We flew home from Alaska yesterday; Patty picked us up from the airport at 7:30 pm, we had to make several stops to deliver people and fish on the way home, and we got home about midnight and into bed at about 1:00 am. I got up at 4:00 am yesterday morning to get everything ready for flying home, so this morning, I slept until 10:00 am, and boy, oh boy, did that feel good. I have not slept in my own bed much since the beginning of May, and I had forgotten what a lovely bed it is and how much my old body likes it. I can’t imagine anything feeling much better. I honestly thought about sleeping for 24 hours; I know I could have done it. One of my new goals that I made this summer is to be done with my lifelong habit of sleeping 5 or 6 hours a night. I started that way back in my dairy farming days, and when I started pastoring, I often milked cows from midnight until 6:00 am to help make ends meet, so I got used to the short nights of sleep to get everything done.

On the bicycle trip, I got 8 or 9 hours of sleep almost every night because that is when everyone else went to bed, so I just joined them in the routine. Up in Alaska, there were many nights of fishing most of the night, but I made up for it the next day by sleeping for all most all day long. So, all in all, I easily averaged over 8 hours of sleep every day. I guess it took three months of sleeping at least eight hours most nights to realize how much better I felt. Now, as a result of getting my eating squared away, losing weight, taking a bunch of vitamins and supplements, and sleeping eight hours a day, I probably will live to be 100 years old.

The easy way to accomplish this goal is to eliminate or move all my morning commitments. But my favorite ministry is meeting with my different “Men’s Accountability Groups” each morning at 6:00 am. That is the only time that works to have them, and I believe strongly in the power of encouragement and accountability with men.

So, I guess I will have to discipline myself to be in bed by 9:00 pm. Patty goes to bed on most nights at 9:00 so I will just have to join her. Yep, I think I am going to live to be 100.