In the 75 years I have lived in all the activities and areas of my life, nothing has been more important than my wife, Patty, and our eight kids. The kids are all gone, married with their own kids now, and I don’t see most of them much now. So when I get an opportunity to spend some quality time with any of them, it is a special time. Our son Seth lives in Idaho with his family, so I don’t get to see him often. He just had his 40th birthday, and his family gave him a gift to come to Alaska and fish with me. We fished with our kids a lot as they grew up, and Seth was particularly good at it, even when he was little. We were fishing this morning at 4:00 am, and he caught his second salmon and yelled for everyone to hear, “Dad, one fish, son, two fish!”

The Bible makes it clear that God desires our fellowship with Him. Jesus died for us so our sins, which are the main barrier between us and God, could be taken care of, erased, canceled, buried, never to be remembered again. God created prayer as the primary way to spend time with Him, get to know Him, and experience His presence. When I think of how important time with my kids is to me, I am often convicted by the relatively small amount of time I give to God, seeking Him, drawing near Him, and talking to Him in prayer. I have to set goals, commit to specific times, and keep track of my prayer time. If I don’t, everything in life sucks up my time, and I get to the end of the day and have ignored God.