THANK YOU

THANK YOU

With Thanksgiving a few days away, I decided to revise a story that was posted in July when we first started https://www.storiesbylarry.com/. It is a reminder for all of us to thank God for not only our holiday meals but to thank him every day for all He has done for each of us.

It also reminds me to thank all of you who read my stories, when we post them each week for your kind and encouraging words. Many of you have signed up to receive them through your email every week. It costs you nothing to do that. God gave me the gift to write these stories. I share them with everyone free.

In this world we live in today, I hope they touch your heart in some way and make you laugh, cry, smile, or think. I encourage you to please also share them with others.

I believe with all my heart that God is blessing https://www.storiesbylarry.com/. It humbles me to know it is now being read in not only the United States but also countries like Canada, Ireland, Bahamas, Germany, South Korea, Vietnam, and France, as well as other countries in Europe, Central America, and Asia.

Dublin, Ireland is among the top 10 cities with people that read them. The states with the most readers include, Missouri, Virginia, Illinois, Texas, Massachusetts, Ohio, and Kansas. I feel God has his hand in this. I am thankful for what he is doing.

For those of you who have not been to our site, we also have videos of our church services, information about our church, Bible verses, and more.

I also want to thank Feinoxx and Greg Porter from our church. All of the Porter family is very special to me. I am a technologically challenged old man, so without Greg’s advice and 13-year-old Feinoxx posting these for me, none of this would be possible.

I hope you enjoy this story. Have a Happy Thanksgiving with your friends and family. May God bless all of you!

                              REMEMBER TO SAY GRACE

When I was growing up on Grandpa and Grandma’s farm, we said grace before every meal. Our food came from the garden I helped seed and weed. We also picked wild plants from the fields and forests around the farm. One of my jobs was to gather eggs from the chickens. On special occasions, Grandma would butcher a chicken and fry it up on the old wood cook stove.

Grandpa raised hogs and butchered them with the help of family or neighbors. He cured the meat in a smokehouse he built. He taught me how to milk his old Jersey cow by hand. Almost everything from every meal came from that old farm, including the rabbits, squirrels, and quail my grandpa taught me how to hunt. It was important back then to thank God for what He had provided us.

Today, when our family gathers for holiday meals or other occasions, one of us says grace as we all hold hands. We do not always do that at all family meals. But we should.

Saying grace before meals, among other things, is a way to remember God, not your credit card, provided the meal. Even if you are not a believer, saying grace recognizes  people whose hard work brought food to your table, at home or eating out. People like farmers, grocery store clerks, friends, relatives, or restaurant chefs. If you are a non-believer, I would love to tell you a true story about a man who can change your life for the better.

I have said grace at luncheon meetings,  banquets, and at church. As a believer, it is an honor to do that. I always hope that what I say will touch the hearts of those listening and get their eyes on God instead of the depressing evening news or all the other stuff on their smartphones and computers. 

I will admit that I do not say grace before every meal. At home, it is usually just my wife and I. When I go to the Golden Arches for a biscuit sandwich to eat while on my way fishing, I don’t. When I stop by Arby’s for a roast beef sandwich after a morning hunt, I don’t. I should be thanking God before every meal. But I do not, even though I should. I do not know anyone that does.

I have found it easier to say grace over the game I have harvested or fish I have caught and prepared for a meal. Maybe that is because I have a close connection to them. Like my Grandma and Grandpa had on that old farm. It is hard to have that feeling with pizza out of a box, broasted chicken in a plastic container, a hamburger, fries in a sack, or store-bought groceries.

When grilling a steak from a deer, I think about that morning in the deer woods. I remember the beautiful sunrise peeking over the hill. I remember the frosted field, the crows calling, the birds fluttering through the trees, the squirrels running around looking for nuts, and the bobcat or fox walking by.

I remember when that deer first appeared. That deer never knew I was there in the tree. I remember kneeling beside it, laying my hand on it, and thanking the deer for giving its life to feed my family. I remember looking up and thanking God for my time outdoors in his creation. I remember field-dressing it and thinking about how the rest of that deer would feed the crows, turkey vultures, coyotes, raccoons, opossums, and other animals. When I eat any part of that deer, I say grace.

While cooking a wild turkey breast in my smoker, my mind travels back to a spring morning and another beautiful sunrise. Birds were singing. Crows were talking to each other as they always do. Everything was green. Wildflowers were blooming everywhere. I heard turkey wings flapping when they flew down from their roost. My hen decoys were poised and ready in front of my hiding place. My Jake decoy was near the hens and close enough to make a gobbler want to come in and kick his butt for trying to mess with his ladies.

A gobble came from over the slight rise to my left. I gave a soft purr with the mouth call, hoping it would sound like a hen saying to him Come on in, I am ready, you good-looking hunk of turkey. He answered me with a booming gobble. My heart rate increased dramatically. I never made another call because he quickly appeared over the rise. He fanned his tail feathers and puffed out his chest. It was his way of saying Look how handsome I am.

Then, he saw the decoy and immediately went over and attacked it, knocking it to the ground. The gobbler stood over the battered fake decoy and strutted for the ladies again. When he came out of his strutting display, my shotgun boomed. The hens disappeared over the rise. It took one gobble, two struts, and a gobbler was on the ground. Taking a turkey is not always that easy. Believe me.

I smooth its bronze feathers in the early morning sun and thank it for feeding my family. The gobblers fan, beard, and spurs hang on my wall along with others. The smoked turkey breast was a reminder of a great day in the turkey woods. There was no hesitation in saying grace when I sat down to eat that turkey or the morel mushrooms I found that day.

It is the same with fish I catch. I do not lay my hand on them and thank them for giving their life to feed my family like I do turkey or deer. But, when I fry, grill, or smoke the fish I caught, I remember when and where I caught them. I see the sun or the moon reflecting on the water. I see the eagle sitting in a tree. I see the deer at the edge of the water. I hear the water lapping against the boat or rippling down the stream. I hear my lure hit the water.

When I am out on a camping trip, I feel close to God. My meal may not be fish or game, but I do my best to say grace over my camp meal, even if it is just a hot dog grilled on a stick. As I sit around the campfire, watching the flames flicker and spark, with nature all around me, I look up and say, thank you!

When I take the life of any game animal or fish I do not take that lightly. I remind myself it is through the gifts God gave me to be a hunter and a fisherman that I was successful at harvesting the game or catching the fish. I will always be thankful to Him for the great outdoors He created for me to enjoy my camping, hunting, and fishing.

I will always try to remember to say grace before a camp meal and before I enjoy eating the wild game or fish that I have prepared at home for a meal. You see, saying grace is the least I can do for all God has done for me. When you gather with your family for Thanksgiving and Christmas meals of ham or store-bought turkey, remember to say grace.