September/October  2009 A 332 page published autobiographical edition (2009) of Hiking the Trail of Truth is now available from Xulon Press! Click on the BOOK to preview or order your personal copy of this award winning edition, or you may Phone 866-909-BOOK (2665). Just CLICK on the Book ! * Previous Newsletters    (Archives)  Website Home Page  (Trailheads) Mark's Trail Phone 909-549-0068 Contact  Hiking the Trail of Truth,   hikemark@hotmail.com Page 2 From the Editor Hello, and Welcome to the September/October 2009 HTTOT Newsletter!  We here at Hiking the Trail of Truth sincerely hope this year that you have allowed the loving 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. We are uniquely drawn to these wonders because we were formed from the very dust of the earth, and, because of that relationship, we have the ability to develop the understanding that will allow us to discover our unique balance with nature. Come along with us on a most profound adventure in learning... WEBSITE NEWS: Knowing God is first seeing Him through the things He has made (Romans 1:20).  Hiking the Trail of Truth is here to help you along in your journey of discovery and sharing. If you have been or are presently unable to get out this season for a physical hike, just visit our website's feature trail for this month; The High Sierra Trail. Your mental trek there can take you where you may be unable to journey physically. The eye-opening education, inspiration and lasting encouragement which you can find along the High Sierra Trail will be well worth your time... Just click on the High SierraTrail link in this newsletter, or click on the marker at the website's Hiking Maps and Trailheads page. — We sincerely hope that you will hike all of our devotional and educational trails at the website this year. Again, we are here to help you in any way we can and, as always, look forward to hearing from you. Hiking the Trail of Truth is currently one of the most truthfully informative Christian sites on the web. Please, be our guest; explore this truth for yourself and discover! The most important way to begin your day is with a short reading from the Bible. Today is indeed a good time to begin that resolve. For this purpose, the Mountain and Valley Trail was built. There you will find daily Bible readings for the entire year, with accompanying photos, created especially for you. To locate this picture/Scripture calendar, simply click on the Mountain and Valley Trail marker at Hiking Maps and Trailheads. You will find a compass there that will lead you to the calendar of months, and you can then choose a month to begin your day-by-day readings. Your daily journey through life is sure to begin in the right direction!  After all, we live only one day at a time, right?— Why don't you then take the opportunity now and begin a one-year hike along the Mountain and Valley Trail. You will not be disappointed, in fact, your journey will be full of enlightening, life-changing insights! 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. Your spiritual struggles are of our utmost concern—we can help!  We serve a loving and compassionate Creator. So just phone or e-mail 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, or you can visit the On-Line Church to submit your inquiries or learn there how to understand the Bible correctly. Sincerely, the HTTOT staff. September/October's Letter From the Editor : Mountain  Meditations In the multitude of my anxieties within me, Your comforts delight my soul  (Psalm 94:19) Do you have any climbable mountains in your local area?  If you don't, you truly do... We indeed all have spiritual mountains to climb, no matter who we are or where we live, do we not?  Let us then together climb a physical mountain in California and endeavor to show its relationship to the spiritual one wherever you are, shall we?  There's never been a time that I have hiked a particular mountain and not thought of it as my own spiritual journey through life. Physical mountains have a way of stimulating your mind in a variety of unique ways. Sometimes, as I hike, I visualize different situations or problems encountered in my life, both past and present. I often compare those situations or problems to the particular mountain terrain I am ascending. A mountain with a host of diverse terrain is the most enlightening and rewarding for this particular thought process... Some terrain can be fairly sandy. This variety of terrain, if the sand is of any depth, is most trying on the leg muscles and the steps you take are naturally somewhat short and difficult. You work very hard yet cover little distance. Eventually you may reach a plateau or an abrupt leveling of terrain where you can stop, rest, and consider where you have been; that you have conquered that particularly grueling incline... Yes, it is indeed a good feeling to have made it through that difficulty!  You can thank God for allowing you the appropriate strength needed to do it... The point here is that there are similar inclines and difficulties within the spiritual realm; perhaps in dealing with a mate or relative, a friend, people at your place of work, or just life in general... As you continue your ascent, your path levels off for a brief time... the cramps and aches are soon worked out of your legs... your breathing returns to near normal and you become refreshed as your heartbeat quiets down and your stride increases. You discover a spiritual as well as physical resting when things are going a little smoother. Reflect on this. There are also times of quiet refreshing when relating with others, and times of brief rest when dealing with different problems you have encountered. Compare them. When you encounter the "heat" of certain relationships and other problems again, you can recall to mind this particular time of refreshing... You can meditate on your hike while in the middle of your workplace, your home, or in the midst of a gathering with others. You can go to that place within your mind where you can see the mountain, smell the air, feel the wind, or hear the different sounds of the terrain under the weight of your hiking boots. These sights, scents, feelings and sounds from deep within your spirit can serve to lift you up in a difficult time of despair. They can serve to teach you how God is working in your life; allowing you to improve your spiritual knowledge and strength as you embrace the majestic comfort and spiritual usefulness of the things He has made. Most importantly, this experience can teach you to be of a thankful heart, of which God will be most pleased. Once again your terrain changes. You have to negotiate some rocks and boulders on the trail. You are able to step over or sidestep around some of them. Others, you may have to climb up and over in order to remain on the trail. Overcoming or detouring a notably large obstacle along the trail may sometimes lead to a dead end, where you are perhaps forced to retreat and examine still another route. Your journey can thus become extremely fatiguing, and you may have to stop and rest frequently. Again, analyze and compare similar difficulties in the spiritual realm. Notice that, after a momentary rest here and there, you can usually find the strength to go on... Your goal is the top of that mountain, or a particular point on its face. If you can accomplish this in the physical realm, if you can keep on going and not turn back, you can do the same within the spiritual realm. If you must turn back due to exhaustion or lack of determination, consider ;  There may be times you have turned back in the spiritual realm... were you mentally exhausted, or just not determined enough to get through the circumstances surrounding that difficulty?  Keep on going in either realm! The stronger you can get at physical determination, the stronger you can be at spiritual determination and vice versa. God works patiently with you in both realms. This is one of the many ways in which He speaks to you. Jesus was a man who took His destiny through life seriously. He climbed high mountains, He ascended many difficult hills, He walked through great valleys and endured the scorching heat of the desert. Weather was no deterrent, nor was the constant human opposition to His purpose. He journeyed hundreds of miles during His three year ministry on earth, upon varying types of both physical and spiritual terrain. Through faith He even walked on water!  He was a man who "set his face" in and for the direction He was going (Luke 9:53); He was determined to accomplish His mission in life; His own sacrifice for mankind, which was His Fathers' will. He was an exceptionally persevering man in character, both physically and spiritually... Consider : Would you allow ignorant men and women to mock and reject the teachings of your Father, creator of all things?  Would you allow them to place a crown of thorns upon your head, to spit on you, to slap you on the face, to lash out upon you with a whip, to falsely accuse and to ultimately crucify you on a cross, when you had the authority to call, at anytime, a legion of angels to intervene on your behalf and destroy them?... Though heartbroken on behalf of mankind's' rejection, Jesus was determined to accomplish the spiritual work entrusted to Him and determined to withstand, even to the point of death, the physical and spiritual pain that went along with it...That's your mountain to climb also; to do Gods' will for your life, to accomplish your given purpose, surely amidst heartbreak, physical pain and perhaps even death. It is my mountain as well. Know then that God created mountain terrain for us to hike, to explore the nature associated with it and to pay close attention to our discoveries, that we might gain the needed insight from those experiences to see and to comprehend our spiritual mountains. Once again, we can learn to understand more about ourselves and our Creator through the things He has made. He indeed has made all things for our use (1st Corinthians 3:22).  You would be amazed at what just looking at a mountain can teach you!  Get out there soon, my friend, and climb a mountain or a ascend a rugged hill. Hike through a green valley or a parched desert. Walk on in the heat of the day or even out somewhere in the pouring rain... An infinite part of knowing God is having an understanding of each of the things He has made; to train your senses to acknowledge Him through those things. What a most lovingly generous and wise Father we truly have!  Learn through any and all of these experiences to "listen" to God. Let his wondrous creation speak to you. Always carry a Bible along and meditate on His words in those quiet places. His words are life and come to life in a very profound way. Learn through these meditations to live with your own fears and doubts and thereby grow spiritually.— Rest in the Lord through each of lifes' difficulties and in between. Humble yourself; allow God to have first place in your thoughts, your words, your activities, your everyday living... For behold, He who forms the mountains, and creates the wind, who declares to man what his thought is, who turns the dawn into darkness, who treads the high places of the earth; The Lord God of hosts is His name (Amos 4:13). Thanks for hiking along with me today—see you next month for another letter from the editor! Sincerely, Mark S Taylor Questions? Please contact me. Home] [Hiking Maps & Trailheads] [Discovery Trail] [Bible Map] [Trail of Time] [New Birth Trail] [Mountain & Valley Trail] [Desert Trail] [Lake Trail] [High Sierra Trail] [Wilderness Trail] [HTTOT the book] [False Trail] [Monthly Newsletter] [Newsletter Archives] [Questions & Answers] [On-Line Church] HIKING THE TRAIL OF TRUTH Mark S. Taylor Trail Phone:  (909) 549-0068