The deer were out to greet me again this morning as I began page 229.  After saying hello to them, I went about my morning prayer and cleaning routine.  As I finished getting the building ready for the day I took the trash out and found another deer grazing along the back of the building near my office.  As I was talking to the deer (yes, I may have lost my mind but I talk to them), I was thinking about how God tells us in His Word that a gentle answer turns away wrath.  He also says we should let our gentleness be known to all.  I have seen deer perk up their ears and lift their tails, which are often precursors that happen just before they take off running, and at the sound of my calm, quiet voice which I believe the recognize, they relax and go back to grazing.  There are many things in this life that scare us, and should scare us, but we ought to know our Shepherd’s voice so well that it is able to calm us and make us feel safe.  But it goes further than that.  As the children, and representatives, of God here on earth, we ought to we ought to speak with that same calm and gentle voice to a world that is filled with fear.  Accusation and condemnation are tools of the enemy, not the tools God has given His children to use through His Spirit.  God has given us truth and love to be used together in order to share a message of safety and hope.  

A lot of today was spent researching prayer retreat location options.  Sometimes we need to take a break from the noise of the world so we can become more familiar with the still small voice of God which is present through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  I read in the Bible that Jesus would withdraw to “lonely places” in order to spend time with His Father and I can’t help but think if He needed to do that, how much more do I need to make time to visit the “lonely places” in order to hear more clearly?  Jesus prayed that the world would know His followers by the love we have for one another.  As you think about your interactions with people, and specifically with other believers, do you think love is what the world notices?  Is love even what your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ notice?  Do people relax when they realize you are the one nearby, or see your number show up on their phone, or get a message from you; or do they tense up and prepare to escape to safety?

I spent some time on the porch this evening watching for the hummingbirds and shot today’s photo while I was waiting.  The loose petals around the edge of this rose made me think of the rose under glass in the Beauty and the Beast.  The glass was to protect the rose as much as possible because it served as a timer.  True love must be found before the last rose petal falls or the young man who had acted like a beast, and therefore given the form of a beast, would remain trapped forever as this beastly creature.  Anyhow, the loose petals made me think of the brevity of life and the uncertainty of when that last petal will fall.  I want to live in such a way that if all the petals fell off tonight, my life would have been lived to the full.

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

• If I’m ever too busy to notice the beauty of God’s creation, I’m too busy.
• A kind word is good for the soul . . . it also seems to be good for the wildlife. 🙂
• We ought to recognize safety in the still, small voice of God.
• Those seeking God ought to recognize safety in the way we represent Him.
• “Lonely places” are not necessarily lonely when you intentionally go to them in order to spend time with God.
• The good Shepherd calls His sheep and His sheep know His voice.
• How people respond to my voice, words, or presence ought to indicate to some degree what kind of voice I am using.
• Only God knows the amount of time each of us have on this earth.  Live in such a way that you’re ready if that “last petal of life” were to fall today.

Page 228 found me continuing to settle into a school year routine — or at least the fall version of one.  Some mornings I am rewarded for starting my workday early, some mornings I am doubly rewarded, and today I was at least triply rewarded!  As I began my day, the moon was hanging brightly in the sky and I was able to get some good photographs of it as I left home this morning.  When I arrived at work, there were two deer grazing in the morning twilight and they continued their early breakfast as I got a camera out and walked up the hill to photograph them.  Today’s photo is one of them as she looked up from her eating to bid me a good morning.  As I shot a few photos of the deer, the sun began to light up the eastern sky with a variety of morning colors that made the entire scene look bright and cheerful.  There were some light, fluffy clouds scattered about the sky so I anticipated that the sunrise would be a beauty.  I went inside and gathered up the trash, and was able to get some sunrise photos when I took the trash out.

Once the building was ready for the day, I made a cup of coffee and checked on messages and my  to-do list.  As I worked on my morning projects, a lot of my prayer focus was about the lack of peace in our nation.  It’s as if we’ve thrown out all hope for peace and have turned to using hatred and violence as our only response to the hatred and violence of others.  As I worked and prayed, pieces of the song, “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day”, began to float through my mind.  As I paused between work projects, I looked up the song lyrics with a focus on the line that says, “And in despair I bowed my head; there is no peace on earth, I said.”  What I discovered was that the song was missing two verses of the poem as originally written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.  The missing verses make it clear that the feeling of despair was brought about by the hatred and violence of the Civil War.  While hatred and violence continues to do its best to drown out the message of “peace on earth, good-will to men”, the final verse of Longfellow’s poem is still true — “God is not dead, nor doth He sleep.”  Peace on earth and good-will to men will never be accomplished through returning hatred for hate or evil for evil; rather it will come about by turning to God for a complete transformation of heart, mind, and soul.

I did manage to get the floor scrubber put back together today and get the batteries all charged up so it is ready to use.  I followed that project up with some phone calls regarding parts that had not yet been shipped, which I no longer need, and then headed home for a late lunch.  After lunch I went through the final groupings of the Upper Peninsula trip photos and shared the highlights from those.  I rested a little bit, then went out on the porch before supper to look for hummingbirds, but it seemed they didn’t care for the warmer temperatures of today.  As I finish writing today’s page, I look back in wonder and thanksgiving for the things God allowed me to see today.

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

• I hope I’m not the only one who feels this way, but I view the opportunity to see the beauty of creation as blessings from the hand of God.
• When I consider how far away it is, I am always amazed at the detail of the moon which can be seen when there are no obstacles to get in the way.
• My demeanor and gentleness often appear to be the greatest factors in whether the deer view me as a friendly visitor or as a threat.  The same is likely true for people.
• I never get tired of seeing a sunrise.
• Responding to hatred and violence with our own version of hatred and violence will generally make things worse.
• It is always good to be reminded that God is still God and He is not asleep on the job.
• God’s mercies are new every morning.  It is up to us whether we will see and accept them.

God consistently fills my life with reminders of His presence, but some days those reminders feel like they are more needed in order to get through the day.  Today was one of those days when the need was great and God was even greater.  The external activities of the day seemed to go well, it is the turmoil in my mind that was in the greatest need of God’s calming presence which brings peace.

The morning cleaning and building walk-through went well as I began my day in prayer taking care of the usual needs of the building.  Once the building was ready for the day, I checked messages and followed up on some maintenance needs and parts I’m trying to track down.  I was expecting parts for the floor scrubber, so I spent a good part of the morning getting it cleaned up and ready for when the parts arrived.  New batteries for the scrubber arrived with the delivery of some maintenance and janitorial supplies, so I put away the supplies before trying to get the work finished on the scrubber.  Unfortunately, in trying to finish up the work, I broke off the end of one of the battery cables so a trip to the store would be required before I could finish.

As I worked on the machine, my mind continued to think about the subject of compassion and the suffering that exists almost everywhere.  It was in this work, that a poem began to show up in my mind.  By the time I had broken the cable end, which brought the repair project to a temporary pause, the poem appeared to be complete in my mind.  After typing out the poem and posting it on my blog, I finished out the workday with some further research and work on the “Growing Strong” prayer retreat plans.  By mid-afternoon it was time for a late lunch followed by a stop at the store to get the parts to finish up the work on the scrubber tomorrow.

At home, I spent the early part of the evening going through a couple more rounds of photos from our recent Upper Peninsula trip.  Eventually I took a break from the computer screen and took my camera out to the porch to enjoy the evening light.  While I was out the sun danced on the nearby roses and sunflowers, asking to be photographed.  Today’s photo is of one of the rose blossoms that is nearly done.  Most of the petals have fallen off, and on its own it has very little left to draw a person’s attention.  However, the light of the sun shining upon it, and through it, changes it from something unnoticeable to something remarkable.  The scene served as one of those reminders sent throughout the day of how God’s light can turn ordinary, unnoticeable people into something of remarkable beauty.

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

• God knows me better than I know myself and He always knows just what I need and just how to provide it.
• God doesn’t lack the ability to make His presence known — He just asks that I seek it with all my heart.
• A routine of cleaning, whether a building or a life, helps to keep the messiness of either from taking over.
• Times of waiting are often meant to be times of preparation.
• I find that when I pray and work at the same time, God often fills my mind with direction and words that are reminders of His presence.
• Sometimes things don’t go as planned and all you can do is evaluate what is still needed and set out to obtain what is missing or repair/replace what is broken.
• If you don’t know someone who is suffering that needs to receive compassion from you, you’re probably not paying attention.
• It doesn’t matter how dull and drab and worn down you think you are; when the light of God shines upon you and through you, you become something of great beauty and value.

Page 226 was a Monday and for the most part I was able to spend it in a rather routine way.  For some people, that first sentence may sound discouraging; but for me, routine is usually a good thing.  I began the day taking care of bathrooms and trash to have the building ready for the start of school.  Once the building was ready and I had done my walk-through, I settled into a Monday writing mode.  I began with the writing of yesterday’s page as it just wasn’t coming together last night.  I still prefer writing them at the end of the day, but sometimes the thoughts of the day just need more time to process in my mind before they would be suitable to share.

Once the page was written, it was time to settle in with God to put together the prayer guide for next week.  There was a lot on my mind and I considered a variety of topics before feeling comfortable that living with compassion was the direction God would have me write.  God calls each of us to who compassion to one another just as He has shown compassion to us through His Son, Jesus.  Yet as I spent time in prayer and writing, I began to realize compassion is something that mankind is not all that good at.  The problem with compassion is that its very heart we are required to not only recognize the suffering of others, we must voluntarily suffer with them as we work together to resolve the cause of the suffering.  Many times we will reach the point of recognizing the suffering of others but our response usually looks more like trying to fix the problem from a distance rather than joining them and working on it from within.  Suffering tends to make us uncomfortable whether it is our suffering or the sufferings of others.  Sometimes we even try to silence the suffering of others so that we don’t feel guilty about not joining them in it . . . or even about being a part of the cause of it.  God’s desire is that we have compassion — suffer together with someone — not for the purpose of having a pity party, but so that we can stand on common ground and lift each other up.

This was a tough prayer guide to write as I thought about the suffering within our nation and even my own suffering.  Each prayer guide I write is bathed in prayer and comes out of my prayer time, but this one seemed to require more effort in prayer than many of the others.  It was early afternoon by the time it was written and then I took the time to format it and schedule it to be published Sunday on my website and to my email list.  Once it was completed and scheduled, the afternoon was almost gone and it had become a longer workday than I had planned.  It was way too late for lunch, so I headed home and worked on another round of my Upper Peninsula trip photos before firing up the pellet grill to make supper.  As supper cooked, I wandered around the front yard taking photos.  Today’s photo is of a scene that caught my eye as a bee crawled across the surface of a sunflower head.  It made me think of how important it is for each of us to do our part in a way that benefits not only us, but also benefits the body of Christ as a whole.  As the bees travel from flower to flower collecting nectar as a food source, they also collect pollen that the carry with them so that the pollination of plants take place.  The work that the bees do for their own benefit is also an important benefit to the entire plant world and all that depend on it for survival, including you and I.  In a similar way, God designed us to not only be dependent on Him, but to also have a need for one another in order to grow into complete maturity with Christ as our head.

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

• Routines can help keep me focused when my mind seems to be drowning in a swirling tide-pool of thoughts.
• Some days it takes longer to collect my thoughts into somewhat useful writings than it does on other days.
• When I’m not sure what to write, I remind myself that my daily writings have a purpose greater than just filling another page — they serve as a journal which reminds me of lessons God is teaching.
• Some weeks I have a topic before me that is easy and fun to write about.  Other weeks the topic challenges me not only in my writing, but also in my living.
• Having someone willing to suffer with you seems to be a rare thing.  
• Being willing to suffer with someone else also seems to be quite rare.
• Real compassion ought to change the way we interact with those who are suffering.
• When we offer solutions to those who are suffering without genuinely listening to them, we probably haven’t really offered a solution at all.
• When I suffer with someone, I am more likely to seek out real solutions to the suffering than simply offering quick-fix schemes that have little chance of helping.
• In the body of Christ, we all have a part that is important not only to us, but to the entire body.
• When we do our part in a way that benefits others, we too are helped.

Page 225 began early as Susan had a seizure during the early morning hours.  After we all made it back to sleep, we were able to sleep in a little bit before getting up and around for Sunday School.  The Sunday School class is trying to finish up a study in First Timothy, and today we were in chapter six with a focus on contentment.  The Bible teaches that “the eye is never content with seeing.”  That truth is exhibited in at least two ways in our life.  One, the more we take in something visually, the more accustomed we become to it and the sight will often no longer have the same influence in our mind so we look for something new to stimulate our visual sense.  Two, the more we dwell on looking at something, the less satisfied we become with simply seeing it — we simply must have it.  Advertisers bet a lot of money on that fact.  If they can get the image of their product in front of people often enough, a good number of those people will conclude they “need” that product.  Contentment is the result of taking every thought captive and keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, “the author and perfecter of our faith.”

After Sunday School we had our morning worship gathering where David brought a message on “What We Believe About the Bible”.  Here are some highlights of my take on it:

• The Bible is God’s Word — the “God-breathed” truth that never changes.
• The Bible contains the “power of God unto salvation” for those who would accept not only its truth, but its author.
• The Bible is a spiritual tool, or weapon, that has great power when used by a person living with the Spirit of God within them.
• The Bible can be a defense against temptation if we hide its words in our heart and mind.
• The Bible can demolish strongholds of the enemy when we use its truth by the power of the Spirit.

After the church service, it was time for lunch and then a restful afternoon spent continuing to go through the trip photos from earlier in the week.  After an afternoon of staring at the computer screen deciding what photos to share, we headed to the Riverwalk to get some fresh air and exercise . . . and perhaps a few more photos.  As we headed out for our walk, I grabbed my camera with the wide-angle lens and decided the “big picture” scenes would be the focus of my photographs during this walk.  During the walk I saw a beautiful butterfly fluttering about the various blossoms of a butterfly bush plant.  I really thought there was no way I could get close enough to it to take a decent photo with the lens I had on the camera, but there was no real way of knowing that without trying.  In the first few photos I took, the butterfly was just a growing speck in the center of the picture.  As I kept moving closer, it kept crawling over the blossom until I was able to get right up to it.  Today’s photo was taken with the camera about six inches away from the butterfly.  It reminded me of a phrase that I would hear on what seemed like a regular basis growing up — “Can’t never could until he tried.”  How often do we fail to accomplish a desire that perhaps God Himself has put within us, only because we chose not to try?

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

• Life has its difficult times but doing life as a family can help carry you through the difficulties.
• “Godliness with contentment is great gain” . . . not just my thought, but God’s Word.
• Contentment isn’t easy but God says the secret to having it is found in Him.
• The Bible is “living and active” . . . if it doesn’t seem that way to you, perhaps you need to spend more time with the Author.
• The breath of God — God’s Word — brings life.
• Many things seem impossible until we try them.
• The impossible never seems so impossible after we’ve accomplished it.
• Our greatest accomplishments can only take place when we step out in faith and allow God to work in and through us.

Page 224 was a Saturday but I found myself awake early to write yesterday’s page before the day got away from me.  Once the page was written, I went through the next group of photos from last weeks Upper Peninsula trip so I could share another round of them on Facebook.  We packed so much into the few days we had, that it is going to take multiple posts of the photos to give just a glimpse of the incredible beauty of creation we were surrounded with.  At times I begin to think I’m posting too many photos, but then people encourage me to keep sharing them so I try to keep sharing from the gift God has given me.  While I worked on the photos, I heard a noise from upstairs and found that Susan had somehow fallen into the empty bathtub and pulled the shower curtain and rod down on top of herself.  She didn’t act like she had a seizure, but also didn’t know how she fell into the tub or what had happened.  She said she wasn’t ready to get up, so after making sure she was okay she went back to bed to rest the morning away.

After sharing a group of photos, I took my mug of coffee out on the front porch and enjoyed some quiet time — with my camera close by, of course.  Several hummingbirds eventually stopped by the feeder, but before they did I noticed one of them sitting in an opening of the branches of the nearby pine tree, enjoying the morning sun as it streamed in.  He sat there for at least ten minutes, which is the longest I think I’ve ever seen a  hummingbird sit in one place.  Today’s photo is one of several I took as he seemed to pose for me so I could photograph different views of it.  I don’t know about his day, but I know that mine always seems to go better if I can start the day with time soaking in the sun and the Son.

After spending some time photographing the flowers and hummingbirds, and resting in the sun and the Son, I went to work on another round of photos in what I’ve called the “Way UP North” trip.  Last Sunday I preached in Dowagiac, Michigan then drove the 7+ hours north to the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore area of the Upper Peninsula on Lake Superior.  Monday we spent the entire day sightseeing and Tuesday we headed back home with numerous stops along the way.  It was our first trip to the Upper Peninsula and I was captivated by its beauty and incredible variety of natural scenes to photograph.  I’ve already posted four groups of photos from the trip and those postings only take me through mid-day on Monday — I’m not sure yet how many groupings I will end up with by the time I’m done going through them, but it was not only fun to see the sights and take the photos, it is fun to share them.

I had no frozen hamburger patties and no hamburger thawed out, so lunch ended up being smoked pork chops and fresh sweet corn.  The afternoon was spent working on some of the photos from the morning and resting before sitting down to write today’s page.

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

• Rest is important, but so is taking time to reflect and remember.
• Sometimes we slip and fall and need others to help us up.  God’s Word says, “Pity the one who falls and has no one to help him up.”
• Sometimes we know why we fall and other times we find ourselves down on the ground with no idea how we got there.
• The how and why a person fell can be useful information, but it often isn’t nearly as important as being someone who helps them up and makes sure they are okay.
• It feels good to sit in the warmth of the morning sun.  It is even better to sit with the Son warming me from the inside out.
• It is possible to see a lot in a short amount of time when you focus on what you can get to rather than on what you can’t.
• Traditions can be good but that doesn’t mean something different can’t be good as well.
• There ought to be room in life to do new things without completely abandoning the old.

Sometimes a day has a moment or two that seem to define it — at least until you step back and consider the bigger picture of the day.  Page 223 was like that for me.  The day began early as I’m trying to get back into a school year routine.  Being a Friday, I knew it would be a long day so my plan was to take care of the early morning tasks then get most of the mowing done before taking an afternoon break prior to the evening tasks of getting the building cleaned and ready for Sunday.  The key words in that very long sentence are “my plan”.

The day began as expected with the early morning cleaning and picking up the trash left behind from the previous day.  Once the building was ready for the start of the school day, I turned my attention to a battery issue with our alarm system.  After leaving yet another message with the company that installed the system, and getting no response to any of the messages, I tracked down access to the alarm panel so I could get the details on the battery installed and begin the research to track down a replacement.  It didn’t take long to find a replacement that I could pick up locally by noon, so I ordered the battery then went out to begin the mowing for the day.

Mowing can be relaxing for me, but it can also be a time when I “think too much”.  With school back in session, I try to be more deliberate about where I’m mowing at any given time during the day.  My plan was to mow the outlying areas while school was in session, then mow around the building after school was out for the day.  I began in the ball field and noticed a deer standing in the back corner of the field where she could both watch me and have a quick escape into the woods if she felt threatened.  As I mowed, my mind wandered to how difficult it is being different.  I’ve always been different in a way that doesn’t fit most social models all that well.  Most of the time I’m okay with that, but every once in a while I think it might be nice to actually fit in and belong somewhere — then I remember the sacrifice of conviction that is generally required to do so, and I just can’t bring myself to accepting what I know is wrong just so I can fit in.  With more information readily available now than ever before, I have a better idea regarding the source of my being so different but that doesn’t usually answer the “why?”.  Most of the time I can see how God uses the differences in how my mind processes information to accomplish great things in spite of me, but I also know I carry with me the great pain of rejection often because I don’t have the ability to play the game of social acceptance.  Anyhow, this isn’t where I thought this page would go when I began the writing, so on with the day. 🙂

After getting the ball field mowed, it was time to go pick up the alarm system battery, as well as get fuel for the mower and lunch for me.  Once I was back from running errands, it was back on the mower for the afternoon.  As school was letting out for the day, I took a break and found a message on my answering machine about some options in servicing a piece of equipment that hasn’t been operating well.  After returning that call and ordering the parts we decided would be best for the situation, it was back out to finish the mowing around the building.  I’ve always enjoyed mowing and one of the reasons is the beautiful look that a freshly mowed lawn has.

This really has been a productive day and being reminded of that is one of the reasons that the writing of these pages is important to me.  Without the writing, it is the remainder of the day that tends to stick in my mind yet looking back it was such a small part of the day that it shouldn’t be given as much space in my mind as it wants to take up.  As I set about to begin my Friday evening cleaning and building prep for the weekend, I was warned not to be too shocked at what I would find in parts of the building — that the issues were being addressed and would be taken care of.  As the problems were described, it wasn’t what was actually done that caused my frustration level to rise, but the fact that people were so unwilling to listen and follow very simply and straight-forward instructions.  Anyhow, I knew it wouldn’t do me any good to start cleaning in the state of mind I was in, so I headed out to get some supper and spend some time away from the building to let my mind process the information in a way that would allow me to finish my work for the day.  After eating, I came back to an empty and secure building with lights left on — another one of those little pieces that wanted to define my day.  Even with frustration mounting, the work needed done so I set about taking care of my evening tasks and eventually had the cleaning done and the building ready for Sunday.  Just as in the mowing, there is great satisfaction to be had in looking at the completed task and taking in the sight and smell of freshly cleaned bathrooms and floors.

Today’s photo is one I took late Thursday night as a storm rolled by.  It made me think of the storms of life that I face and how dark they can appear until even a small amount of light illuminates everything.  The storms of life may be dark and powerful but the light of Jesus is brighter and even more powerful than the storms. 

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

• When I allow one event to define my entire day I typically have allowed the bigger picture of what God was doing throughout the day to be hidden, or even stolen, from me.
• It is good to have times to think and reflect.
• It is critical to take every thought captive during those times of thinking and reflecting.
• Sometimes being different is a good thing and sometimes it feels like a great burden.
• Being who God created you to be is more important than either being different or fitting in.
• Sometimes a battery has been drained and recharged so much that it no longer functions.  I suspect that we are a lot like that which is why God says that He will put within us a new heart and a new spirit.
• Visible results of work can be very encouraging, but faith is being able to see the results of God’s work even when they are not yet visible.
• I wonder how often my failure to follow simple instructions frustrates others . . . or frustrates God?
• The storms of life will come but the darkness never has the power to overcome the light.
• Even though my mind did not think so as the day ended, it was a very productive day.

Page 222 was a quiet day spent working on equipment maintenance and prayer retreat content ideas as I waited on follow-up from some service work.  As I headed out of the house for work, the moon was shining brightly in the early morning sky so I shot a few photos.  At work I checked on the progress of some maintenance parts I am waiting on and found that they still have not shipped.  I guess that comes from having equipment that is no longer “current model”, so the parts are not stocked at distributors to be able to send out right away and the manufacturers won’t sell them directly.  Sometimes we get so used to immediate access to everything that we want that we forget how to live with patience.  Many times we need to be reminded of the value of waiting — particularly waiting upon the Lord to not only learn from Him, but to be strengthened by Him.

As I worked in the office, I received a phone call from a service tech to let me know he was on his way to look at a piece of cleaning equipment I have that is not working properly.  So, I got the equipment out and ready for him to look at while I waited for him to arrive.  He was able to diagnose the problem, but had to check on part cost and availability when he got back to his office.  After taking care of some small projects in the building and checking on the programming for our HVAC system now that school has resumed, I spent the rest of the day working on prayer retreat content as I waited to learn the equipment repair options and timetable.  As the afternoon melted away with no call, I wrapped up my workday and headed home.

At home I spent more time working on more of the photos from our Upper Peninsula trip and then took my camera outside to try to photograph the hummingbirds.  I did manage a few photos, but they were hesitant to spend a lot of time at the feeder while I was nearby.  While I was watching for the hummingbirds, I took photos of the flowers around the front of the house.  Today’s photo is of one of the roses that are growing along the porch.  It serves as one of many reminders of God’s creativity and beauty that He continually surrounds us with.  Eventually I set the camera on video mode while I went in and ate lunch/dinner.  After I ate and checked on the video, I found that I did have one hummingbird stop by for a minute while I was away.  

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

• Even in the twilight of the early morning hours, God hangs reminders of His faithfulness in the sky to be seen by all who would pay attention.
• Patience is a trait that God wants us to learn, but few of us seem to desire it.
• In a society where it seems most things are disposable, we are often too quick to throw out things that still work well.
• Taking the time to maintain what we have is often more cost-effective in both time and money than constantly throwing out replacing.
• Most people seem to be enamored with the new but God calls for us to look for the ancient paths and seek the good ways that we would walk in them.
• The birds of the air seem to be more aware of potential danger than many people are.  We would do well to pay attention to the dangers of temptation that surround us.
• There is rarely a moment or place, if there is any at all, where we can’t find reminders of God’s beauty and creativity if we would only look for it.