I have been looking at pictures online of the sun flares, of the sun and the Earth compared to each other, and of all the pictures people have taken and posted online of the northern lights seen last night. I also have been reading information about solar storms, what they are, and how they affect life here on Earth. As I was reading that, these verses came to mind.

Psalms 8:3-4
When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained;
What is man that You take thought of him,
And the son of man that You care for him?

Psalms 19:1 The heavens are telling of the glory of God;
And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.

Romans 1:19-20
because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.

I was reading a young kid’s explanation for the cause of solar storms. “God poked His finger into the sun.” It sounds very logical to me, but then I strongly believe in God as the creator and sustainer of all that exists, so it is easy for me to believe that.

The most amazing thing about this recent display of God’s power is that He loves me and desires my fellowship with Him for eternity.

One of my favorite memory verses now is 2 Corinthians 12:9
And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.

In the last year, I have struggled so much with being tired and unmotivated. I have just considered it my age and that I was stuck with it, no matter how much I hated being a wimp. But I have recently increased significantly, praying for strength and motivation, and I have been feeling more energetic and motivated. I pray off and on all day long for God to make me strong like Samson and as motivated as Caleb. I have been increasing my Bible reading, prayer time, and scripture memory as a form of waiting on the Lord and claiming His promise for strength.

Isaiah 40:31
Yet those who wait for the Lord
Will gain new strength;
They will mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary.

A thought that pops into my head often is, “Just relax and take it easy; you have done your part; now, act like an old man.”

Maybe I should; even the Old Testament saints got old, tired, and inactive. But I have a long list of ministry goals I will try to kick into existence this Fall. We will see how it goes.

On our flight to Oahu and back again, I had a new experience: I didn’t have to take my shoes off going through security. I don’t know if it is a new rule that you can leave them on if you are 75 or older or if I hadn’t heard of it before, but it was nice. I was thinking about why they made that rule. Maybe they don’t believe a 75-year-old would be a terrorist, or actually, could be. Perhaps it is because old people take so long getting their shoes back on that they create a backup in the security line. Or it could be that the scene they make when they fall over while trying to get them back on is about as bad as if they got caught with a gun. Or, as in my case, putting socks on is so time-consuming that we just leave them on for days, and the smell that radiates through the security area when old people take their shoes off causes rebellion in all security workers.

It is funny to me how a little thing like not taking my shoes for security purposes will create this curiosity thinking in my head for hours. So I did what any intelligent person would do: I googled it, and this is what I found is the reason why I didn’t have to take my shoes off. The mystery is solved.

“TSA Security has expedited security procedures for passengers 75 and older, and they are now not required to remove their shoes and light jackets at the TSA (Transportation Security Administration) checkpoint. They are also allowed to pass around the Advanced Imaging Technology devices. Passengers 75 and older can receive some form of expedited screening through risk-based intelligence-driven security that allows TSA to better focus resources on passengers who more likely pose a risk.”

When I was six years old, I started school; when I was 16, I got a driver’s license; when I was 18, I graduated from High School; when I was 20, I got married; when I was 21, I could legally buy beer, and now that I am 75, I am no longer a security risk at airports. Those are significant milestones in life, for sure!

Here is a different list of milestones: When did I become a believer in Jesus, when was I baptized, when did I read the Bible all the way through in one year, when did I lead my first person to Jesus, when did I pray for one uninterrupted hour, when did I fast for 24 hours for the purpose of prayer, and when did I get 50 Bible verses memorized well?

And the best milestone of all, when did I get my glorified body?

It may be my imagination, but I seem to have many more things go wrong on hunting and fishing trips than most. Today, I booked a charter fishing trip for Wahoo, tuna, and swordfish for my grandson, Rocky, and me. We got out about three miles this morning, and the engine on the boat quit running. The captain thought he would have to get towed in, but he finally got it started. It would only idle, so we returned to the harbor very slowly. The nice thing is I got refunded all the money I gave the captain for the fishing trip.
Another good thing is we had a nice boat ride, and it was an exciting adventure for a little bit, but we didn’t catch any fish. So, we didn’t catch any fish on three different surf fishing trips, we didn’t kill any pigs the last two nights, and we didn’t catch any fish today on our charter! My oh my, my grandson will have a poor opinion of my hunting and fishing skills, but I think he will have a good opinion of how I managed the disappointment of our unrealized goals. Here are a few of my personal rules for being a happy hunter and fisherman, no matter what happens.

If what you wanted didn’t happen, look hard for as many positives as possible, enjoy the experience and the adventure; that is a choice, and never talk negatively or complain.

Today, we went to church in Oahu with our daughter Sally and her family. The pastor preached out of Colossians. While he was preaching, I was reading the first two chapters of the book of Colossians. It was an excellent sermon that stimulated my thinking. When we got home, I wrote down these notes.
– In Jesus, we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Col. 1:14
– Jesus is the exact image of God the Father; any teaching that says Jesus is less than God is false. Col 1:15
– Jesus created everything that exists, visible and invisible. Col 1:16
– Jesus holds all things together; He is the atomic glue. Col. 1:17
– Jesus is the head of the church, His eternal companion. Col. 1:18
– God the Father reconciled all things to Himself through the blood of Jesus on the cross. Col. 1:20
– Jesus desires that He present each of us before the Father holy, blameless, and beyond reproach because of His death. Col. 1:22
– If we have faith in Jesus, He will now live in us. Col. 1:27
– In Jesus are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Col. 2:3
– Jesus is the fullness of Deity in bodily form. Col. 2:9
– Jesus is the head over all rule and authority, supernatural and earthly. Col 2:10
– Jesus died, was buried, rose from the dead, and is alive today, and we will live with Him forever if He is our Savior. Col. 2:12-14
– Jesus disarmed the devil and all his demons when He rose from the dead. Col. 2:15
– Therefore, we are free of all man-made religious rules that appear wise but are useless in making us like Jesus in character. Col. 2:20-23

Our life should now revolve around loving Jesus, serving Him, obeying Him, seeking Him, glorifying Him, becoming like Him, and worshipping Him. Col. 3:1-25

Tonight, my grandson, who is eleven, and I went pig hunting. We have put out some grain several nights in a row, which they have eaten, and we were set up about 20 yards from our bait station tonight with a 22 rifle on a tripod with a night vision scope. We only made it to 8:00 pm, and my hunting buddy wore out, and no pigs had shown up yet. We will give it a go for the next two nights before we leave. Many wild pigs are on the Island of Oahu, and they are a major nuisance. Part of the problem is that gun control laws are very strict here, and not many people hunt; they swim, surf, and fish, so the pigs have nothing to keep them under control. Pigs are like rabbits; they have a litter of ten baby pigs twice a year. I guess I am just going to have to visit our family here more often and help them out with their problem.

In the Old Testament, pigs are occasionally used as a word for demons. Jesus cast demons into a herd of pigs who, as a result, ran into the sea and drowned themselves. Because of the population density, the pigs here have gotten good at hiding out in small bushes and coming out only at night, rooting up lawns, and eating dog and cat food out on back porches. That reminds me of how demons work in our lives, sneaking around everywhere in our lives, creating chaos and confusion, and constantly tempting and lying to us. If I could see them, I would shoot them. But I can’t see them, so I have to defeat them through prayer, the big gun that God has given us to defeat the power of darkness. If you neglect prayer, you will have pigs in your backyard.

We had another day of amazing time on the beech today with paddle boarding, snorkeling, and swimming. The weather is warm and the water is warm.

I am hoping to go out deep sea fishing and to go hunting a kill a pig yet, but we will see how schedules work out.

Patty and I used to joke when all eight kids were home and were at various ages and stages in school that our retirement program was to spend a month at one kid’s place and then move on to the next ones. I am thinking that we will just stay here with Sally!

I am trying to discover how to surf fish in Oahu, Hawaii on the North Shore. My 11-year-old grandson is crazy about fishing but has not discovered surf fishing yet. I bought a ten-foot rod, Penn reel, and line, and now I need to find where and how to fish here. I am doing a bunch of reading online and have googled surf fishing. In my research, I discovered a guide specializing in surf fishing who would take my grandson and me for two hours for $300. I will wait and see if we can figure it out on our own before I spend that much money.

I want to find a local guy who surf fishes a lot and loves to teach others how to do it. This afternoon, I plan to drive to all the places listed in my internet search and look for guys who are fishing. Then, I will walk up and ask for their advice as a novice from Oregon. It doesn’t take very long to discern whether someone knows what they are talking about and whether they want to share their knowledge.

Proverbs 1:5 A wise man will hear and increase in learning,
And a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel,

Proverbs 11:14 Where there is no guidance the people fall,
But in abundance of counselors there is victory.

Proverbs 24:6 For by wise guidance you will wage war,
And in abundance of counselors there is victory.

Getting advice and counsel from others is a major principle of God, and He rewards those who have the humility to follow it, but the people in our world are infected with “I know it all” disease, especially Christians when it comes to living life successfully for God and bearing much fruit for Him.

Patty and I are now in Oahu, Hawaii, with our youngest daughter Sally, her husband Aaron, and their three wonderful kids, our grandkids. The middle one had his birthday yesterday; he was 11 years old and named Rocky. He and I are going fishing today.

Yesterday, we got up at 4:30 am and spent much time in airports and on airplanes. One of the things Patty and I do on a day like yesterday is to watch and listen to people; there were lots of them.

One of the observations is that most people don’t seem very happy. They look like they are under stress, upset about something, and in a hurry.

It isn’t always true when I fly, but yesterday we had wonderful stewardess. They smiled a lot, were very friendly in their conversations, and their goal appeared to make people as happy as possible.

When we landed in Honolulu, it was crowded; people were going in every direction, and there were two different luggage area signs and directions. I had no clue which one to go to. I asked several official-looking people, and they didn’t know either. I now became one of those who looked unhappy and stressed out. I told Patty, let’s go to one, and when we get there, and it is the wrong one, we will go to the other. It will only take us 15 minutes longer if we choose wrong, and the exercise will do us good.

Patty and I both walk like old people now, and I was carrying her carry-on bag as well as mine, and they were heavy, especially hers. A fellow driving a golf cart asked where we were going; I confidently responded that we had no clue. He asked what airline we had come in on, and when I told him, he said, I know right where you need to be. He grabbed our bags, loaded them on the back, and told us to get in, and off we went. We were headed in the wrong direction, and it took him just a few minutes to reach our destination.

I don’t know if it was good training by Alaska Airlines or it was their personality, but those people were very good at their jobs of helping people and, in the process, giving joy. I thought to myself, I need to make that one of my goals in life. I also thought that every Christian ought to make that a goal, and Christianity would be very attractive.