I was supposed to go steelhead fishing tomorrow, but it got rained out; the river was too high, so we canceled. This is the third fishing trip in a row in the last month that has gotten canceled because of weather; bummer. Regularly and often, things go wrong, not how we hoped or dreamed or what we expected. My life seems to go in seasons where a bunch of bummers happen all together, and then there will be a reprieve, and then life goes pretty well. I have lived long enough to know it doesn’t rain forever; the sun will shine pretty soon, and the fish will bite.

A string of rainy days and canceled fishing trips can make a person sad and depressed if they let it. I work at finding a new focus, a substitute for what I was planning, or a replacement guaranteed to be a winner. I am reading the installation instructions for my new Rohloff 500-14 rear hub for my bicycle tonight. I am so excited about getting it on my bike and giving it a test drive down the road. I have read the manual thrice, watched three YouTube videos on installing it, and watched several longer videos about how much more enjoyable riding a bicycle is with a Rohloff 500-14; I can’t wait.

You probably think I am weird getting so excited about a rear bicycle hub, but if you only knew what this baby can do!

The point is, there is something in your life, probably not very far away, that you could focus on that would bring some joy into your life instead of mopping around about what went wrong.

One of the things that I often heard my Dad say was, “Always do the right thing because it is the right thing.” People often say, “It is so hard to know what is right.” No, it isn’t; we always know the right thing to do. The problem is that the right thing is usually the hard thing, and we would rather do the easy thing, so we make the choice hard because, in our mind, we are trying to talk ourselves into doing the easy thing, and we confuse our own conscience.

The Apostle Paul says in Galatians 6:7, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.”

That means that when we do what is right, we will reap the rewards of the right choice we made, and when we do what is wrong, unwise, selfish, or hurtful, we will reap the consequences.

The problem for many is that the crop that we reap is delayed long enough after the sowing that we don’t connect the dots between our choices and the consequences that occur in our life; we blame them on our boss, our neighbors, or the government, and never grow in wisdom, so we keep making the same easy choices in life.

It doesn’t take much listening to conversations before you hear someone blaming someone else for their problems. Every morning, it is a simple commitment: “Today, I will not complain or grumble, and I will not blame anybody else for my problems.” It is simple to make but not easy to keep, but if we keep making the commitment, we will move in the right direction.

I know many people in our church who are older than I am. Some are in their 90s and are still doing reasonably well. But at 75, I still consider myself beyond simply senior, and now I am an old man. I am reminded of my status in life every time I attempt to tie my shoe laces or pick something up off the floor. I have been going to the YMCA in Albany with Patty; we bought a membership right after the first of the year. There are a lot of other old guys in there at the same time as us. I sit in the sauna for about 15 minutes as the last thing on my agenda at the “Y.” A number of other old guys do as well, so I enter into conversations with them. As a result of my time in the sauna with these scintillating conversations, I have made a short list of guidelines for my time in the old guy stage of life. I have a much longer list, but I don’t want to violate guideline #11.
1. If I ever have surgery of any kind, I will not talk about it to anybody except my doctor and my wife.
2. I will never mention to anyone except my doctor how many bowel movements I have had in the last week.
3. I will not be a tightwad. I will tip generously and won’t debate the total on every receipt I get.
4. I will not complain about the weather, no matter how rainy or icy it may be.
5. I will not gossip about or slander anyone, especially those in my family.
6. I will not talk politics.
7. I will speak of Jesus, the Bible, and my church more.
8. I will tell stories of my kids’ and grandkids’ accomplishments, not mine.
9. The exception to #8 is fishing stories.
10. I will laugh at other people’s attempts to be funny unless it is immoral or rude.
11. I will work very hard not to bore people with my conversations.
12. I will honor others by listening attentively to their stories, no matter how boring they might be.

These verses in 2 Peter are my new “everyday meditate on verses.” There is so much information in these seven verses. I don’t like to fill up my blog with too many Bible verses because I like to keep it short and readable, and I know you have your own Bible reading time and schedule, but these are so good I will include all seven verses.

2 Peter 1:5-11
Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.

One of the phrases that jumps out to me is, “if these qualities are yours and are increasing they render you neither useless nor unfruitful.”

So much of the time, I focus on the tasks and the ministries that need to be done in my living for and serving the Lord. But this passage puts the focus on growing in character. If I grow in these character qualities, I will be neither useless nor unfruitful for Jesus.

The key to growing in these character traits is ” applying all diligence” and “being all the more diligent.” I understand what that means, and I can do that.

The word repent is used often in the Bible, mainly as a command. We generally know what it means, but it is an intimidating word, so we tend to read it and not spend much time thinking about its application to our lives. It can, in places, mean to change how we think, but it usually means to change how we act or behave. We tend to think it is like walking into a changing room wearing old, dirty clothes and walking out wearing spiffy, new clothes, an immediate change based on our choosing what to wear. Most people want to change who they are and try to change, but not much difference takes place. Most people have given up on the “repent” thing and have settled for different coping methods to help them live comfortably with who they are.

Most of the Bible is filled with principles and guidelines on how to change, and most of them suggest that repenting is a process, not an immediate “about face.” Because I am a sequential thinker and a mechanic at heart, I like solutions to problems in steps, and each step to be pretty small.

The first step is identifying a sin, problem, or character flaw I want to change. I have many, but I only pick one or two to work on at a time; otherwise, I don’t do well for several reasons.

Second, I write out what I want to change as clearly as possible, making it measurable so I know whether I am moving. I write it out as an absolute; otherwise, I will become content with a partial change

When I fail, I confess it to the Lord with no justification or excuses; I own my failure 100%. I then recommit to conquer this problem and ask the Lord to give me His strength to do His will. As I notice positive progress in my behavior, I thank the Lord for making me increasingly more like Him.

If I can find books, sermons, or podcasts that revolve around the issue I am working on, I will work at learning as much as I can from others on how to conquer this problem in my life. Also, if I know of people who have had success in the area I am working on, I will seek counsel from them

Often, an area of my life that I am working on needs some accountability from others to succeed. The humility required to seek accountability or counsel from others is very pleasing to the Lord, and He will reward it with great strength.

A problem that I had in the past was getting angry at Patty. Anger is a problem that many people have that rarely gets better. I wrote, “I will never get angry at Patty, not even a little bit irritated, no matter what she has done and no matter how many times she has done it.” I told her of my commitment and that every time I said, “I love you,” I was remaking my promise to her.

Occasionally, I get irritated at her and say something hurtful, but I repent again, saying to myself, “I will only speak words that edify and build up, never words that are spoken from anger or irritation.”

Change is slow and complex; the key is to keep diligently pursuing it, never get apathetic or lazy about repenting.,

There is always a gap between what I know I should be doing and what I should be in character and what I am actually doing and being in my life. It isn’t just sin that causes this gap, but a lack of accomplishment and retarded growth in me, a sense of bobbing around in the ocean in a boat with the motor off. That gap creates guilt and tension in me, especially as a pastor, a father, and a grandfather who is supposed to provide an example for others to follow. I have discovered that this tension in me can motivate me or it can bury me with a sense of hopelessness, leading to depression over my failures. I have also discovered that I am not the only one who feels this way. This sense of being overwhelmed with this gap in our lives is why many people avoid going to church; they subconsciously choose to avoid anything that would make the gap bigger.

An interesting phenomenon in life is that the more I grow, the better my eyesight becomes into who I really am in character and accomplishment. It is like climbing Mt Adams; the higher I climb, the farther I can see.

I don’t want to remove the tension this gap produces in me by false self-talk that everything is OK, that would blind me and deceive me into who I am, but I think that is what many do to cope with this guilt in themselves. I don’t want to become like those people Jesus is talking about in Revelation 3:17 Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.

I have discovered that the number of goals I have set for myself and the length of my daily “to-do” list contribute to my sense of being overwhelmed with life and my sense of failure. Most of the time, they motivate and drive me, but occasionally, they become a big club over my head. When that happens, I rewrite my goals into a list of only four, mostly easy ones, and reduce my “to-do” list accordingly. It is like priming the pump and restarting my motor.

I also honestly examine my life, confess any sins or failures to the Lord, and ask Him for His strength and joy to fill me as I pursue Him and His will for my life. This time of confession and asking for strength is often repeated over and over until the fire in me is restarted and burning hot.

We just had a week of freezing weather, at least for our part of the world. It was so cold and icy that we canceled church this past weekend, and I canceled a steelhead fishing trip scheduled for today. Dozens of people have fallen on the ice, and I have heard of three people with broken bones because of their falls. Some have had broken water pipes, and others I know slid off the road. This is what you call a significant inconvenience.

This past summer, it got so hot that I couldn’t sleep, so I bought an air-conditioning unit to cool off our bedroom at night so I could sleep. Our lawn turned all brown, and I canceled a week of bicycle riding. Now, that was a significant inconvenience. But the weather was pretty good between the cold and the hot.

Job 37:10 From the breath of God, ice is made, and the expanse of the waters is frozen.
God made the seasons, the heat, winter, the sun and stars, the moon and night and day.

Besides the inconvenience of freezing weather and super hot days, there are tornadoes, hurricanes, severe wind storms, earthquakes, floods, and volcanic eruptions.

In all those, there is nothing we can do to change them, stop them, or postpone them. All we can do is compensate as best we can to endure them and survive them with air-conditioners and the like.

Why did God make life like this? The highs and the lows, the good and bad days, the cold days and hot days, the seasons, and the crisis events.

Did you know that the weather in the eternal Kingdom will be perfect? I am thinking about the day I will be abundantly ushered into that glorious place.

Did you know that God is in charge of our lives and the circumstances of our lives? There is a little bit we can control and influence, but not much. On the other hand, we can control 100% of our thoughts, attitudes, and how we talk to and treat others amid the freezing days.

Did you know that God is constantly training us, disciplining us, rewarding us, and shaping us into the image and character of Jesus? He controls the circumstances, but we control our thoughts, attitudes, and responses. We grow rapidly when we rejoice and cope with life positively, cooperating and loving others in the bad days. It is our choice every day. Complain or rejoice, it makes a lot of difference in the final results of who we are in our character.

Proverbs 12:4 An excellent wife is the crown of her husband.
Proverbs 18:22 He who finds a wife finds a good thing
And obtains favor from the Lord.
Proverbs 19:14 A prudent wife is from the Lord.
Proverbs 31:10 An excellent wife, who can find?
For her worth is far above jewels.

Patty and I have been married 54 years; over that time, she has been a fantastic gift from the Lord. Patty was raised as a city girl, and after we got married and moved to the farm, she jumped in and worked right alongside me, milking cows, shoveling cow manure, and feeding calves. Then, I became a Pastor of a small church meeting in a public school gym on a very small salary. Again, she adapted and did whatever was needed for us to succeed. She taught kids, helped with Youth group, cleaned the gym and bathrooms, helped me set up chairs, led worship with me, visited people in hospitals and new people to church, cooked meals and delivered them to sick people, typed bulletins and letters and ran them off on the old mimeograph machine.

And even more importantly, she was my biggest fan and encourager as I started preaching, teaching, and leading the church as a total novice. There were days when I would have quit and gone back to farming if she hadn’t encouraged me to keep running the race. She was always the perfect balance between encouraging and admonishing, giving me the carrot or the whip! As I worked very long hours studying, leading, teaching, and building buildings to try and get the church over the hump so we could survive, she never complained once about me being gone too much or me neglecting the family; she just picked up the slack.

She never complained about our small salary or felt sorry for herself for not having many things she would have liked; she managed our money well, and we got by fine.

And most importantly, she was a wonderful mother to eight kids as they came along every two years with a set of twins thrown in. We raised most of our babies before the invention of disposable diapers. Patty kept them well-fed, did homework with them, hauled them to piano lessons, and taught them well about Jesus and how to live righteously.

She is a bit slower now, more aches and pains, but she is still an amazing gift from the Lord, and I am a blessed man because of her.

Wow! I haven’t had a day like this for a while. I slept until 9:00 am this morning and then got into my sweats to help keep me warm. We had a church service in our house with some kids and grandkids, and then they all played games. I watched NFL playoff football on my iPad, sitting in my recliner with my electric blanket over me. I have been switching back and forth from football to reading, memorizing Bible verses, and writing. I also made a massive bowl of popcorn to eat while watching football. I have butter smudges all over the screen on my iPad.

This reminds me of when I was a kid on the farm. During October and November, my Dad was a maniac trying to get everything done that needed done before winter came. When the first snow came, usually around Thanksgiving, he would go into the house, take off his work boots, sit in his recliner, and watch the latest rerun of Bonanza; winter was here, time to relax.

Patty was like that when she was pregnant with all eight kids; she was very sick for the first six months, and then she was like Superwoman for the last three months. She worked non-stop all day long, trying to get everything done that needed to be done for the new baby’s arrival.

I am like that a bit now. I figure that Jesus is coming soon, or I am going to die relatively soon, and then I am going to stand before Him and give an account of my life to Him and be rewarded for what I have done with my life. I would like to have a lot more to show for my time here than I presently have, so I am trying to catch up. It is harder to do the catch-up thing when you are 75; I wish I had started my comeback sooner. I remind myself of the Dallas Cowboys today, who made a major comeback effort but still lost to the Green Bay Packers, even though they have a rookie quarterback and are the youngest team in the NFL.

If you haven’t started it yet, it is time to start your sprint to the finish line.

I remember stories my Dad used to tell about living during the Depression. There weren’t many of the conveniences that we have now. They had kerosene lanterns for light, outhouses, a hand pump outside, wood stoves for heat and cooking, and thundermugs. Dad said they had an old model A pickup, but when it got cold in the winter, they had to build a fire under it to warm the engine up enough to get it to start. He said they were super cautious not to catch the pickup on fire. The wheels had spokes so they would wrap rope around the tires for traction devices when there was snow. One of my favorite stories was when they would tie fish hooks on the end of a couple of feet of heavy string, tie the line to a stake in their field, and put a kernel of corn on the hook. Ducks would fly in at night to feed in the field, swallow the corn, and get hooked. Dad and his brother would go out in the morning, thump the ducks on the head with a stick, clean them, and have ducks for dinner.
From 1960 to 1962, the first two years on the farm after Dad retired from the Navy, our family didn’t have electricity or running water. We took baths in a galvanized tub that Dad would set up next to the wood stove on bath day, and we would heat water on the wood stove. When we finally got a TV, it was black and white, and you had to be constantly fiddling with the nobs on the front so it didn’t look fuzzy and the picture wouldn’t constantly flip. We got three stations, but someone had to climb the fir tree next to our house and turn the antennae when you changed stations. Someone would lean out the window and yell at the person in the tree when they were in the right spot.
The electricity was off for a couple of hours during this ice storm today. I was instantly reminded of how many conveniences we have and how addicted and dependent we have become to them. I have a recliner that is operated by an electric motor. I was in it fully reclined with my feet up when the electricity went off; I couldn’t get out of my chair; I was stuck, and Patty had to pull me out.
Two things we did while raising our kids to keep them from becoming overly addicted to modern conveniences; the first was we went camping a lot and roughed it, and the second is we took them all on mission trips to third-world countries to see how they lived so they would be appreciative of what we have and not take it for granted.
I often daydream about heaven, and I have wondered whether we will have heated seats in our cars.