WINTER

WINTER

February 29, 2008

All of us here at AFC Ministries are ready for Winter to be
over. We had snow and slick roads here in Tennessee
yesterday and we're about over it. We're ready for Spring.
It's fishing time. Sharon and I just got back from the
BassMasters Classic in South Carolina. Congrats to the
winner- Alton Jones. Alton's a strong Christian from Waco,
TX. I was happy to hear him give God praise on ESPN. I'm
sure they loved that. We're excited about 2008. I'm now
getting my energy back after my heart attack in December
and have already been on the road. We have already seen
salvations and God is Blessing. Keep track with our
schedule of events & keep us in your prayers.
Thanks, Tony

PRAYER NEEDS: New State Directors- Chuck Boso/OK, Jeff
Nicodemus/VA & Scott Owens/TN. More Directors, financesw
for the tv show & ministry.

What Are You Fishing For?

By- Chuck Boso

I am a Christian and recently had my vision of fishing
changed by God. I have fished most of my life and whenever
I fished, I left the water frustrated. You see, my purpose
in fishing has always been skewed. But, I never realized
this until recently. I was always out to catch the big
bass to put on the wall. That was my only goal. However,
it literally never worked out. I always went home empty
handed. Many weekend trips with my Dad ended with the same
results; him with fish and me angry. On one occasion, I
went fishing with a friend whom I knew had routinely caught
numerous large bass. I copied his every move, used the
same tackle and fished the same area. However, as he
caught fish after fish I still caught nothing.

Later as an adult, I even tried going on a paid
striper trip with a guide. I was certain that this
approach would guarantee me a "big" fish to put on the
wall. Even that didn't work out. The weather was terrible
and I only managed a few small stripers. At one point I
sold or gave away every piece of fishing equipment I owned.
I eventually started fishing again and re-stocked my
fishing equipment. However, I still wasn't catching fish.
Things changed last year though.

Around the end of the football season, I took my
family to see a popular Christian film titled "Facing the
Giants". You may have seen it. It was about a high school
football coach who was experience a surge of problems both
at home and on the football field. He finally spent some
time alone with God and prayed about his situation. A few
days later he presented his team with a new team philosophy
"If we win, we praise him. If we lose we praise him".
What he told his team is what we all as Christians should
be doing every day. We are to praise God for all things in
our life no matter how stressful or challenging. I went
fishing a short time after that and while once again
getting frustrated at the lake I was thinking about the
movie we had enjoyed. Then it hit me. We are to do ALL
things in Christ and I wasn't fishing for him. I was
fishing for the wall trophy.
I instantly changed my outlook on angling. That day
I caught a small bass, not even a pound. As I was taking
it off the hook I said out loud "thank you Lord". He is
always with me when I fish. I started praying before my
fishing trips and asking God to keep my partner and I safe.
I ask him to help me do my best whether I caught anything
or not.

I recently fished in the annual Air National Guard
Bass Tournament in Tennessee. On day one, my partner and I
were two hours into the day and had not landed a single
fish. Then it occurred to me that I had not spent any time
with the Lord that morning. I sat down to change a lure
and prayed to God. I asked for his blessing on our safety
and asked him to help me do my best no matter what the
outcome was. Not long after that, I landed a nice 2.5
pounder to put us on the board. I thanked the Lord again.
We had a great day that day, coming in just outside the top
20. More importantly, we had a safe day on the water and
had fun. I was thankful for that.

Whenever, I get side tracked and don't fish for the
glory of the Lord, I don't catch anything. This is like
life itself. If we don't focus on God, we are not going to
catch anything. I'm proud of people like you who speak out
of their love for the Lord.