Page 22 was a day of prayer and worship as I spent time with God on some trails in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  When I woke up, the forecast was calling for one hundred percent chance of rain so I decided I to head over to Cades Cove where I could spend time in one of the old church buildings reading scripture, praying, and singing songs of praise.  I also packed some rain gear and decided I would brave the elements in order to get some photos and since waterfalls were one of the themes for the day, a little rain ought to help. 🙂  

As I reached the Cove, the heavy cloud cover had disappeared overhead but it looked like it was raining in the mountains.  I stopped and spent some time at one of the old church buildings along the roadway and spent some time in worship and prayer.  One of the reasons I conference location early when I can, is so I can spend time praying for those who will be attending.  When I reached the trailhead for a waterfall hike I planned on taking, it still looked like rain over the mountains but the sky was clear where I was.  Since I was prepared for the rain, I set out on what was a six mile round trip hike.  The sun stayed out for the entire hike and I found myself shedding the rain gear rather quickly.  Today’s photo was taken as I headed back to the truck with the sun filtering brightly through the trees onto the trail.  There were a few people using the trails, but for the most part I had them to myself and could softly sing songs of praise without frightening people.  

After finishing that hike, I snacked on some Subway cookies from last night’s meal as I set out in search of additional waterfalls.  There were several visible from the road and with the apparent rain that had fallen over the mountains earlier, the water was flowing quite well.  As I would stop and take pictures, I would keep checking to see if I had cell phone service.  After photographing the final waterfall that my map showed was visible from the road, I headed to the visitors center to see if I could use my phone there.  As it turned out, when I went to get my phone out of its holster, it wasn’t there!  The last place I had checked for signal was six miles back, so I headed back to see if by chance it was still laying next to where I had parked the truck.  No such luck, but I had taken a short hike along the river from that spot so I began to retrace my path.  I was almost back to the truck without finding it, so I asked God to help me see it if it was out there.  After praying, I took one step and it was right there face down in front of me!  The park was busy today.  I don’t know why I found it nearly half an hour after I dropped it.  I’ve prayed more earnestly about things of greater value that have been lost, without ever finding them or having them restored, so I don’t know why my prayer was answered the way it was today but I am thankful that it was.

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

• It’s good to consider “what might be” until it keeps us from doing “what could be”.
• Dressing to go hiking on a cool, rainy day doesn’t look the same as what is needed to go hiking on a warm, sunny day.
• Being aware of our changing surroundings can help us be appropriate in what we do and say.
• I hiked over 10 miles today because I love photographing waterfalls.  How far will I, do I, hike because I love people?
• Prayer is powerful and effective.  While it is easier to say that when we get the answer we want, it is just as true when the answer isn’t what we want.
• Oh, the one hundred percent chance of rain did come.  I came off the final trail for the day a little after 5:30 this evening and as I drove away it began raining within five minutes.

Page 21 has been a full day, although not exactly what I would call a busy day.  Representing the prayer ministry at conferences always makes me some strange mix of excited, nervous, and anxious.  Excited because I get to share with people what I believe are incredibly useful tools that God has graciously gifted me with the ability to produce.  Nervous because it means I am interacting with people and I have to trust God to carry me through my fear of people.  Anxious because I worry far too much about what people will think about the books I have written and the ministry God has called me to do.

Anyhow, that mix of feelings has led to some restless nights and last night was another one of them.  I was up early so I finished packing the things I will need and hit the road to begin my journey to the Christian Camp Leaders Conference.  About an hour into the drive, the sun began to light up the eastern horizon in a way that I haven’t seen for nearly a week.  Not that the sunrise was more extra-ordinary than usual, just that we’ve been under such heavy cloud cover that there hasn’t been a visible sunrise for a while.  I stopped along the road to take a few pictures, but knew I had to keep moving if I wanted to reach my destination at a reasonable time.  

The beauty of the sunrise disappeared quickly as the cloud cover returned and remained through much of the day.  As I neared my destination, the sun finally began to break through the clouds again and as I fought with the glare through the windshield, I realized how helpful the clouds had been all day.  After checking into the hotel, I drove into the park to try to catch a sunset from the mountains.  While it sounds like a good plan, mountains tend to make sunsets difficult to capture as the sun often disappears behind a mountain peak long before it actually sets.  On the way, I went through a lot of the area where fire had swept through the hills late last fall.  Today’s photo is of a hillside that had been burnt with the ground the trees are growing on remaining bare.  Much of the areas that are not so densely shaded have vibrant green growth that hides the evidence of the ash underneath.  Even with the noticeable fire damage, the beauty of the mountains is breathtaking.  

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

• At least for me, many emotions are closer to each other than one might initially think they would be.
• Identifying the emotions we are feeling, and the reasons why we are experiencing them, can be helpful in our mastering them rather than them mastering us.
• The way things make us feel doesn’t catch God by surprise.  Even the way we react to our feelings doesn’t surprise Him but if we go to Him with them first, He may have a response for us to choose that is better than our initial reaction would be.  (Be angry, but do not sin.)
• God often gives us things that we don’t know we need and since we weren’t looking for them, our gratitude isn’t what it should be.  (I didn’t know the cloudy day was actually a benefit until they went away and I had to fight the glare for the last part of my drive.  I thanked God for the clouds.)
• We may feel like we have crashed and burned in life but God has the ability to cause new growth to rise up through the ashes.

Page 20 is going to end up being a long day.  My workday began at 6 this morning and I’ve not yet left the building all day.  I probably have a couple more hours of work to complete before the building is ready for Sunday but it was time for a break from cleaning so I could do some writing.  The day began in a similar fashion to how it’s ending, with a good amount of cleaning and taking out trash.  Once the building was ready for the day, I reformatted a missions report so it could go in the church bulletin on Sunday then made the mistake of checking my social media accounts.  I’m not really sure it was a mistake as it gave me plenty to pray about throughout the day, but it was very difficult to resist the temptation to respond to some of what I read.

With an upcoming conference schedule that will disrupt my normal routine, I decided to move on from the social media postings and spend some time with God working on a prayer guide for the week following next week.  As I prayed, my mind could not avoid the events of the day and the strong reaction to the inauguration from people both for and against who is now the current president.  Each side seemed to be online trying to shout louder than the other.  And because the vast majority of my social media friends are Christian, the arguments soon descended into accusations that the opposing viewpoint could never come from someone who was actually a Christian.  In the midst of my time with God working on a prayer guide, I was reminded of God’s instruction that we pray in all ways possible for everyone with a specific mention of leaders in authority.  The purpose of this instruction is so we can live “peaceful and quiet lives” with the desire that all people would come to know the truth regarding God and His Son, Jesus.  

So, out of my prayer time came a prayer guide based around this instruction that Paul wrote to Timothy, and to us.  Because of the timeliness of it, I rescheduled the one I originally wrote for next week to go out the following week and scheduled this new one to be published Sunday.  I pray that it will help each of us step back and consider the uniqueness of each of our brothers and sisters as we pray for them and for our leaders. 

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

• Unity as Christians should not require us to be completely identical.  We must find a way to disagree at times without being disagreeable about it.
• Our only choices in any election is between flawed people.  Your “deal-breaker” issues may not be the same as those of someone else but that doesn’t make either one of you “less” Christian.
• There are many groups of people who feel marginalized in our society and each one deserves to know they have great and equal value because they were created in God’s image.
• Prayer is powerful.  If we believed that, we would probably pray more and complain less.
• When the enemy gets us to attack one another, neither of us has a light that is shining very brightly for God.
• When the Bible says that a peaceful and quiet life lived in all godliness and holiness pleases God, that is the life I want to pursue.

After a late night at work on Wednesday, page 19 was a day to sleep in and try to rest.  Once I woke up, I spent some time catching up on email and social media messages as I waited for Susan to wake up.  I also spent time checking out some options for hiking and taking photos during the free time I’ll have at the upcoming conference.  I don’t know if it’s stuck or just a huge file, but I’ve been downloading a trail map to my iPad all day and it still isn’t finished.  

I eventually convinced Susan it was morning and time to wake up.  After helping her get ready for the day, we headed out to have my truck serviced and the regular maintenance taken care of.  After dropping the truck off at the shop, we headed out for a walk along the river.  The sky was still gray and a hazy fog hung in the air but the temperature made for a mostly pleasant walk.  For the first third of the walk, Susan was in a gray, hazy mood that matched the weather.  As I pushed her wheelchair down the sidewalk along the river, I made up silly songs to sing to her until her inner joy finally came out.  With all the rain we’ve been having, the river level was high with the water up on the sidewalk at a couple different places along the walk.  Today’s photo was taken during our walk as we paused to admire the stately arches of a beautiful bridge.  While the river was flowing with an abundance of water, the surface was calm enough for some great reflections of everything above the surface.  

After walking nearly six miles, we headed back to pick up the truck then picked up Mary Jane to go out for a late lunch.  After lunch, it was back home to relax for the afternoon.  As I watched the hatred and animosity flow back and forth online between those with differing political views, I spent much of the afternoon in prayer.  The sad part to me is that the vast majority of my online connections are Christians and what I see flowing down my screen is the result of what these friends are liking, commenting on, and reacting to.  Each side in this political divide believes that their sense of anger is a righteous indignation that gives them the right to speak to the other side in ways that are shameful.  It seems that we have forgotten that God’s command to pray for our leaders is not about leaders that do things our way and not even about leaders who do things God’s way.  No, it is about praying for those in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives regardless of who sits in a role of human authority.  I know, it’s hard.  I read things (from both extremes) and my blood pressure rises and my flesh wants nothing more than to write a blistering response to “set them straight”.  But what would that accomplish other than make someone else’s blood pressure go up and solicit a blistering response from them?  And in the end, no peaceful and quiet life for anyone and the message of Christ is drowned out by each of us insisting we are right.

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

• There’s always a chance of randomly taking a great photo by being at the right place at the right time.  There’s a better chance of taking a great photo by putting yourself in the right place at the right time.  This probably applies to more than photos.
• We all need times of spiritual maintenance and check-ups.
• Multiple gray, hazy days in a row are depressing in a way that only bright sunshine can cure.  
• There is a spiritual cloudiness that seeks to keep the light of the world from being seen through us.  We need to walk in the light just as He is in the light so that we can have fellowship with one another.
• The more that we are still before God, the greater the clarity that will be seen as we reflect Him.
• Our time with God ought to define how we pray rather than our political ideology defining our prayer life, or lack of it.  

It is Wednesday, so I’m writing page 18 as I wait for the building to clear out after Bible study classes.  Once the building is empty, I can put in my second shift of the day as I do the daily cleaning and scrub floors to have the building ready for tomorrow.  Today was another overcast, drizzly day which somehow makes the day feel even longer than it is.  On my way to work this morning a car in front of me turned right on red, made an immediate u-turn, then turned right again in order to continue in his original direction.  I’m pretty sure that somehow doing so made him feel better than actually running the red light but I don’t think it was any more legal than if he had gone straight through.  

When I got to work it was time to plunge toilets, clean, and take out trash before the start of the school day.  Some mornings the daily cleaning and building prep is rather routine and other mornings . . . well, other mornings are a challenge to have everything done before the students arrive.  With the Christian Camp Leaders Conference fast approaching, I turned my attention to continued preparation for that once the building was ready for the day.  As I planned for the Impact Prayer Ministry display that I will have set up at the conference, I started going through the storage tubs of the display materials I brought back from the last conference.  Much of it was things that I needed to reorganize and put back to take with me, but some of it was things that I had picked up at the previous conference from other displays that interested me.  Given that the last conference was mid-November and I’m just now coming across the material I picked up, I probably need to come up with a different approach to bringing back material that I’m interested in — at least if I want to go through it in a timely fashion.

Knowing that today would be a long day, by mid-afternoon it was time to take a break and get some lunch.  After lunch I decided to head back down to Potato Creek to get some fresh air and exercise in spite of the drizzly day.  Today’s photo was taken as the water flows from a small spring-fed pond into the lake.  It doesn’t matter what season or temperature, there is always water flowing over the small dam that contains the pond.  Even in the middle of winter, there are green plants and moss that grow because of the consistency of both the water flow and the water temperature.  Once I had finished my hike, it was back to the building where I did some “freshening up” through the building before the Bible study classes.  Once the building clears out, I will spend a few more hours here cleaning and running the floor scrubber before calling it a day and heading home.

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

• We often live life in such a hurry that we tend to make decisions based on what is expedient rather than on what is right.
• God examines the heart.  Not only does He perfectly know the intent of His laws, He perfectly knows the intent of our heart.
• Does my disobedience to God’s laws bother me as much as a stranger’s disobedience to man’s laws?
• Do I live with a “whatever it takes” attitude when it comes to cleaning the filth from my life, or do I become content with “good enough”?
• Needing reminders so we don’t forget important things is not something negative.  In fact, it’s God’s idea — i.e. rainbow, Passover meal, Lord’s Supper, etc.
• Continual growth is created by consistency when we find, and remain in, an environment that feeds and nourishes our soul.  

Having done the cleaning at the building yesterday while school was not in session, my page 17 workday began at 7 AM instead of 6.  I bought a wrist-worn activity tracker yesterday and it was interesting to see how much movement it recorded while I slept — I suppose that might explain why I tend to feel tired no matter how early I go to sleep.  I wrote next week’s prayer guide yesterday but I still needed to format it and schedule it to post on the website and go out via email, so I began my day working on that.  As I worked, UPS arrived with boxes of books to complete the restocking I needed to do before the next conference I’ll attend.  I guess they were trying to minimize the number of boxes shipped as many of them had multiple titles in them.  That made confirming they had printed and shipped what I ordered a little more difficult than usual, but I managed to confirm I had what I ordered and needed.

As I worked in the office, six deer showed up and spent some time grazing along the edge of the woods.  They appeared to watch me as I watched them and eventually made their way further into the woods and out of sight.  Mid-morning I had a service tech show up for a semi-annual inspection so I put a pause on my writing and editing work to make sure the tech had what was needed to get the inspection done.  Once the building needs were taken care of, I finished up my office work and headed out mid-afternoon for some lunch.  The air was full of moisture but the temperature was mild for mid-January so after lunch I headed down to Potato Creek to get a “waist management” hike in.  By the time I got there, the moisture was no longer staying in the air as a light drizzle was falling throughout my entire six mile hike.  Even with the drizzle and haze, there was beauty to be found throughout the park.  Today’s photo was taken on a black and white setting as a reflection not only of the tree, but also of the gray atmosphere that was spread out over the horizon.  As I neared the end of my hike, I came across a few deer grazing along the roadway.  I guess my deer friends from work hadn’t let these deer know I was coming as they high-tailed it out of there as soon as they saw me.  

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

• Sometimes sleep doesn’t include enough stillness to get the rest we need.
• For many people, their time with God is so hectic that it doesn’t include the stillness necessary to achieve rest for their soul.
• Sometimes things in life aren’t as neat and orderly as we would like.
• Things of value are useful even if they require more work than we expected.
• Regular inspections of building systems are good things.
• Regular inspections of our spiritual life are even more necessary.
• If we keep our eyes focused beyond the haze of life, we will be able to see the beauty that God desires for us.

The school and preschool were not in session today as they took off in honor of the Martin Luther King, Jr holiday.  The original tracking info indicated the rest of my book order was to arrive today, so page 16 found me at work even with the holiday status.  After I got to work, I checked on the delivery status and discovered that sometime overnight they had changed it to Tuesday due to “holiday closings”.  I had plenty to do so it was probably just as well that I didn’t take the day off.  I began the day by settling into some time with God as I prayed about the topic for next week’s prayer guide.  A few topics came to mind quickly as I spent time with God but none of them really grabbed my attention for very long.  Eventually as I sat and listened, the idea of following God began to resonate within my spirit.  

The rest of the morning was spent in prayer and Bible study as I fleshed out the daily prayer points to go with the theme of following God.  In a society where so many people spend their life clamoring to be a leader, there is often little emphasis put on learning to follow well.  I believe that much of the leadership void that exists in so many areas of life from home to church to business to politics, and so many places in between, is because of people who want to lead without knowing how to follow.  When I think of current leaders and historical leaders that I admire, as well as the future leaders that I would hope to see, their ability and desire to follow God is the single most important factor in being able to lead well.  When being a leader goes to the head, pride often takes over and our plans, desires, and agendas end up being pursued with no thought of what God’s plan, desire, and agenda happens to be.

As I worked on the prayer guide, a variety of wildlife was (somewhat) visible outside my office window.  At times it is a fascinating challenge to catch movement out of the corner of my eye and then try to figure out what it was that was moving and where it is at.  Today there were several bird species that had very effective natural camouflage that made it difficult to see them.  But today’s photo isn’t a bird.  As my eyes scanned the woods after sensing movement out in the brush, I eventually noticed this deer stretched out on the ground as she got some morning rest.  The photo was tough to try to get a depth of field setting that would see through the brush and focus on the deer, but I think it is noticeable and somewhat in focus.  

After the prayer guide was written, I spent the early part of the afternoon doing the cleaning and building prep to be ready for the school day tomorrow.  So, while I ended up working today it does mean that I won’t have to go in early tomorrow as the early morning tasks are already done.

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

• People often have individual criteria for observing, or not observing, special days.
• It seems that in our culture of division, everyone wants to claim that our nation’s heroes would be in agreement with them.
• It is easy to claim agreement, far more difficult to live in agreement.
• “Can fresh water and salt water come from the same spring?”  Can hatred and division exist in an atmosphere devoted to love and unity?
• Many times when we spend time listening to God we hear ourselves first, and unfortunately stop listening.
• The best leaders in any situation are those whose desire to follow God is greater than their desire to be seen as a leader.
• We become a better follower of God when we learn to pay attention to the details that God surrounds us with.

Page 15 was a Sunday and after deciding not to go in to work yesterday, today had an early start as I needed to do some cleaning and building prep before the morning church gathering.  As I cleaned bathrooms and took out trash, I prayed for the teaching and worship that would take place in the building throughout the morning and prayed that the teaching and worship would also leave the building and take place throughout the community during the coming week.  With no snow or ice to deal with, I was able to be back in the Bible School class where we finished up the book of Philippians today and will head into Colossians next.  

Our morning worship gathering maintained its central focus on Jesus while taking time to honor the ministry and vision of Martin Luther King, Jr as well as remember the value that all life has — from the unborn to the elderly to those who are different from us in a myriad of ways.  Life doesn’t “just happen”, it is a gift from God and we need to treat all life as having an inherent value that comes from God Himself.  When a society can kill millions and millions of its unborn citizens without batting an eye, we should not be surprised at the lack of value that many people seem to place on human life.  

The morning message during our gathering was brought by David as he continued his series in the book of Luke.  Today’s text covered the temptations of Jesus by the devil during and following the forty days of fasting Jesus did in the wilderness.  As with all good sermons, it wasn’t meant to simply inform us about the information surrounding the temptations of Jesus, but the purpose was to equip us to handle temptation in our life in a way that would honor Jesus.  Temptation does not have to lead us into sin.  God has equipped us through His Word and His Spirit with every tool we need to overcome temptation so that it does not lead to sin.  This morning we looked at three different aspects of our enemy’s approach so that we could recognize temptation when it comes our way.

• First, the enemy strikes when and where he thinks we are vulnerable.  Satan doesn’t know us like God knows us but he does pay attention to our weaknesses and often strikes when he feels most likely to succeed.  Knowing that he is looking for points of vulnerability ought to motivate us to be aware of our own weaknesses so that we can build walls of spiritual protection around us.
• Second, the enemy does a very good job at hiding his intentions.  Never will a temptation come that has an obvious disclaimer that its design is to destroy.  Most often, temptations are presented in a way that tries to make us think that following the path of that temptation would be for our own good.  From the first recorded temptation of Adam and Eve that eating the fruit would make them like God and down through all generations including today, our enemy wants us to believe that giving in is ultimately better for us than not.
• Thirdly, the enemy is relentless.  The story of the temptations of Jesus states that at the end of the recorded temptations, the devil left Him for a “more opportune time.”  The Bible teaches, and experience confirms, that the devil doesn’t give up simply because we successfully resist one temptation.  We must constantly be on guard against the attacks of the evil one as he prowls around seeking whom he may devour.  That is why God has equipped us with a full set of armor that when used, protects us against the schemes of the devil.  Our prayer life is the communication lifeline we have with God that empowers our ability to resist and overcome temptation.

After the church service, I had a missions committee meeting to be a part of and then headed home to eat some lunch and rest a while before heading out for an evening family walk.  Today’s photo was from that walk as the sun was preparing to set over the St Joseph River.  

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

• As Paul wraps up his letter to the Philippians, he highlights a life lived “in the Lord.”
• In a world that is full of trouble and disappointment, God has given us the ability to “stand firm in the Lord.”
• Even in the midst of conflict, we ought to be able to “agree in the Lord.”
• Life can be full of discouraging moments, yet God calls us to “rejoice in the Lord always.”
• When worry attempts to flood our hearts and mind, God desires to give us a peace that will guard our hearts and minds “in Christ Jesus.”
• When contentment seems to be out of our grasp, God promises we can do everything “through Him.”
• When we give sacrificially to the work of the kingdom, we learn to trust God to supply all of our needs according to His riches “in Christ Jesus.”
• Temptation is not sin.  Giving in to temptation is, but even giving in doesn’t have to define who we are in Christ.
• God is looking for trustworthy servants who will be faithful with whatever He gives them.