PastorAlan's Blog

1st week of 2012

pastoradh — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 09:39:47 +0000

This is day 6 of the first week of 2012! What a week this has been. I have preached 2 messages for our TV program. It is such a privilege to share God’s Word all across the state of Alaska!
I have also held two funeral service this week. One of the services was a graveside service during a snow storm. It was snowing so hard I wore my beaver hat! I have never worn a hat during a funeral but it was needed and fit right in with my Alaska friends!
My second funeral was for a long time Alaskan that passed away too young, still in his 50′s! Lots of friends and family.
Miriam & I have been here in Soldotna for almost 25 years! We feel a vital part of this wonderful community. There are so many wonderful people here in this little community on the Kenai River in S East Alaska! I feel so blessed to be included in the lives of so many.
Looking forward to an awesome year of serving God and so many Fellow Alaskans!

Just For Mother’s

pastoradh — Sun, 08 May 2011 16:54:53 +0000

This poem dedicated to all the mother’s in my life. I love you all and I am so thankful for all your amazing love you share with us all.

JUST FOR MOTHER’S
Being a mother is like no other!
There’s so much joy no one can explain
Then the same little ones bring so much pain!
You sacrifice your life to give them a start,
Then they grow up and break your heart!
I guess all mother’s really understand,
But it seems like some have a life so grand!
I think there’s a reason why it looks that way,
We all have pain just not the same day!
God sent His Son to die on a cross
For all your pain and all your loss!
No matter where you’ve been or what you’re going
through,
God has a plan made just for you!
If you will trust Him He will show you the way,
It will all make sense in the end someday!
Here’s how to access His wonderful plan,
Put your entire life in His big hand!
Say a little prayer to Him each day,
Little by little He will show you the way!
When it seems you’ve gone as far as you can,
Be real still and He will show you the plan!
Not all at once but just a small part,
So keep on trusting Him with all your heart!
Written by Alan Humphries
May 7, 2011

Anger Management

pastoradh — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 06:05:49 +0000

Here I sit in the Anchorage Airport waiting for my flight to Kenai. I just taught an Anger Management class at Faith Christian Community Church. I am teaching for a parenting co-op, Positive Parenting here in Anchorage. I love being able to communicate my story and some of the principles and steps that God has used in helping me process my own anger.

It has been an amazing journey for me. There are times I feel I have made great progress in my journey with my anger and there are times I feel like I am just starting on the journey. I know I have grown sooooo much and I am still growing every day.

The thing I must remember is to not allow my “feelings” to control my knowledge. While at the same time not become over confident in the progress that I have made. Once we “think” we are better it’s so easy to settle and not continue to daily read and listen and grow!

God help to keep growing daily in Your Word and in the knowledge of my surroundings. I am not what I want to be or what I am going to be but thank God I’m not what I used to be!!!!!

Living Forward

pastoradh — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 08:59:55 +0000

Life isn’t designed to live looking in the rearview mirror. God designed us to look forward and to live forward. When our father’s sperm and our mother’s egg were united in our mother’s womb creation began! We were confined to our mother’s womb for 9 months. We were still much of that time. However when we began moving down the birth cannel we have been moving ever since.

We grow and become new human beings daily. Our body is constantly changing. Our body is constantly regenerating its self all the time. We are never still inside. Our amazing heart never stops, until we die! We are one constant ball of regenerating energy.

I believe we came into this world with a mission given to us by our Creator. I don’t believe in this whole “accident thing” or that we “just happened”. There is too much evidence to prove we are complex, intelligent beings with a purpose! That purpose is being revealed to us as we grow in understanding and relationship with our Creator. I believe God created us in His image and in His likeness (Gen. 1:28-28). We are created to live “forward” and to keep going “forward” as long as we live here on this planet.

Forward is the direction Jesus went all the way to the Cross! He never backed up or even looked backwards. He created us to do the same. That is to keep moving forward. One of the last things He told His disciples before He went back to heaven was to “GO”. (Acts 1:8) My good friend Leonard Albert asked a great question years ago, “Where has the ‘go ye’ gone?” If we aren’t carefull the cares of life and disappointments of life here on this planet can steal our “go ye” and leave us stranded on the side of the road of life.

Are you “living forward” or are you sitting still looking the your “rear view mirror” of life?

I’m Just Sayin,

Pastor Alan

Anger Management

pastoradh — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 07:27:33 +0000

I am very excited about my upcoming Anger Management class here in Soldotna, Alaska. It will begin on Tuesday evening January 26 at 7 pm to 9 pm. I am looking forward to sharing my story and some of the principles I have learned along the way. It has been a long journey. I have learned some life changing lessons in some very unusual ways. It is truly amazing what we can learn from the tough situations in life if we are willing to become a learner.

I invite you to join us here in Soldotna if you or someone you know may have some issues with Anger. It takes a big person to face their own “demons” and be willing to learn to overcome them. I love helping others who acknowledge they don’t know it all and are willing to listen and learn. How about you?

The class if for two hours and is for four weeks. It is every Tuesday evening starting on January 26 for four weeks. It is going to be held at the corner of Binkley St and Redoubt Ave at the Soldotna Church of God. If you would like to sign up or need more information please call 907-262-4729. If you don’t live in the area we do have the class on CD’s. Please call for details.

I am often asked if the class is accredited or if it qualifies for court ordered Anger Management. The answer is “not at this time”. I am working on accreditation , however what you can learn will change your life for the better!!!! My goal is to help you change and become a better person for you and the ones you love.

I would love to see you there. There is no charge for the class except your time!

Come grow with us,

Pastor Alan

It’s 2010!!!!

pastoradh — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 07:59:46 +0000

Who would have believed we would live this long? I mean really! 2010 is an amazing time to be alive. think about it, not only are we in a new millenium and a new year but a new decade also!! Time is an incredible concept to try to get my mind around. I don’t want to go too deep here but the whole time thing is still sort of mind-boggling.

I remember riding to church with Dr David Bishop and Dr Linfield Crowder during Destiny Conference several years ago. I ask Dr Crowder about the difference between the Jewish Calendar and the Roman Calendar. I never will forget that experience. I don’t remember much of what he said but he went on and on from ACR to the church. When we arrived at the church he looked at me and said, “that may have been more than you wanted to know!”

Time is truly an amazing concept! I still don’t understand a lot about it. However I do know that is sure seems to be flying by faster these days. Someone has said the older we get the faster time seems to go by. I think I have figured out why! Think about it for a moment. When we were 10 years old a year was on tenth of our entire life! Now that I am 56 a year is only one fifty-sixth of my life time. So a year is a much smaller increment of time for us now than when we were younger. If a year is smaller so is a month and a week and a day and then an hour and minute! It really is going by faster!

So as you get older time really will go by faster. Therefore we must be careful how we invest our time now!

Investing time together,

Pastor Alan

Jerry & Margaret Update

pastoradh — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 07:18:25 +0000

Thanks for your patience with me on this update. I have been working steady at both ends. the following is a note from Jerry this morning.
“Sorry for the late update. The doctor came in said everything was looking good. She hasn;t had anything to eat in five days, her mouth is so dried out, they started letting her have ice chips last night and that helps a lot. The surgeon said she would lose a lot of weight, she said she didn’t know it would be not having food. She is sleeping good and very little pain. She is still on the morphine pump. We are waiting for the move out of ICU to a regular room. She won;t receive food until she passes gas through her system, this way they will know that everything is working without a leak. Right now her system is in a sleep mode and they hope it will wake up soon. Mike our son stayed with her last night to give me a break. He said that was hard. He has gone to get some sleep now. The CEO from Alaska arrived in Charlotte this morning. I’d say he is getting rest before he comes to the hospital. That is one long and hard trip. HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY AND REMEMBER GOD LOVES YOU” Jerry and Margaret

I spoke with Jerry this afternoon and they did move her out of ICU. She is doing some better but still needs our prayers. Ryan Smith was there with them and they were having a good visit.

Thanks again for your prayers and support as we are continuing on this journey of healing and recovery.

Pastor Alan

Where is Your Treasure?

pastoradh — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 06:21:19 +0000

In Matthew 6:21 Jesus said “Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.” I look at our treasure as our “values”. What I hear Jesus saying here is that where our values are there will be our desires also. He uses strong language here when he says “the desires of our heart”. That is huge! I have heard it said and for many years that “people will always do what they really want to do”.

As I think of this in relation to our values it makes sense! Whatever we value or treasure in our lives directly impacts and greatly influences our desires. I mean think about it, if we value something then we will naturally desire whatever it is that it takes to acquire what we value. Our values impact our desires and our desires impact our actions! It seems to me that most of us human beings do whatever it is that we really want to do! I know we say we want to lose weight or quit this habit or the other but we continue to engage in that behavior even though we know it is harmful to us. I am no psychologist but I really think our values or treasures are what is controlling our desires and our desires for sure control our actions!

The underlying foundation of our lives is our values. The things we value most in our lives directly influence our actions like a computer program running in the background of our desktop! Our values work much like a firewall in our brain! They stop us from doing many of the things “we say” we would like to do but don’t do! Our talk is sort of like our key board on our computer we can type or click on whatever we want but the firewall prevents the action from happening in our lives. We think we want it and we may say we want it but our real desires controlled by our values kicks in and prevents us from attaining whatever it is we say we want!

Therefore if I want to truly change my actions and habits I must work on my values or the things I treasure in life rather than my behavior! My behavior seems to always want to go back to what I truly value. What I value in life is that firewall in my brain that keeps blocking my surface desires and only letting in those things I truly value!

These are just some thoughts on our “treasure” in life. I would welcome your comments and thoughts.

Really Thinking,

Pastor Alan

Margaret Stroup Update

pastoradh — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 07:15:17 +0000

The good news, in the midst of it all, is that Margaret has been scheduled for surgery on December 11, 2009. This could change but that is the plan for today!

She and Jerry are beginning to make plans for the day that they have been waiting for a long time. It is with great mixed emotions that they move forward with this surgery. It is an absolute must and also a risk. There is always risk with surgery but this is significant to say the least.

I want to ask all of you to please pray for them over the next weeks and months. It’s like revisiting so much in all our minds and hearts. With the anniversary approaching and the surgery looming it is not an easy time for all of us involved in this journey together; so many of you have been there with us on this journey. There are no words that can be said or written to thank you for all your prayers and support for Margaret and Jerry, Valerie and her family and all of the CPH family whose lives will never be the same.

The prayers and support have meant so much especially from all of the CPH family and friends. From heart to heart the pain we all felt that day and still feel is shared by us all. I know you who were there that day understand as no others can. I sometimes feel like a “wounded healer” as I can imagine you may also.

I apologize if I went too deep for some of you. It is one of those things that only those who were there could understand. I hear some people talking about that day as if it was just an event in the past. An event that can be investigated dissected and understood with human logic. Whenever I hear someone talking in those terms I have to remind myself that person most likely wasn’t there that day as were so many of us. It is easy to want to get angry with them and lash out at them. However, let us remember “we know” and “we understand” and they “never will”! They can’t because we were there!

Thanks again for your prayers and support,

Pastor Alan

John Boy and the Fly!

pastoradh — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 08:27:33 +0000

Today a friend, John Bowen, shared a very interesting story. Several weeks ago we had an early cold snap. It got down in the low 20′s several nights. One morning John decided it was a little chilly in his house so he built a fire in the wood stove. As most of us Alaskan’s do he got a little carried away and built a large fire and the house was soon up to about 85.

Here in Alaska we have the large fly’s that are much like a regular house fly except they are quite large sometimes. They hibernate in the house when winter comes and come out next summer. Well I guess this fly thought it was summer since it was so hot in John’s house. He came out of hibernation and began flying all around the house. flying toward all the lights and driving John crazy as they usually do us all.

He got a bright idea, since it was still twilight outside he turned all the lights out in the house except in the bathroom. The fly soon made his way into the bathroom. John closed the door and removed the screen from the bathroom window. He then turned the light out and the fly soon started trying to get out through the window. He was attracted to the light. John just opened the window and the fly flew out the window into freedom! However, it was still in the early 30′s and still quite cold for a fly. He didn’t make it very far until he lost altitude and crashed into the weeds to his certain death.

John didn’t kill the fly, he just gave the fly the opportunity to leave the house and the fly chose to fly away. However, the choice to fly out into what he thought was freedom led him to his death.

Satan does the very same thing to so many of us humans every day. He makes the lifestyle of “sin” look so appealing that we “choose” to go for the gusto! We choose the alcohol and the drugs. We choose to have sex with someone other than our spouse. We choose the “alternative” life style. Etc. etc. etc….

Remember the choice is yours, but so are the consequences!!!!!

Please, Think before you drink!

Don’t be like the fly and believe the lie!

Pastor Alan and John