Kids and Trout!



Morning Limits for Grant and Joel!!!

Well, we had a blast at Diamond Lake last weekend and I wish I could share all all of the photo's with you but with 3 different camera's, a snow storm, and my apparent inability to get pictures of my daughters, and my sisters kids to upload I guess we'll just have to settle for the ones off of Jeff's camera!

His kids are pretty cute anyway.  Finn, (above) got the same handsomeness gene as his uncle Scott.  And Boone (below) must have gotten his cuteness from his mom.  Neither one of these kids will have to be behind the camera like their father.  They look good enough to be on film. :)

Below is a shot of my son Grant and my nephew Joel discussing who caught the biggest trout.  It was hard convincing them that it was a tie. That is Joel in the background doing girth to length calculations in his head and then using his water displacement theory and figuring how much the lake level dropped when we pulled all of these fish out of the water.  (He's smart like that)

Spring at Diamond Lake is a tradition in my family that dates back to when my dad was a kid.  My grandpa used to take him and his brothers up there for trout fishing and then I remember my grandpa and my dad taking my sister, Jeff and I fishing in grandpa's boat when we were kids.  Now my dad is 'grandpa' and he is still taking his three kids plus all of our kids fishing in his boat.  I think it is called leaving a legacy.  Or a heritage.  It is putting a stamp in all of our memories that will never fade away. Family, fun, fish, being outdoors in a beautiful setting, sharing those moments with loved ones...that is what it is all about.

Us adults didn't catch many fish.  These trips are all about the kids and letting them reel in as many fish as possible.  It was fun to watch each of them reel in the first few fish frantically and with such concentration.  So excited, but so scared that they were going to lose them.  Then after 3-4 fish they settle down and things become 'old hat'.  It no longer requires deep concentration and they even continue talking about whatever they were talking about while bringing in the fish.  Like they were pros or something!  It was really fun to watch.  But one thing that never went away was the smiles when the rod bent, or when the fish finally hit the net.  Our family has been cracking smiles at Diamond Lake for 4 generations now and I feel like we've been really blessed.

But then my thoughts turn to kids who don't get these same opportunities.  There are so many kids out there who don't have a dad to take them fishing.  The legacy or heritage that they are left with is abandonement.  Who will lead these kids into the kinds of adventures that touch the deep longing in their souls for beauty, adventure, risk, being outdoors in the wild?  Will they get a chance to be smack dab in the middle of creation and enjoy all of the beauty of the world God created for them?  Without a loving and engaged earthly father, how will they come to understand that there is a loving and engaged heavenly father?  If they don't know what a relationship with an earthly father looks like how will they understand that they have a heavenly father who wants a relationship with them?

Friends, that is why we are developing an outdoor ministry aimed at mentoring fatherless boys.  We want to reach out to these kids. Lead them into these kinds of adventures to discover the generous God who created all that we enjoy.  And we want to help lead these boys to a relationship with their heavenly father who will never abandon them.  We are well on our way to getting this crucial ministry started but we still need help.  There are many things we are seeking from land access, to guys who want to mentor, to financial help, to gear and equipment, expertise, prayer support, legal help, etc.  If you want to help partner with us in this ministry and help us make a difference in the lives of the fatherless please contact us at info@faithinthefield.com

God Bless,

Scott