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

• The air was crisp and clear as I headed out of the house this morning on my way to work.  I was surprised at how much the moon had waned in the few days since it was last visible.
• The moon phase waxes or wanes a little each day whether it is visible to us or not.  It has been said life is a lot like that — we are either growing a little each day or we’re dying a little, there is no standing still.
• As I went about my early morning tasks at work, I set up a camera to time-lapse record the sunrise. 
• By the time the building was ready for the day, the sun was up and my recording of it was beautiful.  My camera takes a photo frame every 10 seconds which allows for 50 minutes of the sunrise to be compressed into a 10 second video.
• As I settled in with God to work on the prayer guide for next week it seemed to take longer than usual to set aside the distractions from my mind.
• Listening usually takes work, and listening to God is no exception to that.
• For me, listening to God is all about knowing Him more fully in order to understand the application of scripture in my life.  He’s already revealed Himself in scripture, but His Spirit has been given to us to help guide us into a greater fullness of the truth that has already been given.
• Once I was able to clear my mind and put aside the distractions, I settled on the topic of above all.  It was fun to look at various scriptures that instruct us to do various things “above all”.
• As I worked on the prayer guide and took care of some maintenance issues, the trees outside my window were kept busy with an assortment of birds and the occasional squirrel and chipmunk.
• By mid-afternoon, the prayer guide was written and I spent some time packing the prayer-based devotional resources that I will take with me for a prayer ministry display tomorrow.
• With a late lunch on my way home, I called it a day and spent the evening relaxing at home.
• Today’s photo is of a little guy that was moving in to a hole dug in a tree by a woodpecker . . . I guess he decided the plastic bag would make some great bedding material. 🙂

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

• I think winter is catching up with me before it gives way to spring . . . I slept through several rounds of the snooze button this morning, which is a very unusual thing for me.
• Once I woke up, I went through my notes and spent time with God allowing Him to refine the sermon I would share.
• As I finished preparations, I received word that the church I would be preaching at was dealing with a variety of issues with both the building and the people.
• On my drive to church, I prayed that God would prepare me to share just what the congregation would need this morning and would keep me from saying things that would not be helpful.
• The sermon I shared this morning was based around a passage from 2 Timothy where we are told to purify ourselves from ignoble purposes so that we would become instruments for noble purposes.
• In a sermon titled “A NOBLE Calling”, here are the main points I shared this morning:
  • A New Calling:  To live the noble calling that we are called to requires that we accept a calling to be made new.  It is far too easy to claim “that’s just the way we are” to excuse thoughts, actions, and/or habits that are not fitting for a child of God.  God says we have been called out of darkness and into the light.  We are not simply to become a new creation, in Christ we are a new creation.
  • An Obedient Calling:  This noble calling is also a calling to obedience.  Many times people look at the Christian life as being all about not doing certain things that make up the list of “thou shalt not’s”.  While that is a part of the obedience we are called to, God calls us to a greater obedience — one that knows the good we ought to do, and does it.
  • A Blessed Calling:  Our life of obedient faith leads us to experience the blessings of our calling.  When Jesus spoke to the crowds He spoke with such love and authority that they were often quite amazed.  In fact, one time as Jesus taught, a woman was so amazed that she shouted out blessings on the woman who gave birth to Jesus and nursed Him.  I believe the response of Jesus wasn’t meant to diminish the blessing of Mary, but to proclaim an even greater blessing upon those who hear His words and obey them.
  • A Life Calling:  A noble calling is a calling for life.  Not only is it a calling that gives us life, it is a calling that must last for the extent of our life.  Throughout scripture we are called to a perseverance of faith that that both believes and acts upon that belief until the end.  James writes that the crown of life is given to those who persevere.  There are many things in life that are difficult, and Jesus made it clear in His teaching that following Him in this world would include times of persecution and trouble.  But He also said to take courage, He has overcome the world.  As we accept this noble calling, we follow this calling for life.
  • An Examined Calling:  While this noble calling relies on faith, it is not a blind faith rather it is a faith that holds up to an examination of both life and scripture.  When Paul and Silas visited the Bereans, they are described as being of more noble character because they not only received the message with gladness, but they examined scripture daily to see if the words being shared were accurate.  There are a lot of voices in our world calling each day for our attention.  Living according to a noble calling will lead us to examine what we hear each day and see how it fares according to the Word of God.
• In Sunday School class we looked at the story of Abraham being called by God to sacrifice his son only to have God provide a substitute sacrifice in response to Abraham’s obedience.
• Following God’s calling to live a more noble life will require that we trust His provision to do so.
• By the time I made it home and relaxed for a while, I found a sense of weariness overtaking me so I took a nap before heading out for dinner with some friends.
• Today’s photo is one from yesterday as I didn’t take any new ones.  It was a peaceful scene both in person and as a photo, and reminds me of the rest God calls each of us to.

After a long and productive Friday, today was a day of rest and adventure with my family.  We all slept in, I wrote yesterday’s page, and then we headed north in search of snowy owls and Lake Michigan beauty.  I’m sure there were lessons to be had from the day, but in the spirit of a restful day I will settle for simply sharing a few of the photos from our adventure. 🙂

Grand Haven Lighthouse

Holland Lighthouse (Big Red)

Snowy Owl “Iceberg” along Lake Michigan

Napping?

Ready to Dive

Snowy Owl on Rooftop

Goodnight Sun

South Haven Sunset

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

• Page 61 ended up being a longer workday than I anticipated, but it was a very productive day, so I’m writing the page the next morning.
• As I worked, I kept hearing bits and pieces of a song in my mind.  It’s an old song that I have on a CD done by Scott Wesley Brown and the words go something like this: “In church it’s often easy to wear the servant’s mask, while driving home I push and shove to keep from being last.”  While that can, and should, be very convicting, I think the greater good of the song can be found in the next line that goes something like this: “Pray for me, that I’ll be who I should be.  That I’ll learn to love and that Christ will be seen in me!”
• In a culture that often celebrate the “pushing and shoving” to keep from being last, God says that whoever will be greatest must become servant of all.
• Does my “in church” persona match my “driving home” actions and attitudes?
• The service tech for our fire alarm system finally came and while I’m not sure what he actually did, the system seemed to be functioning correctly when he left.
• After spending the morning with the tech and squeezing in some sermon prep time, I finally got away from the building mid-afternoon to get some lunch and pick up some maintenance and cleaning supplies I needed for work.
• On Fridays I would usually take an extended break in the afternoon knowing that I still have a lot of work to get done once all the school activity is complete for the day.  Today I decided to skip the break and get started on the areas I could work on early and hopefully have an earlier finish to the day.
• I guess that plan kind of backfired, because instead of finishing earlier I kept finding things I could do since I had “extra time” and before I knew it, it was 10 PM as I was heading out the door at work.  
• I included two photos on today’s page.  My first round of taking the trash out from my evening cleaning found some deer standing in the back field watching the sunset.  Later, after getting sidetracked by what I thought would be “little” projects, my next trip outside found the full moon rising up over the eastern horizon beyond the tree line.

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

• There was a light rain falling as I headed into work early this morning.  While the outside temperature was cooler than it has been, it was still well above freezing.
• While I enjoy the days which are warm and sunny, I realize that growth doesn’t happen without the rain.
• As I went about my morning prayer, cleaning, and building prep routines I kept praying about faithfulness.
• The song lyrics, “My house is full, but my fields are empty.  Who will go and work for me today?” kept running through my mind as I worked this morning.
• My mind and body are usually tired of winter about a month before it ends.  So, I guess this is like the groundhog prediction . . . one more month before spring takes over from winter.  🙂
• Once the building was ready for the day, I sat down to respond to an email that came from the “contact me” section of the prayer ministry website.  Sometimes the faithfulness of doing what I’m convicted of needing to do wears thin and the doubts creep in . . . then God sends reminders that He is using the work He has called me to do in ways that I will rarely see.  Today was one of those glimpses.
• After writing out some ideas and suggestions for helping children grow in their practice of prayer, I sent it off with a prayer that it would be useful material in the hands that would receive it.
• The morning was spent in a combination of some maintenance tasks, scheduling some service that needs done, and working on the sermon for Sunday.
• The sermon is still at the point that I have two options I’m working on . . . though the title of each is similar.  The direction will depend on which word I end up using for the outline but the title will likely either be “A NOBLE Calling” or “A Noble CALL”.  Right now I’m leaning for the first, but for some reason God seems to have me working on both approaches.
• My afternoon was filled with a variety of tasks and some time spent in a “guest services” role.
• By late afternoon it was time to call it a day and head home for a quiet and restful evening.
• Today’s photo is one I took as I worked today.  It is easy to miss this bird as it lacks the size and bright colors of many of the others which visit outside my office window.  Yet today its movement caught my eye and I was happy to photograph it in all of its amazing detail and beauty.

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

• My morning song was one whose words are true all the time but seem most meaningful in times of weariness . . . “I need Thee!  O, I need Thee!  Every hour I need Thee!  O, bless me now my Savior, I come to Thee.”
• I suppose it is because when things are going well I know I need God, but when life is a struggle the need moves from an intellectual knowledge to an urgent necessity.
• I suspect that most of us have voices from our past that encourage us and voices that continue to put us down.  For me, it seems that whenever God increases the opportunities I have to share about the prayer ministry, the enemy hits me hard with doubt fueled by negative voices from my past.
• I find that if I acknowledge what they are, I am better equipped to turn them back over to God to deal with.
• These times also serve as reminders to guard my words because of the damage they could do to others.  My worst battles are with words spoken by preachers and leaders that spoke criticism into my life in ways that were not helpful but carried weight because of their positions.
• As I prayed, cleaned, and sang, God gave me a peace that comes from His strength within me.
• Once the building was ready for the day, my morning was a mix of maintenance details, sermon prep, and work on what I’ll share at an upcoming prayer breakfast I’ve been invited to speak at.
• I had my daughter with me for the afternoon so I tried to get work things taken care of for a more normal lunch time but it still ended up being mid-afternoon until we left work and headed to lunch.
• After lunch we headed to Potato Creek to walk and look for the bald eagles.  We had a good walk and found the two adult eagles so we sat and watched them for a while.
• Before leaving the park, we drove around the lake to see what I could find to photograph.  Today’s photo is from that drive as the lake was completely smooth and did a great job reflecting the tree line and old barn on the opposite shore.

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

• It was a long day, so I’m not sure if I’ll have very many “thoughts, lessons, and/or reflections” but I guess I’ll start writing and see what comes out. 🙂
• My day began with the usual early morning prayer, cleaning and building prep before loading the truck and heading out for a 4+ hour drive to a camp conference.
• This morning’s work song was the classic “Open the Eyes of My Heart”.  
• There are times when so much is going on in my mind that I know something has to give . . . usually it’s my sanity. 🙂
• As I drove out of town, the sunrise caught my eye to such an extent that I had to stop along the road and take a few photos.
• I made it to the conference by noon and got the prayer ministry display set up in time to get some lunch before and afternoon of conversations with camp leaders.
• This afternoon was the only time displays were set up during the conference, so by late afternoon it was time to pack the display and begin the journey back home.
• These conversations about prayer ministry are exciting, but they also serve as a reminder of the balancing and juggling act I often find myself in.
• It is fun to find people who currently operate their camp ministry out of a foundation of prayer and people who want to get their ministry to that place.
• On the way home the sky was lit up beautifully early, but well before what should have been sunset time the sun dropped out of sight behind a heavy layer of clouds.
• I should have stopped and taken some photos of the sunset early but I thought I had more time and the sky would light up even with the sun behind the clouds — it didn’t.
• Life is like that.  If we don’t make the most of the opportunities that we ought to while we can, we often miss them.
• Today’s photo is one I took this morning of the sun rising behind a farmstead.

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

• Today was our monthly pest control service at work, so I was up early to make sure our pests were under control. 🙂
• I did my morning prayer, cleaning, and building prep routine with the words of several Rich Mullins songs playing in my head.  Rich had a way of using music to capture the struggle that exists between struggle of living life and wanting to be home.
• As I prepared to settle in with God to prepare the next prayer guide, I decided my office felt colder than usual.  As it turns out, that’s because it was.  The boiler for that end of the building wasn’t working.
• Fortunately, the sun was working its way up over the horizon and the outside temp was rising so it wasn’t too bad inside.
• Sometimes when things don’t feel quite right, even within our spirit, it is far too easy to dismiss that feeling when perhaps we need to figure out what it wrong.
• As I reached the end of the troubleshooting I can do and prepared to call the service tech, I had a detour to see if I could help address some computer issues the school was having.
• With the computer issues taken care of, at least for the moment, and the service tech called for the boiler, I finally settled in to work on the prayer guide for next week.
• I eventually settled on the word “Called” with a focus both on what God calls us and what He has called us to.
• The subject had me reminiscing about elementary school days when it was a big thing to hear your name called by a “team captain” in the choosing of sides for just about any game that was to be played.
• Knowing that God has called me to Himself is an even greater thing.
• Today was one of those days when it felt difficult to find the intersecting points of the expectations that I, others, and God have for me.
• I find that when I put my primary focus on the work God has for me to do, I don’t get distracted nearly as much by the expectations of myself or others.
• It was a long day, but the boiler was working again and the prayer guide was written before I left work.
• Even though it was 5 PM when I left work and I hadn’t had lunch yet, I stopped at home to pick up my family and we made a quick trip to Potato Creek.
• We found one of the bald eagles right away and then drove around the lake to get some sunset photos while we were there.
• Today’s photo is one of the last one’s I took tonight as the sunset afterglow reflected across the lake.