MacGyver

I very much believe the whole thing. I am just willing to look at it as the story of God's people - and not necessarily have to have it be a scientific text. I might even go further to say that I'm willing to believe in divine revelation even when human authors, translators, preachers, and readers are imperfect. For example - take the King James Bible that is generally revered by the most conservative traditions. Those traditions that still regularly use it do so because they believe that it is the "purest" English translation. Modern vernacular arguments aside - did you know that the original 1611 version of the King James included several books of the Apocrypha? In fact every version up until 1666 did - and they were included in most versions up through 1885. They were already debated at the time. Jerome labels them as such in the 4th century - even though they were in the Jewish Septuagint. Really he keeps them because St. Augustin talks him into it. Post-reformation, they're really removed (despite a big war being fought) because the protestants would really like to appear less Catholic. There's a lot more here - and it's an interesting bit of history I recommend - but there are some pieces not in most Bibles today because one tradition wanted to look less like another tradition. What do we do with that? All of our translations are problematic. The best translators are upfront about the decisions they make and why they've made them. But, they're admitting that their translation of the text is imperfect because of the lack of ability to express ancient languages across into something accessible by the reader. Does God still speak to us through imperfect translations? What about through imperfect understandings of ideas? I read an article the other day that made a compelling case for needing a second person plural in our translations - basically the Bible needs "y'all" and "all y'all" because we don't have the words in English do describe a Greek plural "you." As such, we mistake "you" in some cases to speak to us individually when we should be reading it "y'all" to speak to us as a community. I guess I say all of this to say that I can continue to believe without a full understanding - and even an imperfect one. I pray that God will be graceful with all of us...

Patricia Heaton doesn't have a belly button. Maybe she's Adam reincarnated?

I don’t. I am in practice what most would consider a conservative Christian. But, I also work to sync my faith with what’s been revealed to us through science - or art for that matter. My faith is not challenged if the narrative of Genesis has more to say about the relationship between God and his created people rather than it does specifically, literally about “how” the earth was created. I do very much believe in a creator God. My kids were taught the creation story on the flannel graph just like I was. But, as a church - we don’t want our kids to grow up feeling like they need to turn part of their brain off when they go to church - so we try to struggle with these things in a way that’s open and genuine. As scientists, the more we learn, the more we find we don’t know. I’m certain future peoples will look at us with the same wonder that we look at the understanding of other ancient cultures. I think our modern, post-enlightenment minds make a mistake when we try to take the Bible and turn it into a scientific text. That’s not how the intended audience would have read it - and so we should be careful there, too. I do believe it has an enormous amount to tell us about our relationship as a community with a creator God. In that way, the stories in the first part of Genesis represent a far different story than the creation narratives of other near-Eastern cultures of the time. For that matter, and back to this topic, I’m even okay if the flood narrative is mostly apocryphal. It doesn’t disrupt my faith. But, at the same time, I can go to see a full-scale model in Kentucky and think it’s pretty cool.

The amazing thing about stings like this is just how productive they are. Still. Today. In 2019.

This is just heartbreaking.

They’re young earthers, but if you can get past that, it’s pretty cool and worth seeing. My kids went there last summer and really enjoyed it.

Oh, I’m so sorry to hear this. Know that you remain in my prayers. Additionally, if there’s anything that we can do as a community to make things easier in the coming days, please feel free to reach out to me directly.

It’s way easier than it used to be. And faster, too.

I didn’t know Lodge did factory tours. I’d love to check one of those out sometime when I’m down that way.

Good luck and Godspeed my friend. Y’all have put the work in while you’ve been in Nashville. I know y’all will be glad to be back close to family.

We’ll keep you all in our prayers. I hope that you last days with her are filled with the joy of a life well lived and the comfort of faith. I pray that you all will be filled with peace.

So prayerful for you guys.

For anyone who's not used a breakaway tongue on a light boat - they're worth it. It'll let you put this thing in the garage and close the door. For folks with militant HOA's that's worth a lot.

That LT25 is a sweet setup. I know a guy that bought his kid one and put a 40HP Honda on the back of it. It runs like an angry mosquito. I've thought a million times that he'd surely swamp it. But it'll turn on a dime under power and come up out of the hole like something is chasing it. It's impressive.

Heck, you could hit some redfish or snook while you were there.

I’ll try to find some pictures, but I was out on Center Hill a couple of weeks back in a cove that was full of carp. They were huge, and there were probably 20 of them. It was a rock bottom - maybe 2 feet deep - so there’s no way I would have taken the big boat up in there. I threw just about every fly I had in the box - and then moved over to a spinning rig. They didn’t want any of it. I was bummed, but it was cool to be in there with all of them railing up while feeding.

Yeah, the above is assuming new. Rob knows the Gheenoe market well - so he’s an authority here. I’d be willing to bet that if you’re willing to look around for quality used gear - and are willing to wait and maybe drive a little, you could get everything I quoted above for well south of $5k. For that matter, it might be worth your time - and a good use of money to spend $1500 on a used boat. It’ll get you on the water, let you familiarize yourself with the area and the fishing, and then let you figure out what makes sense for your next step. I may have a bias. In our house we have 2 kayaks, a canoe, a Hobie Pro Angler, two stand up paddleboards, a 19 foot center console inshore boat, and a bunch of surfboards (that would be tough to fish from.) If I could buy another boat this afternoon, it would be a Gheenoe or an 1860 jonboat. Or maybe if I wanted to spend more and support a Tennessee based company, I’d buy a Towee. Those are boats that are made for our Tennessee waters. Some of the best fishing in our state is on waters that just aren’t going to be hospitable to a jetski - and that’s assuming they’re not prohibited outright.

You might try a newer kayak, too. Companies like Hobie and FeelFree have made some real strides with their seating to get you up off the deck. I regularly fish from a Hobie Pro Angler with a mirage drive. You're about a fifth of the cost of a Jetski in one.

You didn't ask - but as someone who spends a lot of time fishing skinny water, if I was going to spend $14K on a boat today, it would be like this with some change left over: Gheenoe - 18' Super - $6800 Aluminum Trailer - $1700 Poling Platform - $675 20HP Honda Outboard - $3420 Lowrance Elite 9 TI2 - $799 Total - $13394 You could even add a Power Pole Micro Anchor and still come in under $14K. Want to save a few bucks? Go with the 16' Super and you'll subtract $2200. I would probably save up a few bucks for a nice trolling motor. They've got some amazing ones these days that'll hook straight to the GPS if you like.

Man, you could get a gorgeous Gheenoe with a nice motor, fully outfitted and have a bunch of change left over for what you’re going to spend on the SeaDoo. Can you try one out first? Mind you, I regularly fish from kayaks and a stand up paddle board - outside of speed, you’re making a lot of compromises. Slow speed handling is questionable on a jet drive - it stirs up a lot of water - and it really takes constant monitoring. I’d question the ability to effectively troll.

The 300gr works great in the SOCOM. They’ll stop a hog in its tracks.

110gr TTSX in the 300 is a great hog round. 300BLK got all the press for heavy subsonics, but I’m convinced that supers is really where it shines.

That particular holster does look to be good quality. If you could adjust it out to cant a bit to more of a diagonal sideways draw, I think it would be more comfortable with your pack - not to mention when you sit. Of course it's nice to be able to drop your pack and retain the pistol - but I doubt anyone would have the time if it went down. 4" barrel?

What pack are you using? I've had some success putting my holster on the hip belt of my pack, too. I can carry anywhere from appendix - maybe 90 degrees around to 3-4o'clock. I've been able to carry without modding my pack - but I'm skinny. I've got a friend who sewed a double piece of 1.5" tubular webbing to his hip belt, with a faster buckle. He was then able to use his normal OWB holster on his pack.

Yeah, I think practice is probably key. It still makes me nervous.