Anticipated Joy

Isaiah 55:10-13

[10] “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
[11] so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

[12] “For you shall go out in joy
and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and the hills before you
shall break forth into singing,
and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
[13] Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress;
instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle;
and it shall make a name for the LORD,
an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.” (ESV)

How often I run to Isaiah the prophet for his historic and ancient words of truth and comfort.

The trending storylines of this crooked and perverse generation are draining. Just about any media source I look at, the narrative is negative. And indeed, there is not as much fake about this news as we would hope.

Death surrounds us in many ways.... and life is cheapened in the process.

Drug overdoses, terrorist attacks, rising suicide rates, abortion on demand, and senseless gun violence is enough to make even the greatest optimists shiver in the dark.

It makes Malcolm Muggeridge look like a prophet of old:

Thus did Western Man decide to abolish himself, creating his own boredom out of his own affluence, his own vulnerability out of his own strength, his own impotence out of his own erotomania, himself blowing the trumpet that brought the walls of his own city tumbling down, and having convinced himself that he was too numerous, labored with pill and scalpel and syringe to make himself fewer. Until at last, having educated himself into imbecility, and polluted and drugged himself into stupefaction, he keeled over--a weary, battered old brontosaurus--and became extinct.” 

― Malcolm Muggeridge, Vintage Muggeridge: Religion and Society

So stop and go back up and re-read the promise of God......

He promises that His word will shower the land and bring forth fruit in the same way that rain and snow nourishes the seeds of life.

And we wait on this.... an anticipated joy...

peace- singing- clapping- restoration

Can you cling to this hope in the midst of a world that at time strains in the shadows of sin and suffering?

There seems to be the sense that when all seems lost, God BREAKS out into sudden celebration and victory.

It won't be a gradual win, it will be a sudden eruption.

I don't know how many times in your life you have been looking defeat straight in the jaws of inevitability and found an surprise turn of events that resulted in a crazy victory... but it does happen.

Buzzer beater, miraculous endings, strange change, unexpected

This is my anticipated joy... a guarantee... not based on my futile faith...but on God's Word.

Big Year for BCS Bass Team

2017 BCS BASS TEAM

This was an amazing year. Our highest finish as a team (7th in the state, all classifications) and we won two tournaments!

Led by 5 great boat captains: Barry Turnbloom, Joe Flemming, Chris Cale, Amory Mays, and Dr. Drayton Smith.

4 super seniors: Jared Turnbloom, William Salchert, Jack Flemming, and Nathan Cale.

And a great underclass foundation: Grayson Morris, Reid Mays, Walter Vetrano, David Scharf, Tucker Smith, and Chandler Holt.

Early June: Our new freshmen guys were already showing they would be a factor in the season

We had a really good fall qualifying season. It is so important for these guys to get out on the water and compete in tournaments.

We also had some Big fish caught all throughout the summer and fall.


Grayson Morris caught this 10.2 monster

Jack Flemming caught an 11.0 personal best

























Senior Jared Turnbloom caught huge fish all year!

PROFESSIONAL INFLUENCE- These guys got to see some pros up close this year

Barry Wilson spent some time giving these guys great tips

These guys also got to see some other elite professionals up close

Kevin Van Dam along with some other great pros were fun to see and meet at an MLF event in Louisville

Aaron Martens













Jack Flemming fished with Brent Chapman









As did Grayson Morris

This was fun, Grayson and Aaron Martens fishing in Grayson's boat

TOURNAMENT SUCCESS

LAKE MARTIN- 9TH PLACE OVERALL

LOGAN MARTIN- 

Jared Turnbloom/William Salchert WON the tournament- team was 19th

PICKWICK- 6TH PLACE OVERALL

STATE TOURNAMENT - EUFAULA-  2 DAYS

ALSO- JAKE AND WILLIAM WON THE AIRPORT MARINE TOURNAMENT

SOME GREAT MOMENTS and MEMORIES

When You Feel Engulfed and Overwhelmed- Psalm 12

Psalm 12

Save, O Lord, for the godly one is gone;

for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man.

2 Everyone utters lies to his neighbor;

with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.
3 May the Lord cut off all flattering lips,
4 those who say, “With our tongue we will prevail,
our lips are with us; who is master over us?”
5 “Because the poor are plundered, because the needy groan,
will now arise,” says the Lord;
“I will place him in the safety for which he longs.”
6 The words of the Lord are pure words,
like silver refined in a furnace on the ground,
purified seven times.
7 You, O Lord, will keep them;
you will guard us from this generation forever.
8 On every side the wicked prowl,
as vileness is exalted among the children of man.

the tongue that makes great boasts,

We have all been here. I get here more now than I did even a decade ago. 

My youngest daughter is graduating from high school in less than a month and I am swimming in a storm of deadlines, difficulties, and needs.

One of the things I love about the Psalms is the honest recording of heart cries.


When I read this Psalm, I think about feelings of despair. At the core of this cry is the thought of the continual slide into sin and decay. It is a feeling of loneliness. Is there anyone seeking holiness? Is there anyone actually interested in the things of God?

A wide view of society can push us into thoughts of despair like this. Just flipping the channels this weekend brought to my attention how little impact godliness is having on the current culture. Every subject seems to be supported by a secular world view.


There has never been a greater time in human history where such of a wealth of information is attainable. The Bible commentaries, seminary courses, sermons, devotional material, available for FREE is more that one could take in a lifetime.

The fields are STILL white for harvest- but the church seems so lukewarm in a desire to share the truth.

And as we have hidden the light, the mockers are growing bolder and colder.

Look again at verses 2-4. These are ancient words but still applicable today.

Everyone utters lies- (some lies are as bold as I have ever seen- especially in politics)

flattering lips and double hearts-

tongues that challenge God without fear


SO WHAT DO WE DO WHEN WE FEEL ENGULFED AND OVERWHELMED LIKE THIS?


God sees the result of such a society. The poor are plundered and the needy groan. He hears the cries of His children. At some point, He decides to act.. "I will now arise", says the LORD.

No one really wants this to happen.


I remember what Christ says in Revelation 2 as a part of His condemnation of the church at Pergamum:

16 Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth.

In other words- it is better that you practice discipline in the church and NOT Me. Be warned- one day the Lord will say, "No more delay... the door of mercy WILL be closed.. and He will begin trampling on the winepress of His wrath.

But the main point of this passage is slightly different.

It is not attack the evil doers.. it is rescue of the one who is wounded.

Notice: "I will place him in the safety in which he longs."

And how secure is this promise? How secure are His words?

Purified, 7 times, pure silver. You can take His word to the bank!

Feel the security again:

You, O Lord, will keep them;you will guard us from this generation forever.On every side the wicked prowl,as vileness is exalted among the children of man.

WHEN WE FEEL ENGULFED- SURROUNDED BY EVIL AND MOCKERS


HANG ON... HE IS GOING TO RESCUE YOU!

The only question is if I am willing to believe Him.

My Running Days Are Over.....

Just finished an early morning walk.

About 8 months ago..my left knee began to complain rather loudly that he had done enough... the Dr called it 'arthritis' and his only advice was to 'man up'.

It got really bad for a while- I was having an 8 or 9 pain level at the end of each work day. But with some therapy, changing to walking, new shoes, taking anti-inflammatories I now go through a day and not notice it much. I also took the synvisc shot in December and it seems to have helped.

There are great benefits for walking. I have sought out some Biblical motivation to help me adjust.

[1] Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. [2] For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. [3] For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; [4] that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, [5] not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God;

(1 Thessalonians 4:1-5 ESV)

[6] Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, [7] rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

(Colossians 2:6-7 ESV)

 I DO MISS MY RUNNING.. but this is God's way for me right now...

They tell me that a brisk walk and a run for the same distance… burns VERY CLOSE to the same calories?  The variable is time. I average about 9:30 a mile when I am jogging and I hike a mile in around 20 minutes- but both of those burn about the SAME number of calories.

But in many ways- WALKING IS the better exercise. It is good on the joints and it allows an opportunity to OBSERVE and ENJOY the beauty of the journey.

And ‘walking’ is the preferred analogy in the Scriptures to define the Christian life. The verses at the beginning of this post show an example of this. In fact, the walk we are in is the BEST indicator of whether we actually know Christ.

Look at what the apostle John wrote:

[5] This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. [6] If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.  (1 John 1:5-6 ESV)

Walking is a continued path… a habit… a trend… it makes a worn path or trail. If we look back at the recent ‘trail’ of our life and it is always ‘darkness’, what fruit do we have that supports what our lips may proclaim?

John gives us the positive picture of this as well:

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. (1 John 1:7 ESV)

What does the pattern of our ‘walk’ say about the condition of our heart?

To be clear- (And John balances this out BEAUTIFULLY in 1 John)- this does not mean we walk WITHOUT SINNING- but it is referring to the PATTERN or TREND.

And we can walk LONGER. Are you tired from running? Take a few days and change the routine. Go on a brisk walk… or ride a bicycle.. or swim… just keep moving!

So what does a HOLY WALK… look like?

• It is a path illuminated by God’s word- ‘a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path’’ (Psalm 119:105)
• It is a walk characterized by HOLY choices- putting off sin and putting on righteousness
• It is a humble walk- not in our will and power- but according to HIS will and power
• It is a loving and serving walk where we love God BY loving others
• It is a walk under the yoke of Christ- who is gentle and easy for us
• It is an upward climb with joy toward the heavenly Mount Zion and the New Jerusalem
• It is a walk of change- progress- when we look back we are not what we used to be
• It is a walk forward- we still have room to get better- we are not what we ought to be
• It is slow enough to enjoy the journey and steady enough to keep going in the storms
• It is a walk on our knees in prayer
• It is a walk with our hands lifted in praise and thanksgiving
• It is a walk in the full armor of God (Eph. 6)
• It is a walk through the valley of the shadow of death with peace and comfort
• It is a walk of glorious light
• It is a walk that PLEASES GOD, we can feel His smile and delight

What a walk it is!!!…………. Praise HIM!

Let’s keep moving, even today!

Still a Beginner But Getting Better- My Bass Life

If you had told me 7 years ago that I would be this immersed in bass fishing, I would have told you that you are nuts. But God has a sense of humor and I've traded one intense pursuit into another.... I chased football coaching like it was life and death fro 28 years..and now I have that same drive to become better at fishing and coaching a bass team.

Like all earthly pursuits- this one will never find me the complete fulfillment that can only come from God- but fishing and football have been great gifts and blessings that the Lord has used to shape me and put me in fellowship with some amazing people.

I always loved to fish- but never had the urge to develop knowledge and skills. And, though I am working hard- the level of skill and knowledge is WAY behind those who really know what they are doing. Some of the old timers who really know their stuff look at me when I ask a question with that strange- 'you don't know about that!' look of admonishment.

But I did want to take some time to look at some highlights as far as quality fish. Again, some of these things I publish is for my kids and pride's sake- I won't be sharing on social media- but is a fun way to reflect and remember.

Personal Best: 12.5 (estimated)
29"long/ and a girth of 19"- huge belly
My Big Fish Story
Dec. 18, 2013 Private Lake in Rockford, AL

I hate that we did not have a scale-we did have a tape measure- the Bass Resource calculator listed it as 15.665

Witness: Coach Steve Renfroe

Lure: green fluke with a tiny weight pegged about 5 inches up.

In the monster's mouth was the fin of a fish that looked as big as the earlier bass I caught. This fish was stuffed to the gill and still eating!

Lake Caroline Double:
Lake Caroline, Louisville, AL
June 7, 2017 -  6.37

I caught this and Connor Peterson hung a 6.46 at the same time!

Witness: Melissa and Conner

Lure: Green pumpkin monster on skip gap head

KVD BASS

WEIGHT 6.3 LBS
Oct 11, 2016 Lake Caroline, Louisville, AL

Lure: Finesse Black Trick Worm- Drop Shot

Witness: Jack Flemming/ Grayson Morris

We were helping an MLF corporate event and we pulled up right after Kevin Van Dam had left the spot.

Jack and Grayson were trying to get me to hold it up to KVD- I just turned and looked- but the story and been growing since.

This is my Lake Caroline PR

PICKWICK BASS AGAIN!


WEIGHT 5.5
April 13, 2018
Old Steam Plant- Pickwick Lake, Florence, AL

Lure: black flake finesse skip gap shakey head

Witness: Brian Berry/ Jeff Davis


How good is Pickwick? every time I go I catch a 5 lbr!

PICKWICK BASS

WEIGHT 5.4
March 19, 2016
Barge Canal- Pickwick Lake, Florence, AL

Lure: Square Bill

Witness: Austin Luke

This may be my all time favorite fish and I LOVE Pickwick.

We were parallel casting down the barge canal when this beauty tore it up! She got wrapped up around the trolling motor and I almost lost her.

WHOPPER PLOPPER BASS

WEIGHT 5.0
March 26, 2017
Lake Caroline, Louisville, AL
Lure: Whopper Plopper

We were in the very back of a wooded cove where fish were exploding on top water and chasing shad.

A 2 lb bass exploded on my whopper plopper but missed- I could see the fish so I paused and watched it gearing up to strike when this fish came out of no where and blasted it.

Nolen Vinson (who later caught a 12.0 fish) said it was one of his all time favorite bites to watch.

PICKWICK BEDDING BASS

WEIGHT: 4.43
April 14, 2017
Lake Pickwick, Florence, AL
Lure: finesse trick work- shakey head- black/red flake

Felt like a bream tap- must have been on bed- 2 ft of water

Fun time with Jeff Davis

LAKE LION SPECIAL

estimated- 5 lbs

I sight fished this beauty- got the male first- came back later for female.

Took about 30 minutes- watched her take a blue/red speckles Ned rig

Had to fight her for 4 or 5 minutes to get her out of the weeds

April 12, 2017- after school

LOGAN MARTIN SPOT

I have come to love Logan Martin as my favorite of the Coosa Lakes...

The Coosa Spotted Bass is as mean as they come and to get this 3 lbr was quite a fight.

Caught it on black shakey head on the infamous Texaco hump.

We caught almost 80 on that day

March 30, 2016

LAKE CAROLINE BASS

I could load up the page of all Lake Caroline Bass I have caught in the year I have had the privilege to fish there. That lake is LOADED with 3 and 4 lb hard fighting fish.

Lures/ Techniques that have caught bass over 3 lbs at Lake Caroline: Texas Rig, Drop Shot, Ned Rig, KVD Lucky Shad, Square Bill, Jerk Bait, Fish Head Spin, Fluke, Whopper Plopper, Lizard, Football jig, Carolina Rig, scrounger, Pop R, skip gap head, wobble head

Here is the 'double'

It has been an amazing lake to learn on.

Since we have been going, we have caught almost 2,000 bass and taken out 1400 small ones.

This lake will continue to get better and better and I believe it will produce a 14 or 15 lb bass soon.

Who knows.... maybe bigger?

The last 2 trips, I have helped pull in TWO 12 lb fish....

More to come......

GUNTERSVILLE BLAST

WEIGHT 2.0
July 28, 2015
Lake Guntersville, Guntersville, AL
Lure: Bull Shad

This isn't a big fish- but you would never know it by the way he charged out of the grass mat I was fishing.

We missed some big ones that morning- but this one was more fun than the misses!

LAKE MITCHELL

WEIGHT 2.5 EST

Cargyle Creeek, Lake Mitchell
Clanton, AL
July 28, 2014

This one is special because I got to go back to Lake Michell after fishing it for years. But this time I was armed with a blue/black swim jig and has this beauty explode out of the grass.

Brought back good memories of that place

LAY LAKE

June 23, 2014
Beeswax Creek, COLUMBIANA, AL

Another good memory because I was just learning to swim a jig in the grass.

This was a white swim jig with a ribbits frog trailer.

PICKWICK SMALL MOUTH

April 13, 2018
Pickwick Lake, Florence

This was my first ever smallie- can't wait to get more of them this summer!







Hope I add to this fun report soon... Lord willing....

Until next time............