While the outside temperature in the nineties still shouts summer, page 223 was filled with signs that summer is quickly fading away.  From the early morning cleaning as school began today to the sunflower head missing its petals and many of its seeds, the signs of fall are appearing everywhere I look.  The later sunrise and earlier sunset signal shorter days that will soon become cooler — it also means better opportunities for sunrise and sunset photos are once again on the way! 🙂

I chose today’s photo as a contrast to the beauty of yesterday’s sunflower picture because it both reminds me of fall and of how I feel.  It’s not just me, right?  We’ve all had those seasons of life when it feels like we’ve been picked apart and any attractiveness we’ve had is all gone.  Those days when we want it to be all about us even though we know it isn’t, and it shouldn’t be.  We don’t mind doing our part as long as we can define what our part is.  But as Christians, we don’t get to do that.  Our part has been defined by both the word and example of Jesus — we are called to be servants of all.  And so the days wear away our physical appearance, the seeds we are called to sow are given away, and the results are in the hand of God and out of our control.

In talking about Himself, Jesus reminded His listeners that a seed must fall to the ground and die before it can produce new life and much fruit.  These sunflowers produce many seeds which become food for the birds of the air.  If their seeds were missing, we would think there was something wrong with the sunflower.  There is an expectation that it will be filled with seeds because that is what it is created to do.  Jesus made it clear that we are called to serve and bear much fruit within His kingdom.  If we choose not to do so, some serious questions should be raised about our obedience to what we are created to do.

I pray that you and I would find great beauty in ourselves and others when we pour ourselves out serving people in the name of Jesus.  I pray that we would freely give what we have received from Jesus.  I pray that the seeds that have been sown in our lives would bear much fruit within us. 

Page 222 was another step in getting back into a school-year routine.  I headed to work early to clean bathrooms, sweep hallways, and take out trash to start the day.  Once that was done, I spent time taking inventory of supplies to see what I still needed before school begins tomorrow morning.  As I worked through that, I checked on the possibility of having an Impact Prayer Ministry display at the North American Christian Convention next summer.  Their exhibitor costs are rather pricey, so I need to spend some time with God praying and listening before I make a final decision about that.  I can list a lot of pros and a lot of cons, but I really need to figure out God’s direction in this and how He would want me to best share the ministry and resources that He has provided.

As the morning neared an end, I headed out to pick up the cleaning and maintenance supplies that I would be needing in the weeks to come.  As I made my various stops, I crossed paths with several people I know and was able to get updates from each of them regarding recent issues within their families that have been, and continue to be, prayer concerns.  By the time I finished all my stops, my workday had come to an end and I headed home.  At home, the birds were busy plucking seeds from the sunflower heads so I got my camera out only to have the birds disappear.  The lack of birds didn’t stop me from taking pictures as the sun hanging low in the horizon provided some great illumination for the flowers.  With the sun behind it, today’s photo shows a sunflower really living up to its name.

As I consider the photo, I think about how the Son shining through us is what helps us live up to our name, Christian.  The more that we live in the light of Jesus, the more likely it is that the people around us will see Him in everything we do.  Jesus teaches that we are the light of the world when He lives within us.  As the carriers of His light, we’re instructed to not hide this light from view but to set it on a lampstand that is positioned for everyone to see.  When our light is shining as it ought to be, not only do we provide illumination in areas of darkness but we also draw the attention of those in need to the light that Jesus offers through the indwelling presence of His Spirit.

It is when we live daily in the light of Jesus, we learn to make decisions that we know will keep us there.  The more we experience the comfort and encouragement of His presence, the less likely we are to pursue anything that would take us away from His light.  When we learn to listen to God and His Word for direction and timing in the events of our life, we allow Him to illuminate even the things we consider routine and ordinary.

I pray that you and I would turn to God for wisdom, and the courage to use that wisdom, in everything we do.  I pray that we would do our part in allowing God’s light to shine in us and be visible through us.  I pray that the light we make visible would draw people to pursue a relationship with Jesus.

Page 221 begins the end of summer as school returns to the building this week.  While that seems like a crazy statement to write in early August, it is nonetheless a true statement. 😦  Much of the day was spent with my usual Monday writing projects and trying to figure out what my fall routine needs to look like.  This past month has been a blur as I’ve tried to hold together as much as possible to accomplish the important tasks that had been set before me.  Throw in the busyness of completing projects that others pulled me into and my summer seemed to have evaporated before it even began.  One of the beauties of photos is that I can look back and remember the Florida vacation that marked the beginning of summer.  I can look at the photos and recall the afternoon hikes at Potato Creek, the sunset visits to Lake Michigan, and the weekly prayer walks at Michiana Christian Service Camp.  As I realize the opportunities I had to be still before God and allow His Spirit to refresh mine, I become amazed that anyone can survive for any length of time without that.  

A good part of the morning was spent writing next week’s prayer guide which is week two of a focus on the beatitudes and the results of seeing blessings redefined by Jesus.  Without an eternal perspective, much of what Jesus says about being blessed makes absolutely no sense.  Life gets that way often, doesn’t it?  We lose perspective and all we can see is what is directly in front of us.  When today’s life doesn’t seem very blessed, we need reminders of how God has brought us through dark times before and of His faithfulness in keeping all of His eternal promises.  As I find myself walking through a valley of shadows, I find comfort in knowing that even the shadows are proof that the light is still shining.  The photo I chose to add to today’s page is one I took yesterday during a cloudy evening visit to Potato Creek.  Even with all of the clouds, it is the light that is most noticeable to me.  As a matter of fact, the clouds actually accentuate the light as it shines through the darkness.  While we are generally comfortable with the claim of Jesus that He is the light of the world, we tend to squirm just a bit when He says that we are the light of the world!  Yet He not only says it, He expects that we will “let our light shine in such a way that people would see our good deeds and glorify our Father who is in heaven.”  Instead of letting the darkness of the world hide us, the darkness actually helps our light be more visible when we live in such a way that Christ is seen in us.

I pray that you and I would find ways to remember the work of God in our lives and how He has blessed us in times of trouble.  I pray that we would keep our eyes fixed on Jesus as we remain aware of an eternal perspective to the blessings God has prepared for us.  I pray that we would live as beacons of light in a world that is increasingly dark.  I pray that the light we shine would always be the light of Jesus that points people to the Father.

Page 220 was a Sunday which found me headed into work at 6 AM to clean bathrooms, glass doors, and take care of other building needs so everything was ready for the morning worship gathering.  When the Deer Run building was ready, I came home and spent some time with God going over my sermon outline before heading up to North Wayne to share with them this morning.  After lunch, I laid down for a while and took a nap then eventually got up and around for an early evening walk at Potato Creek with my family.  

The photo that made today’s page is from that walk.  At several places in the park, the butterflies seemed to be swarming a wide variety of blossoming plants.  As these butterflies gathered to feast on the nectar that could be obtained from the flower blossoms, I thought about those who gathered this morning to feast on the nectar of God’s Word.  It does my heart good to hear people who look forward to the weeks I preach — not because I am anything special, but because I present God’s Word in a way that they are able to feast on as it carries meaning and application into their life.

This morning, I shared a message from the first half of John 10 about living an abundant LIFE.  Jesus says that there is a thief that seeks to steal from us, kill us, and destroy our very life but He has come to give us life that is abundant.  As I considered the abundant life we are to have in Christ, I shared four things that should be present in abundance in our life.  The first is we should have an abundance of Listening!  Jesus says the those who are His listen and they both hear and know His voice.  It is through an abundance of listening to the Word of God and His Spirit that we become so familiar with the things that God says that we are able to recognize His voice at all times.  The second element that should be present in our walk with Christ is an abundant Invitation!  Whenever the disciples or religious leaders would try to restrict access to Jesus, He would rebuke them and invite everyone into His presence.  The invitation of Jesus us open to all who would come to Him in repentance and acceptance of His work on the cross.  Our invitation to others should be just as open and abundant as His is.  The third part of this abundant LIFE seems to flow out of the invitation, and that is the abundant Flock that Jesus has called His.  In John 10, Jesus makes it clear that He has sheep that belong to Him that are not in the same “pen” that those He is speaking to are in.  Being part of this abundant Flock has nothing to do with the group we worship with on a regular basis or what name is on the sign out front.  The common characteristic of this abundant flock is that we have the same shepherd and we listen to His voice.  We would do well to keep this in mind as we interact with others who may not be identical to us yet live under the Lordship of the Good Shepherd, Jesus.  Finally, we looked at the need to follow the abundant Example of Jesus.  In the story, Jesus gives us two examples — one bad and one good.  He says there are those who look out for their own interests above all and they run at the first sign of danger when the flock is threatened.  As the Good Shepherd, however, He sets the example of laying down His life in order to keep those in His flock protected and safe.  This example is one that we ought to live with abundance in our life as we sacrifice for the good of others.

I pray that you and I would have the great desire to feast on the Word of God.  I pray that we would know the abundant life that Christ desires for us to have as His children.  I pray that we would excel in listening — both to God and to the people around us.  I pray that we would freely invite everyone we meet into a relationship with the living God.  I pray that we would not only value the “pen” we are in, but would recognize the part we have in the abundant flock that belongs to God.  I pray that we would be diligent in following the example of Jesus and live a life that sets an abundant example for others to follow.

Page 219 has been productive as I’ve spent much of the day soaking in the Word as I prepare to share a sermon at the North Wayne Mennonite Church tomorrow morning.  Time spent with God preparing a sermon is always a reminder to me of how much God cares for the “invisible” people.  While it is difficult, even impossible at times, to communicate what I need, God always understands and provides for me in ways that show the great value He created within me.  While invisible to much of the world and unnoticed even by those around me, God sees every tear that never makes it to the eyes and understands even the hurt that doesn’t know how to cry.  As I study scripture and prepare a message about the abundant life God has called us to, I’m comforted by a Savior that lived life in the everyday moments yet was mostly unseen by the people He came to serve.

Today’s photo includes a goldfinch who showed up to eat some sunflower seeds.  These things are difficult to photograph because they often do such a great job of blending in.  I know they are out there, so I watch for subtle changes or movement around the sunflower heads.  Not only do they have a similar color pattern as the sunflowers, but their invisibility is aided by the fact that very few people are even looking for them.  Our communities are filled with “invisible” people, and not just because they blend in with everyone else but also because very few people are really paying attention to what anyone else is going through.  As we read Scripture, we do see that the teachings of Jesus often amazed people but I think there is an element of His life that is often overlooked which led people to even have a desire to listen to Him.  That element is that He noticed people.  Not just people who thought they were important, but people who no one else thought was important.  People who didn’t even think they were important enough to receive a second glance from anyone.  It’s as if the example of Jesus is that the less the world thinks of you, the more likely you are to be in position to notice Jesus noticing you.

When I have these seasons when I feel rejected by everyone, I consider Jesus hanging on a cross crying out, “My God! My God!  Why have You forsaken Me?”.  When I reflect on what Jesus went through, I realize He has kept His promise to never leave or forsake me.  He experienced something that in Christ I never have to experience.  Yet the small internal battles are real and can appear larger than life itself.  The battle to find a balance between the extremes of arrogance and worthlessness.  The battles between who God says I am and who others, including myself, say I am.  Many people have an incredible struggle to believe who God says they are because so many people have convinced them to believe something that isn’t true.  I have read that people need to hear ten positive things to counteract every one negative thing that is said to them.  In a world that is filled with so much negativity, it is no wonder that so many people believe the lies about themselves — the lies are usually spoken more often and with more conviction than the truth.

I pray that we would not only be truth-speakers, but that we would do so with such sincerity and conviction that those who hear us would accept God’s truth about them.  I pray that the negative, and untrue, things which are stored in my mind through the words of others would not define who I am.  I pray that we would have eyes that see and ears that hear those who are walking through life as invisible people.

After a long week that has felt non-stop since last Friday morning, page 218 looked to be an opportunity for rest.  As it turned out, the theme for the day in more ways than one was “go fly a kite”.  Susan has been having a lot of seizure activity the last few days, so my day of rest allowed her to sleep in and get some rest as well.  After Susan got up and I got her breakfast around for her, I spent some time working on the layout of my latest book to see if I could add a two-page spread in the front of it to include a dedication page and the poem I had written in memory of my niece.  While the books I have written are primarily given away at conferences and such to people who will use them to grow in a lifestyle of prayer, I’m considering using any proceeds that God may bring about from the book, “Almost Heaven”, to add to the scholarship fund set up in my niece’s memory.  After adding the two pages to the manuscript file, I sent it to the printing company I use and ordered some proof copies of the updated book to make sure the change didn’t mess with any other parts of the book.

I eventually fired up the grill to get some lunch going and sat on the porch waiting for photo opportunities while I let lunch cook.  I caught a glimpse of a hummingbird a couple of times as well as a butterfly that didn’t seem to want to land anywhere.  Eventually, a finch showed up to work on the sunflower seeds and I managed a few pictures of it before it flew off.  After lunch, I rested a bit but my family was eager to “go out and do something” so we loaded some things in the truck and headed out for a drive.  We headed for the Lake Michigan shoreline and drove along it as much as we could from the Michigan state line into Michigan City.  Drove another stretch of shoreline through the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore on our way to the Indiana Dunes State Park.  It was at the park that I put the kite up in the air and took some photos while we relaxed for a while on the beach.  By early evening, we packed up from there and stopped for a bite to eat on our way back to Michigan City to photograph the sunset at Washington Park with the lighthouse for the background.

For some reason today, I had a difficult getting the camera settings I wanted on a consistent basis.  While I had a few photos that were overexposed to the point of not being able to distinguish what they were of, more of them were much darker than I had planned or desired — and just when I had begun thinking I was finally understanding some of the settings on my camera.  Life seems to be a lot like that, at least for me.  When I think I’m getting some part of it figured out, something happens to reveal how little I really know.  The times of success are followed by moments of failure and darkness that always seem larger than what they really are.  The good deeds of life go unrewarded and unappreciated, so the enemy tries to convince us to just give up — no one cares anyway.  While I can’t vouch for people who care, God always does.  His love for us is expressed in so many ways, that each tries to draw us closer into relationship with Him.  His desire is that we would know Him, we would experience His love, and that we would accurately represent Him to the people around us.

I pray that you and I would comfort those who mourn and honor those who have lived a life of faith.  I pray that we would give of ourselves even when the response is to go fly a kite.  I pray that we would experience daily the love and care that God lavishes on those who are His.  I pray that as His children, we would represent Him well to the people around us.  

Page 217 was back to work wearing the maintenance hat.  After a conference schedule that had me on the go from 7:30 each morning until midnight most days, my body was calling for rest but my schedule was saying something different.  I had a service tech scheduled to be at the building today to continue work on our heating and air conditioning system so I needed to be there to coordinate that.  The lawn was also needing mowed, so I began that early to try to beat the heat and humidity in the forecast.  The first half of the mowing was definitely more comfortable than the second half, but I did manage to get finished by keeping at it most of the day.

As I mowed, I put into practice the points I had been teaching at the conference about listening and praying in the “real world”.  The prayer time was valuable as I was experiencing a post-conference let-down as I went from the prayer-focused teaching work at the conference to the lawn-mowing and maintenance work at the church.  I often wonder why God hasn’t opened up the opportunities and resources for me to be preaching and teaching full time but also realize He teaches me so much through the physical work He has me doing.  I suppose it is a lesson in patience and waiting upon Him as I seek to live a life that is faithful in its obedience to His calling.

After the mowing was done and the service work completed in the building, I had put in a full day and it was time to head home.  Having worked through lunch, I grabbed a Klondike bar out of the freezer and a bag of Famous Amos cookies to provide some healthy nutrition to hold me over for an hour or so before dinner. 🙂  As I relaxed a bit at home, I started through the pictures from my walks with God during my conference trip.  As I went through the photos from the first day of the trip, this group of butterflies caught my eye.  I don’t know if I’m just paying more attention or if they’re more plentiful, but it seems like butterflies have been everywhere I go this summer.  For me, there is something striking about the beauty and incredible variety that can be found in the butterfly world.  

As the day draws to an end, my mind has reached the point of fatigue that is characterized by a foggy haze in my thought processes.  The actively awake hours from the week have caught up with me and the heat and humidity of the day’s outside work has added to the “drained” feeling.  All of that means it is time to begin wrapping up today’s written page so my mind and body can get some rest.  In the same way, it is important we pay attention to the condition of our spiritual life.  God calls us to be active in living out our faith, but He also calls for times when we “withdraw to lonely places” and allow our spirit to rest in God’s presence.

I pray that you and I would live out our identity in Christ in the midst of all of the activities we find ourselves doing.  I pray that we would grow in patience as a part of the fruit of God’s Spirit within us as we learn to wait upon the Lord to complete His work in us according to His good timing.  I pray that we would pay attention to the incredible reminders that God has placed around us of His creativity and attention to detail.  I pray that we would set aside times to rest our body, mind, and spirit as we grow in our relationship with God.

Page 216 included the closing session of the National Student Conference and a drive through almost the entire length of the state of Indiana.  The day began early with packing up my room and display to head home.  I made it to breakfast this morning and was able to chat with some students and campus ministry staff before the closing worship session of the conference.  This morning’s session looked at the life of Daniel and his example of having hope in exile.  It was through a study of Jeremiah’s writing that Daniel realized that the end of the exile in Babylon was near.  In looking forward with hope, Daniel turned to God in confession and repentance for Israel’s failure to look to God in their time of trouble and exile.  

We live in trying times, and as Christians it may often feel like we are living in a foreign land as the familiar landscape of life has made a massive shift over the last generation or two.  The life of Daniel is one that stands as an example of how God’s people ought to live with integrity and influence as we look forward to the time we will be able to head home.  While there are a lot of lessons we should learn and apply from Daniel’s life, one of the most important may well be to pray for and work toward peace and prosperity for the place where we live as aliens and exiles.

After the conference was over, I began the journey home with a few stops along the way to stretch my legs and take some photos.  The first stop after lunch was at Cataract Falls between Spencer and Cloverdale in Indiana.  As I was taking pictures of the falls with the covered bridge as the backdrop, there was a family in the vicinity that had been taking pictures as I arrived.  As they were walking away, I heard the mom tell the young daughter, “That may be one for your 4-H fair project.”  That statement took me back a lot of years as the first trip I remember to Cataract Falls, I was taking photos as a 10 – 12 year-old hoping to use them on my 4-H fair project!  

After my visit at the falls, I checked my GPS and found there were several covered bridges within a few miles of my route home so I took the short detours on some winding, dusty roads to photograph them as well.  These bridges had the interesting names of “Rolling Stone”, “Pine Bluff”, and “Cornstalk”.  Then after I had been to the covered bridges, my GPS took me down a road that was a dead end before it was supposed to have connected with the highway.  

Life is like that sometimes, right?  We are traveling along, perhaps even enjoying the journey, and all of a sudden we discover the directions we are following won’t get us to where we need to go.  God’s desire is that we would follow His direction at all times but most of us have difficulty doing that as consistently as we should.  We take direction from a lot of sources that sound like they know what they are talking about.  We listen to “experts” who have all the credentials to make us believe they know best.  We hear rumors, or read things on social media, that are repeated so often that we begin to believe them.  And when we do these things without evaluating them according to the truth of God’s Word, it isn’t long before we are led down a dead end path.  Fortunately, God has the ability, power, and desire to rescue us and redirect us onto the path that is good and leads to eternal life.

I pray that you and I would live with great hope because of the work of God in our lives.  I pray that we would seek peace and prosperity for the places where we live.  I pray that we would enjoy the surroundings that God has created and filled with beauty and wonder.