Time To Think Can Be Hard To Find 9/30/2024

 Good Morning,

My Thermos bottle was filled with Door County Cherry Creme Coffee and in a few minutes I will be driving to one of my spots to duck hunt. 

James 1:19 So then, my beloved Brethren, Let every man be slow to speak and quick to listen.

 

This world runs at a rapid pace and I don't think anyone will disagree with me. We often run into situations that require an answer most rapidly. Critical decisions are rushed way too often. Now can you imagine a high pressure situation and everyone is looking to you for some type of answer, and then you ask for time to think it over or worse yet, you say this, "I need a day to pray about this." 

Can you imagine asking your girl friend to marry you and she says "I will let you know in a day or two if I will or I won't." Some of the biggest decisions of our lives never have time taken for us to pray and seek God for the answer. 

These are two situations that definitely need prayer before answering. 

In all things, if you can, take time to pray before giving an answer on anything. Too many regrets could have been avoided by waiting. Food for thought. 

Marty

First Comes First 9/29/2024

 Good Morning,

Once again my desk chair is way too comfortable and the Door County Bourbon Pecan Pie Coffee has me glued to the seat. eventually I will get moving this morning.

Matthew 6:33 But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you. 

The seasons change and I always look forward to the fall. Watching the changes to the leaves and seeing the gardens slowly going into rest mode has always been an attraction for me. Add some hunting to the mix and you have a recipe for happiness. 

I have some chores that need to be done and its hard to overlook the lawn that somehow came back to life. I could easily get caught up in the mystique of the fall, but I still have social responsibilities to take care of. For me, and always first is to maintain my relationship with God and continue serving Him while I partake in some hunting. To let my yard run amuck and not keeping up our property would show very little respect for our neighbors. I also need to and want to maintain family time. There is a wedding in our family coming up and I blocked out time to spend with my loved ones. Hunting can wait another week as it should. God, Family, And I am Third

There are things that others depend on me for and the last one I want to let down is God. Like anything else, when God becomes and option, He is really no option at all. If you walked into your church would they even know your name? Very often we become desensitized to the fact that God should and always be first. Our hobbies or work become idols to us and it doesn't just happen during hunting season or golf season. It becomes a way of life. We run to the church for baptisms, weddings and funerals because we need them. But the rest of the year becomes a hit or miss attempt at feeling "churched" .

Yesterday I hunted with a man and we both agreed that the time and location for our hunt would work out perfectly for our ability to serve and attend at church. In addition we need to keep our social responsibilities. Our word to others is our word! Our vows to God must be kept. 

God bless, your day. 

Marty

 

Opening Day Of Duck Season.9/28/2024

 Good Morning,

My Thermos bottle is filled with Door County Old Fashioned Coffee and I am ready to babble on.

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. 

Friends in sheer transparency, I need for you to know that this was written last night and launched early this morning. Today is the opening day of duck hunting season. The ritual of getting up very early or sleeping in your boat overnight so as to be in the right spot in the morning has bitten me once more. I am meeting my very good friend at a boat launch in two hours. From there we travel to one of our spots that looks like it will produce a few ducks for us to shoot. 

We have accounted over and over all of our gear to make sure we aren't missing anything. My goal for this morning is to encourage all hunters to be safe in the field and on the water. No duck, deer, goose or pheasant is worth more than your life or the life of your hunting partner or your dog. Only shoot what you will eat,. To waste game just for the kill or the quest to shoot is totally wrong.

Make sure your ultimate goal is to make it home after the hunt. Remember this as well. There is no room for alcohol before the hunt or during the hunt. Make this the safest year ever and always make it a goal to make it home! Be sure to pray before the gun is loaded. 

Marty

Celebrating The Day We Said I Do 9/27/2024

 Good Morning,

I just poured a hot cup of Door County Wisconsin Harvest Blend Coffee and it is time to write. My prayers are with those living in Florida and a few other Southern states in the USA this morning as they are still battling with a hurricane and the subsequent damage. 

It makes my blog seem mean to be talking about a celebration, while others are hurting. A long long time ago, on this date my wife and I  walked down an aisle and proclaimed our love for one another in front of a full church. It is a day I will never forget, although some of the details are a little faded now. The one thing that I recall is the Scripture passage we chose to be our theme that day and for the rest of our lives. 

Ruth 1:16-17 "Entreat me not to leave you, or to turn back from following after you; For wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall be my people, And your God, my God. 17. Where you die, I will die, and there will I be buried. The lord do so to me and more also, if anything but death parts you and me,"

A couple of homes later, a couple of job changes, some cancer battles, a few surgeries, four dogs, losing three parents, 1 daughter, 1 grandson, a few vacations, and many other experiences later we still hold this passage of Scripture to be ours. 

For us, we do not know the future, but in every step we made in this adventure God has guided our way. And we know He holds the future for us. So these two weary wanderers are thankful for each other and for God Who before Rene and I  even met,  fashioned us for each other. 

Have a great day. 

Marty

We Will Leave The Light On 9/26/2024

 Good Morning,

I have with me a hot cup of Door County Jamaican Blue Mountain Blend Coffee that is tasting pretty good this morning. Our two dogs are sound asleep on the floor next to me. 

1 Peter 4:9 Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. 

Leviticus 19:34 You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt; I am the Lord your God.

We received a call last night from friends who were to be visiting their mother for a few days starting tonight. They will be flying in from Texas and arriving to our area of the world late tonight. Their lodging plans fell through for some reason and they were seeking a little help from us. I have been taken in many times on my mission trips to the world and know what it is like to spend a few nights with hospitable folks. Last June my wife and I stayed with dear friends at their home for a couple of nights before embarking on a trip out west. 

My point is short and sweet. Many years ago before we started building our home, we prayed and asked God to allow us to use our home to benefit others when needed. A couple of years later a tornado came through our subdivision  and wiped out the home just behind ours. The damage we sustained were two broken outdoor lights on the front of the house. Flood waters the next day came right up to the back steps of the house and then receded. We have seen nature take it's toll throughout the years but some how, some way this little inn of shelter has withstood the onslaught. This little home has been the launching point for many mission trips. People scattered in all the rooms, and then sent off with a big breakfast before heading to the airport. The house is older now and looks a little worn. But we will leave the light on and our two dogs will greet those coming to visit. We thank God for saving this place and allowing us to use it now and then to benefit others. It seems like we get to pay back the hospitality shown to us and especially me. 

Have a great day. Share hospitality while you can. 

Marty

Making Plans That Do Not Change 9/25/2024

 Good Morning,

The sun is not on the horizon yet this morning. Somehow sitting in the dark makes my cup of Door County Espresso Martini Coffee taste all that much better.

I like to make plans and I usually have a very full calendar. No matter how well I plan things out there is still the factor of things that are unknown, which can impact even the best of plans. For instance I plan on doing some duck hunting this weekend. The weather forecast is still really unknown for our part of the world. A hurricane down south may impact us, way up in Wisconsin. This will require a different jacket to be worn and will also impact the route I take to get to my spot due to weather impacting road construction or not. Maybe I should ask God if He even wants me to duck hunt at all.

Here's the point for the day. When planning things out, pray and ask God to show you His plan for the situation and for you. God's plans never fail. They do not fail, because God's plans are made with "Total Knowledge".  God knows the future and what He wants to do. How can he ever fail? 

Psalm 147:5 Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure. 

Psalm 139:4 Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord you know it all together.

Psalm 33:11 The plans of the Lord stand firm forever. 

Many people, many churches, and many businesses make the mistake of launching out on ventures and then stopping to ask God to bless them. The better plan is to ask God to show you the way or if this is even a venture He wants for you. Why waste the effort on something that won't be blessed? Better to be blessed before you start. More time in prayer ahead of the planning, allows for less planning to clean up a mistake. 

Food for thought. 

Marty 

A Beautiful Reflection. 9/24/2024

 Good Morning,

I started this day trying out a new Door County Coffee flavor. Espresso Martini is steaming in the cup next to me so I will give it a try.

My parents lived in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for many years. Both have passed on from this life. One thing that I miss about their home on the lake is the view from the dining room. No matter what the time of year the view was always beautiful. The time of the year that gave me the best feeling was the reflection on the water from the other side of the lake. The best time to see that view was in the fall. It was some of God's best artistry on display. It was especially nice if there wasn't a ripple on the water. My mother once said to me that she was going to start charging me a dollar one day because I had three cups of coffee while taking in the view. That view in person just made the coffee taste better and any bad mood you were experiencing just disappear. 

1 Corinthians 15:49 ESV Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven. 

There are those people who when the come into a room just make things feel better. They are a refection of what is within their heart. They approach you with a smile and and they have a calming effect on the situations around them. I know several people who have the gift of reflecting the love they have within their hearts for God. The view they give the world to see is one that makes you want to be around them. They are positive when they are surrounded by woes, and they greet heartaches with no fear or bitterness. Their outer appearance is never shaken by the winds of life and what you see on the outside is what is on the inside. 

Today is your face and demeanor reflecting some of the storms gathered in your heart? Have  another cup of coffee, open your Bible and dine on the Word of God. The Word can often change the heart of a man in turmoil and paint a new refection on the face the world sees. 

Marty