The written part of page 81 is being typed from my office before I head home for the day.  The day started early and is ending late, but I did manage a short break in the middle.  After the morning cleaning and prep for the day, I settled into my Monday morning routine and spent time with God putting together the prayer guide for next week.  This week is focused on praying about the need to guard our steps.  Next week will be focused on praying about the life we have in Christ.  It is always fun when I think I have an idea for one of the weekly prayer guides and when I sit down with God and my Bible, something different ends up being written.  Today was one of those days and the funny part is, I don’t even remember now what my idea was before God brought the life in Christ theme into my mind.

Once the prayer guide was written, I needed to pick up some cleaning supplies and some items for a meal I was preparing for our leadership board meeting.  So Susan and I spent some time together and went out to Gordon’s Food Service and Sam’s Club to get what was needed.  By the time we got what was needed and arrived back at the church, I had a discipleship/mentoring lunch appointment with a good friend.  We had lunch and a great discussion about faith and how it should guide our decisions and steps each day.  After lunch I finished up some work at the church building and then, knowing it would be a late night, I headed down to Potato Creek to spend about an hour hiking and taking pictures.  On my way back from there, I stopped by the house and  picked up the crock pot of pulled pork that I had spent Saturday cooking on the wood pellet grill.  Back at the office I caught up on some correspondence regarding the prayer ministry and some potential uses of the writing God has allowed me to publish.  It wasn’t long before it was time to get ready for the board meeting, so I set out the food on the conference table and gathered the needed plates, napkins, and plastic ware.

The meeting went well enough . . . as meetings go.  🙂  This is a great group of guys to work and serve with.  Once the meeting was over, I decided it was late enough that I may as well do my Tuesday morning cleaning tonight so that my arrival time tomorrow isn’t nearly as important.  As I cleaned, I thought about all the work that goes into what happens at 2730 South Ironwood each day.  I thought about our desire to do everything with excellence and considered how often we (I) don’t quite reach that standard.  So often it is “almost perfect”, or “that’s almost what I wanted”.  I see that a lot in my photography as well.  Occasionally I will take a picture that when I view it I say, “That’s exactly what I had in mind when I shot that photo!”  More often than not the reaction leans more toward, “That is almost what I thought it would look like.”  The photo I share on today’s page is an example of that.  I was shooting with two cameras and as I was adjusting one, I looked up and an osprey was coming into the nest with a fish clutched in its claws.  I’m shooting with an extended zoom which is difficult to keep steady but I go ahead and take the shot only to see after the fact that I almost got the shot I wanted, but not quite.  I know it’s a fish in its claws because I was there,  but most of the fish didn’t make it into the photo.  I could have deleted the photo but decided that even though it isn’t perfect, it still captures a great deal of the detail I wanted.

Sometimes it is easy for us to get into a perfectionist mode with not only our self, but with other people as well.  None of us are perfect (I know, big surprise.), but often we act like the people around us ought to be.  Sometimes all we seem to be able to see are the imperfections in people when God wants us to look at the whole person and see the beauty and detail He has created.  When the picture of our life is flawed it doesn’t mean we’ve failed, it only means we’re human.  God is very good at taking flawed lives and using them for incredible good.  

I pray that you and I would consider the excellent nature of God within us the next time we look at ourselves or others and think, “That’s not what I wanted.”  I pray that when our eyes drift toward the imperfections, we would look carefully at the beauty God has put within each person.  I pray that we would be filled with the grace and mercy that comes from God, even as we seek to do all things with excellence.

Aahhh . . . a Saturday!  Today was a good reminder of why I put in such long hours on Fridays.  There are times when events or plans cause me to leave some of the weekend prep undone on Friday and then have to go in Saturday or very early Sunday, but it always feels good to have a day when I can completely disconnect from work and have no plans but to relax and enjoy the day.  I slept in a bit this morning and then put some pork on the pellet grill to slow cook all day.  My plan was for it to be done for a late supper but when 8 PM rolled around and it still wasn’t ready, I shifted to plan B and grilled some hamburgers for tonight and will pull the pork when it is done so it is ready for another time.  I usually figure 10 – 12 hours so I guess putting it on at 9 in the morning wasn’t quite early enough this time.

The day itself was a low-keyed and laid back day of rest.  It was rather cold and cloudy, so rest seemed much more attractive than going out hiking and taking more photos.  After I got the pork started in the morning, I cut my hair as it was getting a little shaggy and then started going through photos from the past few days.  It wasn’t long before it was time for lunch so the family went out and enjoyed lunch together.  The afternoon was a mix of online social media, online browsing and dreaming as I kept up on new camera equipment, continued going through photos and a little Wii gaming just for fun.  Once the “plan B” hamburgers were consumed tonight, I realized it was late enough that I should write page 79 and then get some sleep so I’m rested and awake for the Sunday worship gathering at church.

I wonder how often most of us think about preparing for the time we spend together in worship celebrating what Jesus has done for us.  With tomorrow being known as Palm Sunday, I imagine most of us will spend at least some time being reminded of, and thinking about, the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem just days before the crowds would turn on Him and demand His crucifixion.  It is that thought that makes me think we ought to spend more time preparing for worship than what we do.  It is so easy to be swept along with the crowd.  We worship when the crowds worship and we condemn when the crowds condemn.  If I see my life as worship . . . if I prepare for worship . . . then worship should be what I express regardless of the nature of the crowds around me.  So how do you and I prepare to live a life of worship?  I think at least part of the preparation begins by recognizing that God deserves our worship all the time because He knows what He’s talking about all the time.  Some days I prepare for worship by observing His beauty in nature.  Today I prepared for worship by understanding the rest I needed and experienced today was His idea.  Tomorrow I prepare for a life of worship by gathering with like-minded believer to share in the body and blood of Christ through communion.  When I realize that God’s plans for me, the plans revealed through scripture that He desires for all mankind, are plans that prosper and do good . . . plans to give me hope and a future.  God’s part of this plan was accomplished through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.  My part of the plan is to accept God’s part of the plan.

I pray that you and I would find time for, and enjoy, the rest that God desires for us.  I pray that we would see worship as something much bigger and meaningful than just an hour service each week.  I pray that we would constantly prepare for a life of worship that is not swayed by the crowds.  I pray that we would fully accept God’s plan to give us a hope and a future through the work of Jesus in our life.

Page 77 began as a normal workday with the usual weekday tasks that needed done.  The morning included some maintenance tasks that required I dig through my memory, and my supply shelves, to track down some parts that I knew I had . . . somewhere.  After some thinking and looking, the missing parts appeared and I was able to complete the needed tasks.  The day also included ministry conversations that reminded me of the assurance I have in Christ.  An assurance that includes my pursuit of obedience to the things scripture teaches about becoming “in Christ”, but more importantly an assurance because of my faith in the faithfulness of God to forgive my sin through the blood of Jesus.  My obedience is necessary not because I can in any way earn favor with God, but because I have favor with God.

As the workday came to a close, my family and I grabbed a very late lunch and headed out to Bonneyville Mills park to take some pictures . . . and take a hike.  There was still a chill in the air, but the cloud and blue sky mix was perfect for photos.  It was nice to see people out walking the trails and enjoying the beauty of God’s creation.  Today was more about the walk and taking in the beauty than about photography.  I did take about 50 photos, but that didn’t seem like much compared to yesterday’s total of nearly 500. While at the park, I was captivated by the cotton ball clouds that drifted through the bright blue sky.  I was doubly pleased when I got home and found that my camera had captured the view just as I had hoped it would.  I’ve not had much success finding the right settings on the camera to capture this type of scene the way I have wanted to, but today it finally came together.

I remember stretching on the back lawn many years ago as a young boy, watching the clouds float overhead and dreaming about heaven.  Life was busy growing up on the farm so I’m sure those times of imagining the future were few and far between, but they were so real I still remember them even today.  I don’t remember if it was technically daydreaming or if I had actually fallen asleep, or if it was something different entirely, but I recall the real sense of flying/floating through the sky while enjoying the beauty of heaven in the presence of God.  I don’t think this dream ever included any details of what that was like other than a confidence that was where I was.  As I looked through today’s photos, they were a reminder of those days long ago when I first began to feel the closeness of God.  My daughter constantly talks about seeing Jesus someday and I pray that I have that same desire, expectation, and assurance that looks forward to that day each day I live.

I pray that you and I live fully aware of the work of God that calls all people to salvation through Jesus Christ.  I pray that we would desire to live obedient lives because of the cleansing of sin we have through the blood of Jesus.  I pray that we would not lose sight of the eternal reward that awaits all who are found in Christ.  I pray that we never outgrow our coming to Christ as a little child so that we always maintain the wonder and expectation that even today we could see Jesus face to face.

As I continue to view each day as a page in my life waiting to be written, I come to page 75 today.  The overnight hours leading up to the start of the day were rather restless.  I’m not sure why, but I just couldn’t stay asleep.  By the time I finally felt comfortable and thought I might be able to get some sleep with nothing aching or bothering me, it was time to get up and head to work.  As I did my morning cleaning work, I reached a point when I realized the building was remaining quiet well beyond the usual time of people arriving.  As I got ready to take out the trash, I stopped and checked the “closings/delays” listing on the local news channel website.  As I scroll down through the page, I see that the school is on a two-hour delay so I guess my early start to the day wasn’t all that necessary.

Anyhow, the cleaning was done and the building was quiet so it was time to work on the missions accounting and correspondence for the church.  It is always a joy to go through the reports and correspondence from the missions we help support.  It is an encouragement to know that we are a part of the greater work being done for the kingdom worldwide.  In addition to the missions committee work, I did some supply inventory and ordering as well as some computer research for the church.  As I start feeling hungry, I realize it is already after two and my early start to the day has turned into a long day without lunch.  As I pack up my things and head home, it is hard to tell if the cloud cover is trying to leave the sky or overtake it.

After I got home, it became apparent that the clouds were leaving rather than coming so we headed down to Potato Creek for a family hike on the trails.  As I thought about the unknown sky, it reminded me of how life often goes.  Many days it is difficult at first glance to tell if the clouds in my life are increasing or decreasing.  It often takes a “wider lens” view to have the perspective needed to view each day accurately.  Just as the day’s weather often changes looks, the atmosphere of our life can be just as deceiving if we judge what the day will become based on a 5-second look.  When I was uncertain about whether the clouds were coming or going, I was very tempted to sit at home and probably accomplish very little.  By taking the time to gain proper perspective, I was able to enjoy a view at Potato Creek that I never get tired of.  When uncertainty fills my spirit, it is through time with God in prayer and His Word that I regain His perspective and enjoy a view of life that never grows old.

I pray that you and I would always seek to view our circumstances and experiences through the eternal perspective that comes through a relationship with Jesus.  I pray that we would not get so wrapped up with the momentary here and now that we miss the peace and joy that God wants to fill us with through His Spirit.  I pray that my life would constantly reflect the beauty of Christ as I allow Him to fill me with a purpose that is well beyond myself.