Some thoughts, lessons, and/or reflections for the day:

• I’m still not sure what I think about this abbreviated format for each day’s page, but I’ve not yet felt compelled to return to the fuller version or do anything different than this. 🙂
• Cleaning up and putting things away after a prayer-focused event is a lot less exciting than the setup and preparation.
• Uncertainty can be both frightening and enticing.
• I finished up the writing of next week’s prayer guide as I spent time focused on some things God wants us to seek.
• When I seek the things of God, I find the things of me become less important.
• As I worked this morning the following song lyrics filled my mind: “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.”
• I am amazed at how well my aging eyes can focus on individual snowflakes and the big picture scene at the same time — the eyes God created are much more complex than my best camera equipment.
• Sometimes I think it would be nice to see into the future before I make decisions, but I think it would often frighten me as much as it would help me.
• I didn’t take any pictures today, so today’s photo is from a January 2017 trip to Lake Michigan.  Even when it has the feel of a frozen tundra, there is beauty to be found.
• When we limit our view of beauty to what we like, we will often miss the best God has to offer.

Some thoughts, lessons, and reflections from the day: 

• With an actual air temperature of negative fifteen to start the day, all the layers of clothing I could find wasn’t enough to make me want to stay outside very long.
• It was so cold that my windows frosted over on the inside of the truck on my way to work since I wasn’t willing to stop breathing.  🙂
• I am thankful that someone figured out building heat that moved beyond open fires, wood stoves, and coal furnaces.
• I am even more thankful when I walk into a building and realize the heating sources are working.
• I don’t always find what I’m looking for, but I’m definitely more likely to find it if I look than if I don’t.
• God wants to be found, but He also says we will find Him when we seek Him with a whole heart.
• In addition to Himself, there are a variety of things that God tells us to seek.  Some of those will be the daily topics of next week’s prayer guide.
• Even though the air temperature was still below zero by late morning, the sun brought the cardinals out in search of their berry buffet.
• Nearly everyone wants to be heard, but few really want to listen.
• We often react based on perception that may or may not reflect what is actually meant.
• Updating can be a long process, especially when you don’t really know how much updating needs done.
• It’s amazing how warm five degrees felt when I came home compared to the minus fifteen when I left.
• Improvement is improvement even if we are not yet where we would like to be.

I think I may stick primarily with the thoughts and lessons from each day this year.  Or maybe this format is just for today because I’m still tired. 🙂

Some reflections and/or lessons from the day:

• I can still keep going for 20 hours straight when needed, but rest has never been more welcomed than after a long day.
• When I’m doing what God has called and created me to do, the days don’t seem nearly as long as the hours make them sound.
• A new year is probably more symbolic than anything else, but sometimes we need the symbolism to motivate us to make the fresh start that is needed.
• Spending the first half hour of the new year praying with others is a pretty good way to start the year.
• A high temperature for the day that doesn’t reach double-digits is not very effective in enticing me to leave the house.
• Spending a cold winter day going through photos from last summer is a good way to kindle a flame under the vacation planning region of my mind. 🙂
• Sometimes we hold onto things that are not very useful because it seems easier than replacing them with something new which often requires us to learn a new way of doing things.
• Today’s photo from last summer is a reminder that vacations are both relaxing and necessary.

While each day ahead can be seen as an unwritten page that I write with my life, that is only from our perspective here on earth.  The Psalmist says that “All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”  Even though God has already seen each story, chapter, page, and word, it has been fun to write out each page these past two years and share them here on my blog.  I haven’t really given much thought about whether I will continue these daily pages or not, and if I do whether I will keep a similar format.  That’s a decision for tomorrow. 🙂

Today began early as I had a lot to get done.  When I arrived at church, the lot had been plowed and we had only received a dusting of snow after I had cleared the walks last night, so my outside work didn’t take long.  I did fire up the snowblower to make easy work of clearing the walkways that had been filled in by the snowplow and then ran it down the walks to remove the little bit of snow that was there.  Once the outside work was done, I headed inside to do a little more prep in the prayer station areas and spend time with God going over the sermon.  The sermon I shared during our morning worship gathering was titled, “Praying for OPEN Eyes”.  As has become my custom, I used a word from the title as my outline and today that word was OPEN.  Here are the main points we considered:

• Praying for Observant eyes:  Perhaps the most obvious point of praying for open eyes is to use them for the purpose they were designed — observing things.  Sometimes we are so sure of ourselves that we don’t pay attention to the way things really are.  In John 4, Jesus states that the disciples are saying it is four months until harvest yet He tells them to open their eyes and look, the field is ripe for harvest.  How often do we miss our part in the spiritual harvest because we do not have eyes that are open to seeing it?  God wants us to lift our eyes up to observe the people around us and see them as He sees them, not writing any of them off as unreachable.
• Praying for Purposeful eyes:  In the midst of a world filled with trouble, it is important that we pray for eyes that seek God’s purpose in all things.  In John 9, Jesus encounters a blind man and His disciples ask, “Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”  The response of Jesus was neither sinned, the purpose of this was so that the work of God could be displayed in his life.  We often need God to open our eyes to see His purpose — both when things are going well and when they are not.  Our apparent victories really aren’t about us becoming successful in the world’s eyes any more than our heartaches are about us becoming failures.  When are eyes are opened to seeing His purpose in our own life, then we are more likely to see His purpose working in the lives of others even when our first reaction may be that somehow they are responsible for their own “bad luck”.
• Praying for Expectant eyes:  I’m afraid that there are times when our prayer life is pretty shallow because we don’t really expect God to answer.  We’ve prayed so many selfish and demanding prayers that haven’t turned out the way we wanted so we either quit praying or we pray very generically.  In the first chapter or Acts, we read of Jesus ascending into heaven with the disciples left looking into the sky — I’m sure wondering what they would do now.  An angel appears and asks why they are sitting there looking into the sky.  At first glance that may seem like a silly question, but not if you pay attention to the instructions that Jesus had given just before ascending.  The instructions were that they were to be His witnesses in Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the world — hard to do that sitting on a mountain top.  They were to live with eyes expecting the return of Christ, but that expectation was one that compelled them to share the good news of Jesus everywhere they went.  Our eyes also ought to be filled with the expectation that Jesus is returning and we would do well to be found faithful in doing the work He has given to us.
• Praying for Needy eyes:  When I put this sermon outline together, this was a strange sermon point to me.  God promises to supply all of our needs according to His riches in glory, why would I pray to be needy?  But as I spent time with God in His Word, it became clear that this was about recognizing our great need to have our eyes opened and healed.  In Revelation, the church of Laodicea was given the message that they were lukewarm yet they thought they had it all.  In a lot of ways it sounds like the American church as they are told they think they are rich and have acquired great wealth and don’t need a thing.  But God says they need to have their eyes opened to see how poor they are and how naked and wretched they are so they would seek Him for true wealth and pure garments and salve to bring healing to their needy eyes.  When we pray for a recognition of our own neediness, we find ourselves on equal footing with everyone else who is also in need of the healing salve that only Jesus can provide.

After the church service, I finished up the rest of the details for the New Year’s Eve Watch & Pray vigil that began at 1:00 PM.  The rest of the day has been spent greeting people as they come in to pray and making sure they have the resources and instruction they need and desire to have.  I did get a break early in the evening to get some dinner, and while others are praying I sat down to eat my meal and write today’s page.  Today’s photo is one I took a little while ago of what is probably my favorite “station” in the prayer room setup.  It is an area to spend time with God in examining ourselves as we sit at the foot of the cross.  In a short while, I will lead a concert of prayer to close out the current year and bring in the new one and with that I say goodbye 2017 as I write the final words of today’s page.

Page 364 has been a day filled with a combination of tasks, but also a day that I was able to sleep in and get some extra rest.  My morning task was running the snowblower at home to clear the driveway in preparation for whenever the next round of snow may come.  There wasn’t all that much accumulated but it is easier to remove 3 or 4 inches a couple different times than to try to do 8 or more all at once.  The wind was blowing with some pretty good force, so I had to be careful how I aimed the snowblower discharge chute if I wanted to avoid a face full of snow.

After lunch I headed into work where a variety of tasks awaited me.  A majority of the afternoon was spent doing the initial setup of prayer stations for tomorrow’s “Watch & Pray” vigil.  Even though I have done similar setups before, my process remains the same — I empty the primary areas that I plan to use and then sit with God to determine the layout and flow.  The finished product this year is similar to past years, but there are some differences that I at least know even if it seems the same to everyone else.  As part of the setup, I turned on the light behind the stained glass panel in the auditorium and then spent time with God out there refining the sermon I’ll share tomorrow morning before the prayer vigil kicks off.  There is still some fine tuning I will do to the prayer stations, and I anticipate God will continue to fine tune the sermon, but the majority of the work is done.

My next project was to fire up the snowblower and clear the walks at work.  The sky had cleared and the moon was shining brightly, so my hope is that it stays that way overnight so the walks also stay clear.  But, just like the driveway at home, even if it does snow overnight this is a layer removed that should make the task easier in the morning.  I’ve come in from the outside work and made a cup of coffee to warm myself up.  While I’m warming up, I decided to write today’s page before tackling my next task for the day of cleaning bathrooms, floors, and doors to get the building ready for tomorrow.  But even in the midst of the cleaning that will be taking place, I will be going through tomorrow’s sermon points in my mind and continuing the simmering and refining process.  Eventually I’ll head home and get some sleep for what will be a great day in the Lord tomorrow.

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

• As I typed today’s heading, it is hard to believe there is only one more page yet to live in this year’s story.
• It can be a little overwhelming when I have a lot of projects in process.  It seems the best approach is to simply start one and do what I can before the next one needs my attention.
• Taking care of tasks while they are small helps keep them from getting larger than they need to.
• Paying attention to where the winds of the world are coming from can help you avoid being covered by the things those winds carry.
• It is always a good idea to seek God and listen to Him, even if the direction He gives you is similar to what He’s given before.
• Prayer can, and should, take place anywhere and everywhere.  But for me, there is still something special about creating an atmosphere that removes distractions from my time with God.
• While the pages of this year will soon be history, there is still work that needs done as long as God gives me breath on this earth.

Page 363 has centered around sermon work for Sunday with some maintenance and janitorial tasks thrown in throughout the day for variety’s sake.  A light snow had fallen overnight, so I began by clearing the entryway while I was still bundled up for cold weather.  There was a heating issue in the building that would normally be minor but with high temperatures next week forecast to be in the negative numbers, the importance of resolving even minor problems greatly increased.  

By mid-afternoon the heating issue had been taken care of and my mind was swimming with scripture texts from my study, so I switched my focus to the “Watch & Pray” stations I will be setting up for the New Year’s Eve prayer vigil.  By late afternoon I was hungry so I headed out for a late lunch and then took a two mile walk along the Mishawaka Riverwalk to spend some time with God and allow my head to clear so I could listen more intently as I seek His refining for the sermon and prayer vigil preparations.

As I walked, the snow intensity picked up to the point where it went from almost nothing to causing greatly reduced visibility.  There were a variety of ducks, waterfowl, and geese on the river so I found plenty of photo opportunities as I walked.  I would keep tucking my camera inside my jacket between pictures as it would keep getting covered with snow in the brief amount of time I would have it out to snap a photo or two.  Today’s photo is of a group of geese standing in the water’s edge.  Most of them have their beak tucked under a wing and have stood long enough that they are covered in snow.  Sometimes when stuff is flying all around us, our best option is to tuck our nose out of the way so we’re both protected and not tempted to stick it into someone else’s business.

After my walk I made my way back to the building to just spend time with God and consider how He would lead me through the rest of the preparation for the weekend.  I thought maybe I would begin either the weekend cleaning or the prayer vigil setup when I came back from the walk, but so far it is just a time of listening and internal preparation.  As I’m spending time with God, I thought I would write out today’s page and see how the lessons from the day fit in with how He would have me finish out the weekend.

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

• I work best when I am not constantly jumping back and forth between tasks, but it is also good to have something productive to do when I need a break.
• If I don’t clear the small amounts of snow after its fallen, there will soon be large amount accumulated where I don’t want it.
• Minor problems rarely stay minor.  Either they are resolved and are no longer problems or they grow and become big problems.  Resolving them while they are small is usually the better approach.
• The pool of knowledge and instruction found in God’s Word is deep.  While I greatly enjoy being in it, I usually reach a point when I need to come up for air.
• While there are times I convince myself that the weather is too bad to go out, I am never disappointed when I reject that excuse and go out anyhow.
• Sometimes when I’m in the midst of situations where stuff is flying all around me, the best thing I can do is tuck my nose out of the way and mind my own business.
• A combination of walking and cold wind and snow hitting the face does wonders for getting the blood and oxygen circulating to the brain after hours of little physical activity.
• Being still may be the most valuable, and the most overlooked, part of preparation for anything that we want God to lead us in.