This year has been a record run for the Kenai River sockeye salmon. As of today, there have been 2,789,817 salmon that have entered the Kenai River and have been counted at the sonar counter 19 miles upriver from the mouth. With all the publicity of the huge and record-breaking run, many people who want to catch salmon have shown up. The Kenai River is world famous for salmon fishing, and there are people from all over the world. I hear people talking in many different languages. As we fish around these people, it is quite remarkable how different their personalities are. Some are very nice, fun to fish with, and enjoyable to visit. But others are aggressive, grumpy, mean, and difficult to fish around. The worst thing is that the ornery ones usually don’t know how to fish very well, so they get upset at us for catching so many fish. It is a challenge to be a peacemaker, kind and gracious, and return good for rudeness. Most of the people in our group do very well at being courteous and talking to people with discipline and kindness. We had two groups this year. The first group was made up of 15 people, and the second group was made up of 18 people. I had a super enjoyable time with them all at the lodge and fishing. It is fun to come to Alaska fishing, and even more fun when there is such great fellowship with the people we are fishing with. I wonder sometimes how and why some people grow up being nice and others grow up being mean. As Christians, a significant responsibility given to us by God is to be a witness for Jesus, and we attract people to faith in Jesus. A meaningful way we do that is to influence people by our treatment of them as people. We are commanded in the Bible to honor and treat people as we want to be treated.  

At the end of older movies is the caption, “The End.” Every good thing and every good event comes to an end. We only have five more days of fishing in Alaska. Sometimes we know the end date, and other times it is a surprise, but we still see that the end is coming. Some bad situations and experiences, we are glad when they end. My Dad used to say when things were bad, “Just be patient, it will come to an end sooner or later.” Psalms 30:5 says, “Weeping may last for the night, but a shout of joy comes in the morning.” I love coming to Alaska to fish, but I know it is for three weeks and then it is over for another year.” I love the summer months when the weather is warm and the sun shines at home, but Winter is not far off. But because of my faith in Jesus Christ, I will live forever with Jesus with infinite joy and a glorified body that will never get old or wear out. It is difficult for my feeble mind to grasp the truth of eternity, but I still enjoy thinking about it.

When you go into a store, everything has a price tag. The nicer the product, the higher the price. Coming to Alaska to fish for three weeks has a cost. There is the obvious cost of flying here via Alaska Airlines, the out-of-state fishing license, food, gas for vehicles, fixing and maintaining my boat, launch fees, and fishing tackle. But another cost is five hours of sleep each night. Also, my hands get dozens of “fish bites” where I get scratched with salmon teeth while getting them out of the net, getting the hook out, and cutting their gills. They get infected from the fish slime and hurt like crazy. Also, I fillet and clean a lot of the fish everyone catches, and my hands ache from that work. And then there are the hours of standing fishing for and fighting salmon, which causes my legs, back, and shoulders to ache. I have been catching my limit of six salmon every day.

Nothing is free and the greater the benefit, and the greater the blessing and joy, the higher the cost. So I am not complaining or feeling sorry for myself for the price I pay to fish. The joy and blessing that I receive is more than worth it. Many people won’t pay the price for a good marriage, good relationships with other people in their lives, or a growing relationship with Jesus. Jesus’ words are clear: if you want to follow me, take up your cross daily. The most significant cost that there is, is the price for our sins, and Jesus paid that price with his death on the cross. Many people think they can pay that price; they can’t, but they refuse to let Jesus pay for it. The greater the benefit, blessing, and joy, the higher the price for anything worth having or experiencing in life. Be willing to pay the price; there is no free lunch. But we can’t pay the price for our eternal life; the price is too high. Be willing to let Jesus pay for it.

One of the cool things about Alaska this time of year is that there is only three hours of darkness. There is a prolonged dusk time, but it is plenty light to see to fish. When it is totally dark we wear head lamps to fish. At the end of June it is light for 24 hours. About eight years ago I ran a 10K race in Fairbanks, Alaska with my daughter Shelly that started at midnight and the next day I played golf with my son-in-law and his family starting at midnight. There are lots of verses in the Old Testament that describe the Millennial Kingdom, the time when Jesus rules on the earth. Isaiah 60:20 is one of those verses. “Your sun will no longer set, nor will your moon wane; For you will have the Lord for an everlasting light, and the days of your mourning will be over.” Creation was intended by God to be a continual reminder of the Lord and His power and of our future life with Him. It is sad that so many regard the world around us and it’s beauty as an accident rather than a work of God. And it is even more sad that so many don’t have a relationship with the Lord Jesus and that Isaiah 60 is not part of their future. When I had my hip replacement surgery they asked what I wanted if my heart stopped on the operating table. I said, “Don’t resuscitate me.” I want to go to Jesus and get my new glorified body and be done with this life.

Many things in my life I do because it is essential, or I must do them because of responsibilities I have to others. I read the Bible daily, spend time in prayer, work on my Bible memory verses, write my blog, work on sermons, text or phone Patty, pay my bills, sleep, eat, brush my teeth, and other things. Some things I do because I enjoy them. Fishing is at the top of that list, but some things have changed with fishing in my old age. I no longer fish in the rain. I used to, but no longer. I get cold, and then the joy is gone. Fishing is not a duty or an obligation, so I don’t need to unless I want to. Often, I will do things that I don’t necessarily enjoy, but I enjoy the challenge of accomplishing them. That list of things is also shrinking as I get older. I don’t climb mountains anymore, or run marathons, or run anything for that matter.

I enjoy reading more and more, writing, studying, doing activities with people, especially family and friends, teaching and preaching the Bible, building things, and fishing and hunting. In 1 Timothy 6:17, Paul tells Timothy that God gives us all things to enjoy. Joy in life is a great gift from God. Some things are enjoyable, like fishing, but others bring joy because God gives joy as a blessing for faithfulness. One of the significant blessings of God is joy in life. Those who do the will of God, obey God, seek Him, serve Him, and worship Him will have great joy in their heart from God. Psalms 16:11 says, “In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.”

There were 17 men at “Funny River Fellowship Lodge” this past week. One of the guys brought his eight-year-old son with him. I was doubtful that he would be able to do anything but watch. It takes a fair amount of strength to fight and reel in a sockeye salmon and net one. But he fooled me; he caught several fish, reeled them in himself, and did a lot of netting for everybody else’s fish. Several nights we stayed out until midnight, and this morning we got up at 3:00 am to go fishing, and he was there with us. I have brought many of my kids and grandkids with me over the years, and it is so fun to see them catch big salmon. It is one of the best father-son or grandpa-grandson events there is. Proverbs 17:6 “Grandchildren are the crown of old men.” I can’t wait to bring some great-grandsons fishing to Alaska.

There were 17 men at “Funny River Fellowship Lodge” this past week. One of the guys brought his eight-year-old son with him. I was doubtful that he would be able to do anything but watch. It takes a fair amount of strength to fight and reel in a sockeye salmon and net one. But he fooled me; he caught several fish, reeled them in himself, and did a lot of netting for everybody else’s fish. Several nights we stayed out until midnight, and this morning we got up at 3:00 am to go fishing, and he was there with us. I have brought many of my kids and grandkids with me over the years, and it is so fun to see them catch big salmon. It is one of the best father-son or grandpa-grandson events there is. Proverbs 17:6 “Grandchildren are the crown of old men.” I can’t wait to bring some great-grandsons fishing to Alaska.

Yesterday I took my boat out halibut fishing. We launch off a beach near the town of Ninilchik. There are several big four-wheel drive tractors with dual tires front and back that back the boat trailer into the surf until the water is deep enough to back the boat off the trailer. When you are done fishing, you motor back to the launching point and call the boat launching office, and they back your trailer into the water, and then, you run your boat up on the trailer, and they pull you out and up on the flat area where we hook up with the van and drive back to the lodge. Driving the boat onto the trailer is tricky because the waves coming in tend to push your boat sideways. I messed up and came in too fast and off angle and busted the sideboards off of the trailer, which makes it very difficult to get the boat on the trailer because it is under the water, and you can’t see it. My boat is a flat-bottom dory, so I went out a ways, headed the dory toward the beach, and gunned it. It slid up on the beach, and we loaded it from there. It was very exciting and a major adrenaline rush! We did catch four halibut.  Today, I have to work on my trailer and reattach the sideboards. For examples of what we experienced, go to YouTube and look up “Deep Creek Carnage.” You can watch some crazy boat loading events where we launch and load. I prayed a lot for God to help me amid our potential carnage.

Fish camp has been hectic. There are 15 guys here, and the sockeye run is a record. There are lots of fish, and everybody is enjoying fishing and catching. The limit is 6 per day, with 15 people, that is 90 fish. They all have to be filleted and transported to coolers in the vans we drive to the river. Then, when we get back to the lodge, the fish are cleaned, vacuum-packed, and put in the freezer. There is a lot of work to do besides catching. Everybody pitches in and helps, so it goes fast. The goal is to get enough fish in the freezer so that every person can take home 50 pounds of fillets. That is 750 pounds of fish. So far, it looks like we will make that easy.

I took my boat out in the ocean yesterday with four guys, and we caught six halibut, which will add to the total pounds of fish caught. Saturday, I fished from 7:00 pm until midnight. Sunday, I fished for 8 hours for halibut, and then after dinner, we all went down to the river and fished until midnight again. I was exhausted when we returned to the lodge last night, so I slept until 10:00 am this morning and stayed in the lodge alone when everyone else left for fishing. This is the first time I have ever wimped out like this. Oh well, I am still having a great time. This year’s group is all super friendly guys, and everyone gets along well. So there is the added joy of the fellowship and camaraderie between guys who all love to fish. Most of the guys have never been to Alaska and have never experienced the kind of fishing we are experiencing now. It is crazy good.

The book of James says that every good gift is from God the Father, so I thank the Lord all day long, every time I catch a fish, for this wonderful gift I am experiencing now. The scenery is gorgeous here, so I am also thanking Him regularly for His creation, and this morning I thanked Him for rest and a good night’s sleep. I am continually thanking him for friends and the joy of Christian fellowship. Two habits many believers have that dramatically reduce the blessings they receive from God are grumbling, complaining, discontentment, and failing to be very thankful to God for their many blessings. God loves to bless those who thank Him and those who do not grumble about trials that come into their life. A good motto for life is don’t grumble to God or people, and don’t be a grumpy old man. Rejoice always. That habit may increase the number of fish you catch. Try it and see. 

We were fishing last night and a moose walked out of the brush behind us and walked out into the water to get a drink. He didn’t seem bothered much by the fishermen in the river. There are a lot of moose in the area. We have to be careful driving at night that we don’t hit one. Two of the pictures are taken out the window of the lodge we are staying in. There are lots of eagles in the area and our trail cam took a picture of a grizzly bear outside our lodge. One of the cool things about fishing in Alaska is all the beautiful scenery and the wildlife. It is all a huge testament of God’s creation.

 Romans 1:20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.