all our friends who return annually to our community and take the time to come and fellowship with us.

We give thanks to God for all of His children and the opportunity to know and love them.

God's Peace - Pr. J

P.S. The only hunting I do is with a camera or at the Hunter's Dinner. That would kind of be like fishing for people. Fellowship while peeling potatoes or at a community dinner is an awesome way to share you lover for Jesus and his love for all people.

Hosea 7 - Hunting Season - Yooper Holy Days

I spent Monday evening at my husband's hunting camp. He is preparing for the Yoopers' (a person who lives in or is from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan) grand holy days - that is deer hunting -firearm season. People come from all over to celebrate those last two weeks of November. I find the whole season quite confounding. Men, women and children miss worship services as they are sitting in their blinds and you cannot even begin to imagine how full our taverns get after the sun sets! Lots of drinking and carousing going on... Just a warning: Drinking or drugging and hunting do not make good companions. Stuff happens - bad stuff happens - when sites are not set on the Kingdom of God.

Right now, it is bow season. Not so many participate in this sport.

"They do not turn to the Most High;    they are like a faulty bow." (Hosea 7:16 NIV)

Like a faulty bow that cannot hit a target, so too are all those who refuse to keep their eyes on the goal of the Kingdom. A warped bow is almost impossible to use and one whose faith is skewed will struggle mightily in their journey through the wilderness. Like a bent arrow, we might be aiming for the target, but the slightest wind will cause us to stray.

May God help us all to keep our eyes the Most High and on the target He has given us, which is His Kingdom, through Jesus Christ, our LORD.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

P.S. Just a note to thank God for all of the hunter's who are from out of our area (seasonal residents)somehow manage to make it to Zion to worship during firearm season even while sometimes local members cannot manage it.