Page 325 had an early start as I drove to work under a beautiful star-filled sky.  I had a couple minor projects I wanted to get done while the building was empty so an early start was my best option.  As one who has lived most of my life as a non-morning person, that last sentence sounded very strange.  Yet here I am.  I have reached the point where I would normally rather get up early to take care of a project rather than having to stay up late.  I suppose it was the night sky, but today’s soundtrack was courtesy of Rich Mullins as I found myself singing the words, “Sometimes the night is beautiful” and “Oh, God, you are my God and I will ever praise you.”  Having a mental soundtrack of praise to God as the day is started is an incredible boost to a morning of prayer, cleaning, and building prep. 

Once the early morning work was complete, I turned my attention to seeking God regarding a sermon I will share Sunday morning.  A potential title came to mind last night as I went to bed, and amazingly it was still in my mind this morning.  There is a lot of time between now and Sunday morning so there will likely be much refining even if the outline stays, but I got a good start on what I believe God wants me to share to encourage people to “GIVE Thanks”.  As the morning came to an end, it was time for lunch with a friend and then a trip to pick up a few supplies.  While I was out I crossed paths with a couple I hadn’t seen for a while and had a good conversation catching up with them.

With another day of no new photos, today’s photo is one from my trip home from ICOM on Sunday.  This eagle had found a spot in the river where he could keep an eye on the water surface and watch for his next meal.  Sometimes in the midst of a fast-paced life it is important to find time to just sit and pay attention to what’s important and allow the unimportant to go on by.

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

• Change is a part of life.  
• Sometimes our preferences change as a part of growth and sometimes we find it practical to learn new preferences.
• God deserves my praise whether the night appears beautiful to me or not.
• If I prepare a sermon without seeking God throughout the entire process, I will likely only share my words.
• When I seek God and allow Him freedom to change and refine any and all aspects of the sermons I share, His Spirit has greater freedom to work through me.
• Giving thanks should not be a seasonal activity — it should be a daily way of life.
• Life goes by fast.  Sometimes you need to let the current carry you along and sometimes you need to find a spot where you can rest and watch it go by.

The alarm clock rang early on page 324 as it was back to the usual weekday routine following the long days of ICOM.  I suppose it was influenced by yesterday’s photos that I went through last night, but the soundtrack for this morning was a song that says “Mercy is falling, is falling, is falling.  Mercy is falling like the sweet spring rain!”  Much of my prayer time was focused on God’s mercy as I went about the morning prayer, cleaning, and building prep tasks.  With God’s mercies being supplied new every morning, there is plenty to pray about and be thankful for.  

Once the building was ready for the day and the trash taken out, I turned my attention to writing yesterday’s page.  With the long days of the conference and then the trip home yesterday, I made it through the photos I had taken but had called it a day and went to bed before writing the page.  After writing yesterday’s page, I turned my attention to the prayer guide for next week.  With the theme of last week’s missions conference being “Together”, I thought that was the direction I would be heading as I spent time with God praying about this next topic.  However, as I prayed and even looked at possible daily topics under that theme, I didn’t feel comfortable going forward with it at this time.  As I spent time praying about today’s topic of giving thanks for God’s righteousness, I began to consider what things produce thankfulness as well as what is produced by thankfulness.  One of the words that kept coming to mind in both of those categories was the word contentment.  And so it wasn’t long before I was praying about, and writing, about being content.

By the time the prayer guide was written, and then formatted and scheduled to be published Sunday morning, the morning had turned into afternoon.  I did some follow-up on some messages left while I was gone and then unloaded all of the display materials and books from my truck.  As I put the boxes in my office, I did inventory and made a list of how many of each book title I currently have on hand.  This should be helpful as I look ahead to the next opportunity to represent the prayer ministry and share the resources God has given me to write.  By mid-afternoon I had put in a full day and it was time to head home.  After relaxing for a time, I sat down and began writing today’s page in order to get it completed in time to head to bed early tonight.

With no new photos taken today, today’s photo is one from my trip home yesterday as I stopped at Starved Rock State Park in Utica, Illinois.  It was the waterfalls at this park that I think planted this morning’s soundtrack of God’s mercy falling all over me.  Not only was the setting beautiful, the canyon amplified the sound of the falling water which added to the peaceful setting.

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

• A break in routine is good but sometimes the break makes a return to the routine somewhat difficult.
• God’s mercies are supplied new each morning because we need them each day.
• Just as it is hard to walk through a spring rain without getting wet, it is impossible to avoid getting through life successfully without God’s mercy falling upon you.
• While it is okay to test and push your limits from time to time, it is good to know when to simply stop and rest.
• Just because you have what seems like a good idea, you should never stop seeking God and listening to Him.
• It is pretty difficult, if not impossible, to be thankful without learning contentment or to be content without practicing thankfulness.
• It is helpful to know what you have if you want to figure out what you need.
• I find reminders of God’s love and mercy all around me when I pay attention.

Page 323 was the end of ICOM 2017 and my travel home day.  After a very late night packing up the display, the new day technically arrived before I went to bed.  I was able to sleep in a little bit before I finally got up and did some follow up to some of the previous day’s conversations.  After several long days of great conversations and being around mass quantities of people, I was ready for some solitude — some quiet time alone with God.  Fortunately, my drive home would not only provide that, but there were some great parks not too far out of the way that I anticipated would add to a day of worship.

The first park that I planned on stopping at had signs at each entrance that said only hunters were allowed beyond that point.  I suspect since it is deer hunting season in the states I am familiar with, that is also the case in Illinois and those are the hunters they were allowing in.  However, the sign didn’t say what you had to be hunting so I was tempted to drive on in to hunt down the photographs I was hoping to take.  I didn’t do it because I was certain that wasn’t what the intent of the sign was . . . and because I didn’t really want to risk punishment or even accidentally getting shot.  But it did make me think of how often we reinterpret what we know God’s Word really means so that we can go ahead and do what we want.  

Since option one was closed, my next stop was at a park just a few miles away from the first.  Being that the first one was closed, I wasn’t too sure what I would find at this stop but it was open with no apparent “hunting” going on. 🙂  I was able to spend some time on the trails with God; worshiping Him for His goodness, creativity, and love as I walked and photographed some of the scenes that were spread before me.  The park is known as a winter home for bald eagles escaping the frozen lakes of regions further north.  While the winter visitors hadn’t arrived yet, they have at least one resident pair that raise their family there and I was able to see one of them at a distance out on the river.  The more close-up bald eagle view came later as I was driving down Interstate 80.  I could see something ahead of me flying fairly low and keeping on track with the highway coming toward me.  As we approached each other, I realized it was a bald eagle gliding overhead; taking the freeway to wherever it was headed.

I eventually stopped for a mid-afternoon lunch after I made it into Indiana.  The interstate is undergoing construction at many places and traffic was backed up with my GPS telling me there were multiple delays ahead.  So, I decided to take the more scenic route the rest of the way home and managed to stop by the Michigan City lakefront at sunset.  Today’s photo is fitting, not just of the day but of the entire conference, as it carried with it a beautiful, peaceful impression from the hand of God.  And while Sunday is the beginning of a new week, the sun had set on both the day and on my ICOM 2017 trip.  There was much throughout the conference and throughout the day to be thankful for and scenes such as this serve to help amplify my worship as God communicates His love and care.

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

• I thoroughly enjoy talking to people about prayer and the work God does through the prayer ministry.
• There are times when I need quiet and solitude when I can spend time with God and tune out the rest of the world.
• Rest and solitude rarely come uninvited and unplanned.
• There are great depths and mysteries within God’s Word that are difficult to understand fully.
• Many times our stumbling, however, is over things that really are rather clear — we just don’t like the application or don’t think it should apply to us.
• Parks and nature settings are great places for me to find quiet and solitude where it feels like it is just God and I spending time together.
• My places of quiet and rest may be different than yours, but we all need them.
• Sometimes when everyone wants to take the fast or easy route, it can quickly become neither fast nor easy.
• God’s creativity in a sunset never ceases to amaze me.
• Habits and routines are good, but so is flexibility; so writing today’s page the next morning is a good thing. 🙂 

Page 322 was another full day of prayer conversations at the International Conference on Missions.  I slept in a little bit this morning and by the time I got to the exhibit hall it had been open for an hour and my display tables were pretty bare.  All of the printed resources I take to conventions are given away free to people who will use them, so it was good to see people were willing to put them to use even if I didn’t get a chance to talk with them.

One of the fun parts of this conference is talking to people from all over the world and seeing them excited about taking the prayer-based books back to their home country where it will enrich not only their life, but countless others as they share and serve from an encouraged spirit.  Another fun part of ICOM is the service that takes place that will reach well beyond the conference.  Throughout the conference, there have been groups packing meal kits to share with people who are in need.  There have also been groups building wall sections to provide housing for people who would often be homeless or living in makeshift shacks in Mexico and Central America.  Today’s photo was taken as some of these wall sections were being moved to a loading dock to be put on semi trailers to begin the next leg of their journey.

Throughout the conference, the theme of “Together” has been both heard and acted upon in many ways.  The wall building, the meal packing, the mission displays, the people attending, the conference staff, and even the event center personnel have all worked together to make the conference a success.  Kingdom success takes place when each person not only recognizes their part, but when their part is both done by them and valued by others.

The exhibit hall will not be open tomorrow, so I’m taking a break to write today’s page before the final exhibit hall hours this evening.  After the hall closes, I will pack up the display and materials so I don’t have to do that after the morning main session tomorrow.  It has been a good conference so far and it is yet to be seen what God will do with the prayer ministry display in this final hour and a half that people will be coming through.  Out of nine book titles that I brought with me, I am already out of two of them with a couple other titles running low.  While I don’t want to run out too early in the conference, I am always glad to see the books I bring with me go home with others rather than my having to pack them up and take them with me.

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

• Sometimes people are hesitant to take something while I am watching even when I tell them it is free and the signs say the same thing.
• I don’t necessarily do things the way others do, but they don’t do things the way I do either — and that’s okay as long as we are each doing them the way God has called us to as individuals and as ministries.
• Some cultures seem to be better at sharing than others.  There should be no culture better at sharing than the Christian culture.
• When you are faithful in using the gifts God has given you, He is free to spread the results wherever He chooses.
• Serving others comes in many forms.
• Our service ought to result in thanksgiving to God by people we may never even meet.

Page 321 has been a day filled with conversations about prayer, about listening to God, about being the person God intended, and about using God’s gifting as effectively as possible.  One of the things about representing the prayer ministry at a conference such as the one I am at, is that I tend to use up my word allotment for at least a month all in a day’s time.  Multiply that times several days of the conference and I will have talked more in a few days that I usually do over a long period of time. 🙂

No new photos taken today, so the photo on today’s page is one from my walk yesterday morning.  As I walked along the river, I loved the view of the riverboat with the twin steeples in the background.  It made me think of how we often look back on time periods that have passed, particularly time periods we didn’t live in, and view them in a more positive light than those living in them probably did.  It is easy to long for the “good old days” when our only memory is stories of a simpler life with less complications rather than stories of hardship and the incredible amount of work required to do just about anything.  The fun part of having conversations at a missionary convention is that I get to hear stories of struggles that God lifted people through in order to accomplish His work through them.  Sometimes we are afraid to tell of the hardship we experience or we don’t know how to tell it without sounding very negative, so we inadvertently give the impression that the journey of our life with Christ has been smooth sailing.  While Christ does smooth out the rough patches of life, to act like they don’t exist can end up causing a crisis of faith in the lives of people who experience tough times and think their must be something wrong with them because everyone else’s life is great.  The solution is what I call, “Tell your story and give God the credit”.  When you are able to share your story in a way that gives God the credit for carrying you through the hardships of life, you are able to encourage others who need to know that hardships are not unique to them and God has the power, ability, and willingness to carry them as well.

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

• When I am able to do what God has called me, gifted me, and created me to do, it brings me great peace even when it carries me far outside my comfort zone.
• Given the right subject and setting, I talk a lot for someone who walked away from a speech class because I couldn’t imagine having to give multiple speeches in front of a class during the semester.
• The “good old days” are often only “good old days” in our mind.  
• When we talk about the negative parts of life in the right context and for the right reason, the conversation becomes positive rather than negative.
• Most of the difference between a positive conversation and a negative one has to do with our attitude and motives rather than the actual subject.
• Hearing stories of hardship that include “but God was with me”, helps me to know that God can be with me in the midst of hardship also.
• Each of us have a life story that I’m guessing includes good things, not so good things, and even bad things.  When we tell our story including all of those things but also make it clear how God was or is using each of them, we encourage others to consider how God uses all things to create a beautiful story in their life.
• Standing and walking on concrete all day makes for some tired feet and knees.

Page 320 has been a long day so that may mean the written page may be shorter so I can get some sleep — although I did just make a cup of coffee, so we’ll see about the page length and the sleep. 🙂

The day began by actually sleeping in compared to my usual wake-up time and then I made my way to the exhibit hall to do some minor tweaking on my display.  After the stop at the convention center, I decided to make the mile and a half walk to Walmart to pick up a few supplies that I needed.  I took my camera with me and photographed some Illinois River scenes as I took the bridge over it.  The scene that made the cut as the photo for today’s page, however, was not the scenic river but a restaurant sign.  When it is a restaurant that serves chicken for people to eat, I wouldn’t think you would want to advertise your chickens as “slim”. 🙂  Seriously though, it did make me think about the way we present ourselves to others — whether intentionally or not.  I talked to a gentleman this evening that had been away from church most of his life because as a child he heard his preacher say one thing and live in a different manner than what he preached.  It has only been within the last year that he returned to church, and that was at his daughter’s request.  In doing so, he discovered that not all preachers and not all churches are like the one that he knew as a child.  When we represent Jesus by calling our self a Christian, there are people who get the impression that all Christians are like us.  Granted, many of those should know better than to lump all people of any group into the same pile, but especially children may get their idea of God and Christianity from the way you represent it.  Will they think your relationship with God is full, or will they walk away thinking there must not be any substance to it?

The afternoon and evening were full of conversations with people about the prayer ministry and about God’s gifting that He gives to benefit others.  It has been an encouraging day as many came up to the prayer ministry display to tell me how much they appreciate the weekly prayer guides I send out.  Some of them talked about how God has used the prayer ministry resources to help them grow and others spoke of how they have spread the printed material to the far reaches of the world.  A number of people brought specific prayer requests and several sought prayer requests for me and the ministry.  As the day came to a close, it is good to write even this brief page as a reminder of God’s work and as an expectation of what He will continue to do through this conference.

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

• I find that being able to “sleep on” thoughts, ideas, or plans often leads to a refining.
• While there are some things that need immediate action, many things would be improved if we would “wait upon the Lord” for clarity, direction, and timing.
• Words matter but so do actions.  It is best when they match.
• Judging a group by the actions of one person is not wise, but it happens by people who should know better as well as by those who don’t.
• Being genuine with God and yourself helps you to be genuine with others.
• If you want to be blessed, try blessing others with the gifts and abilities God has given you.
• If I don’t write things down, I often forget them.
• The lessons God teaches me today are most useful if I remember them tomorrow.

Page 319 began with the early morning prayer, cleaning, and building prep routine before loading the truck with all the prayer ministry display material for the missions conference.  After the building was ready for the day and the truck was loaded, I headed home to clean up and finish packing some things from home.  By the time I left home, it was raining steadily so I ignored my GPS directions that wanted to take me through Chicago and instead headed south before making my way west.  There is something about rain that makes bad traffic areas even worse and I didn’t want the frustration of sitting in traffic when there were other options.  It took almost two hours before my GPS quit trying to route me back through Chicago, even though it kept telling me there were longer and longer delays on that route.  Finally after about the fifth delay update, it told me it had a quicker route and when I selected it; it was the route I was intending to take that kept me well south of any Chicago traffic mess.

My chosen route did take me past a Sam’s Club, so I stopped for “convention bait” and took the opportunity to stretch my legs a bit.  Sometimes the secret to getting people to even stop at the display and see what I have, is the right combination of chocolate. 🙂  After the stop, it was back on the road driving through more steady rain.  The rain kept up until I was almost to my destination.  As I stopped for lunch on the edge of town, the rain had quit and the sun was trying to break through the cloud cover.  By the time I came out from lunch, the clouds were gone and the sun was shining brightly in the afternoon sky.

My first stop was at the convention center to unload all the display material and begin the initial setup.  It usually takes a few attempts before I get it to look like I want.  It seems like each convention I set up at includes something new in my display, so I can’t just “do it like the last one”.  Today’s photo is of my first attempt as I set the banners up for the backdrop and then set the display tables at an angle with a small round table front and center.  After I took this photo, I made my way to the hotel to check in and used the time to let the image of this particular setup simmer in my mind.  I say “first attempt”, because I didn’t like it.  The extra height of the round table made it seem out of place to me, so I eventually took it down and set up the display table along the front of the exhibit space where they allow for a greater visibility of all the banners.

There will probably be some minor tweaking tomorrow morning before the exhibit hall opens, but I have the display all set up and the current version will simmer in my mind tonight as I relax and consider possible changes.  With a early afternoon lunch that was filling, I’ve been trying to decide if I’m going to get anything for dinner.  While I’m trying to make up my mind, I decided to sit down and write today’s page so I’ll be ready for bed early in preparation for some long days ahead.  I am excited to see what God will do through this conference and the connections and people He will arrange for me to talk with.  I already had one of those connections as I was setting up this afternoon.  One of the convention center workers stopped to see what I had and asked about materials to use in working with recovery ministries.  I recommended a couple of the 31-day devotional journals, and after looking through them she took one with her.

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

• Preparation may not be all that exciting, but it is very necessary.
• Sometimes the “fastest” route isn’t the quickest way to get somewhere — there are a lot of real world variables that a normal GPS can’t account for.
• They say you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.  I really don’t know why you would want more flies, but chocolate seems to be fairly effective with most people.
• Seeing something isn’t always the same as imagining it — sometimes the real thing is better than you imagined and sometimes it doesn’t live up to your imagination.
• While first impressions mean a lot, I have to let the visual image of things simmer in my mind to get a full impression of what I like and don’t like.
• I think one of the reasons I’m exhausted by the end of a conference like this is because I work hard at deliberately talking with people.  Today included conversations with convention center workers and two elevator conversations with hotel staff — I know, some people find that easy and relaxing but I’m not one of those. 🙂
• I believe my lack of an outgoing nature is part of the reason God has called me into this particular ministry as it becomes very obvious that His hand is what is at work in all I do that amounts to much.
• God wants to work in each of us in ways that He will be the one who receives the credit and glory.

Page 318 began with fog and freezing temperatures so the ice scraper was put to use on my truck windows before I could go anywhere.  Even through the light fog, the moon was visible in the early morning sky and its sliver of light reminded me of the Cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland.  When I arrived at work I took a few photos of the moon before heading inside.  I suppose the beauty of the night sky had at least some influence on the morning soundtrack in my mind as I found myself singing, “Oh Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder, consider all the worlds thy hands have made.”  This soundtrack in my mind brought back some memories as it was one of the songs that I would actually sing at the top of my lungs when I was a child and had to do early morning chores of livestock feeding on the farm.  As I headed into the darkness of the barn it was not only full of livestock, it also contained a great variety of critters that I felt were less likely to frighten me if I frightened them first with my singing. 🙂 

After finishing the work necessary to get the building ready for the day, I turned my attention to getting some display material printed and ready for the prayer ministry display.  While I worked, the sun burned through the fog and the trees and brush outside my office window were once again filled with birds.  As the birds quietly flew out of sight, I realized that I wasn’t the only one watching them.  Today’s photo is of my fellow bird-watcher, but I suspect his watching was being done with an entirely different motive than mine.  It made me think about how often people do similar looking things but because their motives are different, the expected results are different.  While we may work hard at times to disguise the reasons for our actions, we can be sure that God always sees beyond the surface and into the very heart of our motives.

After working through the morning, I took a break to have lunch with a friend and pick up a few supplies for the missions conference before heading back to work for the afternoon to finish organizing everything I need to take with me.  

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

• Moisture in the air and freezing temperature can make for a beautiful scene, but they also make extra work if you need to drive.
• The cold nights seem to add a level of clarity to the moon.
• I enjoy seeing and photographing the moon in its various phases, but I think my favorite is when the sliver of reflected light is positioned in a way to look like a smile in the nighttime sky.
• While there is much to be learned through a daily walk with God and time spent allowing His Word to change us, there is a level at which nature itself leaves us with no excuse for not believing in God.
• Even all these years removed from my childhood, there is still something about those old words that has the ability to chase away fear — “Then sings my soul; my savior, God, to thee!  How great Thou art!  How great Thou art!”
• “While man looks at the outward appearance, God looks at the heart.”
• The cat and I both watch the birds very closely, but I’m pretty sure our reasons are very different.
• Motives matter.  What you hope your actions to accomplish makes at least as much difference as the actions themselves.
• Even in the midst of busyness, it is always good to take time for lunch with a friend.