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

• As it was dark when I headed to work, I found it fascinating that my morning began with song lyrics running through my mind that included the words “There is sunshine in my soul today.  More glorious and bright . . . For Jesus is my Light!”
• Darkness comes in many forms and the darkness that is not caused by a lack of sunlight is often where the light of Jesus is most needed.
• In the darkest hour, even a small amount of light can illuminate a path to its source.
• The morning cleaning and building prep was fairly routine and went smoothly.  Once it was done, I turned my attention to taking care of the accounting and record-keeping for the missions ministry of the church.
• By early afternoon I was ready to set aside my accounting  hat and get some lunch.  While I’m not sure I would want to do accounting work everyday, it is a good change of pace from the usual daily tasks I find myself involved in.
• It can be good to every once in a while “spread our wings” and do something that requires us to use gifts or abilities God has given us that don’t get used as often as other ones.
• When the workday was done I headed home and by early evening we decided to head to Potato Creek for a family walk.  It is nice to have such a beautiful park close by where we can enjoy time and nature together.
• While we were hoping to see at least one of the bald eagles, they weren’t cooperative today.  We did see a lot of nature’s beauty and four different osprey in the park in addition to the great walk, so it was a good time even being different from what we had hoped.
• It is okay, and even good, to hope and plan for things that you would like.  The important part, however, is to be appreciative of what God provides even if it doesn’t look exactly like you wanted it to.
• Today’s photo is one that I took during our hike.  While yesterday was the first “official” day of spring, these buds say spring may not be here just yet but it is surely on its way!

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

• With a long day ahead of me, I was up early and headed to work under a beautiful star-filled sky.
• When a view like this morning shows up, I almost always find myself starting the day with the hymn lyrics, “O, Lord my God.  When I in awesome wonder . . . ” — today was no exception.
• It was a great song to fill my mind as I went about the morning cleaning and building prep tasks as it reminded me of the incredible God we have — “Then sings my soul!  My savior, God, to Thee!  How great Thou art! How great Thou art!”
• It is always good to be reminded, in the midst of any task, of how great our God is.
• Once the building was ready, I packed the prayer ministry display materials in the truck and was about ready to leave when some guys showed up to service a piece of equipment in the building.  So, back inside to let them into where they needed to be and keep track of their presence in the building.
• Once I was actually able to begin my trip to the camp conference where I would set up the prayer ministry display, I had very little “cushion” left for what I had planned to be a “stop with God” along the way.  I always like to be able to stop for in a quiet setting of nature for a time to help calm my spirit and align it with God’s Spirit before I begin a time of talking with people about the prayer ministry.
• After a quick look at the map, I changed my plans and my route and made a ten minute stop at Potato Creek as it was along a route that would keep me out of the high-traffic areas during morning rush hour.
• Even with such a limited time available, it was amazing to see the variety of wildlife that God allowed me to catch sight of to encourage and calm me.  One of my favorites was an eagle perched where I could see it from my truck and after I was able to get one photo of it where it sat, it rose up on the wings of an eagle and soared out over the lake.
• Ahhhh . . . to wait upon the Lord in order to rise up on wings like eagles.
• I did make it to the conference in time to get the display set up and jump right into an afternoon of great conversations with camp staff about prayer in both their person life and in their camp ministry.
• The wind had been howling fiercely all afternoon, so I decided to take the long way home and see if I could find any snowy owls and check out the waves on Lake Michigan.
• I found no snowy owls and was surprised that while the lake surface was rather “choppy”, the wind wasn’t as strong along the lake and the waves weren’t crashing over the lighthouse as I had anticipated.
• While I didn’t find what I had hoped to see and photograph, that doesn’t mean the trip was wasted.  God continues to supply beautiful scenes full of glimpses of His glory wherever I go if I’m willing to pay attention.
• It was late when I finally arrived home, so after going through the photos from the day I headed to bed and left the day’s page to be written the next morning.
• Today’s photo section of the page will contain two photos.  The first is of the eagle I saw in the morning.  I had zoomed in to get a close-up shot and just as I pressed the shutter release, the eagle took off.  The second photo was taken after dark so I could get the lights on the light houses.  I shot it on a 10 second exposure and it’s amazing at how a longer perspective smooths out the rough waters of the lake.  Perhaps if I would learn to look at life with a longer perspective, the rough areas wouldn’t seem so rough.

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

• There are many days when I sit down to write and start to think that the day was just like all the other days so there is really nothing new to write about.  Today is one of those days.
• It is a different story, however, after I actually get started and the writing helps me to see at least a glimpse of some of the lessons God is teaching me.
• The morning began as usual for a workday and I found myself singing the words, “Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! O, what a foretaste of glory divine!”, as I went about the early cleaning and building prep tasks.
• I don’t believe there could possibly be a more reassuring way to begin a day than with a reminder of the assurance I have that not only is Jesus mine, but I am His.
• As I went about my work, I glanced out a window and noticed the eastern sky turning a brilliant red so I paused my work to take a few photos and set up a camera to time-lapse record the sunrise again.
• After the building was ready for the day I turned my attention to working on the prayer guide for next week.  The first step was to calm my spirit as I’m in a season where a number of my social media “memories” are reminders of rather unpleasant and difficult times.
• When I can’t change the past and can’t forget the past, it is time to draw deeper into the presence of God and trust Him fully for both the present and the future.
• As I prayed, I considered a number of different topics for the prayer guide and finally settled on the subject of practice.
• While the old saying, “Practice makes perfect”, may be a bit of an exaggeration, consistent good practice does have a tendency to bring about consistent improvement.  Unfortunately, a practice of things which are evil will also make us “better” at doing those things.
• Like it or not, we are going to be “practicing” something at all times so we would do well to make our practices be what God would want them to be.
• By early afternoon, the prayer guide was written and I headed out to have lunch with a friend to discuss interest in his church hosting an Impact Prayer Ministry seminar or conference.
• It had been too long since we had spent time together, so the afternoon melted away in the midst of catching up and discussing ministry.
• Today’s photo is the sight that drew me out of the building this morning to set up a camera to record while I finished working.  This was the first shot I took as I went out to inspect the red glow in the sky. 🙂

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

• I was able to sleep in a little while before getting up and writing yesterday’s page.
• I was able to make it to Sunday School this morning where our Bible study class is preparing to begin a study through Hebrews.  This morning we began by looking at some scriptures from throughout the Bible that talk about the supremacy of Jesus in all things.
• After the Bible study time we had a great worship gathering where David finished up his series through the book of Acts with a message he titled, “Bound and Determined”.  The message highlighted Paul’s determination to preach the gospel in spite of being bound as a prisoner of Rome.
• Some of the highlights of my take on the message are as follows:
  • Preach the gospel even when you can’t go to the places you would like:  Paul’s imprisonment at the end of the book of Acts greatly limited where he could go to share the gospel.  In fact, while the imprisonment took place in a home it also included a Roman guard at all times.  Paul’s normal practice of going to the synagogues, public places, and anywhere he could find people willing to listen to the gospel was no longer allowed.  Rather than giving up and deciding he had done the best he could, Paul sent for people to come to him so that he could continue to share the gospel even when he couldn’t go to the places he would like.  There are many things that can limit our ability to be where we want to be, but that should never stop us from sharing the gospel wherever we are!
  • Preach the gospel even when your freedom seems limited:  While I’m not aware of many of my readers actually being in prison, most of us experience circumstances that often dictate how we do life in ways that seem to limit our freedom.  Some of those circumstances are of our own doing and others are a result of activities beyond our control.  The book of Acts has numerous examples of people whose freedom to share about Jesus seemed limited — in fact, at times they were commanded by the authorities to not speak of Jesus at all!  But that didn’t stop them any more than Paul’s lack of freedom kept him from preaching the gospel.  Typically hardship has a way of testing us to see what’s inside and what will come out.  When our freedom seems limited in any way, we must choose to continue to share the gospel no matter what!
  • Preach the gospel regardless of what people say about you:  Paul had many issues of reputation stacked against him.  From being a prisoner of Rome for two years to questions of his spiritual practices to his acceptance of Gentiles, the people he needed to share the gospel with had plenty of reason to question just what kind of man this was.  In fact, while little of the accusations of the Jewish leaders back in Jerusalem had followed him, he was still trying to present a message that “everyone was talking against”.  Whether in prison or not, Paul’s defense of the gospel was always about the message of Christ and never about his own reputation.  We can’t control what people say about us and we can’t even control what they say about Christ but we can keep sharing truth!
• After lunch with my family, I spent some more time going through the snowy owl photos I took yesterday.  Each photo served to remind me of the incredible beauty that God has given us throughout creation.
• With bright sunshine abounding outside, we headed to Potato Creek for a family walk and to see what we could photograph.
• While the spring growth within the plant life required a careful search to find any signs of it, the approach of spring was obvious throughout the park.
• Each spring the osprey return to the park to set up their nests and stay for the summer.  I had seen one osprey fly over a couple days ago, but today was the first that there was an osprey at each nesting pole.  Between the return of the osprey, the sounds of the frogs, and the turtles sunning themselves on every available log; the signs of spring were everywhere.
• Today’s photo is of a lake scene full of the signs of spring.  While most are not visible in a casual glance at this photo, it contains an osprey on a pole, frogs on logs, a variety of geese and ducks, and sprouts of green beneath the sea of brown.

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

• Another page being written the next morning as I stayed up way to late doing some minor editing of photo I took during the day. 🙂
• After working late Friday, it felt good to sleep in a little while — though not as long as I had hoped to.
• Routine is difficult to overcome once it is thoroughly ingrained in a person.  I get so used to waking up at 5:30 every morning that it doesn’t seem to matter what time I set my alarm clock for.
• Even though I can go back to sleep some mornings, it rarely lasts as long as it could after that initial wake-up.
• There are so many ways in my walk with God that I develop either good routines or not so good ones.  Either way, it take effort to step outside of them and it feels uncomfortable to do so — at least until I spend enough time that a different routine is developed.
• Good routines will help keep us on track but they are not a guarantee that we’ll always follow them — that is still a decision we must make.
• Anyhow, I did eventually wake up and spent some time going through the photos I had taken Friday.
• After a quiet morning, I fired up the pellet grill to make some bacon cheeseburgers for lunch before setting off on an afternoon family adventure.
• Our first stop was in search of a snowy owl and we found one.  As we took some photographs, a person stopped by and said the owl had been sitting in that same spot for several hours.
• The combination of distance and lighting made getting the quality of photos we wanted rather difficult, so we set out for the next leg of our adventure.
• I’m not sure there is a good formula for how long to wait and when to move on, but I find that dilemma is true in many areas of life — not just in photographing wildlife.
• Our next stop was the outlet mall where we did a little shopping and two-thirds of the family found things they needed. 🙂
• Once the shopping was done we made a couple stops by the lake but the sun was so bright that there didn’t seem to be any photos wanting to be taken.
• We eventually made our way back to where the owl was, and sure enough it was still sitting at the same spot!  
• The lighting had improved by now, so we took a few photos that turned out well for the distance.  
• It wasn’t long before the owl finally decided to move — but as has often been the case, it was while we were looking away.
• The new spot was further out in the field, so we left him in peace and continued our search to see if we could find another.
• Our luck, or lack of it, in actually seeing an owl move from one location to another reminds me of the many stories Jesus told about our need to be ready.
• We did find the second owl and this one was perched on a telephone pole right along the road.  We parked up the road far enough not to bother it and then took photos until someone came along and parked right underneath it with a vehicle full of children — it wasn’t long until the owl decided to find a new resting spot. 🙂
• Today’s photo is actually going to be a couple of the ones I took while we were watching the owls.  And yes, I did finally pay attention long enough to catch one in flight. 🙂

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

• The sky was clear once again as I headed to work and the beauty of the stars shining brightly through the crisp air was amazing.
• It was a rather cool drive today.  Usually about halfway to work the truck finally warms up enough for the heater to work but today it didn’t seem to get warm . . . then as I pulled into the drive at work I realized the temperature control was still set on the coolest position after yesterday afternoon’s pleasant temperatures — oops.
• Sometimes when things aren’t what we know they should be, we would do well to examine what we might have done to change the outcome.
• It’s a Friday, so I headed into the day knowing it would be a long one and trying to set an appropriate pace in order to find the closest thing to balance as I can.
• As I went about the morning prayer, cleaning and building prep, my mind was filled with the song lyrics that go something like this: “I need Thee! O, I need Thee!  Every hour I need Thee!  Bless me now my Savior, I come to Thee!”
• I’m not sure there is a better way to begin a day than to acknowledge my need of Jesus in everything I do.
• As I had time, I continued work on my next devotional book with today’s writing finishing up the week focused on serving with gentleness and beginning a section about serving with honesty.
• I am scheduled to set up the prayer ministry display at another camp conference next week, so I selected two of my photos to have made into prints for the door prize giveaway at the conference.  When I went to pick them up, the lady at the photo counter said she really liked them. 🙂
• By mid-afternoon I had finished one eight hour shift and headed out for a late lunch and a break until the building cleared out so I could get it cleaned for Sunday.
• During the break, we took a family trip to Potato Creek to look for the eagles and take a walk.  The eagles did not make themselves known, but we did find some ducks, geese, swans, and a blue heron.
• After our walks, I dropped my family off at home and headed back to work to finish out the day.  I had to work around some other things that were going on, but eventually the building cleared out and I was able to finish my work.
• Today’s photo is of the heron as it was fishing along the edge of the lake.  It kept slowly crouching down and then just as I took this photo I could see the ripples on the surface of the water just out of reach as the intended meal swam away.

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

• The stars were shining brightly in the night sky as I headed to work this morning.  The clear sky not only meant a beautiful view, it also meant no fresh snow to deal with. 🙂
• By the time I got to work the clouds had begun to dot the sky, so after getting the morning cleaning started I set up my camera to time-lapse the sunrise then I went back to the cleaning while it did its thing.  
• When set in time-lapse mode, my camera will shoot a frame every 10 seconds and create a video that puts 50 minutes of real time into 10 seconds.  A lot can change in 50 minutes, so sometimes it captures a great sunrise and other times not so much.  Today was one that ended up being pretty spectacular as there was the right mix of clouds to capture some stunning color from the rising sun.
• After the cleaning was done and the building was ready for the day I went out to collect my camera and take a few still shots of the beautiful sunrise.
• As I went about my morning work, as I could I also continued work on the writing of the next book I’m working on.
• Today’s writing was still focused on serving with gentleness and one of the topics I wrote about today was gentleness with our words.
• God says that a gentle answer turns away wrath, so a gentleness in our words ought to help bring peace as we serve.
• Using gentle words doesn’t mean we fail to address serious issues, it just means we do so in a manner that is filled with gentleness rather than harshness.
• As the morning turned into afternoon, I headed out to pick up a friend and take him to lunch.  
• Life isn’t lived in a vacuum, so it is interesting to watch how my writing helps my time with people and how my time with people helps my writing.
• After lunch I headed down to Potato Creek to spend some time sitting with God in the midst of creation . . . I was going to say the quietness of creation, but it definitely wasn’t quiet sitting along the lake. 🙂
• Even though it wasn’t quiet, for me the sounds of nature are peaceful sounds compared to the sounds of the city.
• Today’s photo is actually a pair of photos — one of the morning sunrise and one from my time sitting along the lake. 

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

• The day began with a light dusting of snow that looked like it shouldn’t cause any problems.  The problem was underneath the snow where a layer of ice covered most roads and sidewalks.
• The snow dusted off of the truck easily, but as I backed out of the drive to head to work the truck kept moving backwards momentarily even after I shifted into drive.
• Just because there is an appearance of everything being okay, doesn’t mean that it is.  Sometimes danger lurks just below a very shallow facade.
• It can be easy to pass judgment based on what we see, but it is through experience that we begin to learn the truth of a situation.
• When I arrived at work I cleared the layer of snow from the sidewalks which exposed the ice and allowed the ice melt I would put down to work more effectively.
• Sometimes even when the appearance of something looks good, we have to undo the appearance so we can most effectively deal with the reality of what’s underneath.
• After taking care of the outside work, I turned my attention to the inside cleaning and building prep for the day.  I had an old song running through my mind as I worked.  It was fascinating because I remember it being a song I hadn’t thought of in a lot of years and I remember thinking both how profound it was and how corny it was . . . and now I can’t remember anything about it other than that.
• It is remarkable how truths planted in my mind in various ways when I was a child continue to influence me even today.  I am thankful for so many who planted good seeds.
• I had a few maintenance tasks that needed taken care of in addition to the usual cleaning and prep, so even with an early start I was pushing it to have the building ready for the start of the school day . . . but I made it.  🙂
• As I went about my morning tasks, my woodpecker and chipmunk friends both showed up to check on the hole that had been created in the tree outside my office window.  It was fun watching them “discuss” ownership of this prime “real estate” and I’m not too sure they really reached a conclusion as to who would call this hole home.
• As I had opportunity, I spent some time during the day working on the next chapter of my current writing project.  Today’s writing focused on some different aspects of serving with gentleness.
• Since gentleness is a part of the fruit of God’s Spirit, it is a trait that ought to be growing in the life of every believer whether it comes naturally or not.
• After a late lunch I headed home and eventually headed out on a family adventure to Potato Creek where we walked a couple trails. 
• Today’s photo is of the woodpecker in the midst of its discussion with the chipmunk.