Lead Me By Still Waters ...

Cammie here -
As I find myself at home working myself silly for Founders Day this weekend; creating & now cutting out business cards, resource fliers, and ODC info cards, (with dull razor I might add,)along with trying to create a Powerpoint presentation that for some reason WILL NOT SAVE ... I just had to get up and walk away. I was hoping to listen to some worship music online to soothe my nerves and emotions while I've been working on these projects piled up on my table. Alas - somehow when the new printer was hooked up this week, my speakers have been disconnected. Okay, I'm not a technical wizard, but I know how to reconnect speakers. I really would climb behind the desk to reconnect them, however when a loving spouse dutifully installed said printer, a certain computer desk cracked down one side. One false move whilst underneath and voila - a trip to the ER would most likely ensue. Am I edgy, weary, tired and overwhelmed today? YES!!! What do I need? All I can think of is "still waters."

David was a shepherd for a good bit of his young life and knew a thing or two about how picky sheep are about their water. Our new little lamb Gideon has been teaching me exactly what this passage is talking about. The stubborn little guy will thirst himself silly until he actually SEES me dump his water and go to the hose and pour fresh water in. Only THEN will my sweet lamb drink. When David led his sheep from place to place, he had to plan ahead for the sheep to have not only "drinkable" water, but "still water." See, moving water makes sheep nervous. And dirty water's a no-go too. Sheep cannot rest for the noise of rushing water, and will thirst to death out of refusal to drink, because to a sheep, that clean bubbling creek or river is "undrinkable."

So, did my Shepherd prepare some "still waters" for me to partake of this weary day? He must of. He's "the Good Shepherd." And I'm his sweet little lamb ... okay, maybe not so sweet today, but I AM His nonetheless. He knows my needs. I always know when I've personally 'thirsted myself silly," so to speak. How? My fingernails are too long. WHAT? Yep, you heard me correctly. I play the guitar. God gifted me that way so I can run to Him and come into His presence (daily) for refreshment. I know when I've neglected my quiet time with Jesus way too long because my nails grow out, and I cannot press the guitar strings to the neck of the guitar. Those long nails are a sore reminder of how long it's truly been since I've engaged in personal time loving on my Lord. He's always worthy.

There are times when worship is a pure act of sacrifice, and God gives grace during those periods, but God loves it when we worship out of deep love for Him. Kind of like marriage, sometimes a spouse does things on "automatic," (so to speak,) -- opening a car door, setting the table for two, and so on. But when a spouse comes home and announces, "I have special tickets for somewhere you've been wanting to go! Put on your best outfit and don't worry about dinner. I'm taking you away with me for a special night just because I love you!" Wow! Now - that's akin to "worship." The very word means "having worth." When we worship God, an amazing thing happens; we do it with the intention of ministering to the heart of God, but true worship has a 'kick-back' effect, worship restores OUR souls, and refreshes OUR spirits. It's like love - you give it away, and you find you have even more to give.
So, time for a quick manicure -- (way short please,) and hold the pink polish. I am thirsty and need a drink of water, and my Shepherd is calling.

"Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks."
John 4: 23

Stuck in a Rut

One of my hunting goals is to harvest a black bear. I set this goal even before I became a hunter. A couple years ago I was bow hunting with a buddy and as the sun was setting I heard a noise behind me. I slowly turned around and could not believe what I saw. For the first time in my life I had big black bear near my treestand. I grabbed the laser range finder and attempted to figure the distance, but due to darkness quickly approaching, my laser had a hard time getting me the distance. After a few attempts, I finally had the distance of nineteen yards. Oh my goodness, I could not believe that I had a beautiful black bear within bow range.
My next step was to connect my release to the string, and because I was overcome with bear fever, I fumbled getting it firmly attached to the bowstring. Once again after a few failed attempts, I was able to get it connected. About this time, I could hear more crashing coming through the woods, so I paused. What I witnessed next totally overwhelmed me in many ways. I saw three bear cubs running up the mountain towards their nurturing mother. I knew then this bear was a sow and I was unable to harvest her. I put my bow down and just enjoyed the moment of witnessing these four beautiful bears in the wild. Shortly later they ran off and out of sight.
I then determined to become a “bear hunter.” I then anxiously waited for bear rifle season to start, so I could go back to the mountain and harvest a bear. Well finally, the opening day of rifle season opened and I was there but surprisingly, I was the only person on the 12,000 acre mountain hunting them. It was a very lonely hunt, but I stuck it out for two days with no sightings of bears. The second evening, it started to pour down buckets of cold rain, so I camped in my truck and eventually fell into a peaceful sleep. The next morning I woke up and the rain was still pouring down, so I fell back to sleep. Around 8 a.m., I woke up in a panic because I realized the road was going to be washed out and I was in a 2WD truck.
I hastily packed up my gear and started to drive out to head home before things got worse. However, within a short distance of my campsite, the road dipped and at the bottom of the dip, was about a foot of thick mud. I put the pedal to the metal and tried to drive through the mud, but the mud was too thick. The truck stuck in the mud like a fly stuck to flypaper. My first thought was, I’m stuck on the mountain and I have not seen a single hunter for the last two days. After twenty long minutes of trying to get unstuck, I finally resigned myself to being in a pretty bad situation. Fortunately for me, two hunters came down the road and saw my predicament. I talked them into pulling me out and I was soon on my way down the mountain.
This reminds me how easy it is to get into a rut in life. What do you do to get out of the rut? A lot of people turn to drugs, alcohol, pornography, and the list goes on and on. All of these vices really do not help you to get out of the rut, but they cause you to go deeper into despair. However, there is a solution. In Revelation 3:20 the bible says, “Listen! I am standing and knocking at your door. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in and we will eat together (CEV).” Jesus is here to help you get out of the rut, no matter how wide or how deep. The love that Jesus has to offer is not a temporary fix, but is a life changing experience. In 1 John 1:9 the bible also says, “But if we confess our sins to God, he can always be trusted to forgive us and take our sins away (CEV).” Call on Jesus to change your life and allow him to pull you out of the rut.

Lost In the Darkness

Have you ever hunted in a new piece of woods and got a little confused while walking out in the dark? It seems the woods change in appearance once darkness hits and can cause a hunter to be easily confused in finding the way out. One of the craziest hunts that I have ever experienced is the first time I bow hunted the George Washington National Forest. I did a little pre-season scouting and found a beautiful place that I was comfortable setting my stand. I was using my newly purchased Ol’ Man climber treestand this beautiful fall evening to set my ambush.
The hunt begins as I’m climbing to the top of the mature white oak tree, and somehow the boot straps ended up falling of my boots and the platform fell from the tree. At this point my brain is rattled because I am hanging about thirteen feet in the air and I have no platform under my feet. Fortunately I tied a rope from the top to the platform in case this ever happened to me. I was able to regain my composure and pulled the rope to get my platform back under my feet. After several failed attempts at getting my feet back in the straps I was able to place my platform firmly under my feet. I continued the up tree a little, unnerved but thankful it didn’t turn out worse.
The actual hunt was uneventful with only a few sightings of squirrels and not surprisingly no deer. After dark, I started the climb down the tree and about halfway down my batteries in my LED headlamp died. I was now climbing down the tree in a darkness that was darker than being in the bottom of a cave. I don’t know how, but I finally managed to shimmy my way down the oak tree and finally put my two shaking feet on solid ground. If you ever think about trying to walk in the woods in complete darkness for fun, take my advice and do not do it. After what seemed like an eternity, I was able to gather all my gear and begin the long dreaded trek down the mountain. Did I mention that my headlamp burned out and I was now in complete and utter darkness walking down a strange mountain?
The next blunder that I managed to get myself into was I tripped on a sandstone rock outcropping and tumbled down the mountain. Somehow the rope that I used for raising and lower my bow to my treestand got caught on a limb and threw me off balance. I then tripped over the rock outcropping and as I tumbled down the hill my quiver snapped off my bow. By this point I am now banged up pretty good but I dust myself off and continue my trek down the mountain. At this point, I really have no clue how far I have walked because I cannot see good enough to judge my exact location, so I continued the long hike until I came to a point where I hastily stopped. As I was just about to go down the next bench, a still quiet voice spoke to me and told me to proceed no further and to take a sharp left. I was sure that I needed to keep walking straight but I obeyed the voice and soon realized that good fortune was now with me. What unfolded next is that I made it to the main trail and just when I was about to walk off the trail and down the rugged mountain, the voice told me to take a left which meant I was now walking on the trail back to my vehicle. I was so fortunate that I didn’t continue walking down the mountain and headed to further disaster. While I was banged up and shaken pretty well, I eventually made it home and was now a much wiser hunter.
How many times in your life have you been lost or confused in life? It is so easy to lose focus in life and to find ourselves walking around aimlessly in the dark or to find ourselves off the narrow path. The Bible has a lot to offer us in today’s world. God has a plan and a path for each and every one of us and if we take the time to listen to his voice then we will know which path to follow. However, all too often we allow ourselves to become distracted by our situation in life that we cannot see that God’s path is the best path for us. It is free of rocks that trip us up and free of thorns and thistles. We usually end up in these wild places because we do what we want to do instead of what God wants us to do. Where are you in your life? Are you walking down the path that God created for you or are you walking aimlessly in the dark, stumbling over the rocks? Jeremiah 29:11 has this to say to you, “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Follow God’s path in life and you will be following the right path to safety.

Peace Like A River? Yeah, Right

PEACE LIKE A RIVER??? YEAH, RIGHT.
By: Cammie Cole


Some of our most relaxing, and most stressful, times in our marriage have probably occurred during times spent together on the river. The lazy Saturday morning usually starts something like this; “Hey, let’s go canoeing.”

“Really? But it’s already 11 o’clock. By the time we get on the river and get out it will be after 5 o‘clock.”
“Yeah, I know. But let’s just pack up quickly.”
“Okay. Let’s do it. I’ll go load up the canoe and gear.”
The following series of events include finding lost water shoes, tying and re-tying down the canoe to one of the two vehicles involved in what we call, “putting in” and “taking out.” (If you know anything about canoeing, you must have two vehicles ready … preferably with gas in them!) One vehicle follows the other to the “take out point,” and is then locked up with a dry change of clothes and wallet, but NEVER KEYS!!! Then, the driver from the “take out” vehicle then climbs into the “put in vehicle,” and off the canoeists go to head to the put-in point.

So, on these impromptu mornings, I am generally am the gear-finder / lunch-packer and water bottle-filler. And never interrupt my routine, or I’ve been known to leave the peanut butter behind. So, with some general stress about the canoe slipping off the hood of our small car, and stopping to tie her back down 2 or 3 times en route, we usually reach put-in in about an hour and a half after our initial ‘hey, let’s go canoeing’ conversation.

When we at last reach the water’s edge with our Old Town canoe, we drag her to the water with some general bruising and huffing about how the canoe mysteriously weighs more than it did last time. Once our gear is in, we say a prayer and launch oars. Ahh - like sailing on glass. The fresh breeze caresses my face as the ‘front-man,’ (or woman in my case.) What a peaceful day this will be. I sit in front, as I read the rapids. Craig rides in the bow and steers according to my shouted directions; “Rock on your right!” “Shallow water here, follow that V instead,” Or in fast-moving rapids, he has often heard me yell “LEFT, LEFT, LEFT!!! HURRY, HURRY!!! NOW RIGHT! RIGHT! RIGHT! BACK LEFT!!!!” Or his favorite; “Don’t DRAG OARS!!! PADDLE!” Most of our arguments arise from the last bit of bull-headedness about how to turn a canoe in fast water. Dragging is great for slow water turns, but in a quick-move situation, the strength of two paddling arms is often required. We’ve hit rocks or tipped over on occasion because instead of feeling the expected quick turn to avoid collision, I feel like I’m dragging a dead camel in the back. And I know, “he’s done it again.” He loves to drag. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not anti-dragging, just not in rapid water. It just doesn’t work. And it will ruin the day like a bee sting to the armpit -- of which I acquired THREE on our last lightning and cold rain-soaked trip.

So, in a given day, our conversation may include things like; “OH! There‘s our eagle!” Or, “Ooh, look at the deer and fawn up ahead. Shh. Let’s see how close we can get.” Then we glide on mirrored tree-lined glass in silence for minutes at a time to view nature at her best. And yet on the very same trip, you may hear us yelling at one another, “Craig! Just do what I say! I’m the navigator!” “Oh shut up!” “No, YOU shut up!” “No, YOU shut up.” Shocked? Really mature for a pastoral couple in their late thirties, I know. But the river has a way of bringing out the good, the bad and the ugly in couples.


Last summer, we took another couple along canoeing. They were novices and newly engaged. And we watched their engagement almost unfold as the wife-to-be continued to get run into overhanging branches, smacking her in the face and grabbing at her hair. I hate to admit I felt a little justified in our canoeing ‘spats’ as we watched the river dish out it’s best on our friends! Horrible of me, I know. But, they survived the trip, and have survived several more since. And best yet, they’re still getting married! But if you ever want to test a new relationship - just get in a canoe on a 4 hour trip with your new sweetie, and you’ll see what he or she is truly made of!

Then there are capsize days. We pray hard against them, but they come anyway. I’ve learned when a rapid is to big or to fast or I cannot find an “arrow,“ (an upside-down “V” in the water.) This is the way through. The water will always point like an arrow where you can safely proceed through either shallow water or a rapid. However, if the “arrow” is pointing at you, prepare for the worst! So sometimes we must abandon the rowing, and “portage” - this means “carry” the boat along either through the water, or sometimes the shoreline. Craig is really adverse to the latter method. He feels somehow shoreline portaging is like cheating in a game. He’d rather canoe it alone and fall out then to portage ashore.

But I digress. Back to falling out; The first “dump” was still our worst. I got pretty banged up and the water was ferocious that day, white-capping all around the offending boulder. If it hadn’t been for the fishermen with nets on that particular stretch of the river, we would have lost all our gear, including oars. You NEVER want to lose an oar. However, the latest “dump” was completely avoidable. We were with another set of friends who’ve been navigating these rivers for years. As we sat in slow-moving glassy water talking and fishing, Craig decided he wanted to cool off and suddenly jumped out of the canoe from behind me… and in that moment, I went as well. (Imagine the physics of a see-saw; one kid jumps off … and voila, two kids hit the dirt, or in our case, water.” Our friends just laughed and laughed at my unsuspecting plunge. I could hear them UNDER WATER. Yeah. I didn’t find it so funny, as I lost my sunglasses and would travel the long ride home wet.

I was fairly enraged at my loving husband. He can be a kind of bull-in-the-china-closet kind of guy at times, and is generally within arm’s length of yours truly when he goes into such mode. But that day he was truly repentant for plunging me into the river, albeit with barely suppressed laughter, but I was not to be un-miffed. It’s one thing to plan a plunge, quite another to be dumped unawares.

And so it amazes me that I so often awake on a summer Saturday morning thinking we can escape it all on the river, only to find the river only amplifies our human flaws, and mirrors our marriage journey all the more. How is it I am always convinced it will do otherwise? It reminds me of something I read once about the nature of giving; that basically if you are poor and give freely, if you ever find yourself wealthy, you will be still be a rich giver. But if you do not give in your poverty, you will not do so in wealth. Wealth only amplifies who you were when you were lacking. True also of the river. She will only amplify who you are on dry land. Wealth doesn’t solve our problems, nor does a day on the river remove our vices, but we have a God who “while we were yet sinners,” laid down His life for us. As a wife, I must be willing to love and respect my husband on land and in the river. And he must be willing to lay his life down for mine, even as Christ did for us. And when we truly need rest, Jesus promises he will “lead us beside still waters, and restore our souls.” No dumping, portaging, or arguing involved. Now that’s a day on the river I look forward to!

How to Swamp a Canoe

Two years ago, I was leading a canoe trip for my church through The Trough in Hampshire County, WV. The Trough is a seven mile river gorge in the beautiful and rugged Allegheny Mountains of West Virginia. It was aptly named by George Washington during his surveying years because it resembles a trough. The only way to gain access to The Trough is either by canoe or the scenic railroad. The ruggedness of the terrain makes it a wonderful habitat for golden eagles and our nations treasure; bald eagles. Of all the local canoe runs in Hampshire County, this is by far my favorite.
During this canoe trip my brother was the navigator and I was the stern paddler responsible for steering the canoe. On this day, we made a great paddling team. We were running the challenging rapids perfectly and were enjoying the beautiful scenery The Trough offered us this day; and we were enjoying each challenge the river brought our way. We successfully maneuvered our canoe through small ripples to the more severe Class II offset rocky ledges without capsizing or swamping the boat. We were feeling great and even a little prideful because of our skill at running the river. Towards the end, we were well ahead of our group, so I decided it was best to slow down and wait for the rest to catch up with us. As the guide, I do not like to get too far ahead of my group so I can offer friendly advice or helpful tips to those in need. So picture this scene--two grown men, sitting in a canoe, in shin deep slow moving water waiting on the group to catch up. We were simply talking and goofing off when to both of our surprise, one of us made an unanticipated motion that caused us to flip the Old Town canoe. Immediately, our canoe was swamped and our gear was soaked. This was one of the funniest things that have happened to me while canoeing. It was a very surreal moment for both of us because we made it through several challenging rapids unscathed and ended up swamping while sitting still in shallow, slow moving water. Fortunately, the water was only shin deep so it was very easy to recover our gear and the canoe, and it gave us a chance to get wet and cool off, but I would be a liar if I did not admit that our pride was injured. The guide is not supposed to fall, yet here we were soaked and wet. This was definitely a memory that neither of us will ever forget.
I am reminded of Proverbs 16:18 (HCSB) that says, “Pride comes before destruction, and an arrogant spirit before a fall.” There is a lot of wisdom in this scripture that we can live by on a daily basis. As humans it’s easy to forget our roots or how much work it took us to be successful in life, and it can be easy to allow pride to rule our attitudes. In our personal or spiritual lives we can overcome our struggles everyday and forget that we have weaknesses. It is during these highlights in life, that we need to be more aware of our weaknesses or struggles, so that we do not fall into sin or give in to our weaknesses. We can do this by not allowing pride to rule our lives or our attitudes. We must never forget that God has blessed us or that others have helped us to achieve our goals. We must not forget that we cannot reach our goals alone. The moment that you allow pride in your life, is the beginning of the end. Pride will eventually cause you to fall, maybe not into financial or personal ruins, but it will cause you to fall off your pedestal. Just when you least expect it, the canoe is jerked in an unanticipated motion and you will swamp your boat. Live your life everyday, with humility and maintain a thankful heart. Do not boast of your success, but allow others around you to receive some praise from time to time. Be aware that we all are finite human beings and that we all have weaknesses. If you follow these tips, then you too can make it to the end without swamping.

The Lesson Learned Buck

During my second year of hunting, I happened to have a really nice eight pointer come near my stand one evening during a bow hunt. He ended up winding me and ran off. A couple days later, I decided to try for this buck again and readjusted my stand to where I last saw him. It was a dreary Saturday evening hunt on November 16th, right in the peak of the famed rut. However, the weather turned south on me shortly after entering the tree stand. Unfortunately, I didn't own any rain gear because I didn't have a lot of money at the time but I stupidly decided to stick with the hunt. I was chasing after this buck like a buck chasing a doe in heat.
Around 4:45pm I saw the magnificent buck come busting through the dense cedar grove with his nose to the ground heading straight in my direction. Up till now, I had not harvested any deer with my bow, although I had taken several frustrating shots over the previous year. I tried to stand up and ready myself but I couldn't, no matter what I tried, I was frozen to my stand like an icicle to a gutter from buck fever. It was every bow hunter's nightmare and it left me temporarily paralyzed! I tried to regain my composure but the buck was on a mission and getting closer to my stand. I knew that if I was going to harvest this deer that I would have to do it while sitting. I drew the bow back and was surprised at the range of motion. By this time the deer was ten yards away and parallel with my stand and on my left. He was quickly moving along his well trampled trail and was completely oblivious to my presence as he was sniffing for a doe, but he was beginning to move away from me. I was able to grunt in desperation, but it failed to stop him in his tracks. This buck was on an unstoppable mission to find a doe! I had a decision to make and no time to make it so I quickly picked a spot and released the arrow. I prayed the Redhead Carbon Supreme arrow would hit its mark. The spinning arrow was like a blur as it whizzed towards the beautiful eight pointer and a micro second later I watched as the buck kicked his rear legs like a bucking bronco. He took off running like a lightning flash and stopped about forty-five yards from my tree stand.
At this time the daylight was quickly slipping and a thick fog was beginning to stir. The soupy mixture of dusk, rain and fog made it difficult to see the deer clearly through the woods. I thought I could see him wobbling and was sure I landed a solid hit on him. I was now totally overwhelmed with buck fever and I was soaked to the core from the rain. My body began to convulse in uncontrollable shivers that would have made the South Pole explorers proud. Against my better judgment, I decided that I needed to warm up by getting out of the tree and staking my claim on my trophy lying in the woods. By the time I gathered my gear and climbed down, the daylight was a thing in the past, so I made my shivering trek through the woods with my flashlight in hand. Full of excitement and anticipation of collecting my first bow kill, I went to the last spot I had seen the incredible buck wobble. To my dismay, there was no deer anywhere to be found. I did a quick search and was totally confounded by this magnificent creature so I began to second guess my shot. I replayed the shot over and over again and I even went back to my tree stand to retrace the shot and soon found the arrow sticking in the ground like a javelin spear. It was covered in a grassy greenish slime. At this point I knew that I had hit the deer, but I had no idea why the arrow was covered in green slime. I did another exhausting search like a parent looking for a lost child, but I still could not find my trophy buck.
I drove to a friend's house to show him my arrow and he told me that I had gut-shot the deer and while it was probably a lethal shot, the deer could travel a long distance before expiring. I was in for a long sleepless night because the hour was getting late by this point.
I had to attend church the next day, and then we had a potluck dinner after the service. I could not wait to eat and run and go find my trophy deer. My friend and I finally had a chance to make a dash back to the woods in the early afternoon. We searched high and low for the elusive deer but we just couldn't find him anywhere. We went over the next ridge and searched some more, but still came up empty. After two hours, my buddy said, "Let’s go over the next ridge and if he's not there then we'd have to give up hope of ever finding him." Exhausted, we crested the ridge and quickly saw the white belly of the deer through at the base of the next ridge. In a surreal moment of absolute joy I took off running like a silver bullet towards my first bow kill deer. Upon close inspection, we found that I indeed gut-shot the deer and he traveled approximately 400 yards before expiring at the base of the ridge. He measured approximately 96" and was a 2.5 year old eight point buck. While he wasn't a true Pope & Young trophy, he was indeed my trophy buck and my first bow kill.
I learned many lessons from this hunt such as: purchasing proper rain gear and being prepared for any type of weather while hunting, the importance of proper shot placement, waiting at least 30 minutes before leaving the tree stand, and to go above and beyond the call of duty before giving up the search for a lost deer. While things didn't quite go as planned for me on this hunting trip, I was very fortunate that in the end everything worked out just fine and I recovered my trophy buck. I experienced a chilling rainfall, severe buck fever and a lost deer, but in the end it all came full circle and I was rewarded for my efforts.
In fact, the Bible talks about a similar principle in the New Testament. In Romans 8:28 (HCSB) we read, "We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to his purpose." Now this verse doesn't say that everything in our lives will be good. Nor does it say that our lives will be cookie cutter everything goes perfect for us, but it does give us hope to cling to during the bad times. In fact, Rick Warren says, "We are either going into a storm, in a storm or coming out of a storm." We will experience rough points in our lives, it might come as pain or hurt or loss; but during these times we can cling to this scripture like a rock climber clinging to a ledge. Somehow some way all these life experiences will work together to help us accomplish God's purpose in our lives.
I have noticed this time and again in my life that God takes the storms in our lives and uses it to unleash his glory in my life. In fact, I am now a stronger person today because I not only experienced the storms, but I was able to pull through these rough times. Take a few moments and look back at your life--both the highlight reel and the times you would rather forget, and ask God to show you his purpose in each of them. God wants to heal your pains so that he can make you a stronger person and a more faithful follower of Jesus. If you allow him, he will take the bad stuff and not only heal you of your pain and hurt but he will use it so you can help someone else who is struggling with a similar situation in their life. God, take the lessons in our lives, both the highlights and the lowlights and use them for your purpose in our lives!