Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast Trail To Adventure

Many times in the Bible it tells us to be bold. What God wants is for His children to stand up and stand out for Him. To share the good news of Jesus Christ at every opportunity.

This week’s guest is one man that I have chased for an interview for over 2 years and I am privileged to sit and hear his story of duck calls and salvation. He is known all across North America by the sound of his voice or a photo of his face…. And I am doubly honored to spend a day in the booth with him.

Sometime in our lives we will come face to face with a bear. That bear might come in the form of a serious illness, a broken relationship, a financial struggle or maybe even a real bear. Whatever it is that you come up against, You can call on God to see you through.

Today, we’ll hear the remainder of Jim Vansteenhouse’s story of being attacked and nearly killed by a giant grizzly. Jim tells how God spared his life after the bear tore him apart. Then he shares how God used him to share a story of redemption to tens of thousands of others who are coming up against their own bears in life.

Every one of us will someday come up against something in life that is too big for us to get past. For some it might be a relationship issue, a financial issue, or a medical issue.  Whatever it is that stands in front of you and stops you in your tracks, you can't overcome it on your own. On today’s program, we will hear about someone who came up against something that not only stopped him, but nearly killed him. When a hunter comes face to face with a giant grizzly bear at 5 feet, his whole
world will be turned upside down.

I have had several people tell me in the last few years that giving is the real to key to living. If you want a blessed life, the best way to do that is to be willing to give whenever you have the opportunity.  

Today’s guest has an amazing history of giving to others. As a teacher, he taught thousands of young men and women to not only do woodworking and building but he taught them biblical truths and the blessing of giving. We’ll hear how he introduces students to the outdoors through building outdoor equipment. 

In the Bible it tells us not to stop gathering with other believers in Jesus Christ. Now I know we generally read this concerning gathering in our churches, but often as we gather outside of church with men and women who have a faith in Jesus Christ, we grow closer to Him and others as well.

On today’s program we will meet a man who saw a need for men and women to get out and get together during Covid. He came up with the idea of having a Christ based outdoors event where people could gather with others of faith and the Good News of Jesus Christ could be shared as well.  

We all go through seasons in life. There are some who have drastic swings in the seasons they go through, and others seem to gently slide from one season to another.  God has a plan in each and every season and transition we go through. Even before we turned our lives over to Him, He’s already placing things in our lives to direct us to where He will use us later in life.

Our world has done its best to destroy authentic manhood and strong
fatherhood. It might have started about when TVs first came into homes. When Jackie Gleason played Ralph Kramden on the Honeymooners, we saw husbands and fathers become buffoons instead of strong men and it has spiraled right up until today.
In our country today, there are 15 million households without a full-time father caring for his kids. Worse is that 32% of boys don’t have their biological father in the home. 12 million boys without their father 
to teach them what it means to be a man.
On today’s show, we’ll talk about what it means to be a real man in our 
world.

There is an amazing beauty of a traditional bow being drawn back and releasing an arrow at a target. There is a great lesson in the shooting of bow and arrows.  It can be a photo of God often pulling us back and
putting pressure on us before releasing us toward the target that He has in store for us.  Being drawn back can be painful at times, but when we’ve been released, it is freeing and exciting. The further back we’re drawn and the longer we’re held, the more powerful and stronger our flight towards what God wants us to hit.

There is something about the sight of an arrow released from a bow and watching it arc through the air on its path to a target. Most everyone who has shot arrows from a bow has been drawn in by the beauty and art of archery.  

For many hunters, it is the challenge of archery that draws them in. Our host shot his first bow at about 5 years old and he has never lost the joy of the sight of an arrow in flight.  

The history of archery goes back to the beginning of time. It was first mentioned in the Bible in Genesis, when it mentioned that Ishmael became an archer. With that first mention of archery, 6000 years ago, the story began.  

Today we will learn about the history of modern day bowhunting in North America.  From one man with a passion to shoot bows came a worldwide hunting craze today. Archery gear has evolved from a stick and string to a mechanical wonder today.

We live in a world today that is far from wise. The lack of wisdom is very evident.  The gibberish we hear passing for wisdom to some contains no real wisdom.

On today’s program, we will meet and visit with a man who has changed the world in many ways. He’s a man who didn’t have a lot of use for normal school type of learning, but God gave him a desire to create. Then one day he began praying for wisdom and God opened the doors to the things that changed the world of archery and even music!

There aren't any of us who hasn’t made a bad decision from time to time in our life.  Some of us can look back and see that there were stretches where we made a long series of bad decisions that caused us to freefall into a deep pit. Many people have never found their way out of the depth of a pit, often living their entire lives there. Others didn’t live through the effects of the freefall. Then there are some who grabbed ahold of the hand of God when He reached down to lift them out of the mess they had gotten themselves into.

Today, we will meet a man who is a living testimony of 3 decades of bad decisions.  At one point he says, “I was the undisputed king of bad decisions.”  

Every family has it’s struggles and problems. Some of more than others, 
but there are occasionally those families who seem to deal with far more than their share. But through the struggles of life, God can help us get through them in better shape with better attitudes. On today’s program, we will meet a family that has gone through what they call "The Peaceful storm." A storm is a good description, the peaceful part is often hard to grasp. But this family has found a way to allow God's leading and protection in their lives.

Many fishermen live their entire lives searching for one trophy that never gets caught. Hunters are the same and there are even things outside of fishing and hunting that drive people to strive for that one special goal.  

Sometimes God uses those special things in our lives to draw us closer to Him. On today’s show, we will meet a young fireman who had a dream of one day catching a very special fish and it wasn’t until he gave into God’s will that he was able to fulfill his dream.

Every one of us has a need for finances in our lives. It is all but impossible to make it through without some sort of available finances.  

On today’s program, we will learn a lot about the ways God supplies for our needs and sometimes for our wants as well. We’ll talk to someone who has spent most of his life helping others to learn biblical financial management. We’ll hear stories of some amazing hunts and how God works through the gifts of finance to bless us and others.

God has given all of His children some amazing blessings and we need only to praise Him and enjoy them.  

As a radio program and podcast, we spend our lives as story tellers. The best time of the day while fishing and hunting is often the time spent around the table, fireplace or campfire telling stories. Many strong, long-term friendships are formed at these times and places.  

Country people, we believe, are the best story tellers on earth. On today’s program, we will spend the morning with two young Alabama boys who can spin a yarn with the best of them and bring out the best in the other southern story tellers.  

There is a special relationship between a father and a son. Often it's a bond that will carry far beyond the death of either one or the other. In our lives, we truly don't know how much of an impact we have on our children or others that we have come in contact with. We need to realize that people that we see and talk to on a daily basis are watching us closely to see if our words match our deeds. On today's program, we will hear from someone who had a father that had an impact on those around him, far more than he had realized and his life continues to impact others years after he's been gone.

Throughout life, all of us take falls.  Some are painless, some cause skinned knees, some break bones, some permanently cripple us and the worst can cause death.  While we all fall often, 1 out of 3 who 
hunt from a tree stand will fall at some point in our hunting career.  For years, most of us climbed into trees without a thought of
safety. We climbed and sat at the edge of disaster and did nothing about it. On this weeks program, we will meet with two brothers who were given a vision that changed not only their lives, but saved countless lives in the process. We’ll hear stories from those who were saved from certain disaster and lived to tell about it.

Someone once said, “Don’t be afraid to give up the good to go for the great.” Jonathan Ive, a senior vice president of Apple Incorporated, modified the line of thinking in his famous quote, “good is the enemy of great.” The quote was used as the first sentence of the first chapter of the New York Times best-selling book “Good to Great” by Jim Collins.

Today’s guest exemplifies all of these thoughts and sayings. Not many hunters can say they've passed up 150 inch whitetails with their bow, hoping they will make it through another season and grow bigger if they do make it.  But he did and he learned in the process that sometimes our sacrifices pay off and occasionally they fulfill our biggest dreams.

We’ll hear in today’s program that God’s dreams for us are often far bigger than what we have for ourselves and when we find joy in all God gives us, and give him praise for the good and not so good, its then that God gives us what we desire.

At times, we all wonder what God is up to in our lives. He attempts to show us and somehow we can't see what it is He wants us to see. When we keep our hearts open to His leading, we can be led and it will change our lives. On today's program, we will hear how God moved, through a life of abundance, a young man who had lost his way from the path that God laid out for him. Then one day, God gave him vision; not for his own benefit but for those with a much bigger need for their families. Now years later, he has made a big difference in the lives of so many families and has been blessed in return. Listen closely as our host, Dean Hulce, brings out the story of a calling that not only changed the life of the one being called, but also of hundreds of others along the way. Let's join Dean on the trail to adventure in the woods and swamps of a gulf coast state.

Our nation has taken manhood and diminished it like it's a bad thing. The media has made strong men look like fools to take away the role of men in families, communities, and even churches. On last week's program, we met Ray Howell. Ray was abandoned by his father at 5 years old and then his grandfather took over his father figure role, just to pass away when Ray was just entering his teen years. These losses left him in a bad place emotionally.
Today we'll hear from both Ray and His wife Krysta about how God showed Ray how He was looking out for him for years and preparing him for His service in leading children through archery on a walk that will change their lives for all eternity!

Many professional athletes can only dream of retiring at the top of their game.  A few have been able to do that but when they do go out, it is because they have reached an age where it is no longer possible to
compete at the level they have in the past.  Most of us would stay at the top as long as we possibly could. We claw and scratch to do all we can to not lose our place at the top. But there are a few that could go on and maintain top production for a much longer time and they step down anyhow.  Today’s guest is one of those who stepped down, still holding world records in archery and powerlifting as well his business career.  He has hunted all over the world and had collected nearly every species of big game with his bow and many of them scoring high in the record book. With all this, he walked away because of a new calling. A calling to serve children through archery, with an emphasis on teaching them the
good news about Jesus Christ!

There are special places and times in our lives that mean a lot to us. We cherish memories spent with others throughout our personal or married life that will always bring us back to where God did something special. One such place, nestled into Northwest Ontario Canada on the 
banks of Populus Lake… is called Rushing Wind Resort. This week we will meet a couple that first came to Rushing Wind Resort together 10 years ago on their honeymoon. The husband had been there 
several times and he wanted to show his wife where his life had changed. Now they are back for their 10th anniversary celebration. We’ll learn how God provided a father figure needed in the lives of some children and how that father figure later became a husband as well!

So many times in our lives we put restraints on ourselves for adulthood. For the male of our species, it is possibly the hardest to live up to what others think should be truly a man.  

Having been raised in a Northern Michigan rural area, our host walked through trails to adventure that he felt showed him to be a man. The first time a boy catches a large fish or shoots a buck and brings it home to hear, "well done," it feels like a big step to being a man. But manhood is much more.
 
There are also self-imposed hurdles that all men and women set to feel successful. On today’s program, we won’t hear too much about hunting and fishing, but we’ll hear a great story of a city boy who had finally made it in the music world, just to see that it was not all he had thought it was. He felt like there had to be more than the victories he had been striving for in life!

High country elk camps and the sounds of bugling bull elk draw 1000’s of hunters to the mountains each fall. People are different when they’re in the mountains.  They drop their guard and relax more than
most any place on earth. Relationships grow in amazing ways when we allow God to move in our lives.

God has used the mountains in the life of today’s guest as well as the lives of those he has shared elk camps in the Colorado and Wyoming mountains. We’ll hear of miracles that were the answers to prayer.

Every one of us has a calling in life. For many of us, our calling is self-directed and, if we allow, many are God given. Callings can change from year to year as we move into new places in life. On today’s program, we will meet with a man who has been called to reach out to disciple men. He loves the outdoors and enjoys spending 
time with others on the water and in the woods… especially in those times sharing what God is doing in his life and the lives of others. God is using this friend to get others to places where they can share their relationship with God and to others as well. He is stepping up in his calling and shares how you can as well!

To some, it might seem dangerous or foolish but to others, it's something they look forward to all year. People lose their trucks, their ATVs and occasionally even their lives doing it, yet each year they venture out on frozen lakes, ponds rivers and streams to pull a fish through a hole drilled through the ice. 

It takes a tough person to sit all day on a bucket on a frozen body of water and stare into a hole in the ice. It makes you wonder about their sanity!

Today, we'll meet such a man... a man with a passion for ice fishing. He's out on the ice every chance he gets. He'll share his passion for both ice fishing and for growing big whitetails. 

Deer hunting is probably the number one hunting sport in the world. In the 2021/2022 season alone, more than 6 million deer were harvested in the United States. Most of those deer were never scored and a small percentage of them were scored and entered into a record book of some kind. Today, we’ll revisit a story of a world record whitetail buck that was taken in 2006 in Grant County, Wisconsin.  We will hear from the mouth of the lucky hunter who was lucky enough to pull the trigger and down the massive buck. Then we’ll hear how that buck became one of the most important things in another man’s life and how it caused strife in his life before it finally pointed him to Jesus Christ.

Many of us grew up going to hunting or fishing camps from our youth. For many, it’s been a lifelong tradition to hunt with a bunch of others. Our host grew up where several hunters came together to work as a team to harvest deer. Then there are others who would much rather hunt and fish on their own. There are blessings and challenges in either style of hunting, But in 
our daily lives, we need to understand that there are times to seek out God one on one…  digging into his word and spending time in prayer. On today’s show, we meet up with a good friend of our host and the two of them talk about different ways of deer hunting, with a focus on tracking mature bucks in big woods settings.  This is a solitary sport that takes a lot of stamina and concentration… But is so very
rewarding  in the end!

Hunters and fishermen have a serious passion for their sports. If you ask a deer hunter what their favorite day of the year is, most would say opening day of hunting season. If you ask a fisherman what their 
favorite day of the years is, you’ll hear opening day of fishing season. Many outdoors people also share another passion; riding motorcycles. When many of us think about bikers, we think about biker 
“gangs” and all that goes along with that crowd. But there is a different side to bikers, and that is a giving side. On this program, you'll hear about how giving and caring the biking community can be!

Those of us who live in a time of immediate information have no idea what it would be like to live in a place or a time where we have no idea what is going on outside our little world. The Bible talks about how in end times, travel and knowledge will increase. If we look back over the last 100 years, travel has increased at amazing 
rates. There was a time, not to long ago, when most people rarely traveled 100 miles from home.  Many of us travel across the country or around the world all the time.
Today, we will learn about a chief from the deep jungles of South America and how he went from being filled with demons to becoming filled with the Holy Spirit. Most of us live in a sheltered atmosphere!

There is a great blessing in both the young and the old as we enjoy the outdoors together. One of the things that we have lost in recent times is the passing of wisdom from one generation to the next.  There are few places where it is easier to share in these times than in a fishing boat
or hunting blind. We often fail to take advantage of the opportunities to share in these special times. On today's program, we will join a grandfather and grandson on a very special fishing trip in Northwest Ontario, at Rushing Winds Camp!

Our God is a God of new beginnings. He provided for so many people throughout the Bible, in the new and old testaments.  He restored so many individuals, including king David, Moses, Joseph and all of Joseph’s family. 

Many of our listeners are going through a tough time right now, having lost a loved one or maybe in the process of saying goodbye to someone. We understand that these are things that we will never get over…  But with God’s help, we can get through them victoriously.

It seems that life at times is nothing more than a series of one loss after another, from beginning to end. That seems to be a given. It’s how we respond to those losses that gets us through. For those who have their hope in Jesus Christ, we have the only chance for peace in the midst of life’s losses. Today’s guest has had to deal with some terrible losses in his life and he has gotten through them. As you will hear him say, we get through our losses, but we never get over them.

Someday, all of God’s children will hear a trumpet call and we will rise up and join Him in the air for all eternity. The trumpet is used by the military to start the day and to end it…  as well as to honor those who have passed away. There is something very special about the trumpet call.

Today’s guest has played his trumpet in 37 countries all around the globe and it has opened many doors; not for entertainment, but to glorify God. Today he will share several adventures in the jungles and on the rivers of South America.

Old age might not be all it’s cracked up to be… but for a few, it is an amazing trip. Today’s guest has certainly outlived most, if not all, of our listeners. He has seen more changes in his 100 years than most of us will ever see. He has been blessed to live through a World War and many other 
hardships. And still today, God sustains him!

There is an old saying that starts with, “Out of the mouths of babes." Kids are honest. At times, children will say things that adults often find embarrassing if it happens to be around other adults. Children notice things we often don’t, or they are perhaps not as desensitized to the feelings and ideas of others. Come along today and learn about how God used a preschool girl to point
her parents to a life lived for Jesus Christ!

Most people in America don’t think of pastors as real guys. Often they 
are thought of as someone who is unapproachable and stuffed shirt. On 
today’s show, you will meet a pastor who is anything but those things. He is an outdoorsman through and through and his passion for hunting and fishing are only surpassed by his passion for his Savior and his family. Come along now and join our host, Dean Hulce, share the life of a pastor and special Michigan outdoorsman as they talk about life in God’s Great Outdoors and they travel together down the Trail To Adventure!

This week, our host visits with a man from deep in the heart of south Texas who has spent his life hunting and fishing in the hill country and brush country. He lived most of his life chasing the American dream in business and the outdoors. Losing his wife at a young age brought big changes in his life. Today, Jesus Christ is the most important part of his life. He has spent much of the last several years serving others, while serving the Lord through the outdoors. Today, you’ll hear of how our guest has given up much of his hunting to not only share in the hunting and fishing experience, but also share in a hope and trust in Jesus Christ.

The leaves have changed colors in the North and many have fallen. Many 
areas have had their first frost and the whitetail bucks have begun to look for does. Most every of the country has an open archery season. Groups of archery hunters are joining together to pursue a number of different species of big and small game. All with Bows and Arrows.

There’s another group of archers who gathered together earlier in the
year. The Christian Bow Hunters Association gathered in Cadilac, 
Michigan to celebrate their 40th anniversary. Today’s guest is the head 
of this great organization that not only shares a love for God’s Great Outdoors, but for Jesus Christ as well!

All of us who are blessed enough to make it to an age where we can consider retirement will have to consider what we will do with the time that God has remaining for us before we leave this life. Most individuals who do retire say that they don’t know how they had time to work before retirement, because they are so busy. On today’s program, we will meet a gentleman who is just leaving the day to day working world and seeking out what God has for him and his wife in the future. They retired with the intention of spending more time serving the Lord and others.

There are few places that bring a father and son together like a hunting and fishing camp. Time in the woods or on the water make it all but impossible to grow closer together and closer to God. Come along now to NW Ontario as we learn about the painful disaster that brought our guests to seek God’s healing hand.  We’ll be on the water on Populus Lake in God’s Great Outdoors! 

So many men and women have a draw towards the outdoors. Hunting and 
fishing draw us into a life that affects us in amazing ways. Today’s guest went through times in his youth where he wasn’t sure whether he wanted to live any more. One of the things that you’ll hear today is that he wasn’t as afraid of dying as much as he was afraid to living… or at least living without a purpose. When God showed up and gave him a purpose, He changed his life. Through many years of learning how God wanted him to lead, he began a ministry that now serves so many in the outdoors and many souls are being
changed.

They say that you can’t just make “old friends”. But every once in a while, God sends someone into your life who becomes an old friend almost instantly.  These are people who you know will be a friend for the rest of your life.

Today’s guest, Bo Blackwell, is that kind of friend for our host. Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings sang a song years ago called "Old Friends."  In one of the verses, Willie sings…  "Lord, when all my work is
done, bless my life and grant me one, old friend." Join us now with old friends!

Oh, the amazing sound of an elk in the mountains! There are few sounds more beautiful, more majestic in God’s Great Outdoors. God filled the high places of this world with the most beautiful sights and sounds. The call of the elk and the screeching of a golden eagle as it floats on the updrafts of the Rocky Mountain peaks. There is something about those places.

On today’s program, we will climb to the highest peaks of the rockies in Wyoming.  Well, at least our stories and experiences will come from that part of the country. We will join our host and his guest as they share elk hunting and elk camp stories from days gone by.  

At a hunting lodge in the middle of central Michigan, a family gathers each year for two very special hunts. This family is not connected by human blood, but by something much stronger. A group of otherwise unconnected individuals are drawn for two reasons; to serve those who want to hunt and to share a special love for each one being served and for others.  

Today’s program shares a little history of a few of those who come from quite a distance to serve. We’ll hear the stories of some of the special children who have come to this special place, Two Hats Ranch. For the last 25 years, the owners of Two Hats Ranch and Quest Ministries have offered these incredible deer hunts. For nearly 20 years there is an amazing family that has a “family reunion” of sorts.  Each one has a very special bond with the others.

We all hope to one day live a comfortable life. Many work for 40+ years with the intent to have all we need financially and with health to be very comfortable. But what does it mean to be comfortable and are we really called to be comfortable in life? I would question if we are ever called to be comfortable spiritually.

Today’s guest will speak of the need to move out of our comfort zone and look for ways to do something that will change how we live life. He will explain it in terms of hunting dangerous game around the world and being in and out of his comfort zone.

Every one of us is born with a heart issue and today’s guest was born with both a spiritual and a physical condition. We will hear about his battle to stay alive and how God is using him despite his heart condition.

He has had more than one physical test as well as other tests over the last 6 to 8 years and you’ll hear him tell us that you can’t have a testimony if you don’t have a test.  He will also share that if we don’t give up control and allow God to handle things, we will never have peace and joy.

There is something special about a relationship that has lasted over decades. Those friendships that may have been paused by miles or years seem even sweeter when they’ve been rekindled. Our Host, Dean Hulce, has been blessed with many friends all over the world. Today's guest started out as a hunting client for Dean 35 years ago. Many firsts were 
shared between the two of them. Many species were hunted and harvested.
All of these hunting memories were revisited on this week's program along 
with laughter and tears. Join us now as we head down the Trail To Adventure with old friends in God’s Great Outdoors!