Page 26 began early as I needed to pack up my display, and my clothes, before breakfast so I could begin the trip home after I ate.  As I made a final check of the room, the sun had begun to illuminate the clouds that were hovering over the mountains.  It was raining when I went to bed last night, so this view was a pleasant surprise this morning.  This is one of the reasons why I try to keep a camera out and handy as much as possible as I was able to shoot a few photos of the beautiful morning sky.  

I love representing the prayer ministry at conferences and find that the opportunity to share about the privilege of prayer has a way of refreshing my spirit even as I pray that it refreshes those who hear what I share.  I guess I’m getting old though, as the long days and short nights catch up with me more quickly than they used to.  As I chatted with some camp leaders around the breakfast table, I was reminded of how God weaves together the fabric of our life in a way that includes the lives of others.  God uses the people around us to add value to our life and he uses us to add value to theirs. 

Once breakfast was finished, the conversations concluded, and the final display items loaded into the truck, I was ready to begin the drive home.  I was making a detour to pick up my father-in-law, so I left before the closing conference session so I could get home at a somewhat reasonable time.  The mix of sun and clouds added great beauty as I drove and could see the shadows of the clouds dancing across the hills and mountains as I drove through Tennessee and into Kentucky.  I spent part of the drive listening to worship music and part of the drive with the radio off as I enjoyed the quiet time with God.

About mid-way through the drive home, the sun part of the mix disappeared and was replaced by very light freezing precipitation that seemed to be trying to snow.  As we drove up through Indiana, the precipitation became more consistent until it finally turned into brief periods of heavy snow squalls.  The air temp was hovering at the freezing mark but the roadways were still warm enough that the snow did not cause any driving difficulties.  Finally, after eleven hours on the road, I made it home where I’m trying to unwind by writing today’s page so I can get some sleep.

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

• While I enjoy traveling to represent Impact Prayer Ministry, there is still no place like home.
• Everything we do on this earth has a beginning and an end.  How we finish a task generally says more about us than how we begin.
• The only thing we have which is eternal is the life we have in Christ.
• God brings people into our life, and us into theirs, so that each of us would be made complete and mature as we use our God-given gifts and abilities to encourage and equip one another.
• It is difficult to write about meaningful lessons learned when the mind is in a tired fog. 🙂

The long days have made for restless nights for some reason.  Most of the time long days make me tired enough that I sleep really well, but not at this conference.  Page 25 began early as I seem to be locked into a sleep pattern that includes a 5:30 wake-up time.  Usually when I know I don’t have to be up that early, I can go back to sleep rather quickly.  After trying that to no avail, I got up and set out for an early morning drive up the mountain where I hoped to be able to watch the sunrise as I spent some quiet time with God.  As I drove, I caught a glimpse of the moon which had just a sliver of it illuminated but as it was rising just ahead of the sun, the light was reflecting back to the dark part of the moon so that even it was visible.  It was still dark when I arrived at the top of the mountain, so I took a few photos of the moon while I waited for the sun to begin adding color to the sky.  As the sunrise began, I set up one camera on a tripod with a time-lapse setting where it would take a photo every five seconds and combine them into a video.  I used my other camera to keep snapping shots that would catch my eye as the sun made its way up over the horizon.  Today’s photo is one that was away from the actual sunrise but still contained some of the sunrise colors and the beauty of the mountains waking up for the day.  

Once the sun was up, I headed back down the mountain for breakfast to start the conference day.  The morning was spent at my display table talking with people about the prayer ministry and the resources that were available for them to use.  Much of the afternoon was a block of free time, so I joined a group that was headed out for a hike.  It ended up being a nice walk through the woods to the base of a waterfall that was pretty impressive considering how little effort it took to get to it.  When we got back to the hotel after the hike, I had time to clean up a little bit and then joined a group for dinner before the evening conference session.  Tonight the singing part of our worship seemed to be focused on us blessing God and the message was about understanding and overcoming frustration.  Many times frustration settles into our life because we have expectations that are not being met.  It doesn’t matter much if those expectations are realistic or not, if what we expect doesn’t come to be we tend to get frustrated.  It is through examining our frustration enough to understand the expectations, that we are able to overcome the expectations that don’t match with God’s.

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

• Restless nights are good times to talk with God.  I believe that sometimes God stirs my spirit to be restless because I need to talk with Him and there are times it is restless for other reasons but talking with God helps to calm those too.
• Darkness cannot overcome the light.  In God’s presence, even the darkness becomes light.
• God has gifted people with some incredible abilities that are being used for His glory.
• Most people don’t realize how incredible their gifting is nor how much God is using it for His purposes.
• It is fun to have opportunities to watch people catch a glimpse of what God may be wanting to do in their life as I tell my story and give God the credit.
• Sometimes even an introvert to the nth degree enjoys being with people when he can interact on his own terms. 🙂
• God wants our life to bless Him, and in so doing to be a blessing to others.
• When frustration begins to settle, we need to ask what it was we were expecting and why.

Page 24 has been a full day of representing the prayer ministry at the Christian Camp Leaders Conference.  I managed a few photos from my hotel balcony as the sun was rising this morning, although the clouds were so thick to start the day that it was more of a gradual illumination than a sunrise.  After that I was busy pretty much non-stop until a short break just before dinner when I was able to go outside and shoot some photos of the sunset as the sky had cleared throughout the day.  Today’s photo is one of those sunset photos a pavilion on the hotel property.  Just over the hill to the right is the burned out remains of a building that was destroyed by the fire that swept through the area late last year.  While this pavilion survived, the hotel staff said there were a number of rocking chairs on it that were severely damaged by the heat of the fire as it swept past.

A big part of my day was spent talking with people about pursuing God through a lifestyle of prayer.  Many times we want to feel a greater knowledge of God’s presence in our life but we fail to make spending time with Him a priority.  We often begin a greater pursuit of God with a conviction to pray more but soon give up on that when we don’t immediately receive the answers we had already decided were acceptable.  Unfortunately, when we begin a conversation with God with the acceptable answers already in our mind, that’s not prayer.

Not only did I get to talk to people about the gifting God has put within my life that allows me to preach, teach, and write, I was able to share some of that gifting with others as they picked up copies of the books and printed resources I have with me.  After dinner we gathered for a time of worship and a message from God’s Word as we were challenged to not only learn from our times of waiting, but to respond to those times with thanksgiving as we trust God.

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

• The sun rises each day and even when it can’t be directly seen, it illuminates the day in a way that we know its presence exists.
• We ought to live life in such a way that even if people can’t directly see Jesus in us, our life illuminates their day in such a way that they know He exists.
• God has given each of us a life story and desires that we find ways to tell our story and give Him the credit.
• Fire can destroy but it also can purify.  The result depends mostly on what you’re made of.
• Waiting often seems like a waste of time to most people, but it is in the waiting that God often reveals to us just what it is we have inside.

With a bright, sunny day yesterday when the forecast was for rain, I guess it was only fitting that today’s forecast of rain ending by 8:00 AM ended up being rain all day.  I began the day trying to get a handout printed for the conference.  I went online to see if I could submit a file to a local store and pick up the copies this morning.  I found a national chain that I’ve used in the past for printing but when I submitted my file and request for 50 two-sided copies, it said I could pick them up anytime after noon on Wednesday!  That wasn’t going to be helpful, so I canceled the order and headed down to the lobby to get breakfast to start the day.  After breakfast I packed my things for the move to the conference hotel and then drove a block to the copy store to see if Wednesday really was the soonest they could print my file.  They didn’t have much good to say about the online interface and had my print job done within 10 minutes.  

It was still raining lightly when I left the store but since I expected it to end soon, I headed into the park to do a little hiking before I needed to set up the prayer ministry display.  I had mapped out a trail loop of just under six miles that included at least one waterfall but some of the reviews described the waterfall as “so-so”.  When I reached the trail head, it was still raining but I decided that would just increase the beauty and flow of the waterfall so I put on my rain jacket and headed down the trail.  I soon discovered that when it rains in the mountains, nearly every hillside has a waterfall flowing down it somewhere — including down the hillside trails. 🙂  While many of them were in the midst of the forest with little opportunity to photograph them, the beauty of all the flowing waterfalls was amazing.  About midway into my hike, I reached the named waterfall that was the reason for my choosing this trail.  Sure enough, the rain had amply supplied it with water and it was well worth the hike to see it.

The parking for the trail head of this hike was in the midst of what used to be a community of homes and cottages along the river.  Today’s photo is of one of those homes that has been left to deteriorate after being bought to become part of the park property.  Some of the homes in one area have had some measure of preservation done in an attempt to portray to visitors a few of life from a generation or two ago.  But many of them are being left to die of natural causes as the roofs begin to cave in and the walls collapse.  This one caught my eye because it appeared as if it would have been a very nice home/cabin when it was built and being used.  The other side would have been the front and there was still evidence of a very nice stonework arch, sidewalk, and entryway leading up to the house.  I love the park and think it is a valuable asset to our country but I also feel bad for the people who had to sell their family property  because the park wanted it.  

After finishing the hike, I drove up the mountain to view more of the rainy day beauty from the dry inside of my truck.  After about 45 minutes of the heater blowing through the vents directly on me, my shirt was finally dry enough that I was comfortable again.  The rest of the day was spent setting up the display for the conference and then attending the opening night activities before unwinding with some time in the hot tub.

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

• You shouldn’t believe everything you read online.  Go to the source and see if what is being said is both true and in context.
• Sometimes you have to step outside of your comfort zone in order to get things done.
• They say that “into every life some rain must fall”, so I guess we better learn to enjoy what the rain produces.
• My endurance level seems to be proportional to my enjoyment level — and vice versa.
• Letting go of things for our own good can be difficult.  Letting go of them for the good of others often takes the difficulty to a whole new level.
• It is good to have the opportunity to share what God has given.

Page 22 was a day of prayer and worship as I spent time with God on some trails in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  When I woke up, the forecast was calling for one hundred percent chance of rain so I decided I to head over to Cades Cove where I could spend time in one of the old church buildings reading scripture, praying, and singing songs of praise.  I also packed some rain gear and decided I would brave the elements in order to get some photos and since waterfalls were one of the themes for the day, a little rain ought to help. 🙂  

As I reached the Cove, the heavy cloud cover had disappeared overhead but it looked like it was raining in the mountains.  I stopped and spent some time at one of the old church buildings along the roadway and spent some time in worship and prayer.  One of the reasons I conference location early when I can, is so I can spend time praying for those who will be attending.  When I reached the trailhead for a waterfall hike I planned on taking, it still looked like rain over the mountains but the sky was clear where I was.  Since I was prepared for the rain, I set out on what was a six mile round trip hike.  The sun stayed out for the entire hike and I found myself shedding the rain gear rather quickly.  Today’s photo was taken as I headed back to the truck with the sun filtering brightly through the trees onto the trail.  There were a few people using the trails, but for the most part I had them to myself and could softly sing songs of praise without frightening people.  

After finishing that hike, I snacked on some Subway cookies from last night’s meal as I set out in search of additional waterfalls.  There were several visible from the road and with the apparent rain that had fallen over the mountains earlier, the water was flowing quite well.  As I would stop and take pictures, I would keep checking to see if I had cell phone service.  After photographing the final waterfall that my map showed was visible from the road, I headed to the visitors center to see if I could use my phone there.  As it turned out, when I went to get my phone out of its holster, it wasn’t there!  The last place I had checked for signal was six miles back, so I headed back to see if by chance it was still laying next to where I had parked the truck.  No such luck, but I had taken a short hike along the river from that spot so I began to retrace my path.  I was almost back to the truck without finding it, so I asked God to help me see it if it was out there.  After praying, I took one step and it was right there face down in front of me!  The park was busy today.  I don’t know why I found it nearly half an hour after I dropped it.  I’ve prayed more earnestly about things of greater value that have been lost, without ever finding them or having them restored, so I don’t know why my prayer was answered the way it was today but I am thankful that it was.

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

• It’s good to consider “what might be” until it keeps us from doing “what could be”.
• Dressing to go hiking on a cool, rainy day doesn’t look the same as what is needed to go hiking on a warm, sunny day.
• Being aware of our changing surroundings can help us be appropriate in what we do and say.
• I hiked over 10 miles today because I love photographing waterfalls.  How far will I, do I, hike because I love people?
• Prayer is powerful and effective.  While it is easier to say that when we get the answer we want, it is just as true when the answer isn’t what we want.
• Oh, the one hundred percent chance of rain did come.  I came off the final trail for the day a little after 5:30 this evening and as I drove away it began raining within five minutes.

Page 21 has been a full day, although not exactly what I would call a busy day.  Representing the prayer ministry at conferences always makes me some strange mix of excited, nervous, and anxious.  Excited because I get to share with people what I believe are incredibly useful tools that God has graciously gifted me with the ability to produce.  Nervous because it means I am interacting with people and I have to trust God to carry me through my fear of people.  Anxious because I worry far too much about what people will think about the books I have written and the ministry God has called me to do.

Anyhow, that mix of feelings has led to some restless nights and last night was another one of them.  I was up early so I finished packing the things I will need and hit the road to begin my journey to the Christian Camp Leaders Conference.  About an hour into the drive, the sun began to light up the eastern horizon in a way that I haven’t seen for nearly a week.  Not that the sunrise was more extra-ordinary than usual, just that we’ve been under such heavy cloud cover that there hasn’t been a visible sunrise for a while.  I stopped along the road to take a few pictures, but knew I had to keep moving if I wanted to reach my destination at a reasonable time.  

The beauty of the sunrise disappeared quickly as the cloud cover returned and remained through much of the day.  As I neared my destination, the sun finally began to break through the clouds again and as I fought with the glare through the windshield, I realized how helpful the clouds had been all day.  After checking into the hotel, I drove into the park to try to catch a sunset from the mountains.  While it sounds like a good plan, mountains tend to make sunsets difficult to capture as the sun often disappears behind a mountain peak long before it actually sets.  On the way, I went through a lot of the area where fire had swept through the hills late last fall.  Today’s photo is of a hillside that had been burnt with the ground the trees are growing on remaining bare.  Much of the areas that are not so densely shaded have vibrant green growth that hides the evidence of the ash underneath.  Even with the noticeable fire damage, the beauty of the mountains is breathtaking.  

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

• At least for me, many emotions are closer to each other than one might initially think they would be.
• Identifying the emotions we are feeling, and the reasons why we are experiencing them, can be helpful in our mastering them rather than them mastering us.
• The way things make us feel doesn’t catch God by surprise.  Even the way we react to our feelings doesn’t surprise Him but if we go to Him with them first, He may have a response for us to choose that is better than our initial reaction would be.  (Be angry, but do not sin.)
• God often gives us things that we don’t know we need and since we weren’t looking for them, our gratitude isn’t what it should be.  (I didn’t know the cloudy day was actually a benefit until they went away and I had to fight the glare for the last part of my drive.  I thanked God for the clouds.)
• We may feel like we have crashed and burned in life but God has the ability to cause new growth to rise up through the ashes.

Page 20 is going to end up being a long day.  My workday began at 6 this morning and I’ve not yet left the building all day.  I probably have a couple more hours of work to complete before the building is ready for Sunday but it was time for a break from cleaning so I could do some writing.  The day began in a similar fashion to how it’s ending, with a good amount of cleaning and taking out trash.  Once the building was ready for the day, I reformatted a missions report so it could go in the church bulletin on Sunday then made the mistake of checking my social media accounts.  I’m not really sure it was a mistake as it gave me plenty to pray about throughout the day, but it was very difficult to resist the temptation to respond to some of what I read.

With an upcoming conference schedule that will disrupt my normal routine, I decided to move on from the social media postings and spend some time with God working on a prayer guide for the week following next week.  As I prayed, my mind could not avoid the events of the day and the strong reaction to the inauguration from people both for and against who is now the current president.  Each side seemed to be online trying to shout louder than the other.  And because the vast majority of my social media friends are Christian, the arguments soon descended into accusations that the opposing viewpoint could never come from someone who was actually a Christian.  In the midst of my time with God working on a prayer guide, I was reminded of God’s instruction that we pray in all ways possible for everyone with a specific mention of leaders in authority.  The purpose of this instruction is so we can live “peaceful and quiet lives” with the desire that all people would come to know the truth regarding God and His Son, Jesus.  

So, out of my prayer time came a prayer guide based around this instruction that Paul wrote to Timothy, and to us.  Because of the timeliness of it, I rescheduled the one I originally wrote for next week to go out the following week and scheduled this new one to be published Sunday.  I pray that it will help each of us step back and consider the uniqueness of each of our brothers and sisters as we pray for them and for our leaders. 

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

• Unity as Christians should not require us to be completely identical.  We must find a way to disagree at times without being disagreeable about it.
• Our only choices in any election is between flawed people.  Your “deal-breaker” issues may not be the same as those of someone else but that doesn’t make either one of you “less” Christian.
• There are many groups of people who feel marginalized in our society and each one deserves to know they have great and equal value because they were created in God’s image.
• Prayer is powerful.  If we believed that, we would probably pray more and complain less.
• When the enemy gets us to attack one another, neither of us has a light that is shining very brightly for God.
• When the Bible says that a peaceful and quiet life lived in all godliness and holiness pleases God, that is the life I want to pursue.

After a late night at work on Wednesday, page 19 was a day to sleep in and try to rest.  Once I woke up, I spent some time catching up on email and social media messages as I waited for Susan to wake up.  I also spent time checking out some options for hiking and taking photos during the free time I’ll have at the upcoming conference.  I don’t know if it’s stuck or just a huge file, but I’ve been downloading a trail map to my iPad all day and it still isn’t finished.  

I eventually convinced Susan it was morning and time to wake up.  After helping her get ready for the day, we headed out to have my truck serviced and the regular maintenance taken care of.  After dropping the truck off at the shop, we headed out for a walk along the river.  The sky was still gray and a hazy fog hung in the air but the temperature made for a mostly pleasant walk.  For the first third of the walk, Susan was in a gray, hazy mood that matched the weather.  As I pushed her wheelchair down the sidewalk along the river, I made up silly songs to sing to her until her inner joy finally came out.  With all the rain we’ve been having, the river level was high with the water up on the sidewalk at a couple different places along the walk.  Today’s photo was taken during our walk as we paused to admire the stately arches of a beautiful bridge.  While the river was flowing with an abundance of water, the surface was calm enough for some great reflections of everything above the surface.  

After walking nearly six miles, we headed back to pick up the truck then picked up Mary Jane to go out for a late lunch.  After lunch, it was back home to relax for the afternoon.  As I watched the hatred and animosity flow back and forth online between those with differing political views, I spent much of the afternoon in prayer.  The sad part to me is that the vast majority of my online connections are Christians and what I see flowing down my screen is the result of what these friends are liking, commenting on, and reacting to.  Each side in this political divide believes that their sense of anger is a righteous indignation that gives them the right to speak to the other side in ways that are shameful.  It seems that we have forgotten that God’s command to pray for our leaders is not about leaders that do things our way and not even about leaders who do things God’s way.  No, it is about praying for those in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives regardless of who sits in a role of human authority.  I know, it’s hard.  I read things (from both extremes) and my blood pressure rises and my flesh wants nothing more than to write a blistering response to “set them straight”.  But what would that accomplish other than make someone else’s blood pressure go up and solicit a blistering response from them?  And in the end, no peaceful and quiet life for anyone and the message of Christ is drowned out by each of us insisting we are right.

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

• There’s always a chance of randomly taking a great photo by being at the right place at the right time.  There’s a better chance of taking a great photo by putting yourself in the right place at the right time.  This probably applies to more than photos.
• We all need times of spiritual maintenance and check-ups.
• Multiple gray, hazy days in a row are depressing in a way that only bright sunshine can cure.  
• There is a spiritual cloudiness that seeks to keep the light of the world from being seen through us.  We need to walk in the light just as He is in the light so that we can have fellowship with one another.
• The more that we are still before God, the greater the clarity that will be seen as we reflect Him.
• Our time with God ought to define how we pray rather than our political ideology defining our prayer life, or lack of it.