God's Great Outdoors

It’s a very special week, all over the world… Easter Week.  The week, on the show, we celebrate the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Many of us can remember the old cartoon character, Ziggy, the little depressed guy that walked around with a black cloud over his head all the time.  Today’s guest has a close connection with Ziggy, as she went through many years with seemingly one bad hunting experience after another. This past fall was different, after a disappointing beginning she killed the best buck of her life and was redeemed.  She’ll share the stories of victories and defeats as well as a wrong choice and another redemption story.

Most of us have eaten countless meals of shrimp and fish in our lives and never think of what it took to get them to the store or restaurant.  On today’s show we’ll meet a 3rd generation net maker from the very NE corner of Florida.  We’ll hear Johnny Burbank’s story of overcoming an addiction to alcohol and God has used him ever since that time.  We will see how God can transform what looked like a wasted life into a strong man of God that has been used by God in amazing ways.

Today’s guest is a friend that everyone tells me is the best steelhead fisherman in NW lower Michigan.     In an off-air conversation he said to me “wouldn’t it be great if we were known as a man of God first and then a great hunter, fisherman or outdoorsman”?     God gives us all gifts, many are rarely used the way God intends them… and to His glory.    Let’s Join our host Dean Hulce and his steelhead fishing guest, Matt Stevens as we see a man that shares how God us working in his life… while sitting in a riverboat.

Every one of us that hunts or fishes spends time in preparation for our sport.  There is scouting, hanging stands and many other things to prepare when hunting.  In fishing we get the boat ready, check lake maps and charts, getting rods and other gear ready before we head to the water.  In life we also prepare for the future as well as special opportunities that also come our way.On today's program we will hear from Pastor Adam Ray who has a deep passion for the outdoors.  He is a very successful hunter and fisherman, as well as a successful father and husband.  One of the things he prepares for every day is to be ready to give an when he is asked where his hope comes from.

It’s often said that laughter is the best medicine.  And on today’s show we will certainly get our prescription filled.  Even the writer of Proverbs wrote  “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength. Today our host Dean Hulce and I sat with two great friends of ours.  These two brothers are some of the funniest outdoorsmen you will ever meet.  We will have a lot of laughs but we will also hear an a great story of salvation and a slightly miraculous baptism. Come along now on the trail to adventure as we share some great outdoors stories and a lot of laughs.

Here in the North Country we are in the middle of winter and there is very little open water to cast a line into.  Only the hardiest of fisherman are on the rivers that are still flowing ice free.  However, the optimists among us know that spring is coming and will soon be here and it won’t be long until we will hear the sounds of boats on the water. On today’s show we will visit with fisherman Jeff Micolic that has devoted countless hours into the sport of musky fishing as well as the conservation and education of the sport.   He will share about his passion of sharing with others this sport and to give them the possible opportunity to land this extremely elusive fish.  He will also tell us about his desire to share something else far more important than fishing.

Have men in today’s world been robbed of their leadership and masculinity?  Has our media and entertainment stripped the strength from our men… or have we given it away freely? On today’s program we will meet with a father and son that love the outdoors…  Fishing, hiking, skiing and more…   But they choose to spend much of their time on a different endeavor, building strong relationships that help build stronger and more godly men.  A strong man is not judged by his outward appearance, but on his heart…  What lies within the Heart of a man?

All of us have struggles to overcome in life.  For some it might seem like a small hurdle and for others it might feel like we’ve come up against a grizzly bear.   Well one of this week’s guests was in fact attacked by the monster grizzly bear in the Northern Canadian Mountains.  He was slowly bleeding to death and God spared his life.  Up until that point our guest was running as far away from God as fast as he could.  Life was spent gathering as much as the world had to offer.  The bloody attack on the mountain redirected his life. Today, we’ll learn about the aftermath of the attack and recovery.  Our second guest will tell about how she prayed for her husband for over 10 years and how God used that bear attack to answer her prayers. If you are worn from praying for a person or situation in your life and you wonder if God is listening, play close attention to this program.  God hasn’t forgotten you, He is listening and He will answer in His timing and in your best interest.  Don’t give up.

Most men woman and children on earth goes through something that seems to stop the world from turning and changes our direction forever.  It might be an illness, a near death experience, the loss of a loved one or something else…   Whatever it is, it will be a crossroad in life.  At that point we will decide what direction our life will take from that day forward. Today’s guest, had that moment as a young man.  Something that brought him to the very edge of death, at the very moment the doctor was going to pull the plug, things changed.  Most of us couldn’t imagine what this young man was going through or how we could get through it. God has a way of getting our attention and our guest was brought from the edge of death and came to Christ to be used in an amazing way for his glory.

The sounds of Solitude… in today’s world we rarely get to experience true solitude, as there are few places that offer it.  In NW Ontario, on a secluded fly in only lake there is still such a place.  A place where the only sounds are the sounds of water lapping against the side of the fishing boat or the shoreline, the lonesome call of the loons, the rushing wind as it blows through the tall spruce and the still small voice of God as He speaks to you. Part of today’s program is a re-airing of a program from last year.  We’ll visit with a board member of God’s Great Outdoors and his wife, about an amazing place and all that it offers.  Rushing Wind camp in NW Ontario is the place that we will hear about.  This camp has been in operation for God’s glory for several decades and is a hidden jewel where, men and women, boys and girls can experience God’s glory in God’s Great Outdoors and renew a close relationship with Him… or you or your guest might find find Jesus Christ for the first time.