Tom’s Book of 2016

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2016: Page 31

It was back to work early this morning to finish cleaning and mopping so the building would be ready for church services.  This morning our Sunday School class finished up a study through the book of Job as we looked at the last few chapters where God addresses Job.  Because we know the story of Job and even have a glimpse at the backstory, it is easy to miss how much we tend to be like him as well as like his friends.  We want everything to have an answer and reason that is understandable to us.  When God’s working is a mystery, we often make up answers and reasons that we think make the most sense.  Unfortunately, this leaves us in the position of Job’s friends where we are of no help to those suffering and we give them the wrong impression of God.  

After Sunday School we had a good worship gathering as we gave praise to God through song, learned together from His Word, and gathered around the communion table to remember the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.  As I considered my recent trip to Cades Cove and my visit to several different church buildings from the 1800’s, I thought about the vast difference in the furnishings and equipment between then and now.  Sometimes it seems like the modern American church believes it can not function without the latest and greatest buildings, furnishings, and electronics.  While all of these things can be useful tools when used for God’s glory, they become idols when we give them more importance than we give God Himself.  Similarly, gathering with minimal “stuff” can be helpful in removing distractions that keep us from truly worshiping God but it too can become an idol when we begin to focus more on our simplicity and sacrifice than we do on God.  Worship shouldn’t be about our stuff or our lack of stuff — it ought to be solely about God!

As I prepared to close out the day, I was reminded of Paul’s words to the Corinthians, and to us: “For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.”  (1 Corinthians 2:2 NIV)

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2016: Page 30

I love representing Impact Prayer Ministry at conferences and conventions but when the days begin by 8 AM and last until 10 PM or later, my old body seems to take a while to catch up.  Today found me up early to get a start on cleaning the church building before being a part of the men’s breakfast and study.  After the fellowship time I came home and took a nap for a while then spent some time inputting contact info from the conference into my database.  All month I’ve been keeping an eye on family vacation options and today I found a combination of flights, days, location, lodging, and price that fit what we were looking for.  All in all, a good productive day.

As I thought about the day, my mind took me back to my Cades Cove trip during the conference where one of the old church buildings had a hymnal open to the song, “It Is Well with My Soul”.  This hymn has been a favorite of mine for a lot of years and it serves as a reminder that my relationship with Jesus is what allows my spirit within me to be at rest.  For most people, rest seems to come easy when “peace like a river attendeth my way”.  It is when “sorrows like sea billows roll” that it becomes much more difficult to trust that God can, and will, make things well with our soul.  My favorite verse though, has always been the final verse where even when facing Christ it can be well with my soul.  As much as we may want a life of peaceful times and relaxation, that will mean nothing if we reach the end of life and our encounter with Jesus is not one that is well with our soul.  It is our relationship with Jesus that allows us to have an inner peace regardless of, and even in spite of, the circumstances we face in life.

It is my prayer that you have times of great rest and relaxation in your life.  I pray even more that you have found peace with God through a relationship with Him bought by the blood of His Son, Jesus.

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2016: Page 29

After being away from home for nearly a week representing Impact Prayer Ministry at a camp conference, today was a day to relax.  My staying home allowed Susan a chance to sleep in — at least for a while until a seizure took hold of her.  I began the morning with some reflection and devotional time followed by the writing of yesterday’s “page”.  After helping Susan as she came through her seizure, I worked on going through emails and messages from the week.  Eventually I made it to going through the photos from the times I was able to spend in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park during the conference.  I am almost always surprised at the number of pictures I take when I’m out enjoying the great beauty of God’s creation.  The total photograph count from the conference trip is 870!  As I go through each one, I am reminded of just how glorious God is.  I even find things in them that I hadn’t noticed when I took the pictures.  

Some of my favorite mountain scenes, and therefore photographs, are the waterfalls.  With significant snowfall just before I arrived, and warming temperatures during my stay, the waterfalls were running with great force.  As I considered the power, the purity, and the polishing force of the falls, I reflected on how well they represent God’s grace in my life.  While it can be fun to stick a hand under the edge of one of these major waterfalls, it would flatten you at its base to bear the full force of it.  Sometimes pride keeps us from allowing the full power of God’s grace to drive us to knees before Him.  We are satisfied with just testing the edges of His grace rather than experiencing the fullness of it.  The water rushing over these mountain falls is crystal clear and represents a purity that we all long for in water everywhere.  As it gathers in the pools at the base of the waterfall, it sparkles in the sunshine and magnifies the gravel on the pool bottom.  One of the attractive qualities of God’s grace is its absolute purity.  When we allow God’s grace to rush over us and gather in the pool of our life, we should sparkle and reflect the evidence of God’s grace in a way that is visible to the people around us.  One of the fun parts of visiting a waterfall is collecting the smooth polished stones that collect in its path.  When we live in the power and purity of God’s grace, we find our life continually being polished into the image of His Son, Jesus.  The polish He puts on our life enables us to live in a blameless way — His grace has covered and removed the sin and roughness so that no accusations against us have reason to stick.

I pray that each day of our lives, you and I would live fully under the waterfall of God’s grace.

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2016: Page 28

Page 28 in my life story of the year 2016 was a long one which is why I’m writing this the next day.  🙂  It was the final day of the camp conference that I was representing Impact Prayer Ministry at and it began with light fog in the valleys and the sun climbing its way over the far side of the mountains.  The more the sun worked its way over the mountain range, the more the fog tried to fill in the valley.  Within 15 minutes, the fog had spread all the way up to, and beyond, my 14th floor balcony.  As I packed up and left the room, the only view remaining was the hazy outlines of some of the nearer hills.

It was a great conference and I believe it was a good conference for me and the prayer ministry.  I went with a total of 4 boxes of books and when I packed up the display, all of the remaining books on the table fit in 1 box.  It is my prayer that as people go home, they will find the resources they picked up to be useful in their walk with Christ and perhaps even in their camp ministry.  As the closing session began, the conference did their final giveaways for the week.  I had been asked to “introduce” my contribution for these door prize drawings and considered it a privilege to do so.  My cameras have become incredible tools in the time I spend in personal worship of God.  I had taken with me a 20″ x 30″ high-gloss mounted photo that was a close up of a day lily.  My title for this photo art is “Consider the Lilies” and on the back was a label  with the tile and the passage from Luke where Jesus instructs us to consider the lilies and how God clothes and provides for them with great beauty.  As we consider that, He reminds us that we are of much greater value to Him so we should be confident in His care for us.  Having experience as a camp staff member, I was able to relate that I understood the financial pressures that often can seem overwhelming and even of greatest importance to others.  I encouraged this group of camp leaders that during those times, they should consider the lilies and take all of their needs and concerns to God first.

It was going to be a long drive home, so I headed out and began the journey.  About an hour and a half into the trip, I encounter road construction on the interstate that had it down to one lane and a back-up that led to a six mile stretch of highway taking 45 minutes to get through.  Instead of being frustrated, I pulled out a Dr Pepper and the rest of the package of sliced turkey (the same package, that I hadn’t planned on getting, from the first day of the trip) and used the slow crawl down the highway as an opportunity to have lunch and listen to some worship music.  I had my iPod connected to the truck’s radio and found a folder on it labeled “camp”.  It seemed like a fitting assortment to listen to as I headed home from a camp conference.  It was all of the music I had used for worship times, meal times, wake-up times, recreation times, and all other times the last time I had been dean for the 5th & 6th grade camp week.  The music ranged from “I’m so Happy” to “The Water Buffalo Song” to “This is the Air I Breathe” and everything in between.

After a quick stop south of Louisville to pick up my father-in-law, the trip home resumed.  This time my GPS warned me of a 45 minute delay ahead and re-routed me around it.  We reached the backed up traffic just as I exited to go around and it was still six miles away from where the signs said the construction was taking place.  I even thought about this being a lot like life — sometimes we are able to hear the warnings and avoid the hardships and troubles that would occur if we kept on our current path.  Other times we either get no warning or we don’t notice or pay attention to the warnings that come and we simply have to live through the difficulties, seeking God’s help to make the best of whatever circumstance we find our self in.  This takes us back to my photo and our need to always “Consider the Lilies” and trust God to care for us when things go as we planned and when things don’t go as we planned.

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2016: Page 27

The view out my window this morning was nothing but thick fog.  Even after getting breakfast and spending the morning and lunch time talking with people about the prayer-focused resources I had available, the fog remained when I returned to my room for an extended afternoon break.  As I contemplated what my afternoon free time would look like, I began to wonder if the road over the mountains between Gatlinburg, Tennessee and Cherokee, North Carolina would rise above the fog.  The adventurer in me wanted to get out and hike and the photographer in me wanted to take pictures from above the fog.  Fortunately, the solution for both of those was to get out and drive the Newfound Gap road looking for adventure and photo opportunities.  As it turned out, I found both. 🙂

The drive up the mountainside was foggy until just before the Newfound Gap overlook as the road crested the mountain.  As I left the fog behind, it was still spread out like a blanket over the area I had just left.  The photo opportunities I anticipated were also spread out in the valley below.  As I stood at the dividing line between Tennessee and North Carolina, the contrast was remarkable.  Fog blanketed the valleys and low-lying areas on the Tennessee side of the mountain while it was completely clear on the North Carolina side.  With clear skies ahead, I headed toward a series of waterfalls and hikes that I now knew would be clearly visible with no fog on their side of the mountain.  

As I enjoyed the beautiful afternoon, I thought about the verse in Proverbs that talks about the sluggard saying he is not going out because there is a lion in the street.  I’ve always heard that it was unlikely that there was actually a lion but that since it was a possibility it simply became an excuse not to do what needed done.  When I worked on a roofing crew, there were times we were rained off of a job, but never a time we were “forecasted” off of a job.  Sometimes we talk ourselves out of doing the things God wants us to do because we are not willing to move forward in faith by simply taking the next step.  The prospects don’t look that promising.  The “what ifs” tend to paralyze us and we never end up knowing if the should have been actually could have been.  It would have been easy today for me to look at the fog and decide it wasn’t good hiking weather and it would be impossible to take pictures that would turn out at all.  What if I get to the top of the mountain and it is just as foggy there as where I started from?  I overcame the “what ifs” and decided I would never know until I got out and tried it.  The result was even better than I had hoped for but the truth is even if the fog had continued up one side of the mountain and all the way down the other, it would have been a good trip to enjoy the goodness of God’s creation.  

As I wrapped up my sightseeing on the North Carolina side of the mountain it was looking possible that I would reach the peak just as the sun was setting.  I hadn’t even thought about trying to make that happen and it was looking as if God was wanting to give me an extra blessing beyond all the goodness He had already shared today.  As it turned out, I was a little late getting to the peak for the best photos but I had incredible views of the sun setting down the back side of the mountain — there just weren’t any pull-offs with clearings to the west where I could get pictures of anything but trees with a sunset behind them.  Even so, there was still some color in the sky when I reached the top so I managed a few pictures of a fading sunset.

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2016: Page 26

The day started out very overcast but as the sun began to crawl over the mountains, a break in the clouds appeared as the sunrise cut through them.  It was a beautiful start to the day as I spent time with God preparing for the ministry of the day He would call me to.  Much of the day was spent talking to people about the prayer ministry and sharing with them the resources God has allowed me to write.  My display was at the end of a hall near some glass entry doors overlooking what they describe as a “garden view”.  As people would come and go through the doors there was a chill in the air that, combined with a persistent rain, made being inside more desirable today than being out hiking. 🙂

It was encouraging to me to have such a positive response from people to the resources I was able to make available.  Being able to participate in the group worship gatherings was also a joy.  While camp ministry didn’t turn out well for me for a variety of reasons, both known and unknown, it was good to be in this environment with the opportunity to encourage those working in Christian camp ministry.  As I posted a few days ago, sometimes it is easy for me to become my own worst enemy.  The speaker in this morning’s worship gathering reminded us that failure is an event, not a person.  You may experience failure for a variety of reasons but that doesn’t in any way mean you are a failure.  In fact, if you were to go down through the list in Hebrews of what is often called the “hall of faith” you would be hard pressed to find anyone listed that didn’t experience some type of failure in their life that has been recorded for us in scripture.  Yet they were all commended for their faith, not condemned for their failure.  Today was a reminder that I’m doing what God has called and equipped me to do.  Just like these mountain roads, the route here has had its ups and downs, twists and turns, and unexpected obstacles but the destination is worth the journey.

I came back to my room for a short break before dinner and saw that the rain had ended and the Smoky Mountains were trying to live up to their name.  The clouds, or “smoke”, rising from the mountains reminded me of the morning view and the fact that the behind every cloud the sun still shines.

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2016: Page 25

As I prepared to set up my display at the conference, I had a few hours to spare so I headed back to the park.  Once again I was greeted by a large sign stating that all park roads were closed.  The road was open to the visitors center, so I stopped in to see a map and decide if I could walk the road to a nearby trailhead.  The gentleman at the desk told me that Cades Cove was open so I told him I had been there yesterday and was looking for something at this end of the park that was shorter than the 10 miles I hiked yesterday.  He then began to show me some options, including the trail to Laurel Falls.  I was slightly confused because the options he was showing me were all along Little River Road, which I thought was closed — it had been yesterday.  As I asked about it, he said it that road was open all the way from Gatlinburg to Townsend.  I was thankful but I guess their definition of all park roads is somewhat different than mine. 🙂

The Laurel Falls trail is the one I was hoping to take, so a short drive from the visitors center found me with boots laced up and ready to hike.  At the beginning, and all along the trail, were various warnings about the dangers of hiking, of this particular trail, and of wildlife.  I really didn’t pay much attention to them because I had hiked this trail before and my intent was to hike it again.  As I hiked, I began to think about how often we tend to ignore the warnings found in God’s Word.  We live life as we wish, convinced nothing can happen to us because the consequences of God’s warnings haven’t been experienced before.  When we read God’s Word, instead of obedience our response is often similar to that of Satan in the garden — “Did God really say?”.  We spend so much time explaining away the warnings that we miss the entire point of God trying to protect us.  

After the round trip hike to the falls and back, I drove the length of Little River Road to enjoy the beauty of the park and take a few more pictures.  When I returned back to the Gatlinburg area, it was time for lunch so I stopped at Subway and then went to a small park next to my hotel to enjoy the sights and sounds of the creek running along the edge of the park.  I found a large rock in the middle of the creek and sat on it for a while, relaxing and spending time with God in the midst of this peaceful place.  The rest of the day was spent at the conference getting set up and then talking with people about the prayer ministry and the resources God has allowed me to make available.  It was fun sharing the story of my books writing and giving God all of the credit for both giving me the gifting in my life and giving me the opportunity to use it.

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2016: Page 24

I woke up later than I had planned so I began the day a little bit disappointed with myself.  As it turned out, it didn’t really make that much difference and actually was just as well that I didn’t start the day earlier.  Later, as I did some hiking, I thought about the trouble I find myself in mentally when I can’t meet expectations that others put on me or that I put on myself.  As those thoughts rolled through my mind, I began to consider what God expects from me and whether my view of His expectations are the same as His view.  As I worshiped God, my mind kept reflecting on the passage from Micah that says God requires that we act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God.  Obviously, those three things entail a lot, but perhaps not as much as I sometimes think.

My plan was to get to Cades Cove as the sun was coming up over the mountains but my late wake-up time meant that wasn’t going to happen.  Instead, I made it to the park entrance by 10 AM only to discover the road in either direction in the park was closed!   I did some wandering at the entrance intersection and took some pictures while hoping the road would soon open.  After about an hour and a half of alternating between taking pictures and warming up in the truck, I decided if the road wasn’t going to open I would just hike in to Cades Cove!  It was on this hike that it dawned on me that waking up earlier wouldn’t have helped anything.  I reached the 5 mile mark about two hours into the hike as I was taking a leisurely pace with a lot of stops for pictures.  As I was calculating the time in and how long it would take me to get back to the truck, a steady stream of traffic made its way past me on on to Cades Cove — the road was now open!  The 5 mile hike back to the truck made better time as I didn’t stop to take many pictures.  One of the fun parts of the story, if you read yesterday’s post, is that once back to the truck I had sliced turkey and Propel fitness water waiting for me — the turkey I hadn’t planned on buying. 🙂

Part of my intent in heading into Cades Cove was to visit a memorial of sorts.  Last month I read an article about a family that was living in Cades Cove at the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor.  The writer of the article was interviewing a man that grew up there and said his dad had a metal plate engraved and fastened around a tree that he transplanted on December 7, 1941.  The directions in the article were vague but understandable, so I made my way to the area described and found the tree and attached tag.  The man putting it there understood that the events of that day would change many things about life as he knew it.  Even though the family would eventually have to leave their property, the reminder remains.  As I thought about the great sacrifice of so many that ensued following that single day in history, I was reminded of the importance of remembering the cost of the freedom we have.  

I’m not able to do much editing to these photos today, but here is the front and back of this tag.  I’m sure the chain it hangs on has been lengthened numerous times in the years since it was put around this tree.