Where moth and rust destroy...and earthly items don't last

Vehicle problems or maintenance have been very abundant in my life lately...not only personally, but also for the campground, so consequently I find myself overwhelmed and mildly frustrated.  I am thinking a horse sounds pretty good...maybe even a bike...but unfortunately I have heard horses are high maintenance and moody and a bike leaves nasty skid marks.
What I have been reminded of is that we should not put our trust in material things and find ourselves captivated and addicted to the material world.  Every time something I value gets destroyed, vandalized or otherwise de-valued in some way, I find myself once again reminded of these truths.
This has been driven home with the transportation in my life over the past couple months.  If it is not one thing, it will  be another, and it is never ending.  My hair is getting grayer and less abundant by the minute...and my sleep is being disrupted.
A couple months ago, the boys were on their way home from school and one of the hundreds of deer that regularly hog the road, caught Caleb by surprise and left its mark (literally) on our "new-to-us" Honda Civic.  I had not even had time to think about getting comprehensive insurance on this vehicle, since we had only owned it a few weeks and I had called very quick to get the PLPD coverage.  So...I had to fix this one without the help of insurance, and most of the work was done myself...(with a little help from a local body shop...and Rene' even pitched in one night when we were tearing it apart).

Just this past weekend, the Malibu found its way into a ditch, along slippery roads, as Emily was on her way to babysit one evening.  Fortunately, insurance will cover this one...but it is totaled, so now we have to find another vehicle.  The bad news on this vehicle is that I had just got it "up to snuff".  Had it in the shop to repair a couple issues I could not deal with and I had gone through and fixed a few minor items and performed regular maintenance just a couple weeks prior to the accident.  But, moth and rust, with a little help from us...are destroying.
The good news:  In neither case were any of my children harmed at all.  OK...Emily did have a slight bruise and Zack still sees deer flying past him on a regular basis (but his drooling and twitch are getting much less pronounced).  Seriously though, I thank God for His protection on my family that occurs regularly as they commute 30-40 miles daily, back and forth...but especially for the protection that occurred with these two accidents.
Here is the lesson to be learned, and of course I am preaching to myself here, to once again get this into my brain:  In Matthew 6: 19-21, Jesus tells us that the treasures we accumulate on earth are susceptible to moths and rust, but the treasure we store in heaven is safe. He also notes that where we store our treasure is where we store our heart.  So, how do we go about storing up treasures in heaven?  Making deposits in people, loving and caring for people, being more concerned about people and their future in heaven...than stuff.

Don't Let Jesus Get Lost in the Shuffle

So...just what is this, you might ask?  Let me tell you the story, and how it ended up causing some thought and ultimately "preached".
This little piece of wood was found in a box of Christmas lights as we were putting up our Christmas tree.
Rene' pulled it out of the box and laid it up on the table and I ask, "What is that?"
She responded, "That's Jesus...that got lost in the shuffle."  I immediately knew what she was talking about, and we just both looked at each other quickly, because of what she had just said, and we both knew that what she had said....would "preach"...in a round about way...and after we had time to think about the significance of what she had said, but had actually meant in another way.  If you didn't quite understand all that..well, I am not sure I did either...so I will continue.
This is actually a little carved piece of wood that was part of a nativity scene.  This particular piece of wood is the "Baby Jesus", that was laid in the manger of the scene.  In the shuffle of a Christmas past, this piece had gotten lost and ended up in the box with the string of lights, after somehow being removed and lost from the manger where it should have been.
So, why does this preach?    I am sure you also have already figured it all out and already got the point...but for the sake of those who may have not....here are the thoughts that came oozing through the gray matter, all at once, as Rene' spoke those words which carried a lot more suggested meaning than one might at first think...and maybe only after really thinking about the hidden message that might be for all of us to consider at this time of the year once again.
So, before I try and explain the thoughts that immediately raced through my mind when Rene' said those words, let me begin by asking a question.  Why is this time of year so dog-gone stressful and hectic?  I don't really understand why we have allowed it to become the crazy, fast-paced, shopping frenzy, party-packed time of year where winter and snow and presents and food and lights and stores and traffic and rushing and hustling and bustling and parties and programs and mailings and travelling and tinsel and holly and whole lot of other things that on their own are not particularly bad in and of themselves, but when all thrown together in a one-month period of time...end up spelling Christmas as we have come to know it.  I don't know about you, but every year I end up feeling guilty about what Christmas has become.  Not all of it...but most of it.   And I often wonder how God feels about it all.  And I often feel like I am a Scrooge for feeling this way...so I try and justify some of the better parts of it all...and then I come back around and enjoy parts of it...while down deep inside I still feel like we have just got parts of Christmas all wrong.
And how does all this relate to a piece of wood found in a light box?  When Rene' said, "that's Jesus...that got lost in the shuffle"...all of these thoughts and more raced through my head in a split-second and they all came rushing down at me instantly saying,  I am guilty of losing Jesus in the shuffle...and I don't like it.
I believe there are a whole lot of very good things about Christmas, things that Jesus would be pleased in, and  might do Himself, if He were here now.   I think we should "intentionally"  be about "those things" and make them the priorities of the season.  What are they?  I believe we probably all know what they are...and could list them.  So let's do it!  And then let's do those things...and not let Jesus get lost in the Christmas shuffle.

EGD

Gotta thank my awesome daughter Emily for going with me to my 2nd EGD!   Oh the fun and excitement of medical procedures!   Also, a big thanks to Em for snapping such an awesome picture of me that I will cherish for years to come!  (Truth be known, I do not mind this procedure at all...in fact, I kinda like going into and coming out of the anesthesia...except for knowing you were photographed in the midst of it...although, it could have been a lot worse).  And, here is the best part.   I did not find out until later that same night, as Emily was telling the story, that the doctor and the nurse both came in while I was "still very loopy", after the procedure, and I was acting very out of it and responding to things they said or did in peculiar ways...and she says I ask her multiple times if she got her homework done (which she had been doing in the lobby while she was waiting).  Needless to say, I don't remember any of it.  All I remember is walking out of the building and getting into our car to leave...the rest is not part of my memory....except for the stories Emily told me.

Pre-Christmas 2011

 

 Cousins involved in the Living Nativity at Somerset Beach Campground.  They had a lot of fun putting some real drama into the program this particular evening.

Here are a couple pics of our trip to Arend Tree Farm in Brooklyn, MI...after we spent a little time finding a tree.  A fun tradition...and we were especially happy to have Emily with us again this year.

Thanksgiving 2011

This was our year to head to Greenville and be with my side of the family for Thanksgiving.  CK, my sis was already there a day early, since Kayce, her daughter, is a freshman at GC this year, and she got there ASAP to be with her.  We all rendezvoused at one of our favorite places in Greenville, Mario's Pizza.   If you have never been to Mario's Pizza in Greenville, then you need to go if you ever get to Greenville.  It is traditional italian family recipe pizza, straight from Sicily...and it is not just put on a conveyor belt and sent through an oven.   It is oven cooked in a large oven where we have watched them move the pizza's around and "tend" them and pat and poke them, etc...which we believe must have something to do with why their pizza is so good.
Nevertheless, we also have "traditional" activities when we Smith's and Oglesby's get together...including, the playing of "Scum" (a card game where we get to, or have to wear funny hats if we are the "King" "Queen" or "Scum" for that particular round) (and we have started taking pictures of each trio of hatted individuals...especially since facebook became so popular in our family.
We also tuned-in to the Thanksgiving Day Macy's Parade, watched UofM Football defeat Ohio State (GO BLUE!!!), took in a movie together (this year we saw the new Muppit Movie), had an awesome Thanksgiving Day Dinner (Thanks Mom for all your hard work in making it special for us again!!!), raked the leaves for Mom and Dad, and spent the rest of the time relaxing!  Oh, I did get to do a couple fix-it jobs for Mom and Dad, but mainly just helped them figure out they needed a new VCR/DVD player...and then hooked it up for them.
My nephew, Benton, being the working man that he is...was with us for less than 24 hours, as he had to come late...and leave early to get back to work Black Friday.  (Gotta love it...) (Actually, you won't get me anywhere near anything having to do with Black Friday...and if you know me...you know I am serious!) Anyway, a big thanks to Benton for going out of his way to be with us for the short amount of time he was able!   It was great to see him!
All in all, our time together was short...but sweet.  Love being with my family...and we had a fun time together!

Deer Season - 2011

October and November are deer season in this neck of the woods...although October came and went without a whole lot of anything, other than gearing up and the desire to be in the woods.   Activity around the campground and mild weather kept life pretty busy in the real world...and hunting kinda took the back seat.
November 15 is of course, opening day of firearm season here in Michigan, is not just a day to hunt...but is even more than that...a family tradition for all of us to hunt together at my father-in-law's 50 acres.  And the night before is a traditional get-together of craziness and fun where we all get in the deer hunting mood by watching "Escanaba in da Moonlight" together...and being just downright crazy.  It is not just fun...it is tradition!  We all spend the night and then get up early on opening day to my mother-in-law even making us breakfast...which I am so thankful for...because she has to get up around 3:30 or 4:00 or so to do this.  (Mom, you are amazing...and we are blessed!)  Anyway, the buck pole had some "ven" hanging in it this day, thanks to my brother-in-law, Matt, who kept life interesting by making family history and getting 2 bucks in the same opening day.  (see pics below).  It was great!  The rest of us produced no deer...but were able to still have fun vicariously with Matt's success.  (wow...bet you didn't know I knew that word...did ya?)

 A few days later, Caleb got an interesting 3-point buck...with the help of Emily and I.  I guess if you are here and reading this blog...you don't mind hearing the story...right?  Well...here it is if you are interested.  You may want to get a cup of coffee or something cuz I like to give all the details, so one of these days when this story is getting a little foggy, I can sit down and re-live it...along with several others like it I have taken the time to write out over the past couple decades of hunting.

Caleb, Emily, Zack and I all got up on Saturday morning, Nov. 19 to hunt the first Saturday of the firearm season together.  After a quiet first hour or so on the stand, I got a text from Caleb asking for help in tracking a buck he had shot.  I had heard some shooting in the area, but none sounded close enough to be Caleb.  Nevertheless, I got down from my stand...since I had spooked most all the deer in the area getting into my stand about an hour earlier anyway, and headed Caleb's direction to help with the tracking (by the way, Caleb is color blind and cannot see a blood trail...which is extremely sad for an avid hunter like himself...but it keeps him needing me...which makes me feel good and lets me in on the fun too).  Anyway, on my way over to where Caleb was hunting, I kicked up a pretty good size buck and saw him running in the direction of where Zack and Emily were sitting.  Keep that in mind...because I will come back to this big buck in a little while...since I needed to get over and help Caleb track the buck he had shot.
I came back by the house on my way to Caleb's stand, and Emily had already come in from hunting...and she said she was going with me to help track the buck Caleb had shot.   So Em and I headed that way.  When we got there, Caleb showed us where the buck was when he took the shot and which way he had run...and there was no sign of blood in any of those areas...even after 15 to 20 minutes of looking.  Caleb was sure he hit it, but thought he saw signs of his shot hitting further back on the deer towards the hind quarter...and he saw the deer limping as it ran away.   As most of you reading this will know...this is not a good sign.  If you don't have a blood trail and the deer is only wounded, and not in the vitals...well, you don't have much of a chance of finding your deer..unless, you get real lucky and stumble upon it after it has had time to lay down and possibly lose enough blood to die...or you come up with a plan.  I actually believe it was a God-sent plan...because I didn't really even think about it...it just kinda came out of my mouth as an instant plan...so I can't really take the credit.  Anyway, after finding zero blood and looking around the area... which I just happen to know quite well, after 22 years of hunting these woods...I told Caleb he needed to make a very wide circle around these woods to a certain point on a trail on the far side of the woods where he could see up one trail and down another and possibly get a shot at his wounded deer we would try to drive to him as Emily and I slowly made our way towards where Caleb was going to be.
Emily and I continued to look for any signs of blood we may have missed while we gave Caleb enough time to get around to the far side of the woods I had told him about.  When he got there and neither Emily or I had found any signs of blood or even signs of the deer stumbling through the woods...we began our drive in the direction the deer had gone and also the direction of where we believed he would lay down next if he were wounded.  This was a spot I had found deer bedded often and a couple of times in similar situations to this one where I was following a blood trail to some thicker cover where the deer had stopped.  About the same time Emily and I got to this thicker area of the woods I looked down the hill and saw Caleb sprinting down the trail I had sent him to.  He was running full bore on up ahead in the direction we were heading and supposed the deer to be heading.  I turned to Em and said, "I'll bet Caleb is chasing that deer we probably just kicked up."   About the same time I said it, we heard a single shotgun blast.  A few seconds later, we heard Caleb yelling for us.  It worked.  Caleb had seen the buck about the same time he had seen us, out ahead of us a little bit, running through woods.  When we had seen Caleb sprinting up the trail he was trying to get out ahead of the deer so he could take a shot as it came running by him.  As luck would have it...the buck ran within 20 yards of him and even stopped.  When it stopped though, it stopped with a tree between them.  Caleb even took a step to one side so he could get a shot off and the buck did not run.  Caleb made a good shot...and then yelled for Emily and I and the celebration began.  A couple pictures taken with Caleb and the deer and then Emily and Caleb and the deer and then dragging the deer back onto our property (since it had run off of camp property and onto the adjoining golf course property)...and all that was left was the gutting...but that would have to wait.
Sorry, I am not done yet...remember, there is still another nice buck in the woods and headed towards Zack, who is still on his stand.
Just as soon as Caleb and I drug his deer back into the woods of our property, Emily and I high-tailed it back towards the part of the property where I had seen this nice buck disappear into the woods.  We had Caleb take a different route through the woods just in case the buck had veered off  the course towards Zack, and then Caleb might be able to drive him back Zack's way.  Emily and I split up once we arrived to the point I had last seen the buck head into the woods, and I was reminded of his size when I saw his hoof print in the open dirt of the road where he had crossed.  He was indeed a nice size buck and was worth a little effort on our part to see if we could get him to head towards Zack.  I headed straight into the thick cover of the woods where he had run and I sent Em on around to the opposite side where there was a trail part of the way and then some open woods she could walk through towards where we would eventually meet up close to Zack's stand.  There were deer in this part of the woods alright, and Emily let me know that 4 doe had run between her and I...but no buck.  There was still hope.  I kept pushing into the thicker cover...until my phone vibrated. Caleb had received a call from Zack telling him that a beautiful...or rather "majestic" 10-point had just run past his stand at warp speed...with a doe out in front of him.  Zack said there was no way he could have got a shot off...and in hind sight we are all glad he did not even attempt to shoot a big mature buck on the run anyway, with the chance of a wounding shot being so great.  Zack told us which way he had run and we made an attempt to try and drive him back, but I am thinking he probably didn't stop running til he hit the corn fields that were just beyond our swamp.  We all met up at Zack's stand and heard how awesome this buck had been and how close he had come and how fast he was running.  We all had some mixed feelings.  The drive itself had been fun.  It had brought some excitement our way, even if it was mixed with some regret of not being able to bag this big buck.  Another "big one that got away" story to tell.
I told Zack later in the day that I have several similar images etched in my memory of the same type of bucks that I have encountered over the years...that were also big ones I had a close encounter with that got away, and I let him know that he will be replaying that scene in his memory for quite a few years to come.
All in all, it was a great day...one I will remember for a long time...and always be thankful for being able to enjoy with my kids.

Never liked keeping a diary...

I have realized this blog has become more of a diary format than what a blog typically is or should be these days...and I know from way back...that I am not a "diary-type-of person"...so, also being the perfectionist type of person I am .... I am officially giving myself permission to change to a "random" format and have entries that not only pertain to life happenings...but also thought processes as well (so we know there will be a whole lot less entries, if it has to do with thought processing!) (Did I just dog myself?....I think so...)