Tom’s Book of 2016

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2016: Page 39

After a day trying to recover from the bug that took hold of me, today began much earlier than planned with the sound of Susan having a seizure — actually for me it was the sound of my wife trying to keep our daughter safe as she had her seizure.  Once she was through it and we were all back asleep it seemed like no time at all until the alarm went off meaning I needed to get up for work.  Fortunately the snow they keep talking about hadn’t arrived overnight so I could focus on doing the inside cleaning to get the building ready for the school day and not have to worry about the sidewalks.  With Susan having a tough night, we decided I would go in and get the cleaning done and then come home to be with Susan while MJ went in to work.  As I finished the cleaning and headed home I could tell I was losing energy fast and wasn’t completely recovered from the weekend illness.  As MJ and I traded places, Susan was still sleeping off her seizure so I went back to bed and fell asleep quickly.  In the middle of a dream that was not turning out to be pleasant, I was awakened by the sounds of Susan having another seizure.  

As I held her and tried to comfort her through the grip of something she has no control over, I thought about the things we allow to seize our hearts and minds that we do have the ability to say no to.  I thought about Paul’s instruction to “throw off the sin that so easily entangles us” as we seek to walk with Christ every day.  I thought about the early church being seized with fear after Ananias and Sapphira were struck dead for lying to the Holy Spirit.  I can’t count the number of times that I know fear has seized me to the extent that I did things I shouldn’t have or didn’t do things I should have.  For Susan, the longer her seizures last, the harder it is for her to break free of its grip.  The same seems to be true of the things that find a way to control our thoughts and actions.  The longer they stay in control, the harder it is for us to break free and live as we ought.  God wants our life to be controlled not by harmful, sinful, or distracting things, but by the presence of His Spirit within us.  As a parent, physical seizures are difficult to watch someone go through but we’ve learned to handle it and deal with it the best we can.  We comfort, we protect, we try to find ways to help her brain wiring reconnect in a working manner.  

I pray that you and I always seek to help those who live a life seized by something that should not have control of them.  May we be prepared to comfort, protect, and help them find ways to return control back over to God.

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2016: Page 38

Earthdate: 20160207 — These are the ramblings of one traveler’s journey on earth as he makes his way toward a heavenly home.

Some would call it a lazy Sunday afternoon.  I prefer to think of it as a time of restful recovery.  I woke up this morning feeling fairly well considering how sick I was just 24 hours before.  As I was going over the text and sermon I planned to share this morning I received a message that the church I was headed to was without heat and water so they would not be meeting.  Missing opportunities to preach is usually discouraging for me but this time I seemed to have a greater peace that God was still in charge and could use this for His good either in my life or in the lives of others.  As a result, I was able to be in my home church this morning when some dear friends announced they would be moving out of the area this week so this would be their last Sunday with us before that move.  It was good to be able to pray for them as we closed the morning worship gathering.

When I got home from lunch I left the car parked outside with the thought that we would go out and do something later — the weather forecast seemed to indicate this was the nicest day we would see for a while.  As it turned out, my energy level was still depleted and an afternoon nap ended up being the activity of the day.  In a fast paced and on-demand world, the idea of being still and waiting seems like such an unproductive use of time to most people.  We read passages of scripture that talk about God working all things together for our good and that He has plans to prosper us and we start thinking that the good and prosperous things should be taking place immediately.  When we start thinking that, we completely ignore not only the history of the entire “hall of faith” that we read about in Hebrews but also the direct context of the “all things work together for good” and “plans to prosper you, not to harm you” passages.  God’s perspective is always an eternal one.  Ours often is not.  Much of the time the only way for us to get a glimpse of God’s eternal perspective is through time spent waiting.

I pray that you and I spend appropriate times of rest as we wait in God’s presence for His perspective in our life.

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2016: Page 37

As with many books, page 37 picks up where page 36 left off.  As I finished writing last night I was at work and trying to get home after becoming rather sick.  Whether I picked up a bug or ate something that disagreed with me, the result was the same — a sickness worse than I can remember having for a very long time.  After sitting in my office for a bit I thought the worst of it was over so I headed for home with the idea that a hot bath and sleep would do me a world of good.  No such luck.  I was barely upstairs before it hit again and the rest of the night was spent emptying my body of more content that I knew it could hold.

It was a violent sickness unlike any that I can remember from my past but this is one that I hope not to remember long so I couldn’t say for certain if I’ve experienced anything like it.  With sensitivity to my readers I will try to not be too descriptive but even in the midst of this my mind went to the scripture where Jesus states in Revelation that He wishes the church in Laodicea was hot or cold but since they were lukewarm He would spew them from His mouth.  Last night gave me an image of Jesus being so sick of our wavering that He simply could hold us in no longer.  No will-power, might, decision, or desire could keep us from being expelled by force.  I thought of Joshua’s challenge to the people to make a choice — to decide if they would serve the Lord God or serve the gods of the people.  It is in that context that Joshua declares, “as for me and my household we will serve the Lord.”  God calls us to make a choice and He is not satisfied with a half-hearted part-time commitment to Him.  

I also thought about Elijah on Mount Carmel and his question to the people of how long will they waver.  Scripture tells us they said nothing.  They were trying to keep their options open as they were undecided between whether Baal or God could be of more benefit to them.  I believe that is why when Elijah proposes a contest where the god who answers by fire would be the god they would follow, all the people thought that was a good idea.  Far too often we live in that “lukewarm” state where we choose the god we will serve at any given time based on what we believe will give us the greatest immediate benefit.  I pray that you and I would be fully devoted to God in all things.  I pray that we would be constantly on guard against living a life that would lead us into a lukewarm relationship with our God.

The “spewing” ended by 6 this morning so most of the day has been spent resting and trying to recover from what my body endured overnight.  As I thought about my wife’s trip to the store to get some ginger ale and provide what care she could, I also thought about God’s care for me.  He says that he provides the things that the birds need and reminds us that we have greater value to Him so we should learn to trust Him for a greater care than we could receive elsewhere.  I choose to live for Him and accept His loving care.

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2016: Page 36

Earthdate: 20160205 — These are the ramblings of one traveler’s journey on earth as he makes his way toward a heavenly home.

Some nights it is easy to write that day’s “page” and other nights the words seem to be stuck in my head somewhere.  I think one of the students may have left their bug in the building today and it is trying to ride home with me.  Either that or a long day is catching up with me.  I still have a little work to do yet today so I’m trying to write and recharge while the floor scrubber recharges as well.   

The day began crisp and clear with no weather related issues to deal with for a change.  After doing the regular cleaning for the day and taking care of a few minor issues, I spent some time with God refining the list of daily topics for my next book and working on the cover layout.  With the title of “Living Free”, I think I will use one of my photos of the eagles at Potato Creek.  As I went through a couple pages of things the Bible says about living free, I was reminded that God’s purpose in giving us His Word is so we would know Him and have true freedom by following what it says.  Yet the freedom isn’t based so much on keeping the rules as it is in having a relationship with the One who has given them.  Many times we think freedom means there are no rules, we can do whatever we want.  With the freedom we have in Christ, half of that is true.  In a living relationship with Christ we can do what we want because what we want will be to obey His commands.

I guess today’s page will be shorter as I’m not feeling much better and I need to head home before I create a mess where I’ve already cleaned. (Never mind, I guess I’ll be here a while yet but I still think the page is done.)  I’ll leave you with a potential cover spread and the Table of Contents pages from this next book I am working on, “Living Free: Gazing Into the Perfect Law of God’s Word”.

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2016: Page 35

The ice was thick on the windows and windshield of the truck as I prepared to head to work this morning.  It was difficult to get the ice scraper to make its way under the layer of ice and start chipping it away.  The streets were slick in spots and the first order of business at work was to put ice melt down on the sidewalks leading to the building.  As I was finishing up the cleaning, I got word that school was on a two-hour delay again today.  As I spent time with God finishing up the necessary tasks to start the day, greater clarity for the next 31-day devotional journal began to from in my mind.  It seems as if when one writing project nears completion, God gives me another one to begin praying and seeking Him about.

The current project, “Watch Your Mouth: Choosing Words Which Honor Christ”, is being proofread and should be sent to the printer and published soon.  This next project first came to mind last year during a sermon series David and CJ did at church based on the ten commandments.  The book title, “Living Free”, came to mind then but the thought was that it would be based more closely on how following them gives us freedom.  Today the clarity that came took a little different focus as the current working title is, “Living Free: Gazing Into the Perfect Law of God’s Word”.  Each day in the devotional journal the focus will be on something different the Bible says about how following God’s Word helps us to live free from something, by something, or for something.  Once God put the concept in my mind, the topics came rather quickly.  In fact, in a short amount of time I came up with a list of 40 daily topics that I need to narrow down or combine to fit the 31-day format.  I currently have two different cover photos that I’ve worked on but I’m not sure either one is quite what I want for this book.  That’s okay, it will be a little while until I need a finished cover as it will take some time to write each day’s devotional questions and thoughts.

Following work I spent some time at home and as the sun began to break free from the cloud cover I decided to head down to Potato Creek State Park to see if there were some photos that wanted taken. 🙂  Sure enough, there were a variety of scenes longing to be preserved in digital photography.  I took a short hike and made my way to the east side of the lake as the sun was setting.  The sunset was gorgeous and the reflections off the ice seemed to amplify its beauty.  As I was ready to call an end to the photo excursion, I noticed a pair of bald eagles perched in a tree a long ways away.  With daylight fading the photos I could get at maximum zoom weren’t as clear as I would have liked but they still possess a majesty that the eagle represents.

I pray that you and I would always make the most of every opportunity — both the opportunities to act and the opportunities to be still and listen.  It is in the combination of the two that we find ourselves walking in the center of God’s will.

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2016: Page 34

Earthdate: 20160203 — These are the ramblings of one traveler’s journey on earth as he makes his way toward a heavenly home.

A quiet start to the morning as I found out after I got to work that school was on a two-hour delay and I could have slept in a bit.  This allowed me a completely quiet atmosphere in which to clean and pray.  I had some inquiries out about several opportunities to represent Impact Prayer Ministry at conferences and group gatherings, so the quiet time to talk and listen to God about these was very much appreciated.  As I got the building ready and took out trash, the sun began to make its way up over the back tree line while the waning crescent moon still hung in the early morning sky.  The scene was crying out for a few photos to be taken so I happily obliged.  

As I sat at my desk to enjoy a cup of coffee, the cardinals gathered in the trees outside my office window.  As they would fly back and forth and chase each other from the preferred feeding spots, occasionally they would fly straight at my window then swoop upward just before impact.  A I watched them, it became apparent that they were coming up to the building to use the guttering as a birdbath and drinking source.  Some day I may figure out the right settings or proper equipment to photograph them in flight.  Right now all my attempts either miss them completely or are just a blur of red.

As the morning progressed, I had a couple of computer tech issues to work on in the building with one of them taking a big block of time without ever getting it to work correctly.  As I worked on other things, God began to weave together the opportunities that I had been praying about.  By the time the work day ended I had received confirmation from the Michigan Christian Convention about my setting up a display there, I had reached an agreement with the Association of College Ministries to represent Impact Prayer Ministry at their National Student Conference, and I had received and filled out an application/agreement to have a display at the Christian Camp and Conference Association Super Sectional Conference Event being held in Indiana.  My purpose in each of these events is to put copies of the prayer-based resources of Impact Prayer Ministry into the hands of people who want to grow in their relationship with God through prayer.

When these ministry opportunities come up, sometimes I am tempted to look at my resources and forecast what is possible and what isn’t.  While Jesus does talk about counting the cost of being a disciple so that we are prepared to both pay the cost of full surrender and finish the journey, he also calls us to live a life of trust and faith.  While I can’t do what He doesn’t provide for, I also know that I must be obedient to doing what He calls me to do while trusting Him to provide the necessary resources to do so.  Right now my financial resources allowed me to register for these conferences but there isn’t much left at the moment to pay for books and resources to be printed and distributed.  But, as I often tell people at conferences and conventions, that is not my problem.  The resources belong to God, and I believe He has called me to freely share them at these conferences, so He is the one I go to when I run out.  

Just as there are times the weather forecast is wrong, there are many times when my forecast of what God wants to provide completely misses the mark.  I pray that you and I learn to live obediently to the will and call of God in our life as we trust Him to supply all of our need according to His riches in glory.

This photo is one I took of the moon this morning while most of the schools in the entire area were under a delay due to a forecasted dense fog advisory.  I guess either the forecast was wrong or God had a purpose in holding back the fog in the area I happened to be in. 🙂

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2016: Page 33

Earthdate: 20160202 — These are the ramblings of one traveler’s journey on earth as he makes his way toward a heavenly home.

If you’re like me, sometimes the work days seem ordinary and the uniqueness of each day gets lost in the routines of life.  One of the benefits of committing to this routine of writing each day’s page in this journey of life is that it makes me pause at the end of the day and consider the lessons God has been trying to teach me.  While each work day for me generally begins with the same tasks, I have to choose each day what my attitude about doing those tasks will be.  I have discovered that if I approach each task with a prayerful attitude then it is easier to take things as they come and try to see how God will use them to accomplish His purposes.  

As I worked on details for some possible opportunities to represent Impact Prayer Ministry, the birds returned to the trees and bushes outside my office window after being absent yesterday for some reason.  At one point two cardinals came as sat next to each other causing me to think of the old saying, “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush”.  I’ve always understood this to mean that a sure thing is worth as much, or more, than multiple possibilities that may, or may not, come to pass.  Sometimes it is easy to give in to the temptation to skip things that seem small with the hope that bigger things will come along.  Once again I was reminded of the consistent teaching of Jesus that calls me to be faithful with the little things or I don’t even have a chance to be trusted with larger things.  Potential opportunities are good, but I’ve learned to spend time with God fully considering each opportunity that comes my way and address it based not on its prestige or perceived potential, but on what I become convinced God wants me to do.  As I made inquiries into potential conferences and conventions where I believe the prayer-based materials I have written would be useful, I continually prayed that God would give me great wisdom and clarity in both understanding and accepting the answers He knows are best.  

God instructs us to make the most of every opportunity and I pray that you and I do so on a consistent basis.  I also pray that we don’t miss the opportunity that is in our hand because we are distracted by multiple opportunities in the bush.  May you and I prove faithful in everything that God calls us to without concern for its apparent size. 

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2016: Page 32

Earthdate: 20160201 — These are the ramblings of one traveler’s journey on earth as he makes his way toward a heavenly home.

After a great conference last week, today was a return to a “normal” work schedule.  I was up early and headed to work at 6 AM to do the morning cleaning and check on maintenance requests that had been left for me last week.  I am blessed to be a part of a church family and staff that supports the work God does through me in Impact Prayer Ministry.  Not only is there a financial support, but I know that I am prayed for and that there are people willing to clean the building and handle whatever tasks come up while I am out teaching, preaching, and representing the prayer ministry.  The deacons and my fellow staff members at Deer Run are a vital part of the Impact Prayer Ministry team and I appreciate them greatly.  I don’t dread coming back from a week-long conference because I know that things have been taken care of while I was gone and not simply left to accumulate for my return.  Thank you, Thank you, Thank you to each person who helped last week!

Upon completing the cleaning and changing a couple light bulbs that I had a note about, I settled in to my Monday morning routine.  If nothing pressing demands my time, Monday mornings are when I spend time with God writing the prayer guide that will be published for the following week.  While there have been a few intentional duplicates and an occasional new prayer guide that reuses a topic, I continue to be amazed at how God has given the content for these guides each week since November 2012.  On their own, each prayer guide may not seem like much but they represent a faithfulness in doing a seemingly small thing that God has called and gifted me to do.

As the day unfolded, I thought about my visit to Mingus Mill last week in the Smoky Mountains National Park.  As you approach the mill, the creek that it is built next to is nothing that would shout “power source”!  It is a small meandering stream that flows from the nearby mountains into the valley below.  It is not the volume of the stream that makes this mill still function 130 years after it was built, it is the faithfulness of its flow.  A partial diversion of the stream’s water down an elevated wooden raceway continues to power this mill on a seasonal basis just as it did for the early residents years ago.  While any part of this process may not seem that significant, and some parts may not even seem suitable to the task, all of the pieces work together to do what they were designed to do and provide cornmeal or flour to those needing food to eat.  

Many times God gives us gifts and abilities that at first glance do not seem all that impressive.  They may be easy to overlook and perhaps even be neglected as we long for something more visible that brings greater notice to us.  Unfortunately, those “greater things” rarely come when we fail to be faithful in the “little things” that God has designed for us to do.  I pray that you and I take a fresh look at all of the pieces and people that God has brought together in our lives and consider how faithfulness in each one doing their part would look.  When we are faithful with everything God gives us, we are able to share the Bread of Life with people who are in desperate need of the life we have found in Jesus.

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