Page 93 was a spring break family adventure day.  We spent what ended up being a mostly cloudy and rainy/drizzly day driving around taking photos with an occasional short hike to photograph a point of interest.  The primary photo theme of the day seemed to be waterfalls — which ends up being a very good choice for a rainy day.  Some of the waterfalls we photographed probably would be considered “seasonal”, meaning they dry up to a trickle or less through the summer months.  A rainy day during the spring, however, produces an abundance of falls with a good volume of water over each one.

With all of the waterfall photos, it was too hard to choose so today’s photo is of a bridge that spans the New River Gorge in West Virginia.  It is said to be one of the longest single span bridges in the United States.  Some bridges are impressive as you drive over them, with visible massive support structures rising above you as you drive.  This bridge wasn’t one of them.  From the driving surface, this was just another section of four-lane concrete highway with a great view on either side.  The impressive part isn’t even noticed until you view it from the side and/or underneath.  As I watched some video of its construction, my first thought was a bunch of well-trained adult boys playing with a giant erector set. 🙂  Only this wasn’t play.  This was serious work that required each piece to be properly placed and securely fastened together.  When completed, this bridge turned what had been a thirty minute drive down one side of the gorge, across the river, and up the other side of the gorge into a thirty second trip.  As I let that fact sink in, I first thought about how valuable we have made time but then after driving the old route down into the gorge and back out, I thought about the transportation of goods via truck that can now cross the gorge that never could have made the trek down and back up with the variety of hairpin curves and switchbacks.  

Later in the day I found myself with a slight dilemma at a toll booth.  I had put the correct amount of change in the collection hopper at the toll plaza and crept forward anticipating a green light — only the green light never came.  Traffic was backed up behind me so close I couldn’t back up and put more money in and it didn’t seem right to have to do that anyway.  So, after waiting for what I’m sure seemed like forever to the guy behind me, I went on through half expecting to be pulled over down the road by the cop that had been sitting in his car just prior to the toll plaza.  But no flashing lights appeared in my rear view mirror and after a while I was able to quit glancing over my shoulder expecting to see those lights.

After a long day, I spent a little time going through the over three hundred photos from the day before deciding I was too tired to write the day’s page.  So here I am just before five o’clock the next morning, awake and writing.

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

• Family is a gift from God and even as a gift, good ones require effort to make and keep them that way.
• Jesus asked the question, “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world but lose his soul?”  I think a similar question should be asked of ourselves regularly, “What does it profit a person to gain the things of the world but lose their family?”
• When God’s Spirit is poured out within us, it ought to be visible to those around us.
• Not all impressive lives appear that way on the surface.  Some are very noticeable and others live with an unseen foundation that is even more impressive at times than that which is noticed.
• Sometimes we feel like such a small part but regardless of our size, we are not an unimportant part.
• It is amazing to think about what the body of Christ could support if each part did its work.
• They say that time is money, but often time is much more than money could ever buy.
• Routine and schedules are good when they serve us but are very poor masters when we allow our self to become servant to them.

Page 92 was a Sunday and being the first Sunday of the month, I had the privilege of preaching this morning at the North Wayne Mennonite Church.  I went to bed early last night, and it seemed like I slept better than I have in a while, so I was awake early enough to spend some time with God in a continual refinement of the sermon before heading to Dowagiac to share it.  This morning’s message continued a series I’ve been doing on “Living As the Lord’s Servant”.  As we’ve looked a different Bible characters who are described as a servant of the Lord, today we spent time considering the life of Hannah.  

God says through the writer of Hebrews, that without faith it is impossible to please God.  Faith requires that we believe God exists and that we believe He rewards those who diligently seek Him.  There are many characteristics we could examine and learn from in the life of Hannah, but none are as important as the example of living with faith.  Here are the key lessons from the message, “Living With FAITH”.

• Living with Focus:  When we first meet up with Hannah in the opening chapter of 1 Samuel, we find her in a situation with many distractions.  It is in the midst of these distractions that she maintains her focus in believing God exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.  Because of her focus, she never wavers from her request for a son.  I believe that her crying out to God for this request to be granted, shows a belief that God could deliver.  Unfortunately, as we set out to live a life of faith, many of us lose our focus as the enemy sends mockers and distractions our way.  When we don’t get what we ask for when we ask for it, the enemy begins to plant doubt in our mind and our focus begins to waver.  Living with faith means that we use our faith to keep focused on the things of God no matter what.
• Living with Acceptance:  Hannah also appears to do something that many of us try — she makes a deal with God.  The truth is, however, these deals are generally one-sided — “God, if you do such and such I promise to do this or that.”  I’m not so sure that is really what Hannah was doing, but regardless of the cause, she does make a promise to God that the son He would give her would be given back to Him.  We have to be very careful what we promise God.  I don’t believe He is a party to our bargains, but He does take our promises seriously.  Living with faith says that we accept the consequences of keeping our promises to God.  When your read about Eli and his sons, and realize these are the people Hannah is leaving her son with, you might be tempted to think she had just cause to go back on her word.  Not Hannah.  Her life of faith accepted that God would somehow honor the results of her honoring her vow.  
• Living with Insight:  After Hannah drops her son, Samuel, off to live with the priest and serve the Lord, we find a beautiful prayer of her recorded in the second chapter of 1 Samuel.  In this prayer we read of great insight that God has given her through her faithful obedience.  Living with faith in a God who exists and rewards those who earnestly seek Him, fills us with an insight into the very nature and character of God.  If you want to have a greater understanding of God, then ask Him to increase your faith.  If you want insight into the nature of God, then choose each day to walk by faith.
• Living with Trust:  Woven through this life of faith, is an element of trust.  Even when it would appear our course of action makes no sense, when we are pursuing God, faith leads us trust Him.  Often times we choose not to live by faith because we don’t trust God to truly care for us.  We fail to accept the consequences of our promises because we don’t trust God to work all things together for our good.  Hannah had made a promise to God and in spite of circumstances that would cause many of us to say she had reason to change her mind, she continued to trust God to be faithful in response to her faith.
• Living with Hope:  Living with faith should always produce an expected outcome that we also live with hope.  The Bible says that faith is the assurance of things hoped for.  When faith is our way of life, we have an assurance of God’s presence that should fill us with an overflowing hope.  Hannah’s hope is seen in her request.  It is seen in her interaction with Eli when God’s promise is given.  It is seen in her willingness to leave Samuel with Eli.  And it is seen throughout her prayer that is written down for us to read.  As you look at the life of her son, Samuel, I believe that her hope was far greater than cultural validation of being a mom.  Her hope, which was fulfilled, was for a son who would be a blessing to a nation.  When we live with hope, we would do well to always remember that our hope in Jesus is meant to be for the people around us in the same way that it is for us.

After sharing the sermon and the worship gathering concluded, we headed home with a stop for lunch on the way.  Once we had changed clothes, we threw some things in the truck and set off on a little sightseeing adventure.  I didn’t have time to do much with photos today, but today’s photo is a sunset scene on a cloudy evening.  Like most things in life, balance is the key when it comes to clouds and sunset photos.  Too many clouds and the sunset really isn’t visible.  No clouds and you miss out on so many of the beautiful colors that can be found in a sunset in a sparsely clouded sky.

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

• Early to bed and early to rise may not make a person healthy, wealthy, and wise but it sure makes me feel better when I need to be up early.
• Preaching is a privilege I don’t take lightly.
• God’s Word is given to us for instruction in the way we should live.  The characters in the Bible are real people that we can learn real life lessons from.
• If I want to please God, I must have a growing faith.
• My faith grows when I stay focused on God.
• My faith grows when I accept God’s authority over my promises.
• My faith grows when I listen to the insight I receive from God’s Word.
• My faith grows when my trust in God grows.
• My faith grows when I fully put my hope in Him.
• The greatest treasure that God gives us besides Himself and the salvation that is ours through Jesus, is the people He brings into our life and family should be at the top of that list.

After working late last night, page 91 was a day to sleep in and relax.  I was awake when my alarm would have gone off had it been a normal workday, but since it wasn’t, I had no trouble falling back asleep.  When I did finally wake up, the sun was shining brightly through the window and even with some light frost on the rooftop, a beautiful day had begun.  I spent the morning doing very little — a few messages and correspondence to follow up on, some games on the computer and Wii system, and did some minor work on the photos I took yesterday.  With the weather not enticing me to get out and walk yesterday, I ended up being at work from a little after six in the morning until ten at night, so today’s rest and relaxation was eagerly welcomed.  

As the morning slipped away, I fired up the pellet grill and made some cheeseburgers for lunch.  In our household at least, anything that comes off the grill automatically tastes a little better than its non-grilled counterparts.  MJ usually says that is doubly true because not only does it have the grilled flavor, she doesn’t have to cook. 🙂  After lunch had settled a little bit, we headed down to Potato Creek to enjoy the beautiful sunshine that was filling the day.  We did a little over two and a half miles of walking combined with a couple photo stops along the way.  At one point on the trail, a young boy had to let us know there were frogs up ahead.  Sure enough, we reached a wetland area that was thick with frogs trying to keep out of sight.  We took a few photos of the frogs and then stopped a little further up the trail to take some more photos from an area overlooking the lake.  At one point, we passed a small pool of water next to the lake and this area has some large frogs as well.  Today’s photo is of one of those frogs as he was on a moss-covered log soaking in the sunshine.  He reminded me of the oft told story of the frog in the kettle.  The idea is that if you put a frog in a pot of boiling water, it will jump right out because it is so uncomfortable.  However, if you put a frog in a pot of room temperature water and slowly heat it to boiling, the frog will continually get used to the rising temperature and boil to death with no attempt to hop out.  That story, and this frog, made me wonder what deadly things happen so gradually in my surrounding that I pay them no attention and even come to accept them.

After our walk and a stop to visit the osprey at the park, we headed home for a relaxing evening.  The park wants to use one of my photos for some thank you cards/notes they are having printed, so I worked on the release form they need which gives them permission to use my photo.  As I wrap up the evening, my mind continues to mull over the sermon I will share tomorrow morning as I allow God to refine it.

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

• There is nothing wrong with a long workday.  There is also nothing wrong with a day of rest.  Both are valuable and useful in a person’s life.
• We tend to make a lot of things in life out to be “either/or” situations when in reality they are “both/and” situations, it’s just that the options have different purposes and timings.
• How things are done makes a difference and is important.  It is usually not enough for things to be done however they can be.  There are ways that are good, there are ways that are better, and there are ways that are the best.  Seek the best.
• When we seek the best, we are less susceptible to the gradual “heat” that seeks to destroy us.
• It is important to always use the Word of God as our straight edge in determining how close we are to, or how far we are from, where we should be.
• Meditating on the Word of God is one of the best preparations for sharing it.

Page 90 looks to be a long day as I finish up the cleaning and weekend building prep tonight to be ready for Sunday.  I was once again awake before the alarm was to go off but instead of getting up right away, I stayed in bed thinking about an old hymn that took up residence in my mind yesterday.  I find it interesting because while I could likely not carry a tune in a bucket to save my life, in my mind I can hear and sing in full four part harmony many of the old hymns I grew up with.  This time it is primarily the chorus of the hymn, “Brighten the Corner Where You Are”, that has stuck in my mind.  The words have a “lighthouse” feel to them as they encourage you to brighten the corner where you are because someone not yet in the harbor may need the help of your light to get them across the [sand]bar.  As I looked up the words today because the verses weren’t coming to mind, it became clear the words were meant as a challenge not to wait until you were somewhere that you felt was meaningful, but to let your light shine exactly where you are, wherever you are.

Anyhow, as I reflected on the chorus I must have drifted off to sleep because the next time I looked at the clock it was already past 6, which is when I typically try to be at work by.  I jumped out of bed, got dressed, and headed out the door — still singing in my mind about brightening the corner of the world I find myself in.  Once at work I set about the morning cleaning and building prep for the day.  Once it was ready and the students began arriving for the day, it was time to get serious about finishing up the next prayer guide and the sermon I’ve been working on.  By the end of the day the prayer guide was done and ready to schedule to be posted and sent out, but the sermon will remain a work in progress right up until it is delivered.  

While it has been overcast and drizzly most of the day, the birds were not deterred from stopping by and sharing their beautiful songs.  Today’s photo is one I almost didn’t take because from a distance this bird deep in the brush appeared to be another robin.  It’s not that I don’t like robins, but I have many photos of them and this one didn’t appear that it would be a unique photo.  But since there was nothing else visible at the time, I went ahead and took the photo.  It wasn’t until I was going through today’s photos on my computer that I noticed the white belly instead of the all reddish-orange that a robin would have.  I knew when I took the photo that he was smaller than most of the robins that stop by, but I just figured he was young.  Anyhow, when I looked it up online I discovered that he is an Eastern Towhee.  Not that that means anything to me other than he is a new friend that I don’t know that I have met before.  Isn’t that life, though?  Sometimes we are so sure we know what we see or what is going on, that we fail to really pay attention.  Instead of learning something new, we go on with our life never realizing we had missed out on the actual truth that could have only been discovered by stopping and taking a closer look.

Well, my break is over since the building won’t get itself ready for Sunday.  Time to share today’s lessons and then finish up work so I can go home.

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

• Seeds planted long ago may still grow and bear fruit.
• I believe God hears my worship in a way that sounds similar to what it sounds like in my mind — only purer.
• God has put His light within us in order to brighten our corner of the world wherever we are.
• Many times I want to make a huge difference somewhere that is important — God wants me to make a difference that is important wherever I am.
• It’s not likely you will effectively share God’s Word if you aren’t willing to listen to Him throughout the entire process.
• The birds that visit outside my office window are good examples of shining where they are at.
• When we fail to stop and pay attention, we often miss the details that would distinguish one thing from another — best from better, better from good, and even good from evil.
• God wants us to notice, and follow, truth but we often settle for the appearance of truth.

With no alarm set to wake me up this morning, I got an extra hour of sleep before a ringing phone woke me up instead.  The phone call brought word that the power was out at the church building and the school had called a two-hour delay, hoping that the power would be restored during that time.  It wasn’t long before word came that the power had been restored, so I got dressed and headed into work to make sure the boilers had re-fired and the air handlers in the HVAC system were running.  For some reason, several of the building systems don’t like to restart on their own after a power outage.  The interesting part is that all I typically have to do is unplug the power cord on the control panel and plug it back in — isn’t that kind of what the power outage just did?  

Once at work I reset a couple of the systems that had not started on their own and then spent some time in the office since I was already there.  While I was doing some more refining of Sunday’s sermon, I noticed movement out in the woods and as I peered though the brush and trees I saw a couple deer playing some distance away.  There wasn’t a clear enough view of them to get any photographs, but it was nice to be able to see them.  With Thursdays typically being a day off, by mid-morning I called it a day as far as work was concerned and Susan and I headed home.  As we left the building and walked out to the truck, six deer were standing on the hillside of the back lawn watching our every movement.  My camera was in the truck and I managed to get it out and take a couple photos before all the deer high-tailed it across the ball field and into the woods.  They were so beautiful to watch and it made me glad I had needed to stop by and check on the heating system.  

At home I fired up the pellet grill and after prepping some baby back ribs, put them on to slow cook for the rest of the day. The rest of the day was spent relaxing and keeping an eye on the ribs as they cooked.  By evening they were ready to come off the grill and as MJ said, six-plus hours to cook and six minutes to eat. 🙂  It may have taken a little more than six minutes, but they were very good and didn’t last long.

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

• Not everything goes according to our plans and sometimes we need reminded of that.
• There are many things that can bring our purpose to a grinding halt.  When that happens, we need to turn fully to God and allow Him to reset our purpose so that it once again aligns with His purpose.
• Changed plans can bring unexpected blessings if we pay attention.
• Often it takes a long time for good things to be completed.  
• Keeping our eyes fixed on the reward at the end helps us to live with patient endurance.  
• What we value most will be most effective in motivating us to action — including the action of waiting. 

Page 88 has been a beautiful spring day.  I was once again awake before my alarm went off so I got dressed and headed out into the crisp, cool darkness of the early morning.  The sky was filled with the brilliant dots of star light and the truck was coated with a light layer of frost.  When I arrived at work, I put my hat and coat in my office and noticed movement in the darkness outside my window.  After turning my light off to get my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I noticed several deer walking by my window before heading down the trail into the woods.  I didn’t have a camera out, and it was so dark the camera wouldn’t have done much good, but I enjoyed seeing the deer to start my day.

After such a welcome to work, I began my morning prayer time as I went about the cleaning and building prep tasks for the day.  Lately, a big part of my prayer time as I clean each day has been focused on praying about integrity.  I pray that I would live and serve and work with integrity.  I pray that those who lead would do so with complete integrity.  I pray that the children and young people of our churches and society would see vibrant examples of integrity in the lives of the adults around them.  Many times we are quick to complain about a generation that appears to us to have lost a commitment to truth and doing what is right no matter what.  Before we complain too loudly or too long, we may want to take a closer look at the example we have been setting.  We can talk and teach all we want to about honesty, integrity, and commitment, but if we’re not living it our words become nothing more than empty noise.  

Once the building was ready for the day, I took the trash out and took my camera with me to catch a few shots of the sun rising over the glistening frost-covered lawn.  After the cleaning was done, today’s tasks centered around the sermon for Sunday and the prayer guide that I’ll publish on Palm Sunday.  With the sermon that will continue the “Living As the Lord’s Servant” series and a prayer guide focused on obedience, the preparation for both things seemed to work well together.  The prayer guide itself will consider the example of Jesus, “who humbled himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross.”  As this will be the prayer guide that covers the week between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday, this topic of obedience according to the example of Jesus seems quite timely.

By mid-afternoon it was time for a break from the study and writing, so I headed out to pick up some cleaning supplies I needed for work.  While I was out, I came across baby back pork ribs on sale for two dollars a pound so I picked up a package of them and some wood pellets for the pellet grill so I will hopefully have a meal of ribs coming up soon.  After dropping the meat and wood pellets off at home, I stopped by the river to look for the wood ducks and take a few photos before heading back to work.  There were at least ten pair of wood ducks on the river and today’s photo is of one of those pair.  It was fun to watch them as they would ride the current of the river downstream for a ways and then fly back upstream to do it all again without drifting too far away from the area in which they appear to live.  We would do well to develop a similar practice in which we remain centered around an anchor point of Jesus in our life.  After shooting a few photos it was back to work where I made the rounds to make sure the building was ready for the mid-week Bible studies.  As is typical, I am writing this as I wait for the building to clear out so I can then get the cleaning done for tomorrow.  With ribs in the refrigerator waiting to be slow-cooked on the pellet grill, I’m pretty sure I’ll go ahead and work late tonight so the building is ready for tomorrow and I can stay home and do some cooking. 🙂

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

• Sometimes the things we consider unpleasant are actually part of the reason for the things we consider beautiful.
• Much of what God gives us is meant to be shared with others.  Occasionally He shares a gift with us that is meant simply to encourage us in the moment.
• When my thoughts and words seem inadequate and jumbled, I am thankful that God understands my heart.
• Integrity must be lived before it can be taught.
• Obedience to God should be one of our greatest desires — not because we “have to or else”, but because we love Him so much.
• When obedience is difficult and painful, we can learn a lot by looking at the example of Jesus.
• Sometimes when I go about the normal tasks of my day, God surprises me with an opportunity for goodness that I wasn’t expecting.
• While we have great freedom in Christ, our safety is found in remaining anchored in Him. 

Page 87 has been a gray and overcast day with an occasional spit of rain which kept the birds happy outside my office window.  My workday began with the cleaning of the bathrooms and getting the building ready for the day.  Once the building was ready and the students began arriving for the day, I turned my attention to working on the sermon I’ll share at the North Wayne Mennonite Church on Sunday.  I usually preach there on the first Sunday of each month and have been working through a series about living as the Lord’s servant.  Each message in the series has looked at a different person in the Bible who is specifically called the Lord’s servant.  Some of the character studies in this series are of people who have called themselves the Lord’s servant and some of them are called that by others in the text.  For me, the fun part is that this list of people is so varied that it gives great hope for any of us to be able to live as the Lord’s servant if we would commit to doing so.

 In preparing for this next Sunday, I spent the day with Hannah who prayed that God would “look upon your servant’s misery and remember me.”  It is good to know that this servant of the Lord could call out to God in the midst of her misery and expect God to not only hear her but to accept her as His servant.  There are a lot of things about her pursuit of God that stand out to me, including her willingness to promise to return her child to God if He would just give her one.  While that is a very noble vow, if you’ve ever followed and connected the stories beyond the first two chapters of 1 Samuel, the magnitude of making and keeping that vow is enormous.  You have Hannah who has endured years of mistreatment and misery as a childless woman in her culture.  Her plea to God for a child makes sense.  Even her promise to dedicate this child to God make sense to most people, but that is because we don’t take that commitment as seriously as Hannah did.  And then there is the atmosphere that she will be sending her son into if she keeps her vow.  On the surface, sending her son to live and serve within the house of the Lord sounds like a win-win — she loses the stigma of being childless and her son grows up away from the rivalry that exists in her home.  But then you get a glimpse into the lives of the people he will live with — the priest Eli and his sons.  Sons that were so wicked that God’s first message to Samuel is that He is going to judge the household of Eli and his sons.  As you read about the wickedness within the house of God, I suspect that many of us would be second-guessing a decision to send our firstborn into that atmosphere.  In fact, we often renege on our commitments based on unfavorable circumstances far less severe than that.  We promise one thing but then we make excuses for why we don’t keep that promise.  We justify why we don’t keep our word by pointing to the misconduct of others.  Yet one of the big lessons of Hannah as seen through her life and the life of her son, Samuel, is that God takes our promises seriously even if we don’t.

Today’s photo was taken of one of the many songbirds that kept me company as I spent time with Hannah today.  It serves as a reminder of God’s commitment to keep His promises.  But perhaps that is one of the reasons we struggle to keep our promises — we don’t trust God to keep His.  Many, if not all of us, would be severely tempted to pull our child out of the atmosphere that Hannah discovered she had placed her child into.  Yet Hannah continued to trust God as she maintained a commitment to keep her promise to God.

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

• God sends the rain on the just and unjust alike.  Sometimes that is a blessing and sometimes it seems like a curse — depends on whether we need the rain or not.
• God calls each of us to live as His servant.
• Before we dismiss the possibility of being able to live as the Lord’s servant, it would be helpful to learn from the lives of those the Bible identifies as such.
• In the Bible, the Lord’s servants are as different from one another as any of us are.  In fact, for the most part the only common trait is a decision to be the Lord’s servant.
• Living as the Lord’s servant changes who is in charge of our life.
• When we agree to let God be in charge, we must trust Him with everything.

Page 86 was another day that found me awake before my morning alarm went off.  At church yesterday, I had noticed some maintenance request notes in my mailbox so I got ready and went in earlier than usual to see if I could take care of some of those requests before the school day.   When I got to work, I checked my messages and then set about working on some minor issues throughout the building before starting the usual cleaning and prep for the day.  With the extra-early start, I managed to take care of the requests and get the building cleaned and ready before the students began arriving for the day.

Being a Monday, I settled into the routine of prayer and listening as I sought direction for the next weekly prayer guide.  I had a couple ideas enter my mind, but as I thought and prayed about them I couldn’t see my being able to develop them beyond the idea stage at this time.  During my prayer time I began to think a lot about the teaching of Jesus to seek first the kingdom of God.  From that, I began to think about the riches I have and the riches God desires for me to have that are not financially based.  It wasn’t long before the topic of godly riches had developed into an outline for the week and then my attention turned to spending time with God regarding the direction I would write for each day’s prayer focus.  I live in a culture that makes the pursuit of worldly riches seem normal and desirable which means I have to try that much harder to pursue riches that are not of this world.  Once I had the prayer guide written, I formatted it and scheduled it to be posted and sent out on Sunday.  After taking care of all that, the morning was almost gone but I started the process again as I have some spring break family time scheduled that will take me away from the office next Monday.  

By late afternoon my mind and body were both tired so I called it a day and headed to the river for a walk.  As I began my walk, the early spring flowers welcomed me to the river.  In addition of the beauty of the flowers, there were ducks, turtles, geese, and squirrels all waiting to be photographed.  Today’s photo is of a mallard duck that was eager to pose for pictures today.  Most of the time the ducks take off in flight as soon as they sense someone around.  I suspect that this duck and its mate, which allowed me to walk right up to them and take pictures, have learned from the squirrels that becoming friendly with people often results in food being offered..  After the walk I stopped by the store to pick up some chicken to put on the pellet grill for supper then spent some time unwinding and relaxing at home while it cooked.  

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

• Minor issues are generally easier to take care of than major issues but if not cared for the minor issues easily become major issues.  This is just as true about our spiritual life as it is about buildings.
• Most maintenance tasks are easier to take care of without the interruptions and distractions of other people.  Again, this applies equally to the maintenance of our spiritual life and the maintenance of buildings.
• Finding time that you can dedicate to spending with God caring for your spiritual well-being is essential.
• Seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness requires discipline and a focus that sees beyond the world’s wealth.
• Money doesn’t mean the same thing to God as it does to most of us.  We would do well to learn to view it in the same way God does.
• Work is important and given to us by God — so is rest.
• When we recognize God as the giver of all good things, we begin to trust Him enough that we are willing to draw near to Him.