Page 329 had a slow start as I spent the first part of the morning relaxing and mulling over the sermon for tomorrow.  It was beautiful weather outside for late November, so before the morning got away from us we headed out for a family adventure.  With multiple stops filling the day, I arrived home this evening with over 450 photos  so today’s page will be more photo-based than most.  As I reflect on the day, I suppose the one thing that stands out is the importance and value of getting out and enjoying the beauty of creation with my family.

Our first stop was at Potato Creek State Park and while we didn’t catch sight of any of the eagles, there were still plenty of photo opportunities.

After spending some time at Potato Creek we made our way to Washington Park in Michigan City to spend some time photographing some scenes along Lake Michigan.

Our final stop for the day’s adventure was at the Jasper-Pulaski Fish and Wildlife Area where thousands of Sandhill Cranes stop by each fall on their journey south.  It was an incredible sight to see and the sound of them calling was amazing.  While the cranes were the main attraction, they seemed willing to share their meadow with a number of deer.

Page 328 is the infamous “Black Friday” where stores are packed with people hoping to snag the best deal of the year on things they may or may not need.  I rather preferred the promotion being done by the Indiana State Parks to encourage people to “#optoutside”.  While I didn’t head out to do any shopping at any of the stores, I technically didn’t make it outside either — I did make it to the garage, but that was as far as I made it today.

After staying up late last night going through photos and watching TV, I was able to sleep in late this morning.  As I considered what the day would hold, I discovered the disadvantage of finding a garage door opener on sale and buying it — someone in the household didn’t think it should stay in the box very long. 🙂  So I headed out to the garage to switch out a non-functioning opener for the new one.  I’m not sure how long ago the previous one had been installed, but it was an old opener when we moved in 16 years ago.  Unfortunately, that meant nothing with the installation of the new opener matched up with the existing brackets and hangers of the old.  While there were no major issues caused by the differences; it took most of the day to make the changes, install the new safety sensors, and get the new opener operational.

I suspect that many people recognize changes they need to make in their life but don’t fully anticipate the work that will be required to make them.  Sometimes we think we can simply replace what isn’t working with something that does — like changing out a light bulb.  While there are things that are as easy to change as light bulbs, there are many other things that require significant work and effort.  Sometimes we try to put something new into old structures and support systems only to find out the differences between the old and new are too great.  It is at those time that we must set aside the old way of doing things and fully embrace that which is new.

After the new opener was up and running, I sat down to relax for a little while before dinner.  After eating, I went through yesterday’s photos to choose one for today’s page and then began the writing of the page.  The photo is a follow-up to yesterday’s heron.  It is one of the ones I took because I liked the way the trees and sunlight were reflecting in the wetland area.  It wasn’t until after I had taken a couple shots of this reflective scene that my wife told me there was a bald eagle out in one of the trees.  Sure enough, he’s there.  After zooming in and taking some close-ups of him, I noticed that he was visible in the earlier photos — both in the tree and in the reflection.  As I thought about this photo and everything reflected in it, I thought about how something has to exist in order for it to be reflected.  I can say that I want my life to reflect the love of God and the fruit of His Spirit, but in order for that to happen I must allow those qualities to be present in my life so that others can see Him reflected in me.

As I reflect on the day, here are some thoughts/lessons that stand out to me:

• Finding the things you need at the best price possible is wise.
• Buying things you don’t need simply because the price was “too good to pass up” may not be so wise.
• I like the “#optoutside” promotion.  It is always good to encourage people to get out and spend time in the beauty of God’s creation.
• I can stay up late and I can get up early; but it doesn’t work well for me to do them back-to-back in that order. 🙂
• Change comes in varying degrees of difficulty.
• When necessary change is difficult, it becomes tempting to downplay just how necessary it is.
• Jesus said, “You don’t put new wine in old wineskins.”  Replacing bad habits with good ones often requires that you dismantle the structures that support your bad habits so that your new ones can flourish.
• Change isn’t complete until it’s complete — keep at it all the way to the end.
• Your life will never reflect things that aren’t in it.
• To reflect Jesus to others, He must be present in your life.

Here in the United States page 327 was Thanksgiving Day, so it has been a quiet day spent with my family.  My first task when I woke up this morning was to fire up the pellet grill and get a turkey ready to put on for Thanksgiving lunch.  Once the turkey was on the grill, I spent time writing yesterday’s page as I hadn’t gotten to it last night.  As I spent the morning writing, I would take breaks to pour Dr Pepper over the turkey with the hope it would add flavor and keep it moist.

After the page was written, the rest of my morning was spent letting the outline for Sunday’s sermon simmer in my mind as I went through recently taken photos.  Shortly after noon, the pop-up timer on the turkey popped so I took it off the grill to let it set for a while before slicing.  As I began slicing it, I could tell that it had definitely not dried out and the Dr Pepper had added a sweetness to the meat that enhanced its flavor.  The slicing process also uncovered the giblet package that I had assumed wasn’t in the turkey because I couldn’t find it when I prepped it for cooking.

After lunch it was time to relax a while before we decided to make a family trip to Potato Creek in search of the eagles and some photo opportunities.  There were no eagles visible from the area where we often see them, so we took a few photos of the sun as it began to drop behind the tree line and then drove around the lake to see what else we could find.  Our first stop was for a heron that was perched high up in a tree along the road.  Unfortunately, when I opened my truck door to get the camera out, the heron flew off and I missed the photo opportunity.  While we were stopped I did get a few more shots of the sun setting across the lake, but I wasn’t real impressed with them.  As we made our way around the lake, we saw a heron standing on a downed tree in a wetland area.  This one stayed put long enough to get a few photos, including today’s photo.  As he flew off, I zoomed back out to take a photo of the trees and sunset colors reflecting in the water.  As I did so, MJ followed the flight of the heron and noticed one of the bald eagles perched in a tree that was in the center of my reflection photo.  It is interesting how easy it is to miss something, even when it is right in front of you, if you’re not expecting to see it.

After taking some photos of the eagle and then some more pictures of the setting sun, we made our way home.  At home I began the writing of this page so I could get it done tonight rather than tomorrow.  As I reflect on the day, here are some thoughts/lessons that stand out to me:

• A Thanksgiving holiday is a great idea but it works best if we live a thankful life both before and after the holiday.
• Once I plant a sermon text and outline in my mind, it seems like there is a constant refining and simmering that takes place even in the midst of doing other tasks — and that’s the way I like it.
• Some things are good for more than one purpose if we think beyond what we’re sure we know.
• Just because we don’t find something, doesn’t mean it isn’t there.  Sometimes we have to look more closely and sometimes we may need to step back and take a wider look.
• It can be difficult to build a connection with someone if our actions startle them.
• Working together helps to lessen the gaps in what we notice.

Page 326 was a slow-paced day and I still didn’t get around to writing the page before I went to bed.  The school and preschool were out for Thanksgiving break so I didn’t have to go in early to do the cleaning and prep for the day.  It was good to be able to sleep in and even better to let Susan sleep and catch up on her rest as the up and down weather seemed to have caught up with her.

Susan made it almost to noon by the time she was ready to get up, so while she slept I worked on the sermon for Sunday and took care of some details that will allow Impact Prayer Ministry to qualify for a matching grant to donations given next Tuesday through Facebook as part of their Giving Tuesday promotion in partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.  I don’t like gimmicks and fads all that much, but I do like the idea of maximizing the dollars that people are willing to give so that Impact Prayer Ministry can provide teaching and resources to people who desire to grow in their relationship with God through prayer.  So, on November 28 I will have a fundraiser open on Facebook for Impact Prayer Ministry with the potential for the first $1000 given to be matched by the foundation.

By late afternoon it was time for a change of scenery, so we headed up to Lake Michigan to photograph the sunset.  It was a bit brisk along the lakefront, but it ended up being a beautiful sunset so I’ll keep with the theme of rest and let a few of the photos add their “thousand words” to today’s page. 🙂

Page 325 had an early start as I drove to work under a beautiful star-filled sky.  I had a couple minor projects I wanted to get done while the building was empty so an early start was my best option.  As one who has lived most of my life as a non-morning person, that last sentence sounded very strange.  Yet here I am.  I have reached the point where I would normally rather get up early to take care of a project rather than having to stay up late.  I suppose it was the night sky, but today’s soundtrack was courtesy of Rich Mullins as I found myself singing the words, “Sometimes the night is beautiful” and “Oh, God, you are my God and I will ever praise you.”  Having a mental soundtrack of praise to God as the day is started is an incredible boost to a morning of prayer, cleaning, and building prep. 

Once the early morning work was complete, I turned my attention to seeking God regarding a sermon I will share Sunday morning.  A potential title came to mind last night as I went to bed, and amazingly it was still in my mind this morning.  There is a lot of time between now and Sunday morning so there will likely be much refining even if the outline stays, but I got a good start on what I believe God wants me to share to encourage people to “GIVE Thanks”.  As the morning came to an end, it was time for lunch with a friend and then a trip to pick up a few supplies.  While I was out I crossed paths with a couple I hadn’t seen for a while and had a good conversation catching up with them.

With another day of no new photos, today’s photo is one from my trip home from ICOM on Sunday.  This eagle had found a spot in the river where he could keep an eye on the water surface and watch for his next meal.  Sometimes in the midst of a fast-paced life it is important to find time to just sit and pay attention to what’s important and allow the unimportant to go on by.

As I reflect on the day, here are some thoughts/lessons that stand out to me:

• Change is a part of life.  
• Sometimes our preferences change as a part of growth and sometimes we find it practical to learn new preferences.
• God deserves my praise whether the night appears beautiful to me or not.
• If I prepare a sermon without seeking God throughout the entire process, I will likely only share my words.
• When I seek God and allow Him freedom to change and refine any and all aspects of the sermons I share, His Spirit has greater freedom to work through me.
• Giving thanks should not be a seasonal activity — it should be a daily way of life.
• Life goes by fast.  Sometimes you need to let the current carry you along and sometimes you need to find a spot where you can rest and watch it go by.

The alarm clock rang early on page 324 as it was back to the usual weekday routine following the long days of ICOM.  I suppose it was influenced by yesterday’s photos that I went through last night, but the soundtrack for this morning was a song that says “Mercy is falling, is falling, is falling.  Mercy is falling like the sweet spring rain!”  Much of my prayer time was focused on God’s mercy as I went about the morning prayer, cleaning, and building prep tasks.  With God’s mercies being supplied new every morning, there is plenty to pray about and be thankful for.  

Once the building was ready for the day and the trash taken out, I turned my attention to writing yesterday’s page.  With the long days of the conference and then the trip home yesterday, I made it through the photos I had taken but had called it a day and went to bed before writing the page.  After writing yesterday’s page, I turned my attention to the prayer guide for next week.  With the theme of last week’s missions conference being “Together”, I thought that was the direction I would be heading as I spent time with God praying about this next topic.  However, as I prayed and even looked at possible daily topics under that theme, I didn’t feel comfortable going forward with it at this time.  As I spent time praying about today’s topic of giving thanks for God’s righteousness, I began to consider what things produce thankfulness as well as what is produced by thankfulness.  One of the words that kept coming to mind in both of those categories was the word contentment.  And so it wasn’t long before I was praying about, and writing, about being content.

By the time the prayer guide was written, and then formatted and scheduled to be published Sunday morning, the morning had turned into afternoon.  I did some follow-up on some messages left while I was gone and then unloaded all of the display materials and books from my truck.  As I put the boxes in my office, I did inventory and made a list of how many of each book title I currently have on hand.  This should be helpful as I look ahead to the next opportunity to represent the prayer ministry and share the resources God has given me to write.  By mid-afternoon I had put in a full day and it was time to head home.  After relaxing for a time, I sat down and began writing today’s page in order to get it completed in time to head to bed early tonight.

With no new photos taken today, today’s photo is one from my trip home yesterday as I stopped at Starved Rock State Park in Utica, Illinois.  It was the waterfalls at this park that I think planted this morning’s soundtrack of God’s mercy falling all over me.  Not only was the setting beautiful, the canyon amplified the sound of the falling water which added to the peaceful setting.

As I reflect on the day, here are some thoughts/lessons that stand out to me:

• A break in routine is good but sometimes the break makes a return to the routine somewhat difficult.
• God’s mercies are supplied new each morning because we need them each day.
• Just as it is hard to walk through a spring rain without getting wet, it is impossible to avoid getting through life successfully without God’s mercy falling upon you.
• While it is okay to test and push your limits from time to time, it is good to know when to simply stop and rest.
• Just because you have what seems like a good idea, you should never stop seeking God and listening to Him.
• It is pretty difficult, if not impossible, to be thankful without learning contentment or to be content without practicing thankfulness.
• It is helpful to know what you have if you want to figure out what you need.
• I find reminders of God’s love and mercy all around me when I pay attention.

Page 323 was the end of ICOM 2017 and my travel home day.  After a very late night packing up the display, the new day technically arrived before I went to bed.  I was able to sleep in a little bit before I finally got up and did some follow up to some of the previous day’s conversations.  After several long days of great conversations and being around mass quantities of people, I was ready for some solitude — some quiet time alone with God.  Fortunately, my drive home would not only provide that, but there were some great parks not too far out of the way that I anticipated would add to a day of worship.

The first park that I planned on stopping at had signs at each entrance that said only hunters were allowed beyond that point.  I suspect since it is deer hunting season in the states I am familiar with, that is also the case in Illinois and those are the hunters they were allowing in.  However, the sign didn’t say what you had to be hunting so I was tempted to drive on in to hunt down the photographs I was hoping to take.  I didn’t do it because I was certain that wasn’t what the intent of the sign was . . . and because I didn’t really want to risk punishment or even accidentally getting shot.  But it did make me think of how often we reinterpret what we know God’s Word really means so that we can go ahead and do what we want.  

Since option one was closed, my next stop was at a park just a few miles away from the first.  Being that the first one was closed, I wasn’t too sure what I would find at this stop but it was open with no apparent “hunting” going on. 🙂  I was able to spend some time on the trails with God; worshiping Him for His goodness, creativity, and love as I walked and photographed some of the scenes that were spread before me.  The park is known as a winter home for bald eagles escaping the frozen lakes of regions further north.  While the winter visitors hadn’t arrived yet, they have at least one resident pair that raise their family there and I was able to see one of them at a distance out on the river.  The more close-up bald eagle view came later as I was driving down Interstate 80.  I could see something ahead of me flying fairly low and keeping on track with the highway coming toward me.  As we approached each other, I realized it was a bald eagle gliding overhead; taking the freeway to wherever it was headed.

I eventually stopped for a mid-afternoon lunch after I made it into Indiana.  The interstate is undergoing construction at many places and traffic was backed up with my GPS telling me there were multiple delays ahead.  So, I decided to take the more scenic route the rest of the way home and managed to stop by the Michigan City lakefront at sunset.  Today’s photo is fitting, not just of the day but of the entire conference, as it carried with it a beautiful, peaceful impression from the hand of God.  And while Sunday is the beginning of a new week, the sun had set on both the day and on my ICOM 2017 trip.  There was much throughout the conference and throughout the day to be thankful for and scenes such as this serve to help amplify my worship as God communicates His love and care.

As I reflect on the day, here are some thoughts/lessons that stand out to me:

• I thoroughly enjoy talking to people about prayer and the work God does through the prayer ministry.
• There are times when I need quiet and solitude when I can spend time with God and tune out the rest of the world.
• Rest and solitude rarely come uninvited and unplanned.
• There are great depths and mysteries within God’s Word that are difficult to understand fully.
• Many times our stumbling, however, is over things that really are rather clear — we just don’t like the application or don’t think it should apply to us.
• Parks and nature settings are great places for me to find quiet and solitude where it feels like it is just God and I spending time together.
• My places of quiet and rest may be different than yours, but we all need them.
• Sometimes when everyone wants to take the fast or easy route, it can quickly become neither fast nor easy.
• God’s creativity in a sunset never ceases to amaze me.
• Habits and routines are good, but so is flexibility; so writing today’s page the next morning is a good thing. 🙂