The Greatest Job in the World
8 Comments Published by David Blanton on Friday, June 15, 2007 at 8:07 AM.
A lot has happened in the hunting industry since my start with Realtree in 1991. Going into my 18th year working for Bill Jordan, I often look back with wonder at how God’s hand has been at work, not only in my own life, but in the hunting and outdoor sector of our country. What I am able to see so clearly now is the tremendous revival that our Lord has intended all along for men who love to spend time outdoors.
I think part of the reason for this is that many serious hunters and fishermen have grown up sitting in a tree stand or on a bass boat on Sunday mornings instead of developing a walk with God and being actively involved in Christian fellowship at a church somewhere. And I believe with all my heart God led me into the position I am in today to be used by Him to help all outdoorsmen understand the importance of a relationship with Jesus Christ. That the burdens, stress and unattainable expectations that this world puts on all of us are way, way too much to handle without God’s grace and guidance.
In the mean time, I end up with “The Greatest Job in The World,” making a living hunting all over North America. How was this accomplished?
First of all, God, like with all of his children, allowed me to make my own decisions and in my early years with Realtree, some of the decisions I made caused my walk with God to take a back seat to my career in the hunting industry. My pride and selfishness took control of my life and my job at Realtree became even more important than my family. My role as a Christian husband and father seemed less important than traveling across North America filming episodes for “Realtree Outdoors” and Monster Bucks. My marriage suffered and my family suffered and it wasn’t until God convicted me of my misplaced priorities in 1995 while on a moose hunt in British Columbia that I began to feel His hands guiding me to be a servant for Him. Through my trials over the years, God developed a testimony for me to share and He opened the doors for me to speak to outdoorsmen around the country.
Please don’t read this and think that I’ve got it all figured out now and that all of my choices are Godly. They aren’t. I still fall short of God’s expectations of me but I do know that ALL blessing come from Him and that his grace, mercy and forgiveness is plentiful and available to enable me to serve God.
Now, in more ways than one, I really do feel like I have “The World’s Greatest Job.”
I think part of the reason for this is that many serious hunters and fishermen have grown up sitting in a tree stand or on a bass boat on Sunday mornings instead of developing a walk with God and being actively involved in Christian fellowship at a church somewhere. And I believe with all my heart God led me into the position I am in today to be used by Him to help all outdoorsmen understand the importance of a relationship with Jesus Christ. That the burdens, stress and unattainable expectations that this world puts on all of us are way, way too much to handle without God’s grace and guidance.
In the mean time, I end up with “The Greatest Job in The World,” making a living hunting all over North America. How was this accomplished?
First of all, God, like with all of his children, allowed me to make my own decisions and in my early years with Realtree, some of the decisions I made caused my walk with God to take a back seat to my career in the hunting industry. My pride and selfishness took control of my life and my job at Realtree became even more important than my family. My role as a Christian husband and father seemed less important than traveling across North America filming episodes for “Realtree Outdoors” and Monster Bucks. My marriage suffered and my family suffered and it wasn’t until God convicted me of my misplaced priorities in 1995 while on a moose hunt in British Columbia that I began to feel His hands guiding me to be a servant for Him. Through my trials over the years, God developed a testimony for me to share and He opened the doors for me to speak to outdoorsmen around the country.
Please don’t read this and think that I’ve got it all figured out now and that all of my choices are Godly. They aren’t. I still fall short of God’s expectations of me but I do know that ALL blessing come from Him and that his grace, mercy and forgiveness is plentiful and available to enable me to serve God.
Now, in more ways than one, I really do feel like I have “The World’s Greatest Job.”
David,
I loved your honesty and courage in your entry - "greatest job in the world". I'm a pastor from Wisconsin who loves the outdoors - especially bow hunting. It has long been my favorate way to connect with Christ. However, balance is a delicate thing. It's possable to begin to worship creation more than the Creator if we arn't centered on Him. I am thrilled that God has you where He does! I have been a fan of Realtree Outdoors from the beginning, and have always been impacted by your humility and openess. I pray our paths may somday cross while we still walk this earth. Thank you for honoring our King!
Curt Drexler
David,
I wish someday that I get to work for Realtree Outdoors, it has always been a dream for me to become a pro hunter. I am a huge fan of Realtree Outdoors and has always had a passion for hunting and I hope that someday I get my wish. I hope that we get to cross paths someday. And I thank everybody at Realtree for what a great job they do.
God Bless,
Kristle Oberlander-Georgia
David,
I have been a team realtree follower from the beginning. I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord in 1998 and its such a blessing to hear what tou are doing, I have actullaly prayed for you in the past, and I will continue to pray that God would open the doors for you to present the gospel.
In His Service,
Joe Shockley
David,
Let me say that i am encouraged by your boldness. So many times we try to compartmentalize our lives and keep God in the "sunday church" compartment. If we truly beleive that God is supreme, he has just as much a role in our hunting as our church and family. I love how you praise God on your videos for the blessing it is to take a nice animal. Keep up the good work and the sharing of the gospel. God has blessed you with a tremendous platform and it is obvious you are taking advantage of it.
Curtis from Maryland.
David---It is exciting to see God's hand at work in the outdoor industry and all across the country. Over the last five or six years it has been amazing to me to see so many people with in the industry stand up and take a stand for the Lord. I know your testimony as well as many others in this industry has been a huge blessing to me as I grow in the Lord and try to work in the outdoor industry. I promise you people are watching and this side of heaven---you will never know how many lives you have impacted. You know over the years I have seen God work in so many ways in my life--more times than not---I look back and there is only one set of footprints in the sand. We do serve an AWESOME GOD!
God Bless,
Mark Scroggins
AMEN
David,
I have followed the realtree story from the beginning. My friends and I would watch Whitetails in The Wild and Monster Bucks of North America during Ag class in high school and dream about those big bucks in the kudzu. I still have both on VHS along with the complete Monster Bucks series. From those early days and through the years and now, it has always been evident that you were a man of faith. As a fellow christian who has a passion for the outdoors, I too was drawn to the outdoor industry. I was fortunate enough to meet you and the Realtree Pros at the archery show in Nashville a few years ago. Throughout college and my first job as an area manager at a large retail sporting goods chain, I put my passion for the outdoors before any other passion in my life. I lived this way for five years before I realized that I was sacrificing relationships with my children, my wife, and most importantly my savior. Today although my career has nothing to do with the outdoor industry, I have found that I have more time for my outdoor passion than I did when I was trying so hard to make a living at it. Most importantly my relationships with my family and with Jesus Christ have never been so strong. I say all of this to remind you that yes you very well may have the perfect job! Please enjoy it to the fullest and keep putting God first and he will continue to bless you! Your faith has not and will not go unnoticed. Know that there are those of use who draw from your boldness to profess and offer thanks to God in a public form. I too have prayed for you in the past and will continue to do so. Thank you for being a role model to so many christian sportsman around the country. Your brother in Christ....
D.E.
Tennessee
I have always loved team realtree and I know that if you do good things, good things will happen. I'm just about to turn 17 and about a year ago I started following the lord and I finally shot my 1st deer after 4 years of trying. I am going for my 1st turkey this year, I've came very close, but they say 3 times the charm and this coming season will be my third, so I hope I can make it happen. My all time dream has been to hunt with yall at realtree, and maybe I can get that 1st longbeard with yall.
God Bless & Great Hunting
-Harley