Page 154 has been a laid back, reflective kind of day.  I slept a little later than usual, but was still up early to put some more study and work in on the sermon I’ll share tomorrow.  As I worked, I would peek in on Susan every once in a while.  She was very content to be left alone so she could sleep the morning away while she had the chance.  By late morning Susan was ready to wake up, so I took a break from my study to help her get around for the day and then fired up the pellet grill to work on lunch.  

After lunch I relaxed for a while, then took my outline and Bible out to the porch to continue my work while watching for hummingbirds at the feeder.  As I worked on my sermon, every once in a while I would look up and a hummingbird would be at the feeder.  By the time I picked up my camera it would be gone, so I finally set up my camera on a tripod with a remote shutter release that I kept in hand.  Even with that, it was difficult to catch the quality of shot I would have liked because they just don’t sit still very long.  I guess it is another aspect of photography that I will have to study and experiment with to see if there are camera settings more beneficial than what I was using.

By late afternoon, I fired the pellet grill back up and put some pork chops on to slow cook for dinner.  As they cooked, I went back out to the porch to continue my study and bird watching combination.  Today’s photo is one that I captured as it perched on the feeder for a brief stop.  Even though the photos were few, it was fun to watch the hummingbirds come and go as they would dart in for a quick drink, then fly off at top speed into the midst of the pine trees.  While it was a joy to watch them, the variety of songbirds singing in the trees added to the beauty of the afternoon.  

By the time the pork chops were done, I packed up my camera and study material so I could enjoy dinner with my family.  Now as evening winds down, I will finish writing today’s page, wrap up my study, and get some sleep as I still need to go to work early in the morning to finish the cleaning and prep of the building that I didn’t get done Friday.

As I reflect on the day, here are some thoughts/lessons that stand out to me:

• For me, a sermon is never completed until I preach it . . . and even then it is only my part that is complete, my prayer is always that God continues to do His part in producing good fruit from it.
• One of the primary keys to being a person “after God’s own heart”, is to learn to guard our own heart.
• An unguarded heart can quickly lead us to great trouble.
• It is not good enough to guard part of our heart while leaving other areas of it unguarded.  The enemy who seeks to destroy and devour will always find the unguarded area.
• The more still I become, the more I’m aware of God’s presence in and around me.
• A guarded heart equips us to live as the Lord’s servant in the way we serve others.
• While there are certain tasks I need to do each week, I am very thankful for the great flexibility I have regarding when I do them.