Praise God Margaret is out of ACC

Hopefully you have heard the good news. this evening around 9:00pm they moved Margaret to a private room on the 4th floor of the main hospital. She looks great and will be continuing to get better every day. if you would like to visit her or send her a card she would love it. Please keep the visits short but she would love to see her friends and extended family!

Miriam and I will be headed back to Soldotna tomorrow. The Soldotna Church of God is having our Christmas Banquet tomorrow evening. Notice I said “Christmas Banquet” not “Holiday Banquet”. Yes I am back and will continue to ride my annual “Merry Christmas” hobby horse! Please feel free to wish me a Merry Christmas any time you see me.

It has been an awesome experience for Miriam and I to have been able to be here for Jerry and Margaret and their boys during this tragic time in their lives. I want to especially thank all of my Soldotna Church of God family for keeping the fort at home. I am so grateful for all our awesome staff at the church, both full time and volunteer. You guys are wonderful! It really helps for me to do the ministry here or where ever I am to know you guys are there. i could start naming names but I would miss some for sure. I just want to again say “Thank You” to you all. I will see many of you at the banquet tomorrow evening. I look forward to a great time.

I will be preaching my first sermon in my Christmas Series this Sunday! I look forward to seeing some of you at church on Sunday. If you don’t attend the Soldotna Church of God, I pray you will attend your home church this Sunday. If you don’t have a church please look for one near you soon! I would like to invite all my new friends to watch my weekly sermons on our own Internet TV Channel. The link is to the left of this site.

Thanks again for the privilege to serve you,

Pastor Alan

Thanksgiiving Thoughts

I am so thankful for the strength that comes from my faith in a personal God. That I can call Him Father and go to Him when I have a need. As many of you know I am one of the Chaplains at Central Peninsula Hospital where the tragic shooting took place on Wednesday before Thanksgiving Day. I am Margaret and Jerry Stroup’s Pastor. I flew from Kenai to Anchorage with Margaret and have been here at Providence Medical Center with her and the family ever since. Several people ask me how I am making it. I am only able to make it and have the peace in my heart that comes from a personal relationship with a Loving God.
God has given us all a “free will”. Unfortunately we all have to live in a world that is shared with others who also have a “free wil”. That means we are all affected by the choices of each other. I am so glad God gives us the strength to handle the sometimes very bad choices of others. I am truly thankful for His strength.
Pastor Alan