a rediscovered hobby/passion

i started fishing when i was 6 years old. my dad came home from work one night with a red daiwa fishing pole that was very light weight and that had super action for catching panfish and trout.

i had and used that fishing pole from that time until i was around 21 years old. during those years i learned to fish in lakes, streams, and even do some ocean fishing (something i miss to this day).

from 21 to 26, i lived on the colorado river and spent a fair amount of time catching striped bass and channel catfish in the swift currents of the river and lake mohave.

then came the move to Las Vegas.....didn't throw a line in for the 3.5 years i was there and then the move to the phoenix metropolis.......aside from a pretty big catfish i caught in some man made lake behind my apartment in 2002, i put fishing aside.....i couldn't bring myself to get into this 'urban fishing' program that they have here in the valley, which is the most accessible fishing here in suburbia......

well, i started feeling the pull to teach the kids how to fish....knowing that their first few experiences of actually having a fish on the line would tell whether they had it in them or not......so, i picked up an urban fishing license and we tried it.....nothing caught...kids were bored and they didn't like 'putting the worm on the hook.'

well, i kept going. it's been going on a couple of months now and i've been going on my own :) often.

it started out slow.....caught a trout late in the season.....then a catfish....then a bluegill and this last week my boy caught his first couple of fish....my wife caught her first fish and my daughter got to feel a pretty decent catfish fighting as i was reeling him in....FUN!

this channel cat took a chunk of trout meat. the leftover trout are dying off (there's not many left at all)

in the city lakes because they need cooler water. he was decent size, fought well, but looked like he had been in a fight of some sort....i let him go.

the weather on this particular weekend couldn't have been any better...it was just beautiful. i didn't catch 

a thing and didn't care too much.

years ago with my pops. it was a pretty good day of fishing!

one of my favorite set ups. it's funny, they say this is for 'panfish,' but i've caught trout, bluegill, bass, carp, and catfish on this sort of set up.

rainbow trout late in the season. i gave it to a very happy passerby who said he was gonna 'put him in the grease!'

my son made this picture a couple of years ago....prophetic maybe?

the second fish my boy caught on his own.

de-hooking a bluegill. i like to catch and eat fish, but it's work and the fam isn't quite that interested yet, so we release. this one swallowed the hook a bit. we released it, but i venture to think he may have ended up as a meal to a bigger catfish or bass....there are some pretty big fish in these city lakes.

flatulence and faith

'light is sown for the righteous and gladness for the upright in heart.'
-the book of psalms

'i resist the devil and often it is with a fart that i chase him away.'
-martin luther

as much as i've tried and exercised my 'positive power muscles,' it still doesn't always come easy....

...humor is a salve for me amid many of life's absurdities. it's not that i don't believe that God is good and that through that reality, life is a gift and so an occasion for gladness and thankfulness, but, to the best of my observation, it seems that 'slumping' and focusing on negative things just comes more easily to me (and many others....)

i recently re-bought a book that gave me much consolation around 16 or 17 years ago. it's title is 'Table Talk' and it is the written record of informal sayings (taken from conversations) that Martin Luther shared with various folks. in it there is  plenty of humor, fire, faith, and consolation. i am looking forward to re-reading it...it made me feel glad back then...perhaps it will now too.

i trust there'll be laughter in heaven.

'If you are not allowed to laugh in heaven, i do not want to go there.'

-martin luther

'When the Lord brought back the captivity of Zion,
We were like those who dream.
² Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
And our tongue with singing.'

-psalm 126

'a merry heart does good like a medicine.'

-the book of proverbs

takin' yer place

'men will undergo many painful self-sacrifices rather than take the place of helplessness and worthlessness. a man will gladly be a saint simon stylites or even a fakir, if only it is self that does it, so that self may share the glory. a religion of bondage always exalts self. it is what i do - my efforts, my wrestlings, my faithfulness - that counts. but a religion of liberty leaves self nothing to glory in; it is all Christ and what he does, what he is, and how wonderfully he saves that is important.'
-hannah whitall smith

Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
-Jesus

the first quote i read today and i found it beautiful. the second quote comes to mind, has some associations to the first, and i find it beautiful as well.

the psalter

It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High;
² To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning,
And Your faithfulness every night,
³ On an instrument of ten strings,
On the lute,
And on the harp,
With harmonious sound.
⁴ For You, Lord, have made me glad through Your work;
I will triumph in the works of Your hands.
-Psalm 92

I've read from the book of psalms for a pretty long time now.....it definitely runs the gamut of human emotions and can even be a bit shocking.....

More than one theologian has recommended using the psalter when learning how to pray. Christ himself quoted from the psalms quite often. 

It's easy to play favorites in life and scripture reading is no exception....i'll be the first to admit that some of my favorite psalms are from the 'song of ascents' portion which tend to be more contemplative in many parts, but i'm glad that the other types of psalms are there too.....the lamentation psalms, the celebratory psalms, the psalms that contain anger, and the psalms that are full of teaching wisdom....

instead of a 10 stringed instrument, i use a six stringed instrument....
the 'harp' i think of is a 'mouth harp' ....a harmonica on a rack so i can play my guitar at the same time....and the 'harmonious sound' is when there's a group of people singing together....some making more of a 'joyful noise' than singing in the conventional sense.... :)

traveling in what footsteps?

"I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own."
-Jesus

"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.  My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.  I and My Father are one.”
-Jesus

what promises! these two passages are taken from the gospel of St. John. John's gospel is one of my favorite books in all of the bible. 

it's very popular to promote the 'everyone do your own thing' mentality. i am a firm believer that everyone is still following something or somebody in spite of their best efforts to 'do their own thing.' if you think about it, even one's own groaning belly and appetites can be the worst of all task masters. bob dylan even said 'you're gonna have to serve somebody....it may be the devil or it may be the Lord, but you're gonna have to serve somebody.'

through a most simple acceptance of reality though, Christ promises his fellowship, his guidance, and his security. finally, someone worth following!....i know it's a challenge...i know...i was raised with a very strong 'don't be a follower' mentality. while that may have served me well with regard to pressing through the temptation to try and 'just fit in,' it can foster a sense of unhealthy skepticism and criticism of one's surroundings....over and above 'testing the spirits' and 'holding on to that which is good.' 

take heart believer, great promises are yours...and you are never alone....oh uninterested brother or sister, will you 'go it' alone forever? 

what to practice?

 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. ¹⁷ For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.  For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.  But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”

i love the text from St. John's gospel. it doesn't get old for me. it reminds one of God's intent 'to save.' his provision is such a lovely provision. Christ said that those who 'hear the word and put it into practice' would be a person who builds his house on solid rock and thus be able to withstand the storms, rains and floods.......this text from John infers that there will be light for those who do so as well.....light, illumination, clarity....who couldn't use some of that?