The Perfect Catch: Lessons for Life from a Bass Fisherman [Paperback]

H. Norman Wright (Author), Sheryl Macauley (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2005

Trusted and bestselling author H. Norman Wright has published more than 70 books with 4 million copies sold. A longtime fisherman, he shares life lessons he has experienced and enjoyed in God’s creation. This devotional book includes 60 short readings filled with incredible word pictures on fishing as it reflects the joys and challenges of the Christian life. Beautifully illustrated by the author’s daughter, Sheryl Macauley.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

H. Norman Wright is a licensed marriage, family and child therapist. He serves on the faculty of Talbot School of Theology at Biola University and is former director of Biola University’s Graduate Department of Marriage, Family and Child Counseling. He is the bestselling author of more than 70 books, including Communication: Key to Your Marriage, Quiet Times for Couples and Always Daddy’s Girl. Norman and his wife, Joyce, have been married for over 40 years and currently live in California

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

The Best Is Yet to Come What’s the ultimate bass fishing experience for you? Ever thought about it? If you haven’t, go ahead and dream a bit. What would be your peak experience? I’ve heard a number of opinions. Here are a few: “To be able to go to one of those lakes in Mexico I always hear about and catch one hundred fish a day.” “All I want is one week straight of nothing but bass fishing in a place like Lake Fork in Texas or Arkansas’ Beaver Lake.” “The best for me would be size—yeah, that’s it. I’ve caught some 10-pounders, but I’d like one, say, about 15 to 17 pounds. That’d be the ultimate for me.” “The best? No question—it will be when I step foot on my own Ranger boat—a 20- or 21-footer with everything on it.” “To me it’s making it onto the pro-tournament circle. I don’t even have to win big ones. Just to be on there and to come in near the top would be it!” “The best is getting to the Classic—and then winning it! I mean, what else is there?” “I want to get to the Bassin’ Big Bass World Championship. If I make it there, I’ve arrived.” Any of these certainly would be a great experience—at least you hope they’d be. Sometimes you accomplish your dream and discover it’s not what you expected. The “best” really wasn’t the best. My pastor shared a story that put a whole new slant on ultimate experiences. It seems an older lady who knew she would be dying soon went to see her minister. She wanted to talk to him about her funeral arrangements. Now, this minister had heard some strange requests during his years of ministry, but hers topped the list. She said, “Pastor, when they lay me out in that coffin I want a fork placed in my hand.” He said, “A fork? What do you mean, a fork? Why that?” She replied, “Well, when we were children, we always had dessert, usually Jell-O or pudding or a cookie. But sometimes as Mama was clearing the table, she’d say, ‘Children, keep your forks.’ That meant dessert would be something special—like a rich, moist piece of chocolate cake or a piece of fresh-baked pie. When Mama said, ‘Keep your forks’, we knew the best was yet to come. I’ve had a pretty good life here on earth. But it’s nothing compared to what’s ahead of me when I die and see Jesus. That’s the best. And it’s ! yet to come. I want people to know. That’s why I want you to put a fork in my hand.” A few months later the elderly woman died. And when people came to pay their respects, there she was, all decked out in her best clothes in a coffin with a fork in her hand. Her best had come. What about you? Are you looking for the ultimate experience? If you know Jesus, whatever happens here on earth, your best is yet to come. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will become like his glorious body.

-Philippians 3:20–21 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 287 pages
• Publisher: Bethany House Publishers (March 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764229443
• ISBN-13: 978-0764229442
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,227,071 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dr. H. Norman Wright is a Gold Medallion winner and author of more than seventy books. He is a licensed marriage, family, and child therapist and former professor at Talbot School of Theology and Biola University where he directed its Graduate Department of Marriage, Family, and Child Counseling. He and his wife, Joyce, have been married more than forty years and live in Long Beach, California. They have a son and a daughter.