Page 182 began early as I caught up on messages and emails from yesterday and spent some prayer time following up on yesterday’s prayer walk at camp.  After a morning meeting/tech support/discussion, I settled in to do some more writing on my current devotional book project.  I managed to write a few more of the daily devotions before heading out for a mid-afternoon lunch and then a trip to Dowagiac for a funeral visitation.  After visiting with some of the Bontrager family and some members of the North Wayne congregation, we headed to Bremen for the Fireman’s Festival to take Susan on a couple rides.  She loves the Ferris Wheel and Carousel and it is fun to see the joy she is filled with on these rides.  After the fair rides and a quick stop at Subway for supper, we rounded out the day with a family walk along the Mishawaka Riverwalk.

By evening, the clouds had begun to gather and ranged from a collection of fluffy cotton ball clouds to a dense blanket of gray.  Some days have an overcast feel to them that require us to press on in faith that Son continues to shine in our lives.  One of the topics I wrote about today for the devotional book about our journey home, was about heaven being a home of rejoicing.  It was a fitting devotion to write on a day that I visited with a family that was saying goodbye to a 94 year-old mother, grandmother, and friend.  This dear lady has been ready to finish her journey home and has eagerly anticipated it over the past few weeks as her body weakened.  At the church there was laughter and smiles from a family confident that the grave would not hold their loved one any more than it held Jesus.  The knew that the weakness and frailty that had taken over the body has been replaced with a wholeness that is rejoicing around the throne of God.  Yes, she will be missed by family and loved ones.  I will miss her encouraging smile and words that thanked me for coming to preach every time I would share at the North Wayne Mennonite Church.  Yet even while being missed, it will be with a confidence that we too can rejoice with her not only when we complete our journey, but also as we continue the journey.

I pray that you and I would daily spend time with God, listening and obeying.  I pray that we would find comfort in knowing that those who are in Christ enter a home of rejoicing when they leave this world.  I pray that we would make the most of each day that God gives us as an opportunity to encourage the people around us.  I pray that we would learn to rejoice always even as we journey to our home with Christ.

Page 181 was a prayer walk day at the camp that almost didn’t happen.  After spending the entire day yesterday with the service techs at the building, I was tempted to skip this week’s visit to the camp and spend the day in the office catching up on what I had hoped to accomplish yesterday.  As I contemplated that option, I had to ask myself if I believed in the importance of prayer or just talk about it being important.  Well, I do believe in the importance of prayer, and in what God is able to do in a camp setting, so I followed through with my commitment to pray on-site for the camp each week this summer.  

The day began early as I went in to work and printed off what I have written so far in my current book project so the proof-reading can begin.  Before I could get sidetracked by anything else, I headed up to camp to spend the day praying for the staff, faculty, and campers as well as for the ongoing ministry of the camp.  While I have usually begun the prayer days by walking the perimeter of the property, today the campers were out when I arrived so I sat at a picnic table where I could watch and pray.  It wasn’t long before the bell rang and they lined up and went inside for a time of worship.  I moved to the outside play area where I could hear their songs of worship and spent time praying about the worship and the lessons they would hear.  As their time inside was drawing to an end, I began the perimeter walk, praying that God would place a hedge of protection around all that takes place on the camp property.  I was able to help serve lunch then spent the afternoon praying at various places on the property before doing another perimeter prayer walk to finish my day at camp.

As I walk and pray, I carry my cameras in order to use them as part of my prayer and worship as well as have photos to share so others can see some of the things that serve as prayer prompts during my walks.  The photo on today’s page is one that I took early in the day as the sun rose over the camp property.  Unseen in the photograph is the sound of the songs of worship being sung by the campers.  As I listened to their worship, the sight in front of me made me think of God’s smile beaming down upon what He was hearing.  I also believe it could represent God smiling upon my decision to make prayer a priority, as well as my keeping my commitment when it would have been tempting to take care of tasks that were more demanding but less important.

I pray that you and I would understand our need to live a life of prayer.  I pray that we would not only learn to “pray without ceasing”, but we would devote times to pray for specific purposes.  I pray that we would learn from Jesus the importance of spending time with our Heavenly Father.  I pray that we would never become slaves to the urgent at the expense of the important.

Sometimes you look back and wonder what happened to the day and how it seemed to slip away without getting much on the day’s list accomplished.  Page 180 was one of those days. 🙂  The day began well enough as I headed to work early and took care of some tasks left over from last night’s meeting.  I caught up on messages and put together a prayer ministry slide for the National Student Conference and sent it off to where it needed to go.  As I settled in to do some more writing on my current book project, I received a call that the service tech had arrived to straighten out our HVAC system control issues.  The power fluctuations from last week’s storms caused several of the system controllers to become confused.  One of the minor controllers had claimed address number one which created a conflict that kept me from accessing the primary controller which also had address number one — as it should have.  In addition to tracking down the source of this address conflict, there were several controllers not communicating with the system.  By keeping at it, we found the controller conflict and was able to reassign the rogue number one controller to the address it was supposed to have.  Several of the other controllers needed reloaded with the information they were supposed to have and one of them needed its proper address restored after finding out it had reset itself to an address number far out of the range that is usable by our system.  By the time all of this was done, I had regained access to the system, we had found 3 components that need parts to be replaced, and the workday had slipped away.  

After cleaning up the trail we had left behind us during the day, I headed home and then took an evening walk with the family at Potato Creek.  One of the bald eagles was waiting for us when we arrived at the park and the nest of osprey we walked past were active with one of the young stretching its wings.  As we came off the trail at the end of our walk, the sun was breaking through the clouds and reflecting off the lake.  It was a beautiful scene to try to capture even though I knew a photograph wouldn’t do it justice.  For me, the beauty that saturates all of creation continually points to the One who called everything into being and sustains it by His will.

As I think about the day, I wonder how often our lives experience a similar problem that the building’s HVAC system had — we lose function because we give the number one address spot to something other than the One who ought to be our primary controller.  When we put anything or anyone in a position equal to or greater than God, our life is no longer in balance as it was created to be.  When we try to follow instructions from multiple sources, we end up confused and ineffective.  When we try to live life outside of the boundaries that God has communicated through His Word, we find ourselves disconnected from the only source of life and power that can sustain us into eternity.  It is through time alone with God in prayer and His Word that we allow Him to reset our priorities so that He returns to the number one position in our life.  Our time spent listening to God helps us to know His will and His voice so that we’re able to distinguish good from evil and right from wrong.  Pursuing God with complete obedience keeps us within the parameters of life that He has set for our good and for our benefit.

I pray that you and I would always keep God as the first priority in our life.  I pray that we would pursue and love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength.  I pray that we would spend so much time with God that we not only recognize His voice, but that it becomes the only one we listen to.  I pray that we would not become so full of ourselves that we leave the fold of God’s presence, believing that we somehow know better than Him what is best for us.

Page 179 has been a busy day even with doing part of my normal Monday work yesterday.  I started the workday freshening up bathrooms and collecting trash from throughout the building so nothing was setting around all week that would collect bugs or start to smell bad.  As I went through the building, part of the A/C units were working and part of them still required a manual restart before they would run.  After I was done with straightening things up from Sunday, I called the service company for our HVAC control system and then began to do some writing while I waited for their return call.  With having written the next prayer guide yesterday, I was able to finish several more days in the 31-day devotional journal I am writing.

One of the topics I wrote about today focused on heaven being a home of obedience.  Jesus said that not everyone who says, “Lord, Lord!” will enter the kingdom of heaven but only those who do the will of His Father.  Our obedience to the Father shows not only that we belong, but that we want to belong.  One of the most difficult things to do can be to remain faithful in our obedience when the streams of the world want to carry us into areas of disobedience.  I can’t tell you how often I become discouraged when I don’t see the results I would like from the work I do.  When I believe God has gifted me to write a resource that I think would benefit others and then work up the courage to offer it to them, I begin to question why I even write when the offers are met with complete silence.  And then as I fight off the seeds of discouragement, God brings reminders from unexpected sources that He is using this gifting in my life according to His purposes which are higher and more noble than mine.

By mid-afternoon I was ready for a break from the building as I anticipated a long day with an evening meeting in the schedule as well.  So, by 3 PM, I grabbed my camera and stopped to get a sandwich on my way to the river to enjoy some time surrounded by the beauty of God’s creation.  The floral beauty drew a lot of my attention but as I thought about the day so far, it was a photo of a duck standing on the edge of a waterfall which made today’s page.  Even with the water rushing by and swirling around her feet, this duck stood her ground.  It didn’t matter that she was standing alone and she wasn’t about to be moved from her position by the flow of the water.  I’m one who has a natural tendency to “go with the flow” in a lot of things, although I do have a stubborn side of me that can dig in my heels and stand firm concerning certain things.  While that’s not a bad mix, the important thing is to stand firm in obedience to God while being flexible in the things that are not important.  Too often I find myself standing firm in my will while allowing the flow of the world to carry me along in ways that distract me further from the will of God.  That is not only the lesson from the duck today, but I believe that is the lesson God wants me to learn with my writing — how it gets used is up to Him, my responsibility is to be faithful in writing and sharing what He gives me as I trust Him to use it or not use it according to what He knows is best.

I pray that you and I would daily seek to know and do the will of the Father.  I pray that we would have the wisdom to know when to stand firm and when to be flexible.  I pray that we would choose faithfulness and obedience regardless of how easy or difficult it is.  I pray that we would not allow the flow of the world to carry us away from the stand we take in Christ.

While I’m doing fairly well at finding times throughout each week to rest and relax, page 178 was a reminder that I’ve recently slid back into a routine of working 7 days a week.  While I did make it home from work before midnight Saturday, my Sunday began with a time of unwinding before I headed to bed to get some sleep.  Page 178 was a Sunday, so it was off to church for Sunday School and worship with my church family.  The HVAC system is still giving me fits so I had to spend some time between Sunday School and worship working on the controls in an attempt to keep the building as comfortable as possible on a hot, humid morning.

After lunch I rested a bit and played some Wii sports to relax before settling in to do some writing.  With a lot to get done in the next few weeks and a growing list of unplanned tasks needing done, I started my Monday morning routine today by writing the prayer guide for next week.  As I spent time with God this afternoon, I settled on the topic of satisfied for the next prayer guide.  Many times we buy into the world’s definition of what it takes to live a satisfied life.  When we do that, it isn’t long before we begin to believe true satisfaction is simply unattainable.  The things that we value in others soon become the things by which we define our own value.  If we do not constantly guard against the schemes of our enemy, we find our true value being stolen.  We can find true satisfaction and value when we look to God as the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.  When we measure our worth in comparison to what others do or have, we short-change ourselves having the full satisfaction that come from simply being obedient and faithful with what God desires.  God has created each of us with unique gifts and abilities that He desires for us to use for His glory and for the benefit of others.  My doing that with what He has given me will look different from you doing that with what He has given you.

As I put together the next prayer guide and thought about this topic of satisfaction, a photo I took at the zoo yesterday came to mind.  In it, a chipmunk is seen with a huge hunk of carrot that he is taking from the prairie dog exhibit.  Falling into the comparison trap is one way we allow the rodents of life to come and steal the joy that should be ours.  Much of the time, the satisfaction level I feel in life isn’t usually diminished by large events but more often by small thieves that rob little bits of joy throughout the day.  When a little bit at a time is taken, it often goes unnoticed until over time the loss has added up to a level that never would have been allowed if it had happened all at once.

I pray that you and I would always find times to rest, even in the busy seasons of life.  I pray that we would allow God to define our value as His child.  I pray that we  would know a life of satisfaction through a simple practice of obedience and faithfulness.  I pray that we would be on guard against the “rodents” that pick away at the joy and satisfaction that God desires for us to have through His Spirit.  

Page 177 was a summer Saturday which meant a daddy/daughter trip to the zoo was on the schedule.  I began the day by writing and sending out an email newsletter for the prayer ministry.  When I finished that, I went to check on Susan and she was ready to get up, get breakfast, and head to the zoo.  She had just finished her breakfast when a seizure grabbed hold of her so I sat with her as she fought her way out of its grasp.  Once the seizure was gone, she curled up on the couch to rest so I figured she would probably sleep it off for most of the morning.  However, she wasn’t resting for very long until she sat up and said she wanted to go to the zoo.  So to the zoo we went to see her animal friends and take a few pictures. 

One of those pictures was a sprawled out prairie dog which made it into the post of today’s page.  As I think about the day, this picture seems fitting.  Some days just feel like you’re stretched thin, sprawled out, and reaching toward what’s ahead with little to no success.  I’m writing today’s page from the office at work as I take a break from cleaning and monitoring the A/C units which are still not wanting to run without a little coaxing to get them started.  As I brought up the administrative panel of my websites in order to write this page, I realized I hadn’t scheduled next week’s prayer guide to go out tomorrow morning so I’ll need to do that yet tonight also.  I’m beginning to notice that seizure days always get me down and I’m not even the one having the seizure.  I think perhaps the adrenaline rush of trying to protect and care for my daughter through such a difficult time triggers stress-induced things in my brain that are not conducive to a good mental outlook.  On these days especially, I either turn my gaze inward and lose hope or turn my gaze upward and gain hope.

I have a lot yet to do tonight as I’m feeling sprawled out and stretched thin, so I think this page may be a bit shorter than most. 🙂  I pray that you and I would continually cast our cares on the Lord and turn to Him for spiritual and physical refreshing.  I pray that we would keep our focus on that which is of eternal value as we stretch toward the prize that lies before us.  I pray that we would continue to do good and not lose heart, knowing that the reward we seek is being stored up in heaven for us.

I guess the storms this week have messed with my sleep patterns as I was up earlier this morning than I had planned to be.  The workday part of page 176 began with cleaning bathrooms and taking out trash as part of the freshening up the building from last night’s VBS session and preparing it for tonight’s.  Between the weather and taking a day to pray at the camp each week, I was not able to split the mowing into two partial days this week so I was out early for a day full of mowing.  Even when it doesn’t look like the grass has grown much, a freshly mown lawn has a nice look to it.  By keeping at it, with an occasional Dr Pepper break, I was able to get the entire property mowed by mid-afternoon which meant it was time to call it a day and get some lunch.  

After I finished lunch, I went home and then Susan and I headed to the riverwalk to do some walking and take some pictures.  As I look back, it is funny how God connected some of my thoughts while walking with the results of a photo I took along the way — but I didn’t realize it until I got home and began looking at the photos.  Anyhow, we’ll get back to that later in the page. 🙂  As we walk, I’m pushing Susan in a wheelchair and periodically I’ll hear a bell or horn being sounded by a bicycle rider.  Some of them are simply a courtesy to let us know they are approaching  and will be coming around us.  Others act like they are more of a warning, sometimes followed by a vocal call to “make way”, as if the sidewalk belongs to them and I need to run Susan off of the sidewalk so they don’t have to slow down and show any consideration for other users of the park.  Granted, coming from behind they may not notice I am pushing a wheelchair, but that really shouldn’t matter as I have as much right to be there as they do.  Just something that bugs me, I guess.  

Part of the riverwalk runs between the river and a road that has several stop signs along it.  You can probably make a pretty close guess as to how many cars stop at those stop signs — very few.  Something else that bugs me, I guess.  While my mind was thinking about that, I realized that I have a tendency to let a lot of things bug me.  And most of them, like ringing bells on bicycles and cars rolling through stop signs, I can do nothing about.  Somehow I think there is an application I need to apply that is found in the midst of the teaching of Jesus not to worry about tomorrow for each day has enough trouble of its own.  Perhaps my application paraphrase should say, “Don’t be bugged by things which you have no control over for there are enough things that you can do something about that you should be bugged over.”  Reminded me of a saying that one of the ladies would often say during a prayer journey in Ireland I participated in years ago: “If I was in charge I might be worried about that.  But since I’m not, I’m not.”  It is difficult for me to not worry, or not be bugged, about things that I know aren’t right even if I know I’m not in a position to do anything about it.  

And now the “fun” part.  I didn’t take a lot of pictures during the walk today but did get a few of some of the flowers blooming and a couple ducks.  I did find the ducks funny as they were playing in the water and I was reminded of the phrase, “Like water off a duck’s back.”  I guess that was reminder number one not to be so bugged by things that are not my concern.  But even more remarkable to me was what I saw when I got home and began going through the pictures I had taken.  Perhaps you’re ahead of me and have already noticed what’s in the picture on today’s page.  If not, look at the center of today’s photo and you will see a “bug” on the lily blossom I photographed!  I was using a long telephoto lens so I was zoomed in from maybe 30 feet or more away and in the small viewfinder of my camera saw nothing but the beauty of the lily.  I think God was trying to remind me that sometimes things bug me for a purpose and sometimes they are a distraction.  It is imperative that I learn through time spent with God in prayer and His Word what response, or lack of response, is appropriate for each thing that tries to bug me.

I pray that you and I would continually grow in our understanding of the responsibilities God has given us.  I pray that we would be diligent about taking care of the things that are ours to deal with and that we would be just as diligent about not being bugged by the things that are not ours to deal with.  I pray that we would pay attention to the lessons God puts before us each day that we live.

Page 175 followed another stormy night which meant sleep was in a somewhat shorter supply than usual.  It was also a reminder of how quickly time passes as we celebrated our daughter’s 27th birthday today!  There must be something wrong with the calendar math because her 27th birthday would mean I might be starting to get old and that can’t be right. 😉  I spent a little time before work going through photos of Susan to choose some to post as we celebrate her birthday.  As I traveled back in time through photographs, a short poem entered my mind that I shared with the photos.  In honor of Susan, I add it to today’s page:

Happy Birthday Susan!

Today is the day
that we celebrate.
The birthday of one
who really is great!
Down through the years
we’ve had lots of fun.
With this sweet, grown-up girl
who shines like the sun!