With the snow day yesterday, page 348 began with what is usually the Monday morning version of cleaning and building prep.  As I took the trash out, a light snow had begun to fall once again and continued through the school drop-off time which means the floors will be needing extra attention.  Once the building was ready for the day, I spent time formatting the prayer guide for next week and scheduling it to be sent out and posted on Sunday.  Once the email and online posting was scheduled, I turned my attention to the lesson I’ll teach to the elementary class tomorrow evening.  We will be talking about Joshua with a focus on being strong and courageous in the way we listen to and obey God.  

The rest of the workday was filled with work on a combination of the elementary Bible class lesson, two sermons, and a lesson on praying in the real world.  In between the Bible study and research, I took care of some correspondence regarding having an Impact Prayer Ministry display at the Christian Camp Leaders Conference and the National Student Conference next year.  God continues to provide opportunities that require an ever-increasing faith that He will provide the resources needed to accomplish His will in every circumstance.

By mid-afternoon it was time to call an end to the workday and get some lunch, but first I stopped to clear the morning snowfall from the walks so they would be clear for the student pick-up time at the end of the school day.  After lunch the sun was still out and shining brightly so I headed down to Potato Creek again today to get some exercise and take some photos.  There was a brisk wind blowing across the lake and ice had formed over all of the water surface except a small area that was filled with an assortment of geese and ducks taking advantage of the remaining open water.  But it was the sky that grabbed my attention the most.  The bright sun, the vibrant blue sky, and a collection of fluffy white clouds made for a scene that demanded to be photographed.  After a few landscape photos taken across the lake, I headed out on a trail to get in my waist management hike and see what the actual distance of yesterday’s hike was.  As I followed the route of yesterday’s walk, I was surprised at how quickly it seemed I reached various photo stops.  I knew that pushing Susan through the snow in her wheelchair yesterday was a lot more work than walking on my own, but I didn’t realize how much more time it had taken until I walked the same route today.  

Sometimes our perception of the difficulty of a task causes us to avoid doing the things we know we ought to.  God has given us the gift of family and of one another with the purpose that each of us would serve in ways that looks out for the needs of others above our own.  I think of so many leaders written about throughout the Bible who accomplished great and difficult things for the benefit of others, even at great cost to themselves.  They understood their life was not their own but was a gift from God that was given with the purpose of worshiping Him and serving others.  Far too often we want the easy path when God is calling us to walk a path of serving Him in the way we serve others.  My favorite Biblical account of the Christmas story is not told in the Gospels but rather by Paul as he writes to the Philippians about our need to imitate the example of Jesus, “who did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.  And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross.”  The Christmas story is about God’s Son walking the difficult path of life on earth in order to serve mankind for their benefit in a way that only He could.  Perhaps you are the one God has gifted in a way that can serve a specific person according to their needs but it will take great courage and humility to do so.  

I pray that you and I would spend time with God for the purpose of being prepared to serve others.  I pray that we would make the difficult choices to live with courage as we serve others.  I pray that we would understand how Jesus would have us to learn from His example of humility and submission.  I pray that we would seek wisdom in how to serve others with the gifts God has given us.

I suppose if page 347 has a theme, it is snow.  By the time I went to bed last night, the school and preschool had been called off for today so I took advantage of the snow day and slept in.  When I got up, I checked my social media feeds for messages and info then went out to see if my snowblower would start.  It started right up on the first pull, so I worked at clearing the snow from my drive at home.  Once I had that done, I headed into work to see if my work snowblower would start so I could take care of the walks there.  It has an electric start so I don’t have to pull the starter rope, but one push of the button and it fired right up as well.  The rest of the morning was spent clearing the walks around the building and then doing the sidewalks along the road for the full width of the property.  Those typically require a slower speed as the snow is both deeper and wetter from the accumulations the snowplows throw from the roadway. 

Once the snow work was done for the day, I went in to see if I could get display space reserved for the prayer ministry at next year’s International Conference on Missions.  I had the floor plan for the exhibit area and had picked out a couple locations that I thought would have a good traffic flow.  When registration was supposed to begin, I followed the link they had sent me but it would continually come back with an error and not take me to the exhibit registration page.  By the time I discovered that they were giving direct links to the registration page to people who were reporting on their Facebook page that the website wasn’t working, enough people had used those links that the locations I wanted were already gone. 😦  I eventually chose an exhibit location and decided that God has a greater ability to bring people to my display than even having the right location could.  So, I settled for what I could get and will continue to pray that God uses Impact Prayer Ministry’s presence at conferences such as ICOM to reach people that want to grow in their relationship with Him through prayer.

Page 347 was a Monday, so while my schedule was rearranged, I still spent time in prayer working on the prayer guide for next week.  As I prayed about some of the options for the week leading up to Christmas Day, I eventually settled on redoing one that I’ve used for several Christmases that will focus on the names, titles, and/or descriptions that were given to God’s Son as the prophets foretold His coming to earth to live as one of us.  Even the name Jesus, which we probably have become so familiar with that we don’t think about its meaning, is a reminder that God’s Son has come to save us from our sins.  

After I had the prayer guide ready for next week, I headed home as the sun began to peek through the clouds.  With the sun making an appearance, we decided to head down to Potato Creek for a family waist management hike and to see what photo opportunities we could find.  As we drove to the park, the clouds returned and the bright sunshine that we were hoping would illuminate some photos had disappeared.  We first stopped in the area where the eagles are most likely to be seen, but they were no where in sight.  We drove through the rest of the park before stopping to see if I could push Susan’s wheelchair through the snow that covered the trails.  It took some work but it was possible, so we headed out on the trails to get some exercise and take some photos.  About midway through our 2 1/2 mile hike, the sun made its appearance as it prepared to set for the day.  Today’s photo was taken while I was resting a bit from pushing the wheelchair through the six inches or so of snow that covered the trail.  The hike was less distance than many I’ve taken, but it was as much work as most of them.  While I didn’t sit on the bench, this scene was truly a picture of relaxation.

I pray that you and I  would find enjoyment in the work that God allows us to do.  I pray that we would live life in a way that makes adjustments for the many unexpected variables that are a part of life.  I pray that we would learn from the Christmas story, not only about the coming of Jesus as a baby, but about the true purpose of His coming — to save people from their sins.  I pray that we would seek out times, places, and scenes that help us to relax in God’s presence. 

Page 346 was a Sunday, but it was the first snowy Sunday of the season.  That meant I needed to be up early to work on the snow removal before people began arriving for the Sunday church services.  As I walked out of the house and into the winter wonderland in the morning darkness, the beauty of the snow-covered ground was highlighted by the continued falling snow.  When I made it to work and started shoveling the snow from the walks, there was a quiet peace that filled the property.  I know the “worship service” wasn’t scheduled to begin until a few hours later, but worship was already taking place.  Once the walks were cleared, I put down ice melt to try to keep them that way but the snow kept coming and left me with the dilemma of letting the ice melt do its job or shoveling again which would also remove the ice melt I had put down.  I ended up focusing the snow removal efforts on the main entryway and left the ice melt to work on the walks leading up to it.   

Once the church service began, I came in from the cathedral of the great outdoors to continue my worship of God inside.  David continued a sermon series from the Gospel of Luke with a message, “A Matter of Perspective”, focused on Mary’s response to being chosen as the mother of Jesus.  As with all stories of people in the Bible, the information isn’t there simply to teach us about a person’s life, but to also help us learn how we ought to respond to God.  When we begin to understand how Mary responded to the message brought by the angel, we learn how we ought to respond to the messages God give us through His Word and His Spirit.  Mary began by being able to see the blessings available to her in her situation.  While the greeting of “most favored one” probably was a great surprise, her response indicates that the content of the message made her understand the truth of the greeting.  Sometimes we face situations in life when our first glance doesn’t bring the idea of our being blessed to mind.  It is important that we continue to seek God and to listen to Him for how His blessings will be revealed in our life.  These daily pages have been a big help to me as they cause me to stop each day and consider what God has been doing in, through, and around me to make me more of who He created me to be.

Not only was Mary able to see the blessings in her situation, she could see the possibilities in her God.  Even when given a message that defied the realm of physical possibility, Mary concluded that all things were possible with God.  Yes, she had questions about how it would happen but she also had faith that God could do what He said.  We may not always understand the how and why of what God want to do, but we need to reach the point where we believe He can do even the things that we view as impossible.  When God promises to forgive our sins and hold them against us no longer, we need to believe that He can do that and so much more.  It is in our believing in a God who can do the impossible that we begin to see our place in His plan.  Mary knew her place in God’s plan and proclaims that she is the Lord’s servant.  As a servant, she was also willing to do whatever God desired.  Her place in God’s plan was to bring a Messiah into the world and nurture Him until the time was right to accomplish the Father’s will for Him.  One of the keys to being able to see our place in God’s plan is to learn a contentment in doing what God has created us to do.  It is so easy to look at what God has others doing and wish we could do their task as well, but that would likely leave the task undone that we were created to do.  Each of us are a part of the body of Christ and our purpose within the body, while not always having the same level of visibility, always has the same level of importance.  I write because God has gifted me in that area and He continually convinces me that somehow this writing is at least a piece of my part in His plan.  Whatever He has put within you, He has done so for the benefit of His body.

Today’s photo is one I took through my office window as the snow began to fall a couple days ago.  With the snow flying around him, this little guy had clasped onto the brush while enjoying an afternoon snack.  There was a joy brought to my life just in seeing how God was providing for this small creature and how it added to the beauty of the scene.  Our life should be lived in such a way that we bring joy to the people around us as we show how God provides for our every need and as we bring the beauty of God with us wherever we go.

I pray that you and I would live a life of worship in every setting of life we find ourselves in.  I pray that we would value the times of worship we have with fellow believers.  I pray that we would learn from the example of Mary as we live our life in Christ.  I pray that we would look for the blessings that God wants to bring out of whatever situation we find ourselves in.  I pray that we would not limit God to the thing we think are possible, but would believe all things are possible with Him.  I pray that we would continually grow in our ability to see our part in God’s plan.  I pray that we would share joy wherever we go as we represent Christ. 

After cleaning late last night, I went to bed just as page 345 was set to begin.  I guess that was a good start to a day that seemed to have a theme of rest.  I was able to sleep in well into the morning but eventually got up and gave myself a much needed haircut.  Susan likes the sound of the hair clippers, so by the time I was done she was ready to get up.  After getting Susan her meds and breakfast, the rest of the morning consisted of getting the Christmas tree out and put up.  Susan loves the tree, so we got it out and MJ decorated it and Susan had a happy morning.  It wasn’t long before it was time for lunch so we put on our hats and coats and went out to eat.  With snow in the forecast, which means I will likely need to get up and clean walks in the morning, I spent much of the afternoon taking a nap.  I eventually got up and played a little Wii fitness, which showed my fitness age to be 24 so I guess I’m doing a good job of staying in shape. 🙂  After some good chili for supper, it was time to sit down and write today’s page so I can get some sleep before the snow arrives.

Today’s photo is one I took at Potato Creek a couple days ago.  The bald eagle is often seen as a symbol of freedom in the United States.  I always consider it a special treat when I catch sight of one of them when I visit the park and it’s a double treat when I see the pair of them that have taken up residence there.  Watching them perched in a tree or soaring over the lake is a true picture of beauty and freedom.  While they remind me of the freedoms that I have as a citizen of the USA, they also make me think of the greater freedom I have as a child of the living God.  When I live in Christ, I am set free completely and nothing can overcome that freedom.  But just like the tenuous guarantees of freedom we have in this country, there are times when my fear keeps me from living in the freedom that I actually have.  There are times when I allow the opposition of others, and of the enemy, to cloud over the true freedom I have in Christ.  While nothing can separate me from the freedom that Christ has given me, I must daily choose to live in that freedom rather than return to an enslavement to sin and the law.  One of the reasons that I believe it is so important to rest in Christ is because God has promised that those who wait upon Him shall have a renewed strength and rise up on wings as eagles.  The freedom I have in Christ is renewed and strengthened when I rest fully in Him each day.  

I pray that you and I would not lose sight of Jesus and the purpose for His life on earth as we celebrate Christmas this year.  I pray that we would learn to wait upon the Lord and rest in Him as we hold fast to the freedom He has given.  I pray that we would live as those set free as we hold fast to the promises of God.

The overnight snow didn’t amount to what they were calling for, but it was still enough that the sidewalks needed to be cleared in addition to the morning cleaning and inside building prep.  So, page 344 began with the layered look as I dressed for winter and faced the cold wind that was bringing lake effect snow with it.  Once the walks were cleared and some ice melt put down on some stubborn areas, I headed inside to see if the adjustments I made to the heating system yesterday afternoon had worked.  As I walked in from outside, I decided I may need to adjust to the inside temperature before deciding as it could be rather chilly and still feel warm after spending time outside.  So, after cleaning bathrooms and sweeping hallways, I checked on my heating system work and one of the two areas had significant improvement while the other had gained some warmth but still wasn’t where it ought to be.  

The temporary solution was to tell people that if it started to feel cold in their work area, to go outside for five minutes and it would seem warmer when they came back in. 🙂  Much of the morning was spent researching our heating system and trying to track down reliable sources of information and parts.  I don’t know that I came up with anything that will help but I did learn a lot a zoned hot water heating system.  After the students were finished with lunch, I cleaned up after them and used the floor scrubber in the cafeteria so it would be clean for a dinner being held tonight.  Once I had done what I could until after the dinner, I headed out to lunch and then down to Potato Creek for a waist management and mental health hike.  After two days in a row, I had skipped yesterday so even with the snow and cold temperature it felt good to be back out for an afternoon hike.  When I arrived at the park, I saw the resident pair of bald eagles and managed a few long distance photos before heading out for what ended up being a nearly five mile hike.

Today’s photo was taken with a little over a mile to go and it was starting to get dark.  The path had a light covering of snow, but not enough to give it a full crisp winter look.  Between the cold and the dreariness of the day, I didn’t stop to take nearly as many photos as I normally do.  Moving quickly helped keep me warm, so it took more to catch my eye enough to make me stop than it does on a warm summer day.  I suppose that stopping less actually makes the waist management aspect of the hike more realistic as I was able to reach 14, 14.5, and 15 minute miles for the center three miles of the hike.  When I got back to the truck, one of the eagles was still perched in a tree across the way but it was too dark to get any more usable photos.  Once back to the building, I sat down to write today’s page while I waited for the building to clear out.  Now that I have an empty building, I will finish up today’s writing and get the building cleaned and ready for Sunday.

I guess if I were to sum up today in a word, the word would be perspective.  The rooms in the building that were cold, were cold compared to other rooms but were actually warm compared to outside.  The snow, while creating some extra work was minor compared to what they were calling for.  On my photography Facebook page, I posted a series of photos I called “Perspective” because one was a normal view of the inlet channel at Potato Creek with two spots in the photo  highlighted while the other two were taken while standing in the same location but zoomed in to each spot where an eagle happened to be perched.  Sometimes I wonder how much I miss because my perspective needs to be widened out at times and narrowed in at other times.  

I pray that you and I would learn to consider what God’s perspective would be in all of our circumstances.  I pray that we would find joy in doing the daily tasks which are set before us.  I pray that we would spend time becoming more and more familiar with the depths of love, that we will never fully understand, which God lavishes on us.  I pray that we would be faithful in doing the things we need to do, the things we commit to doing, and the things God calls us to do.

Page 343 was mostly a day off work although I’m writing this at work while I wait to see if some adjustments I made to the heating system will warm up a couple rooms.  After a late Wednesday night at work, I slept in this morning with no real plans for the day other than to rest.  After I woke up, I helped Susan get up and around for the day and we spent the morning resting — she with a panda bear and television, me with coffee and internet.  Mid-morning, or so, I got a message from work that the two areas of the building that were cold last Thursday morning were cold again today.  I guess the heat system is allergic to Thursdays. 🙂  By the time I saw the message it was too late to get heat in the rooms for today’s use, so I decided to go in later when the building was empty and the system would be easier to work on.  

The weather forecasters are still calling for a winter weather advisory and accumulating lake effect snow, but so far it is just cold with a few flurries.  We had hamburger thawed out so I fired up the pellet grill and grilled some bacon cheeseburgers for lunch.  It’s always grilling season, right?  After lunch I decided to take a nap so I would be rested up to go into work this evening.  I’m still not sure if the winter bug that seems to get shared at work is winning or if I am, but the rest was helpful.  With snow in the forecast, I couldn’t be sure I would have time in the morning to resolve the heat issue as well as clear walks and do the usual building cleaning, so I headed into work tonight to do some trouble shooting.  After some adjustments in the system, I have hot water running through the offending heat exchange units so I am hopeful the rooms will soon warm up.  

Today’s picture is what I’m trying to avoid in the building — Jack Frost nipping at our toes. 🙂  Yesterday while I was out at Potato Creek, one of the swamp areas had a thin coating of ice covering it and I loved the patterns that were formed on the surface.  In every season, the beauty of God’s creativity can be found by those who simply open their eyes and are willing to look for it.  I’m not a big fan of the bitter cold weather that winter sometimes brings, but I do enjoy the beauty of freshly fallen snow and the crispness of a clear winter night.  I also enjoy heat when I go into a building, so I’ll wrap up the writing of today’s page and try to successfully finish up my work today.

I pray that you and I would pay attention when our body, soul, and spirit are in need of rest.  I pray that we would seek God as our refuge in times of fatigue and weariness.  I pray that we would be wise about the way we work so that our productivity makes us more effective in our work for Christ.  I pray that we would enjoy life as we live each day as a child of God.  I pray that we would celebrate God’s diverse creativity as we stop and notice the many wonders that He surrounds us with.

Page 342 finds me working both ends of the day and most of the middle but fortunately God created chocolate and coffee to get me through the day. 🙂  I think I’m trying to come down with one of the bugs that the students tend to bring to school with them.  I think I went to bed at a decent time last night but it sure was hard to get going this morning.  Nonetheless, I made it up and in to work at my usual time to get the cleaning and building prep done to start the day.  Once the early part of the morning routine was done, I headed out to pick up cleaning supplies before all the Christmas shopping crazies woke up and clogged up the roadways.  While I was out, I picked up some parts for the floor scrubber then once I was back to work spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon working on it.  Once I had done what I could with it, I prayed that the repairs were successful and then plugged it in to recharge so I could try to use it tonight.  

After cleaning up, it was time for a late lunch and a trip to Potato Creek for a waist management and mental health walk.  When I arrived, the bald eagle was perched near the boat ramp and stayed long enough for me to snap two photos before flying off some 100 yards or so away to the other side of the  lake inlet.  This gave me a change to try out the zoom on my “bird” camera and I managed a few usable long-distance shots even while standing on a rocking floating pier.  It was far enough away that if I hadn’t seen where it had flown to, I would not have even known it was there.  Once again it was a bright, sunny day when I left the building and headed to lunch but by the time I made it to the park the clouds were rapidly overtaking the sunshine.  Today’s photo was taken at the end of my walk as the sun was doing its best to shine through the afternoon haze that the clouds had formed.   

After the nearly 5 mile walk, I headed back to work and spent time going over the lesson I would teach the elementary class tonight about the life of Moses.  The lesson would focus on the journey that God would use Moses to lead the people of Israel on from Egypt to the Promised Land.  We even played Candy Land as we talked about the journey that we are on as God has called us out of a slavery to sin and leads us to the Promised Land of an eternity with Him.  While I don’t see a pillar of fire or a hovering cloud to guide me, I do have the presence of God’s Spirit to follow each day.  As the students played the game, I talked about the journey of life they are on and how the pace of life is varied.  Sometimes they will walk with God at a fast pace as He leads them forward.  Sometimes they will stop for a period of time and wait upon the Lord.  Sometimes they will seem to be going in the wrong direction and need to especially keep their eyes focused on the Spirit who leads them.

Once class was over, I sat for a moment before beginning the cleaning routine to have the building ready for tomorrow.  With the potential for snow over the next few days, I may have to come in and work some tomorrow anyhow, but I figured I may as well have things ready so I can rest if it doesn’t snow until later.  Eventually I made it to the floor scrubbing and was happy to find out that my repairs were successful and the floor scrubber did its job as it was designed to.  After the cleaning was done and the building was ready for tomorrow, I sat down to write today’s page and now I’m ready to post it and head home to get some sleep. 🙂

I pray that you and I would stay focused on Christ this Christmas season and not get caught up into being one of the “crazies” that have lost perspective.  I pray that we would notice when our life needs a little extra maintenance to help it run as smoothly as God desires for it to.  I pray that we would find a godly balance in caring for our bodies without worshiping them.  I pray that we would allow God to be the one who leads us on our journey of life.  I pray that we would keep a steadfast focus on reaching the “Promised Land” regardless of what our personal journey there looks like.  

Page 341 finally saw the sun come out after what seems like weeks of gray and gloomy skies.  The morning began early in the usual way with cleaning and building prep.  Once the building was ready for the day, it was time to work on the record keeping and accounting for the missions’ account.  The morning also included some work on my Bible lesson for tomorrow evening.  As I worked, I was asked about adding some upper elementary boys to my class tomorrow.  This led to a discussion on their disruptive behavior and unwillingness to listen to adult-given instructions.  Having seen them in action, it wasn’t surprising information, but it wasn’t exactly what a person wants to hear when you’re being asked to teach them.  Being whatever it is I am, I agreed to give it a try and see how it goes so I am praying fervently that God gives me the patience and wisdom to teach well, and that He would show me how to correct any behavior that is inappropriate — theirs or mine. 🙂  

As I thought about teaching students who don’t want to learn, I began to wonder if God’s Spirit ever rolls his eyes when asked to teach us in the ways we ought to go.  I wonder if there are ever conversations in heaven that go something like this:  “But Father, your presence has dwelt among them for some time now and they pay absolutely no attention to what it is you want.”  “I know, but I’m sending you to be available should they be moved to draw near to Me.”  “Isn’t there someway I can make them listen?”  “That’s not your job.  You represent me and I stand at the door and knock, they must choose to open it.”  “Okay, then I will continue to present truth and conviction and pray that they will choose to accept both and change their ways.”  

It seems it is easy to notice when someone isn’t paying attention to us.  How mindful are we of the times when we are not paying attention to God and His Spirit that He has put within us?  We all want our children and the children within our church families to accept the message of the gospel and live as obedient, respectful children.  We become concerned when it doesn’t seem to be taking place and in the midst of the process we often wonder if we are making a positive difference in anyone’s life.  I am thankful that even though there have been people who have given up on me, God never has and never will.  We often pull out the 1 Corinthians 13 passage at weddings and other occasions to describe the kind of love that we ought to have.  Many times we hear that and think that it is a great idea, but who can really love like that?  God can, and God has, and God does!  The love we need when people aren’t what we want them to be is the same love God has for us even when we’re not yet what He desires for us to be.

By mid-afternoon, the sun had come out and I headed down to Potato Creek after getting some lunch.  It has been a while since I’ve been consistent in walking for any distance and it felt good to be on the trails again.  Today’s photo made me think of how I ought to reflect the love and nature of God.  The more still I become before Him, the more He is able to be seen in me.  

I pray that you and I would spend time with God accepting His instruction in our life.  I pray that we would be willing to share God’s instruction with others, even when it seems they aren’t paying attention.  I pray that we would examine our own level of obedience before we try to correct the disobedience of others.  I pray that we would make time to be still before the Lord in a way that He is reflected well in all we do and say.