MARCH 2004 In This Issue From The Editor________________Page 2 Friends Along The Trail__________Page 3 Trail Tales_____________________Page 4 Encouraging Gods Children_______Page 5 Newsletters___________________Archives Home Page_________________Trailheads Previous Newsletters  (Archives)  Home Page  (Trailheads) Hiking the Trail of Truth, PO Box 492, Windsor, CA, 95492-0492 Roving Trail Office 707-477-2460 or e-mail mstaylor@sonic.net Page 2 From The Editor...  Hello, and Welcome to the March 2004 Newsletter!  I sincerely hope this day you have allowed the Spirit of God to be active within your heart, and that you are able to perhaps get out for a hike and consider many of the wonders He has made, and to do the best you can to share that inspiration with others. March is another fine month for getting out and seeing the beauty of created things. Though it may still be a bit cold in your area, the hope of Spring is just around the corner and, with that thought in mind, there's nothing like a brisk morning trek to arouse your senses. Part of knowing God is understanding and appreciating, through your senses, those wonders He has made and the blessings He has given you.   And that's just what Hiking the Trail of Truth is all about... There are many journeys into understanding here. If you are unable to get out for a physical hike, just visit our websites' feature trail for this month; the Desert Trail. Your mental trek there can take you where you may be unable to journey physically. The enlightenment, inspiration, knowledge and encouragement found along the 7 hikes there will be well worth your time... WEBSITE NEWS: HTTOTs' Desert Trail, a Native American musical CD, is still available for you to enjoy. I have a copy just for you. Simply drop me a note in the mail to request the CD and I will most gladly mail it to you. There is no charge... Send your request to: HTTOT, Mark S Taylor, PO box 492, Windsor, CA 95492-0492... A description of this CD is available in the August 2003 Newsletter, which you can find in Newsletter Archives. It is quite an inspiring array of music.  Hope to hear from you... We've made some minor changes to the NEWSLETTER this month; 'Encouraging God's Children' is now found on page 4, and 'Trail Tales' can be found on page 5, the last page of the Newsletter. The 'index' appearance and order on the cover page has also changed. We continue our endeavor to make improvements on the website. Don't forget that HTTOT offers FREE COUNSELING to anyone who wants it (Lord knows we all need it). Your varied questions are also important, and are given the utmost consideration in answering them. For you to be aware of the truth, in a world where falsehood abounds, is very important to us. So just write, e-mail, or phone any time. Contact information is listed at the bottom of the cover page of this Newsletter, or you can visit Questions and Answers Trail Camp at the website, where a ''submit a question' link is provided... If you do not have a computer or Internet access, you may be interested in a printed copy of Hiking the Trail of Truth (the website, volume IV). If so, please write and let me know. I will make one just for you should you request it. This volume is a printing of the November 2003 website edition. Note: It will not contain the Mountain and Valley Trail; 366 daily devotionals, which will make up a separate printed edition, Lord willing, in 2004. It will also not contain the Monthly Newsletter, save one sample copy (Nov 2003)... Next months' Letter from the Editor; The Stones Cry Out ! THIS MONTH: Those self-help books; friend or foe? Lots of self-help books out there, are there not? With the introduction of modern psychology in the twentieth century, self-help books have been constantly increasing in number, style, and variety. Self-help books outnumber and sell more than any other books of any type in the world. The question is, do these self-help books really help? That is a very broad question. It depends mainly on the selected topic of the book. We are more concerned here with the self-help books that relate to human psychology regarding self-improvement and/or spiritual growth. Within this particular area, self-help books can be quite deceitful. In order to be truthful, any self-help book that claims that there is no one in the world who does good, that no one person is better than any other person, and that you can accomplish absolutely nothing on your own, is a very good book. I personally know of only one self-help book that holds entirely true to this claim, and that book is the Bible. Is the Bible really a self-help book? You bet!  In fact, it is God's only written revelation to mankind—the "operating manual", if you will, for the human race; the instruction booklet for each and every one of us as individuals, and as a whole. It is the only completely accurate self-help book in the entire world. The Bible teaches us that we are lost. In our present state, we are the most miserable of creatures and doomed only for destruction. There is no self-improvement that we alone can be successful at, because there is no way we can improve ourselves. Man is a fallen being. Our self righteousness is like old filthy, oily rags. We live, we decay, we die, just like everything around us, and that's just the way it is. There are no ifs', ands' or buts' about it, in spite of the myriad of world philosophy to the contrary. Your diet, your exercise, your work habits, your health and welfare habits won't really do a thing for you. The truth is, you are dead while you live. That's the long and the short of it. Yet, there is one thing that can change all of that. It's called HOPE; The blessed hope, revealed only by Jesus Christ, the Son of God, through the great and precious promises written within the self-help book we call, the Bible. There you will discover who you are, who you are not, and what you can become. It is truly all you'll ever need for absolute, guaranteed success. Next month, we will take a look at The Stones Cry Out !  Until then, I thank you for and am honored by your time spent with, Letter from the Editor. Sincerely, Mark S Taylor, HTTOT Back to top Page 3 Friends Along The Trail We began this new series in June of 2002 and, thanks to positive subscriber responses, we've been able to continue it, thank the Lord, in subsequent issues. Within this particular series I have been reflecting on how certain friends, relatives and strangers have influenced me over the years of my own life and times. As Christians we are instructed to encourage one another daily. Lord knows that I have been encouraged many times over the years through the words, actions, and associations of others. It is indeed then time to honor them. I have honored some of them before, yet, honoring others is something we really can't overdo for those truly deserving of it. Sometimes it takes considerable journeying through life before we learn the value of honoring others. I sincerely hope that my reflections on these "special characters" of my lifetime will cause you yourself to consider the God given blessings that special characters have had upon your own life... I never met John Muir, but I have encountered a few such mountain men and women along the trail of life when I was working for the Forest Service and managing campgrounds, from 1997 to 2002. To this day I long to return to the life of a wanderer, to share times with folks like those with whom I was associated during my years in outdoor recreation. There was a lot of time to talk about God in those days. There was time to hike many trails in the wilderness and to observe the majesty of His creation. It was indeed a time of learning, and inspired this series, Hiking the Trail of Truth. I sincerely hope that, in the near future, I can return to the life-style that helped me so much to understand what life was truly all about. I thank the Lord for the wisdom gleaned, and for the many spiritual encounters with various folks along those trails, who are always in my prayers. My heartfelt thanks to; Thom, Sandie, John, Frank, Mike, Patrick, Steve, Rita, Ron, Storm, Emil, Ray, and several others who were a part of those wondrous experiences. Thank you, Lord, for these renowned friends along the trail of life. Thank you for allowing these thoughts of them to surface within my heart. Please protect their families and continue to bless them in this life.  Next month we'll ride once again with some Friends Along the Trail. Any subscribers or viewers who wish to honor their friends, you're welcome to write in to: Hiking the Trail of Truth, PO Box 492, Windsor, CA 95492-0492, or e-mail mstaylor@sonic.net. Back to top Page 4 Encouraging Gods' Children Here is this months' list of those who need encouragement through your prayers and letters. I hope you will take the time to encourage them... Some of their problems are personal and we will respect their privacy, leaving it up to those individuals to share at their discretion. Please pray for them and write to them (I can provide addresses for you. Please call, E-mail or write to me for that information). Encouragement is a noble thing and a profound way to honor God through lifting up His children... Please inform me if you would like to add anyone to our prayer list. Let us this month encourage and pray for... Carlie, granddaughter of Jim and Cheryl Marton... was born with a deformity in her right leg. Carlie has been taken to some specialists by her parents, Brian and Jill, and we ask that you pray for this beautiful child, so that the Lord will allow her to recover and hike some great trails, and that her parents and grandparents will remain strong during your time of prayer and the childs' difficulty. Belle Basler of Windsor, California... Belle is experiencing a need for you to pray for her son, who is undergoing personal difficulty at this time. Storm Yetter, Kalispell, Montana... Storm is experiencing some very trying difficulties at this time. Please pray that she will continue to seek the guidance of the Lord, and lean not on her own understanding. Pray that she will be strong and patient as He works in her life. *Update January 30th... I heard from her just recently, and your continued prayers are being answered! Hang in there, Storm! The family of Aiden Craig Cieszkowski... Aiden is a premature infant, born November 3rd to Frank and Christina Cieszkowski. This child is in the company of many other premature children. Please pray for him, his family, and his many little friends. I just heard that the boy is doing much better, and some of his friends are as well! Please continue your prayers for these children. Here is a March 7th UPDATE from Aiden's grandma... Subject: Aiden Update > Hi Everyone, > > This is the update I have been waiting over 4 months to send....Aiden is coming home today!!!!!!!! He is 7lbs. 14 oz., he will be coming home with the feeding tube still in. This is not a big thing - he takes most of his feedings well but once in a while he just gets too tired and falls asleep so the remainder of his feeding goes in the tube. They don't want him to lose any of the nutrients he needs. I know that when Frank and Christina have him home they will be able to spend more time on his feedings than the nurses were able to. Speaking of the nurses (and doctors) in the neo-natal intensive care unit...they are the most talented and dedicated professionals I have ever had the privilege of meeting. Never once did I hear them complain about the work they had to do or the amount of work they had. And believe me, they were swamped with things to do for those little ones. > > I hope that Aiden's story will be of some comfort to all of you and anyone that you may know who encounters similar circumstances. His early birth (23 weeks 6 days gestational period) and low birth weight (1 lb 7 ozs) did not offer a lot of hope for his survival. But by the grace of God he has overcome many hurdles. > > May God bless all of you and I thank you for all your prayers and well wishes over the past 4 months... I'll keep you posted.  Love, Grandma Aiden Pray for those less fortunate than us, like Ron and Steve, two of many homeless in this Santa Rosa, California area. Those with no work or no income. Those who don't have 75 cents to enjoy the taste of refrigerated milk, a Coca-Cola, or a bottle of cold water. Those who sit alone, without the encouragement of friends. And, those who don't share the benefits of peace, who can't go out in the night without getting shot, robbed or molested. Our world is indeed full of wickedness—there is indeed darkness under the sun. Pray earnestly for the safety of Gods' children until our Lords' return... Please remember all of the homeless and the poor of the world again this month. Try to locate a homeless person and help them in any way that you can... Continue to pray for all of those in need of daily bread, and please pray earnestly for all the people of the world in which we live, in every country, that men and women will desire to find wisdom, that they will turn and seek God's face in this world full of spiritual blindness, rebellion and increasing depravity. The Lord's coming will not be delayed much longer. Endeavor to encourage others to seek Him, in truth, while there is still time. Father, grant us the humility to seek Your face for the well being of others. Help us to reach out to them, with kindness, in word and in deed. We are, each one of us, in need of Your guidance in the use of possessions, our prosperity, our tongues and our talents. Though we are quite unworthy, we ask you to bless our efforts... In the name of your glorious Son, Jesus, we pray. Back to top Page 5 Trail  Tales Previous episodes of Trail Tales can be found in Newsletter Archives The Incredible Story of HIGH SIERRA ED Episode Three (final) "If you're John Muir," I said, "I'm Jeremiah Johnson, because John Muir has been dead nearly a hundred years." He was silent for a moment, then he spoke. "Well, I ain't dead yet—been here since 1914. That's when they said I died. Don't you know that the true spirit of a mountain man lives forever?  'Course I ain't got no way to prove to you that I am he, except by the dates carved on that rock wall yonder." He pointed a finger at the rock face opposite where I was standing. "You're a very privileged man—the first to lay eyes on me in all that time. I figure there's a reason for it. Therefore, I'm about to pass onto you some wisdom, so you might take a seat by the fire here and listen up. Sit down and believe in me for a bit," he motioned. I took a seat across from him at the fire. He began to talk immediately of his adventures in the High Sierra. He preached about the wonders of the high country like a missionary offering the gospel, suggesting the Scripture, "He hath builded the mountains."  He spoke of gardens and ridges, about being on his knees gazing into the face of a daisy, climbing again and again among the purple and azure flowers of the hemlocks, the treasuries of the snow, and gazing afar over domes and peaks, lakes and woods, and the billowy glaciated fields of the upper Tuolomne, and trying to sketch them. "In the midst of such beauty, pierced with its rays, one's body is all one tingling palate," were his words. Who wouldn't be a mountaineer?!  Up here all of the world's prizes seem indeed as nothing. I believe the time I spent sitting at that fire, listening to John Muir talk of his exploits and discoveries, was the most enchanting and rewarding time of my life. I finally fell asleep in front of that fire, and when I woke up, John Muir was gone. I couldn't even find a track. But on the rock wall, among other carvings, was freshly written in charcoal; Muir passed it on to High Sierra Ed, 1998.  I still don't understand what took place there, but one thing I do tell to everyone I get to jawin' with now: Oh come, Let us sing to the Lord. Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving. Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. For the Lord is the great God, and the great King above all gods. In his hand are the deep places of the earth; the heights of the hills are His also. The sea is His, for He made it, and His hands formed the dry land. I beheld the mountains, and His law took hold in my heart. The End Thank you so much for hiking with us through the March issue of the Hiking the Trail of Truth Newsletter. Until April then, may the grace of our Lord Jesus be upon you... Sincerely, Mark S Taylor Back to top [Home] [Hiking Maps & Trailheads] [Bible Map] [Trail of Time] [New Birth Trail] [False Trail] [Mountain & Valley Trail] [Desert Trail] [Lake Trail] [High Sierra Trail] [Monthly Newsletter] [Questions & Answers] [Newsletter Archives] HIKING THE TRAIL OF TRUTH Mark S. Taylor (707) 477-2460