Dear Friends:
Special Thoughts About Thankfulness
It has been several months since my last newsletter so let me
first offer you a belated happy Thanksgiving along with letting you
know that as I have done for the past 26 years since beginning CFM, I
thank God for each of you, my friends, and family that receive this
newsletter. It seems like the older I get, the more I value the
friends that the Lord has put in my life…and, though this is a generic
letter going out to a number of people, I want you to know that I do
greatly value each one…and that includes YOU.
This past year when my long-time friends and supporters of CFM, Sam and Angela Fecanin, were killed instantly in a tragic accident in Panama, it caused me to reflect on how precious loving relationships are to me. As I went through my email files to send my last exchanges with Sam and Angela to their daughter, Heather, I was struck with the warmth of our friendship along with the suddenness with which they departed this life without even being able to say, “Bye, been nice knowing you. See you in heaven!” While I never took their presence in my life for granted, and we had shared numerous times how valued our friendship was on all sides. It has caused me to take some inventory of the other friendships I am blessed to have and offer up a sincere “thank you Lord” to God, that in His wisdom and providence, He has allowed our paths to connect at some point over the years. One thing for sure, this year when I sit down with the pile of Christmas cards and letters to send, it will not seem like just an annual “event” I do (which I do enjoy), but will likely take on special significance and be a pretty emotional time as I thank God again for each of you!
Water-Water -Water……everywhere!
November seems to have been our month for water issues! While
visiting our son and his family down in the lower ’48, the very first
day we were there, the condo we were using sprang a leak in one of the
upstairs water pipes. Suddenly there was water running down the
walls and through the ceiling and all over the main floor!! What
a mess! Three or four days later, after the plumbers got through
cutting through the sheetrock, finding and repairing the faulty water
lines, we finally got the mess cleaned up. In between we had a
great time with son, Dave, his wife, Liz and their two sweet girls,
Shannon and Sophie! We were also able to visit my sister and her
husband who live nearby along with one old friend and his wife.
We had hoped to visit several other friends but just ran out of
time.
While we were away from Alaska, the lady who was looking after our house called to let us know they’d had a terrible windstorm and the power had been out at the house for about twelve hours… but that all was intact and OK when the power came back on. However, when we returned a few days later, the power was still out at the church and the power company was so overwhelmed that it predicted days before the lights might come back on. The inside temperature at the church was near fifty degrees so we mistakenly figured that the pipes for our furnace and hot water circulating heating system were OK as well. Big mistake! When the power finally came back on, we discovered that we had numerous broken pipes and water was running all over creation. After the first volley of problems was resolved, the day after Thanksgiving, I went to the church and discovered the auditorium, offices, library and foyer looked like a lake with water all over. Part of the sheet rock in the library was on the floor and water was pouring out of the overhead pipes like a creek.
Winter-Winter-Winter…everywhere too! November has been quite a month with near record snowfall, cold temperatures and high winds! Here is the good news though. In about three weeks, the hours of daylight will start getting longer! Yehaw! Have been thinking about throwing a Hawaiian Luau with tropical fruit, a barbecued pig, flowery shirts and surfing movies! Wanna come? Aloha!
Book Stuff
I have really been blessed, not so much by book profits, but that my
book, Adventures of an Alaskan Preacher, is still selling on the
bookshelves and via the internet. I am cutting some time out this
winter to get the sequel complete and in print and hope to see that
accomplished before the fish start to run this coming spring! I
have had a number of folks ask “when are you going to write another
book?” Another blessing is that this summer we had a number of
visitors to Alaska also visit the church because of reading my
book. One lady wound up accepting Jesus as her savior as
well. And, this past Sunday we had two different local couples
attend the church for the first time because they had read the
book!
And, speaking of books, I want to recommend a new book by my friend, Dr. Al Huba, entitled The Healing Tree. It is an interesting read about the healing process needed in dealing with the deep-seated roots of hurt and rejection that cause so many folks such grief. I have known Dr. Al for years and we worked together for part of that time as therapists at Cornerstone Clinic in Anchorage. I have used the material he has developed over the years in working with people with depression, anger and unforgiveness and it really is effective. I am also very excited to read the book he told me he is currently working on called Adventures of an Alaskan Game Warden. He said he was inspired to write it by my Adventures book. I have heard some of his tales from his Alaskan years before he became Dr. Al….great stories. You can find The Healing Tree on Amazon.com or if you want a signed copy, I am sure if you contact Dr. Al by email (dralhuba@dralcares.com) he will be glad to mail it to you.
CFM Office
With the coming of the long, dark days of winter, my counseling
ministry in Kenai has gotten much busier. Just this past week I
had several clients who are suffering from SAD (Seasonal Affective
Disorder) brought about by the lack of sunlight! And, as usual,
many of the clients I see have so many financial problems, they can
only afford to pay little, if anything, to help keep the rent paid and
lights on for the office. So, your financial help is most
appreciated.