We got up at 4 am to go fishing for Sockeye Salmon on the Kenai River in Soldtna, Alaska. This is our 5th day of fishing and the “Run” has yet to happen. Usually the 15th of July is the peak of the run. 2 years ago there were 238,000 fish that came up the river in one day on the 15th, and today the run is about 13,000. As I think about it, it is a lot about expectation. I went on an all day salmon fishing trip in Oregon and the 5 of us that went all caught one fish, and we were very excited about the great day of fishing and catching. Yesterday the 12 of us that came on this trip caught 13 fish between us and we were greatly disappointed because that is not what we expected. I am going to work at choosing my expectations so I am excited and grateful when they happen, and they will happen because I am going to choose expectations that I can control. My expectation for today is that I will have a great fishing experience because I will enjoy the challenge of trying to catch fish, I will enjoy the river and the creation of God so obvious in Alaska, I will the escape from the normal responsibilities of life and be refreshed and refueled for great accomplishments in the days ahead, and I will enjoy the fellowship with friends who are enjoying this adventure as well. My enthusiasm because of fulfilled expectations will have a positive influence on the other guys on this trip instead of being a drag because of my disappointment, especially my 14 year old grandson.

Patience is the number one requirement to really be a devoted fisherman as well as an undying hope. Real fishermen enjoy the fishing experience whether they catch fish or not. They want to catch fish “a lot” but the “hope” of a big run tomorrow keeps them motivated, and the effort made to catch fish that aren’t there is enjoyable.
Sort of like waiting for Jesus to come. I truly expect that tomorrow is the day He will come, and I try to live accordingly.

We are getting ready for the evening fishing. We typically will fish from 6 pm to midnight but we have our headlights so we are prepared to fish all night if the fish are in…

Not a lot more fish came up the river today but enough more so that we put about 30 salmon in the freezer, 36 is our group daily limit, so we were close. We are getting up at 4 am planning on the run coming in strong tonight. We worked hard for our fish today spending about 12 hours fishing. As I said yesterday , I think a lot while I am fishing and today was mostly thinking about what next10 years held for me. My desire is that the next 10years are more effective than the previous 38 years. I thought a lot about my responsibility to make this happen. I know that accomplishment is a partnership with God, His part and mine. I want to make sure that I understand my part and faithfully, diligently do it well. It is sort of like fishing, I can’t make the fish come up the river but I need to be ready when they do and be diligent and have the skill to catch them. Boy, I hope getting up at 4 am is worth it!!

There is a group of 12 of us at Soldotna, Alaska fishing for a week for Sockeye salmon. We have done this for years now and every year we have hit the run right on the nose, but right now there are very few fish. Usually we have our 3 fish limit in less than an hour, but I fished for 12 hours today and caught 2 fish and the others have not done much better. We have been here 2 days and have 6 more to go so we are hoping the run comes in soon. I enjoy fishing even if we don’t catch fish but we invited some new guys this year and told them all the stories of previous years so I feel bad that they are not catching many fish. While I am fishing I think a lot about different things. Today I was thinking about whether it was ok to pray and ask God for fish. Jesus gave Peter and his fishing buddies fish 2 different times, so Jesus has done it and I wouldn’t be asking for 153 fish! Maybe I should just ask for joy whether we catch fish or not or strength to manage well the disappointment of few fish caught. Well, after thinking about it I went ahead and prayed an official prayer for fish with passion. If the run comes in tomorrow I will praise the Lord. If it doesn’t I will rejoice anyway.

With all the negative news happening it was so nice to be part of the Serve Inc event today where 150 people from 7 different churches in the Jefferson area spent the morning painting the inside of the Fire Station, the outside of the Jefferson Community Center and landscaping the Conser House and painting the Gazebo next to the Conser house as well as cleaning up the street and sidewalks around those same buildings. Everyone worked hard and had a very good time fellowshiping together as they worked together. In The Gospel of Matthew Jesus said, “Let your light shine in such a way that the world may see your good works and glorify your Heavenly Father”. I believe that when we truly do something that brings pleasure to the heart of God that we sense that pleasure in our own heart with a sense of our own personal joy. I came home today after being involved in this great project with a deep inner sense of joy that I am sure was from God.

One of my goals this year was to study all about aquaponics and then to set up my own system. I built a 10X12 greenhouse and put a 300 gallon IBC tank in one corner, built 2 grow beds that were 3X10 feet and 1 foot deep, filled with 3/4 pea gravel. The top of the grow beds are 3 feet from the ground so I can work on them without bending over. Water pumps out of the fish tank into the grow beds and then back onto the fish tank. The water is filtered and the plants that grow on the gravel get lots of nutrients and grow very fast. I put 100 little 1 inch long baby Tilapia in the tank on January 7th and today I harvested my first fish, actually 6 fish. They weighed about 3 lbs each and made some very nice fillets which we ate for dinner. At some point I think I will be able to raise all the vegetables that Patty and I and all of our kids and grandkids in the area can eat plus all the fish we want. As I get this down as a smooth running system I may see how much I can sell and make a little profit to boot. The fish tasted delicious by the way. One of my favorite things to do is learn about something I know nothing about and become somewhat of an expert on it. I wonder what it will be next year?

Well, I had a pretty good night. Sorta, kinda. Went right to sleep on my new bed and then as usual I woke up 3 hours later with the muscles in my legs set up like concrete. I went into our exercise room and peddled on my exercise bike hard for 15 minutes and read my Bible while I did then I got into our hot tub that is on our back porch. It is just a little cheap one that only holds one person but it is nice and hot, 104 degrees and the jets blow super hard. I sat in that for 15 minutes praying through my kids, son in laws, daughter in law, grandkids and Mom from memory, and then I crawled back into my nice new bed and slept like a baby for another 3 hours. Slept like a baby is a bit of hyperbole, but you know what I mean. Making adjustments to changing health issues and circumstances in life seems part of God’s plan for our lives. I am sure it is God’s will that I make these adjustments without grumbling, or feeling sorry for myself, but to just do it seeking strength, joy and peace from Him as I do. Christ like character is always God”s plan for my life. Thank You Lord for wanting me to be like Yourself so that we can enjoy each other in eternity, and working out the circumstances of my life perfectly to shape and mold me into your image and likeness.

While I was gone on a trip our daughter Sherri started a fund raiser to buy Patty and I a new bed. I sleep very sound for About 3 hours and then I wake up because I am so stiff because of my Parkinson’s. I get up and go sit in my recliner and can usually get another couple of hours in a semi sitting up position. My chair is outside Sherri and Thomas’s room so whenever Sherri got up to take care of their little boy Courage in the middle of the night I usually was in my chair. I think she assumed that I spent most of the night there when in reality it was only half. Anyway, the new bed came today. It is like a hospital bed in that the head and foot of the bed will raise and lower. It is really two beds connected, Patty’s and mine. The idea is that when I wake up I will stay in bed but raise the head and feet a bit and go back to sleep. Tonight is the maiden voyage, we will see how it works. I will give you an update tomorrow. The word “rest” is a very nice word, it makes me feel good just writing it. In Hebrews 3:9-11 it says, “so then, a Sabbath rest still remains for the people of God; for those who enter God’s rest also cease from their labors even as God did from His. Let us make every effort to make sure we enter into that rest”. I think tonight when I lay down in my new bed I will say, “this is nice, but nothing like the rest I will have when I enter into heaven”.

My alarm went off at 4:30 am this morning. I got up and showered and shaved and prayed and committed myself and the day to Jesus as Lord of my life asking Him for wisdom and guidance, strength and open doors. Drove to Albany and met 5 other guys at Denny’s for breakfast and accountability. At 6:30 am a second group of guys came in for breakfast, coffee and to enjoy fellowship and holding each other accountable for 10 goals that each of us has set. At 7:30 the third group came in and I had my 6th cup of coffee for the morning. All 20 guys who are in the 3 groups are super serious about growing closer to the lord and I am super serious and excited about helping them and growing as a result of their encouragement and friendship. After the third breakfast meeting I went down the road a bit to my good friend Denny Fryman’s shop where he and I worked for a couple of hours on my recumbent trike. I determined that I was going to get one since my bicycle trip across the U.S. To Portland, Maine. They are so expensive That I decided to build one from plans downloaded from the Internet. It is going to be a very nice recumbent trike and I am going to ride it with a couple of friends from San Diago, California to St Augustine , Florida in March and April. At noon I went home for lunch and then down to my office and worked writing about 50 birthday and anniversary notes. At 6 pm I went back down to the church where I had a marriage counseling time. The 1 hour of marriage counseling was fun and I enjoyed helping the couple grow and become a bit more wise in building their own marriage. Then I went to an hour Men’s prayer time. After it was over I headed home and now I am sitting in my recliner reading, writing and thanking God that I got to do some signifant things today. Busy is good, working fast and smart is good, pushing all day to get everything on my todo list done is good.

In the Bible passage that was part of my reading this past week was the story of the destruction and capture of the nation of Israel by the Assyrians in 2 Kings. It says that Israel worshiped the Lord, but that they also lived the way of the world around them. The Lord was angry with them for this unfaithfulness to Him and destroyed them as a nation. We do that today. We declare that we believe in God, and then live like the world around us. That is like being married and having an affair with another person besides your spouse, your spouse isn’t going to go for that arrangement and neither does God. Either get on the boat or stay on the dock, but don’t stand there with one foot on both because it won’t be long before you are in the water! If God is God then serve Him and follow Him, and if He is not then do whatever you want. Lots of really good people drift away from their faith in God, because they are living in both worlds. It can’t be done and Gods blessing will be lost. It is a gradual thing that usually isn’t noticed until it is to late. I will serve the Lord and be devoted to Him with all my heart and I will renew that total commitment to Him every morning.