As a 77-year-old man, husband, father, Pastor, hunter, fisherman, and builder of boats and other things, I recognize that certain events and activities in my past were foundational in shaping my life and making me who I am. One of them, which many would be surprised at, was sports. One of my strengths in life has been my drive and passion to accomplish my goals and achieve success. The surprising thing about that is that I was never very good at sports. I wrestled, ran track and cross-country, played basketball and baseball, but I mostly lost and was usually on the bench. I started in grade school, competed all through High School, and into my first two years of college before I got married. An interesting twist in my journey, which is different from many, is that losing, being last, and being on the bench created in me a blazing fire to succeed in life. With most people, regularly losing causes them to become comfortable with the feeling and the experience, so that they don’t constantly feel like a loser. They learn to compensate by reducing the importance of winning in basketball. I have heard so many Pastors over the years say that they were comfortable with their small, non-growing church because if God wanted their church to grow, He would make it happen. In my leadership class, I award points to everyone who completes the various assignments. Each week, I total the cumulative points and rank everyone in the class based on the number of points they have. In the past, there have been individuals who were last or near the bottom of the class who claimed they didn’t care. That is a coping mechanism that puts out our fire and makes us lukewarm, or keeps us that way. When I lost or failed at anything in life, I complained bitterly to God, asking Him why He was doing this to me and pleading with Him to help me do better. I had a few wins and accomplishments, just enough to keep me from quitting. I think it was God’s carrot. I am getting closer to the finish line of my race, and I thank the Lord for every lost game and minute of sitting on the bench in basketball.

When I was 12 years old, my Dad retired from the Navy. We had primarily lived in Navy housing, apartment buildings, Quonset Huts, and small houses that Dad bought and sold as we moved up and down the West Coast. When Dad retired, we purchased a 120-acre farm. That began a long list of new experiences and skills I learned. I caught my first trout, and my first salmon. I shot a gun for the first time; I bought my own rifle from a military surplus store for $12. Dad helped me, and I shortened the barrel. I bought a piece of black walnut and, using a wood rasp, made a new stock for it, a Russian 7.62.

I shot several deer with that rifle. I milked a cow for the first time, butchered a pig, and a whole host of other animals. I learned how to plumb and wire a house, how to trap a beaver, how to operate a chainsaw, and how to split firewood and fence posts. I learned how to run a DeLaval cream separator and how to churn butter by hand. I learned how to pan for gold and how to tan rabbit hides. I had hundreds of new experiences and learned about as many new skills in five years before we sold the farm and moved again to a much more modern dairy farm setup. That first farm was 120 acres of blackberries and poison oak, which we cleared with goats and pigs. We farmed it using horse-drawn equipment, pulling it with our 1948 Ford pickup. The house was a sheep barn. We chased the sheep out, shoveled out the sheep manure, and moved in. Over the next five years, we added a water supply, an indoor bathroom, electricity, an electric oven, a water heater, and glass windows with swinging doors. I was at an age when all those challenges and changes were an adventure and very exciting. My Dad made it exciting as we worked together to make our little farm profitable and a home. We sold that farm for a nice profit and were able to buy the dairy in Trout Lake, Washington. At 77 years of age, reflecting on my life, I am sure that most of my character growth occurred during that brief five-year period. When we bought our present house in 1990, it was over 100 years old, leaning like the Tower of Pisa, full of rat nests and bats, leaking like a sieve, and the walls and windows were so porous that an average wind outside would blow your hat off inside. Many people questioned our decision to buy that old house, but I was so excited for our eight kids to have some of the same experiences that I did and to grow the same way I did. I considered our old house a gift from God.

At almost 77 years of age, my most significant issues are the aches and pains in my joints and muscles, and the lack of energy that I have. I recently had a new hip put in on my left side and will have one put in on my right side soon. A lot of the pain I was having went away with my new hip. One of the things I read is that muscle strength is essential for maintaining mobility and energy.  I have lost a lot of strength over the years. Sometimes when I lie in bed and look at my arms, I think, Wow, my muscles are much smaller than they used to be. Exercise is the key to maintaining and even increasing muscle strength, but the hip pain I was experiencing kept me from doing much of that. However, now I am exercising a lot and plan on doing even more once my right hip is free of pain. Another key to energy and good health is maintaining a healthy weight. As my muscle tone and strength decreased, my weight increased, which is a bad combination. I started a serious diet about a year ago and have lost 35 pounds so far. My goal is to lose another 20 pounds and reach a weight of 180 pounds, which is what I weighed when I graduated from High School, and then maintain that. Another issue with my health and energy is my diet. So, I have eliminated almost all sugar from my diet, as well as processed foods, additives, and artificial sweeteners. I am also taking vitamins, minerals, and supplements that are recommended for older men who want to maintain their health. So, with 50 pounds less weight to carry around and two new hips, and reasonably good health, I should be able to accomplish a great deal more with my life in the next 20 years. A favorite verse of mine is Psalms 92:14-15: “They will still yield fruit in old age; They shall be full of sap and very green, to declare that the Lord is upright.” One of my major life principles over the years is that God guides, gives strength, bestows blessings, and protects. Still, He expects us to be faithful, responsible, disciplined, diligent, and wise in following the fundamental laws of human life and living. God’s grace, love, and care for us are not intended by him to bail us out of the consequences for poor choices and an undisciplined lifestyle.

I don’t know if it is common with older people, but I spend a lot of time now reminiscing. I don’t do that negatively; it’s more like reading a history book – just remembering and enjoying the memories. I mostly do that while looking at the pictures on my iPad. Today is one of my grandkids’ 18th birthday, and I think, how is that possible?! I have also been thinking about my old friend Jack Knight, who passed away this past week; he was 97. I looked it up on Google and saw that only one in one thousand live that long. In the Bible, life is likened to a race, with a starting line and a finish line.

Some people run a 100 yards, and others run a marathon. Jack ran an ultramarathon. The primary emphasis in the Bible on running the race of life is to run it with your eye on the finish line, not on the sidelines. Run it with endurance; don’t sit down. Walking is okay, taking a drink is OK, but keep moving and finish well. One of the problems that many people have, especially young people, is that at the beginning of their race, they take detours off the main route. When you are young, it seems like the finish line is so far away that a few detours won’t make that much difference, but they do. So, what if you have made some major detours? What now? Paul understood that issue. He didn’t start running the race until he was well into life. His basic response was, Make this the first day of your race and run it right from here to the finish line. I will be 77 in 18 days, 20 years younger than Jack. If I live to be that old, I have a lot more running to do. I will probably walk a lot.

Philippians 3:12-14 Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

 Hebrews 12:1-2 let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

One of my every morning commitments that I make to the Lord is, “Today I will do my part to build your church at JBC and around the world, and I will thoughtfully step through any door You open for me to serve You and Your church.” One year ago, a door opened for me to Pastor the Jefferson Evangelical Church. I was still involved in several ministries at JBC, but my weekends were free, so I took advantage of the opportunity and stepped through that door. Several people asked me, “Why?” My answer was simple: “Because I have made a promise to God every morning for the last 40 years that I would not ignore any opportunity that He gave me to serve Him and His church.” When I decided to pastor JEC, I knew that God would give me all that I needed to accomplish this ministry and to be a blessing to His bride, the church. At 76 years of age, having faced many struggles in the past trying to discern God’s will for my life, I have grown to the point where I am confident that I am making most choices in accordance with His will for my life. When I believe that what I am choosing to do is His will, I have little fear that I will fail. The fear of failing is what keeps most people from trying to do something significant with their lives. A question I often ask people I work with in my leadership classes or in other mentoring relationships is, “What would you attempt to do if you knew you couldn’t fail?” Most people are not consciously aware that the fear of failing controls their decisions in life, but it does. It is hard for most people to break free from that way of living.

I went deer hunting last week and killed a nice 3×2 buck. I missed a much bigger buck several times, and I was bummed about that, but I have had many years of deer hunting in the past when I didn’t even see a deer, so I am thankful for what I got. I replayed my mistakes 10,000 times in my mind, and I am confident that next time I will not make the same mistake. But at my age, I may never have a next time!

One of the reasons many people do not set goals for themselves is that they dislike the disappointment of not achieving their goals. They find it easier to take what comes without getting their hopes up for something great or big in their life. There is undoubtedly less disappointment in life when we don’t dream big and don’t set ambitious goals for ourselves, but there is also much less accomplishment in our lives without the passion and drive that goals inspire in our minds. The key to satisfaction in life isn’t to eliminate the potential for failure and disappointment that comes from unrealized dreams by going with the flow, but to manage our self-talk when we fail to accomplish a goal. The formula is to dream big, aim high, work hard, be very grateful for whatever the results are, and plan how to make the next time a success. It is incredible how quickly disappointment fades when you rejoice in everything, figure out what went wrong and why, and make new goals.

I am going deer hunting in Eastern Oregon this weekend. I own a 300 Weatherby Magnum. It is a nice gun, and it shoots well. When I was a kid, my Dad would have me dry fire my rifle a hundred times a day, the week before we went hunting with a spent cartridge in the chamber. He said that I needed to be able to shoot and have my eyes open when the gun fired, with no sign of a flinch or jerk. He said that when I dry-fired it with no flinch and my eyes were open and fixed on the target, whatever it was that I was aiming at out the window, I would know whether I would have hit it or not. He said it was actually better practice than shooting live ammunition, and it was free. 300 Weatherby shells are very expensive, so the free part is a great. He said practice until you hit what you look at every time.

The Bible mentions focusing many times. We are to focus on heaven, not on this earth or life. We are to focus on Jesus and work at pleasing Him, not on the people around us. We are to focus on the finish line, the day we stand at the judgment seat of Christ, so we will run the race set before us with faithfulness and endurance. What we set our eyes on is what we think about. What we set our eyes on determines what we become as a person in character. What we set our eyes on is where we end up in life. What we set our eyes on determines what we accomplish with our lives. Focus is the key to self-control. Focus determines whether we will succeed in life or not. Focus.

Today, I signed up for the Corvallis half-marathon, and I plan to walk it on April 11th. It cost me $64 to register. On November 29th, I will be walking a half-marathon that starts and finishes at my house. It is free, and we will have a porta-potty and an aid station with water and sports drinks. You are all welcome to come and walk or run; it starts at 9:00 am. Hopefully, it won’t be raining too badly. I walk six miles outside on the road twice a week and walk for one hour on my treadmill twice a week. My goal for November 29th is 3:45, and for April 11th, 3:30. I am also planning to walk another half-marathon on July 4th at Sauvie Island. Back in my running days, I ran the half-marathon at Sauvie Island four times and did it several times with one of my kids. July 11th is the day I am climbing Mt Adams, so the Sauvie Island Walk should be a great warm-up. My goal for the Sauvie Island walk is 3:20. My monster B-HAG (big, hairy, audacious goal) for this year is to climb Mt. Adams. I used to live in Trout Lake, which is under 20 miles from timberline of Mt. Adams. I climbed it for the first time shortly after we moved there when I was 16 years old. I have climbed it numerous times since that first ascent, but I have failed to reach the top on the last four attempts. The last time I made it to the top was over ten years ago, when I was 65 years old, and I will be 77 when I attempt it again on July 11th. I anticipate that it will be a very tough climb. I am praying that Jesus comes before then, or I die. Someone asked me why I am doing this climb, and I responded by saying, “Because I am crazy!” Hopefully, I will come to my senses before July 11th. Let me know if you’d like to walk any of the half-marathons or climb Mt. Adams with me. Misery loves company.