Deer Camp #1: Can I Get A Witness?

I promised the deer camp post, but it got so long...I split it into two different posts.

So, late last week, Jim picked up Joshua from Therapeutic Recreation...and they headed down to The Lakehouse. That's where my in-laws live. They spent the night, and got up early the next day...and headed down to Loooooooozana. That's the Motherland for Jim's family.

Every fall, the men from Jim's family get together down at the old home place in Louisiana for a deer hunt. They have several hundred acres to hunt on and one small house where they all stay.

Can I just take a moment right here and say that I am SO thankful not to be involved in this trip.

The house sits abandoned most of the year, and it's just gross. NO hot water. Nasty furniture. But oh, how they love the memories.

There is minimal hunting that goes on. But there's LOTS of eatin'...talkin'...4-wheeler ridin' and exaggeratin' that goes on!

They had a big fish fry the first night, and that's always a hit. They always make a big fire outside, and sit around and "talk shoot." One year, Joshua took a picture of the fire with his phone, and sent it to me with this text: "You can see this fire from Heaven."

The thing about family...and extended family...is that not everyone is like you. Not everyone thinks like you, talks like you, acts like you...but they're FAMILY and you love them, even when you don't agree with their lifestyle.

So in the middle of all of THAT, one of Jim's great-uncles stood up at the campfire and said, "You know, we've been blessed with a good family, and I love coming here each year. But you know what? There's coming a day when we won't all be together...because ALL of us are getting older, and NONE of us are guaranteed tomorrow. The only way we will all get to be together forever is if we each know Jesus Christ as our personal Savior. If we acknowledge our sin and pray for His forgiveness and ask Him to come and live in our lives. Then, we will all be together forever with the Lord AND each other in Heaven."

Not gonna lie, I was so impressed with him, because isn't it easier to witness to a complete stranger than someone in your own family? Why is that? I think maybe it's because our family knows us. Like, KNOWS us. They've seen our bad days and our bad choices and the mistakes we've made. They see how we act at church and how we act at home. They know the reputation we have where we work...and they know the reputation we have at the ball field...or at the city counsel meetings...or at the deacons' meetings.

They KNOW.

And we know that they know. And we don't want them to think we are all fake...or that we are superior to them in any way...or that we are trying to tell them what to do or how to live when our own lives are less than perfect.

God bless this Uncle for having the gumption to stand up in front of everyone who knows him inside and out...and just lay it all out.

Walking the walk"...by the way..."

"You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise." Deuteronomy 6:7