Page 95 in this written journal of the year 2016 was spent with my family doing a little sightseeing and photo taking.  Our original plan was to head north and spend a day or two photographing lighthouses along Lake Michigan.  With winter not wanting to release its grip and allow spring to fully arrive in northern Indiana and Michigan, we decided to head to central Indiana where the forecast was for warmer weather.  With an overnight base at the McCormick’s Creek State Park Inn, we woke up this morning and headed to Brown County to photograph a couple covered bridges there.  One of the bridges is at the entrance to Brown County State Park, so we drove on in and took some pictures there as well.  It was at the park that I took the photo that is included as part of page 95 — more later about why I chose that photo.

After our visit to Brown County State Park, we headed up Greasy Creek Road to make our way to Bean Blossom, Indiana to see the covered bridge there.  By the time we were done photographing there, we headed to lunch where we would refuel our bodies and decide what was next.  The decision was made to head a couple counties over to Greene County where we found another covered bridge just south of Bloomfield, Indiana.  We spent some time photographing it then headed back through Spencer, Indiana to Cataract Falls to photograph the covered bridge there as well as the falls.  Once done there, we completed our loop with a return to McCormick’s Creek State Park where we took a 2 mile hike with Susan riding most of it in her wheelchair including a few stream crossings.  All in all, a pretty good day — four counties, four covered bridges, an impressive waterfall, a two-mile hike, and dinner with a variety of birds entertaining us outside the dining room window.

As I started going through today’s photos and reflecting on the day, the photo below reminded me of the song lyrics taken from Psalms 36, “Your love reaches to the heavens, Your faithfulness stretches to the sky.”  I’ve always found this Psalm, and the corresponding song, a little strange though.  I suppose it could be said that while Jesus was on earth His love reached to the heavens and His faithfulness stretched to the sky, but other than that small slice of time I more often picture His love and faithfulness coming from the heavens and the sky.  As I watch the trees reaching toward the heavens, I noticed the elements of the heavens — the sun, the clouds, the blue sky — surrounding the very things reaching toward them.  A day with my family is a lot like that.  We reach toward each other and together we reach toward heaven and find that God’s love and faithfulness has surrounded us as we walk together.  These moments we spend as a family are priceless.  To walk together and hear Susan laugh is a slice of heaven itself.  To hear her talk about taking her dog (a large non-real plush Dalmatian) to heaven to see Jesus — “when it’s time” — reminds me often of where our home really is.

I pray that you and I would pay attention to the many ways that God extends His love and faithfulness to us each day.  I pray that we would value the family God has given us.  I pray that we would always face each day with an awareness that our assured hope is to see Jesus — “when it’s time”.

Page 94 had an early start as I headed to the church to check the walks and make sure everything was cleaned and ready for the morning.  With the snow coming down heavy off and on all day Saturday, I knew I would need to check on things Sunday morning so I didn’t end up going in Saturday night.  Once everything was ready at Deer Run, I headed home to get cleaned up and head to Dowagiac, Michigan where I shared the morning message out of Philippians chapter two.  After preaching for the North Wayne Mennonite Church, we went out to lunch then stopped by the house to pack a few things for a quick family get-a-way.  We made it to our destination by 4:30 and went for a short hike before dinner, then a longer, more rugged hike after dinner.  There was a lot of beauty to be seen and a couple deer who hadn’t gotten the message from my deer friends back home that I was coming down to see them.  🙂

The morning message was titled “A LIFE of Joy”.  We looked at the foundation of love required for true joy.  Both a love for God and a love for one another are necessary if we wish to have the abiding joy that is part of the fruit of God’s Spirit within us.  It is in Philippians two that Paul describes the kind of love necessary for the joy that most of us want.  This love is personified in Jesus who “did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking on the likeness of a man.”  Scripture teaches that there is no great love than to lay down our life for our friends . . . and that is what Jesus willingly did even while we were enemies with Him and the friendship was only from His perspective.

We also looked at the instruction given for joy.  While the instruction began with the example given of Jesus being obedient to death — even death on a cross, the more practical instruction for us on a day to day basis is the command to “do everything without complaining or arguing.”  Doing this will put a joy within us that causes us to shine in a culture that is constantly yelling about their rights and their way.  The more we find ourselves complaining and arguing, the less we will find ourselves living with a joy that attracts people to Jesus.  Christians are often known for fighting about things that don’t really matter rather than uniting on the things that do.

As we begin to live the love and follow the instruction given for godly joy, we discover a necessary element of faith to have a life of joy.  Faith creates joy because it causes us to trust God even when our circumstances make trust difficult.  Most of the New Testament writings that we have from Paul were written while he was under some type of confinement.  Some of them while under house arrest and others while in prison.  Even in the midst of such circumstances, he wrote about his joy being made complete by God working in the lives of those who would read his letters.  When hard and unfair times come, and they will, it is our faith that God knows and still loves and cares for us that enables us to live with joy.

The final point in the “LIFE of Joy” message was to recognize the eternal element that is the culmination of our joy.  The writer of Hebrews tells us that “for the joy set before Him, [Jesus] endured the cross.”  A quick read of the crucifixion story should convince anyone that the joy wasn’t in the mocking, the spitting, the scourging, the beating, the nails through the hands and feet, or any of the crucifixion process.  I believe the joy was at least two-fold.  One, a joy of satisfaction that His work was finished.  The price that only He could pay for the sin of mankind had been paid and His purpose on earth — His death, burial, and resurrection — was complete.  Secondly, and I think more importantly, there was the joy of knowing He was headed home!  When we base our joy on an eternal perspective with our eyes fixed on going home, our endurance of the “junk” of this world should increase.

Why is a life of joy so important?  Because people are watching!  They may not appear to be watching, you may not even notice they are watching, but they are!  I pray that you and I live a life of joy as we live each day for Christ.

I enjoyed a slow start to a Saturday but eventually got up to go through the photos I took last night and go through the sermon text that I will use tomorrow morning at the North Wayne Mennonite Church.  Susan slept in as well, only much later than I did, so once I got her up and around for the day I pulled the grill out to make lunch.  It had snowed earlier in the morning but the sun had come out so grilled cheeseburgers sounded like a good plan for lunch before heading to my niece’s wedding.  As I got the grill going, the sky opened up and let loose a blizzard-like whiteout of snow!  Fortunately I had opened the garage door and the grill was setting just under cover in the doorway as I hadn’t been convinced the earlier snow was finished.

As I watched the snow settle on the truck, the ground, and the flower petals I was amazed at how much of it was falling.  I went inside to grab my camera and as I shot some photos of the snow-capped daffodils, I thought about how I respond to the unexpected.  I don’t know if the spring flowers expect snow, but it would seem like it would be quite a shock to them.  I don’t like many surprises or unexpected things.  I don’t even handle good surprises all that well, let alone surprises that are not so good.  Once I am used to something, I like it to stay that way and when it is time for something different I like plenty of notice and preparation time.  I say “I like” because it rarely happens that way.  Much of life is like the unexpected snowfall that we just have to endure and trust that God will get us through it.  

At least in my life, sometimes the unexpected is needed because we become so comfortable with our routine that it takes a burst of “snow” to wake us up to the reality of where God is wanting us to be.  Many times it has been the unpleasant surprises of life that have caused me to seek God more fully and pay closer attention to what His desire is for me.  When it feels like my life is covered with snow and my heart is growing cold, I know the only thing that brings lasting warmth is the presence of God in my life.  I can either wilt from a frozen connection to my source of life or I can turn my face to the warmth of  God’s Son.

Following my morning lesson and lunch, we headed to my niece’s wedding and reception.  It was a beautiful wedding with a deliberate effort to keep God at the center of the ceremony and marriage.  There were people at the reception that I don’t think I’ve seen since high school days many years ago.  Either I haven’t changed much or they have better memories than I do because a number of people knew who I was and called me by name but I had no clue who they were.  When I would find out the name, I could place it with a person from school but typically the person in front of me didn’t look like the person my mind was picturing.  Somehow it seems that most of the people from my school days, other than MJ and I, have gotten old!  I guess it was a reminder that life moves on.  I often say that having Susan as a perpetual child helps keep us young and perhaps I am at least partially correct.

I pray that you and I would always look to God when we are faced with surprises, whether pleasant or not.  I pray that we would recognize the need for continual growth in our walk with God and expect the changes that accompany the growth.  I pray that when we begin to feel distant an cold, we would turn fully to the One who gives life.  I pray that God is always at the center of our life and at the center of all our relationships.

Page 92 would have seen the rising sun if it hadn’t been cloudy and drizzling to start the day.  The clouds gave way to sunshine by mid-afternoon so when I left work at 7 this evening I headed down to Potato Creek to catch the sunset.  As I arrived, the clouds began to return and as the sun dropped behind them the temperature began to fall.  One of the eagles met me as I drove into the park so I managed some photos of it and some sunset photos before heading home.  

This page was a Friday which meant early cleaning to start the day and late cleaning to end the day.  In between was some writing, maintenance tasks, and sermon prep.  With a game night at the building tonight and a funeral dinner tomorrow, my weekend cleaning will end up being spread out between this evening and tomorrow night.  As the sun set in the sky and I sat on the pier, I thought about the cleaning that God does in a life submitted to Him.  

Fridays require extra time to fully clean and prepare the building for Sunday worship.  While the daily cleaning that gets done helps keep the weekend cleaning manageable, neither makes the other unnecessary.  Our spiritual life needs similar attention.  Many people live as if a weekly, or even less frequent, attendance at a church service should be enough to keep their life on track with God’s plan and desire.  The effort required to connect with God becomes overwhelming because we’ve allowed the dirt of the world to create a growing distance between us and God.  When we spend time with God on a daily basis to allow Him to deal with the dirt that we get into, the task of being clean before Him isn’t nearly as daunting as when we allow the filth to accumulate.  While it is tempting to look at the current condition and decide it isn’t that bad, putting off a regular cleansing simply makes the work of living clean take much more time and effort when we finally decide a time of cleaning is in order.  When we clean before the mess becomes intimidating, we find the freedom to enjoy the beauty of life that God created for us to have.

I pray that you and I would daily cleanse our life of the sin and filth that so easily entangles and sticks to us.  I pray that we would always remember that the only cleansing agent that has any real effectiveness is the blood of Jesus.  I pray that we would not let sin and filth accumulate in our life, but that we would deal with it as it happens.  I pray that we would know and experience the true beauty of life that comes from being cleansed.  

While I’ve done well lately at keeping my work hours from consuming my life, today was a day that kind of got away from me.  I did manage to keep the workday under 12 hours, but barely.  It started out as a normal day with the usual cleaning but with the addition of a message and note that the pop machine was not working.  After taking care of a variety of tasks that needed my attention, I began to research and troubleshoot the pop machine to see if I could figure out why it was taking money but not dispensing product.  After going through all of the steps that I could manage, I called the company that has worked on it in the past and they said they would be out between 5 & 5:30.  In the meantime, I worked on some of the arrangements to have an Impact Prayer Ministry display at a national student conference this summer.  The service tech eventually came when he said he would but after all of his efforts, decided he would have to return tomorrow with a replacement part.  So, 11 1/2 hours after arriving at work I headed home.

Once home, I grilled some t-bone steaks and enjoyed a nice dinner with my family.  After dinner, it was time to sit down and reflect on the day to see what was lived, and what should be written, on page 91.  Some of these pages I know what I will write before I ever sit down to do so.  Others, I know the facts of the day but I’m not sure until the writing is well underway what the lesson of the day was that I will write about.  Today’s page came into focus when I wrote the opening sentence.  I find that when I worry excessively about the day getting away from me, it is because I lose sight of who should have control of each of my days.  

Last fall we bought a wheelchair with mountain bike wheels on it so it rolls easily over outdoor trail terrain and we can hike park trails as a family again.  Susan loves riding the trails and when we come down the hills, the faster the better.  If we’re not going fast enough, she will rock herself forward to try to help build momentum to increase the speed — or at least it is her way of telling me to go faster.  But an interesting thing happens when she is in the wheelchair and it starts to creep forward on its own.  The chair rolls so easily that yesterday while I was putting cameras away in the truck, the chair began to creep forward with her in it.  All of a sudden the joy of riding and the thrill of going fast was replaced by terror!  She was moving ever so slightly but had no idea who was in control.  Her joy and comfort all rests in a confidence of knowing her daddy is in control.  

We would do well to learn from Susan’s innocent trust.  We have reason to be filled with terror when we find ourselves drifting without giving God control of our life.  When I begin to think the day got away from me, perhaps it is because I thought it was mine to begin with.  Don’t get me wrong, sometimes the day does get away from me but usually it is because I’ve tried to live it according to my plan rather than listen to and follow God.  When I live with a confidence of God’s control, the bumps and hills and speed of life can be exiting and enjoyable.  

I pray that you and I would recognize the reasons life seems to get away from us at times.  I pray that we would listen to and trust God as we travel this trail called life.  I pray that our faith would grow as we experience the freedom of living under God’s control.  I pray that we would live a surrendered life that doesn’t try to take back control that we’ve already given to God.  I pray that we would know the joy of traveling through life with God in charge.

Page 90 was a day of contrasts.  The day began cool and dry then ended warm and wet.  The usual workday tasks were completed during the day and we managed a family hike which began under a cloud-filled sky that turned into a light rain about halfway through the walk.  Even under a gloomy sky, the sunshine yellow of the daffodils proclaimed that spring had indeed arrived!  

In addition to the regular cleaning and maintenance tasks, I walked part of the woods on the church property to see how things looked after last week’s timber harvest.  There is definitely some clean-up work to do and firewood to be cut but overall I think the thinning out of the mature trees will improve the woods in the long run.  I also helped run a fire drill for the school so they could practice being ready in case of a real emergency.

Today’s activities were a reminder of the importance of pruning and preparing.  To the untrained or untaught eye, the woods probably looked better before the timber harvesting took place.  Yet for the woods to be as healthy as possible, there needs to be a removal of trees that are no longer healthy and are keeping other trees from growing.  Pruning of any kind rarely looks pretty at the time it is done.  The longer that the pruning process is put off, the more severe the pruning work looks.  While this is true with trees and other growing plants, it is also true with the pruning God does in our life.  Many times we resist the pruning that God desires to do in our life until it becomes some drastic work that God needs to do to cut out the unhealthy habits we have allowed into our life.  When the pruning takes place, we can often be shocked at the major changes that have taken place yet we must always keep in mind that God knows what He is doing.

Not only is pruning important in our life, it is also vital that we are always prepared.  We run fire drills and storm drills on a regular basis so we become familiar with what needs to be done in an emergency.  Yet how often do we face a spiritual emergency and have absolutely no idea what to do?  When I was much, much younger, we would do “sword drills”.  At the time, I thought it was all about winning a chocolate bar for being the fastest to look up a scripture reference and read the verse out loud.  Now I realize the importance of being prepared to know how and where to find the answers for any emergency.  We prepare for the real emergencies in life by being comfortable and familiar with God’s Word.  We “practice” by using God’s Word daily in everything we do.  When we surround ourselves with the presence of God through His Word and His Spirit on a daily basis, we are prepared for anything that comes.

I pray that you and I would submit to the pruning of God on a daily basis and avoid the need for a drastic pruning later.  I pray that we would always be prepared to give an answer for the hope that we have in Christ.  I pray that we would spend time in God’s Word to prepare us not only for life on this earth, but more importantly for eternal life with Christ.

My day began with a heavy frost that need scraped off my windshield  before I could head in to work to start the usual morning tasks.  As I took the first round of trash out, the sun was beginning to peek through the tree line.  The moon was still visible overhead and there was a clear, crispness to the air.  The grass was covered with a heavy white frost that seemed very reluctant to melt away.  The sunrise was incredible as the beams of light cut between the trees and illuminated the frost with alternating lines of light and shadow. 

It wasn’t long before the sun reached the top of the tree line and the sunrise picture taking was over.  After I finished getting the building tasks finished for the morning, I settled down to continue writing in the “Devotions For Those Who Serve” series.  Today I finished the week of devotions on serving through friendship and began the week focused on serving with a guarded heart.  The seven devotions in the friendship booklet have probably been the most difficult for me to write so far.  My internal wiring that creates an awkward fear of people makes friendship a difficult thing for me.  There are many times that I am not even sure I know what a friend is, let alone know how to be one.  But I am able to grasp the friend I have in Jesus and this recently completed booklet focuses on serving well our of our relationship with Jesus as we use that friendship as the basis for all others.

It wasn’t long before I realized it was already mid-afternoon and my mind and body were telling me it was time call it a day as far as work goes.  I went home, loaded the kayak in the truck, and headed down to Potato Creek to rest and relax.  The air was calm and the temperature perfect as I put the kayak on the water for the first time this year.  It felt good to sit back, relax, and float on the open water.  While I didn’t see any of the eagles or make it to the osprey nests, there was plenty of wildlife and beauty to photograph.  Sometimes we go looking for reminders of God’s presence with a mind already set on what those reminders should look like.  When we do that, we often miss so many details of God’s presence around us.  While I deliberately look for the eagles each time I head to the park, I have learned to pay attention to the other details of God’s creativity whether I see the eagles or not.

When I was done on the lake I headed home to a great dinner then finished the day with a family walk along the Mishawaka RiverWalk.  It was a great ending to the day as the sun began to set while we were finishing up our walk.  More reminders of God’s creativity and more photo opportunities were plentiful.  It is not every day that I manage to catch both the sunrise and the sunset, but God is still faithful in providing one of each every day.

I pray that you and I would never become so calloused by the routines of life that we miss the beautiful creativity of God.  I pray that we would be known as God’s friend and serve others out of that friendship.  I pray that we would trust God to continue His work in us just as He continues His work in keeping the sun rising and setting each day.

Following a busy weekend, page 88 was a return to a “normal” routine — at least as much as possible.  The day began by cleaning bathrooms and floors then eventually moved into time with God putting together the prayer guide for next week.  I believe the events remembered and celebrated throughout the Easter weekend were still heavy on my mind as I settled on a topic for next week of “Examine”.  Throughout scripture we read of people who  understood that their life was an open book before God and His examination of their heart was always accurate and just.  Some were examined by God and declared to have a righteousness through faith.  Others were examined and found wanting.  God calls us to continually examine ourselves according to His Word so that we would understand our only hope of being declared righteous is to be found in Christ.  

As I was working on the prayer guide, I got a call that the parts had arrived to replace a leaking heating system component that has been down for a couple of weeks.  The leak had been present to one degree or another all winter but had been impossible to track down until a few weeks ago when it became steady enough that caused a puddle on the floor underneath it and when I lifted the ceiling tiles I could see the steady drip of water.  I had our heating and air contractor working on it but I needed to be at the building throughout the day to access the system controls and provide the service tech the access needed.  It was a cool, rainy day so I used my extra “building time” to continue work on some of my writing projects.

As I worked throughout the day, I would hear the call of a blue jay and occasionally catch a glimpse of it darting from one tree to another.  By the time I would get my camera out and try to get a picture, it would move into the underbrush where it would stay hidden for a time.  I eventually caught it perched behind some light brush and managed to take a picture before it once again flew off.  It seems that there are two primary keys to my taking bird photos that I like.  One key element is to always be ready.  To not only have a camera with me, but to have it out of the bag and nearby where I can grab it quickly.  The other key is to examine everything.  I often wonder when I’m out hiking just how many people walk by the eagles and osprey without even noticing they are perched nearby.  Many of my best shots are the result of closely examining the source of a sound that catches my ear or a movement that catches my eye.  

As I thought about all of these events from the day, I noticed a thread of examination woven throughout each.  The prayer guide had an obvious thread of examination throughout it as that is its focus.  The heating system leak involved a repeated process of examination to eventually discover the source of the leak and know where the repair work was needed.  My blue jay photo was the result of examining the source of the sound and movement that caught my attention throughout the day.  All of this made me wonder if I pay enough attention to the spiritual examination that is constantly needed in my life.  Am I seeking God’s examination, and the results of it, to shape my daily walk?  Do I pay close attention to the sounds and movement of God’s Spirit in my life so that I can accurately examine the lessons God wants me to learn?

I pray that you and I would welcome God’s examination of us and that we would accurately examine ourselves as necessary.  I pray that we would notice the gentle nudging of God’s Spirit that seeks to get our attention focused on His will for us.