We had another day of amazing time on the beech today with paddle boarding, snorkeling, and swimming. The weather is warm and the water is warm.

I am hoping to go out deep sea fishing and to go hunting a kill a pig yet, but we will see how schedules work out.

Patty and I used to joke when all eight kids were home and were at various ages and stages in school that our retirement program was to spend a month at one kid’s place and then move on to the next ones. I am thinking that we will just stay here with Sally!

I am trying to discover how to surf fish in Oahu, Hawaii on the North Shore. My 11-year-old grandson is crazy about fishing but has not discovered surf fishing yet. I bought a ten-foot rod, Penn reel, and line, and now I need to find where and how to fish here. I am doing a bunch of reading online and have googled surf fishing. In my research, I discovered a guide specializing in surf fishing who would take my grandson and me for two hours for $300. I will wait and see if we can figure it out on our own before I spend that much money.

I want to find a local guy who surf fishes a lot and loves to teach others how to do it. This afternoon, I plan to drive to all the places listed in my internet search and look for guys who are fishing. Then, I will walk up and ask for their advice as a novice from Oregon. It doesn’t take very long to discern whether someone knows what they are talking about and whether they want to share their knowledge.

Proverbs 1:5 A wise man will hear and increase in learning,
And a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel,

Proverbs 11:14 Where there is no guidance the people fall,
But in abundance of counselors there is victory.

Proverbs 24:6 For by wise guidance you will wage war,
And in abundance of counselors there is victory.

Getting advice and counsel from others is a major principle of God, and He rewards those who have the humility to follow it, but the people in our world are infected with “I know it all” disease, especially Christians when it comes to living life successfully for God and bearing much fruit for Him.

Patty and I are now in Oahu, Hawaii, with our youngest daughter Sally, her husband Aaron, and their three wonderful kids, our grandkids. The middle one had his birthday yesterday; he was 11 years old and named Rocky. He and I are going fishing today.

Yesterday, we got up at 4:30 am and spent much time in airports and on airplanes. One of the things Patty and I do on a day like yesterday is to watch and listen to people; there were lots of them.

One of the observations is that most people don’t seem very happy. They look like they are under stress, upset about something, and in a hurry.

It isn’t always true when I fly, but yesterday we had wonderful stewardess. They smiled a lot, were very friendly in their conversations, and their goal appeared to make people as happy as possible.

When we landed in Honolulu, it was crowded; people were going in every direction, and there were two different luggage area signs and directions. I had no clue which one to go to. I asked several official-looking people, and they didn’t know either. I now became one of those who looked unhappy and stressed out. I told Patty, let’s go to one, and when we get there, and it is the wrong one, we will go to the other. It will only take us 15 minutes longer if we choose wrong, and the exercise will do us good.

Patty and I both walk like old people now, and I was carrying her carry-on bag as well as mine, and they were heavy, especially hers. A fellow driving a golf cart asked where we were going; I confidently responded that we had no clue. He asked what airline we had come in on, and when I told him, he said, I know right where you need to be. He grabbed our bags, loaded them on the back, and told us to get in, and off we went. We were headed in the wrong direction, and it took him just a few minutes to reach our destination.

I don’t know if it was good training by Alaska Airlines or it was their personality, but those people were very good at their jobs of helping people and, in the process, giving joy. I thought to myself, I need to make that one of my goals in life. I also thought that every Christian ought to make that a goal, and Christianity would be very attractive.

I have done many different things in my life, and I continue to do a variety of activities. Many of them I do because it is my duty. There is a deep satisfaction in doing what is my responsibility because it helps, benefits, and blesses others. I usually sense God’s pleasure in me when I do what I know He expects of me, and there isn’t much that equals that feeling. But I also do things that are fun and enjoyable for me. One of those activities was this last week when I went to Eastern Oregon with a dozen good friends, shot hundreds of 17 HMR bullets at sage rats, and fished for big monster trout.

When I can experience a fun three days like that, I thank the Lord for His blessings in my life. The Greek word for blessing in the New Testament is the same word often translated as joy. Joy is a blessing and a gift from God, and I always want to thank Him for them and to give Him credit for the entire event.

A lot of life is hard and is no fun, and they also are from God. He brings them into our lives to develop the character of Christ in us. Life is ultimately all about our growing and changing into the image of Christ so that when we get to heaven, we are like Him so that we can enjoy Him forever, and He can enjoy us as well.

When I have an enjoyable time like last week, I remind myself that the level of joy that I will experience in heaven will be millions of times better than this, and the reason will be because I will be with Jesus, and I will be like Him in character.

My dad was in the Navy for 22 years, and he got out when I was twelve years old. He used to talk about some of those who had a few months to go before they were out as those who had a “short-timers” attitude. He said they were pretty much “good for nothing.” He used to admonish me not to get that attitude at the end of a school year, just before I graduated from High School, or before a part-time job was to end. He used to say it is a character issue. Back in the days when I was running marathons and half marathons, I would run a five-mile loop that started and ended at our house a couple of times every week for my training. For the last 200 yards, I would run as fast as I could as my declaration that anything I did, I would finish well, not coast in.

I am now 75 years old, and I keep reminding myself to finish life well and not coast in. It is very easy to use my age as an excuse to take it easy. Also, as I read the news and the various current event articles, I am convinced that the Lord is coming soon. It is a real temptation to coast across the finish line.

The Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 to focus on the finish line and to run to win. In one particular marathon that I ran, about 500 yards before the finish, this old lady was trying to pass me, but I was determined not to let her beat me. When she would pull even, I would pick up my pace a bit. I kept doing that until I was sprinting and beating her by a step. Running as fast as you can at the end of a 26.2-mile marathon is crazy and takes a huge amount of willpower. I feel the same way now as I live my life focusing on the day I stand before Jesus at the finish line, the Judgment Seat of Christ. Patty and my kids would often be at the finish line cheering me on as I finished; I visualize Jesus doing that now.

I have taught my “Leadership Classes” for over 40 years at JBC. The word leadership doesn’t mean position or title of power; it means influence. As Christians, we are responsible for influencing all those around us to love and serve God more. The influence is that God works through us because we are the kind of people in character, practice, and lifestyle God uses. God does not use unqualified people to do His work. I teach about the importance of daily Bible reading and faithfully practicing the rest of the Basic disciplines of the Christian life and how to make them a habit in your life. I teach about goal setting and how to become a successful goal setter. I teach about the skill of time management and the importance of making the most of our time for God. I teach a lot about the character of Christ and how we can become like Him. I just finished this year’s classes and will start again the first week in October next year. I will teach women’s and men’s leadership classes and Leadership II, which will involve ladies and guys together. If you have gone through either class in the past and find yourself slipping a bit in “the disciplines,” consider retaking it to get yourself motivated to do things you know you should do but don’t seem able to make happen. Motivation is a significant element of what this class is about. I haven’t figured out yet what days and times will be for the classes, but I will soon.

I have taught my “Leadership Classes” for over 40 years at JBC. The word leadership doesn’t mean position or title of power; it means influence. As Christians, we are responsible for influencing all those around us to love and serve God more. The influence is that God works through us because we are the kind of people in character, practice, and lifestyle God uses. God does not use unqualified people to do His work. I teach about the importance of daily Bible reading and faithfully practicing the rest of the Basic disciplines of the Christian life and how to make them a habit in your life. I teach about goal setting and how to become a successful goal setter. I teach about the skill of time management and the importance of making the most of our time for God. I teach a lot about the character of Christ and how we can become like Him. I just finished this year’s classes and will start again the first week in October next year. I will teach women’s and men’s leadership classes and Leadership II, which will involve ladies and guys together. If you have gone through either class in the past and find yourself slipping a bit in “the disciplines,” consider retaking it to get yourself motivated to do things you know you should do but don’t seem able to make happen. Motivation is a significant element of what this class is about. I haven’t figured out yet what days and times will be for the classes, but I will soon.

I try to maintain a healthy balance in several areas of my life. One of those areas is that I want to stay faithful to my basic disciplines and goals, but I don’t want to be rigid. When I am inflexible, I feel guilty if I don’t do all my disciplines or everything on my to-do list or fall short of my goals. Part of what I need to remind myself is that I am doing the disciplines and goals to grow in character to be like Jesus, and to serve Him by influencing others for Him, not simply to please him with my effort or activity. On the other hand, I don’t want my flexibility and freedom to turn into apathy or laziness. It is like driving a car to a destination; I need to steer it so I don’t go into the ditch on one side or hit oncoming traffic on the other. It sounds simple and easy, but it takes a lot of self-examination and thinking about why I do things. We are complicated beings, and knowing our hearts and motives is tricky.

Another issue for me in pursuing balance is that my primary ministry now is teaching my leadership classes, which are about leading ourselves to growth and accomplishment and then influencing others to do the same. I don’t want to influence people to be machines doing the basics, but people who are driven by their love for Jesus to grow to know Him and glorify Him by bearing much fruit.

One of my disciplines and goals is writing this blog every day. I enjoy writing it, especially when people share how it has blessed them. But sometimes, it is challenging to get it done with schedules shifting. For the next three days, I will be camping in Eastern Oregon, shooting Belgium Ground Squirrels, commonly called “sage rats,” and fishing for monster Trout. There is no cell service where we will be, and I will have little time to write. I will write all about my adventures in four days.

I was reading some studies on how to live healthier and longer. The average length of life for men in the United States is 76 years. I am six months from 76 years old. The study said that if I exercise 90 minutes a day, I have a 40% chance of living to be 90; if I increase that to two hours a day, I have a 50% chance of living to 90 years old.

I wouldn’t mind dying tomorrow, but if God is going to keep me around longer than that, I would like to feel reasonably good and be able to continue to do things that make a difference in other people’s lives.

Exercising becomes increasingly difficult to motivate myself to do as I get older, and most people my age or older would agree with that. The reason for the increasing struggle to exercise is the decreasing level of energy. It seems that I am tired 30 minutes after I get up, and that is on my good days, and the last thing I want to do is exercise. And another reason is that my joints ache, my muscles ache, and my head aches. It isn’t an excruciating kind of pain, just annoying. But it certainly discourages exercising.

Oh well, as John Wick says, “Such is life,” so quit whining and get on with it.