Page 6 began in the usual way, at least for a Christmas break workday.  With today being the final day of the school and preschool’s Christmas break, I didn’t have to be to work extremely early so I left home around 7 AM to begin my workday.  We’re in a cold snap here with the air temperature barely above zero and the wind chill well below, so I began my day at work checking on the boilers and heating system.  Once I had made the rounds through the building, I sat down at my desk to format and schedule next week’s prayer guide to be posted and sent out on Sunday.  I had written it early in the week but realized today that I hadn’t finished getting it ready to be sent out.    When that was complete, I began work on some writing projects I believe God is putting before me.  I spent time jotting down ideas as they would roll through my head and they will become concepts to spend time meditating and praying about as I consider what God would have the outcome be.  

As I worked, the sun fought its way across the frozen sky and the brush outside my office window soon filled with a variety of birds.  Today’s photo is of a cardinal sitting out in the below zero wind chills with its dander all fluffed up as he enjoyed a freshly frozen berry.  I bundled up in layers and was uncomfortably cold inside the truck as I drove into work this morning and here was this cardinal fluffing up his layers and calmly enjoying an outdoor snack.  

By the middle part of the afternoon I began to transition from writing mode to cleaning mode as I needed to get the building ready for Sunday.  In the midst of closing up my writing files, I noticed an online posting about a shooting at the airport in Fort Lauderdale.  In that early post there was a link to the Broward County emergency scanner feed.  While the news postings indicated a lone shooter who was in custody, the scanner communication indicated a chaotic scene that was filled with people I felt compelled to pray for.  Even after national reports of the suspect in custody, calls were coming in on the scanner from officers reporting “shots fired” throughout the airport complex.  Many of the calls were coming from officers who sounded like they were running and somewhat short of breath with sounds of what could at least pass as gunfire in the background.  None of the official reports I have seen this evening indicate there was anything beyond the one gunman in a single terminal, but hearing the tension in the voices of law enforcement officers responding to reports of gunfire drew me to an afternoon of listening to the scanner traffic and praying for all of those responding to the situation and the volatility that it presented.  In addition to praying for those who were willingly heading into an environment that had already become deadly, I also spent time praying for families and individuals who were caught up in an atmosphere that quickly changed from one of travel to one of fear and chaos.  I prayed for those injured and for those who watched as others died.  I prayed for courage for those all over our country who have answered the call to serve and protect and do so regardless of the risks.

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

• The same God that created the cardinal with the ability to survive outside in sub-zero temperatures, created mankind with the intelligence to design and build various means of producing warmth and shelter.
• Chaos often breeds more chaos.
• The difference between life and death is probably a finer line than most of us ever seriously consider.
• There are people around us every day who serve in law enforcement, fire & rescue squads, medical response teams, and other occupations where they willingly walk into dangerous situations to serve others.  They need and deserve our respect, support, and prayers every day.
• As Christians, we have a message of grace and hope that needs to be heard in places that we will likely find uncomfortable and even dangerous.  What will we do?

Page 5 was the day to try to finally catch up from the long work hours early in the week.  While I enjoy a day off to catch up on rest, it is also good to be able to let Susan sleep in as the ups and downs of the weather this week has been reflected in the way she feels.  As the morning began, I finished going through the photos I took yesterday during a late afternoon hike at Potato Creek.  While the shadows were long, the bright sun shining upon the path was a welcome walking companion.  Today’s photo is a view down one of the old roadway paths with the soon to set sun peeking in from the side.  The scene makes me think of the scripture that describes God’s Word as a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

After Susan got up, I helped her get her meds and breakfast before we headed out for a little road trip to pick up some beef for the freezer.  The outside temperature display in the truck said it was 11 degrees and the weather report on the radio eventually said the wind chill was setting at negative 1 degree.  That was too cold for a family hike, so after going out to have lunch and pick up some groceries, I got on the stationary bike at home and put in a little over 7 miles.  With a bag of Lindt Lindor truffle balls sitting on my desk beside my keyboard I’m not too sure how helpful the walking and biking really is, but I figure it has to help more than not doing it. 🙂  After my “bike ride”, I enjoyed some good chili that MJ made and then began the writing of today’s page.  Overall, an uneventful day and a good day.

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

• Planning for a day of rest each week is not just a good idea, it’s God’s idea.
• Full-time ministry, as well as many other occupations, often requires creativity to be able to make rest a priority.
• Today I thought about the connection I have with my daughter and the way God uses my brain wiring to help me understand her.
• I also thought about how my brain wiring makes it difficult to feel like I fit in anywhere.
• I am thankful that God not only creates each person uniquely, He has a plan and desire to use His unique creations for His purposes.
• Exercise of the body is of some benefit, strengthening my spiritual walk is of greater benefit . . . sometimes I can work on both areas together.
• God’s Word lighting my way is the only way to live.

After finishing out page 3 monitoring the heating systems at work following a power outage, page 4 began with a checking of those systems to make sure the reset had held.  Power outages have had a history of doing strange things to the electronic controls of our HVAC system at work so it was good to see that everything seemed to be running smoothly this morning.  Much of the rest of the morning was spent finishing up the missions record-keeping that was interrupted by yesterday’s loss of electricity.  I also tried to do some follow-up on the status of the upcoming Camp Leaders’ Conference, but found nothing new.  It is scheduled to be held at a hotel in Gatlinburg that had considerable smoke damage from the fires that swept through the area last fall.  It is a beautiful facility and I pray that things are restored enough for the conference to take place at that location as planned.  

Throughout the morning light snow fell steadily and a variety of birds descended upon the brush outside my office window to collect more of the red berries which are still plentiful.  At one point, one of them flew directly into my office window and startled me . . . although it was probably more surprised than I was.  By early afternoon, I had finished up the projects I was working on and headed out to run some work-related errands and stop by the post office to mail out some of the final 2017 Bible reading calendars that I have left. I had a good conversation with the clerk at the post office after she asked about the contents of the mailing.  She noticed that two of them were going to a correctional institution and felt that it was a good thing to be sending positive material to individuals there.

As I finished up my errands and was getting ready for a late lunch, the sun began to break through the clouds.  The mix of sun, clouds, and blue sky seemed to be begging to be photographed so after I grabbed some lunch, my family and I headed down to Potato Creek for a family walk in the rather cold evening air.  By the time we finished a 4+ mile hike, the sun was beginning to set with great beauty in a mostly clear sky.  Today’s photo was taken on our way out of the park as I shot the setting sun through one of the hanging directional signs.  It made me think of the people in the days of Jesus (and today) that kept looking for, wanting, and asking for a sign and completely missed that the light of the world was there right in front of them.

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

• Eating lunch/dinner at midnight isn’t the most conducive to a good night’s sleep.  
• There is always at least one thing that gets missed when you reset clocks, timers, etc after a power outage . . . this time it was the parking lot lights timer.
• There is a difference between giving sacrificially and living sacrificially.  Both are good, but there is a difference.  The important thing is to be doing the one God calls you to do, when He calls you to do it.
• Sometimes opportunities to do good appear so small that we miss their importance.  Always do good to others when you have the opportunity.
• God has promised to put His Spirit within His children so that we can be His light to the world.
• Don’t get hung up with a desire for signs and wonders, God has already made His light shine upon us through His Son, Jesus.

Page 3 of this year’s adventure has been a long day at work.  It wasn’t planned that way, but as I was preparing to leave this afternoon, the electricity went out.  That meant the building’s alarm system would not be powered and it is always uncertain if the boilers will restart on their own after a power outage, so I stayed around to keep an eye on things so I would be there to do a manual restart of the boilers if needed.  With an overcast sky to hide the moon and all of the outside lighting off due to the lack of electricity, it got dark rather quickly.  On one of my rounds through the building after dark I noticed a few deer outside along the fence.  I grabbed my camera and opened up the shutter setting to see if I could get a few half-decent photos.  Today’s photo appears that one of the deer is waiting for me to come out so she can ask about getting a ride. 🙂

My morning consisted of a combination of missions account record-keeping and general maintenance and cleaning.  I had equipment that was due for an inspection/testing in order to get a necessary state permit, so I called to schedule that and they ended up coming out today to get the work done.  I also began ordering books to restock my supply and packed a few of the remaining Bible reading calendars that I had left to send them out to fulfill some requests.  I’ve arranged with the Christian Camp Leaders’ Conference to provide a copy of Impact Prayer Ministry’s latest devotional book to each person attending the upcoming conference, so I’m trying to stretch my available funds to not only have those available, but to have copies of the other books and resources to take to the conference also.

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

• Not every day will go as expected.  In fact, in my experience, most of them probably won’t.  And that’s okay.
• It’s easy to hear what we want to hear instead of what we need to hear.  It’s much better to hear what we need to hear instead of what we want to hear.
• In discussing Sunday’s sermon, people are much more eager to talk about praying with purpose and expectation than they are about praying with repentance.
• Sometimes it is difficult to know how to pray when a request is wrapped around a person or group’s purpose and expectations and you’re trying to pray in a way that honors God’s purpose and expectations.
• An empty building gets cold rather quickly when it’s cold and wet outside and the power goes out.  An empty person gets cold even more quickly when they are disconnected from the power of God.
• God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.  Which side of that equation do you want to be on?  What are you doing about it?
• He who is faithful with a little will be given more; but he who is not faithful, even the little he does have will be taken from him.  How faithful are you with what you’ve been given?

The year 2017 is underway and today is page 2 of this year’s edition of my page-and-photo-a-day adventure.  Susan did not feel well over the weekend, so after working Saturday and Sunday, I worked from home this morning so Susan could get some extra rest.  With the school still on Christmas break I didn’t need to go in and clean this morning, so I settled right in to my Monday morning prayer guide writing routine.  As I spent time with God in prayer, settling on a specific topic seemed elusive for quite some time.  I had a couple ideas cross my mind, but upon checking I found that I had covered those with prayer guides recently.  As I continued to pray and work on coming up with a topic, I eventually settled on the subject of being steadfast, or having steadfast qualities about us.  God wants to grow within us a steadfast spirit that is not tossed about by every wind of doctrine and belief that comes along.  Often the best thing we can do is to stubbornly hold onto the truth that God has revealed in His Word, regardless of all of the attempts of the enemy to deceive us.

Once Susan got up she was feeling better than she had been so by early afternoon we headed out to lunch and to pick up some groceries.  While the forecast had called for rain, by late afternoon it was still dry so we headed out for a family walk at Potato Creek.  While the walk and fresh air does each of us good, there were plenty of opportunities to photograph the surrounding beauty as well.  With a gray and overcast day, I shot many of the photos I took today in black and white.  Today’s photo was a capture across the lake of a reflective tree line silhouetted against the wet ice-covered surface of the lake.  We had just returned to the truck after a 4+ mile walk and it began to rain.  Once home, I fried up some bacon cheeseburgers for supper and then sat down to write today’s page.

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

• Family is a beautiful thing when we learn to care for one another according to each person’s needs.
• I am thankful for the beautiful family that God has blessed me with.
• The joy that Susan brings to life makes the flexibility needed to care for her worth whatever it takes.
• Praying can be hard.  Listening to God can be harder, but it makes the praying easier.
• Some things are my problems to handle with God’s help, others are not.
• Living with a steadfast pursuit of God brings with it a peace that surpasses all understanding.
• Beauty can be found in many places and settings if we are willing to take the time and make the effort to look for it.
• Remembering the lessons from today is easier than remembering the lessons from last week . . . unless I’ve written down last week’s lessons to look back on. 🙂

Today begins page 1 of a new year of yet to be written pages of life.  For me, it was an incredible day of blessing as I was privileged to teach a Bible school lesson on prayer and then preach during the morning service at my home church.  Following the worship gathering, I had lunch with my family then spent some time relaxing before we headed out to enjoy the beautiful afternoon by spending some time walking along the river.  The peace and beauty seen in the sky, and reflected in the river, were great reminders of God’s creativity and presence with us as we begin a new year.

As I reflect on the day, here is a summary of the sermon I shared this morning.  

• Praying with POWER includes . . .
  • Praying with Purpose
    • Powerful prayers are prayers which align with God’s purposes.
  • Praying with Observation
    • Powerful prayers will come from observing both the needs that are around us and the work that God desires to do through us.
  • Praying with Worship
    • Powerful prayers come from a heart of worship.
  • Praying with Expectation
    • Powerful prayers are prayed with the expectation that God will answer.
  • Praying with Repentance
    • Powerful prayers come from a life of repentance.
• Praying with POWER is all about God’s power working in and through us.
• Praying with POWER requires that we “keep on praying and never give up.”

Other thoughts from the day:

• Even when it stretches me outside of my comfort zones, using God’s gifting in my life to glorify Him energizes me.
• God has unique, and sometimes ironic, ways of encouraging his children.  After preaching this morning, I read the following quote in a post shared by a friend: “A thorough knowledge of the Bible is worth more than a college education.”  The quote was attributed to Theodore Roosevelt, but the ironic part is that the original post that my friend shared was written by a preacher who once told me I had no business being in ministry without a college degree. 🙂
• The beauty and details of God’s creativity never cease to amaze me.
• An afternoon walk with the family is always a good thing.