I hunt. I do it unapologetically. Every year around this time I begin to grow my beard. I grow it from opening day of deer season until I get back from my Ohio hunt with my brothers. Ava loves my beard and loves that I bring home meat for our family to eat. We eat everything I shoot, so nothing is wasted. I love to hunt. It's what I am. I am a Hunter :)
This year, just like every year before it for the last 10, I will head to Ohio and hunt the great whitetail deer. Some of you will not like this part of me and I am ok with that...you can just quit reading for a while. If you make an anti-hunting comment, it will promptly be deleted. However, its not you that I am deleting, its your anti-hunting comment...so don't feel bad.
I absolutely love sitting in a tree and being a part of God's creation. It is where I feel closest to God. This year, I will be close to Ava too since she is close to God. I read a comment from one of you who lost a child a while back and it said "I just try to stay close to Jesus because I know my boy is right there with Him"... I loved that. That is what I will be doing while I am in His creation.
This year, Ava will be with me in my tree stand. She will be talking to me and I will be talking to her. She loved this time of year and asked me every time I called home, "did you get one yet, daddy?" The answer was usually, "no", but I loved to hear that question. This year she will know as soon as it happens.
I miss Ava, but we are good today. I can't wait to take her on her first deer hunt with me. It's been a long time coming.
Oh, and I got a new bow for this season, Ava. You are gonna like it...
Awesome Josh!! And she will be so happy to be there and share with her daddy! The McCracken's love deer meat! You are A-OK, in our book!! Thinking of you and your family as always!
ReplyDeleteAngie McCracken & Family!
It must be pink camo?! Must look mighty nice in your hands. Hope it makes the deer prance with joy at the sight of it and they just fall down at it's sight. Sweet. Know wonder it will be perfect. Ava and a pink bow. Priceless.
ReplyDeleteCarey :)
Apparently I like to misspell "No" and repeat lots of words in the same sentence. Oh well...
ReplyDeletecarey
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this!!
ReplyDeleteYou and Ava enjoy every minute of it.. My Dad loved to hunt and we sure did enjoy the many times he got a deer.So safe trip and good luck!!
ReplyDeleteMarilyn Smith
Awesome Josh, I am so happy for you !! Get er done !! All my family up here is waiting for October 1st too. For me it's Fishing, I love to fish, my Me & God time. A bad day of fishing is better than no fishing at all, the conversations with God and my kid's are the best !!No Crazie's fit's into my time fishing !! Leave everything else behind and just spend my time praising him !! I hope you are taking Noah, he is old enough for that tree stand too. Enjoy yourself with God & Ava.. Lisa could use some Retail Therapy....Terri Goulette
ReplyDeletehave you ever tried venison jerky? it's great!
ReplyDeleteYou and Ava have fun, be safe and come home with lots of "stuff" to eat! Love You All!
ReplyDeleteJosh- your blog made me smile. I love how much
ReplyDeleteyou love to hunt. Praying hard for you guys.
Your faith is really something to witness.
I am sure Ava is going to direct some deer right onto your path this year!
Lori Cronon Pierce
Growing up in Ohio I had lots of encounters with deer, I just remember when I got my first car praying that I wouldn't hit one in the middle of the night...my brother in law had a deer head hanging on his wall that represented a car he no longer had...I loved your pictures from last year, can't wait to read about this year's trip!!
ReplyDeleteI really can't wait until you go and we can read along about your adventures in the tree stand with God, Ava and the deer. Sounds amazing!! We will be praying for a fun, exciting, safe and God filled hunting adventure! I'm certain Ava is going to have a BLAST as will you!!!
ReplyDeleteI just want you to know Josh...I am 27 weeks pregnant at this time and as you speak about being close to Ava by being closer to God, that is so true and beautiful. I have started looking at this pregnancy is such a different way. Truly it is as if she is already here with us and even though we felt that way before it is different now. Now it is very obvious to us what a gift from God she is and everytime I feel her move now it is so beautiful. I pray over her everyday and talk to her all of the time as does her father.
I just want to thank you, Lisa and Ava for this special gift.
Much Love and Prayers,
Shannon and Mark Simonson
don't ever apologize for who you are. i don't care for venison, but i do admire hunters, with a lower and upper case "h"!.
ReplyDeleteyou will be in my prayers for a successful and safe hunt.
linda mcculloch
I've only ever killed 2 deer in my life, and it was with the same car. An '85 Caprice. Made to kill deer. One night headed back to Leavenworth from Lawrence, KS, I hit this deer. It shook me up a bit and I looked back and it was just sitting in the middle of the road. Head straight up and looking around. This is where my wife, who grew up on a ranch, said I should have called the sheriff to come and take care of it. But I was a city boy and had an already bloodied up Caprice. So I threw it in reverse and was sure a second pass would finish it off. This time it was just sorta shaking in the road. Head down now. Third time's a charm, right? Forward...bump bump. Rearview mirror... Writhing like a snake, not just shaking. You gotta know I was sick at this point. Well, not literally, just felt badly. I hadn't been joyriding over this poor deer's head. I was honestly trying to put it out of its misery. I'm afraid I added to its misery. I hope to kill a deer this winter, with a gun. And then someday with a bow. Carter's first car, though, will definitely be a Caprice!!!
ReplyDeleteSo happy that you are finding some comforting moment and that you will find some peace in knowing Ava is with you in spirit for something you love so much. I hope that Lisa and Noah are finding comfort in things as well...It's a long road, but y'all are amazing from where sit and read about your life. God Bless y'all...still praying! :)
ReplyDeleteClose to God + close to nature + close to family = Good Times
ReplyDeleteI think I am addicted to your blog and now, to all these ever so funny stories. God bless you all and keep you safe love yo Grace.
ReplyDeleteLove reading your blog. So glad you are still writing ... and still living life to it's fullest. I admire you and your family so much!
ReplyDeleteI CANNOT stop laughing at Luke's comment!!!!!!!! My stomach hurts from laughing so hard!!! This blog is the best. Has inspired me, brought me to tears, and tonight has me in hysterics! Is hysterics a word?
ReplyDeleteChristy
My dad's a hunter too. He used to take me with him to scout his spot before hunting season began. Although by the time I was old enough to go with him I was into other things, I used to dream about going with him on the hunt. Lol, He would always carry one of my key ring charms with him for good luck. Now when I want to spend time with God I find myself gravitating towards the woods. There is something special about a daddy and his little girl exploring God's creation together...enjoy your adventures!
ReplyDelete"No pain, no gain Monfrain!," Ava Hunter
ReplyDelete"I won't associate with crazies anymore," Joel Hunter
"The Devil will not have me doubt God's promises through Fear. Fear no more!," Cari
Thank you, Ava, Pastor Joel and the entire Hunter family for walking a faith-filled, not fear-filled path!! Praying for an Ava-filled hunting trip for y'all :-)
Excellant blog today. I wish you and Ava a successful and blessed hunting season. You and your entire family continually amaze me.
ReplyDeleteMay you all continue to have good days. Keep shining your light with your "Awesome" blogs. The Lord's love endures. Have fun in God's country. In my thoughts and prayers.
I just moved from central Florida back to Georgia in June so it is becoming deer season here too. It must be good to know that your hunting becomes food for your family and you will have time to know that Ava is closer than ever as you prepare to travel to Ohio. My prayers continue for your family for new mercies every day ... God bless, Debbie Brown
ReplyDeleteMy old boss was a bow hunter. Since he seldom brought home a deer, I suspected he did it for some of the same reasons you do--to be out in God's creation. He always had wonderful stories to tell of his time in the tree stand.
ReplyDeleteM.
I'm not a hunter. (do not delete me yet!) in fact, I'd probably die a slow, painful, starving death if I had to kill animals to survive. So I highly admire people like you who can do it for me so I can live because I sure love meat. Just too wimpy to kill it myself. Anyone who eats what he kills has my respect. It's the fishermen who impale innocent fish with hooks and then throw them back that confuse me. Why not just keep it and eat it? I'm sure there's a reason. Heck, I guess if I was a fish I'd rather go in living with a flesh wound than be someone's dinner. Anyway, I think it's so awesome that Ava and you will be having some father-daughter time on this trip. Enjoy and be sure to tell her next time ya'll talk just how much she is missed! Praying this will be your best hunting trip ever! -Megan Aldridge
ReplyDeleteBring home some bacon... Oh no wait, wrong meat! Haha!! Venison. Yeah bring that home! Yum!!
ReplyDeleteJosh, hope you and Ava have a great season. My husband used to hunt and I know it involves hours of sitting up in that stand. After the past months, you deserve the solitude and peace that you can get being out there in nature. I pray the time will do your soul good. Continued prayer for your lovely family.
ReplyDeleteYou amaze me!!!!!!!! You better Mount those deer you catch this year.....what an amazing reminder you will always have of your first hunting trip with sweet Ava...
ReplyDeleteI've always wanted to learn how to hunt, or at least try deer meat =)
ReplyDeleteGood to know you will go after some decent sized mid-western deer. Always strange to see the Florida deer - about the size of an Indiana Greyhound dog. . . not much eatin' on 'em. Good luck with your hunting. My husband has tried his hand at bow hunting - comes home empty handed. I tease him he must surely be sleeping when the "deer parade" passes . . . he doesn't much appreciate my humor after a long empty handed weekend - but later we laugh. . . well, I laugh. . . Is Noah interested in the great hunt? Our oldest daughter loves to just go out and shoot her bow, the youngest boy, not-so-much. Looking forward to spending this season with you by your blog.
ReplyDeleteVery inspirational. Allow yourself to do what you need to do to get through this time...no explanations necessary! I will pray for Lisa and Noah while you are gone. I will pray for you to get close to God (and Ava). This was a VERY touching post today. Really struck me in the heart.....
ReplyDeleteSue Schutz
I love, love, love this
ReplyDeleteAWSOME! Josh my son is going to enjoy reading your blog with me In the next while! He too is going on a hunt in Ohio where our home was! He can't wait til November that is when he gets to go out in the woods close to nature to try to bring home his first deer! His dad and I got him a new bow for his birthday a couple of years ago! He can't wait to be with his uncles and cousins! Do you make jerky and smokies! My brother in law has the best recipe for smokies! I'm sure we will be sharing more stories and hunting season starts! By the way what part of Ohio do you hunt! Praying and thinking of you all always! Cindy Miller
ReplyDeleteSounds like a plan at least in Ohio they are of a good size deer down here are not much bigger than a great dane. How many deer are you allowed to get in Ohio a season?
ReplyDeletePraying for all of you still...
Deb Holtum
Have a great time! You deserve to do something that you enjoy and have Ava right there with you!
ReplyDeleteThat is awesome! I hope you get a big one for Ava~
ReplyDeleteFor years, my grandsons and I have 'sent' helium balloons to my daddy (in heaven) on his birthday, fathers day and any other time we want to tell papa something. It makes us feel close to him and is a sweet way to remember him. Two of our boys never met my daddy but they know him and they look forward to his birthday every year. And no, Josh....
We don't do crazy in our house either!
Josh,
ReplyDeleteI wanted to share something with you that now makes sense. You don't know me but I have been praying for you and your family since day one. I am a single mom with two boys 3 and 5 so it made your losing AVA all the more real for me. It has helped my boys to understand the concept of death and they ask me a lot of questions about AVA.
The Sunday Ava went to be with Jesus I was with another family from Summit and we were letting our children play and swim while we talked through our feelings about faith, God, trials, unanswerd prayers and AVA. We were all in tears. As we were leaving the third friends house about a mile down the road in an unlikely spot we saw a beautiful deer in the middle of Celebration! It was so innocent, sweet, it looked at us and both families pulled over and watched it....the deer just kept staring at us, other cars went by but no one seemed to notice. I remember thinking this is a sign from God. It is a sign that he is in control, that his creation is perfect and beautiful and that AVA is going to be with him, the creator. I knew at that moment AVA was going to be with Jesus...that was Sunday night. I knew it was a sign of comfort, but I though why a deer? Now I know.
Josh i would first like to start off and tell you how sorry I am that you have to go through this.I am the father of Aiden Patrick.Our son was killed on the beach July 18 2010.I have to admit before this I really did'nt have alot of faith beccause of the way I was brought up in a broken home.I now can honestly say i have reached out to Jesus himself and have started a relationship with him.I am also a hunter and every year around this time Aiden would ask if he could go with my older son Jason and myself.I told Aiden when he gets a little older I would.He would sit and watch hunting shows with me while he had his toy gun and would shoot them on t.v.This will be te first year he gets to go hunting with me.He will be so excited to see his first deer in real life.I know I will have Jesus and My Biggest sitting rite next to me in the stand.That is what I called my son Aiden my "Biggest".He got that name one day while my older son and him were arguing who's daddy I was.So I told my older son he was my baby and Aiden was my biggest and this made them both feel equal in a different way.I now have excepted that our son Aiden is so special that Jesus needed him up in Heaven.I also understand why I gave him his mickname my Biggest because he is bigger that I could ever be.My Biggest is playing in Heaven with Jesus and your daughter as well just waiting on us to join them.My condolences go out to you and your family.With kind regards Jason Patrick
ReplyDeleteJosh,
ReplyDeleteYou don’t need to be a Hunter to get a deer, only a gatherer.
Several years back I was driving through a neighborhood when lo and behold I saw the biggest, baddest stuffed deer head on the side of the road that someone was (gasp!!) throwing out. It probably was Luke’s that he had stuffed after he hit it with his 85 Caprice (several times no less) but alas I digress (laugh).
Being the gatherer/packrat/hoarder I am I couldn’t see this majestic piece going to waste so I decided to take it home. The rack was so big (15 points!!) it wouldn’t even fit in my Jeep Grand Cherokee, so with the hatchback up I drove it home, antlers sticking out of the back of my Jeep daring anyone who climbed up on me on the Bee Line and 417 to come just a little bit closer. I got it home, thought it looked sorta weird in my Early American garage sale home, and decided put it on e-Bay instead. The bids climbed well past $150.00 until someone pointed out that it wasn’t the trophy winning 15 point deer head I promoted it as but a small elk head instead. Deer, elk, moose, caribou- some people are so fussy about these things. Anyway the guy who won the bid lived in West Virginia but this thing was so big the only way it could be shipped to him was by a moving van at a cost of $500 which was cost-prohibitive. I almost put it in the bottom of the bus that was taking our kids from church on a ski trip as well but it was so big it wouldn’t even fit in there either. Some days you just can’t win…
So the bottom line, Josh, is if you come home from your trip with only good memories you still don’t need to come home empty handed. Just give me a call, we’ll swing by my storage shed and you too can have a 15 point trophy deer head stuffed and ready to mount on your wall- free for the asking. I won’t tell Noah and Lisa it’s a young elk instead of a deer if you don’t…
God bless.
Mike
Josh-
ReplyDeleteEnjoy the season. Like you stated, it's who you are and that's fine. I love the preparation for 'the hunt'. The beard.
I think God, in His perfect wisdom, planned this all along. I believe with all my heart that He knew you would find peace and comfort in your hunting season this year like you've never had before, because of your loss. Yes, there is a big piece of your heart missing, but you are taking a piece of you with you on your hunting trip this year that you never have before. God is soo good. Timing is everything, isn't it.
I pray Lisa and Noah are finding a perfect peace in the way you are while they grieve for Ava.
I find peace in nature as well. I just don't get to experience nature enough. Maybe someday.
God's blessing-
Jody
Oh, Josh… I just love this. The beautiful thing is we can still share in the moments of life with the one’s we love, even if they are not physically here with us on this earth. This was beautiful, and interestingly enough a post about hunting, but yet, beautiful!!!!
ReplyDeleteLuke and Mike, your stories just have me laughing in tears.
ReplyDeleteJosh, I pray you get that deer this year while sweet Ava is by your side. You are an amazing man, with an amazing family, and amazing faith that has taught me so much through your blog and I am very thankful to wake up each morning and read what you wrote the night before.
My continued prayers for you and your family and again, thank you!
Katrina (The Smith Family)
Love it, Love it!!! My husband LIVES to hunt, he hunts anything & everything! He too, can not wait for the day his daughter gets to go with him. It's so funny to me, but my husband has decribed sitting in the deer stand/hunting blind exactly the way you did. May you find peace & comfort this hunting season & every season after. Blessings~
ReplyDeleteI do not really have anything to say...but I did want to send you the smile I got while read your thoughts today. :-)
ReplyDeleteDear Josh,
ReplyDeleteFrom one hunter to another. Simply wanted to wish you the very best this fall in the quest for the great whitetail. Please know that an old friend and fellow bowhunter will be out there, in spirit, with you in some remote place in Florida this fall. In your quest for this great creature, may you feel GOD's grace in the autumn breeze, the rising or setting sun, the sounds of life all around you, and the comaraderie with your fellow woodsmen back at camp. Please know that our hearts and prayers are with your family. May God bring Peace and Comfort to you and your family. May he be closer to you than ever before.
Sweet!! I pray that you have an amazing time hunting. I just saw an episode of "Say Yes to the Dress"...you may never have heard of it, but maybe Lisa has seen it on TV. A bride was on saying how much she and her fiance love to hunt....I mean love. He proposed to her right in the middle of Bass Pro Shop....he actually got down on one knee. HA! Maybe you will run into them in Ohio. :-)
ReplyDeleteI am keeping all of you in my prayers.
xoxo,
Melissa
God has spoken to me so many times through the million tiny, intricate movements of leaves in forests of trees. You'll know that Ava is there when the Holy Spirit blows in and rustles them and out comes a certain harmony that you will recognize as her own delightful voice, or perhaps her unique little growl--just for daddy. Happy hunting!
ReplyDeleteHappy hunting with Ava, Josh! You are still going to write while you are gone...right?? It's hard enough waiting to the end of the day to read the new blog...I don't think we can wait until hunting season is over!!
ReplyDeleteI already think a little differently about hunting now. We will just be excited for you and the time you will be spending with Jesus and your girl (whom we all love)! Thinking of The "Hunter's" and in our thoughts and prayers!