November 27, 2012   

Today's Photograph . . . . Do Not Miss Those Opportunities That God Places In Front Of You   (MQ)

Bible Study Verse

James 4:14

Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. (NIV)

Thoughts

In Arizona children are allowed to hunt as juniors until they turn eighteen years old.  This schedules them to hunt at a different time, usually earlier than the general hunt that most others hunt. 

It was opening morning of her final juniors cow elk hunt. She was seventeen and would be going off to college soon, this may be one of our last elk hunts together for a while. These were the thoughts drifting through my mind, as we sat back-to-back, her facing south and me facing north, leaning against each other for support. These thoughts were interrupted by her tugging at me saying that she heard something to the west. 

We both began glassing the stands of young oaks, looking for any sign of an elk moving though the fallen autumn leaves. Time must have gotten away from us as we glassed the area nonstop for at least five minutes. Then like an alarm clock blaring us awake early in the morning, a young cow elk barked loudly at us. 

As we both turned slowly, we saw standing thirty yards directly south of us, a cow elk. She stared back as us, each of us in amazement that we were so close and none of us sure what to do. Finally, she turned away from us showing her butterscotch colored rump and walked away, slowly blending into the oaks never turning enough to offer a shot. 

(Brett M)

Action Point

Life is short. The opportunities that we have in this life are even shorter. Sometimes looking away for just five minutes can cause us to miss an opportunity. Sometimes we miss the opportunity because we think we will always have more time, there is always tomorrow. Sometimes we miss the opportunity because we are afraid. Afraid of what others might think of us, afraid of being rejected or hurt. Sometimes we miss the opportunity because we are simply selfish, wanting to live for ourselves rather than living for God. 

James understood that we are but "A mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes," James 4:14c (NIV). Do not miss those opportunities that God places in front of you. You are but a mist that may never again have the opportunity to change a life.

 

Sportsmen's Tip of the Day

Elk and deer love to eat acorns. However, oak trees do not produce acorns every year. Hunting areas that produced acorns, drawing elk and deer last year, may not produce acorns this year. Make sure that you scout ahead in your hunting area to find which oaks are producing this year.