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

• I was up early to take care of the overnight snow at work.
• Before I left the house, Susan woke up long enough to smile and tell me she felt better today.
• The snow wasn’t very deep so I thought I could run the snow shovel down the walks to clear them for the day.  The snow was wet and heavy so the shoveling was taking more work than I expected so I got out the snowblower and made easy work of the task.
• Once the walks were cleared and I had put down some ice melt, I headed to Dowagiac to preach at the North Wayne Mennonite Church.
• With the major roads typically a mess following a snow, I headed cross country as I rerouted my trip on secondary roads.
• With the warmer weather, the wet heavy snow flocked all the trees along my drive and created a beautiful winter scene.
• The sermon I shared this morning was about the desire of our heart that comes from delighting ourselves in the Lord.
• Here are the major points from the sermon:
  • The Direction of your heart — Our delight in the Lord ought to set the direction our heart takes.  When our heart’s direction lines up with the direction that leads to God, we find our delight in the Lord bears much fruit.
  • The Expressions of your heart — Jesus said that it is out of the overflow of our heart that the mouth speaks.  Our delight in the Lord gives us an expression of the heart that reveals Jesus to the people around us.
  • The Surrender of your heart — When we delight in the Lord we find that the surrender of our heart is a natural result.  God wants each of us to return to Him, but He wants us to do it with a surrendered heart that recognizes His authority over all things.
  • The Inclination of  your heart — Because God has formed each of us as unique people in His image, we find that the very inclinations of our heart are realized when we delight in the Lord.  While God has inclined our hearts toward a pursuit of Him, there are also individual inclinations that He puts within us so that together we can accomplish all that He has designed His body to do.
  • The Rejoicing of  your heart — When Paul writes to the Philippians with the command to rejoice always, he is making it clear that the rejoicing of the heart is a deliberate decision we must make.  Our delight in the Lord should fill us with a rejoicing of the heart because of God’s presence within us.
  • The Endurance of your heart — Life can be hard.  In fact, Jesus made it clear that in this world we would have trouble.  The good news is that He set the example for endurance of the heart as we read that “for the joy set before Him, He endured the cross.”  As we delight in the Lord, we gain a perspective that is more eternal than temporary.  This view of the joy set before us ought to fill us with a faithfulness to God that helps us to endure to the end.
• After the church service I took a detour by Lake Michigan to see what I could find to photograph.  The forecast was for high winds but the frozen slush of the water around the lighthouse kept the waves from crashing over the piers and lighthouse.
• Today’s photo is of a wind created sand art composition that caught my eye on the beach.  The combination of sand, snow, and wind created a work of art that was continually changing.

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

• The written part of today’s page will likely be rather short even though the living part of it has been a long one.
• Sometimes circumstances happen which consume more time, energy, and focus than it would visibly appear that they should.
• After a long and productive Friday, today began sometime around 3 AM as I sat up with Susan through a seizure she was having.
• After we all got back to sleep, there was a repeat episode around 8 AM which got us all up and then a lengthier episode after lunch.
• In between all that, I wrote yesterday’s page and went through the photos I took yesterday.
• Other than that, it has been a rather lazy laid back day filled with rest and sermon refining.
• With fewer things to write about, or a mind too tired to let them come out, I’ll add a few extra photos from yesterday and let them contribute a few “thousand words”.

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

• After working both ends of the day, I’m writing this the next morning.  Sometimes it is easier to write while the day is fresh in my mind and other times it is more helpful to get some sleep first so my thoughts might be a little more coherent. 🙂
• It has snowed overnight, so the first task on my agenda at work was to clear the walks.  It was a light snow so I used the leaf blower which tends to be quicker but also leaves me looking like a snowman.
• While the coffee probably should have been my first task, it sure was good to make a fresh, hot mug of it when I came in from blowing snow.
• Sometimes things in life take longer because we don’t want to get any residue of that part of life on us.
• There are times we ought to be more careful about the things we do that leave their mark on us and there are times we should be more engaged in our efforts without worrying so much about what might get on us.  Seeking wisdom from God is often the only way to know which approach a particular situation needs.
• Our involvement in the messiness of life also depends on our preparation for it.  I could clear the walks in the manner I did because I was dressed appropriately for doing so.
• After warming up a bit with a mug of coffee, I turned my attention to the morning routine of prayer, cleaning, and building prep.
• When I teach about developing a lifestyle of prayer, routine is one of the things we talk about — the necessity of developing a routine that makes prayer in all situations a natural thing without it becoming an empty routine.
• The rest of my first shift was spent with writing and sermon prep.  If the desires of my heart are not changing as I grow in my relationship with God, something is wrong.
• Eventually the Friday afternoon activity in the building made me decide I needed a break, so I bundled up in all my snow-blowing gear and headed to the beach to take photos. 🙂
• I have seen photos throughout the week from the lakefront in St Joseph, Michigan of a snowy owl, so I went with hopes I could find it.
• I haven’t made it through the photos yet, but I think I have some good photos of the lighthouses and lake but no snowy owl there.
• After my fingers and nose were frozen, I gave up and headed home by way of an area where we have seen a snowy owl in the past.  No sightings in some of her usual areas but as I pulled up to the intersection to turn and leave the area, I looked up and she was sitting on the telephone pole directly in front of me!
• When out photographing, I don’t always find what I’m looking for but I don’t think I’ve ever returned without finding something to take a picture of.  
• After my snowy owl encounter, I headed back to work to begin the Friday evening cleaning and building prep for Sunday.
• Having an empty building to myself after dark can be somewhat peaceful . . . at least it could be if the building didn’t make so many sounds at night.  🙂
• I guess the random building noises keeps me focused on praying as I go about my tasks. 
• Today’s photo is of the snowy owl I found on top of the telephone pole.  The sun was rather low in the sky and she was facing me in a way that the sun reflected off of one eye while the other was in the shadows.  It made me think of how our life ought to sparkle with the reflection of Jesus when we live life facing Him.

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

• I think I’m trying really hard not to get sick.  I was awake before the alarm went off but wasn’t too eager to get up and get moving.
• After a couple rounds on the snooze button I decided the work wasn’t going to do itself, so I got myself around to start the day.
• It was a very hazy morning and the vibrant detail of yesterday’s full moon had been replaced by the soft glow of muted moonlight.
• As I went about the morning cleaning and building prep, my prayer time was focused on the sermon for Sunday, which is planned to be about our heart’s desire.
• The wind has been fierce and the temperature has been dropping all day, but I had a pair of cardinals stop by for about fifteen minutes mid-morning.  They plucked a few of the remaining berries but didn’t seem interested in staying around any longer than they had to.
• Sometimes uncomfortable conditions can help us refine, and define, what is really important and even make us more efficient at doing what needs to be done.
• Even with not wanting to get up, the day began early so by early afternoon it was time to shift from workday tasks to some daddy/daughter time.
• While Susan likes to eat just about anywhere that she can get pop, Long John Silver’s is one of her favorite places when it is just the two of us so that’s where we headed.
• We don’t really go there that often, but the workers always recognize her and are happy to see her smiling face.  Perhaps each of us would do well to consider what kind of impression we give people who we interact with whether occasionally or regularly. 
• After lunch we drove down to Potato Creek to look of photo opportunities.  The wind was cold and cut through the layers of clothing I had on, so I didn’t spend much time outside and Susan stayed in the warmth of the truck.
• Today’s photo is of a pair of ducks we saw out swimming in the little bit of open water that is still present on the lake.  Susan didn’t want to swim, she said the water would be very cold, but the ducks didn’t seem to mind.

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

• I headed to work early under a cloud-filled sky with no sign of the “super, blue, blood moon that was supposed to be experiencing an eclipse this morning.
• The works of God are rarely as predictable as we would like — they may be taking place, but that doesn’t mean that we will always be able to see them when we want.
• As I did my morning prayer, cleaning and building prep routine I thought about the mysteries of God and how amazing it is that He chooses to occasionally give us a glimpse into some of them.
• Once the building was ready for the day, I took the trash out and discovered the cloud cover had broken up and the lunar eclipse was taking place.  I got my camera and took a few photos before it disappeared behind the tree line and into another bank of clouds.
• I had a tire on my truck that had issues and was no longer round which made it feel like my truck was hopping along when I drove.
• Sometimes when our life is out of balance, we are able to keep going but our journey isn’t as smooth as it ought to be.
• I dropped the truck off to get new tires put on and returned to work where I continued the writing of the next prayer-based devotional journals I am working on.
• Part of today’s writing focused on serving with humility.  I’m pretty sure there is an element of redundancy in those terms as godly service will not take place without humility and godly humility will lead us to serve.
• By early afternoon I was able to pick up my truck and it was nice to drive it with the new tires and not have it hop along.
• At home, I took care of some online updates and ordered a photo print for my mom before arranging to have dinner with my parents this evening.
• Today’s photo was taken as I was working in the office this morning.  Out of the corner of my eye I noticed a flash of red and upon closer examination I found this woodpecker poking his head out of a hole he had made in the tree.
• I also added a bonus photo that is a combination of several of the lunar eclipse photos I took this morning. 🙂

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

• I was awake shortly before the alarm once again, but this time the alarm was the sound of Susan having a seizure.  The up and down weather always seems to increase her seizure activity.
• A lack of consistency in our time with God can make us more susceptible to what I would call “spiritual seizure activity” — where our connection with God short-circuits for a time.
• Just about everyone I know deals with something that they would rather not experience if they had a choice.  How we handle those things says a lot about who we really are.
• The building prep and cleaning were fairly routine this morning . . . so much so that when I was done I had to go back and check on something that I didn’t remember doing — I had.
• Routines are good when they keep us doing the things we ought, even if we don’t always remember doing them.
• I did some more work today in the next volume of “Devotions For Those Who Serve”.  Today’s writing was about serving with favor — both in extending favor to others and in serving with God’s favor.
• I had lunch with a friend and we talked about unity.  True God-inspired unity has to be more than just everyone doing the same thing as we each have different gifting from God and different callings in how to use them.
• I spent the afternoon at the hospital.  I’m okay, but my brother was having hip surgery.
• I have learned I need to eat before I make a hospital visit, so going after lunch was a good thing.  If I don’t eat, I am very likely to pass out — not a good thing when the visitor trying to encourage a family passes out at the sight of the patient. 🙂
• As I left the hospital, the moon had begun to rise in the eastern sky and was coming in and out of some scattered cloud cover but it was visible enough to catch my attention.
• Even when Jesus isn’t fully visible in our life, there ought to be enough of Him seen that it gets the attention of the people around us.
• Today’s photo is one I took this evening as the moon broke free of the clouds and I had to stop halfway home so I could take some photos.

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

• I was awake well ahead of the alarm, so I decided to get up and get my workday started early.  Our pest control service had been rescheduled for today so I didn’t want to try to go back to sleep and risk sleeping through the alarm.
• As the pest control tech was doing his thing, I thought about the spiritual pests that do their best to infiltrate our lives.
• While some pests are more difficult to get rid of than others, none of them are a simple one-time removal process.  They all require some degree of diligence in keeping ahead of their continued efforts to return.  I don’t know about you, but the spiritual pests are just like that in my life.
• Once the building was ready for the day, it was time to settle in with God to write the prayer guide for next week.
• This week’s prayer guide is about the delight we ought to have in the Lord, so to finish out the second half of Psalm 37:4 the next prayer guide will be about the desires of our heart.
• As I worked, I had a salesman stop by to talk to me about building services his company provides.  I’m not in the market for any new service providers but we had some great ministry conversations as he not only works in the service industry, but is a pastor at a church.
• I’m not a fan of interruptions, but sometimes the purpose and benefit of them is more obvious than others, at least to me — God always knows what I need even if I think I need something else.
• The morning was gone by the time I finished writing the prayer guide and turned my attention to formatting and scheduling it to be published Sunday, but it was a morning well spent.
• The afternoon was a combination of errands as I had a faulty computer to ship back for repair/replacement and I needed to pick up some cleaning supplies for work.
• Sometimes things need more expertise than what I can provide or have the time to give, so I turn to those who made it to begin with. 
• We could live life more fully if we were more inclined to turn to the One who made us rather than trying to do everything in our own wisdom and power.
• Today’s photo was taken during a brief visit by this beautiful cardinal this morning as the snow fell lightly around him.