Page 224 was a Saturday but I found myself awake early to write yesterday’s page before the day got away from me.  Once the page was written, I went through the next group of photos from last weeks Upper Peninsula trip so I could share another round of them on Facebook.  We packed so much into the few days we had, that it is going to take multiple posts of the photos to give just a glimpse of the incredible beauty of creation we were surrounded with.  At times I begin to think I’m posting too many photos, but then people encourage me to keep sharing them so I try to keep sharing from the gift God has given me.  While I worked on the photos, I heard a noise from upstairs and found that Susan had somehow fallen into the empty bathtub and pulled the shower curtain and rod down on top of herself.  She didn’t act like she had a seizure, but also didn’t know how she fell into the tub or what had happened.  She said she wasn’t ready to get up, so after making sure she was okay she went back to bed to rest the morning away.

After sharing a group of photos, I took my mug of coffee out on the front porch and enjoyed some quiet time — with my camera close by, of course.  Several hummingbirds eventually stopped by the feeder, but before they did I noticed one of them sitting in an opening of the branches of the nearby pine tree, enjoying the morning sun as it streamed in.  He sat there for at least ten minutes, which is the longest I think I’ve ever seen a  hummingbird sit in one place.  Today’s photo is one of several I took as he seemed to pose for me so I could photograph different views of it.  I don’t know about his day, but I know that mine always seems to go better if I can start the day with time soaking in the sun and the Son.

After spending some time photographing the flowers and hummingbirds, and resting in the sun and the Son, I went to work on another round of photos in what I’ve called the “Way UP North” trip.  Last Sunday I preached in Dowagiac, Michigan then drove the 7+ hours north to the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore area of the Upper Peninsula on Lake Superior.  Monday we spent the entire day sightseeing and Tuesday we headed back home with numerous stops along the way.  It was our first trip to the Upper Peninsula and I was captivated by its beauty and incredible variety of natural scenes to photograph.  I’ve already posted four groups of photos from the trip and those postings only take me through mid-day on Monday — I’m not sure yet how many groupings I will end up with by the time I’m done going through them, but it was not only fun to see the sights and take the photos, it is fun to share them.

I had no frozen hamburger patties and no hamburger thawed out, so lunch ended up being smoked pork chops and fresh sweet corn.  The afternoon was spent working on some of the photos from the morning and resting before sitting down to write today’s page.

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

• Rest is important, but so is taking time to reflect and remember.
• Sometimes we slip and fall and need others to help us up.  God’s Word says, “Pity the one who falls and has no one to help him up.”
• Sometimes we know why we fall and other times we find ourselves down on the ground with no idea how we got there.
• The how and why a person fell can be useful information, but it often isn’t nearly as important as being someone who helps them up and makes sure they are okay.
• It feels good to sit in the warmth of the morning sun.  It is even better to sit with the Son warming me from the inside out.
• It is possible to see a lot in a short amount of time when you focus on what you can get to rather than on what you can’t.
• Traditions can be good but that doesn’t mean something different can’t be good as well.
• There ought to be room in life to do new things without completely abandoning the old.

Sometimes a day has a moment or two that seem to define it — at least until you step back and consider the bigger picture of the day.  Page 223 was like that for me.  The day began early as I’m trying to get back into a school year routine.  Being a Friday, I knew it would be a long day so my plan was to take care of the early morning tasks then get most of the mowing done before taking an afternoon break prior to the evening tasks of getting the building cleaned and ready for Sunday.  The key words in that very long sentence are “my plan”.

The day began as expected with the early morning cleaning and picking up the trash left behind from the previous day.  Once the building was ready for the start of the school day, I turned my attention to a battery issue with our alarm system.  After leaving yet another message with the company that installed the system, and getting no response to any of the messages, I tracked down access to the alarm panel so I could get the details on the battery installed and begin the research to track down a replacement.  It didn’t take long to find a replacement that I could pick up locally by noon, so I ordered the battery then went out to begin the mowing for the day.

Mowing can be relaxing for me, but it can also be a time when I “think too much”.  With school back in session, I try to be more deliberate about where I’m mowing at any given time during the day.  My plan was to mow the outlying areas while school was in session, then mow around the building after school was out for the day.  I began in the ball field and noticed a deer standing in the back corner of the field where she could both watch me and have a quick escape into the woods if she felt threatened.  As I mowed, my mind wandered to how difficult it is being different.  I’ve always been different in a way that doesn’t fit most social models all that well.  Most of the time I’m okay with that, but every once in a while I think it might be nice to actually fit in and belong somewhere — then I remember the sacrifice of conviction that is generally required to do so, and I just can’t bring myself to accepting what I know is wrong just so I can fit in.  With more information readily available now than ever before, I have a better idea regarding the source of my being so different but that doesn’t usually answer the “why?”.  Most of the time I can see how God uses the differences in how my mind processes information to accomplish great things in spite of me, but I also know I carry with me the great pain of rejection often because I don’t have the ability to play the game of social acceptance.  Anyhow, this isn’t where I thought this page would go when I began the writing, so on with the day. 🙂

After getting the ball field mowed, it was time to go pick up the alarm system battery, as well as get fuel for the mower and lunch for me.  Once I was back from running errands, it was back on the mower for the afternoon.  As school was letting out for the day, I took a break and found a message on my answering machine about some options in servicing a piece of equipment that hasn’t been operating well.  After returning that call and ordering the parts we decided would be best for the situation, it was back out to finish the mowing around the building.  I’ve always enjoyed mowing and one of the reasons is the beautiful look that a freshly mowed lawn has.

This really has been a productive day and being reminded of that is one of the reasons that the writing of these pages is important to me.  Without the writing, it is the remainder of the day that tends to stick in my mind yet looking back it was such a small part of the day that it shouldn’t be given as much space in my mind as it wants to take up.  As I set about to begin my Friday evening cleaning and building prep for the weekend, I was warned not to be too shocked at what I would find in parts of the building — that the issues were being addressed and would be taken care of.  As the problems were described, it wasn’t what was actually done that caused my frustration level to rise, but the fact that people were so unwilling to listen and follow very simply and straight-forward instructions.  Anyhow, I knew it wouldn’t do me any good to start cleaning in the state of mind I was in, so I headed out to get some supper and spend some time away from the building to let my mind process the information in a way that would allow me to finish my work for the day.  After eating, I came back to an empty and secure building with lights left on — another one of those little pieces that wanted to define my day.  Even with frustration mounting, the work needed done so I set about taking care of my evening tasks and eventually had the cleaning done and the building ready for Sunday.  Just as in the mowing, there is great satisfaction to be had in looking at the completed task and taking in the sight and smell of freshly cleaned bathrooms and floors.

Today’s photo is one I took late Thursday night as a storm rolled by.  It made me think of the storms of life that I face and how dark they can appear until even a small amount of light illuminates everything.  The storms of life may be dark and powerful but the light of Jesus is brighter and even more powerful than the storms. 

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

• When I allow one event to define my entire day I typically have allowed the bigger picture of what God was doing throughout the day to be hidden, or even stolen, from me.
• It is good to have times to think and reflect.
• It is critical to take every thought captive during those times of thinking and reflecting.
• Sometimes being different is a good thing and sometimes it feels like a great burden.
• Being who God created you to be is more important than either being different or fitting in.
• Sometimes a battery has been drained and recharged so much that it no longer functions.  I suspect that we are a lot like that which is why God says that He will put within us a new heart and a new spirit.
• Visible results of work can be very encouraging, but faith is being able to see the results of God’s work even when they are not yet visible.
• I wonder how often my failure to follow simple instructions frustrates others . . . or frustrates God?
• The storms of life will come but the darkness never has the power to overcome the light.
• Even though my mind did not think so as the day ended, it was a very productive day.

Page 222 was a quiet day spent working on equipment maintenance and prayer retreat content ideas as I waited on follow-up from some service work.  As I headed out of the house for work, the moon was shining brightly in the early morning sky so I shot a few photos.  At work I checked on the progress of some maintenance parts I am waiting on and found that they still have not shipped.  I guess that comes from having equipment that is no longer “current model”, so the parts are not stocked at distributors to be able to send out right away and the manufacturers won’t sell them directly.  Sometimes we get so used to immediate access to everything that we want that we forget how to live with patience.  Many times we need to be reminded of the value of waiting — particularly waiting upon the Lord to not only learn from Him, but to be strengthened by Him.

As I worked in the office, I received a phone call from a service tech to let me know he was on his way to look at a piece of cleaning equipment I have that is not working properly.  So, I got the equipment out and ready for him to look at while I waited for him to arrive.  He was able to diagnose the problem, but had to check on part cost and availability when he got back to his office.  After taking care of some small projects in the building and checking on the programming for our HVAC system now that school has resumed, I spent the rest of the day working on prayer retreat content as I waited to learn the equipment repair options and timetable.  As the afternoon melted away with no call, I wrapped up my workday and headed home.

At home I spent more time working on more of the photos from our Upper Peninsula trip and then took my camera outside to try to photograph the hummingbirds.  I did manage a few photos, but they were hesitant to spend a lot of time at the feeder while I was nearby.  While I was watching for the hummingbirds, I took photos of the flowers around the front of the house.  Today’s photo is of one of the roses that are growing along the porch.  It serves as one of many reminders of God’s creativity and beauty that He continually surrounds us with.  Eventually I set the camera on video mode while I went in and ate lunch/dinner.  After I ate and checked on the video, I found that I did have one hummingbird stop by for a minute while I was away.  

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

• Even in the twilight of the early morning hours, God hangs reminders of His faithfulness in the sky to be seen by all who would pay attention.
• Patience is a trait that God wants us to learn, but few of us seem to desire it.
• In a society where it seems most things are disposable, we are often too quick to throw out things that still work well.
• Taking the time to maintain what we have is often more cost-effective in both time and money than constantly throwing out replacing.
• Most people seem to be enamored with the new but God calls for us to look for the ancient paths and seek the good ways that we would walk in them.
• The birds of the air seem to be more aware of potential danger than many people are.  We would do well to pay attention to the dangers of temptation that surround us.
• There is rarely a moment or place, if there is any at all, where we can’t find reminders of God’s beauty and creativity if we would only look for it.

The first hour and a half of page 221 was spent finishing the drive home from our Upper Peninsula trip and after a little unwinding, it was finally time to sleep.  Susan was going to need to sleep this morning, so I also slept in a little bit and did an afternoon and evening workday.  While Susan was sleeping, I started my way through the photos from our getaway.  I’ve not made it through all of them yet, but based on what I’ve gone through of them, we packed a lot into a few days — my truck computer says we traveled almost 1400 miles with a little over 26 hours of drive time in the three days we were gone.  We were on “roads” that we were doing good to travel at 5 miles per hour and roads with the speed limit of 75 miles an hour — each one had its purpose and added to the amazing trip.  Today’s photo is one from yesterday as the clouds began to gather over one of the lighthouses we visited.  It made me think of the need for a place of safety and refuge when the storms of life approach.  God has not only called His Son, Jesus, the light of the world, He also says we are to be the light of the world!  How much greater would our church families and communities be if each one of us was a visible beacon of hope and safety to those who find themselves in the midst of a storm?

I thought I would mow this afternoon when I got to work, but I got caught up in messages, maintenance research, and office tasks that kept me busy all afternoon.  All of the tasks seemed to involve things I was ordering or scheduling for later, so progress was made even though it didn’t feel like anything was completed.  By early evening, I went to get something to eat before finishing up my workday with the cleaning and prep so the building is ready for the start of school tomorrow.

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

• Some days spill over into the next before they’re done — those often have some of the best memories.
• Sacrificing some sleep for the purpose of making family memories is worth it.
• I’m thankful to have flexibility in the day in regard to what block of hours my workday entails.
• Having an abundance of time to see the beauty of creation that God has surrounded us with is nice, but it is also possible to take in some if it within a limited amount of time.
• We didn’t see everything there was to see, nor everything we would have liked to, but we saw a lot more than we would have if we had decided we didn’t have enough time to even try.
• Jesus is my lighthouse and refuge in times of trouble and in times of peace.
• God wants me to reflect His light to others in their times of trouble and peace as well.
• It is nice to have plans, but it is also good to recognize when things need done that are more important than our plans.

Page 217 has mostly been about rest.  I slept in a little while compared to my usual time to wake up and began the day with a cup of coffee and the writing of yesterday’s page.  That writing used a lot of words, so perhaps today’s page will be a bit shorter. 🙂  It usually takes a bit longer to write the day’s page when I wait until the next morning, so the morning was nearly over by the time I finished writing.  I spent a little time updating my online presence before Susan decided it was time for her to wake up.   Once she was awake and ready for the day, I went outside to see what I could photograph.  A few of the hummingbirds were out and fairly active, so I got some photos of them.  

By noon, it was time to fire up the pellet grill for the Saturday bacon cheeseburgers.  While I waited on it, I wandered the front yard taking pictures of the flowers.  Today’s photo caught my attention as the golden sunflower sat in beautiful contrast to the blue and white sky behind it.  As I was ready to take the picture, I noticed a bee coming in to see if there was some nectar it could collect.  I suspect that far too often we try so hard to blend in with our culture that the true beauty that God created us to have no longer stands out.  I know I don’t like to be noticed for being different, but I also recognize that it is through the unique way God has created me that I have the ability to do many of the things that help others see Him in me.  To hide those characteristics so that I fit in with others may be more acceptable, but it wouldn’t really bring the satisfaction of being who God created me to be.

After lunch, I played some computer games and eventually took a nap.  The rest felt good and helped me to focus on the sermon which has been simmering in my mind all day.  I’m privileged to be able to preach tomorrow morning at the North Wayne Mennonite Church and will  be sharing another sermon in a series on Living as the Lord’s Servant.  The message for tomorrow will look at the life of Barnabas and focus on “Serving with a GIVER”S Heart”.

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

• When you find yourself in need of physical rest, it is likely not the only type of rest you are short on.
• For me, writing is a good way to process a day’s activities as it often helps me to see more clearly what the day involved.
• Some parts of my memory tends to fade with the passing of time while other parts become more vivid.   I need to learn to hold onto the good parts and allow the troubling parts to fade.
• Some things look impossible, such as hummingbirds and bumblebees hovering in mid-air, but they are always possible when it is what God created them to do.
• God created us to shine like stars in a universe of darkness.  We cannot do that if we try to imitate the darkness.
• Being unique can be difficult and lonely but that isn’t nearly as tragic as not being who God created you to be
• God wants us to serve with a giver’s heart in all that we do.