I got up this morning and headed for Ninilchik, Alaska, pulling my drift boat with two other anxious and excited fishermen. We planned to launch the boat off the beach into the ocean, motor out half a mile, and fish for Halibut in 20 feet of water. We did that yesterday, and we limited out with six halibut in less than two hours. The ocean was flat, the sun was nice, and the fellowship was great.

This morning when we got to our launch point, the wind was blowing, the sea was rough, and the fog was so thick we couldn’t see the shore when only 50 feet away from it. We fished for two hours, and we didn’t have a single bite. It was freezing cold, and one of the guys was seasick. We got back to the lodge, and we decided to go to the Kenai River and catch sockeye salmon. So many fish have gone up the river at this point that Alaska Fish and Game permitted the commercial fisherman to put their nets across the entire opening of the river. Needless to say, we didn’t catch a single salmon; I didn’t even have a bite.

Bad fishing day, at least the catching part.

One of my goals is never to complain, grumble, or fuss about anything and to rejoice and praise the Lord for everything. Some days I do good, and others, I do bad at keeping that goal. I am doing much better now than last year, and the bad days are getting farther apart. That goal was much easier to write than it is to do, at least consistently. My biggest struggle is when I am with a group, and they are fussing with each other about fishing, government, weather, or whatever, and not join in the conversation with them. One of my most significant failures happens while watching “Monday Night Football” or another sporting event with a bunch of guys. The “group gripe” really takes over, and it is so easy to join right in, and it is even fun.

But my greatest struggle in not being negative and rejoicing always is with my health and how I feel. It is such a bummer not feeling well, having continual pain, being tired all the time, and not being able to do what I could do just a couple of years ago. I am getting better and better at accomplishing this goal with my mouth, but my main struggle now is in my thinking. I find myself sinking into a “poor me” self-pity self-talk regularly, especially at the end of the day. My method of conquering this problem in my flesh is to memorize many Bible verses on praise, rejoicing and to set my mind on them when I catch myself sliding into self-pity thinking.