JULY, AUGUST, SEPTEMBER 2004 IN THIS ISSUE From The Editor.......................Page 2 Friends Along The Trail...........Page 3 Encouraging God's Children....Page 4 Trail Tales................................Page 5 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 July, August, September 2004 Newsletter!  I sincerely hope this day you have allowed the Spirit of God to be active within your heart, and that you are perhaps able to get out for a hike and consider many of the wonders He has made, and to do the best you can to share that unique inspiration with others along the daily trails of your life. This quarter of the year brings Summer to all regions of our country... Just a few weeks ago, I had the honor of baptizing Jordan Reed. For him it is Spring. As this young man takes on new life in Christ, may the seasons of his life reflect deeper understanding and growth.  From his new birth at baptism, he will now begin a profound journey on life's road, walking through the seasons of his life in the ever brightening light of God's truth, under the sanctifying protection of the blood of Christ...and that's just what Hiking the Trail of Truth is all about... a help for you as well, as it has been for Jordan, in finding your way in a world full of spiritual darkness. There are many journeys into understanding God's promises here. If you have been or are unable to get out this summer for a physical hike, just visit our websites' feature trail for this quarter; the Desert Trail. Your mental trek there through the desert southwest can take you where you may be unable to journey physically. The enlightenment, inspiration, knowledge and encouragement which you can find along the 7 hikes there will be well worth your time... WEBSITE NEWS: Sadly, due to some personal schedule changes, the Monthly Newsletter will run quarterly for the remainder of this year. I apologize to you, dear readers, for this inconvenience. Page 4, Encouraging God's Children, will however be updated on a monthly basis, so please check the prayer list each month, and kindly continue your prayers for the folks on that list. Thank you, so much! 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 with your request... 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, and is indeed educational in the spiritual realm. Note: It will not contain the Mountain and Valley Trail; 366 daily devotionals, which will make up a separate printed edition, Lord willing, in 2005. It will also not contain the Monthly Newsletter, save one sample copy (Nov 2003)... I also have available at your request the original booklet, Hiking the Trail of Truth, a Profound Look at Pure Reality (August 2000), and volume 2 in the HTTOT series, The Monuments (December 2000). These books are great learning tools, free of charge, and so I will be looking forward to your order. 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... Next quarter's Letter from the Editor; God's Grace and You. THIS MONTH: Your time well spent. It is difficult to slow down in today's world, is it not? When you do have a little spare time, what do you do? Where do you go?  Just recently, I was allowed to spend about a week in the eastern Sierra, probably my most favorite place in all of the great west (pictures on cover). I needed that late May trip for some spiritual nourishment, and will hopefully return there again in September. The range of the Sierra Nevada mountains from Yosemite to Lone Pine and Mt. Whitney is one of the most inspiring evidences of God's handiwork that there is. A vast stretch of white granite, shaped by the great flood of Noah, this particular section of the High Sierra can cause your spirit to soar like the eagle. There are single granite boulders there so large that it would take you several hours just to climb to the top of one of them! There are cathedral-like spires of rock that are unmatched anywhere in the world. Looking at, hiking on, and sitting among these wonders, one can began to understand why God Himself is described as the great rock of refuge. Here, one becomes reverently aware of His total and complete awesomeness. Anytime that you spend your time thinking about God and his creation is indeed time well spent. It can be a time of great self discovery, comfort and encouragement. It can help you to understand the building blocks of hope. Hope is a great rock of refuge in the stormy, devastating times in which we live. Hope in God is the only hope in which the expectation of its fulfillment can be without any doubt achieved or accomplished. Hope is the anchor for the weary soul (Hebrews 6:19). Part of knowing God is understanding that hope in Him and His promises is what gets you "successfully" through each one of your days on this earth. The earthly or "natural" mind, not set on God or His wonders, will never completely satisfy. We are each prone to wander. Our natural desires are not to believe in God or walk pleasingly before Him. Our natural self fights against His request to be just, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God. Therefore, we need to work with great effort both mentally and physically at spending our time well, by seeking His truth, that we might learn how to properly "fight the good fight". That is truly time well spent. It is a great comfort at the end of a day to watch the sunset and know that you have spent your time in honoring God through the things He has made. He is worthy of praise, and praise should be on our tongues in all of lifes' circumstances, good or bad. Whenever you feel bitterness, resentment or anger, praise God. Whenever you feel hope, joy and love, praise God. Look at the mountains, the hills, the trees or the fields and shout, "The Lord is my refuge and my strength... He who made the heavens and the earth and all that is in them! Glory and honor to Him forever! I shall not be afraid no matter what happens, for my life is in Your hands!  Blessed be Thy name in all the earth!"  This admonition from the heart will get you in the right frame of mind for daily living, and is indeed time well spent. Through this practice you will grow in wisdom, knowledge and strength, as you learn to overflow with hope in God. In the next Newsletter, we will take a look at God's Grace and You.  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... Within this series I've talked about many friends along the trail of life, but I've never talked about my best friend. Do you have a best friend? If so, what is he or she like?  Let me take some time here to tell you a little about my best friend, may I?   My best friend is extremely "friendly". Whenever I have needed help he has been there, and it seems that there is nothing he says or does that has not been for my benefit. His mouth is full of encouragement, and I have found no deceit on his tongue. Whenever I make mistakes, which is quite often, my friend never puts me down or treats me in an inferior way, in fact, he continues his kindness, and helps me to work through my shortcomings, never holding them against me; when a true friend is for you he is never against you!  He is always so patient, an attribute which I myself so long for just as sentinels long for the dawn. I so want to be a friend to others as this particular friend is to me. It is so difficult to find a friend like him in the world in which we live. Do you have a friend like this who sticks closer than a brother or a sister? Can you count on your friend no matter what the need or the circumstances? How fortunate I am to have such a friend! There is no other friend like him... but there should be. No, there is no other friend like Jesus. He truly walks with me and talks with me and tells me that I am His own. He is my refuge and my strength; trust in Him at all times, O people. Pour out your hearts to Him for God is our refuge! (Psalm 62:7-8) Thank you, Lord, for the friendship along the trail of life which You have given me. Thank You for allowing these thoughts of You to surface within my heart. Please continue to teach me to give this unselfish love to others, for we learn to love because You first loved us.—  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. THIS COUPLE NEEDS OUR PRAYERS... PLEASE read this. IT MUST BE TERRIBLY DIFFICULT TO BE IN IRAQ WITH A SICK WIFE AT HOME. Bobby S. Briggs, MSgt, USA 823 ESFS/SFOC Flight Sergeant, BAGHDAD AB, IRAQ... Tough times don't last... Tough people do !!! My name is Gary Hogan. Some of you receiving this know me, some do not. My wife, Cindy, is 32 years old and has just been diagnosed 3 days ago with stage 4 cervical cancer, and her chances for survival are very slim. She was pregnant with our second child and had miscarried recently at 3 months, and now we know why. Please pray and ask everyone you know to pray for the HEALING of Cindy, the removal of all cancer in her body, so that she may enjoy all that life has to offer and to continue to be the wonderful mother to our 5 year old son, Michael. The power of Prayer is unsurpassed. I want the whole world to have her in their prayers the next few weeks. God will hear our cry. Please do not be offended by my plea. This is only a request for your help. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading this and helping with our request for healing. No words can express the power we have when we each do a little to come together. Regards, Cindy's in-love husband - Gary... Thank you. Update on Carli !  Just wanted to let you all know that Carli goes back to Baltimore on Sept. 23. She will be reevaluated to see if they need to move some of her surgery up a bit. She just weighed in at 13 pounds 14 ounces and is 25 1/2 inches long, for her four month check up. Growing like a weed. Here is a recent picture of our little sweetie, in the swing up in Mich. Isn't she a doll?  Love, Cheryl, and thanks so much for your prayers. Let us this month also encourage and pray for... Diane (Peacock) Merrill, of Wooster, Ohio... A friend of my daughter's from her old work, was in a bad motorcycle accident with her husband and another couple. Everyone is now out of the hospital but her. She has pins in both her legs, a bar that goes in one hip and out the other, holding her pelvis area together (it is crushed), plates and pins in her right arm and she is on a breathing tube. They originally said she would only last a few hours. She has been holding strong for 45 days, and she really needs a lot of prayers. She has also suffered a small stroke as a result of all the injuries and continues to have blood transfusions because she cannot make it fast enough. Several funds are set up in her and her husbands name to help pay the bills while they are out of work. Her husband suffered a crushed leg and has pins and rods holding it together. He still cannot put pressure on it for at least another 30 days, and I am sure will have a lot of therapy as will Diane. Please pray for these 28 year olds! They have their whole lives ahead of them. Pauline Palitto of Akron Ohio... Pauline is an elderly lady, having continuous pain in her feet and ankles. She is undergoing some tests now, so let us pray that the Lord will comfort her and her family in this time of physical difficulty. Herschell Taylor of Wrightwood CA... Hersch has been fighting with cancer for some time now. Please pray for him and his family, that he may find peace and hope in the wonders of God's creation around him, so prevalent in the great San Bernadino mountain area where he resides. 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 A Tale of the Wind The first mile or so of the trail was indeed steep; steepest I had ever hiked. When I stopped to rest at an area where it leveled off somewhat, I began to wonder if I would have the strength to continue another seven miles to the summit. My legs ached and I was already out of breath. I was really tempted to hike back down and just chalk this particular mountain up as a failure. But something inside me said, "No, you must go on. You must win this battle. How can you hope to win any spiritual battles if you can't conquer this little physical one? Get up this mountain and quit complaining Taylor!"  It was a great pep talk from my inner self, but it did not make things any easier physically—nevertheless my heart had been encouraged and so I pressed on. Mount San Gorgonio, highest in Southern California, was my ascent on that particular July 5th. As I journeyed onward, the thrill of the trail scenery was indeed motivating. The distinguished scents of the tall pines as well as the groves of manzanita and juniper and sage were each wondrous to my senses. What a joyous sound also was the trail beneath my hiking boots. How fortunate to have the gifts of legs and feet and to be able to use them in such an endeavor!  Oh, these vast, calm, measureless mountain days...days in whose light everything seems equally divine; nevermore, however weary, should one faint by the way, who gains the blessing of one mountain day. Whatever his fate; long life, short life, stormy or calm, he is rich forever!  John Muir wrote those words. He was so right! What an astounding acknowledgment of God's blessings! Indeed the high mountians teem with spiritual nourishment, like the glorious scent after the rain. About five hours after I began the eight mile ascent, I reached the rock outcrops at the base of the summit. From there I could hear the wind atop the summit plateau. It's always windy atop San Gorgonio. The wind comes off the San Bernadino range to the West and surges over the mountain into the desert valley of Palm Springs far below. There are over one hundred rock shelters on the summit, constructed by climbers camping overnight here, to lie in and escape the ravaging wind. Most are rectangular stone walls constructed of small boulders, stacked up and rising a little over a foot above the ground. These spaces are usually big enough for one person to lie down in. Some are a little larger. They are welcome spots for day hikers to sit down in and have lunch. They do offer protection, allowing the hiker to enjoy the sound of the wind without being carried away by it. As for me, I was greatly encouraged by the wind atop this inspiring mountain... That swirling wind darn near blew me off the top when I reached the summit plateau, but I was thrilled by it nonetheless. I shouted my physical victory into the wind, dropping to my knees and thanking God for such an invigorating climb. My children were with me in spirit that day, yet I longed for them to be there to share that adventure with me physically!  'Perhaps the wind will carry my feelings to them', I thought. After all, God is in control of the wind. He brings it from the North and scatters it about over the earth as He pleases. I sat atop the peak in that wind for almost an hour. I was indeed honored to feel it on my face. The Indians believe that the wind can tell you things. I have come to learn that their belief is true. I later wrote about it. That particular writing is available for you on the Desert Trail at this website, Day Hike #2. I hope you will take the time to hike that trail and listen to the wind. That's my Trail Tale for this quarter. I'll be writing to you again soon with another one. Audios, my friend. Thank you so much for hiking with us through the July, August, September issue of the Hiking the Trail of Truth Newsletter. Until October 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