Welcome to Relentless Outdoors!
You may be asking yourself, what's this thing all about?
The mission of the blog is simple enough, share my thoughts
on following Jesus, and catch some fish, explore the woods and rivers of Iowa,
and hopefully harvest a few pheasants and deer along the way. In the process, I
hope to move closer to Jesus, and become a better outdoorsman and share those
experiences with anyone willing to follow along.
And as I think about it, that isn't too different than what
I see as the mission of life. A communion with Jesus, and sharing his gospel,
salvation, and grace with my fellow man, while stopping to enjoy and marvel at
God's amazing creation he blessed us with.
My name is Kyle, I've called Iowa my home and hunted and
fished all my life. Here in adulthood, God's glorious creation offers me a refuge away from
technology, and it is really where I find
my happy place. Chasing fish, pheasants, and deer regardless of luck, always
puts me in a better frame of mind. I don't think I'm alone in believing that if
everyone made a habit of routinely unplugging from their computer, smart phone,
and television, and more often immersed themselves in the prairie, woods, and
waters that God blessed us with, it would make the world a better, more
peaceful place.
For years I've felt the urge to do more writing and share my
more in-depth thoughts on hot conservation topics that have impacted hunting
and fishing (like Livescope, Public Land Access, Iowa Prairie/Native Habitat
loss, water quality issues, etc). And while I'm a proud modern technology
luddite, when I've occasionally dabbled in making brief videos highlighting my
outdoor exploits, they've always been well received. So why not cast a wider
net, put out more content, and use the few views I get to also be a trumpet for
the Lord, and share the message, of the amazing Grace of God with the few eyes
and ears that my meager channel can reach. Like many ideas I get, this was
something I mulled over and drug my feet executing on, but I kept hearing or
feeling God calling on me to use my passion for the outdoors and the urge to
share that passion with others as a means to also testify that Jesus is LORD,
and his death and resurrection for our sins guarantees salvation for all who
follow him.
While I want to weekly dedicate my reflections on the word
of God, I also plan to share what techniques are working for me catching fish,
my thoughts on hot conservation topics that are impacting Iowa, and I'll
probably fall down some hunting and fishing history rabbit holes along the way
(like what exactly were Popular Mechanic's "Dirty Dozen" lures? Or
how did a 25 year old lure from a small village in Finland take America by
storm?). And I'll likely share some recommendations or highlight a few older outdoor books and magazine articles as well.
Please join me on my journey into God's beautiful
wilderness, being a fisher of men just like Jesus called Simon and Peter in
Matthew 4:18-20:
18 As Jesus was walking beside
the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother
Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19
“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 20 At once they left
their nets and followed him.
I hope you'll stick around and check in on the blog occasionally, see my thoughts on God (and I hope you're willing to share your own back with me in the comments section), and hopefully we can share some techniques on fishing, hunting, and outdoor recreation as well.
