Some thoughts, lessons, and/or reflections from the day:

• I think I’m trying really hard not to get sick.  I was awake before the alarm went off but wasn’t too eager to get up and get moving.
• After a couple rounds on the snooze button I decided the work wasn’t going to do itself, so I got myself around to start the day.
• It was a very hazy morning and the vibrant detail of yesterday’s full moon had been replaced by the soft glow of muted moonlight.
• As I went about the morning cleaning and building prep, my prayer time was focused on the sermon for Sunday, which is planned to be about our heart’s desire.
• The wind has been fierce and the temperature has been dropping all day, but I had a pair of cardinals stop by for about fifteen minutes mid-morning.  They plucked a few of the remaining berries but didn’t seem interested in staying around any longer than they had to.
• Sometimes uncomfortable conditions can help us refine, and define, what is really important and even make us more efficient at doing what needs to be done.
• Even with not wanting to get up, the day began early so by early afternoon it was time to shift from workday tasks to some daddy/daughter time.
• While Susan likes to eat just about anywhere that she can get pop, Long John Silver’s is one of her favorite places when it is just the two of us so that’s where we headed.
• We don’t really go there that often, but the workers always recognize her and are happy to see her smiling face.  Perhaps each of us would do well to consider what kind of impression we give people who we interact with whether occasionally or regularly. 
• After lunch we drove down to Potato Creek to look of photo opportunities.  The wind was cold and cut through the layers of clothing I had on, so I didn’t spend much time outside and Susan stayed in the warmth of the truck.
• Today’s photo is of a pair of ducks we saw out swimming in the little bit of open water that is still present on the lake.  Susan didn’t want to swim, she said the water would be very cold, but the ducks didn’t seem to mind.

Some thoughts, lessons, and/or reflections from the day:

• I headed to work early under a cloud-filled sky with no sign of the “super, blue, blood moon that was supposed to be experiencing an eclipse this morning.
• The works of God are rarely as predictable as we would like — they may be taking place, but that doesn’t mean that we will always be able to see them when we want.
• As I did my morning prayer, cleaning and building prep routine I thought about the mysteries of God and how amazing it is that He chooses to occasionally give us a glimpse into some of them.
• Once the building was ready for the day, I took the trash out and discovered the cloud cover had broken up and the lunar eclipse was taking place.  I got my camera and took a few photos before it disappeared behind the tree line and into another bank of clouds.
• I had a tire on my truck that had issues and was no longer round which made it feel like my truck was hopping along when I drove.
• Sometimes when our life is out of balance, we are able to keep going but our journey isn’t as smooth as it ought to be.
• I dropped the truck off to get new tires put on and returned to work where I continued the writing of the next prayer-based devotional journals I am working on.
• Part of today’s writing focused on serving with humility.  I’m pretty sure there is an element of redundancy in those terms as godly service will not take place without humility and godly humility will lead us to serve.
• By early afternoon I was able to pick up my truck and it was nice to drive it with the new tires and not have it hop along.
• At home, I took care of some online updates and ordered a photo print for my mom before arranging to have dinner with my parents this evening.
• Today’s photo was taken as I was working in the office this morning.  Out of the corner of my eye I noticed a flash of red and upon closer examination I found this woodpecker poking his head out of a hole he had made in the tree.
• I also added a bonus photo that is a combination of several of the lunar eclipse photos I took this morning. 🙂

Some thoughts, lessons, and/or reflections from the day:

• I was awake shortly before the alarm once again, but this time the alarm was the sound of Susan having a seizure.  The up and down weather always seems to increase her seizure activity.
• A lack of consistency in our time with God can make us more susceptible to what I would call “spiritual seizure activity” — where our connection with God short-circuits for a time.
• Just about everyone I know deals with something that they would rather not experience if they had a choice.  How we handle those things says a lot about who we really are.
• The building prep and cleaning were fairly routine this morning . . . so much so that when I was done I had to go back and check on something that I didn’t remember doing — I had.
• Routines are good when they keep us doing the things we ought, even if we don’t always remember doing them.
• I did some more work today in the next volume of “Devotions For Those Who Serve”.  Today’s writing was about serving with favor — both in extending favor to others and in serving with God’s favor.
• I had lunch with a friend and we talked about unity.  True God-inspired unity has to be more than just everyone doing the same thing as we each have different gifting from God and different callings in how to use them.
• I spent the afternoon at the hospital.  I’m okay, but my brother was having hip surgery.
• I have learned I need to eat before I make a hospital visit, so going after lunch was a good thing.  If I don’t eat, I am very likely to pass out — not a good thing when the visitor trying to encourage a family passes out at the sight of the patient. 🙂
• As I left the hospital, the moon had begun to rise in the eastern sky and was coming in and out of some scattered cloud cover but it was visible enough to catch my attention.
• Even when Jesus isn’t fully visible in our life, there ought to be enough of Him seen that it gets the attention of the people around us.
• Today’s photo is one I took this evening as the moon broke free of the clouds and I had to stop halfway home so I could take some photos.

Some thoughts, lessons, and/or reflections from the day:

• I was awake well ahead of the alarm, so I decided to get up and get my workday started early.  Our pest control service had been rescheduled for today so I didn’t want to try to go back to sleep and risk sleeping through the alarm.
• As the pest control tech was doing his thing, I thought about the spiritual pests that do their best to infiltrate our lives.
• While some pests are more difficult to get rid of than others, none of them are a simple one-time removal process.  They all require some degree of diligence in keeping ahead of their continued efforts to return.  I don’t know about you, but the spiritual pests are just like that in my life.
• Once the building was ready for the day, it was time to settle in with God to write the prayer guide for next week.
• This week’s prayer guide is about the delight we ought to have in the Lord, so to finish out the second half of Psalm 37:4 the next prayer guide will be about the desires of our heart.
• As I worked, I had a salesman stop by to talk to me about building services his company provides.  I’m not in the market for any new service providers but we had some great ministry conversations as he not only works in the service industry, but is a pastor at a church.
• I’m not a fan of interruptions, but sometimes the purpose and benefit of them is more obvious than others, at least to me — God always knows what I need even if I think I need something else.
• The morning was gone by the time I finished writing the prayer guide and turned my attention to formatting and scheduling it to be published Sunday, but it was a morning well spent.
• The afternoon was a combination of errands as I had a faulty computer to ship back for repair/replacement and I needed to pick up some cleaning supplies for work.
• Sometimes things need more expertise than what I can provide or have the time to give, so I turn to those who made it to begin with. 
• We could live life more fully if we were more inclined to turn to the One who made us rather than trying to do everything in our own wisdom and power.
• Today’s photo was taken during a brief visit by this beautiful cardinal this morning as the snow fell lightly around him.

Some thoughts, lessons, and/or reflections from the day:

• It’s a Saturday and it has been a quiet and restful day.  Those are good to have from time to time. 🙂
• I spent a good part of the morning working on refinement of the sermon for tomorrow.  It’s never done until it’s preached, and even then it’s just starting to work.
• It’s not that difficult to find things to delight in, but how often do we make deliberate efforts to delight in the Lord?
• I’ve been working on upgrading computers at home and I think I’m finally making progress.
• I thoroughly enjoy the benefit of computers but don’t enjoy it when they start behaving erratically — I know, it’s just a machine it doesn’t really behave or not behave. 🙂
• I went through another day’s photos from the conference.  I took the pictures so I know I’ve already seen the scenes I captured, but there is almost always some photos that surprise me when I go through the after the fact.
• After lunch it was more sermon and computer work.  Transferring information from one computer to another can take a lot of time when the hard drive is full of photos.
• The weather was nearly spring-like, so we headed to the Riverwalk for a sunset stroll . . . and to take some more photos.
• I either need to go in and finish up some work tonight or get up early in the morning to do it.  I guess I’m getting old because getting up early sounds better than staying up late. 🙂
• Today’s photo is from our evening walk as we strolled along the river at sunset.  When Jesus says we are the light of the world, I imagine Him picturing us spreading His light just as the sun spreads its light to all who live under it.

Some thoughts, lessons, and/or reflections from the day:

• I wasn’t too excited about the alarm going off this morning, but after one round of the snooze button I got up and headed to work.
• As I went about my morning prayer, cleaning, and building prep tasks I was thankful for the work that was done while I was away representing the prayer ministry.
• It is good to have people around me who value the prayer ministry enough that they are willing to cover my tasks at the building while I am gone.
• It can be difficult to shift from days of focused ministry conversations back to “regular life” work, but it helps when I see each aspect of the work I do as ministry.
• When the building was ready for the day I turned my attention to the sermons I’m working on for the next two Sundays.
• My morning also consisted of a great conversation with the coordinator of a prayer breakfast I will be speaking at in March.
• It is fun to hear stories from people about how God has brought them to a greater desire to connect with Him in prayer.
• As I worked on the prayer ministry schedule, I realized it was time to write the somewhat monthly newsletter that I send out for the prayer ministry.  Not only does it inform people of what is going on, it reminds me of what God has been doing.
• Journaling in whatever form it takes is a good practice to make you actually think about what God is doing in, through, and around you.  This daily page is a part of that journaling for me.
• By early afternoon it was time for a break so I went to lunch with my family.
• When I returned to the building I spent some time going through some of the photos from my conference trip while I waited for the building to clear out so I could start getting it ready for Sunday.
• Today’s photo is of one of my afternoon visitors.  I never get tired of looking up from my work and seeing wildlife out in the woods.

Some thoughts, lessons, and/or reflections from the day:

• The conference I was at drew to a close this morning, so I was up early doing some writing and packing up the room and the display.
• While I wasn’t looking forward to the nine hours in the truck to get home, I was looking forward to getting home and to the huge block of quiet time with God I would have on the drive.
• While the mountains blocked being able to see the sun at sunrise, the result of it rising was visible long before it crested the top of the mountain in front or me.
• Sometimes we can’t see the actual work God is doing in and through us, but we should be able to see the results of that work.
• The final conference meal was a continental breakfast which I decided was a fancy term for “without bacon”. 🙂
• I always enjoy the conversations about prayer I get to have with people when I set up a prayer ministry display.
• It was a beautiful day for a drive and I had plenty of time to work and rework a couple sermons in my mind.
• Taking the interstates increases the speed of the journey, but I’m confident I missed a lot of the surrounding beauty because of it.
• We can race through life and think we finish in first place, but what have we really gained if we went so fast we missed the most important things?
• As much as I was tempted at times to take a detour or two in order to find things to photograph, I was more interested in getting home and kept my mind (and truck) focused in that direction.
• Our ability to avoid the temptations which can detour us from our walk with God can be connected to the level of desire we have to reach our destination with Him.
• I only stopped once on the way home and that was to get some lunch.
• There is a difference between stopping to be refreshed and refueled for what lies ahead and stopping in a way that distracts us from our journey.
• The sun was setting so beautifully as I neared home that it was difficult to keep going without stopping to take some photos but I didn’t want to add the the length of the journey so I just enjoyed the beauty as I drove.
• As I arrived home, the sun had already set and the moon and stars were shining brightly in the sky overhead.
• Today’s photo is the early morning view as the sun rose behind the mountain to start the day and then the moon as it lit up the night sky at the end of the day.