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

• After a late night trying to get work done with inconsistent internet access, I was awake early and couldn’t sleep so I spent time with God working on next week’s prayer guide.
• I discovered that I had been working on the prayer guide all week as the topic we settled on was the delight we ought to have as His children.
• Choosing to live with delight requires that we first learn to delight in the Lord in all circumstances.
• Once the prayer guide was written it was still dark, so I drove to the top of the mountain to spend time with God as the sun came up.
• As I left town it was looking like there was a good mix of clouds and clear sky for the sunrise to look nice, about halfway up the mountain it looked very overcast at the top so it was looking like a wasted trip, by the time I made it to the top it became apparent that the overcast look was caused by a freezing fog which actually added to the beauty of the sunrise.
• Some things are what they appear they will be, but other things are not, and some things are better — you usually won’t know for sure until you experience them.
• My sunrise photographing ran through breakfast by the time I got back to the hotel, so the rest of the morning was spent at the prayer ministry display talking to people.
• There was a big block of free time in the schedule for the afternoon, so I headed out in search of a waterfall hike.
• The trail I found didn’t seem like it would be too bad as it was under three miles to the waterfall.  However, my Garmin said the hike ended up being the equivalent of climbing 165 flights of stairs by the time I made it to the falls.  At least that meant that once I rested it was all downhill back to the truck. 🙂
• After the hike I cleaned up and headed into town for dinner where I found some good BBQ.  I had planned on doing some window shopping at all of the little shops in town, but after eating I decided to skip the walk through town.
• The evening was more prayer ministry conversations, a worship session, and catching up with friends afterwards.  I suspect in God’s eyes each of those things were a different aspect and type of worship.
• Today’s photo is one from the morning sunrise trip as the sun began to break through the freezing fog.

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

• Page 23 has been a long day filled with good conversations and difficult memories — perhaps an odd combination, but that has been my day.
• The good conversations revolved around the prayer ministry and the work God continues to do through it.
• Some of the conversations were what I would call “organic” as they simply took place as people walked by the display and wanted to know what it was about.
• It is always fun for me to “tell the story and give God the credit” when it comes to the ministry God has given me to share.
• Some of the conversations has “outside fertilization” as people would stop by and want to talk because they had been to a workshop where my devotional books and writings were highly recommended.
• It is encouraging to me to know that people not only use the material they picked up in previous years, but think highly enough of it to recommend it to others.
• I sat in on a workshop that was designed to share a story of transformation that is taking place at a camp.  It was fun to hear of the changes taking place, but it was also difficult as the problems they have been addressing represent a very hard and difficult time in my life.
• I think sometime we get so out of step with God that we lose sight of the people we have walked over in our own pursuits.  We hit bottom and realize we have to change, but in the midst of our own hurt we lose sight of those who were wounded by our dysfunction.
• God’s view of repentance is not only that we change, but that to the best of our ability and with His help we make things right.
• I didn’t make it outside, but the hotel has a large bird enclosure so I was able to photograph birds today without ever leaving the building. 🙂
• I found the main session area empty this morning while everyone was eating breakfast so I was able to pray at each seat again.
• Our worship gathering this evening was sweet as we drew near to God through songs and prayer.
• Today’s photo was taken from the balcony of my room which faces east while the sun was preparing to set in the west.  Even though the building blocked my view of the sunset, God extended the colors throughout the sky tonight.

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

• Set off in search of a covered bridge this morning and my GPS said there were several in the area.  My research had only come up with one, so I was pleasantly surprised.
• The first bridge I came to was the one I had been looking for and it was a restored bridge built in 1875 and still in use.  The others from my GPS were either nonexistent or modern built covered bridges made to look old for the resorts around Gatlinburg.
• Sometimes my GPS leads me in the way I want to go and sometimes it takes me on a wild goose chase.  Either way can be good if I consider the adventure of the journey to be joyful as well as the destination.  However, if the destination is what’s important then I better have good directions!
• If you want to end up at the right place, you must follow someone who has the proper directions.  Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.”  Those are directions from a source that can be trusted.
• Pieces of a hymn that I’m not sure I’ve heard or sung since childhood have been floating in my mind the past few days.  It’s amazing how music can plant seeds in our mind that stay around for a long time.  What kind of seeds are you planting today?
• I think the lines are from the chorus but I would have to look up the song to even see if I have the anywhere close to being correct in my mind, but here’s how I remember them — “Roll back the curtains of memory now and then, show me what you brought me from and where I would have been.  Remember I’m human and humans forget.  So remind me, yes, remind me dear Lord.”
• Sometimes when I don’t think I’m where I should be, it is good to remember I’m not where I once was.
• I was one of the first arrivals at the conference which gave me plenty of time to pray at each chair in the meeting and worship area before anyone else arrived.
• It is much easier to talk about prayer being important than it is to make prayer important in everything.
• Today’s photo was taken during my morning walk as I found these tiny flower blossoms doing their best to defy the winter chill.  Beauty comes in all shapes and sizes and in all seasons.

Here are some thoughts, lessons, and/or reflections from the day:

• I suppose if the day had a theme, today’s theme was worship with a sub-theme of delight.
• Early in the day my mind was filled with the verse that says, “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.”
• I’ve not always received the desires of my heart, so I suspect I haven’t always found delight in the Lord as I should.
• If I truly delight in the Lord, I suspect the desires of my heart will be the things that He desires.
• As I watched some deer graze within arms reach of the road, I thought about how familiarity creates a comfortableness that is either a good thing or bad thing depending on what we are becoming comfortable with.
• In a culture where we go to great lengths to entertain ourselves, it is good to learn to delight in the simple things of life.
• I was eating lunch today when a group of young (early elementary age) boys came running around the corner into the area where I was seated and one remarked very loudly, “We can’t eat here, there’s no game room!” . . .  I guess I’ve been doing my eating all wrong.
• As I watched some deer graze in an open meadow with blue sky and mountains as their backdrop, I delighted in God’s creativity.
• As I sat in a church building with no sound system, no carpet, no heat, no bathrooms, and sparse furnishings consisting of a pulpit and wood benches, I delighted in a God that has called people to Himself to receive their worship in any and every setting they can find.
• As I walked uphill along a stream running downhill beside me, I delighted in the laughter of God that I could hear as the water tumbled over the boulder-strewn stream bed.
• As I made my return walk downhill along the same stream, I delighted in a God who calls me to come to Him for rest.
• As I watched a beautiful sunset that I couldn’t photograph because of all the trees in the way, I delighted in a God that designed an eye that can take in the full beauty of the sunset and filter out the distractions in a way no camera can.
• Today’s photo is the first one I shot today.  This scene was one of the things that made me think about the word delight as I went about my day.  The little dots in the meadow to the right (above my name) are a group of deer and a flock of wild turkeys.

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

• Today was a lot of road time.  Some times travel gets boring as everything begins to look the same and other times the scenery is fascinating.
• I notice more of the beauty of creation if I drive with the radio off.  I suppose my mind is free to take more in if it is quiet.
• As I began my journey with the sun rising over the eastern horizon, I found myself singing “Oh beautiful for spacious skies . . . “.  The snow covered fields bore no resemblance to “amber waves of grain”, but the song still became a prayer for God to bless America.
• The drive gave me a lot of time to think about how God is at work in my life because of His amazing grace.
• I think many Christians struggle with the tension between complete freedom in Christ and deliberate abuse of that freedom.  We know we can’t earn our salvation, but the idea of “continuing in sin so that grace may abound” doesn’t sound right either — because it isn’t.
• Figuring out the daily application of “all things are permissible, not all things are beneficial” should help us make choices that honor God.
• Grace really is a complete gift from God but it is not a gift that He forces on anyone — we must choose to accept it before it is ours.
• The words Jesus used most often about the religious leaders of the first century ought to challenge every believer to examine themselves carefully to see where their heart really is.
• It is a sobering thought to read that those responsible for leading God’s people were confronted by Jesus because it wasn’t bad enough they were not entering the kingdom of God but they were keeping the people from entering as well.
• It is very easy for me to become legalistic in my mind and then in my words and actions.  Being right isn’t bad until it is done in a way that keeps others from finding God’s righteousness revealed to them.
• It is usually not very safe to stop along an interstate highway to take photos, so most of today’s “photos” are only in my mind.
• The photo for today’s page is one of the only scene that I photographed today.  As I prepared to finish up the day, a sliver of moon appeared over the tree line, so I took a few photos of it.

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

• After a day and night with no new snow, I didn’t have any outside work that needed done to start my day.
• It is better to be prepared for something that doesn’t need done than to not be prepared for something that does.
• The sunshine yesterday melted a lot of the snow which is making the parking lot look better, but it also made it easier to track in so the morning cleaning continues to include extra attention to salt residue.
• My morning included extra cleaning and setup in preparation for a dinner at the building.  Flexibility and a good group of people working together goes a long way toward accomplishing good things.
• Even with the current warming trend, it is still cold outside and the heating system continued to need some attention.
• As we spend time with God, we ought to find growth within our spiritual life but that doesn’t mean we can quit giving it the attention it needs.
• As I prepare for a camp leaders conference, I spent part of the day working on prayer ministry flyers and boxing up the books I will be taking.  Having done inventory when I got back from the last conference helped make my preparation for this one easier.
• Knowing what we have makes it easier to realize what we still need.
• By late afternoon I finally found a stuck valve that I think was causing one area of the building to not warm up as it should have.
• Sometimes when the answer we’re looking for isn’t readily available, all we can do is keep seeking until we find.
• As I spent the evening cleaning the building to get it ready for Sunday, I prayed for those who would gather to study and worship God together.
• Today’s photo is of a little bird who spent a good amount of time just standing in the snow looking around.  

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

• I had a line from a song running through my head all day — “Yes, my heart will say!”
• It was a great reminder to worship God and love Him with my whole heart as each time the words came to mind I would consider what my heart would say to Him then.
• I can’t remember the rest of the song, but sometimes a single line is enough.
• As I worked on cleaning tracked in salt residue from floors, my heart was thankful for God’s continual work in cleansing me from all unrighteousness even though I still track dirt in from time to time.
• As I worked on heating system issues, my heart was filled with the warmth of God’s love that never ends.
• As I worked on prayer ministry material to share at a camp leaders conference, my heart praised God for giving me something worth sharing and for providing partners who help me share it.
• As I helped run a fire drill at the school, my heart was grateful that God has rescued me from eternal destruction.
• As I spent and evening with my family, I was thankful for God’s presence within each of us which brings joy to one another.
• As we sought out, found, and photographed a snowy owl, my heart rejoiced in the beauty of God’s creative handiwork.
• As I froze my fingers off photographing a Lake Michigan sunset, my heart was happy with God artistic presentation of a beautiful evening sky.
• As I went to bed with a page that had been lived but unwritten, my heart was thankful for an understanding God that delights in me even more than in what I do.
• Upon reflection, I think the song was about never being alone . . . I guess when I consider what my heart will say to God, I really am never lone.
• Today’s photo is one of the final ones I took for the day as I stood in the bitterly cold wind admiring the beauty set before me.  And yes, my heart will say, “God, you are my light and my salvation.  Of whom shall I be afraid?”.

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

• The overnight snowfall was very light so there wasn’t a lot of work I needed to do outside this morning.  That suited me just fine as it was very cold.
• The ice melt residue does a good job of keeping the walks clear, but it’s not so good at staying outside.
• The floors needed extra attention this morning but by the time I left at the end of the day it didn’t look like I had done anything to them.
• Just because the things we do don’t seem to last as long as we would like doesn’t mean they aren’t worth doing.
• I am thankful that God’s mercies are new each morning . . . we would all be in trouble if He decided He was tired of cleaning.
• Once the building was ready, my workday consisted of maintenance issues, research, and continued prep for the prayer ministry representation at the Christian Camp Leaders Conference.
• God’s timing is always right.  I had two “random” messages today from people who wanted to let me know they were encouraged by things I had shared with them at a conference during the past year.
• By the time the day was done, I had registered to have a prayer ministry display at three additional camp conferences and a Christian convention.
• The sun eventually made an appearance after being hidden by clouds for several days in a row . . . that made it look nice outside even though the temperature hasn’t warmed up much yet.
• By early afternoon the sun had drawn a few birds out to brave the frigid cold in a search for food.
• With the sun out, we decided to take a family excursion to search for snowy owls after work.
• We didn’t find any owls, but we were able to photograph a couple deer out in a meadow and an amazing sunset over Lake Michigan.
• Sometimes we miss incredible things simply because they weren’t what we were looking for.
• I find greater enjoyment in life if I keep my eyes open to what God is doing even if it is different from what I’m looking for Him to do.
• Today’s photo is of one of my afternoon visitors at work.  I guess he was cleaning house as he would completely disappear inside the tree and then keep popping out to discard wood chips and stuff from inside.