Here are some thoughts, lessons, and/or reflections from the day:

• I suppose if the day had a theme, today’s theme was worship with a sub-theme of delight.
• Early in the day my mind was filled with the verse that says, “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.”
• I’ve not always received the desires of my heart, so I suspect I haven’t always found delight in the Lord as I should.
• If I truly delight in the Lord, I suspect the desires of my heart will be the things that He desires.
• As I watched some deer graze within arms reach of the road, I thought about how familiarity creates a comfortableness that is either a good thing or bad thing depending on what we are becoming comfortable with.
• In a culture where we go to great lengths to entertain ourselves, it is good to learn to delight in the simple things of life.
• I was eating lunch today when a group of young (early elementary age) boys came running around the corner into the area where I was seated and one remarked very loudly, “We can’t eat here, there’s no game room!” . . .  I guess I’ve been doing my eating all wrong.
• As I watched some deer graze in an open meadow with blue sky and mountains as their backdrop, I delighted in God’s creativity.
• As I sat in a church building with no sound system, no carpet, no heat, no bathrooms, and sparse furnishings consisting of a pulpit and wood benches, I delighted in a God that has called people to Himself to receive their worship in any and every setting they can find.
• As I walked uphill along a stream running downhill beside me, I delighted in the laughter of God that I could hear as the water tumbled over the boulder-strewn stream bed.
• As I made my return walk downhill along the same stream, I delighted in a God who calls me to come to Him for rest.
• As I watched a beautiful sunset that I couldn’t photograph because of all the trees in the way, I delighted in a God that designed an eye that can take in the full beauty of the sunset and filter out the distractions in a way no camera can.
• Today’s photo is the first one I shot today.  This scene was one of the things that made me think about the word delight as I went about my day.  The little dots in the meadow to the right (above my name) are a group of deer and a flock of wild turkeys.

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

• Today was a lot of road time.  Some times travel gets boring as everything begins to look the same and other times the scenery is fascinating.
• I notice more of the beauty of creation if I drive with the radio off.  I suppose my mind is free to take more in if it is quiet.
• As I began my journey with the sun rising over the eastern horizon, I found myself singing “Oh beautiful for spacious skies . . . “.  The snow covered fields bore no resemblance to “amber waves of grain”, but the song still became a prayer for God to bless America.
• The drive gave me a lot of time to think about how God is at work in my life because of His amazing grace.
• I think many Christians struggle with the tension between complete freedom in Christ and deliberate abuse of that freedom.  We know we can’t earn our salvation, but the idea of “continuing in sin so that grace may abound” doesn’t sound right either — because it isn’t.
• Figuring out the daily application of “all things are permissible, not all things are beneficial” should help us make choices that honor God.
• Grace really is a complete gift from God but it is not a gift that He forces on anyone — we must choose to accept it before it is ours.
• The words Jesus used most often about the religious leaders of the first century ought to challenge every believer to examine themselves carefully to see where their heart really is.
• It is a sobering thought to read that those responsible for leading God’s people were confronted by Jesus because it wasn’t bad enough they were not entering the kingdom of God but they were keeping the people from entering as well.
• It is very easy for me to become legalistic in my mind and then in my words and actions.  Being right isn’t bad until it is done in a way that keeps others from finding God’s righteousness revealed to them.
• It is usually not very safe to stop along an interstate highway to take photos, so most of today’s “photos” are only in my mind.
• The photo for today’s page is one of the only scene that I photographed today.  As I prepared to finish up the day, a sliver of moon appeared over the tree line, so I took a few photos of it.

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

• After a day and night with no new snow, I didn’t have any outside work that needed done to start my day.
• It is better to be prepared for something that doesn’t need done than to not be prepared for something that does.
• The sunshine yesterday melted a lot of the snow which is making the parking lot look better, but it also made it easier to track in so the morning cleaning continues to include extra attention to salt residue.
• My morning included extra cleaning and setup in preparation for a dinner at the building.  Flexibility and a good group of people working together goes a long way toward accomplishing good things.
• Even with the current warming trend, it is still cold outside and the heating system continued to need some attention.
• As we spend time with God, we ought to find growth within our spiritual life but that doesn’t mean we can quit giving it the attention it needs.
• As I prepare for a camp leaders conference, I spent part of the day working on prayer ministry flyers and boxing up the books I will be taking.  Having done inventory when I got back from the last conference helped make my preparation for this one easier.
• Knowing what we have makes it easier to realize what we still need.
• By late afternoon I finally found a stuck valve that I think was causing one area of the building to not warm up as it should have.
• Sometimes when the answer we’re looking for isn’t readily available, all we can do is keep seeking until we find.
• As I spent the evening cleaning the building to get it ready for Sunday, I prayed for those who would gather to study and worship God together.
• Today’s photo is of a little bird who spent a good amount of time just standing in the snow looking around.  

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

• I had a line from a song running through my head all day — “Yes, my heart will say!”
• It was a great reminder to worship God and love Him with my whole heart as each time the words came to mind I would consider what my heart would say to Him then.
• I can’t remember the rest of the song, but sometimes a single line is enough.
• As I worked on cleaning tracked in salt residue from floors, my heart was thankful for God’s continual work in cleansing me from all unrighteousness even though I still track dirt in from time to time.
• As I worked on heating system issues, my heart was filled with the warmth of God’s love that never ends.
• As I worked on prayer ministry material to share at a camp leaders conference, my heart praised God for giving me something worth sharing and for providing partners who help me share it.
• As I helped run a fire drill at the school, my heart was grateful that God has rescued me from eternal destruction.
• As I spent and evening with my family, I was thankful for God’s presence within each of us which brings joy to one another.
• As we sought out, found, and photographed a snowy owl, my heart rejoiced in the beauty of God’s creative handiwork.
• As I froze my fingers off photographing a Lake Michigan sunset, my heart was happy with God artistic presentation of a beautiful evening sky.
• As I went to bed with a page that had been lived but unwritten, my heart was thankful for an understanding God that delights in me even more than in what I do.
• Upon reflection, I think the song was about never being alone . . . I guess when I consider what my heart will say to God, I really am never lone.
• Today’s photo is one of the final ones I took for the day as I stood in the bitterly cold wind admiring the beauty set before me.  And yes, my heart will say, “God, you are my light and my salvation.  Of whom shall I be afraid?”.

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

• The overnight snowfall was very light so there wasn’t a lot of work I needed to do outside this morning.  That suited me just fine as it was very cold.
• The ice melt residue does a good job of keeping the walks clear, but it’s not so good at staying outside.
• The floors needed extra attention this morning but by the time I left at the end of the day it didn’t look like I had done anything to them.
• Just because the things we do don’t seem to last as long as we would like doesn’t mean they aren’t worth doing.
• I am thankful that God’s mercies are new each morning . . . we would all be in trouble if He decided He was tired of cleaning.
• Once the building was ready, my workday consisted of maintenance issues, research, and continued prep for the prayer ministry representation at the Christian Camp Leaders Conference.
• God’s timing is always right.  I had two “random” messages today from people who wanted to let me know they were encouraged by things I had shared with them at a conference during the past year.
• By the time the day was done, I had registered to have a prayer ministry display at three additional camp conferences and a Christian convention.
• The sun eventually made an appearance after being hidden by clouds for several days in a row . . . that made it look nice outside even though the temperature hasn’t warmed up much yet.
• By early afternoon the sun had drawn a few birds out to brave the frigid cold in a search for food.
• With the sun out, we decided to take a family excursion to search for snowy owls after work.
• We didn’t find any owls, but we were able to photograph a couple deer out in a meadow and an amazing sunset over Lake Michigan.
• Sometimes we miss incredible things simply because they weren’t what we were looking for.
• I find greater enjoyment in life if I keep my eyes open to what God is doing even if it is different from what I’m looking for Him to do.
• Today’s photo is of one of my afternoon visitors at work.  I guess he was cleaning house as he would completely disappear inside the tree and then keep popping out to discard wood chips and stuff from inside.

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

• With yesterday’s snow to take care of, today began very early under a partly cloudy sky with a scattering of stars shining brightly through the crisp, cold air.
• It is difficult to dress appropriately for outside work.  Too many layers and too much activity results in too much warmth . . . not enough layers and not enough activity results in uncomfortable coldness.  I’ve learned to make adjustments in layers and/or activity as I go.
• Life is a lot like that.  A lot of factors we have no control over, but there are things we can usually adjust as we go in order to be more effective.
• If we don’t make adjustments that continually align us with God, we will find ourselves in the extremes of life more often than not.
• While a day often doesn’t sound like much time when it comes to time off work, it is amazing what can be done with that time if you want make the most of it.
• Our little Starved Rock excursion over Martin Luther King, Jr day was 31 hours from the time we left home to the time we were back home.  The photos we brought back tell a wonderful story of family time in the midst of God’s beautiful creation.
• I’m pretty sure God loves it when we are able to draw away from the regular distractions of life to spend extended time with Him, but I’m also confident He longs for us to make the most of the moments we have to revel in His presence.
• Once the building was ready for the day (inside and out), I spent the morning with God working on the next prayer guide.  We ended up with the topic of “precious things”.
• The Bible talks about a variety of things which are precious . . . we would do well to make those things precious to us as well.
• There were a lot of tasks mixed in with my prayer guide writing today but God kept them from becoming distractions as I went back and forth between projects.
• I can’t always control the things which may distract me, but I can usually decide how distracting I allow them to become.
• I suppose it was too cold, but I had no wildlife visitors show up at my office window today and didn’t get anywhere to take any new photos.
• Today’s photo is one from yesterday as I found several waterfalls after misunderstanding which stairs my wife meant when she said, “look the other way at the bottom of the stairs.”  This one was the tallest of the waterfalls and only partially frozen.

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

• With a day off for Martin Luther King Jr Day, we took a brief excursion to Starved Rock State Park in Illinois to watch and photograph bald eagles.
• Six inches of snow overnight made for a beautiful walk first thing in the morning.
• I guess I ended the day in the hole . . . my Garmin says I climbed 58 flights of stairs during the day and descended 67 flights.  Not sure how that figures.
• For me, going down stairs takes much less effort than going up.
• Making the effort to climb the stairs took me to higher ground where my view was greatly improved.
• Our journey through life will require more work if we are to walk on higher ground but the eternal views will be worth it.
• You can’t walk through fresh snow without leaving a trail.
• The trail we leave in life will lead those who follow it to wherever we are headed.  Where are you going?
• The eagles flock to locations such as Starved Rock because the dam across the river keeps an area of open water all winter where they can fish.  Do you and I go out of our way, if necessary, to make sure we are being fed through God’s Word?
• While the snow provides an element of beauty to a bleak landscape, it can also hide a dangerous layer of ice that could make us fall.  
• Not everything is at it appears.  What looks good on the surface may actually be covering something dangerous that could lead to our downfall.
• God says to “test the spirits” so we would reject what is evil and cling to what is good.  I believe the “testing” he wants us to do is more than just a casual glance at what things look like on the surface.
• We saw several frozen waterfalls . . . at least they looked frozen from a distance.  While they appeared to be solid ice, and one of them even had people climbing it, when you were close you could hear the water still running through it.
• What’s running inside a person may not be obvious if you only look at the hardness of what is outside.
• Today’s photo is of one of the many staircases I ascended and descended throughout the day as the park was full of canyons and overlooks.

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

• I woke up early to find Susan had wandered upstairs after having a seizure. It was too early to head to work, so once she was resettled I went back to sleep.
• There was a sliver of the moon visible as I headed into clear the walks to start my day. It was a beautiful sight and the “unlit” portion was also visible in a shadowy kind of way.
• Somehow I had sent this week’s prayer guide to the office with last week’s prayer points so I had to print new copies this morning and put them in the bulletins after taking the incorrect ones out.
• In our church gathering this morning David shared a message from the series he is preaching from the book of Acts. Today’s topic was about not giving up because God is with us.
• God’s presence gives us His provision.
• God’s presence gives us His protection.
• God’s presence gives us everything.
• As I prepared to spend time with my family today, I thought about all the years I squeezed every last cent out of each dime we had because it always seemed like money was in short supply.
• I’m not sure which happened first but it seems like the more I have opened my hands, the more that I have found in them.
• We headed out today in search of eagles and a visit to Starved Rock State Park allowed us to find quite a few of them.
• Today’s photo is a collection of three photos I took of the bald eagles. They are sure beautiful and majestic to watch.

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