Red Letters & Whitetails Podcast

Welcome to the Red Letters & Whitetails Podcast! On episode 16, host Steven  Crawford begins by diving into Pauls Letter to the Galatians in chapter 5, verse 14; Arguably one of the most powerful verses from Paul. "For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: "Love your neighbor as yourself." In a time of great turmoil and hate in our country, especially with this upcoming election, this is a great reminder in how Christians NEED to live their lives. Its not our job to judge, it's our job to live like and live for Jesus. And what did Jesus do? He LOVED. UNCONDITIONALLY. We run into people everyday that live, believe, and think differently; remind yourself that Jesus called us to LOVE them, not judge them.

After scripture, Steven is joined by Richard (Rick) Buckley, David Foster, and Nate Griswold to share an epic hunting story of strategy, determination, timeliness, decency, and helpfulness all wrapped into one story. I'm not going to spill the beans of this miraculous story of Rick's Michigan Public land giant in 2021, you'll have to listen for yourself as everyone included in this podcast had a huge part in this hunt and recovery. 

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Welcome to the Red Letters & Whitetails Podcast! On episode 15, host Steven Crawford is joined by fellow Michigan Christian and Hunter Joe Koetsier. They start by going in depth into Luke 11:11-13; discussing the importance of seeking a relationship with the Lord and asking him for guidance during the good and rough days in life. God loves you to a degree that we can't possibly humanly imagine, sometimes we need to remind ourselves of that and that he isn't against us, but ALWAYS for us.

After diving into the letters in red, Joe and Steven discuss small property hunting tactics along with a couple success stories from Joe on his 5 acres he owns behind his house. Steven recently moved to a house on 5 acres himself, so Joe and Steven bounce some ideas off each other on how to be successful on a small piece of property with a lot of limitations. A lot of us Michigan hunters are hunting small parcels, so this is a must-listen for most of us!!

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Welcome to the Red Letters & Whitetails Podcast! On episode 14, host Steven Crawford is joined by fellow Christian and Whitetail enthusiast K.C. Smith of The Element. We jump into Luke 1: 39-45, where Luke goes into detail of the first encounter of John the Baptist and our Lord Jesus Christ, when Mary and Elizabeth meet up when John and Jesus were still in the womb! After our deep dive into Luke 1, we discuss staying faithful in a secular world and how K.C. incorporates his faith into his outdoor pursuits.

After that discussion, K.C. gives us his "out of the box" tips when going on hunting trips, how him and Tyler plan out their fall and which states they are going to hunt, and picking areas to hunt that best suite their hunting styles!

This is a great discussion on faith and incorporating it into our outdoor pursuits! Give it a listen and you won't be disappointed!

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Welcome to the Red Letters & Whitetails Podcast! On episode 13, host Steven Crawford goes in depth on Romans 15:13. This verse is a great reminder that no matter what you're going through in life, placing your trust and faith in God will bring you peace and joy in whatever situation you find yourself in. We live in a very broken world, but verse's like this one that Paul wrote to the Romans before his arrival into Rome, remind us that Jesus already won. He already overcame the world; that simple FACT can bring you peace and joy in whatever trial(s) you're currently facing. 

After that, Steven is joined by his good friend Robby Enslen to discuss their hopes of drawing an Iowa archery tag this year, and an in-depth discussion on Robby's unique deer management plan on his new farm in Northern Michigan. There are A LOT of deer that call his farm home, and most hunters would buy this farm and think they need to trim down the doe numbers, but Robby is taking a different approach. Listen in and it might just change your perspective!!

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Welcome to the Red Letters & Whitetails Podcast! One episode 12, host Steven Crawford jumps into 1 Peter 2:23-25. These verses tie together great with "Good Friday"; the day that Jesus died on the cross to save us from our sins. Christians love to talk about the resurrection, and rightly so, as it is the greatest ending of the greatest true story every told. However, we don't talk enough about Good Friday and everything Jesus endured for us that day as he was mocked, betrayed, beaten, and ultimately crucified. Steven does a deep dive into Good Friday and why such an awful day just under 2,000 years ago is now deemed as "Good."

After that, Steven is joined by Matt Lehr, the podcast host of the "Mobile Hunters Dojo" and avid whitetail hunter. They discuss the trap a lot of passionate hunters fall into, which is an identity crisis, when we tend to tie or identity and value to our success in the whitetail woods. Matt also shares his story on tagging a 200+ public land buck this past fall in Illinois; a true monarch of a whitetail!

This is an episode you don't want to miss!! 

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Welcome to the Red Letters & Whitetails Podcast! On episode 11, host Steven Crawford jumps into the Gospel of Mark, where he does a deep dive into Mark 8:34-38. This is a well known verse where Jesus declares, "For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever wants loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it." As true, bold Christians we must deny ourselves and our own selfish desires each day, and take up our cross and follow Jesus. It's easy to get caught up spending all of our energy seeking pleasure and our own selfish and worldly desires, but remember whatever we gain or achieve on the earth is only temporary. We have to be willing to make our pursuit of God more important than the pursuit of pleasure and worldly success. Live for Jesus now, and you will know what it truly means to live life to the fullest and have peace that you will have eternal life with Christ. 

After a discussion around the Letters in Red, Steven is joined by Matt Campbell; an avid deer hunter from Mid-Michigan to discuss the issues around Michigan's doe management problem, and herd management in general. Back in September, an article written by Chad Stewart was widely circulated in Michigan that called for Michigan hunters to harvest more anterless deer this upcoming season. Matt and Steven dive into this article and the harvest report numbers from years past and discuss ways we could potentially change the narrative and shift the culture a tad here in Michigan. This conversation was a lot of fun and you don't want to miss it! 

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Welcome to the Red Letters & Whitetails podcast! On episode 10, host Steven Crawford does a deep dive on John 14:15-17, and what it means to "practice the presence of the lord." Sometimes when we are going through difficult times in life, we feel far away and disconnected from God, but he is ALWAYS with us. Practicing being in his presence (because we always are), can help us get through difficult times and situations.

After the Red Letters portion of the podcast, Steven talks about his 2023 deer season and recaps whether he hit his goals for the season. It was a challenging season, but one of his best yet for many reasons! SUBSCRIBE AND ENJOY!!

Welcome to the Red Letters & Whitetails podcast! On episode 9, host Steven Crawford jumps into the Gospel according to Matthew, where he does a deep dive into Matthew 18:21-35 "Jesus tells the Parable of the Unforgiving Debtor." In these verses, Jesus tells the story of the Master who forgave his servant his debt, but afterward the servant didn't forgive another servant the debt owed to him. What Jesus is trying to teach is the power of forgiveness and the consequences of living in unforgiveness. If you live your life for Jesus, you NEED to forgive people of their wrongdoings. How can we expect our father to forgive our sins if we cannot forgive others while here on earth?

After a discussion around the Letters in Red, Steven is joined by his good friends Jack Shull, Blake Ledger, Sam Hogan, and Calvin Beeke for a Pre-Rut Michigan Round Table! All the guys have great stories from this year as Sam, Calvin, and Jack have all already filled tags on GREAT Bucks. They tell their stories from this year, go into a discussion of late October vs Early November, mock scrapes, hunting the rut, what their plans are the rest of bow season, and much more!! 

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Welcome to the Red Letters & Whitetails podcast! On episode 8, host Steven Crawford shares the big news and his life!! Kaely and Steven were baptized on October 1st, and after Steven shares his experience he dives in 2 Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." When Kaely and Steven were baptized, they became new creations in Christ; their old selves have passed away, and they are now reborn in the image of Christ!

After diving into that verse, Steven turns his attention to the whitetail woods now that it's October!! He discusses the cold front coming in the first full weekend of October; deer are going to be on their feet with temperatures dropping 25+ degrees and drastic wind direction changes! With the huge temperature drop, this would be the weekend to squeeze in a morning hunt to see if you catch that buck heading back to his bedroom a little bit later than usual. Also, be focused on corn and acorns!! Deer will be on the feed this weekend after this crazy warm front.

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Welcome to the Red Letters & Whitetails podcast! On episode 7, host Steven Crawford is back for part 2 of a 3-part series talking about how to balance family, work and the outdoors with Nate Griswold- a friend an avid Michigan public land hunter.

Before the discussion with Nate, Steven shares some big personal news, then jumps into the gospel of Matthew, where he does a deep dive into Matthew 18:15. This verse goes like this, "If your brother or sister in God's family does something wrong, go and tell them what they did wrong. Do this when you are alone with them. If they listen to yo, then you have helped them to be your brother or sister again." This all ties back to be a Loving person in God; by not avoiding what needs to be said, you are showing love. When you are avoiding what needs to be said, you are showing the opposite of love. If someone you love is doing something wrong, do you really love them if you aren't calling them out on it?

After a discussion around the Letters in Red, Steven and Nate discuss balancing family, work, and the outdoors. Something we can all strive to be better at! Nate is married with a 7 year old son and 10 year old son, so his hands have been tied for quite a few hunting seasons now, and he has learned how to prioritize what is important during whitetail season and still finding time to spend in the great outdoors chasing whitetails. This was a great conversation that would be great for any father, or expecting father to listen to!

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