Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to all!  I love this time of year.  It is the annual season of harvest.  Farmers are finishing up combining their fields, we actually got our soy beans out of the field two weeks ago, and hunters have taken to the woods to stock their freezers for the coming year.  Although the grain and meat fill our stomachs there is something bigger going on when we hunt and harvest.  There is a spirituality that is engrained with hunting.  We realize that just as God made the crops of the field and the fruits of the trees renewable, He also has given us dominion over the animals so that we will have an unlimited source of renewable protein.  Also, we all hunt with our families and friends and that camaraderie helps builds bonds and relationships that last lifetimes.  Is there anything more special than sharing your son or daughters first hunting experience?  Watching your ageing dad shoot what may very well be his last pheasant?  Helping a friend blood trail, and ultimately find, his “big buck”?  Checking your trail cameras with your spouse?  Filling feeders or setting up stands with your children?  Listing to friends “hunting adventures” over a cup of hot coffee?  Reading about “how to do it” in one of your favorite hunting magazines?  Watching your favorite shows on the Outdoor Channel?  Listening to Ted Nugent’s “Fred Bear” because it is the one song that not only describes what hunting is all about but it helps define you as a hunter?  Oh yes, I love this season!  I love everything about hunting!  I am “THANKFUL” that there are enough of us that stand up for, and protect, our hunting and shooting rights.  I am “THANKFUL” that we have the right to “Keep and Bear Arms”!  I am “THANKFUL” for my family and friends!  I am “THANKFUL” for my health and the health of my family!  Most of all, I am “THANKFUL” that we have a loving and caring God who gives us all of the blessings in our lives!  So my Thanksgiving prayer for 2009 is that we all will recognize the many blessings in our lives; that we all have the courage to stand up and fight for the things in our lives that we know are right and decent; that we all do a little more to share some of our blessings with those less fortunate; for good health and a safe and successful season of harvest!  Happy Thanksgiving, Happy Hunting and God Bless!