Page 281 was a Sunday and I had the privilege of preaching at the North Wayne Mennonite Church again today so that added to the joy of the day.  My nights continue to be restless more often than not, so I found myself going through my sermon outline for today multiple times during the night.  When I finally woke up, I spent more time refining the sermon before the drive up to Dowagiac to share in the worship gathering there.  When I have the opportunity to preach, I’ve been doing a sermon series on living as the Lord’s servant.  Most of the sermons have been brief character studies of individuals in the Bible who are described by themselves, or by others, as the Lord’s servant.  Some of the people, such as today’s character, are more the seed for the idea than much of a look at their life — simply because not much is written about them.

Today’s message was titled “Serving With HONOR” and was taken from the brief introduction to a man named Epaphroditus, whom Paul said to honor men like him.  While not much is written about him, the Bible has a lot to say about characteristics that deserve honor.  So, today we looked at five characteristics that help us to serve with honor.  

• Serve with Humility.  Serving with humility means that we serve with a knowledge of who we are and who God has called us to be.  Humility is not about demeaning our self, but about thinking accurately about our self as both a servant of God and a child of God.  I suspect that one of the reasons we know little about Epaphroditus is because of his humility.  He was able to serve the apostle Paul and not feel the need to make it all about him.  We serve with honor when we serve with the humility shown by Jesus, who “knowing where He had come from and where He was going” washed the feet of His disciples.
• Serve with Obedience.  Serving with obedience means that we will serve according to the will of God, not just when and how it suits our preferences.  When we have to set all of the criteria for the “who, how, what, where, and when” we serve, we end up making the serving all about us rather than about the One we serve.  Epaphroditus was both obedient in being sent to care for the needs of the apostle Paul and obedient in being sent back to the Philippians to reassure them of his own well-being as well as carry news from Paul.  We serve with honor when we serve with the obedience shown by Jesus, who “became obedient to death — even death on a cross.”
• Serve according to Need.  Serving according to need means that we make our service about the needs of others rather than about what we want.  God wants our words, and our works of service, to be a benefit to the hearer according to their need.  The entire purpose of Epaphroditus going to see Paul and serving even to the point of almost dying, was to be a representative of the Philippians in providing for the needs of the apostle Paul.  We serve with honor when we serve according to need like Jesus, who “while we were yet sinners” went to the cross to pay the penalty for our sins.
• Serve at every Opportunity.  Serving at every opportunity means that we pay attention to both what God has equipped us to do and to where that gifting and ability is needed.  There is definitely no shortage of need when it comes to serving but sometimes we become aware of so many needs in so many different places that we simply don’t have the opportunity available to serve.  It is normal to see tragedies and catastrophes covered in various news sources and wish we could do something to help.  Sometimes we have the opportunity to serve in meaningful ways and other times we simply don’t.  Unfortunately, we often fail to see the opportunities that we do have simply because they are in places too familiar to us.  While we may not have the opportunity to help a hurricane victim, we often have the opportunity to serve our family, our neighbor, our coworker, a stranger, a church member, or a number of other people we cross paths with without paying the attention we ought.  We serve with honor when we serve at every opportunity like Jesus, who looked into the lives of everyday people and met them where they were.
• Serve expecting Results.  Serving expecting results means that when we serve as a child of God in the name of Jesus, we expect Him to be at work in a way that bears fruit.  Sometimes it is easy to serve because we think we should, but we do so not expecting anything to come of our efforts.  I wonder how often a lack of results is because we got exactly what we were expecting?  Or how often our expectations are built around our view of results that has may have very little to do with kingdom results.  I believe Epaphroditus served both Paul and the Philippians as he served God, expecting God would use this service to produce much fruit throughout the kingdom of God.  We serve with honor when we serve expecting results like Jesus, who could boldly say, speaking of His death and resurrection, “tear this temple down and in three days I will rebuild it.”  

After the worship gathering there was a carry-in dinner at the church, so we had lunch before heading home for a relaxing afternoon.  As evening approached, we headed to the river walk in Mishawaka to finish out the day and photograph the sunset.  Today’s photo is one of many sunset photos from tonight as it was difficult to quit shooting as the sun disappeared over the horizon.  The beauty was present no matter which direction we looked as the setting sun lit up the clouds across the entire sky.

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

• If I can’t sleep, I may as well make those restless hours productive.
• I never think my preparation of a sermon is completed until after I’ve delivered it.
• Since God wants us to honor people like Epaphroditus, who do I know that needs to be given such honor?
• Humility is part of the foundation to serving in a way that should be honored.
• Obedience ought to be our response to the way Jesus has served us.
• Needs of others must be considered if we want to serve like Jesus.
• Opportunity is easily missed when we choose not to serve “the least of these”.
• Results of serving are best left up to God with the expectation that when we do so, He will not disappoint.
• God’s creativity and beauty put on display for all to see is a sight I never get tired of.

Saturdays are part of what makes my Fridays more enjoyable than they often appear like they should be.  I shot today’s photo along Lake Michigan this afternoon and it makes me think about perspective.  Sometimes it is so easy to see what is right in front of you that you miss what is beyond it.  Other times we tend to focus so much out in the distance that we pay no attention to the things that are at our feet.  It is probably best if we can approach life with a balance that pays attention to where we are while keeping an eye forward as we take in a larger picture than just today.  While my Friday night prayer, cleaning, and building prep routine is always done with an eye looking forward to Sunday, I don’t know that I often think about the intermediate view — how finishing up on Friday, no matter how long it takes, frees up my Saturday to rest and spend time with my family.

I was able to sleep in and get some extra rest to start the day, but once I was awake the first item on the agenda was firing up the pellet grill to get some pulled pork started.  As I was getting ready to start it, my wife came home and said her spring/summer market days were over.  So, our Saturday afternoon was expanded to most of the day being a family day with nothing planned.  It was a fairly nice looking day outside, so we packed up our cameras and headed out for a family adventure.  Our day included a hike at Potato Creek, a stop to photograph the trains at the Hesston Steam Museum, and several stops along Lake Michigan.  It is always a highlight when we’re wrapping up a day’s adventure and Susan tells us she had a fun day.  She is usually a pretty good traveler and puts up with all of our photo stops as long as we keep her fed and include a Dr Pepper along the way. 🙂  As we finished up our last stop before heading home, she said she was having a fun day, so I guess that made it unanimous.  

When we got home, there was time to go through the photos from the day before taking the pork off the pellet grill.  After cooking all day, the pork was ready to just fall apart when I finally took it off the grill.  I let it cool long enough to handle, then pulled it apart and filled up a crock pot for tomorrow’s lunch.  It has taken me a while, but I’ve finally learned to let it take however long it needs to cook in order to reach the proper internal temperature.  While the meat is technically “done” earlier, it won’t fall apart with melt-in-your-mouth tenderness if I take it off the grill early.  I think sometimes in life we tend to get impatient and cut corners, then wonder why things didn’t turn out quite as well as we had hoped.  

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

• There is usually a bigger picture in life than what we first notice.
• What we tend to focus on is probably just a small part of the bigger picture.
• Often our sole responsibility is to focus on the small part that is ours to do, but we need to do that with an awareness of the bigger picture our part fits into.
• Unplanned adventures can be fun if taken with the people you love while doing the things you enjoy together.
• There are probably a variety of places near you that would be enjoyable family adventure spots — sometimes you just have to take the time to figure out what you enjoy doing together.
• Cutting corners may save time, but it rarely gives optimum results.

Page 279 has been a rainy, dreary day.  Today’s photo was actually taken late last night before I went to bed as I had waited to see if the full moon would break free of the clouds in the eastern sky before it was overtaken by the expanding rain clouds of the west.  I did manage to catch a brief gap between the major clouds before I called it a night and got some sleep.  

The rain began overnight and continued as I drove to work early this morning.  There is usually a freshness in the air during a good rain, but this morning it was not raining heavy enough to clean the air — in fact, the heaviness of the air and wind direction combined to welcome me to work with the smell of dog food in the air from the factory a mile or so away.  It is not often that smell reaches my workplace, but I don’t find it pleasant when it does.  It is interesting how certain conditions create specific stimuli that catch the attention of one or more of our senses.  The vast majority of circumstances may remain constant, but one or two variables make all the difference.  I suspect there is a lesson in there about why we react in certain ways sometimes and different ways other times when there are only small differences in the surrounding circumstances.

My morning consisted of the usual prayer, cleaning, and building prep tasks along with taking care of a variety of small maintenance tasks.  As I went about my work, my mind continued to refine and simmer the sermon content for Sunday.  Once early afternoon rolled around, we ran a fire drill in the building.  The idea, as with any drill or practice, is to become accustomed to what needs done in a particular situation so that if it occurs for real, there is a natural response based on previous practices.  In a lot of ways, that is a big part of the concept behind the teaching I do focused on developing a lifestyle of prayer.  When we live a lifestyle of prayer, it is much easier to turn to God in all situations — even those that are extremely difficult.

After the fire drill, I needed to pick up some cleaning supplies so I took a break from the building for a couple hours.  While I was out, I stopped for a late lunch/early dinner combo and then came back to work to begin the Friday evening cleaning and prep to get the building ready for Sunday.  Something has put me on edge recently, so the empty building wasn’t so peaceful tonight.  It was a struggle to ward off the anxiety attacks as the normal noises of the building sounded extra loud as I went about my nighttime tasks.  My solution was a combination of living out that lifestyle of prayer and running through escape scenarios in my mind — I suspect the prayer was the much more reassuring choice between the two.  With the building ready, I sit and relax as I type out today’s page and prepare to share it.

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

• I enjoy photographing the moon and noticing the beauty that it contains whether viewed up close through a zoom lens or viewed simply by gazing at the night sky.
• Sometimes a heaviness of spirit can trap an unpleasant attitude within us from being cleansed away as it ought to be.
• Little things are important — they can be the difference between enjoying something and being repulsed by it.
• It is often the little irritants that I respond most drastically to and usually have little idea why I responded in the way I did.
• When we practice meditating on the Word of God, it refines our character.
• It is a good idea to be comfortable calling out to God when times are good so that it is a natural thing to do when times aren’t so good.

They say a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, but they sure look better in the bush where they belong.  Page 278 began with a welcoming party as a group of deer were waiting for me in the parking lot as I arrived at work.  After greeting them, I began the usual early morning prayer, cleaning, and building prep.  In addition to continued prayers for those suffering as a result of recent hurricanes and the Las Vegas shooting, I began to pray for the Growing Strong retreat participants that God will bring together for the November retreat.  While still not sure of who all that will be, God knows who I’m praying for even if I don’t.

Once the building was ready for the day, I turned my attention to further refining the sermon for Sunday.  As I continue a Living as the Lord’s Servant series, we’ll look at the example of Epaphroditus in the message, “Serving with HONOR”.  As I worked, I was visited by several cardinals playing in the brush outside my office window.  Today’s photo made me think of the old saying that I began today’s page with.  I understand the meaning behind it, but the photo made me stop and think about which really is more valuable — a bird captured or a bird where it belongs?  I suppose it depends on what it is you want.  If you’re talking about a chicken, or a game bird, or something that you plan to use to feed your family, the bird in the hand is probably of much greater value.  If it is the cardinals that visited me today, or the bald eagles I photograph at Potato Creek, or any number of other birds that I enjoy photographing — then I would have to say they are much more valuable in their natural habitat.

As I worked today, the thought kept crossing my mind that each of us is most valuable when we are in the habitat that God has created for us and called us into.  Too often we get caught up in the comparison trap and somehow think it we could just be like someone else — be in their position, have what they have, do what they do, etc — we would have a greater value.  It gets tough because people have been trained to place value on others based on a variety of criteria that has nothing to do with who they are and whether they are doing what God created them to do.  

After working on the sermon and taking care of some maintenance tasks, I made a quick stop at the Post Office before getting a late lunch on my way home.  After resting at home for a little while, I went outside to see what might catch my attention to photograph.  I think the last of the hummingbirds finally began their journey south as I  haven’t see any at work or at home for a few days now.  I did, however, find a beautiful butterfly making its way across the tops of the remaining flower blossoms so it became my model for the evening photo shoot.  

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

• Sometimes the things we say only have truthful meaning within certain contexts.
• Saying something often enough may make others believe it, but it doesn’t change whether it is actually true or not.
• When I pray about people participating in future events, God already knows who is considering being involved and what issues exist that cause them to wrestle with the decision.
• God not only wants us to serve, He wants us to do so with honor.
• Our greatest value is found within the center of God’s will.
• God has designed all the parts of His body so that each has value even though they each have different functions.
• When I begin to desire to be who or what someone else is, I shortchange the value God has already given me.

Page 277 has been a three season day.  It began with warm spring breeze bringing in a gentle rain.  Eventually that spring rain gave way to a thunderstorm which was followed by sunshine and summer-like temperatures.  As evening came, the wind had shifted direction and the cool rain of autumn began to fall.  I suppose there is still time before the day is finished for winter to arrive as well, but I am hoping that season stays away for a while yet.

As I went about my early morning tasks, the turmoil in this country and around the world continued to be a major part of my prayer focus.  It seems that nearly everyone is shouting so loudly about how right they are that they’ve all lost their voice — and there is no one left to listen even if a voice still existed within the maddening clamor.  We’re so busy shouting down each other that the still, small voice of God often goes unnoticed and unheeded.

Once the building was ready for the day, I put on my accounting hat and turned my attention to the record-keeping for the church missions.  That is always an enjoyable task as it keeps me connected with a variety of mission works around the world.  As I was reading through reports, Susan had a seizure so I spent some time protecting her and then comforting her as she eventually came out of it.  After she was through the seizure and resting, I went back to finishing up the work I was doing with the missions information.  

I eventually wrapped up the workday with some additional work on the retreat material before heading home for a late lunch.  As I relaxed at home I took my camera outside to take some more photos of the remaining fall flower blossoms while they were coated with raindrops.  Today’s photo is one of those and it can’t help but remind me of the song from The Sound of Music, where they sing about a “few of my favorite things”.  It is good to have favorite things that remind us of God’s goodness and faithfulness.  When times are difficult and turmoil seems prevalent everywhere you look, it is important to have reminders that draw us back to the peace we have in Christ.

As I began writing today’s page, I heard a loud thud from upstairs as Susan had another seizure and fell over in her bedroom.  I guess it shouldn’t be that surprising, as this is often the result of the weather changing multiple times throughout a day.  

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

• Change is often more tolerable when it is gradual, but that is not always possible.
• When change happens quickly, sometimes all you can do is hold on to something solid and wait for the calm to come.
• There is nothing more solid to hold onto than Jesus.
• When everyone believes they have the right answer, there is usually very little listening taking place.
• Shouting, whether with verbal or written words, will rarely lead to productive conversations.
• God is doing great work through people all around the world.
• The work of “missions” has many different faces and places.  One of those combinations is you and wherever you are.
• It is good to have some “favorite things” that remind us of God’s love for us.
• When we are seized by something beyond our control, it is important that we have someone who will hold onto us and carry us through.  Jesus does that by His Spirit and through people like you and I.

While the moon is nearly full, it is in a cycle where it rises early in the evening and sets earlier than I get up for work.  This means that it is fairly light out during most of the night, but after the moon sets the stars are shining brightly in the early morning hours.  My nights are still very restless for some reason, so I saw a lot of the moonlight during the night before getting up and heading to work.  

My early morning prayer, cleaning, and building prep time included a lot of prayer for the many people whose lives have been turned upside down by the attack in Las Vegas.  As I prayed, I continued to pray that the light of Jesus would shine brightly through His children in the mist of this terrible darkness.  I prayed for the courage to be the part of that light that I am meant to be.  I prayed that the people who make up the body of Christ would rise above the divisiveness that has permeated nearly every aspect of our nation — including the church.  

Once the building was ready for the day, I began a major undertaking — cleaning off my desk. 🙂  I tend to sort and stack things in piles on my desk as they come in and it isn’t long before the accumulation has completely overtaken my work space.  While appearing, and being, quite cluttered, I tend to know where everything is and can access what I’m looking for rather quickly.  I suspect that if I would get in the habit of putting things away and in files where they belong as they come in I would get used to finding them there, but now that I’ve put everything away it will be difficult for me to retrieve anything very quickly as I have to remember its new location.  While I didn’t get the desk completely cleared of everything, I made good progress and it looks much better even with a few things on it that I haven’t quite figured out where their rightful home should be. 

In addition to cleaning, I spent time working on some more of the Growing Strong retreat material and began to let the scripture text for Sunday’s sermon simmer in my mind.  As the workday ended, I stopped for a late lunch on the way home and then spent some time relaxing.  By evening, a light rain had begun to fall so I took my camera outside to photograph raindrops on roses . . . and other flowers.  As I wandered the front lawn, I found an out of season daylily blossom.  It made me think of Paul’s instruction to Timothy to “preach the Word.  To be ready “in season and out of season.”  This blossom may be out of its regular season, but it still proclaims the glory of God and the majesty of His creativity.

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

• For everything there is a season . . . sometimes the difficulty is figuring out what the current season is in life.
• When the light is bright, it is easy for it to overshadow the “smaller” lights that exist.
• God wants us to “shine like stars in the universe.”  That means that His light will always overpower ours, but our light will be brightest when our surroundings are darkest.
• There is much evil and darkness in our world today so we ought to be shining brightly as children of God.
• A piece of paper or two on a desk doesn’t seem like much, but if you add another piece or two every day it isn’t long until the desk surface cannot be found.  That’s kind of the way it is when we allow small pieces of compromise to set on our heart and mind each day.
• While we may get used to the clutter of compromise, and even start to think it is a better system for us than integrity, it will eventually overcome us and render us ineffective if we don’t deal with it completely.
• It doesn’t matter when you think the “season” of sharing about God is for you, He wants you to be ready at all times.

Page 275 began with a beautiful star-filled sky greeting me on my way out the door this morning.  It wasn’t long, however, until I began to hear and see reports of the horrific attack that took place in Las Vegas overnight.  While my day was a somewhat normal Monday, those directly affected by the shooting occupied much of my thoughts and prayer time throughout the day.  So instead of the normal rundown of my day and the lessons seen in it, today’s page is dedicated in prayer, and as a call to prayer, for the families mourning the loss of a loved one, those injured and in need of physical healing, those in shock and disbelief who need an emotional healing, and a nation that is in need of a spiritual healing before we decide that destroying one another is normal.  And so I post some words and a photo I shared earlier today and I ask each of you to “keep on praying and never give up.”

No words, or even prayers, seem adequate in response to the horrific attack in Las Vegas, but silence seems even more inadequate so I pray for those who mourn, for those who are injured and in need of healing, and for a people in shock and disbelief.

Page 274 was a good day — partly because it was Sunday, partly because I had the opportunity to preach this morning, and mostly because it is a day that the Lord has made!  Last night was a rather restless night as I think I’m trying not to come down with some bug or the other, or at least trying not to admit that I am.  While the night didn’t help a lot with sleep, I was able to run through the main points of my sermon many times throughout the night.  This morning’s sermon came about as I was working on a different sermon — the sermon I now plan to share next week.  As I was reading, I came across the text where Paul writes about Timothy serving with him as a son with his father.  It made me start thinking, both about how Timothy served and about how a child of God ought to serve with their Father.

In keeping with my style of preparation, the outline spelled out the word “CHILD” as we considered some lessons from Timothy’s life and how God would have us serve.  Here are the main points.  The child of God serves . . .

• Cheerfully
• Helpfully
• Intentionally
• Lovingly
• Decisively

After the worship gathering, the Sunday school class spent time discussing God’s calling of Abram, the faith of Abram to follow God, and our often-present battle with doubt.  We stopped for lunch on the way home then spent the early part of the afternoon relaxing.  I managed to take some flower and hummingbird photos from the front porch before we decided to drive down to Potato Creek for a family walk . . . and to see what photo opportunities we could find there.  The bald eagles weren’t at the area where we had normally seen them, but midway through our walk I could see two of the perched in a tree all the way on the other side of the lake.  I did manage to zoom in and get a few half-decent photos, but nothing like when I can set up the camera almost underneath them.  Today’s photo as taken as we looked out over the lake from along the trail.  The sun was still fairly high in the sky but the cloud cover gave an appearance similar to sunset.  I always find it peaceful when the clouds and sun are able to reflect off of a still body of water.  I suspect the degree of stillness that I am able to maintain in my life is a determining factor in how well I reflect the presence of God.

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

• Some days are easier than others to “rejoice and be glad in it”, but God wants us to do so every day.
• When one part of the body suffers, the rest of it has trouble sleeping. 🙂
• Restless nights are best spent with the One who can calm the troubled seas.
• “Serving as a son with his father” probably sounds different to a 9 year old, a 19 year old, and a 90 year old.
• Some of my best childhood memories are of working with my dad.
• God’s child will serve cheerfully as we know we are serving the Lord.
• God’s child will serve helpfully as we live out our calling to help those in need.
• God’s child will serve intentionally as we set aside good intentions for real intention.
• God’s child will serve lovingly as we follow the example of Jesus, who showed the full extent of His love by both serving and sacrificing.
• God’s child will serve decisively as we commit to following Jesus no matter what.
• Faith will trust God in spite of your doubts.
• I best reflect the nature of God to the people around me when my inner spirit is at peace with Him.