After setting up the display yesterday, page 322 was the actual start of the International Conference on Missions so it has been a full and busy day.  I began by taking advantage of the free breakfast the hotel gave me.  I don’t often eat breakfast, but my schedule when displaying at a conference becomes so chaotic that I’ve learned to eat when I have the chance.  After breakfast I headed over to the exhibit hall to take another look at my display and see if there were changes I wanted to make.  I’m not sure what it means, if it means anything, but I think this was the first time I have left the display alone after the initial set-up.  

With the display ready to go I had the morning free so I headed out for a drive to Natural Bridge State Park to do some hiking and prayer time before the exhibit hall opened.  One of the highlights of the park is the feature it is named for, the natural bridge, but it is filled with wonder and beauty all around that central feature.  My hike to the natural bridge was up a trail with a lot of steps carved into the rock, as well as plenty of wooden steps to supplement the stone ones.  It didn’t take long to remember that I prefer coming down all those steps rather than going up them.  Today’s photo is of a section of those carved stone steps.  I look at that and my mind thinks of the incredible amount of work that it took to carve them into the rock.  And if that wasn’t difficult enough, to come along and put in posts for railing along the rock steps had to be a task like few others.  As I thought about the work that had taken place so that I had steps to climb, I decided the work I was doing in climbing them really wasn’t all that bad.  

Sometimes we all need something to give us a better perspective of the things in our life.  We may think we have it tough in this life when things don’t turn out the way we want them to.  Then I think of Paul’s question of whether I have resisted sin to the point of shedding blood.  When I think of the work that Jesus did in preparing a way for me so that I could reach the heights of heaven with Him, the troubles of this life seem to not be such a big deal.  Without the work of people before my time carving steps into stone, I don’t think I would have made it to the top of the natural bridge.  While it still required work on my part, the way had been made so that I could make it to the top if I wanted to.  Jesus told us that we would have trouble in this world but that we should take heart because He has overcome the world.  By His going before us and shedding His blood on the cross as payment for our sin, the path of being made right with God was opened up to all of us.  While we still have to choose that path and “work out our salvation with fear and trembling”, being made right with God is no longer an impossibility.  

After my morning hike, I came back to the hotel and cleaned up before heading over to the exhibit hall.  It was good to spend the evening talking with people about prayer and the prayer-based resources God has allowed me to write and share.  I still have difficulty at times explaining what Impact Prayer Ministry is and what it is I do, but today the visible part of the ministry was putting resources into the hands of people who will  use them.  

I pray that you and I would be diligent about giving our best to God without letting a pursuit of perfection destroy our obedience.  I pray that we would recognize the work that has gone on before us that enables us to do what we do today.  I pray that we would accept the way God has made for us through Jesus as we follow the path He leads us on.  I pray that we would be encouragers of one another as we give value to the gifting of God in their life.

Page 321 began early as I headed into work to get the cleaning and building prep done before packing up the truck in order to head to ICOM.  As I cleaned the building, I not only prayed for the students who would use the building during the day, I thanked God for a family and church family who encourage the work God uses me to do through the prayer ministry.  Sometimes it is easy to forget, but it is the support of my wife and the partnership with the Deer Run Church of Christ which enables me to head to a conference with 1,000 copies of books God has given me to write.  As I hand those to people over the next couple of days, it will be with a recognition that the encouragement they will bring to people is not my work alone, but primarily the work of God through His Spirit using the support of many people to accomplish a great work.

As I headed down the road, the sun was beginning to crawl over the horizon and it wasn’t long before the photographer in my just had to stop and take a few pictures.  The air was full of moisture that could be seen and felt in the air.  Some areas had fairly dense low-lying fog, but other places were just hazy.  Today’s picture was taken from alongside the highway as the sun rose over a farm with the fog and haze filtering out some of the sun’s usual brightness for being that high in the sky.  It made me think of the fog and haze of life that sometimes filters out the brightness of our light as we live for Jesus.  The good news to me is the promise that “greater is He that is within you than he that is in the world.”  While the things of the world may bring trouble and discouragement, Jesus has put a light within us that the things of this world cannot overcome.  In fact the more we focus on being the light of God that we are called to be, it is the things of the world that become dim rather than them causing the light to go dim.  I love the old hymn, “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus.  In fact it is the hymn that was sung when I first walked the aisle of a church way back in 4th grade to tell God I wanted to surrender my life to Him.

O soul, are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There’s light for a look at the Savior,
And life more abundant and free!
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim.,
In the light of His glory and grace.
(Helen Lemmel, 1922, Public Domain)

The rest of the day was a combination of driving and then setting up the Impact Prayer Ministry display before checking into the hotel for the night.  The first room they sent me to was in complete disarray and obviously had not been cleaned since the previous guest.  A quick call to the front desk and they said they would put me in a different room and offered to bring new keys to me.  I told them I would come down and pick them up and when I did they gave me a pass for free breakfast every morning of my stay!  I don’t usually eat much breakfast but on a conference schedule it is nice to have a filling meal to start the day.  When I got to my new room and looked out the window, I saw an ice skating rink in the plaza across the street.  It had been years since I’ve been ice skating, but with a free evening before the long days of the conference, I headed out to give it a try.  It didn’t take long before I was cruising around the ice and even managed to spend my entire time on actually skating on the ice without falling.  MJ had warned me not to do jumps if I went, so most of the fancy moves were kept in my mind this time.  🙂  

When I returned to my room, the internet was acting up, so instead of getting online to write and post the day’s page I went to sleep around 9 PM.  The skating must have made me tired as I fell asleep quickly and seemed to have slept soundly until a little after 1 AM.  Since I was awake, I checked the internet and it was back working so I sat down to write before heading back to sleep.  All in all, page 321 was a good day.

I pray that you and I would recognize and value the people God has put into our life to help us accomplish the work He has given us.  I pray that we would let our light shine even with the troubles and discouragement of the world attempts to make that light less visible.  I pray that we would keep our eyes fixed on Jesus so that His light would put everything else in perspective.  I pray that we would enjoy life to the full and rest completely in knowing that we’ve given that life fully to God.

Page 320 has been a busy and full day as I took care of the usual weekday cleaning and building tasks as well as finished packing up all the  display materials and supplies for the upcoming conference.  The day began with the normal cleaning and building prep and as I took the trash out, I discovered the moon was visible above the western horizon.  While a day past the actual full “supermoon”, the moon still loomed large over the tree tops.  I grabbed my camera and shot a few photos but couldn’t get the proper angles and perspective for some creative shots I attempted.  It was still beautiful to see and as it sunk lower into the western horizon, the sun began crawling up over the tree line to the east.  

As I settled into the rest of the regular workday, I finally dug into the stacks of papers, mail, books, and manuscripts that covered my desk.  Some of the accumulation went in the trash and much of it was filed in appropriate places for safekeeping and/or future reference.  Sometimes a thorough cleaning uncovers some long-lost treasures that had become buried in the piles, but today yielded no such surprises.  The surprise will be trying to find things when I need them as I’m more used to knowing where to find them on my desk than knowing where I would have filed them.  

After the desk surface was uncovered and I had taken delivery of some janitorial supplies, including bags of ice melt to get ready for winter, I turned my attention to getting things organized to take with me to ICOM.  With the quantity of books and resources I will be taking with me, it will no longer all fit in the cab of my truck.  So by mid-afternoon, I headed for a late lunch and picked up some plastic storage tubs that should protect and keep dry the supplies that will need to ride in the bed of the truck.  When I headed back to work to start filling the tubs, the sky just seemed to beg to be photographed so I grabbed my camera and captured some of the sunbeam beauty.  As the sun hid behind the clouds, beams of light showered down upon the earth.  For me, the visual not only represented the light of God that He showers upon us, it also made me think about the light we ought to be shining upon the people around us.  One way we do that is to simply share what God gives us.  I view my writing and photography abilities as gifts from God — you may think otherwise. 😉  Not only do I believe they are God’s gifts to me, I’m convinced they have been given to me for the purpose of sharing them.  I have no real light in me but when I share the gifts that God has given me, His light begins to shine in places that needs to see the presence of God.  One of the amazing things about sharing the gifts that God gives is that I’ve discovered the more I share, the more He seems to give.  

I pray that you and I would spend time on a regular basis dealing with the clutter in our lives — especially the clutter in our spiritual lives that may distract us from knowing God’s presence.  I pray that we would be prepared for the season of life that is coming our way.  I pray that we would do what is necessary to protect the the things of value that God has given us.  I pray that we would experience the light of God in our life and be deliberate about sharing that light with others.  I pray that we would recognize the gifts that God has given us and understand His purpose for the gifting.  I pray that we would recognize our inability to give more than God can give us.  

Page 319 was a Monday and therefore the official start to the work week.  The “supermoon” was supposed to hit the peak of its fullness this morning so I was hoping to catch a few photos.  As I headed into work the moon was shining brightly so I snapped a few shots on the way from my truck into the building with the plan to come back out and get some more after the cleaning and prep was done in the building.  As I went about my morning cleaning tasks, my mind was filled with prayer and worship as I considered the incredible beauty God shares with us throughout creation.  After the building was ready for the day, I took the trash out and noticed that the cloud cover had built up in the western sky and the moon was no longer visible.  While mildly disappointed, I was still glad I had gotten a few photos earlier.  With the cleaning done, it was time to connect with God in putting together the prayer guide for next week.  As I began to do that, I noticed out of the corner of my eye a red glow beginning to form on the eastern horizon.  As I continued my prayer time, I headed outside to see what beauty God would share with me this morning.  

As I was taking pictures of the sunrise and the deer that were enjoying the early morning calm, a jet flew across the existing vapor trail of another jet that had passed over earlier.  Their crossed paths left a huge vapor trail X in the sky and my first thought was of an old map where the location of the hidden treasure was marked by an X.  That seemed to be a fitting thought as the beauty I was experiencing was a true treasure with the ultimate treasure being the One behind this beauty that had created it all.  While that was a very fitting reminder, I also thought about the custom of a person signing with an X if they were not able to write their name.  We often think of that practice being used when a person doesn’t have the ability to write, but it is also done at times when a person chooses not to write their name.  As I watched the X being written across the sky, I thought about the Hebrew people who would not write out the actual name of God because His name is holy and they didn’t want to risk using it in vain.  So often, God does some of His greatest work and simply stamps it as His, expecting that each of us will recognize the source of the greatness behind what is accomplished.  

After taking photos and spending some time in prayer, I went back inside to continue the process of next week’s prayer guide.  As I prayed and considered several topics, God kept drawing me back to the topic of thankfulness to go along with the Thanksgiving holiday being celebrated in the U.S. next week.  As I looked at my files, it seemed that this is one of the few prayer guide topics I’ve repeated over the years.  My first reaction was to spend time with God seeking something different.  Then an old story came to mind of a preacher who kept preaching the same sermon until finally one Sunday, a member of his congregation asked him when he was going to work on another sermon to share.  The response of the preacher was that as soon as the congregation began putting into practice the things from the repeated sermon, he would move on to a different sermon.  Being reminded of that story made me think that it would not be a bad thing to have another reminder of God’s desire that we live thankful lives.

The rest of the day was filled with bookkeeping for the church missions account as well as the Impact Prayer Ministry account and then a variety of tasks to continue getting ready for the International Conference on Missions.  By mid-afternoon I headed out to lunch and picked up pop to restock the pop machine.  While it’s not a huge task and the money trickles in one can of soda at a time, last year the funds from the pop machine were enough to purchase 150 books to be given away to people wanting to grow in a lifestyle of prayer.  Eventually I headed home to unwind for the day and write today’s page before heading off to get some sleep to be ready for another full day tomorrow.

I pray that you and I would seek God more diligently than we seek the latest “thing” that everyone has to see or experience.  I pray that we would not allow the disappointments of life to keep us from experiencing the beauty that God desires to show us.  I pray that we would view our relationship with God as the greatest treasure that we could ever find.  I pray that we would recognize God’s ownership over all creation, including us.  I pray that God continues to provide the resources necessary to provide the prayer-based materials of Impact Prayer Ministry to anyone who will use them.

Page 318 was a Sunday, so I was able to sleep in for a little bit before getting up and heading to the church building for Sunday School and worship.  Our Sunday School class is beginning a study in the book of Philippians so this morning we began in Acts chapter 16 to get some of the background on the church at Philippi.  Sometimes when we read and study God’s Word we forget to pay attention to what happened before the events we read about that may have been influential in the current story.  But not doing that shouldn’t be that surprising given how infrequently we pay attention to our own history and the events that have been influential in our current story.  Sometime overnight the total view count on my blog surpassed the twenty-six thousand mark.  While I know blogs that have that kind of numbers every month, for me to reach that as a cumulative total since beginning the blog is quite astounding.  Reaching that point in my current story did not happen overnight and would not have happened without a lot of encouragement and work in the years past.  These views represent people from 127 countries that God has given me opportunity to share with — many whom I would likely not have the opportunity to share with if I had not started a blog nearly 10 years ago.  At that point, the extent of my writing had primarily been church newsletter articles but I was encouraged to find ways to share those writings with more people than would ever pick up a local church newsletter.  And so the blog, “Tom’s Treasure”, began with an occasional devotional article and the publishing of my past newsletter article writings.

In the morning worship gathering, the sermon focused on the story of the lost coin as told by Jesus.  In the story Jesus never tells how the coin became lost, only that the owner valued it enough to not only miss it but to take the steps necessary to reclaim it.  In this morning’s sermon, David shared three things that were done after the coin became lost that we also ought to be doing when it comes to people who are lost — regardless of how they became lost.  First, a lamp was lit.  Light dispels darkness and God has said that not only is Jesus the light of the world, but His children are to let our lights shine in such a way that people will glorify our Father in heaven.  When we search for the lost, we do so with the light of God’s Word to guide us.  Secondly, the house was swept.  As we search for the lost, it is important we begin by cleaning our house of any dirt that would keep us from seeing people as God sees them.  Regardless of what has caused a person to become lost, they were created by God in His image and it is His desire that they would be reclaimed by the blood of His Son, Jesus.  Thirdly, the search continued until it reached a successful conclusion.  There was no giving up.  No matter how long it took, no matter how much effort was required, there was not an option of quitting.  In our search for the lost, we must realize that it may become difficult and it may take longer than we expected but there can be no option of not caring if the lost are found.  The story ends with a great celebration as the persistence paid off and the lost was returned to the place where it belonged.  When our search for the lost results in them being found, God Himself rejoices with us in knowing that another person of great value has been restored in relationship with God where they belong.

With the news reporting that the moon would be closer to the earth than it has been for a long time, we headed down to the farm late in the afternoon to take some sunset and moonrise photos.  Today’s photos was taken across the farm pond as the moon made its way over the woods.  The still water reflected everything from the light of the moon to the silhouettes of the trees.  It was a beautiful sight to behold and reminded me of just how much difference a little light can make.

I pray that you and I would seek to understand how God has used our past circumstances to bring us to where we are and how He wants to use our present circumstances to take us to where He wants us to be.  I pray that we would reflect the heart of Jesus as we seek the lost and lead them to a restored relationship with God.  I pray that we would be the light of the world that Jesus has declared us to be.

Page 317 was a Saturday and while there was an autumn chill in the air, it was a beautiful fall day to spend with my family.  After a late work night on Friday, it was good to start today at a slower pace with no real schedule.  I started the day going through photos from yesterday’s lunch break and sharing a few on social media.  By late morning we were all up and ready to start our day for real.  We loaded up our camera equipment and stopped for lunch on our way out of town.  After lunch our first stop was Bonneyville Mills County Park near Bristol, Indiana to shoot a few photos of the scenery and the mill which was established in 1832.  While not running today, the mill is still operational and runs a seasonal schedule a few days a week.  The setting is beautiful and provides many photo opportunities but the mill is the central feature.  I enjoy knowing that the work and construction of past years is still being put to productive work.

The next stop of the day was Lowe’s, followed by Sam’s Club and WalMart to pick up a few things that were needed and a few things that were wanted.  After dropping off the groceries and supplies at home, we headed out to Potato Creek to catch the sunset.  Our first stop at the park was to see if the bald eagles were visible in the area where they are most often seen.  Sure enough, the pair of them were perched on a branch but it was a long way down the channel.  Even with my “bird camera”, the distance and lighting made it difficult to get pictures that were very good.  The good news, however, was that their location was at a spot that should be visible from a trail on the other side of the lake so we drove around to the trail head and set off on a short hike.  The big question as we walked down the trail is whether they stayed put or not.  It wasn’t long before we could see them through the brush sitting exactly where we had hoped to find them.  As the trail wound through the woods, MJ went ahead to see if there was a good opening to shoot some photos and I stayed back where I could watch them while Susan found a bench to wait on.  MJ got some great shots but eventually the eagles decided they were not comfortable with our presence and left their location with one of them taking up watch on the other side of the channel.  While this put him a little further away, it opened up a clearing where I could get some good photos of him with the background of an oak tree still dressed in its fall colors.  As we left the trail on a bluff overlooking the lake, the moon was reflecting brightly in the water below us and the western sky had a beautiful glow to it even though we had missed the sunset. While not what we went to the park expecting to photograph, today’s photo is the result of making the most of the opportunity that presented itself.

As I think about the day, my mind reflects on a God who is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  We often like to think that new automatically means better, but sometimes it just means new.  God’s Word tells us to look for the ancient path, for the old way, because it is still the only way to Him.  When Jesus said that He is the way, the truth, and the life, He expressed a truth that He is the only path to the Father.  The way of surrendered obedience continues to be the only way that works to grow in our relationship with the living God.  There may be ways that appear more modern, more productive, more appealing, and less work, but they do not lead to the same place as the road which is narrow and leads to eternal life.

I pray that you and I would seek to walk the path that leads to eternal life.  I pray that we would hold fast to God’s Word and follow it rather than dismiss it as out of date.  I pray that we would live as ones who are free because we have gazed into, and kept, the perfect law of God’s Word.

Page 316 is currently in process as I write this with another hour or two of cleaning to get finished before I head home.  It began as a busy day and I suspect that it will remain that way until the end — but today, busy means variety.  The morning began with the usual cleaning and building prep before turning my attention to maintenance/janitorial supply inventory so I could order what is needed to keep doing my work.  The morning also included more preparation for the missions conference taking place next week and going through the accumulated mail on my desk — I guess the next step would be to find the accumulated mail a new home rather than it remaining on my desk, but that will be a task for another time. 🙂

By mid-afternoon, it was time to take a lunch break and step away for a short while before coming back to get the building cleaned and ready for the weekend.  As I headed out to lunch, I decided to go down to Potato Creek again as the sky was filled with dots of light, fluffy clouds highlighted against a bright blue background.  By the time I got to the park, the clouds had essentially disappeared except for one small cloud hanging over the lake.  While not what I was expecting, it still caught my eye to the extent that it became today’s photo.  As I took the photo, my mind thought about Elijah sending his servant out to look for signs of rain.  He eventually came back with a report that there was a cloud the size of a man’s hand out on the distant horizon.  While that may not sound like a significant report, Elijah knew that it was bringing the promised rain that would end the three and a half year drought.  He warned all who would listen to head for cover before the coming rain would make the paths and roads impassable.  

I suppose it was that small cloud and the story that made my mind start thinking about being insignificant.  There are so many times when I feel insignificant and unseen and even when God gives me reminders of how He is using the gifts He has put within me, I still wonder why people don’t seem to notice what God is doing with them.  It was with that backdrop that a poem began to form in my mind as I cleaned the building tonight.  The subject of the poem was on being unseen and as it formed I thought it was primarily going to be a reflection of what goes through my mind.  But early in the poem it became clear, to me at least, that it was more about an unborn child wanting to be seen so he would have the chance to make a difference.  Yes, it is still about unseen people and even myself, but it is more about each of us opening our eyes and ears to the cries of the unseen that some would rather we never saw at all.

I pray that you and I would learn to expect the unexpected when we allow God to direct every aspect of our life.  I pray that we would not judge the eventual result of something based on its beginning size.  I pray that we would value life — all life — and seek to make the unseen visible.  

I was tempted to get up early and begin page 315 watching the sunrise as I paddled my kayak across the lake at Potato Creek.  I woke up in time to get to the lake before sunrise, however it was warm and comfortable under the covers so I rolled over and went back to sleep.  When I finally got up, I checked on messages and posted today’s prayer point that I had forgotten to schedule before I went to bed last night.  I thought my social media newsfeed would be more civil now that the election is over, but when I made a foray back into the social media world today I found that it is still missing a level of civility that should be present given the majority of posts I would see are from Christian friends.  So, I’ll keep praying that God will restore peace and civility and I’ll stay away from the negativity a while longer and check in another week or two to see if people have regained some godly manners.

I do understand how easy it is to post things that end up not being beneficial to those who would read it.  I know I’ve been guilty of posting things in response to what someone has written without even thinking about how my words would sound when read by others.  I took today’s photo during a walk with my family this evening at Potato Creek.  When I saw this scene, it was a reminder to me of a need to simply sit with God and learn from Him about every aspect of my life.  Perhaps if we would commit to sitting with God for a period of time before posting anything on social media, what we see and read from each other would be more uplifting and encouraging.

Before I went to bed last night I was told that my father-in-law’s truck was leaking coolant from the top of the radiator reservoir.  This sounded strange to me and all I could conclude was that someone had overfilled the cooling system.  The excess coolant had to be coming from somewhere and an overfill was the only thing that made sense — at least to a non-mechanic such as myself.  So, when my inside tasks were done I headed out to see if I could drain off the excess and bring the level to where it should be.  When I pulled the radiator cap I was surprised to discover that while the overflow reservoir was full, the radiator itself wasn’t.  It seems that the cap and overflow tube were filled with some type of slimy sediment sludge that evidently only allowed the coolant to flow one direction — out of the radiator.  I cleaned up the openings as best as I could and refilled the radiator with clean coolant.  This seemed to get it working but I knew it needed a more complete flush and cleaning to keep the problem from immediately returning.  So much of my morning was spent walking along the river taking photos after dropping the truck off at the shop.

As I walked, I thought about the importance of finding the truth even if it is different than the only thing we can think.  No one had over-filled Gene’s truck with coolant even though that was the only thing my mind could think was the problem.  I had to physically look and investigate in order to find the real truth.  Far too often we hear reports of things that have happened and our mind immediately reaches a conclusion that may well be far from the actual truth.  We would do well to prayerfully investigate the actual things that concern us and ask God to reveal to us the truth of the situation.

As I was out walking, I got the call that the truck was done so I picked it up and headed home to fix some bacon cheeseburgers on the pellet grill for lunch.  By late afternoon, we decided to take advantage of another beautiful day of sunshine and headed down to Potato Creek for an early evening family walk.  We even managed to see one of the bald eagles at a distance before we left and headed home, so that was an added bonus to the day.

I pray that you and I would guard the words we use both in speech and writing.  I pray that we would understand when specific things become more of a discouragement to us than a benefit and know when we need to make changes to what we allow to influence us.  I pray that we would learn to be Christ-like in all our interactions with people — especially people we disagree with.  I pray that we would learn to seek actual truth when jumping to conclusions seems to be easier and more natural.  I pray that we would know the beauty of creation and the encouragement of family.