Celebrate Traditions and Create New Ones

Hello Friends!

As we observe the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, let’s reflect on the traditions that have shaped our lives. It’s a time to be thankful for our faith and family and their joys and shooting sports.

Thanksgiving Day was not always a national holiday in the United States. It originates in the familiar story we all learned in grade school about pilgrims sharing a meal with Native Americans. In 1621, the Plymouth colonists from England and the Native American Wampanoag people shared an autumn harvest acknowledged as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations.

I understand that the colonists never called the celebration “Thanksgiving.” It was actually a harvest celebration. But a few years later, in July 1623, the pilgrims held what they called a “Thanksgiving,” which was a religious day of prayer and fasting that had nothing to do with the fall harvest.

Over the years, the names of the two events became intertwined, and for more than two centuries, “Thanksgiving feasts” were celebrated during the autumn months.

In 1863, when America was in the middle of its bloody Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln hoped a new national holiday would help to unify the bitterly divided country. He requested that all Americans ask God to “commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife and to heal the wounds of the nation.” He proclaimed the final Thursday in November to be a day of Thanksgiving.

Our nation has been blessed with many gifts from our Heavenly Father. I am so thankful that my Sovereign Lord provided the prophetic dream of Guys, Guns, & God: Practical Guide to Build Confidence, Competence, and Integrity, along with a clear vision of this unique instrument.

As your family and friends gather this Thanksgiving holiday, I encourage you to reflect on the gifts our Lord gave you of your love for faith, family, and firearms. We are blessed that our country is not in the midst of the same type of terrible Civil War that President Lincoln faced. Thanksgiving proclamations like Abraham Lincoln’s would remind all Americans to ask God to help heal our nation’s wounds and bless our country.

When you gather with your family and friends at the Thanksgiving dinner table, do you talk freely about how you are blessed? If so, congratulations! But if not, consider beginning a new tradition of discussing what your family and friends are thankful for. The conversations may lead to opportunities to help one another or to join together and say “Thank You” for the blessings received.

Grateful Reflections

Please take a moment and reflect on the Proverbs and life lessons that have guided you so far this year and see how they have come to fruition in your life.

“As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.”

PROVERBS 27: 17 (NLT)

A standard method to sharpen steel or iron is to use a similar metal piece. When the two scrapes against each other, both pieces are shaped, and rough spots are removed. Similarly, two people can interact and help refine each other. Of particular importance is that the two pieces don’t become sharper unless they bump into each other. Fellow believers who never challenge or question one another will remain dull.

The concept of mutual growth and accountability is central to the book’s message. Just like you sharpen a tool, you can sharpen your skills, mindset, and life with the proper guidance found within its pages.

Real Stories, Real Lessons

It never ceases to amaze me how God has put certain people at specific times in my life, beginning with Lynn, my wife, and daughter, Lauren, who introduced me to guns. My daughter Heather and our friend and book coach Andrew Jobling have been involved in every aspect of the Guys, Guns, and God manuscript. I relied on their encouragement, guidance, and support for over four years to complete the book.

Well into the book’s development, I found myself in dire need of a firearms expert who could review, professionally critique, and edit my work on guns and shooting. Although I am not a firearms expert, I needed guidance on what I was saying and what I should be saying, and, most importantly, constructive criticism of what may be missing or would add value to the end product.

As has happened so many times in my life, and certainly in this specific instance, God indirectly and undoubtedly placed someone in my path I had never met before. For an entirely unrelated reason, I happened to meet a person who not only knows some firearms experts but is also related to them, one of whom is her son.

It all began with a question: “What have I been doing these days?” I told her about my prophetic dream and how God had woken me with a particular title and subtitle, with the unique twist of combining Proverbs with shooting sports and firearms safety.

As I told her my story, I thought this person was in the healthcare field, and she must have thought it was mind-numbing. Yet, as a professional consultant, she listened and waited for me to finish.

She then told me that she may have some people who may be able and willing to help me. She explained that her ex-husband was a retired Special Agent with the US Treasury and was a firearms instructor, and her son Asher Yautz was a USCCA Certified Firearms Instructor. She told me she would pass my contact information to both of them and that they would be in touch if they were interested in helping me. Not only did they reach out quickly, but we also met to review the whole project, and I trusted them with my manuscript so they could review it and determine what they thought overall.

They helped with the entire manuscript by providing constructive comments and technical corrections. Asher also volunteered to model for my photo shoot, showing the book’s proper pistol grips and stances.

Asher recently transitioned from his firearms instructor position to becoming a US Border Patrol Agent, and he is actively engaged in this position.

The Yautz family, who have assisted me in developing this guide, have shown kindness that goes from one man to another, which shows gratitude coming alive. Sharing each other is a form of reciprocating kindness to a good friend. No one spends time on someone they do not care about, correct, encourage, or challenge. Sharpening each other implies an effective relationship where two people genuinely care about each other and show their gratitude for each other by building each other’s character. This is not a one-way relationship. The two friends want the best for each other, so they take turns sharpening each other.

 

For this, I am thankful. 

Best regards,
Randy Abramovic