Page 245 was a restful Saturday — so restful that I’m not sure I have a lot to write today, we’ll see. 🙂  After a late night yesterday getting the cleaning done, my first task this morning was to write yesterday’s page.  On one of my trips upstairs to check on Susan, I noticed the sun dancing brightly outside on the sunflowers.  Susan wasn’t ready to wake up, so I grabbed my camera and spent a little time outside photographing the flowers in the morning light.  Today’s photo is the first one I shot this morning and it quickly became a favorite of mine.  When I first downloaded it off the camera, I cropped out what I considered the excess blank space on the left side of the photo.  To me, it just didn’t look right so I restored it to the way I shot it.  By reducing the amount of dark space, the light reflected off the sunflower just didn’t seem to be as brilliant.  While we don’t like the darkness, it is often in the darkest of times that the brilliance of the light of Jesus can reflect most brightly off of us if we allow it to shine fully upon our face.

After taking some photos, I got out the clippers and gave myself a haircut as I was starting to feel a little shaggy.  By the time I was done and cleaned up, it was time to fire up the pellet grill to cook lunch.  Once the grill was going, I rustled Susan out of bed so she could get her day started.  She seemed to be extra tired today and I suspect the seizure activity throughout the week, although fairly mild, has added to her tiredness.  

Once lunch was done and eaten, the rest of the day was spent relaxing with some computer game time and researching some Labor Day sightseeing plans.  Throughout all of the rest and relaxation, the sermon for tomorrow morning continued to simmer as God refines it.

As I reflect on the day, here are some thoughts/lessons that stand out to me:

• Rest is good and it is good to have work to rest from.
• The brightness of the light of God doesn’t change based on the darkness surrounding us, but the darkness can make the light more noticeable.
• When we find ourselves in the midst of dark times in our world, we are in a good position for God’s light to be reflected off of us clearly.
• You won’t reflect what isn’t shining on you.  It is important to keep your face turned toward Jesus.
• Sometimes we need a “haircut” to get rid of the “shagginess” of life.
• It is difficult to know just how much rest someone else needs.  Knowing what they’re going through, however, may give you a greater understanding of why they need to rest.
• Even as I rest and relax, God continues to work in my heart and mind.

Mary Jane had done my morning cleaning for me the night before, after the preschool open house, so I didn’t need to start the workday early.  I was still awake at my usual time and the sky was filled with stars so I loaded up my kayak and headed to the lake for the sunrise.  By the time I got to the lake, the clouds had overtaken most of the sky and a brisk breeze was blowing in from the north.  It made for an interesting couple of hours on the lake and I was frozen when I finished, but I managed some early morning photos that I liked.  By the time I was finishing up on the lake, one of the bald eagles had shown up at his usual location so I was able to get some good photographs of him.

After stopping by the house to unload the kayak and get some warmer clothes on, I made my way to work where I continued the tasks of sermon refinement and retreat content preparation.  By late afternoon it was time to refuel my mind and body before beginning the evening cleaning, so I made a quick stop at the river on my way to lunch/dinner.  Today’s photo is from along the river as I found this squirrel intently eyeing the path ahead.  It had made its way up the trunk of the tree to the point where the branches left it two options.  It had passed the first option but then stopped for a rather long time, appearing to study the route ahead before going on.  In our fast-paced society, it become far too easy, and too common, to rush forward with no consideration of where we’re going.  Yes, a life of faith means that we trust God for what’s ahead that we cannot see — but we also must use wisdom and discernment in the matters that we can see.  Gazing forward can not only help us avoid some problems, but it can also make us aware of the faith needed to overcome what is unseen.  Eventually this little guy had surveyed the path ahead as much as he could and had to continue his journey one direction or the other.  He chose to move forward into whatever he saw, or didn’t see, and it wasn’t long before he disappeared from my sight.  Yes, we need to look ahead and consider if the path we’re on is a good one, but there comes a time when the looking and consideration must change to movement — you can’t just sit there!

After my lunch/dinner break, it was back to the building to take care of the weekend cleaning to have the building ready for Sunday.  While there are some tasks that require focused attention, most of the cleaning process has become a routine that makes it an ideal time to pray more intentionally as I work.  Tonight as I cleaned, I began to wonder how often we’re more concerned about the cleanliness of a home or building than we are about the cleanliness of our life?  Many times we are more concerned about a person saying something that might make us look bad than we are about our doing the thing of which they speak.  In the Psalms, David asked God to create within him a clean heart and to renew within him a steadfast spirit.  That is a good prayer to pray at any time, and the times when we are cleaning physical object can become great reminders for us to pray about a more important cleaning that needs to take place.

As I reflect on the day, here are some thoughts/lessons that stand out to me:

• Looking out a window will not always lead to an accurate conclusion about what it is like outside — appearances can be deceptive.
• Rough waters can make life more difficult, but they can also add to its beauty.
• Expecting things to improve isn’t the same as them actually improving. 
• If you’re not prepared for current conditions, you might become rather uncomfortable before the conditions become what you would like.
• When faith and godly wisdom work together, we find that we go in the right direction at the right time.
• Character and integrity are more important than image alone.  If who we are, what we do, and how we do it align with God’s standards, our image will be right in the eyes of the One who counts.
• A clean heart and a steadfast spirit are always good things to seek and to ask God to create within us.

Page 243 ended up being another good, long workday filled with the planting of some seeds and the watering of others.  While the planting and watering are often not the most glamorous parts of life, they are necessary if a harvest is to be expected.  Today it was shortly after midnight when I woke up to the sounds of Susan resettling herself after what was apparently some light seizure activity.  After checking on and reassuring her, I went back to sleep until the alarm told me it was time to wake up and head to work.  The morning began with the usual prayer, cleaning, and building prep with a little extra attention paid to the preschool rooms as the preschool was having their student orientation/open house today in preparation for classes to begin next week.  

Once the building was ready, I spent my morning back and forth between the sermon I’m working on for Sunday and some more refining of the Growing Strong spiritual growth retreat concept.  This work may even be a step or two before the planting and watering, but it is important work in order to be prepared for the next steps.  As I worked on narrowing down a location for a late October/early November retreat, I received an email requesting information about the process for a church to host a Growing Strong retreat at their location.  The seeds for the retreats have been planted on my website and now it was time to do some watering.  As I worked on a carefully worded response to give necessary information without it becoming overwhelming, I prayed that God would take these seeds and the watering of them and produce a crop at just the right time.  

As I worked in the office, I noticed some movement outside my window and managed to see a woodpecker come in for a landing on the side of a tree.  I got my camera out and managed one photo, which became today’s photo for the page, before he took off for another location.  I was fascinated because he didn’t come in and land on a branch as most birds do.  Instead he glided straight toward the trunk of the tree and when close enough, reached out with his feet to cling to the tree bark.  While this one didn’t stay around long, I’ve seen them cling to the side of a tree for long periods of time while pecking away at the bark, digging out their next meal.  It made me think of God’s instructions for us to reject what is evil and cling to what is good.  Do I tend to cling tightly enough to what is good that I don’t fall?  Does my clinging to the goodness of God provide enough support that I can find within Him the nourishment that I need?  Or have I become too casual in the way I approach both good and evil?

By the time I finished up work for the day, it was too late for lunch so I went home and had a snack to tide me over until dinner.  The evening has been spent relaxing and doing some more retreat location research before settling down at my desk to write today’s page.

As I reflect on the day, here are some thoughts/lessons that stand out to me:

• Some days are spent harvesting, but more days are spent planting and watering — and even more are spent preparing the soil before the planting and watering can begin to take place.
• Life isn’t about who is better off than me or who is worse off than me — it’s about what am I doing with what God has given me.
• People ask me how I’m able to preach with nothing more than a word for an outline.  The big answer is God and the sub-answers are prayer and preparation.
• There is very little that I can make happen, but I can seek God and work to be prepared as much as possible for what He makes happen.
• My commitment to clinging to what is good often determines if I stay upright or if I fall.
• To adequately cling to what is good requires that I reject evil — I cannot maintain a grasp on both.

Page 242 began extra early as I was awakened by the sound of a thud.  Susan was having a seizure in the early morning hours of the night and had hit something, so I got up to help her find her way — both the way to the bathroom and the way out of her seizure.  This one wasn’t a major seizure, as seizures go, but that doesn’t change the adrenaline surge that messes with my mind and body each time she goes through this.  I think we all made it back to sleep fairly quickly, but if felt like the alarm was going off extra early.  I got up and made my way into work to take care of the morning cleaning and building prep.  

As I went about my morning work and prayer routine, a poem about understanding people began to form in my mind.  It is sad how quickly we tend to get offended and pass judgment on people without ever attempting to understand where they are coming from.  When we “walk a mile in their shoes”, we begin to have a glimpse into a life that is often very different from our own.  By the time the building was ready for the day, the poem “Trading Shoes” was ready as well.  After I typed out the poem and posted it on my blog, I settled in to spend some serious time with God in fleshing out the sermon outline for Sunday.  

By mid-afternoon, the early start to the day was catching up with me so I headed to lunch then made my way to Potato Creek State Park to see what I could find to photograph.  The eagles weren’t out, but the combination of blue water and sky with white clouds was amazing.  Today’s photo is looking across the lake as the clouds appeared like I should have been able to reach up and grab hold of one.  Eventually one of the eagles flew high overhead, as if he too was enjoying the beauty of the sky so much that he wasn’t about to just sit.  After shooting some photos, I headed home to relax before firing up the pellet grill to make some bacon cheeseburgers for dinner.

As I reflect on the day, here are some thoughts/lessons that stand out to me:

• It’s amazing how certain sounds in your sleep can trigger an immediate awake response.
• My adrenaline response doesn’t seem to have a variable control — it is either off or full on.
• Time is the only way I know of to come down from an adrenaline high — not the best news when I’m trying to get back to sleep.
• Understanding people takes time and effort that many are unwilling to give.
• I don’t like it when people respond negatively to something I’ve said or done when they’ve made no attempt to understand why.
• My shoes feel heavy at times, but I suspect so does the shoes of everyone else.
• After having fresh lake perch and walleye at a restaurant on a little island in Lake Erie, Long John Silver’s probably wasn’t the best lunch choice today. 🙂 
• God wants each of us to work in a way that our labor is not in vain.
• It is easy to become so focused on what I want that I miss what God has provided.
• Sometimes I need to get off my perch and just soar in the presence of God.

Page 241 was another good day with an early start of the usual prayer, cleaning, and building prep.  As I finished up the cleaning and took the trash out, the sky was lit up in a brilliant mix of color.  By the time I went back inside, got my camera, and came back outside, the color had mostly faded to gray.  I did manage a few photos with just a little bit of the sunrise colors, but it wasn’t long before all the color had been replaced by a blanket of gray clouds.  As I looked down the length of the ball field, a momma deer and her baby came out of the woods to see what I was up to.  They didn’t stay around long, but did pose for a few photos before heading back into the woods.  

After checking messages and taking care of a few minor tasks, I put on my accountant’s hat and spent the morning working on the church missions and prayer ministry records.  As I worked, the plans for Sunday’s sermon simmered in my mind as I allow God to boil it down and refine it into the finished product He would want served.  The focus that is simmering at the moment is Paul’s instruction to “Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:58)  It is easy for me to become discouraged and then begin to wonder if anything I do really matters.  Satan wants to convince each of us that following Christ and doing the work He created in advance for us to do is a waste of our time and effort.  Our culture has done remarkably well at convincing us we need instant results or we’re just wasting our time.  God has a different message for us and that message is to keep at it, that we will reap a harvest in due time if we don’t give up.  We tend to plant the seed in the morning and want to harvest the produce by evening.  God’s design is that over the course of time one person plants, another one waters, and He gives the increase.

With a few pauses to take care of some IT work, the accounting was completed for the day and the sermon simmering put on hold by mid-afternoon so I could get some lunch.  I suppose a neat part of the way I work on sermons is that the simmering process never really takes a break — there are just times I’m more aware of it than at other times.  After lunch I headed home to relax a bit and made my way to the porch to take some photographs of the hummingbirds and flowers.  It was a comfortable evening outside and the air was starting to have a feeling of fall to it.  As I was waiting for the hummingbirds to show up, I shot today’s photo of these beautiful flowers blooming at my feet.  It is amazing what a little splash of color and brightness can do to brighten up an area.  And it’s not restricted to plants — you and I can be that splash of color and brightness in the lives of those around us if we choose to be.

As I reflect on the day, here are some thoughts/lessons that stand out to me:

• Life happens in moments — make the most of them while you can.
• If you gaze too long on a moment that has passed, you may well miss the moment that is now.
• Doing the work of the Lord isn’t limited to preachers, missionaries, or church staff — it is for everyone!
• When you do your work as working for the Lord, you find that whatever you do is not done in vain.
• Having a logical and analytical mind is great for accounting work but not so great for other things — and that’s okay.
• When we “hide God’s Word in our heart” it should never really be hidden, it should take root and blossom into a beautiful thing.
• A harvest takes time but always follows the planting and watering that needs to be done.
• Even a little brightness and beauty can make a big difference in a dark culture — be the light that God has called you to be.

Page 240 was the start of another work week, so it was back to the Monday morning routine.  After the usual prayer-filled bathroom cleaning and building prep, I sat down to write yesterday’s page.  Sometimes the pages are more difficult to write the next day and other times the night’s sleep helps give greater focus and makes the writing easier.  It seems that most of the time I want a routine that operates according to a preset formula — but life doesn’t seem to work that way.  God wants me to not only live life, but to pay attention as I do so.  A mindless routine might be easier, but it would also make it far easier to miss the important lessons and tasks that He has for me.  So, even with something as basic as making a written account of a day of life, I continue to learn to seek and pursue God with a heart that listens and responds to Him.

The rest of the morning was spent on the writing, and the preparing for publishing, of next week’s prayer guide.  I began the day with a pretty good idea of what the topic would be for this next prayer guide as I spent a good part of yesterday’s drive time thinking and praying about it.  With next weekend being Labor Day Weekend, I wanted to do a focus on our work, or labor, from God’s perspective.  As I began to put the prayer guide together, I thought about groups of people that might be tempted to dismiss it as not applicable to them — people who are not “working”, meaning they are not employed for whatever reason.  Some may be retired and believe their working days are over.  Some may be children and think their working days are yet to come.  Some may live with circumstances that make employment impossible.  Some may choose the work of parenting over being employed.  Whatever reasons a person may come up with for thinking a prayer guide about labor is not for them, nothing could be further from the truth.  While the good work that God created in advance for each of us to do may vary greatly, there is a work for each of us to do in His kingdom — the body grows as each part does its work.  My labor that honors God is very different than my daughter’s labor which honors God and both are likely very different from your labor which honors God.  The honoring God part has much more to do with the “how” of our labor than the “what” of our labor.  It was a fun prayer guide to put together and by early afternoon I had it formatted and scheduled to be sent out via email and published on my website this coming Sunday.

Once the work on the prayer guide was finished I turned my attention to more work on the spiritual growth retreat concept I am working on.  I know there will come a time soon when I will need to step out in faith and schedule the first retreat, but that is a somewhat scary thing to do considering the commitment I will have to make up front for a location with no idea who or how many, if anyone, will want to participate.  The content for the retreat idea seems to be coming together well, my biggest struggle seems to be in finding peace in the right combination of location and cost.  Location and cost seem to be related and for someone as “frugal” as me, finding a proper balance in those two elements can be a bit nerve-wracking.  So, I continue to pray and to research as I seek God for the time and courage to set a place and time then to trust Him to provide the people.

When the workday was done, I headed home to relax a bit and work my way through the photos from our mini getaway.  By early evening, I took a camera outside to capture some of the beauty God provides.  Tonight’s feature was a pair of finches who were greatly enjoying both the sun and the sunflowers.  Today’s photo is of one of the finches just after it plucked a sunflower seed loose and looked up to face the camera.  Well, it may have just been eating and not paying any attention to the camera, but I can still tell myself it was posing for me. 🙂  

As I reflect on the day, here are some thoughts/lessons that stand out to me:

• Prayer can transform mundane tasks into mountain-moving tasks — and sometimes the mountain is the person praying.
• Prayer and faith are so intertwined that the teaching from James that faith without works is dead can also be applied to prayer and God’s desire that it changes us.
• Many times it seems that God forces me out of my comfort zones of routines so that I pay more attention to Him.
• Our work matters to God — even when it isn’t what others call work.
• Every part of the body of Christ has a purpose and a work to do in order for the body to grow in a healthy manner.
• God defines the work each part of the body ought to do and its value comes from Him, not from how others view it.
• Sometimes it is difficult to sort through my own insecurities to determine if God has me waiting or if the waiting is because of my doubt.
• God provides beauty all around me.  It is usually up to me whether I’m paying enough attention to notice.

Page 239 was a great day spent with my family as we finished up an overnight getaway as a reminder that another birthday doesn’t mean I’m old. 🙂  The day was long enough, though, that I’m doing the written part of it the next morning.  Throughout the day we walked a little over 7 miles and I feel okay the next morning, so I must have not gotten older . . . right?

The day began with a walk down to the lakeshore to shoot some sunrise photos.  As I was out, I noticed a momma deer and her baby wandering the lodge property.  They were doing some trimming of the lawn, but the primary task seemed to be removing the ripening apples from the trees before they fell to the ground and made a mess for the guests.  My plan had been to shoot some sunrise photos then head back to the room, so the only camera I had with me was with a wide-angle lens.  My solution was to talk to the deer and thank them for their nice work as part of the grounds crew.  As I talked to them, I kept moving closer so I could get the photos I wanted with the lens I had on the camera.  They were very cooperative and I managed to get some close-up photos I was pleased with.

After the sunrise and early morning deer adventure, we took a 2+ mile walk on a boardwalk trail in the park.  We did not manage to find any owls, which we had been hoping to photograph, but we did have a very peaceful and beautiful walk.  Part of the worship team leading the music for the morning was the little guy in today’s photo.  His song caught my ear long before his movement caught my eye.  I eventually found him at the top of a small maple tree where he had a clear view of the morning sun as he sang his songs of praise.  It is a good lesson for us in that we too need to rise above the distractions of life and gaze with a clear view on the Son in order to amplify our songs of praise.

After our walk we packed up and checked out of the lodge, then made our way to Catawba, Ohio to catch a ferry to the village of Put-in-Bay on South Bass Island.  There were two lighthouses we wanted to photograph, but they were on opposite ends of the island so we did about 5 miles of walking from one end of the island to the other . . . and then back again.  That much walking requires fuel, so we had an incredible lunch of perch, walleye, and shrimp.  They said the perch and walleye were fresh, local caught fish . . . the shrimp, I suspect not so much. 🙂  There was a vintage car race scheduled on the island and while we were there we were able to enjoy a parade with a mix of great vintage cars and newer models that someone paid a lot of money for and needed to show off. 🙂  After our time on the island we caught the ferry back to Catawba, then made our way down the shoreline to another lighthouse.  After some more lighthouse photographs, it was time for us to begin to wind down this birthday getaway and start our journey home.

As I reflect on the day, here are some thoughts/lessons that stand out to me:

• As the years go by, I find myself more mindful of the need to spend time with my family — both in the day to day journey of life and also in special times away from the day to day distractions.
• Sometimes you will find that you don’t have what you wished you had.  You can either dwell on what you don’t have, find a way to get what you don’t have, or make the most of what you do have.
• The manner in which we approach and talk to wildlife will greatly impact their reaction to us.  The same is true with people.
• It is okay to look for something specific in life but don’t miss out on what God provides simply because it wasn’t what you were looking for.
• When our eyes are fixed on Jesus, our praise will always be purer and sweeter.
• Sometimes there is a fine line between wanting people to share in your joy and simply wanting people to see what you have.  One of those motivations is good, one not so much.
• Have I already mentioned how important it is to find ways to make time for family?  It doesn’t require huge amounts of time or money to create special moments.  While those things can help, they can also hinder when we put our focus on those instead of on our family.

 Another abbreviated written page as I’m out of town on an overnight birthday trip that was delayed from last week.  I spent a quiet morning around the house and took a few photos.  Today’s photo reminded me of how we carry with us some of what we come in contact with each day.  That is one of the reasons it is important we pay attention to our surroundings and the influence they have on us.

Eventually, I fixed lunch and then we threw some things in the truck and headed to Lake Erie.  We went for a walk when we arrived and managed to see some beautiful wildlife — and even managed to photograph some of it.  

That’s it for today’s written page.  I pray that your day picks up encouragement from those around you and passes it on every chance you get.