Page 282 was a beautiful fall day and a good day for a family adventure!  The cooler temperatures yesterday led me to drinking too much coffee, so my night was rather restless.  I suppose it was a good thing that I was restless as during the night someone had completely missed the spiritual concern and point that I had made in a social media post and they tried to make it into something political.  The good news is that I had a couple friends who understood what I had posted and gave the same response I would have had I not gone to sleep after the posting.  During one of my middle of the night awake times, I noticed the back and forth that had taken place and realized that once the post had been made political it would no longer have the meaning it was intended to have, so I took it down in the middle of the night before it got out of hand even further.

It did make me realize that I need to find a way to use social media in the positive ways that I attempt to do with my Tom’s Treasure, Impact Prayer Ministry, and Tom Lemler Photography pages without allowing everything else that is on it to distract me.  I’m not sure what that will look like yet, but these page-and-photo-a-day writings are linked to show up on my social media feeds automatically so they will continue regardless of what my social media usage looks like over the next month.  At some point early in the morning, I finally went to sleep and stayed asleep until morning arrived and it was time to get up.  Once up, I spent some time with God and continued to wrestle with the words to a poem for tomorrow.  As I wrestled, I worked on getting Susan up until she finally decided it was time to wake up and get dressed for the day.  Once she was ready, we headed out on a Saturday family adventure.  Our first stop was lunch, then our first real stop was at Salamonie Reservoir as I was looking for Three Falls Trail that I had read about online.  I found the information I needed and drove up the road to Salamonie River State Forest, where the trail is.  It was a beautiful walk and I found all three falls along the trail — only there was no water!  One of the falls had a slight trickle of water dripping over its face, but the other two had a damp look to them but no visible signs of water.  I guess spring might be a better time to actually see the three falls.

As we wandered our way home, I had a couple covered bridges on my list to stop and photograph.  Both of them were supposed to be open to traffic but the first one we stopped at was blocked off and chairs were set up inside the bridge for a wedding to take place later in the day.  We still managed a few photos and as we were leaving I noticed a sign for a mill.  It turned out to be an operating grain mill established in 1857.  They tried to get us to take a tour but we settled for wandering around the outside taking photos.  After that, it was on to the next covered bridge where I took the photo for today’s page.  This bridge we had driven over and while I was wandering around it taking pictures, I walked underneath it and took a photo.  Many covered bridges are no longer open to vehicle traffic because their support structures have been deemed unsatisfactory.  I have seen some beautiful looking bridges that have been closed to traffic because a careful inspection of what is under the bridge determined it would not be able to support the additional weight of vehicles.  I took this photo because most of the photos you will see of covered bridges, and most of the ones I take, are of the top part of the bridge.  That is what draws our attention and makes it identifiable to the average person.  In fact, sometimes there is so much attention paid to the visible part of the bridge, and not to the supporting structure, that it can be on the verge of collapse and no one will notice until it is too late.

As I thought about the day, I wondered how often we spend the majority of our time, and maybe even all of our time, working on the part of our life that everyone else sees without paying attention to the foundation it rests upon.  While my bridge photo shows some of the support structure for the bridge, there is a critical element to it that does its work completely unseen.  Without the visible support structure resting on, and securely fastened to, a solid foundation, the bridge is subject to movement that would eventually destroy it.  Our entire life, including the visible support structures that we have, must rest securely on the foundation of God’s Word if we are to have any hope of enduring the storms of life.  

I pray that you and I would seek God during our restless moments of life and pay attention to the things He may desire for us to do during those restless times.  I pray that we would value the people God has put in our life and find ways to enjoy this adventure of life together.  I pray that we would live a life that is not dried up but flows constantly with the love of God.  I pray that we would not only pay attention to the visible parts of our life that others see, but that we would daily work on the structures which support us as we remain firmly placed on the foundation of God’s Word.

Page 281 is a good example of how writing these daily pages can be a useful exercise even if I am the only one who benefits from them.  I read a question the other day that went something like this, “Did you really have a bad day or did you have a bad five minutes that you’re holding onto for the whole day?”.  My mind seems drawn to holding onto the bad five minutes, or whatever length of time, of the day and forgetting the good the rest of the day held.  These daily pages help me to look back on the day and usually see beyond the bad moments — yes, there have been some days when the bad seemed to outweigh any good and finding the good has been extremely difficult, but most days the good isn’t that hard to see if I just look. 

My morning began early with the cleaning, building prep, and taking out trash to start the day.  Once again the sun was working its way up over the horizon and I was greeted with its great beauty as I took the trash out.  There were fewer clouds this morning so it had a very different look than yesterday but it was still a beautiful reminder of God’s creativity.  Once the building was ready for the day I did some follow-up with some correspondence from yesterday about having a prayer ministry display at two different camp conferences early next year.  Being that the idea for my latest devotional book came from a camp conference early this year, I expect God to use that resource specifically to minister to these two conferences.  With that correspondence sent off, I spent some time working on a new display banner, which will highlight the Serving God book, to use at the camp conferences.  My next project was spending more time with God in trying to come up with a poem to share.  I would have thought that out of over 120 poems that God has already given me to write, surely one of them would be what He would have me to share.  While the idea for some of them have been planted in my mind by suggestions or requests from people, they have all just shown up in my mind without my really working on them.  In almost every way, this request was different than any other but I really expected God to lead me to one of my existing poems to share — so far that’s not been the case.  Because of the situation, the distractions are heavy but I do keep getting short snippets of what I think is coming together in time for Sunday.

By mid-afternoon my mind was tired so I headed out to lunch and made a quick trip to Potato Creek.  You could definitely tell the seasons are changing.  When I left the building, I was comfortable in shorts and a t-shirt but when I got to the park, it was downright chilly.  The air temperature had dropped more than 10 degrees during my 10 minute drive.  Not only did it feel like fall, it is beginning to look more and more like fall as additional colors are showing up in the tree line around the lake.  It was a peaceful time for a brisk walk and a reminder of God’s presence.  When I returned to work for the Friday evening cleaning and getting the building ready for the weekend, there were things on my social media newsfeed that I found very disturbing and inappropriate.  Being that their visibility on my newsfeed was because of Christian friends liking and sharing them, I almost let the bad five minutes turn into a bad day.  But as I began cleaning and praying and then eventually sat down to right today’s page, God reminded me of the good He had put into the day.  

I pray that you and I would understand the difference between a bad day and a bad five minutes.  I pray that we would make the most of the opportunities that God gives us.  I pray that we would seek God even more diligently when our tasks seem overwhelming.  I pray that we would guard the words we use in speech, social media, and other means of communication.

Page 280 is a good example of why I actually like the long Wednesday and Friday workdays.  I was able to sleep in (which for me has now become anything past 8 AM) this morning, but more importantly, Susan was able to sleep in even longer.  Today was a nice summer day and tomorrow is supposed to be a fall-like day which keeps things interesting — especially in Susan’s seizure-producing brain, so it’s good to let her sleep when she can.  While not a workday, I spent a good part of the morning with God trying to come up with a poem that I’ve been asked to share.  The words that do come don’t seem appropriate, fitting, or polite and since I still have those filters working most of the time, I keep seeking God’s face for the right words.  Lunch was pork chops slow-cooked on the pellet grill and then I spent some time playing games and going through yesterday’s photo.  

The photo on today’s page is one I took during my lunch break yesterday as the sun broke through the clouds.  It was a peaceful scene that reminded me of God’s generosity in pouring out the light of His Spirit on His children.  It also made me wonder how much of that light is visible through us within the dark world we live in.  God says that He will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast in their trust of Him.  While that is easy to read, it is difficult to believe and even harder to put into practice.  It is so easy to let things and circumstances distract our mind from being steadfast on God’s Word and His love for us.  We think we have to “fix” things that are beyond our control and ability so our peace slowly slips away as we realize our attempts at control are not accomplishing what we hoped for.  When peace dissipates from our life, it is gradually replaced with fear which often turns to anger.  I know, I’ve been down that path more often than I would like to admit.  When fear and anger show up, a defensive posture and language soon follow.  And when our position is indefensible, we begin to attack anyone who holds a view that is different than ours.  When we’re in attack mode, there is no room in our life for the steadfast peace that God desires to give us.

So, how do we get this “perfect peace”?  For me, at this particular time, a beginning step is to “hide” all social media posts that come from pages that spew hatred and attacks — and it doesn’t matter which candidate for which office is being attacked, it automatically gets a “hide all posts from . . .” click.  When the hate-filled posts continue to show up, I then “unfollow” anyone who is consistently “liking”, “sharing”, or commenting on such posts so that these actions don’t show up on my social media timeline.  One thing I’ve noticed about doing this, is that I rarely see political posts — no one seems to be posting anything positive about the candidate they support, just hate-filled rhetoric about the opposition.  By removing those words and images from my view each day, it becomes easier to keep my mind steadfast on the things of God that it ought to dwell on.  It seems our enemy has done a good job of convincing us that our battle is against flesh and blood, so on we fight.  My constant prayer through all of this social media cleansing is that God’s people would recognize the real enemy, and it’s not one another — ti’s not even flesh and blood!

I pray that you and I would practice using the filters of reason, common sense, and God’s Word before we communicate in any form.  I pray that we would seek the perfect peace that God wants us to have.  I pray that we would understand the specific things that distract us from having a mind that is steadfast on the things of God.  I pray that we would do whatever it takes to remove the distractions that lead us to fear and anger.  I pray that we would put on the full armor of God as we find ourselves in a spiritual battle.  I pray that our battle lines would not be drawn against people, but against the forces of evil that operate in the heavenly realms.

Page 279 has been one of those days that kind of just go by in a blur and while they seem to last forever, before you know it, its gone.  Wednesdays have become one of my long workdays as I was at work before 6:30 this morning and came home around 10 this evening with about an hour lunch break thrown in for good measure.  On that lunch break, I stopped by the riverwalk and shot today’s photo as the slow shutter speed gives me the impression of this great bird standing still while life flows by it at warp speed.  

After doing the morning cleaning and prep, I headed out to mow before daylight so I could get the areas around the building done before the school day started.  I did have to take a short break in the mowing to grab a camera as the sun was coming up through the clouds in the eastern horizon.  It was a beautiful sight to behold and photograph.  Once I had taken a few photos, it was back to mowing and enjoying the peaceful prayer time that comes with it.  A good amount of my prayer time was focused on praying about the great divide that exists within the Christian community here in the United States.  I have no real way of knowing how widespread the divide really is, nor how the numbers fall on either side of the divide, but I do know by watching my social media feed that each side of the divide has great animosity toward the other.  I have friends that share writings from different great Christian leaders and theologians who write from complete opposite viewpoints why one political party’s candidate for president is the “more Christian” choice than the other and why a vote for the other candidate is the most  un-Christian thing you could do.  Mind you, I see these postings claiming to offer absolute proof why they’re right both for and against each candidate.  While these, and the spirit in which they come across, are bad enough, the tone and language in the disagreeing responses are even more unsettling.  It’s as if the “expert” writers feed the conclusion that voting in agreement with them is the determining factor of a person’s Christianity.  It appears that far to many people are willing to be helped along to that conclusion.

After I finished my prayer time from the mower seat, I laid out the lesson plan of my Wednesday evening class then headed out for a late lunch and a short walk.  When I returned to work, I went back through the material for the evening class.  The material I am using is designed to give an overview of the Bible in 52 weekly sessions.  Last week was the introduction to the series and tonight we dug into the creativity of God found in the creation account.  As I connected that in my mind to my earlier prayer time, I thought about how God has created each of us as unique and valuable beings in His image.  There isn’t any of us that has full knowledge and is right all the time, yet how often do we act like we have all knowledge and are always right in all things?  It is not until we begin to see the value of one another that we will even be willing to listen with ears that are actually open to hearing.  The picture that the church presents of Christ ought to be one of love one for another.  At least that is what I understand Jesus to say, that the world will know we are His disciples by our love for one another.  What does the world see about Jesus when they look at you and me?

I pray that you and I would spend time praying for, and seeking, peace for our nation.  I pray that we would be careful what we share, and how we respond to what others share, on social media and in person.  I pray that we would have a greater understanding of the value God sees in each person whether we fully agree with them or not.  I pray that we would grow in our listening skills.  I pray that our love for one another would be the predominant and identifying feature of the church today.

Page 278 was a good day with a decent balance of work and family time.  I did my early morning cleaning and as I stopped by my office for a cup of coffee, there were two deer standing outside my office window.  I got a camera out but it was too dark outside to get a usable picture through the window.  We watched each other for a moment then we each went our own way to finish our morning routines.  They went back to work trimming the brush along the edge of the woods and I went back to the cleaning and building prep work for the day.  Once the building was ready, I spent the rest of the workday on a variety of writing and lesson prep tasks.  

By mid-afternoon my workday was finished and I headed home.  It was a beautiful fall day so we threw our cameras in the truck and headed to Elkhart to do some walking and picture taking at a new location for us.  When I have time, I look for area locations that might have some good photo opportunities and one of the ones that came up in my search was the Wellfield Botanical Gardens in Elkhart, Indiana.  Tuesdays are free admission days at the gardens so it was a good day to check it out.  It turned out to be a beautiful location with work currently going on that should add even more beauty.  Even in a fall season where many of the flowering plants are done for the season and others are beyond their peak, there were plenty of good photos waiting to be taken.  The paths throughout the gardens were all hard-surface so it was easy to get through it with Susan in her wheelchair.  When we finished there, we headed over to Mishawaka primarily to walk the riverwalk but managed a few photos there as well. 🙂

Today’s photo comes from the botanical gardens where these wild flowers were blowing in the wind almost begging to be photographed.  They were moving around so much that it was quite a task to keep them in focus, and in the viewfinder, long enough to snap the photo.  It only took three or four tries but I did manage to get the picture I wanted.  I usually see a photo I want to take before I even think about shooting it.  Sometimes I get what I’m after on the first shot.  Other times, it takes numerous attempts to get the right angle, right lighting, right content, and right whatever else there is that could go wrong.  And then there are the times when I give up — I either miss the opportunity or I get tired of trying.  Life is a lot like that, isn’t it?  When we spend time with God we begin to see and visualize the good He has for us.  Sometimes it is so clear and so easy that it seem like we just walk into it and it is ours.  Other times it is a struggle where it feels like we are battling against everything that could go wrong but we keep at it until we are eventually rewarded with what we are pursuing.  Yet there are also those times when we give up.  We’ve attempted to reach the goodness God has for us for so long that we become weary and conclude it isn’t possible and wasn’t meant for us.  Sometimes we have a glimpse of the good God wants to share with us but we wait for so long that we miss the current opportunity and we wonder if another opportunity will ever come our way.

I pray that you and I would be diligent about the work God has called us to.  I pray that we would find the appropriate balance between providing for our family and being with our family.  I pray that we would be aware of the many reminders of His beauty that God surrounds us with on a daily basis.  I pray that we would spend time with God, watching and waiting for the good that He desires to share with us.  I pray that we would rejoice when the good things from God are easily obtainable.  I pray that we would persevere when those good things take multiple attempts and effort to bring them into our life.  I pray that we would seek refuge in God when an opportunity slips by us or we become to weary to continue pursuing it.

Page 276 was filled with the usual variety of Monday tasks as well as a few extras.  It was up early and in to work to get the building cleaned and ready for the school day.  Once the building was ready and the students began arriving, I took care of some messages and correspondence then settled in to spend time with God as we put together the prayer guide for next week.  After considering several options, I settled on the topic of prosperity.  As I wrote in the prayer guide introduction, I know Christians who believe God wants every believer to live in financial prosperity and the only reason we don’t is our lack of faith.  I also know Christians who basically take a vow of poverty and believe Christians should not accumulate any material possessions.  The fascinating part is that you can find examples on either end of the spectrum in the Bible among individuals who followed God.  So, the prayer guide will take a different approach to prosperity than what the world typically would.  Each day next week will focus on something the Bible says will lead us to prosper — but prosper according to God’s definition and eternal perspective, not necessarily our definition.

As I was working on the prayer guide, a box of booklets was delivered by UPS.  This was a collaborative effort as Mary Jane put some early childhood activities on each page of the booklet to go along with the animal alphabet poem I had written.  I had the completed booklet professionally printed in order to give the preschool students something special that they can enjoy as they learn.  While the work and purpose of this edition is “in house” to provide a resource for the preschool Mary Jane directs, I have considered finding an illustrator to make the booklet into an illustrated children’s book.  Today’s photo is of the front and back of two of the booklets showing the cover spread using a photo I took at the zoo.  I think it is a fun little poem and I pray that the students who use these booklets will be encouraged to have fun as they learn.  I’m not sure what, if anything more, God wants to do with this booklet but I am thankful that He continues to trust me with writing assignments even when I don’t understand why I am writing them.

Once the prayer guide was finally finished for next week and sent to the church office so they have it for the bulletin, I spent some time going through the lesson material for my 1st through 3rd grade Wednesday evening Bible class.  I like to go through it multiple times leading up to the class so I’m familiar with it and can be prepared with any extra resources that would help teach the lesson.  When I was in children’s and youth ministry, one of the most difficult things to do was to get my volunteer teachers to look through the provided material ahead of time.  Now I try to be the volunteer that I wanted others to be. 🙂

As the morning slipped away, I had some cleaning supplies that I needed to pick up before tomorrow so I put away my lesson material and prepared to go get the things I needed.  I asked Susan if she wanted to go with me and probably because it was nearing lunch time, she said yes.  We ran all of our errands and picked up the necessary supplies before stopping for lunch.  It is such a blessing that I have a job where I can spend time with my daughter and take her with me from time to time when I need to get supplies.  

After the workday was done, it was time to head home and work on setting a post to install a handrail along our front steps.  The outdoor temperature seemed rather cool until I began digging and all of a sudden the sweat began to roll.  Once the hole was dug, the post set, and concrete mixed and poured, it was time to fire up the pellet grill and get some chicken cooking for supper.  Now I’m enjoying a relaxing evening and thanking God for giving me kingdom work to do and a family to do it with.

I pray that you and I would be deliberate about spending time with God even in the routines of life.  I pray that we would seek to prosper in a way that has more meaning than financial and a longer impact than this life.  I pray that we would find joy in the tasks God sets before us, even when we think the tasks seem out of the ordinary.  I pray that we would look for ways to spend time with, and value, our families.  I pray that God would grant each of us the rest we need in order to accomplish the work He has for us to do.