March 23, 2016 by Tom

2016: Page 83

While they all cover the same amount of time, some pages feel much longer than others. Page 83 began at midnight, not sleeping as I usually would be but with a rush of adrenaline as the sounds of Susan having a major seizure woke us up. Once she was finally through the seizure and her needs were taken care of, it felt like I had just fallen back asleep when the alarm went off signaling a need to wake up and head to work. At work, I took care of the cleaning that needed done and took out the trash all the while praying that Susan would have a good day after such a rough night. When she arrived in the office a little after 8, she was happy and content to rest in her chair for much of the morning.

I needed to run some errands so I took Susan with me. When we got back to the building we drove out to check on the timber harvesting process that we’re having done. As I watched them skid the logs out of the woods and load them on semi trailers, I marveled at the equipment being used that we would have only dreamed of back in the days of my childhood as my dad an uncle ran a sawmill together. I was also reminded of the incredible goodness of God who arranged this timber sale at the exact time we were needing to replace one of the major air conditioning units at the church. The initial estimate of the value of timber to be harvested was about four thousand dollars short of what the air conditioner was going to cost. However when the trees were marked and the final estimate given, the down payment made to the church was just enough to cover the air conditioner replacement! God had been growing the trees that would be needed to meet the need that existed.

Trusting God can be a very difficult thing. Often times we believe God can supply all our needs but our mind begins to doubt if He will or if He would even want to. Many times we think we can do pretty well with meeting our own needs so we don’t even attempt to trust God. It is as if we are convinced there is a limit to how frequently God is willing to act on our behalf so we “save up” our requests for things that are catastrophic or beyond hope. Far too often though, when those catastrophic times come we wallow in hopelessness and despair because we have not learned to trust God with the “little” things so we have no clue how to trust Him with the “big” things. When we’ve not learned to trust God, we often find ourselves trying to “fix” our problems with man’s strength and wisdom and not with God’s.

I pray that you and I would daily make the decision to trust God in all things. I pray that we would go to Him first for direction and wisdom in how He wants to meet our needs. I pray that we would recognize when God uses ordinary things to accomplish extraordinary tasks. I pray that recognition would cause us to always give God the glory and credit rather than pat ourselves on the back and take the credit for ourselves.

March 22, 2016 by Tom

2016: Page 82

After a late night of cleaning on page 81, I slept in a little bit but still made it to work by 8 AM to meet the crew that started harvesting timber on the property today. During the day I took care of needs in the building while also working on the monthly Impact Prayer Ministry newsletter and getting it sent out. As I was getting ready to leave work, our pest control person showed up so I stayed around while he did his work.

As I took some time to unwind this evening, I started going through some photos that I had taken over the past few days. There were quite a few pictures of the osprey that have returned to Potato Creek State Park, including one that at first glance appears to be an osprey with two heads. While it is obviously just an illusion caused by two osprey sitting close together, it still made me think of the phrase “two heads are better than one.” While this is a true, and even Biblical, statement in the context of seeking advice and mutual encouragement, the phrase falls completely apart when talking about the church.

The thought of an osprey with two heads soaring in the sky, building a nest, plucking fish from the lake, or accomplishing any other useful task seems rather far-fetched. Yet how often do we expect a multi-headed church to grow and prosper, giving no thought to who it receives its instructions from? God describes the church as His body with the head being Jesus Christ. While most churches that I’m familiar with would claim that Jesus is the head of the church, many operate on a day-to-day basis as if a preacher, an elder, a charismatic personality, an influential group, or some other person or entity is really its head. Jesus is still given the title but is easily relegated to the role of figurehead as others determine all the decisions while spending little or no time listening to God.

Before we come down too harshly on the church, what about you and I? Jesus is not only set apart by God to be the head of the church which He bought with His own blood, as individuals we are members of that body still accountable to the same head that the body as a whole must submit to. The Bible teaches that God has not only knit our physical bodies together, He has carefully fashioned the church out of the individual members that make up the body. For our physical body to be considered responsive to the head, each part must take its direction from the head. When a part of the body does its own thing without responding to and submitting to the head, we rightly determine something is not right. When the individual parts that make up the body of Christ do their own thing without responding to or submitting to Christ, the problem should be just as obvious. The church is only submissive to Christ as the head to the degree that the individuals within the body are submissive. When I am more concerned about what people might say or think than I am about what God has said, I am acting as if the body has two heads. When I start doing that, it isn’t long before I simply choose which head I listen to based on what I want to hear.

I pray that you and I understand, and live under, the headship of Christ in all things. I pray that we would listen to the head as we live the part of the church body He has created us to be. I pray that we would reject the temptation to look to ourselves or others as the head of anything we do. I pray that our focus on Christ as head of all things would keep His body from appearing to be double-headed and keep us from living as double-minded.

March 21, 2016 by Tom

2016: Page 81

The written part of page 81 is being typed from my office before I head home for the day. The day started early and is ending late, but I did manage a short break in the middle. After the morning cleaning and prep for the day, I settled into my Monday morning routine and spent time with God putting together the prayer guide for next week. This week is focused on praying about the need to guard our steps. Next week will be focused on praying about the life we have in Christ. It is always fun when I think I have an idea for one of the weekly prayer guides and when I sit down with God and my Bible, something different ends up being written. Today was one of those days and the funny part is, I don’t even remember now what my idea was before God brought the life in Christ theme into my mind.

Once the prayer guide was written, I needed to pick up some cleaning supplies and some items for a meal I was preparing for our leadership board meeting. So Susan and I spent some time together and went out to Gordon’s Food Service and Sam’s Club to get what was needed. By the time we got what was needed and arrived back at the church, I had a discipleship/mentoring lunch appointment with a good friend. We had lunch and a great discussion about faith and how it should guide our decisions and steps each day. After lunch I finished up some work at the church building and then, knowing it would be a late night, I headed down to Potato Creek to spend about an hour hiking and taking pictures. On my way back from there, I stopped by the house and picked up the crock pot of pulled pork that I had spent Saturday cooking on the wood pellet grill. Back at the office I caught up on some correspondence regarding the prayer ministry and some potential uses of the writing God has allowed me to publish. It wasn’t long before it was time to get ready for the board meeting, so I set out the food on the conference table and gathered the needed plates, napkins, and plastic ware.

The meeting went well enough . . . as meetings go. 🙂 This is a great group of guys to work and serve with. Once the meeting was over, I decided it was late enough that I may as well do my Tuesday morning cleaning tonight so that my arrival time tomorrow isn’t nearly as important. As I cleaned, I thought about all the work that goes into what happens at 2730 South Ironwood each day. I thought about our desire to do everything with excellence and considered how often we (I) don’t quite reach that standard. So often it is “almost perfect”, or “that’s almost what I wanted”. I see that a lot in my photography as well. Occasionally I will take a picture that when I view it I say, “That’s exactly what I had in mind when I shot that photo!” More often than not the reaction leans more toward, “That is almost what I thought it would look like.” The photo I share on today’s page is an example of that. I was shooting with two cameras and as I was adjusting one, I looked up and an osprey was coming into the nest with a fish clutched in its claws. I’m shooting with an extended zoom which is difficult to keep steady but I go ahead and take the shot only to see after the fact that I almost got the shot I wanted, but not quite. I know it’s a fish in its claws because I was there, but most of the fish didn’t make it into the photo. I could have deleted the photo but decided that even though it isn’t perfect, it still captures a great deal of the detail I wanted.

Sometimes it is easy for us to get into a perfectionist mode with not only our self, but with other people as well. None of us are perfect (I know, big surprise.), but often we act like the people around us ought to be. Sometimes all we seem to be able to see are the imperfections in people when God wants us to look at the whole person and see the beauty and detail He has created. When the picture of our life is flawed it doesn’t mean we’ve failed, it only means we’re human. God is very good at taking flawed lives and using them for incredible good.

I pray that you and I would consider the excellent nature of God within us the next time we look at ourselves or others and think, “That’s not what I wanted.” I pray that when our eyes drift toward the imperfections, we would look carefully at the beauty God has put within each person. I pray that we would be filled with the grace and mercy that comes from God, even as we seek to do all things with excellence.

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March 20, 2016 by Tom

2016: Page 80

Simple beauty. Page 80 was a day of worship and simple beauty. Page 79 ended with great frustration and discouragement but by applying the lessons God taught me yesterday, I was prepared to worship God and enjoy His beauty today. One of the reasons I enjoy being part of a church where we take communion together every week is really quite practical. It reminds me every week of the price that was paid to free me from the penalty of death earned by my sins. As I take the bread and cup each week, I’m filled with an attitude of worship as I reflect on the great love God demonstrated toward me in sending His Son to pay my debt. If that doesn’t draw you to a place and attitude of worship, I have no idea if anything will.

After a time of worship with the church family, I was part of a brief missions committee meeting and then headed to lunch with my family. After a stop at home to change clothes and get our hiking shoes on, we headed down to Potato Creek to continue our worship of God as we took in a piece of His creativity and beauty. After dropping a waist size in my pants since beginning a somewhat regular hiking/walking schedule, I’ve begun calling these walks our “Family Waist Management” program. 🙂 While the fitness and weight loss are great benefits, the real benefit is found in deliberately spending time with God in the midst of His beautiful creation. I am always amazed at the simple beauty that is often overlooked, but surrounds us all the time.

Most of us notice the big things when they become so obvious or spectacular that they can’t be missed. At the park it is the eagles, the osprey, even the lake itself that draws the most attention. Yet by walking through the park in an attitude of worship and an eye toward God’s creativity, each step becomes filled with a simple beauty that fills my heart with worship. Today included some incredible views of osprey, ducks, the beautiful sky and lake, leaves starting to open on the raspberry vines, and some of the early wildflowers beginning to open. Photography has become a means that God has used to help me pay closer attention to my surroundings to see His handiwork.

As I thought about the contrast between the majesty of the bald eagle and the intricate beauty of the tiny crocus, I wondered how often we miss the simple beauty of the people around us because we are so focused on the glitz and glamour of those in the limelight. James tells us that we must put away all forms of partiality and treat one another as brothers and sister in Christ regardless of where they stand in any system that our world uses to divide people. God would want us to notice every person we meet as His child and see the beauty and potential He has put within them. When we notice those who feel small and insignificant, we are able to see God at work in big ways.

I pray that you and I always have our eyes opened to the simple beauty God has placed around us. I pray that we would not only notice this beauty in the creation of nature, but more importantly in the creation of the people around us. I pray that we would live without partiality in the way we see and treat others. I pray that our recognition of simple beauty would fill us with a greater desire to worship God at all times.

March 19, 2016 by Tom

2016: Page 79

Aahhh . . . a Saturday! Today was a good reminder of why I put in such long hours on Fridays. There are times when events or plans cause me to leave some of the weekend prep undone on Friday and then have to go in Saturday or very early Sunday, but it always feels good to have a day when I can completely disconnect from work and have no plans but to relax and enjoy the day. I slept in a bit this morning and then put some pork on the pellet grill to slow cook all day. My plan was for it to be done for a late supper but when 8 PM rolled around and it still wasn’t ready, I shifted to plan B and grilled some hamburgers for tonight and will pull the pork when it is done so it is ready for another time. I usually figure 10 – 12 hours so I guess putting it on at 9 in the morning wasn’t quite early enough this time.

The day itself was a low-keyed and laid back day of rest. It was rather cold and cloudy, so rest seemed much more attractive than going out hiking and taking more photos. After I got the pork started in the morning, I cut my hair as it was getting a little shaggy and then started going through photos from the past few days. It wasn’t long before it was time for lunch so the family went out and enjoyed lunch together. The afternoon was a mix of online social media, online browsing and dreaming as I kept up on new camera equipment, continued going through photos and a little Wii gaming just for fun. Once the “plan B” hamburgers were consumed tonight, I realized it was late enough that I should write page 79 and then get some sleep so I’m rested and awake for the Sunday worship gathering at church.

I wonder how often most of us think about preparing for the time we spend together in worship celebrating what Jesus has done for us. With tomorrow being known as Palm Sunday, I imagine most of us will spend at least some time being reminded of, and thinking about, the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem just days before the crowds would turn on Him and demand His crucifixion. It is that thought that makes me think we ought to spend more time preparing for worship than what we do. It is so easy to be swept along with the crowd. We worship when the crowds worship and we condemn when the crowds condemn. If I see my life as worship . . . if I prepare for worship . . . then worship should be what I express regardless of the nature of the crowds around me. So how do you and I prepare to live a life of worship? I think at least part of the preparation begins by recognizing that God deserves our worship all the time because He knows what He’s talking about all the time. Some days I prepare for worship by observing His beauty in nature. Today I prepared for worship by understanding the rest I needed and experienced today was His idea. Tomorrow I prepare for a life of worship by gathering with like-minded believer to share in the body and blood of Christ through communion. When I realize that God’s plans for me, the plans revealed through scripture that He desires for all mankind, are plans that prosper and do good . . . plans to give me hope and a future. God’s part of this plan was accomplished through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. My part of the plan is to accept God’s part of the plan.

I pray that you and I would find time for, and enjoy, the rest that God desires for us. I pray that we would see worship as something much bigger and meaningful than just an hour service each week. I pray that we would constantly prepare for a life of worship that is not swayed by the crowds. I pray that we would fully accept God’s plan to give us a hope and a future through the work of Jesus in our life.

March 18, 2016 by Tom

2016: Page 78

Page 78 is another Friday which means a long day no matter how you measure it. I still get asked often how I find time to go to the parks and lake shore to take all the photographs I share. This week, and today in particular, is a good example of how that happens. Mostly it is about priority of the hours that are in a day with my preference to spend non-working time hiking and taking photographs rather than sitting around watching television or involved in some other form of entertainment. I usually start work sometime between 6 and 6:30 AM and try to leave the building sometime between 2 and 3 in the afternoon. Today I got to work a little late — it was 7 AM. I took care of the cleaning and maintenance tasks that needed done through out the day, as well as worked on some writing projects that are currently underway. I managed to make it out of the building a little before 3 to get some lunch and drive down to Potato Creek State Park where I spent about an hour hiking and taking pictures. Fridays I usually get the building ready for the weekend once most people clear out, so I was back to the building by 5 PM to start the cleaning and prep work for the weekend. In the middle of my cleaning, I’ll stop and write this page while the floor scrubber recharges. By the time everything is said and done, I’m usually out of here by 10:30 or 11:00 PM on Fridays but even with such a long day, there was ample time to spend taking pictures as part of my worship of God.

I write all that not in a “pity party” spirit, but in hopes of helping you see that you may have more time to spend with God in the beauty of His creation than you think. Many of the walks/hikes that I take are not much more than an hour or two and most people I know invest way more time that that in their favorite TV shows each day. I realize I have an advantage of flexibility in start times that many don’t. I can choose to begin my day at 6 in the morning so I have a block of daylight after work. There have been times in the past when I’ve spent mornings out in the kayak and shift my work hours to afternoon and evening. I simply make it a priority to figure out ways to spend time with God in nature. It does help a great deal that my family also enjoys the great outdoors so we can take these hikes together so it often adds to family time instead of taking away from it. Believe me, I know it is not easy because it is not easy for me either. I struggle with balancing my time well but I’ve discovered that my time is much more productive if I make spending time with God a priority both at work and in my times of recreation and enjoyment.

I pray that you and I would evaluate how we use the hours of the day that God gives us — we each are given the same amount each day. I pray that we would not only make work a priority, but that we would make time spent doing the things we enjoy with the ones we love a priority as well. I pray that God is central in each of those areas and all other areas of our life.

Today’s visit to the park included the beauty of the Osprey which have returned to Potato Creek and the peacefulness of the white puffy clouds dotting the crystal blue sky.

March 17, 2016 by Tom

2016: Page 77

Page 77 began as a normal workday with the usual weekday tasks that needed done. The morning included some maintenance tasks that required I dig through my memory, and my supply shelves, to track down some parts that I knew I had . . . somewhere. After some thinking and looking, the missing parts appeared and I was able to complete the needed tasks. The day also included ministry conversations that reminded me of the assurance I have in Christ. An assurance that includes my pursuit of obedience to the things scripture teaches about becoming “in Christ”, but more importantly an assurance because of my faith in the faithfulness of God to forgive my sin through the blood of Jesus. My obedience is necessary not because I can in any way earn favor with God, but because I have favor with God.

As the workday came to a close, my family and I grabbed a very late lunch and headed out to Bonneyville Mills park to take some pictures . . . and take a hike. There was still a chill in the air, but the cloud and blue sky mix was perfect for photos. It was nice to see people out walking the trails and enjoying the beauty of God’s creation. Today was more about the walk and taking in the beauty than about photography. I did take about 50 photos, but that didn’t seem like much compared to yesterday’s total of nearly 500. While at the park, I was captivated by the cotton ball clouds that drifted through the bright blue sky. I was doubly pleased when I got home and found that my camera had captured the view just as I had hoped it would. I’ve not had much success finding the right settings on the camera to capture this type of scene the way I have wanted to, but today it finally came together.

I remember stretching on the back lawn many years ago as a young boy, watching the clouds float overhead and dreaming about heaven. Life was busy growing up on the farm so I’m sure those times of imagining the future were few and far between, but they were so real I still remember them even today. I don’t remember if it was technically daydreaming or if I had actually fallen asleep, or if it was something different entirely, but I recall the real sense of flying/floating through the sky while enjoying the beauty of heaven in the presence of God. I don’t think this dream ever included any details of what that was like other than a confidence that was where I was. As I looked through today’s photos, they were a reminder of those days long ago when I first began to feel the closeness of God. My daughter constantly talks about seeing Jesus someday and I pray that I have that same desire, expectation, and assurance that looks forward to that day each day I live.

I pray that you and I live fully aware of the work of God that calls all people to salvation through Jesus Christ. I pray that we would desire to live obedient lives because of the cleansing of sin we have through the blood of Jesus. I pray that we would not lose sight of the eternal reward that awaits all who are found in Christ. I pray that we never outgrow our coming to Christ as a little child so that we always maintain the wonder and expectation that even today we could see Jesus face to face.

March 16, 2016 by Tom

2016: Page 76

“It was a dark and stormy night.” So began page 76 of this 2016 edition of my life. Thunderstorms rolled through the area very early in the morning, causing an interruption of desired rest. Interrupted sleep or not, the alarm still went off early and the cleaning at work wasn’t going to get done itself. I finished the cleaning and daily prep work and as I sat down at my computer to check email and messages, I was able to catch a glimpse of the sun fighting its way over the horizon. In a very short time, the clouds had been blown away and an incredible sunrise was appearing as I looked out my office window. After going out to take some pictures, I returned to my email and messages. When I next looked up, the sun had disappeared under a thick blanket of clouds while the wind whipped the treetops back and forth with great fury. By late morning as I finished up some projects, I noticed there were holes appearing in that thick blanket of clouds and a few tiny patches of blue sky peering out onto the earth below.

By the time I finished up that work day at 3, the blue sky dotted with an occasional puffy white cloud seemed to be asking to be photographed. At least from inside, it was a perfect day to head out and take some photos. With the wind gusting up to 50 mph, we decided to head up to Lake Michigan to capture some lighthouse photos with some good wave action. As we were about to leave the South Haven lighthouse, the lady in the car next to where I parked looked so familiar that I found myself trying to see who she was with without looking like a creeper or stalker. I finally got a good look at the driver and it was a good friend from my years working at the camp. They had come over from the Kalamazoo area to watch the waves and sunset and “just happened” to park next to us.

After coming home and reflecting on the day, I thought about how quickly things can change. We often joke about the weather in the Michiana area, that if you don’t like it then just wait 5 minutes, it will change. That really seemed to be the case several times today. I also thought about life and how sometimes it can feel as if nothing will ever change and we are “stuck” wherever we happen to be. When I am in a cloudy and stormy season of life, it can start to feel like the sun will never return. Fortunately, I’ve lived through enough to know that the light of Jesus can being hope to my darkest hours. Paul writes of his “light and momentary afflictions”, and when I study his life I realize that things do change very quickly when viewed from an eternal perspective. The struggles that I face that last days, weeks, months, or even years, really are momentary when compared to the eternal glory waiting for me when I meet Jesus face to face.

As I watched and photographed the waves, I thought about the power of Jesus who could calm the wind and the waves with just a simple command, “Be still!” As I thought about that, it dawned on me that Jesus had the power to keep the storm from ever happening in the first place. Yet the storm was necessary for the disciples, and for me. It is in the storm that God can clearly reveal both His power and His love for me as His Word brings calm to the storms of my life. The storms not only help me to realize how weak I am on my own, they also help me to see just how strong I can be in Christ.

I pray that you and I are filled with hope as we realize the ever-changing nature of life on this earth. I pray that we would not despair when things look bleak, but that we would look to God for strength and comfort. I pray that we would grow in our understanding of how God uses the storms of life to teach, equip, and refine us into a greater representation of His Son, Jesus.