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

• The wind seemed to have been howling all night long, so I got up early to see if there was any snow or ice that needed taken care of before church . . . there wasn’t.
• I think my mind and body are still trying to recover from the “all-nighter” spent babysitting the alarm system, so I was glad I didn’t have work that needed done before people began showing up for church.
• Sometimes it is difficult not to worry about things that aren’t mine to worry about.
• I suppose that is at least related to Jesus telling us not to worry about tomorrow, that each day has enough worry, or cares, of its own.  
• During our worship time, David shared a sermon from the book of Acts about Paul’s testimony — particularly his testimony to King Agrippa, although it was really the same testimony he shared every opportunity he had.
• During the sermon we were asked to consider two parts of Paul’s testimony that should be foundational in what we also share about our relationship with Jesus.
  • “I once was just like you.” — There are at least two dangers to this part of our testimony.  One, we leave it out because we would rather not bring up the common ground we have with those that are outside of a relationship with Jesus.  Or, two, we can get caught up in glorifying our past way of life so that it becomes a greater focus of our testimony than the change that Jesus has brought.  Paul made it clear that he could identify fully with the decisions and life choices of those who would listen to his testimony.  When we let people know that we were once fully on the same path they are on, and mean it, they should be able to see that there is hope for them that can be found in Jesus.
  • “But, then I met Jesus.”  — The other thing the first part of our testimony does, is that it provides a lead-in to how we met Jesus and how He has changed us.  If we’re not able to tell someone how we met Jesus and how He has changed our life, we might want to seriously examine the credibility of our relationship with Him.  This is where we add value to the “what we once were” part of our life story because we can proclaim what Jesus had done to transform us.  Granted, we each have a unique story with different beginnings and processes to get us where we are, but we each should recognize the change, whether gradual or abrupt, that Jesus has made in our life.
• After the church service and lunch, I spent some time relaxing before heading out with my family in search of some snowy owls to photograph.  These beauties of creation are somewhat elusive but the reward of finding one keeps drawing us into the search.
• After spending time in two locations where the snowy owls have been seen the last few days and finding none, we headed to the beach at New Buffalo, Michigan to photograph the sunset.
• On our way home from the beach, I saw a snowy owl sitting on top of a telephone pole along the road.  I managed to stop the truck near the pole with the hope we could get a photo or two even in the low light conditions.  Unfortunately, by the time I got my camera out of the bag and started to roll down my window, he flew off.
• While I enjoy photographing and being able to share the beauty of creation, there is still great wonder simply in being able to see it even if I end up with no photos to share.
• Today’s photo seemed like a fitting one for “Sun”-day.  🙂  

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

• The day wrapped up a quick 30 hour family adventure that took the place of a planned President’s Day outing.  For me, sometimes it is more about taking the time to do things as a family than it is about making the time — the time is often able to be found if I really want to do it.
• We stayed in a hotel room that had a heating unit with a thermostat issue.  We started with the temperature set at 68 degrees but the heat kept running and the room kept getting warmer. 
• By setting the thermostat as low as we could, which was 60 degrees, the room was comfortable all night long.
• Reading reports, figures, and “objective” information is good, but sometimes you don’t really know how something is until you are physically present in the midst of it — the interpretation of the numbers don’t always tell an accurate story.
• People are a lot like that too.  You learn more if you actually spend time with them. 🙂
• We began the day driving around looking for snowy owls in an area where they have been seen much of the winter.  We didn’t see any and our primary objective of the trip was to enjoy the beauty of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore area, so as the sun broke through the clouds we headed to the lake.
• It can be easy to get sidetracked by interesting things and completely miss your intended destination if you’re not careful — I guess in some circumstances there is nothing wrong with that if you don’t care where you’re going.
• Unfortunately, the same is true in our walk with God.  The temptations to stray from the path are often things that appear quite interesting and attractive.
• While the trail we wanted to take was too steep and icy to get Susan’s wheelchair up it and the scenic drive with multiple lake overlooks was closed for the season, we still found some great places to take in the beauty of the day.
• If we become too set on seeing things in the manner we want to without considering other viewpoint opportunities, it can be easy to think what we’re looking for can’t be seen.
• I think people need to get out and enjoy nature more.  Most people we encounter on hiking trails in the parks we visit are generally more friendly than the people I cross paths with in other places.
• The conditions were near perfect for long distance views.  The sky was clear but the sun hadn’t been out from behind the clouds long enough to create the haze that often appears over the water on a sunny day.
• I find that I get the most accurate view of my life when I spend time with God early in the day before any of the haze of the day has time to accumulate.
• After enjoying the beauty of the Sleeping Bear area, we made our way down the coastline toward home with stops at various lighthouses along the way.
• It was a lot of miles packed into a short amount of time, but it was time well spent with my family enjoying life together.  Once we arrived home, I spent some time going through the photos from the day and then headed to bed, leaving the writing of today’s page until the next morning.
• Today’s photo was taken of the South Manitou Island Lighthouse from the shoreline of the “mainland”.  From what I’ve read, the channel that runs between the island and where I was at is about 6 or 7 miles wide . . . this is what I call a long distance shot!

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

• I ended up staying at work all night to babysit the alarm system but managed to get some sleep in the process. Between the recliner in my office and the floor, it wasn’t the best sleep . . . but it was sleep. 🙂
• My research had paid off and the alarm system was quiet all night so I didn’t have to worry about the fire department showing up unnecessarily.
• As night blurred into morning, I took care of the cleaning and building prep for the day. A light drizzle had begun to fall, but the birds sounded very happy in the early morning darkness.
• Sometimes we make things so much about us that we miss how others are able to enjoy things that we don’t.
• As I went about my morning work, the birds began to visit and were eventually joined by some squirrels and deer.
• By mid-afternoon my mind was in quite a fog so I called it a day and stopped for lunch on the way home.
• Sometimes when we are unclear, the best thing we can do is to step back and wait for clarity.
• Today’s photo is of a flicker that stopped by during the morning. Most of the birds today stayed about one layer into the brush so they were beautiful to watch but difficult to photograph

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

• The rain finally came to an end for the time being, but the moon and stars were still  hidden behind the clouds as I made my way to work.
• My morning began with the tune, and eventually the words, of “Amazing Grace” running through my mind.
• I suspect that the more often I consider the amazing grace God has extended to me, the more likely I will be to extend grace to others.
• As I took the trash out, the birds were singing their beautiful songs to wake the sun, so I paused for a few moments to enjoy the symphony.
• Once the building was ready for the day, I turned my attention to some missions accounting and record-keeping which led me to pray for the missions that our church helps to support.
• As I worked, the birds came and went outside my office window.  Most of the berries are finally gone from the brush, so the birds didn’t stay around very long today.
• I did have fun watching a squirrel who showed up with a large walnut that he buried in the soft ground beside the building.  
• I wondered if this squirrel would ever return to reclaim this walnut or if someone else would come along and claim it for themselves.  It made me think of the difference between storing up treasure on earth and storing it in heaven.
• I had some maintenance tasks and supplies to take care of which led me into mid-afternoon before I got away for what ended up being an extended lunch break.
• After lunch I headed down to Potato Creek and eventually found one of the eagles that was willing to pose for some photos.
• As I was ready to leave the park, I had a message that the alarm was going off in the building, so I headed back to work to see what I could figure out.  It seems there is a defective smoke detector somewhere in the building, but the control panel isn’t telling me where or which one.
• So, what I thought was finishing work for the day ended up being the extended lunch break as I’m back at the building babysitting an alarm system until a service tech can resolve the problem.
• As I’m “self-monitoring” the building, I thought about how dangerous false alarms can be.  With the fire alarm going off half a dozen times this afternoon/evening, it can be easy to assume that every incident is a false alarm and ignore the warning.
• Ignoring warning signs just because nothing came of it once, is a good way to find ourselves asking how a terrible event just happened without us seeing it coming.
• Today’s photo is of my squirrel friend as he carried his walnut to a new hiding spot.

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

• The sixty degree temperatures of yesterday were replaced overnight by colder air that hovered around the 30 degree mark all day today.
• The crisp night air was refreshing, or at least invigorating, as I walked out of the house to head to work early this morning.
• As I went about my morning prayer, cleaning, and building prep tasks I spent a lot of time praying for those who are experiencing flooded homes as the waters continue to rise in many locations.
• It wasn’t long before I realized that no one else had arrived at the building at their normal times, so I checked online and found the school was on a two hour delay.  There are some tasks that are easier to get done in an empty quiet building, so I took advantage of the extra time to get some work done.
• By mid-morning I shifted my focus to the book I’m working on, with today’s writing wrapped around different aspects of how we ought to serve with generosity.
• For many people, money is one of the first things that comes to mind when they hear the word generous.  But being generous is much more about an attitude of sharing our self in whatever ways best meet the needs of those we serve than it is about simply handing out money.
• After work I had some supplies to return that I had picked up yesterday but which weren’t going to work for what I needed them to, so I headed to the store.
• The return process was simple and handled in a helpful manner.
• Sometimes I think we hold onto things that we don’t need, or that are even harmful to us, simply because we are afraid that getting rid of them will be too difficult or painful.
• After a late lunch, I made it home and relaxed for a time before heading out with my family to see what we could find to see and photograph at Potato Creek.
• We drove from one end of the park to the other, and even took a short hike, and only saw a few ducks and a couple geese out where they were visible.  It was looking like we were going to come up empty, but the time together as a family was time well spent.
• As we headed back to our starting point in the park for one last look, we saw two different groups of deer along the road so I stopped to take a few photos and asked them to send the eagles our way . . . yes, I talk to the deer. 🙂
• When we stopped for our final look before leaving the park, there was one of the bald eagles perched in the top of a nearby tree.  As we took photos of it, a second bald eagle showed up and joined the first in the tree.  After getting photos of both of them, they eventually each flew off and disappeared from view.
• Today’s photo is a collection of several that I took during our evening at Potato Creek.

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

• It was warmer than I expected it would be when I went in to work early this morning.  My first thought was that it would be a nice day if it wasn’t raining . . . then I decided it ought to be able to be a nice day even with the rain. 🙂
• It suppose it was only fitting that the song in my mind as I went about my morning prayer, cleaning and building prep included the lines, “There shall be showers of blessings . . . Mercy drops ’round us are falling, but for the showers we plead.”
• Once the building was ready, I turned my attention to the formatting and scheduling of the prayer guide to go out next week.  While it is good to hear reports from time to time of how the prayer guide is being used, it should be satisfaction enough just to write them as a way for me to spend time with God.
• Much of the morning was spent doing some more writing for one of the next books I’m working on.  It will be a second collection of 13 weeks of daily devotions wrapped around how we ought to serve.  In a change from when I began, the current working title is, “All In: Devotions For Those Who Serve”.
• By mid-afternoon the rain had let up a bit so I headed down to Potato Creek to see what I could find to photograph.  On the way I stopped and got a white chocolate mocha which I proceeded to dump on myself, so the first part of my time at the park was spent cleaning up the inside of my truck.
• Once I had cleaned up my spilled drink, I drove through the park without seeing anything that would cause me to stop so I parked the truck and headed out on a trail to see what I could find.
• As soon as I got out of my truck, several different groups of sandhill cranes flew overhead with their distinctive sound filling the air.
• Sometimes I think we rush past important lessons in life because they’re not easily noticeable and we don’t want to stop what we’re doing to search for the lessons we need.
• As I walked the trail, I saw an eagle circle in the distance and then fly past me to land in a tree across the water from where I was.  It was such a beautiful sight to watch and I was glad I had not let the poor weather keep me from getting out.
• Most things worth experiencing in life have an element of risk to them, even if it’s just a risk of time.  If we don’t take the risk, we will not experience that moment we could have enjoyed.
• Today’s photo is one I took of the eagle as it sat across the channel from me.  It was pretty intent on watching the water below for most of the time I was watching.

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

• Another long day mixed with work and fun so the page gets written the next morning. 🙂
• President’s Day was a make-up day for the school, so my extended weekend plans had to be revised so I could get the building cleaned and ready for the day.
• Being able to revise plans based on what is actually needed is a very useful trait to learn, even if it’s not always easy.
• As I headed into work, I was still thinking about the sunrise and sunset I had photographed on Sunday and the song we sang which said, “Open up the heavens! We want to see you!”
• By the time I took the first collection of trash out, God had indeed “opened up the heavens” . . . only today it was rain pouring forth rather than glorious sunrise.
• If we’re asking God to “open up the heavens”, we need to be ready to accept what He sends.
• Once the building was ready for the day, I settled into my Monday morning routine with God to figure out the next prayer guide.
• Sometimes people are hesitant to develop routines with God because we think they will become too routine — empty routines that have no meaning.  While that is possible, if we keep God as the focus the routines can actually become quite full rather than empty.
• The topic we settled on was salvation.  Once again, a topic that was difficult to believe I hadn’t written a prayer guide on it already.  I suspect that God has a purpose not only for the prayer guides themselves, but even for the specific topics He leads me to choose.
• As I spent the morning writing, the reminders of a salvation that has come from God were encouraging.
• After the prayer guide was written, I wrapped up the remaining tasks that needed to be done before heading out on a President’s Day family adventure.
• Our original destination was too far for part of a day, so we headed north to Grand Haven, Michigan to photograph lighthouses in yet another season — this one the rainy, foggy season. 🙂
• From Grand Haven, we worked our way back south along the Lake Michigan shoreline with stops in Holland, South Haven, and St Joseph for lighthouse photos before our final stop in Niles for dinner.
• Even in the haziness of the fog and rain, there was beauty to be found, photographed, and shared.
• Beauty isn’t always easy to see, but it is usually present if we look for it.
• Today’s photo was taken at our final lighthouse stop in St Joseph, Michigan.  The fog created a natural filter that softened the backgrounds and, at least to me, added to the beauty.

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

• Page 49 was a beautiful, and full, day from start to finish so I’m doing the writing of the page the next morning.
• With snow arriving Saturday night, I was up early on Sunday to make sure the walks were clear at the building.  The snow hadn’t amounted to much, so it was pretty quick work to run the snow shovel across what needed done and then put down some ice melt for the problem areas.
• When unwanted, and dangerous, stuff begins to accumulate in our life, it is easier to remove it before it adds up and then take care of any difficult areas rather than wait until it is either “worth our time” or “takes care of itself”.  If those become our two options, we will likely never deal with the problems.
• As I was finishing up the sidewalks, the sun began to crawl up over the eastern horizon and the scattered clouds diffused the light to create a “chalk drawing” scene — of course I went inside and grabbed a camera. 🙂
• We had a good worship gathering as David continued a sermon series he is working on through the book of Acts.  Today’s sermon looked at God behind the scenes.
• The main points of the sermon dealt with what we choose to give the greatest consideration to as we live life.
  • Consider Circumstances:  This is often our default consideration as our circumstances are easiest to see — at least from a surface perspective.  Circumstances can give us a snapshot of what’s going on in a life at any given time.  By viewing them accurately, we can see what we’re up against and what we may have going for us.  The downside of considering circumstances is when we give them too much weight in our mind.  Circumstances never reveal the whole story — especially when we are looking at the circumstances of another’s life.  Circumstances are the surface view and the short range view, not a view of the heart or a big picture view.  There is nothing wrong with considering our circumstances.  In fact, it is generally a wise thing to do as long as we look at them in view of our main consideration — God.
  • Consider God:  This is often the missing element when the consideration of our circumstances gets us down.  One of my favorite verses says, “Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”  In all circumstances we ought to consider God as He is the one that has had a view of those circumstances from the very beginning and He can see clearly the results they can bring about in our life.  When we consider God, it is good to consider the work God has done in the lives of the people we read about in the Bible and the people we read about in history; but it is also imperative that we consider the work God has done, and continues to do, in our own life!  
• After the worship gathering and lunch, I spent some more time working on setting up my new computer then we headed out for a family adventure to see what we could find to photograph.
• By the time the day was over, we had found two different snowy owls, some beautiful lakefront scenes, a group of paddle boarders braving the Lake Michigan water, a stunning sunset, and dinner at Subway.
• As the day was filled with beautiful scenes, today’s photo will actually be several photos taken throughout the day that give a glimpse into the beauty God shared with us.

From the rising of the sun . . .

. . . to the going down of the same.