Life through the Crosshairs: Practice, Practice, Practice

Life Through the Crosshairs

This blog is going to be an experiment of mixing my passion of the outdoors/creation with Christianity. "Life through the Crosshairs" is the title I chose because the crosshairs are the reticules in a rifle's scope. A scope generally has different power variations similar to a telescope or pair of binoculars. By using a scope one can glass an animal entirely or zoom into to see just a blade of grass from hundreds of yards away.

I come at life through two lenses, one through the focus of my faith, backed up by formal education of seven plus years. The other lens is a more simple view of life. I lived in Western Iowa almost my whole life,it is there where I learned to hunt- deer, pheasants, and waterfowl, as a youth. It was from my time spent in the woods in treestands, as well as the countless hours bass fishing on the neighboring small pond,that shaped me as a youth.

This blog will not just be about hunting, but it will be a view of life looked at through a Christian hunters human senses. When I hunt I feel alive, all my senses are at their peak, my eyesight catches movement from hundreds of yards away, my feet feel the sticks breaking underfoot,my ears can hear the rustle of a whitetail's stride, and my mouth can taste the essence of Fall. When that cool north wind blows in late September and October, every predatory instinct in me is turned on, and I am ready for the hunt. I long for those days, and I can't wait to someday be able to share them with my son.

I want to figure out how I can live everyday like that, everyday looking at life through the crosshairs, examining the mundane and seeing God at work in front of our very lives. I want to have my senses at their peak all the time, and not just when I am in the woods.

Maybe we need to approach life more like a hunt. We all need to slow down, breathe easier, and enjoy the simple pleasures in life. To quote a line from Bagger Vance, "God is happiest when his children are at play." Creation is my playground, and I hope to be able to share a piece of that sacred space with you.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Practice, Practice, Practice

I dont know about you but I know that I need to practice before I get into the woods. This last week our outdoor team "Call of the Wild" had the chance to break in our new Rinehart targets in the woods and hills of one of the Reformed Church in America's camps at Inspiration Hills.

It felt so good to be back in the woods slinging arrows. I can tell you though that I was rusty, and my muscles were not used to all the shooting we did since I embarrassingly admit that I had not picked up my bow since November when I shot my last buck. It did not take long though to get arrows flying back on target, but I did have to reset a few things. Not sure what happened but I may have changed my anchor point (the place you draw the bow back to) and that changed my arrow flight by 3-6 inches on target. That may not seem like much but if you are a bowhunter you know that 3-6 inches can mean a shot on the vitals and a short blood trail, or an arrow through the guts leaving you little blood and often no deer at the end of hours of painstakingly crawling around searching for sign.

So before I head into the woods I practice by shooting hundreds of arrows preparing for that one shot. I practice standing, kneeling, uphill, downhill shots at ranges from 15 yds to 45 yds on a regular basis. But I have found 3D target shoots are the best practice you can get for hunting. You experience real world hunting scenarios and only get one or two shots at ranges from 10 to 70 yds. You learn to take your time and focus to make each arrow count. Often 3d targets are at distances that you would not normally take a shot at it, but they build your confidence for the real thing.

You know the Sabbath (ie. Sunday for most) is also about practice-creating a rhythm for your life; a day to praise God and rest, a time to spend time with family. The Sabbath is about taking time to notice the small things in life and pause and reflect upon God is the one who is in control. Worship takes practice and that is why it is so important because if we are not worshiping on a regular basis you will find that your arrows will not fly accurately or that your anchor point who should be Jesus will change overtime to another anchor point like money, sex, alcohol, or even your own strength.

Surprisingly even Ted Nugent seems to understand this. If you watch Uncle Ted you know when he draws the bow every time he says aloud or silently-Father- as he draws, Son -as he anchors it, and Spirit- as he releases the arrow and sends it on target. Uncle Ted rarely misses because he has taken time to create rhythm, and practice is the only thing that maintains that rhythm.

The next time you are in worship reflect upon the Christian practices that create rhythm in your life. If you are father or a husband take the role of the one who sets the spiritual rhythm in the lives God has placed under your watch. If you are not sure what that means or how to do it, ask someone who walks the trails of life with you and is no greenhorn in the ways of Jesus.