Alton Jones

Well if you don’t know Alton Jones has been dominating the current B.A.S.S. Master Elite event this weekend.  I think Alton Jones is a great guy.  He is a Christian and a heck of a bass fisherman.  I have had the opportunity to talk with him on the phone and email for articles I have written.  I did a post about him (read here) a month back.

Gregg Kizewski posted on Alton Jones Facebook “Great job Alton! Jeremiah 17:7-10” today, so I went and read it Jeremiah 17:7-10 says:

 ⁷ “But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD,
   whose confidence is in him.
⁸ They will be like a tree planted by the water
   that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
   its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
   and never fails to bear fruit.”

 ⁹ The heart is deceitful above all things
   and beyond cure.
   Who can understand it?

 ¹⁰ “I the LORD search the heart
   and examine the mind,
to reward each person according to their conduct,
   according to what their deeds deserve.”

I think this verse speaks wonders about Alton Jones and some other anglers on the B.A.S.S. Elite circuit.  All too often I think we as fans get so caught up in pro athletes we forget about the kind of people they are.  We over look the things they do because of how they are.  I know there are Christians in other sports as well who are a good example.

However there are those athletes who aren’t who I wouldn’t want my son or daughter to grow up and act like.  I am grateful that B.A.S.S. allows pros like Alton Jones, Shaw Grigsby and others to share their faith and thank God on stage.  Remember what verse 10 says, the Lord knows our hearts and rewards us.  It might not be here on earth but we are rewarded. 

I want to wish Alton Jones the best of luck to on the remainder of the tournament.  If he wins (I think he will) we will have two Christians with wins in the B.A.S.S. Elite series this year.  What if the streak continues how cool would that be.  Just a thought.

being content with what I have

I feel like God is trying to teach me to be content with what I have. This has got to be one of the hardest lessons of my life. I really want to fish bigger tournaments and to do so, and compete at a higher level with those in them I know I need a bigger faster boat then the 17 ft bass boat I fish out of with an 85 hp motor.
So where do I say ok? I am content knowing that right now I will not get a brand new boat from the show room floor, I will not get all the cool electronics and all the best tackle. So how do I stay content when I know that a bigger boat is what I need to compete on a bigger scale?

The reality I have come to is maybe I need to be content fishing in the smaller tournaments for a little longer even though I want to fish bigger ones. Last week I was reading about the new rules for qualifying for the Bass Master Classic and got the bug to fish the Open events. How cool would it be to win an Open event and qualify for the Bass Master Classic! Sadly I know my family cannot afford it.

Being content and happy with where I am is a challenge, however its one I know I can overcome with the help of God and my wife. She has been a lot more supportive lately and I know if we could afford a bigger boat I would own one. If we could afford for me to fish the Bass Master Opens I would be fishing them. I have often wondered why God blessed me with such a great women and as this journey in fishing tournaments and other projects has begun I understand why. She is my sounding board, she is my helper, she is my friend (and at times team mate in tournaments), and she is my rock. I know without question I could not do what I have already done in fishing without her.

So being content where I am is hard but I know that with my wife behind me I can continue to be content and on occasion still drool at the Nitro’s at Bass pro Shop, or at new tackle on line or at the tackle store and she will remind me about being content.