February Freebie!

The Sunday Night Check-In for February 1, 2026

Hello friends! It’s time for the Sunday Night Check-In from the soon-to-be thawing Northern reaches of Louisiana. Although we are expecting low temperatures tonight, I hope we won’t see a freeze again for a while.

It was a rough week. When I posted last week, we had already lost power and had cancelled church services (except online). Our family (including my mom, who we brought to our house Saturday morning) went five days in the cold and dark, burning through every firelog we had. Neighbor Jeremy brought an extension cord from his generator, and we had some ability to charge devices and run a small heater. When I posted that we had just put our last log on the fire, friend Grady Lewis came and brought us a generator. Along with him came friend Daniel Kirkendall, who brought a chainsaw and began cutting up debris in our yard. His son, Walker, and my grandson Blake toted some of it to the road (the yard was a mudbog with all the melting ice). We were so grateful to have a generator. Saturday night, our neighbor let me know that we had power, so Grady came and unhitched the generator, and we were once again filled with gratitude. All along the way, friends called to check on us. We are reminded how important community and friendship really are.

In the mix of all of that, I had an attack of cellulitis that put me down for a few days (and it is still not cleared up). I know many had it worse, but this was our journey. My wife was heroic in her efforts to serve our family while I was sick.

I will confess I was discouraged along the way at times. My friend Justin asked an interesting question regarding PTSD and our Katrina experience. I think he might have hit on something. That long-term recovery effort was much longer and deeper than this one, but it reminded me of it in so many ways. My term for the experience was disoriented. Without power, lights, trying to keep a fire going, heating food on a gas stovetop, everything about our lives for a week was different. I did several things that let me know this was messing with my mind. I thought it would be a great idea to heat some water on the stovetop using my Mr. Coffee carafe. When the handle melted, I realized not such a great idea. The constant noise of the generators in our neighborhood, and ultimately in my yard, was a nonstop reminder that we do not have power and we have to boil the water. I had to question everything I did.

Maybe not everyone felt so out of equilibrium, but I did. It took eight days for power to return to our house. Today we ate lunch after church at a local restaurant. In talking with the sweet lady who served us, she likened the experience to “chemo brain” she suffered after a cancer treatment earlier in life. She said everything seemed like it was in a fog. I knew then that I was not alone.

So, I’m thankful for power and for a potential return to some kind of normalcy and routine. There’s something to be said for doing the same thing in the same way most of the time. That’s my Winter Storm Fern experience.

What about a February Freebie?

My newest book is FREE for a few days on Amazon!

I’d love for you to “buy” it, check it out, and leave a review! (Every author’s hope and dream!) As I write this, the book is #1 in the category of Christian Values & Virtues, #2 in Christian Inspiration, and #3 in Christian Devotionals. Of course, these designations shift quickly. I’ve given away over 700 copies, just today! Still, Afternoon Break is a #1 best seller, and it is free for you for a few days!

At Forsythe

This morning we continued our journey through the Gospel of John with a message from John 4, the Samaritan woman at the well. Notes and audio are available HERE. We all met in the large Children’s area because it was the only space with heat. I think there was a great spirit there, as we missed seeing one another last week. We did not have Bible classes, and we look forward to the return of those gatherings. On Wednesday, we will likely be in that same space for Doug White’s ongoing study of Angels. We’ve cancelled GriefShare two weeks in a row. That hurts, but hopefully we will get together this coming Sunday. If Entergy is able to hook up our power correctly, we will be back at full use. Next Sunday, we plan to look at some of the healing stories in John 4:46-5:18.

READING

You would think I would have finished several books this week, but my mind wouldn’t let me. I am almost through with Enjoy Your Prayer Life by Michael Reeves. It is a small book, but I enjoy his approach and have been blessed. Jennifer Rundlett had suggested I might enjoy The Backyard Bird Chronicles by Amy Tan. It went on sale this week for the ebook, and I look forward to reading it. As I write this, it is still on sale for $1.99.

Although many Substacks have paid subscriptions, my posts are always free! I do have a Hope Remains Gift Registry if you’d like to show some appreciation! Check it out HERE if you are interested. If not, I still love ya!

Thanks for the Tim Horton’s French Vanilla Coffee K-Cups! As you can imagine, they arrived just in time … comfort and warmth! When the power came back on, that was one of the first things I did!

LISTENING

When things go wrong, look to Jesus, he will fix it.

WATCHING

I enjoyed the first season of Murder in a Small Town so much that I’m surprised I let the second season escape my attention! So, once we had TV again we started the second season, and we are enjoying it. We are also watching Condor, a series from 2018-2020 based on the excellent movie Three Days of the Condor.

SUBSTACKERY

• Kate writes about The List Everyone Should Keep in their Bible.

• Jeffery shares 15 Christian Books Worth Reading in 2026.

• Maury writes about When God Ran and gives some excellent follow-up thoughts.

• Dave reflectson The Instagramification of the Church. A lot to think about.

• Bear suggests We Only Move as Fast as the Slowest Member of the Team.

This night owl has done his work. If you read this far, bless you! I’m not 100% sure there will be a new Colossians post in the morning, but sometime tomorrow, then Wednesday and Friday. Be sure to pick up a copy of my newest book. You can save it to read later if you don’t have time now, but it helps me keep it in front of people if you will “buy” it for free! (LINK)

Take care, friends. Work hard, smile often, rest well, and stay connected. The world needs you now more than ever!

John E. Dobbs Amazon Author Page