For the last two weeks, there have been about forty people here at Tim’s Place fishing for sockeye salmon. Less than half were here for the first week and a bit more than half the second week. For the last couple of days, it has just been Tim, George, and I here. We have been getting up and going fishing at 4:00 am. Because it is at the end of the sockeye run, most people are gone, so it has been just the three of us on the dock. Yesterday, we limited out catching 18 sockeye salmon in one hour. It took us a little longer this morning, but we caught 18 again. We are going out for sockeye again in the morning, and before we leave to come home, we will get in a halibut fishing day. The three weeks I am up here in Soldotna, Alaska, is the most intense fishing I do all year. It is a lot of fun, and I will also bring home 100 pounds of salmon fillets. I have been making this trip to Alaska for about 25 years, and I hope to continue this nice tradition for another 25 years. I also work hard to make time for reading and writing, and I spend much of the time I am fishing, praying through a list of people in my head. A trip like this is relatively expensive, with the cost of one week at Tim’s place, called “Funny River Fellowship Lodge,” plus the airfare. Tim doesn’t charge me for the time I am here and usually buys my airplane ticket as well, which is a very nice gift.

God has blessed me a lot in my life. A wonderful wife whom I have been married to for 55 years, the 24th of this month, eight amazing kids, 28 grandkids, an incredibly fulfilling ministry at JBC for 50 years, and many terrific friends who bless me in various ways.

As good as my life has been, I am looking forward to heaven very much. The Bible says that what we will experience in heaven is beyond our imagination. The cool thing about my eternal future is that it is a gift from God, neither earned nor deserved. I received this free gift from God by believing in and following Jesus Christ. Many people haven’t taken that step of faith in their life. I wish I could take it for them, but I can’t; every person must decide and choose for themselves to commit their life to Jesus Christ. It seems that the best things in life are often free, but we must accept the gift if we are going to enjoy it.