I don't know about you, but as my family grows my personal time is getting less and less. My obligation list is getting extensive: church, family stuff, work, etc. If I want to hunt I have to do some serious planning. Sunday was a classic example, didn't want to miss church but wanted to hunt. Thankfully, it worked out and a good time. Click here if you want to read my formal report: http://wp.me/p3bCKM-sh Meanwhile, enjoy these pictures of free range pork:





I do enjoy hunting pigs, even if I'm a bit rushed. Am I the only one facing this issue? How do you guys balance your obligations and hunting?

In some parts of the world, hunting clothes and church clothes are the same thing.

Isn't that the truth! Those dude's are dapper.

shoot them from the house, during lunch.

I appreciated reading your full report and share your values, Andy. No one ever said doing the right things would be easy...but you and your family will be rewarded. Blessings! Bruce

I struggled with not wanting to miss hunting on Sunday because of church and after church home group.

This year I told my home group I had made a commitment to them to be at group meetings each Sunday, other than emergencies or family obligations, but not to miss them for hunting. My hunting season ended on opening day.



Committing to church changed the blessing level God bestowed on my hunting time, just like giving tithe blesses your finances.

I sense change coming...

Well done!

I appreciate it. Keeping priorities straight is difficult, but can be done.

Doesn't everyone dress like this for church?

I face the same dilemma. My Saturday mornings are now spent watching soccer games. I work for myself so tend to take a morning or afternoon here or there during the week, unless those dang clients get in the way

Yea, overall it just takes planning. I think I'm finding that if I keep the right priority in focus (God and family) I can plan appropriately.

It seems to me a lot of folks would have just slept in, drunk coffee and watched some ESPN gone to church. I got up, shot a porker, skinned it and made it into church.

For so long, I always heard "Better enjoying X now, because once you ( A) get in college B) get married C) have kids) you will not have any time for XY and Z." To me, that's a sad statement.

Church for me is out in God's Creation. There is no conflict.

Yep, followship is where you find it, you don't need no walls and a minister for it.

Oh Lord here we go again!



Mike

I do some more clear thinking sometimes in the woods than in the buildings. But I enjoy both.

Pretty simple though, but we dont' have kids, we just do some here, some there so to speak. There are times we miss church, but certainly not God. And other times we dont' miss church, but can miss God at the same time.

I've learned that lots of things get in the way of life though.

My fire pager has yanked me off the stand etc... more than a few times, just because the need at hand according to dispatch was no minor need, and I could alwyas hunt or fish etc... another day. And when those days end, it won't really matter much anyway. Fire pager has yanked me away from a LOT of things that were important at the time it was going on...

So I think its just a matter of juggling the load. As you seem to have figured out.

And the other thing... approaching 50, I sleep or nap when I'm tired. DOesn't matter the day or time much.... if I get tired I take a nap. Ends up much better in the end. And whatever was on the to do list, didnt' get done, but it gets done safer and faster the next time we get back to the to do list.

I know there is time for sleeping when we die, but I don't want to speed up that time to die either, by lack of taking care of whats left of the body right now.

WHich means even in Alaska on vacation, if the morning or evening says nap instead of hunt, fish etc... we both do that.

Yet if we need to get up at 3am to get somethign done on time or before somethign else, we'll do that pretty often too.

There is a difference between hunting and church?

When my brother was killed overseas everyone thought it terrible I didn't give up my elk hunt. The funeral was overseas, my grieving was done in the mountains. We were very close and I know he would have wanted it that way.

Hunting season just pisses off the spouse.

Attend to the job, stay home, take care of the "honey-do" list, go to church, PTA, kid's sports events, get involved in charity/community events (especially send money to every one you get in the mail), take the wife to musicals and operas, vacations to places you don't care about, etc. Never use "personal time" for hunting.

Life will be easier. I speak with 37 years of experience.

Come this time next week the dog's surgery should be healed where I won't have to watch him to keep him from licking the scar open again (the last stitches- what he left - came out yesterday, the chewed part should be closed up by tomorrow).

Then I'm gonna piss the wife off again...... That generally lasts until some backstraps hit the butter.... mostly she's PO'ed cuz she chooses to work instead of going out with me. But that's her problem...

Sounds like a personal problem don't it?!!

Good thing my church is God's country, camo or blue jeans required, although carharts are accepted.

Two years ago , I shot decent antelope buck on consecutive Sundays after church and after they wife had prayed out loud in Sunday school for an honest chance at some meat for the freezer!!!

We don't have Sunday hunting. But if we ever get Sunday hunting , Sunday morning will still find me in church , but I'd probably slip out for the afternoon hunt.

Just depends on one's priorities, and it's not for me to judge how, when and/or where others choose to worship the Creator and his creation.

With 18mo and 1mo babies, about the only social time we get (outside of work for me) is going to church. I love going to church, and easily pass up hunting for church. I'm taking 10 days off at peak rut to get meat/firewood chores taken care of, so I'll get my share of hunting in.

Calvin I'm with you. Church is a positive for me. I'm discovering it takes more planning as I get older.

I sat in church awhile back wondering if there was any blood on my jacket.

It was late last Fall and I'd just finshed nine days of backpack and spike camp deer hunting in snow.

Unusually cold morning so I layered up in fleece and mountain parka -- my hunting stuff. Wife was out of town, running late, church was jammed as usual, and when I arrived at the same time as a young single woman the usher said he had two seats. We took them. Then as I sat there I recalled that I'd slept in my mountain parka at least six nights recently, cooked over campfires, wondered about smell, hoped there was no blood on my jacket...

Awesome!

He who farts in church sits in his own pews.

Ran my dog in a UKC hunt test both days of a weekend back in June. Camo was required (it's a hunt test.) Those running the event were kind enough to put my dog in the first flight, so I made it to church for 11:00 in camo. I don't care, as long as it's good with God and my wife.

Really dude? The gobs of blood on the side, the blood on the antler, and the tongue is peeking out. For goodness sakes people don't need to see that crap. Take the time to wipe it off before you post a pic. This just reinforces bad press and forces people on the fence about hunting to become antis!

(all the above I type with tongue firmly planted in cheek)

To the RO, as a kid I was forced to go to church 3 times a week. Every week. I grew up and said that is for the birds. I have my own family now and am letting my kids decide for themselves how they want to go about their own lives in regards to church. I do my best to present all the options available. Being outdoors IS my church, it's where I feel more connected to God. Being out there with my kids blows out any form of attendance in a building filled with the mixture of good honest folks/hypocrites/what have you that fill any given house of worship. Everyone has to find their own balance of responsibilities based on their own priorities. I have been an outdoorsman/hunter and devote a fair amount of time to those pursuits. My kids partake. If they didn't, I'm not sure I'd claim them.

I see what you did there. Touche'

You should have seen the other side, and the insides, and him hanging off the rack on the truck, and and and...

Agreed, this is an excellent topic.

David

Sorry to hear that. I did that once, 9 minutes in. It was no fun.

how do you get away with hunting on Sunday if you're the preacher?

Just out of curiosity do you let them decide if they want to go to school or not? How about doing drugs or not? What about staying out all night? Probably not because they need some guidance and don't always have good judgement. Same goes with church. IMHO.

RPH- as the preacher, you sure can't skip out on church to hunt. You may have heard of the preacher who did that to play golf...got a hole-in-one! St Peter asks the Lord why He allowed it....the Lord says, "Who is he going to tell?"

See, this is where having your own ministry comes in handy.

The way it works in Ohio, all you have to do is find a willing minister to vouch for you on the paperwork. He does not even have to be of your faith. All you do is wait for the state to come back and tell you that you are officially licensed. Then you immediately declare an apostasy and declare yourself your own religious sect to the state.

Now, you can officially be in your stand on Sunday mornings, and you're in good with the forces Upstairs-- not to mention tax exempt! You can give your kids 1/3 extra allowance and then tithe it back as church contributions. You can declare your services will be held during half-time of the 4 O'Clock NFL game. The options are limited only by your conscience and imagination!.

The guy who explained all this to me was a founding member of the Green Dome Temple, which was a Neo-Pagan church out by Amelia, Ohio. He had a fight with his girlfriend and ended up getting himself ex-communicated by his own church.

His response? He contacted one of the folks that he'd ordained and got ordained into their pagan church and then declared an apostasy and came back as "The New and Improved Green Dome Temple." It was a fitting name; the guy worked at P&G for his day job. I suggested he add "With New Blue Power Crystals!" to the name of his church just to stick it to them. This all happened while I was bowhunting his Christmas tree farm/campground back in the mid-90's. Poor devil died on his 50th birthday. I did his eulogy at his funeral-- had them rolling in the aisles!

BTW: Just for the record, I'm just a good Methodist boy at heart. I was just hard up for a place to hunt.

Haha

Well I don't know about you guys, but I ALWAYS go hunting in Tweed and a tie...

I agree, here's a pic of me at church last Sunday. It was a glorious day!

This makes going from blind or stand to pulpit a whole lot simpler.