Outdoor Redemption Blog – October 2023

Bible Reading

Matthew 22: 34-36 & Matthew 23

Bible Verse

And he said to him, ^g“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. – Matthew 22:37

Monthly Blog

Hunting, in its truest form, is a past time unlike any other. In simple concept, it is man placing his natural hunting instincts against an animal’s natural survival instincts. Hunting, in complex form, is sleepless nights, sacrificing time with friends and family and it is a constant presence in the minds of hunters.

Hunting, in reality, is an addiction.

Like all addictions, hunting often takes priority over our lives. It is all we think about. It is what we spend our money on, and it is the reason we skip out on the priorities of our lives.

Hunting can even become our god, an idol within the lives we lead that is placed above all others.

There is nothing we wouldn’t sacrifice for the opportunity to hunt. Our families, our friends and even our God is placed below our addiction to hunt.

We skip kid’s soccer games, school activities, holidays, and many other important family events.

So very often, we skip church and fail to maintain our focus on Christ. Instead of placing Christ at the top of our lives, hunting and the animals we pursue become our sole reason for being. They are all we think about and dream of pursuing.

Hunting is a gift from God. A blessing that offers us the opportunity to pursue and enjoy his creation. But, like all of God’s gifts, we can squander them. As fallen creatures, we often make His gifts our own and place them before our Creator.

This season, make sure Christ lives above your love of hunting.

Monthly Outdoor Activity

Archery

Fall is a great month to get outside and introduce yourself to the world of archery. If you are already an avid archer, the fall is also a great time to hone in your archery skills and increase your confidence in your bow.

For new archers, almost any bow on the market now-days has enough technology behind their design to offer everything you need for a new bow setup. Even the most economical bows are a great choice to enter the world of archery.

Many areas around the country are also hosting 3-D shoots. 3_D shoots are awesome events that allow hunters to converse with other hunters and a great chance to enjoy the outdoors with a full day of realistic archery practice.

Additionally, many local conservation areas or shooting ranges have designated archery courses that the public can access. A simple google search can find these areas to go and practice archery.

Archery takes time and practice, but the enjoyment of pure archery is difficult to top.

Monthly Outdoor Tip

Properly sighting in your bow and getting your sights dialed in takes time, so be patient. Here are a few simple tips to help you sight in your bow.

• Follow your arrow. This directional tip may be difficult to grasp at first, but it remains true. If your arrows are hitting the target high, adjust your sight up (follow your arrow). Doing this allows you to aim lower as you are looking through your peep sight onto your pins. The same goes for if you are shooting low, left or right. If you are shooting low, adjust your sight down (allowing you to lift your arrow). If you are shooting left, adjust your sight left (allowing you to bring your arrow back right), etc…
• Make sure your bow is balance. Most bows sights have a level indicator attached to their bracket. When shooting, make sure your bow is level. If your bow is not level, this may throw off your arrow trajectory, especially at longer yardage.

Maintain a constant anchoring point. An anchoring point is the location your bow string (and in some way – peep sight) anchor to your face when drawing back and taking aim. Many archers focus on having an anchor point on their chin or cheek. Other avid archers will even have what they call a “kisser-button” to make sure their anchor point stays constant. Maintain a constant anchor point is key to accurate archery shooting.

Photo Shares

Here is our topic for the month to share with us on social media

HUNTING PHOTOS

Please share with us all of the amazing photos you capture from your hunts so we can share them through our social media channels.

Use #OutdoorRedemption and #ORHunts, tag @OutdoorRedemption or DM us your images so we are sure to receive them.

Sermon Links

How to Love God with All Your Heart Soul Mind and Strength – YouTube

Blog Messages

Outdoor Redemption Blog – September 2023

Bible Reading

Ephesians 4

Bible Verse

“Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God.” – Ephesians 4:1

Monthly Blog

I am sure that many avid hunters can relate to the level of excitement I have for the start to the 2023/2024 hunting season. It is with eager anticipation that we have been waiting, patiently waiting, for the opportunity to enter the field once again in pursuit of whitetails and other game species.

Each new hunting season is a calling for avid outdoorsmen. There is something in the air that soaks deep into our bones and drives our passion to hunt. It is a calling that is unmistakable and one that cannot be ignored.

There is another calling however, that I wish to share with you. It too is unmistakable.  As we mature as Christians, it’s beckoning becomes more fierce and is hard to ignored.

Paul writes in his letter to the Ephesians that we have been called by God.  Through this calling we should begin to lead a life that is worthy of that calling. We are called to live in unity with the Spirit, and to live our lives with humility, gentleness, patience, and love.

Being called by God is an amazing act and blessing of God’s grace. Though our lives our full of sin, God calls us to His forgiveness and to begin to lead a new life through Him. We cast all our old away and enter into our new season.

This calling leads us to a new life here on earth, and ultimately an eternal life with Christ.

Monthly Outdoor Activity

Trail Camera Observation

Trail cameras are an amazing tool to use to observe all of God’s creature. Additionally, they are an exciting way to teach and show others who are new to the outdoors about the many animals that frequent certain locations.

This month, introduce someone knew to the outdoors by offering to let them help you with placing a trail camera out to observe and capture all the wildlife activity that happens around us. This is an easy way to introduce others to the outdoors and involve them in your life.

Place a trail camera in your backyard, local conservation area or wooded spot. It helps to place the cameras on known game trails or certain food sources. (*In areas where it is legal, you can place feed out in front of the camera to attract wildlife)

Once the camera is set, turn the camera on and wait 5-7 days. Make sure to let everyone involved know when you will be checking the camera so the excitement can build as you wait upon the days to check what the camera has captured.

After the allotted time, go and check the camera by pulling the SD card from the camera. Have a laptop or PC with a card reader or SD compatible device folder and begin to view the photos.

Continue to place the camera in new locations to see the wide variety of God’s creatures in your area.

Monthly Outdoor Tip

Many new users of trail cameras may have a difficult time with formatting and proper usage of the camera, which can impact the enjoyment of observing nature through trail cameras.

Although many cameras have come a long way and have new technologies to help with the card formatting, here is a quick easy tip to make sure your card formats and is ejected correctly so you are sure to be able to view the photos with ease on your laptop or PC.

Always make sure to format your card before you begin with a new camera. Most cameras have this easy setting in the menu on the camera.

The one thing many new users of trail cameras do incorrectly that can affect the viewing of photos is that they forget to turn the camera “off” before the eject the SD card from the camera. This can lead to improper formatting and can render the SD card files useless.

So always remember when you go to check your cameras to turn the camera to “off”, then pull the SD card. This simple step can alleviate a lot of frustration and can make your trail camera observation much more enjoyable.

Photo Shares

Here is our topic for the month to share with us on social media

TRAIL CAM PHOTOS

Please share with us all of the amazing photos you capture from your trail cameras so we can share them through our social media channels.

Use #OutdoorRedemption and #ORTrailCams, tag @OutdoorRedemption or DM us your images so we are sure to receive them.

Sermon Links

Pastor John MacArthur Reading Ephesians 4:1-16 From The Legacy Standard Bible Ending In Prayer – YouTube

Blog Messages