I got up at 6 am and went steelhead fishing with one of my sons on the Alsea River. We bank fished from day light until 9:30 am, and caught nothing, but fishing is always fun, then we headed home. Kids and grandkids showed up about noon and we ate, opened gifts, ate, played with gifts, ate, talked, ate, watched NBA basketball, ate and everyone went home. During the giving and opening gift time Patty asked all the grandkids why we gave gifts, and they answered with a variety of great answers from God giving Jesus as a gift to us, to the wise men giving gifts to Jesus. The grandkids all play together amazingly well, truly enjoying each other’s company and fellowship from the oldest to the youngest. The boys ran around outside having “air soft” wars, and drove the go cart in hundreds of circles in the field, the girls did face painting, “dress up”, talked, cleaned out an old attic room full of junk for their “room”. I wasn’t involved much in most of what went on except the eating, I contributed a little to a few of the conversations, but mostly listened, observed, and took cat naps. In spite of the low activity and involvement on my part these kinds of days are at the top of my list of favorite days. Not much makes me feel more fulfilled and blessed than days like today. Thank you Lord for blessing Patty and I with such a wonderful family. Help us and use us in the lives of many in JBC to teach, encourage, model, and pray for them so that marriages improve and grow stronger, parenting skills improve, and unity and love in families and relationships grow stronger and abound in love more and more in the days ahead.

A question I get asked often is how do I honor a person who hurt me, wronged me, who hates me. In the Old Testament, the prophet Ezekiel was told by God that his wife was going to die that night, and God told him that He wanted Elijah to not mourn or grieve over his wife’s death, she did die and Elijah says, ” I did as God commanded me”. Whenever I read that passage I wonder what I would do if God said to me that Patty was going to die unexpectedly, and He wanted me to act normal, with no grief or sadness. I think I could do it, in spite of how I would feel from the great loss, because God commanded me to do it. There are certain rules and laws in the New Testament that are very counterintuitive, and therefore we feel justified in doing things our way instead of God’s. Here is a classic one that Jesus says in Luke 6:27-28 “But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” Here is a similar command from the apostle Paul in Romans 12:20-21 “But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

If we are truly followers of Jesus Christ, doing hard things ought to be what we do, that’s who we are. God has infinite power available for us to live life with great strength, faithfulness, and obedience to Him, but if we are going to do the easy way, the world’s way, our way we are on our own.

When we honor a person we are giving worth and value to them as a person. Some of the key people that God commands us to honor is our parents, our spouse, our bosses, and our leaders.

1 Timothy 6:1. (Applied today, this verse is about bosses and employees)All who are under the yoke as slaves are to regard their own masters as worthy of all honor so that the name of God and our doctrine will not be spoken against.

1 Peter 3:7 You husbands in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with someone weaker, since she is a woman; and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.

Ephesians 6:2. Honor your father and mother (which is the first commandment with a promise.

1 Peter 2:17. Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king.

I honor Patty by listening to her, and paying sincere attention to her words. That is a key way that I honor all people in my life. I dishonor them by ignoring them.

I honor Patty by acknowledging her presence warmly when she comes home or I do, when she walks into a room, even if I am engrossed in a book or conversing with a group of people. I honor all people by greeting or welcoming them cheerfully. I dishonor them by ignoring them.

I honor Patty by praising her and thanking her for all that she does for me and others. I give honor by taking the time to think of those things she has done, and to craft a statement that communicates clearly my appreciation for them. I honor others in this way as well. I dishonor Patty and others by taking them for granted and rarely saying thank you.

Choosing to honor others as a discipline in obedience to God’s Word is the starting point, and as we persevere in this discipline over time it will become a character trait.

The biggest problem is that we honor those who honor us, and we dishonor those who dishonor us. That is an easy way of acting and takes little discipline, and will never turn into a character trait. An additional problem is that we justify that conditional honoring of others as just, fair, and right.

I don’t get sick very often, in fact, the other day I was boasting that I couldn’t remember the last time I got sick. Than yesterday when I woke up feeling like dirt I remembered the last time I was sick, and I also remembered that right before I got sick I had said, “I never get sick”. My recovery plan is to stay in bed all day, and have Patty take care of me, though she is leaving for church right now so I will be on my own for awhile. The most effective thing she does to make me feel better is to pat me on the head and say, “poor boy” with a very sympathetic tone in her voice, only like she can do it. It is almost like magic, the power she has to make me feel better! As she is leaving she brings me some crackers, my medicine, a bottle of water, puts another blanket on me, and asks if there is anything else she can do for me. If I didn’t feel so rotten, this would the life. I think I might fake being sick occasionally! We bought this hospital bed 3 or 4 years ago to help me sleep with the Parkinson’s, so I can raise up my head and be able to write this and read while I am being nursed back to health by my wife. It is quite amazing the power a flu bug has to change a macho, tough guy into a whimpering weakling, though it is the groans that prompts Patty to hurry over to my side asking what she can do to help me feel better. Patty is a very sympathetic nurse for me when I get sick, but if I wake up tomorrow still sick, I think I will be on my own, so that is my plan, take full advantage of Patty today, and back to normal tomorrow.

Certain events make me feel really, really good, and happy. They are just a major upper in my life, and I am always so appreciative to whoever helped bring the event about and in my life, and I praise and thank the Lord as well. Have you ever thought about the things, events, that are your favorites? The song in the movie “Sound of Music”, “These are a Few of my Favorite Things” always pops into my mind when I am feeling good because of some circumstances that have occurred. I have never written down all the particular events that are my favorite things, but I have thought about it, and then I would rank them from most favorite down. I have killed one really big bull elk in my hunting days, and that was a major happy event. Fishing is always a major source of “feel good” thoughts. Our kids and their families are close to the top of the list for sure. Another list could be all the events that make me sad, that is a long list, as is yours, I am sure. One of the things that happens regularly in my life is a person becomes a follower of Jesus, grows, and becomes a strong disciple of Jesus who is bearing much fruit with their life, and then for some reason falls away, and goes back to their old way of living. It always catches me by surprise and makes me very sad and depressed as I try to figure out why. Occasionally someone who fell away and I haven’t heard from them for a long time, comes back to the Lord. This event brings so much joy into my life, especially some who return with more devotion than ever, full of fire and passion. Again, I wonder, ” What happened?”Sometimes I find out, usually I don’t, but it doesn’t matter, that is still one of my favorite things.

I would like to get stronger, even at 70, it is possible. I would like to get smarter, wiser, think better, remember easier, quicker, I can do that, most older people go the other way, I don’t have to. I would like to get healthier, I certainly could eat better, less for sure. I would like to be better, a better teacher, a better husband, father and grandfather, a better fisherman and hunter, if I don’t get complacent I can get better, I know I can. There is only one way to get stronger, smarter, and better at everything and that is hard work, late nights, early mornings, practice, repetition, study, and discipline. I am naturally lazy and lethargic, and it is so nice to skip all that exercise, extra reading and writing. Self discipline is what conquers laziness and lethargy, and keeps us faithful at the basic disciplines. Self-discipline grows in us over time by doing the things that are required for it to grow in us. In order to become increasingly more self-disciplined you must want it, want it a lot, really want it, want it so much you will do just about anything to get it. Don’t ever, in a million years excuse your lack of self discipline as just the way you are. Everybody was that way, we are all born that way, but some don’t stay that way, nobody has to stay that way, so be determined not to. Certain exercises are extraordinarily effective in building self discipline, do them faithfully or stay weak and wimpy. Read your Bible everyday, there are so many blessings that come to the person who will do that, and self discipline is one of them. Exercise physically, everyday, it is amazing how connected our body and soul are. Again, there are tons of benefits to a daily exercise routine, and increased self discipline is one of them. Routinely fast, one meal, one day, two days, a week, nothing takes more self discipline for me than fasting, and there are so many rewards and a growing self discipline is a major one. Most won’t do these on their own, they will need some accountability, someone to do it with them, encourage them, pray for them. If you really want to be self disciplined you will find the people to help you, there is no other option, that is just the way it is.

Goal writing and management of those goals is one of my favorite topics to write and talk about, and one of my favorite things to do. This time of year, right before the New Year, is my really favorite because I get to ponder, think about, and put into motivational words my goals for the next year. On some goals I will spend an hour writing, rewriting, and rewriting some more so I can get it just right. I write an initial list of goals in October, before my birthday, and by now I am ready for a bit of a change so I rewrite most of them again. In October I had 60 goals written and had decided that would be plenty of goals for this year, but as I got to thinking and rewriting I ended up with 70, one for every year I have been alive, which is my normal amount. My last goal is to read my goals every day, and if I faithfully do that, the probability of accomplishing my goals goes up substantially. Reading them every day keeps them in my mind so I am thinking about them most of the day, figuring out how to do them, solving problems and barriers to accomplishing them. Reading them everyday also keeps me motivated and excited about accomplishing them.

I think the goal I am most excited about is camping for one month, from August 23rd, the start of archery deer and elk hunting, to September 25th, the end of archery deer and elk hunting, up in the Steen’s mountains, right next to Fish Lake. Patty is going to go with me so we will have lots of alone time together, and August 24th is our 50th wedding anniversary. One of my goals is to read and write for 5 hours each and every day we are there, and to get 30 sermons all done on the books of Philippians and Colossians, and to have both those books memorized by the time we come home. I am making a 12 X 20 foot wall tent, with a little wood stove to go in it so we can stay nice and warm, camping at 8,000 feet.

A number of years ago I got into bee keeping. I had 2 hives of bees and harvested quite a bit of honey over the years that I kept them. One of my side projects was to build a hive in the house that was glass on the outside with an outside exit into it. It was fun to sit in a chair and watch them come and go, feed the young, empty pollen and nectar into the cells, and all the other little duties that they had. It was also fun to watch the queen bee go from cell to cell laying her eggs with an entourage of worker bees surrounding her. It was quite amazing how they functioned in such unity all crowded together in that hive box the way they were.

Patty and I went out to dinner tonight with Pastor Mike and Jodi to the Red Robin restaurant. It was a very busy and noisy place. As we sat eating and visiting I couldn’t help thinking about that bee hive as people came and went, waitresses took orders, brought food, and cleaned up. There were dozens of different conversations in the various booths and tables, and the wait staff all had their areas, and the cooks, the unseen hero’s of the place were in the back doing their thing. All the stories that were represented in that room, all the various personalities, all the very sad and despondent people that were probably amount the crowd, as well as the very happy and content.

I didn’t see anybody in the big room full of people that I knew, and as I looked around the room I wondered, “How many people in this room know Jesus”. Even as I was pondering that question I saw 4 people in another booth all bow their heads and the older man prayed, and they all said Amen when he finished. If statistics are true about 20 in the restaurant were truly born again disciples,of Jesus, and the rest are doomed to spend eternity in the Lake of Fire, if nothing changes in their life.

I often envision heaven and daydream about what it is going to be like. I rarely do that about Hell, it is to sad, but I am driven daily to pray for people, to work hard at ways to attract them to faith in Jesus, and to agonize over the slow progress of doing so.

Patty and I got up early this morning and drove up to Trout Lake, Washington, to visit my Mom. When we got to Hood River, Patty who was driving, took the exit and went to Safeway because she wanted to get some special things for lunch for Mom. I stayed in the car reading as she went into the store to shop. She returned in 15 minutes, put everything in the car, pushed the cart into the stall where they were kept, hopped into the car, and off we went. When we drove into Mom’s driveway she asked if I would carry the cooler in and she would get the groceries she had bought. I dutifully did as I was asked, and as I was giving Mom a hug Patty began looking for her purse in the grocery bags, then she went out to the car to look, and then she came in and looked in the bags again, and then back to the car to look more carefully. When she came back in the house she said, “I did a dumb thing, I think I left my purse in the grocery cart”! She called Safeway, and they said no one had turned it in, and they sent someone out to look for it, but no purse! Oh great! But wait, what is that commitment I make every morning to the Lord, “Today, I will not get angry at anybody, not even a little bit irritated, no matter what they do”. MMM, I guess that is now😧! I called our bank, and they cancelled our account and said to come in tomorrow and we would open a new one. I called our gas credit card, and did the same. I was glad that she didn’t have any other credit cards. Well, that wasn’t that hard, and no damage was done. On our drive home Patty reached down to slide her seat forward, and felt her purse and pulled it out, and held it up with a look that said, whoops, I did another dumb thing! Let’s see, what is that commitment again, oh Yeh, I will not get angry, upset, not even a little, tiny bit irritated. I called everybody back, and said “false alarm” don’t cancel the accounts. No problem, they all said, glad you found it. Patty said, “I am so sorry” 😩 I said, “It is all good, I get a something to write about in my blog!” 😂😂😂

The character trait for this week is endurance. James 1:2-4 says, “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

“Let endurance have it’s perfect result, so you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” Endurance is stated here as a foundation character trait that if you have it you will have all of the other character traits as well. Romans 5:3-4 says the same thing using the word perseverance, “And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character”.

Any great accomplishment takes time, and any great accomplishment takes great effort, and sacrifice over time. Most get weary before the required time is met and quit, which means nothing gained and everything lost. Hebrews 10:36 puts it plainly, “For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.” In year 7 as pastor of JBC I wanted to quit and go back to farming in the worst way. I called my Dad to ask his counsel, and he said, “never quit when things are going bad, fix it, turn it around, get it successful, and then you can quit, because then your motives are more apt to be right”. The problem was that when things got better I didn’t want to quit, so now I am in year 43 as Pastor of JBC.

Those who don’t have quitting as an option find a way to get it done, to fix the problem, to make things better. Endurance, perseverance, and determination stimulates creative thinking, and they create the need to seek for wisdom.