Page 49 of this year of life has been a full one.  The day started in the usual way with the cleaning and disinfecting of bathrooms and common areas at work.  I didn’t see any deer today but as I took the trash out, God had woven together quite a tapestry in the sky.  After grabbing my camera and taking some pictures of the morning beauty, I followed up with some email and phone messages from the day before.  

One of the emails and phone messages went together about a Facebook ad I was running to promote a post I had made to announce the release of my latest book, “Watch Your Mouth: Choosing Words Which Honor Christ”.  I had submitted a customer support request yesterday because the ad had used all of the funds I had budgeted for it in a very short amount of time.  This morning I had both an email and a phone message waiting for me to explain why that had happened.  As it turned out, my post was so attractive that it reached its advertising goal in less than an hour!  I sent an email reply back stating that I understood the explanation given and that their response was satisfactory to me.  A little while later I received a phone call from Facebook customer support and the lady I talked to said the ad was so well laid out that when she was looking at my account to understand the issue, she wanted to click on it!  She was impressed not only with the images I used but also the title and subject matter of the book.  I was greatly encouraged by our conversation and invited her to go ahead and click on the link, that she was just as welcome to the free Kindle book as everyone else.

Sometimes the hardest thing to do is to let God work the details out in situations that we don’t fully understand.  When I sent in the customer support request yesterday, I was frustrated that the ad quit running in less than an hour when other posts I had promoted had run for the full 2 or 3 days that I had scheduled.  By taking the time to listen, I realized that the response to this ad was greater in less than an hour than the other attempts had been during their entire multi-day runs.  Not only that, but God was able to encourage me through a source I hadn’t anticipated and I believe He brightened the day of a stranger through the writing assignments He has given me to do.

The work day was rounded out with overseeing some maintenance tasks being done at the building and tracking down some information about some network issues that we continue to have in the building.  When I eventually made it home, I was able to sit down and reflect on the beauty of the day God has given me.  I think the sunrise was just the warm-up to prepare me for the beauty of God’s encouragement as He gave me a glimpse of how He is using the gift of writing He has given me to share.

I pray that you and I would always be aware of God’s ability to not only use us to encourage others, but also use others to encourage us.

Page 46 ended at midnight as I left the building for the day after a board meeting and a late night of cleaning.  Page 47 began with a freezing drizzle as I headed home.  This made it appear as if my decision to work late wasn’t going to keep me from needing to go in early in the morning.  As I started to get dressed early this morning so I could go in to work and see if the sidewalks needed ice melt put down, my wonderful wife volunteered to go in early and check them so I could go back to sleep.  

My latest book came back from my proofreader yesterday, so after catching up on some sleep I made the needed corrections in the manuscript and sent the files off to the printer and Kindle publisher.  This next book is another 31-day devotional journal that focuses each day on something different the Bible says about the way we ought to choose, and use, our words.  As I finished up the details to get this book ready to go live on Amazon, I marveled at the writing journey God has been taking me on as this makes book six in just under two years time!  Even in the midst of times when it feels like I’m upside down or the world is upside down — or perhaps neither of us is right side up, God continues to use, and increase, the gifting He has placed in my life as I choose to share it.

As I was out hiking through the snow yesterday, this bird would keep catching my eye as it would grab the bottom side of the tree branches and walk around upside down as it fed off of whatever it was finding.  (And yes, the photo at the bottom of the page was taken with my feet on the ground and the camera in a normal upright position. 🙂 )  There have been many times when my world has seemed to be upside down and I’ve not always been sure why.  As I thought about this, I was reminded of the Psalm writer’s confidence that though the earth itself gives way or the mountains fall into the sea, God’s presence  would be a constant refuge and help.  God spoke through Isaiah and affirmed His commitment to an unfailing love for those who are His even if the world be turned upside down.

As I considered this bird and these scripture passages, I realized that when I focused on an upside down world my eyes were on the wrong thing.  God gives us these promises because He knows the things of this earth are not eternal.  He calls us to keep our eyes on Him rather than on the things that will eventually pass away.  When we do so, we find that He provides for us whether we are on the top side of the limb or hanging on for our life underneath.  I pray that you and I would always make the most of the opportunities that God gives us, regardless of the position we find ourselves in.  I pray that we would always keep our feet firmly planted on the foundation of God’s Word so that we can walk with confidence knowing that His foundation is the only true security that we can have. 

The day began crisp and clear with a beautiful sunrise.  With a light layer of snow arriving overnight, I was up with the sun and headed to work to clear the sidewalks before our Sunday worship gathering.  I didn’t take a camera with me as I planned on clearing the walks and coming right back home to get ready for church.  As the sun made its way up for the day I regretted not having my camera with me but I can at least share a similar scene from the early morning work a few months ago.

While the snow meant another day with some work hours, it is Sunday which means a day to worship with other believers as well as finding some time to rest.  Our Sunday School class this morning spent time in Proverbs 2 and the first part of Proverbs 3.  It made me think about wisdom and how valuable our obtaining it ought to be to us.  We have a culture that puts a great deal of emphasis on collecting knowledge, but not much of a focus on having wisdom.  I began to think about many conversations that I have been part of where there are comments made about the general lack of common sense among people today.  Wisdom from God’s perspective seems to focus on how we use the knowledge that He makes available to us.  Solomon’s writing is pleading with us to pursue wisdom with every fiber of our being.  To put whatever effort is necessary into obtaining and keeping it.  The pursuit of knowledge often puffs us up and fills us with pride.  The pursuit of wisdom brings us to a point of humility where we serve others according to their need.  Godly wisdom protects us, reveals purpose to us, and gives us a good reputation with God and man.

I pray that you and I would always choose wisdom over raw knowledge.  I pray that we would have the courage to live with the application of God’s Word as our source of true wisdom.  

The clear sky of the morning changed to clouds and more snow through the afternoon so it looks like tomorrow will be an early start to a day I had anticipated having off for the President’s Day holiday.  Fortunately, the forecast makes it appear that there will be a break from the snow after tomorrow with projected temperatures near 50 degrees by Friday!  As I write these pages each day, I’m reminded of the words of David as he writes about God knitting us together in the womb.  In that context Psalm 139:16 reads, “All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”  I pray that these pages in “Tom’s Book of 2016” reflect what God has already written in His book about me.

Earthdate: 20160213 — These are the ramblings of one traveler’s journey on earth as he makes his way toward a heavenly home.

After a late night at work, today was a day to sleep in.  I eventually made it up for the day and after my morning coffee and some time on the computer, I made it outside to clear the snow from the driveway at home.  The wind was blowing at a pretty brisk rate so using the snow blower may have cleared the drive but it covered me from head to toe with the icy snow.  Although the snow would continue to fall much of the day, it didn’t end up amounting to much additional accumulation for the day.  After lunch with the family it was time to head back to work and take care of the sidewalks and entryways so they were clear for a Valentine’s dinner at church tonight and would hopefully be in good shape for Sunday morning.

Overall, it has been a mild winter — at least as far as snow removal needs go.  While there is something beautiful about fresh snowfall and the crisp clean lines of cleared sidewalks, after a couple of hours out working in it I begin to think of spring.  It was interesting when I got up this morning that the photo I’m using on this day’s page was a “memories” reminder from Facebook that I had posted on this date last year.  I guess it may be normal that by mid-February I am tired of winter and looking forward to spring.  Winter seems to be hard on me both physically and emotionally.  It is difficult to plan for a day off because I’m responsible for the snow and about the time I work late one day so I won’t have to go in early the next, it snows overnight and I still have to go in.  So I find myself looking back at times and realizing I’ve gone in to work for some amount of time for 15 straight days, or 20 straight days, or even at one point 30 straight days.  While I know it is temporary and I at least have the flexibility now of adjusting my work times based on the need, it is tough on a mind like mine to spend a season without a known schedule.  

It is out of this mindset that some frustration from yesterday began weighing me down.  A recurring issue that doesn’t seem like it should be a big deal.  Yet for years now every time I think everyone finally understands and is willing to comply with what needs done, I find that not everyone is of the same understanding or willingness to comply.  As I thought about that, and as the frustration built, I thought about how often God must look at the actions of those of us who  have agreed to live for Him and wonder what happened that we are doing something that He was sure we had an understanding between us that it was inappropriate.  Perhaps we excuse our disobedience with the justification that “it’s just this once.”  Or maybe we say, “it’s not that big of a deal.”  Maybe we even rationalize  and tell ourselves, “that’s not really what he meant.”  Or we try to take the high road with the explanation, “I’m doing it to help others.”   We become so good at coming up with reasons that we convince our self that we are right and anyone, even God, who says otherwise just doesn’t understand.  Unfortunately, none of those statements hold up to scrutiny for those seeking to be Christ-like.  Not only is obedience commanded, it was lived by Jesus.  The writer of Hebrews tells us that although he was the son, Jesus learned obedience through the things he suffered.  Jesus taught that no student will be above his teacher.  We too must learn obedience even through the things we suffer and I believe we will fail at teaching others to be obedient until we have learned to live it ourselves.

I pray that you and I are good students of our teacher, Jesus.  I pray that our desire to become like Him drives us to become the obedient children that He calls us to be.  I pray that the obedience we exhibit on a daily basis makes us credible as we teach others.

Just after my alarm went off this morning I checked my cell phone for messages and my iPad for a weather report and potential delay or closing information.  The weather had improved overnight with no advisories still in effect and only one school in the entire region was on a two-hour delay so it was unlikely that would spread here.  So, off to work to clear the sidewalks of the snow that had fallen overnight and to make sure everything at the building was ready for the day.  During snowy weather it is always a welcome sight when I arrive at the building and the guys are already there clearing the driveway and parking areas of snow so I don’t have to worry if people will be able to make it up the drive before it gets cleared.  

Once the building was ready for the day, I went online to get information about the upcoming CCCA conference that I will have a prayer ministry display at.  This led me to check where I stood with book inventory so I can be prepared with an appropriate amount of resources to take with me.  As I counted books, I was asked if I could check out the internet connection in the school office as they could no longer go online and get needed information.  While working on that, several teachers came in to report that they and their students couldn’t get online for research projects they were working on.  After resolving the internet issues I began to think about our constant thirst for information.  It’s not that information is necessarily a bad thing, the question we ought to be asking revolves more around what we are doing with the information we seek.  I fear that far too often we have become like the people Paul wrote to Timothy about who “are always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth.”  God has given us adequate information through His Word, through creation, and through His Spirit, among other means, that it is reasonable to expect that we would acknowledge Him as the source of all truth.

Unfortunately, many Christians have become good at obtaining information about God without learning the application of knowing Him.  With instant access to endless information, many have given up the element of faith that is required to please God and only trust what they believe they can learn completely.  Many have abandoned the faith they once professed because they now claim to be “enlightened” by greater information than what they could get from the Bible alone.  I tend to take a different route and the more I learn, the more I come to an understanding of the truth of God.  The information I understand confirms the truthfulness of God’s Word.  The information I don’t understand increases my faith in a God who can speak everything into existence — I mean, who really understands that except through faith?

I pray that you and I always come to an understanding of the truth in all of the seeking of information and knowledge that we do.  I pray that we learn to daily walk by faith as God calls us to trust Him.

After I finished up work I took advantage of the lengthening days to head down to Potato Creek State Park for a winter hike through the snow.  It was a beautiful day to be out with a perfect mix of clouds and sun for taking some scenic photos.  As I walked by an outdoor bulletin board, the sun caught my eye and the picture below came into my mind.  I didn’t know at the time that today’s page would focus on information, but God knew. 🙂

Earthdate: 20160209 — These are the ramblings of one traveler’s journey on earth as he makes his way toward a heavenly home.

The snow finally began falling overnight so that meant my day started extra early to make sure the sidewalks were cleared and the building cleaned and ready for the day as well.  The snow had started out very fine and wet so while there wasn’t a lot of it, what did remain was frozen to the concrete.  With a little scraping and some ice melt, the walks were in good shape for the day.  When I went to my office to change out of my outdoor gear to begin the inside cleaning, a parade of 10 deer walked by my office window in the pre-dawn darkness of the day.  While too dark for photos, I always enjoy seeing the deer as they casually stroll by on their way to the next destination for the day.  After I watched the deer for a moment, it was time to finish the inside cleaning and then play musical hats for the rest of the day.  

As I thought about my day, it seemed most of my tasks required some level of persistence to get them done well.  From the snow that was frozen to the sidewalks to the cleaning and disinfecting of the bathrooms and touch surfaces to the network administration and computer IT work, it all required some effort and attention that was focused specifically on the task at hand.  There were no shortcuts today.  No “good enough” would be good enough.  Each task needed done with a diligence in overcoming the obstacles that made accomplishing it more difficult that usual.  Our spiritual life is much like that.  There may be days where it seems we can breeze through life on auto-pilot because everything is going our way, but in my experience there are more days that require the persistence of overcoming the obstacles that try to trip me up in my walk with Christ.  It is nice when you can just “dust” the filth of the world off, but more often it clings to us like this morning’s frozen snow and we must make a deliberate effort to remove it from our life.  We want to avoid the “sickness” of sin but are we willing to constantly disinfect our life with the power of repentance and forgiveness through the blood of Jesus?  We like our “systems” to run efficiently and with no problems but do we operate them within the parameters of God’s Word and the instruction of His Spirit that He has put within us?

I pray that you and I have counted the cost of being a disciple of Jesus, have surrendered fully to His lordship, and are living in a way that we will be found faithful when He returns.

While it was too dark to get any photos this morning, this is one of my deer friends in the snow a year ago. 🙂

Earthdate: 20160207 — These are the ramblings of one traveler’s journey on earth as he makes his way toward a heavenly home.

Some would call it a lazy Sunday afternoon.  I prefer to think of it as a time of restful recovery.  I woke up this morning feeling fairly well considering how sick I was just 24 hours before.  As I was going over the text and sermon I planned to share this morning I received a message that the church I was headed to was without heat and water so they would not be meeting.  Missing opportunities to preach is usually discouraging for me but this time I seemed to have a greater peace that God was still in charge and could use this for His good either in my life or in the lives of others.  As a result, I was able to be in my home church this morning when some dear friends announced they would be moving out of the area this week so this would be their last Sunday with us before that move.  It was good to be able to pray for them as we closed the morning worship gathering.

When I got home from lunch I left the car parked outside with the thought that we would go out and do something later — the weather forecast seemed to indicate this was the nicest day we would see for a while.  As it turned out, my energy level was still depleted and an afternoon nap ended up being the activity of the day.  In a fast paced and on-demand world, the idea of being still and waiting seems like such an unproductive use of time to most people.  We read passages of scripture that talk about God working all things together for our good and that He has plans to prosper us and we start thinking that the good and prosperous things should be taking place immediately.  When we start thinking that, we completely ignore not only the history of the entire “hall of faith” that we read about in Hebrews but also the direct context of the “all things work together for good” and “plans to prosper you, not to harm you” passages.  God’s perspective is always an eternal one.  Ours often is not.  Much of the time the only way for us to get a glimpse of God’s eternal perspective is through time spent waiting.

I pray that you and I spend appropriate times of rest as we wait in God’s presence for His perspective in our life.