OCTOBER, NOVEMBER, DECEMBER 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 October, November, December 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. I hope also that you will do the best you can to share that unique inspiration with others along the daily trails of your life. Knowing God is first seeing Him through the things He has made and making Him known to others. This quarter of the year brings the Fall season to all regions of our country. It is always inspiring to see the clouds roll in, the leaves on the trees change color, the spectacular sunsets, and to smell the air that is so typically Fall. However, in spite of all this most overwhelming beauty, the world of mankind is full of ugliness, terror, sorrow and pain. It is so sad to think of how Satan has corrupted the minds of men and women in every part of the world, and that his pollutions have been ever increasing down through the centuries. The Bible tells us that he is the god of this age who has blinded the minds of all those who do not believe in the truth of the Gospel (2nd Corinthians 4:4). I sure am looking forward to the Lord's return, aren't you? He will surely set things right and the truth will be fully known. Let us pray that it will be soon... In the meantime, we're here to help you find your way to God while you're in this world... That's what Hiking the Trail of Truth is all about. There are many journeys into understanding God's promises here. And if you have been or are presently unable to get out this season for a physical hike, just visit our websites' feature trail for this quarter; the High Sierra Trail. Your mental trek there into the high country 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... Just click on the High Sierra trailmarker on the left side of the Home page, or you can also find it on the Hiking Maps and Trailheads page. 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 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. By the first of December, video volume #13 in the Hiking the Trail of Truth series, entitled, Knowing God, should be available for you. Production is almost complete. You may reserve a copy of this free video by simply writing a request for the video and mailing it to the Trail Office address on the front of this Newsletter. I hope to hear from you with your reservation request! 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; Patience in Prayer. THIS MONTH: God's Grace and You. What is grace? The New Testament Greek word means unmerited favor; "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast" (Ephesians 2:8,9). This simply means that God chooses to save you, and that His choice is not based on anything you have done or will do, but what His Son has done for you; in your place. Jesus long ago chose to taste the hell we deserve. That is what love is all about. I have spent many years trying to understand why He would do that, and I have been indeed fortunate to find some answers. Allow me please to share them with you... First of all, in the beginning, just five days after God created the world, on the sixth day He made man in His own image, after His own likeness. Man was the crown of His creation who would occupy and rule over the new earth that He had formed. What a marvelous creation it was! The introduction of life onto a new earth; life in which He Himself had breathed the miracle breath of life. We all know (those of us who have had children) how we felt when our first child was born. How much more love did God express, who created life as we know it, and then gave to that life all the gifts and treasures (innumerable) of the newly formed earth! That love is so very deep that, to me, it is quite incomprehensible! Then one day, a fallen angel, the most beautiful in the heavenly realms, decided to disrupt all the earthly beauty which God had created. Like a bully who took your child's best drawing and cruelly defaced it with black crayon marks, Lucifer (Satan), tempted and put his mark forever on all human generations. And now, what was to be done? What could be done to right this terrible wrong? The world was forever marked with Sin; discolored by the pollutions of an evil minded spiritual being. The realm of holy angels and right spirited heavenly beings grieved with God in their hearts at this great tragedy, for in his rebellion and discoloration of the earth, Satan drew a third of the angels with him; those that desired to serve him, those who wanted him as prince and master. The righteous of the heavenly host turned to their God for an answer. It was now all in the hands of the supreme God of the universe, the triune Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. "What of Your creation? What of mankind, O Lord? How can we help them?" the heavenly host cried out! "When the time is right", God replied, "we will send forth my Son, Jesus, to live among the physical inhabitants of the earth. Though they have been corrupted, and are infected and indeed impure with sin, I will allow Jesus to live among them. He shall be pure and sinless and show them the way. But, He will be rejected by them and crucified on a cross, as is the custom of men. Yet, He will become their sacrifice; He will die in their stead. And He will rise from the dead, forever crushing the head of Satan; giving him a blow from which he will never recover. And through Jesus' sacrifice, My pure Lamb, I will forgive the sins of men, when they harken to my voice, washing their sins away as with water, and restore them completely in new heavens and a new earth, with new bodies and right spirits, when the time for restoration is at hand. So shall it be written, so shall it be done."  Then He looked upon the heavenly host and warned, "This may take some time. You will all need to be patient, for you must see and learn the full extent of Satan's rebellion, and the extreme cost of that rebellion. Trust Me now, for it is in My hands."  Then they all bowed down and said, "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty. Blessed is Your name, all Your judgements are right and true." This is the meaning of grace. Grace is what allows you to trust in the God of the universe. Only His grace will lead you to Him in the first place. There's nothing you can do to find Him. He will find you first and then allow you the grace that will eventually lead your heart toward Him. Once you are led to Him, you can do nothing for Him, yet, He will allow you the grace that will be used to serve and honor Him. You will learn truly the meaning of unmerited favor; You will discover your utter helplessness. Through His grace you will see the rottenness of the sin that is within your being, the irreversible pollution that entered mankind one fateful day in the garden of Eden. You will learn that there is no human way to escape the consequences of that terrible plight. By grace you will see the vanity of your human philosophies, reasonings, conclusions and solutions, no matter what your degree of education. You will indeed find yourself humbled, and that is where you should be. After all, you are decaying, you have been since you were born. You will eventually die and return to dust. That's just the way it is. Most importantly, only grace will allow you to discover all these things. Though you may consider yourself wise in this present age, you'll never discover them on your own, no matter how often you think you can or have; that's the deceitfulness of sin. God's grace is His gift to His creation. It's what makes you a part of Him. It's what includes you in His great plan of salvation. It is a personal gift; given to individuals whom He chooses to give it to. These individuals make up the group known as His true children. It is grace that leads them to become His children. They range from bums on the street to kings in palaces. His true children hear His voice, and they obey Him. They do His will on the earth. They teach His truth free of charge, they never ask payment for anything, and they do all things according to and through the grace which they are given. Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now am found; was blind but now I see. In the next Newsletter, we will take a look at Patience in Prayer.  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 would like to mention once again a friend whom I mentioned in the February 2004 Newsletter. I said in that particular issue that I get more mail from Larry Goodman than from any other of my old friends along the trail. Larry just recently wrote a nice letter of encouragement, telling me that the Hiking the Trail of Truth website was changing lives; "It changed mine!" he added. I was moved to respond to Larry right away; here is that response: Hello, Larry... Those were mighty kind words...made me cry. That's what happens when you get old... I know you boys worked hard to get me back on the PD. I think the city didn't want to pay into my retirement any more. I was over 50, and it would have cost them quite a bit more. Also, that fact that left in '93 for medical reasons, they were skeptical about hiring me back. My first illness cost the insurance company 75 thousand. But, Chief Gardner was a phony kind of guy. He wouldn't come straight out and tell me these things. I lost respect for him after the ordeal. Yet, my rejection eventually led me to the Forest Service, then to campground management. It was during those months and years that Hiking the Trail of Truth was born... I was a hikin' fool. Had I not had those experiences, which were more than inspiring, to say the least, I would never have seen things as I did, nor would I have been able to write about them. I know the Lord has helped me in my writing and creating of the series. I know that it has several readers now and has made an impression on them and taught them some deep truths. I am thankful for that each day of my life. He has since allowed me to picture myself anywhere in my mind, and to even feel the terrain under my feet. I would have never thought about things as I did, nor been able to relive them as I have done, on my own. I'm 59 now, and I miss that retirement pension. I have my diabetes under control, but I have some arthritis in my hands and arms. It's hard to work. I have a few bills and have to work two jobs at present, but, if I can hold out, that will all be over one of these days. I'll get a trailer then, and probably head for Lone Pine or Arizona (on the reservation). In the meantime, I am working with the website, and I get to write back to folks who respond with questions, etc, now and then. Yet, with that hawks blood in me, there are times when I just want to put on a backpack and hit the road like a transient; to just keep on flyin'. The website keeps me from doing that, along with the hope that some miracle will allow me some of the old freedoms once again as well. I do miss you boys back there, and I often think of the fun times we had and comradeship we shared. It was a very special time in my life, but I don't think I realized how important it was to stick it out. I realize it now, but, life is strange and the trail of life has had some damn big bends and twists and lots of debris. I have learned that there are times of plenty and times of want, times of joy and times of deep sorrow. A man has to go on though and make the best of his times. The world is a tough place, but that will all come to an end someday. Fear and anxiety fade away as I hike on in that hope, gaining a little more wisdom with each step, and that's all a man can do. Once in a while, when an old friend says something extremely kind, as you have done, it causes a man to be especially thankful, to sit down and meditate on the greatness of it. It causes him to think that perhaps he did leave a mark on the land that he passed through a long time ago, after all. It causes him to think that there were great times of refreshing, and that perhaps he will encounter such times or similar times once again on the earth. Anyway, thanks for taking the time to write, and please do write whenever you get the urge. Say hello to all the ol' boys with whom I shared some grand years. Ask them to think of me in their prayers. I've been doing that for you, and them as well... Your old buddy, Mark Thank you, Lord, for this particularly special friendship along the trail of life which You have given me. Please continue to teach me to be more like Larry; to give 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. Update on Aiden!  (9/20/04)  Hi Mark, I was playing on the Internet today and had come across your web page while searching for my family’s last name. It was your March 2004 newsletter that you mentioned my son and posted an update on his condition. I remember visiting the site a while back, when my son was still in the hospital because of being born premature (information first appeared in the November 2003 Newsletter). For starters, I would like to thank you for putting my son’s information up and praying for him… It’s thoughts and prayers like yours and the people that read your website that have helped us through these past 10 ½ months. The further away we get from those days in the hospital, the tougher it gets to look back. Aiden is now doing remarkably well ! He came home on March 8, 2004, after 125 days in the NICU. He did have a feeding tube and was on oxygen 24 hours a day, along with heart and breathing monitors. The feeding tube lasted only a few weeks and he was off the oxygen by mid-July. Currently he is just over 16 pounds and is pretty average for a baby that should be 6 ½ months old. I’ve attached a few photos of him for you. I can send others if you’d like… earlier ones for when he was first born. Thanks again, Frank Cieszkowski  Aiden Update on Carli !  (9/23/04)  Its all good news. They can go ahead and schedule her surgery between 9 and 12 months of age (she is 6 months now). * The surgery will take 2-3 hours, and they will release her from the hospital in three days. She will have a cage on her leg and foot for three to four months, and will have to see Dr. Paley every two weeks for six weeks. After that, Jill and Brian can make adjustments on her cage, or her doctor here that casted her foot at birth can make bigger adjustments as needed. Her entire foot needs to be rebuilt; its all there, but not in the right places. There is a possibility that they will not have to cut her fibula in half for growth purposes as he first thought and also may not need the second surgery (between age 2-4), but have the last one only between age 12-14... So keep your fingers crossed that this is so. I want to thank all of you for keeping her in your prayers, they really do help, and ask you to please continue to keep her in them... * Carli is scheduled to have her surgery on January 11, 2005. Just wanted to let you all know, so you can keep her in your prayers that day. Love, Cheryl... Love to all of you... A very happy Grandpa and Grandma, Jim and Cheryl Carli 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 Continuing stories of life along the trail... Previous episodes of Trail Tales can be found in Newsletter Archives This quarter's special tale: EXPLAIN GOD This quarter's trail tale varies somewhat from the norm, but I thought it was well worth putting it up for you to read and meditate upon. It comes from a youngster's walk along the trail of life... It is somewhat difficult to believe that a third-grader wrote this, but I sincerely hope that he did, for it shows once again the Scriptures to be quite true; out of the mouth of babes, God has ordained praise (Psalm 8:2). The writing is very insightful!   It was written by an 8-year-old, Danny Dutton, of Chula Vista, CA, for his third-grade homework assignment. The assignment was to "Explain God". I am wondering if any of us could do as well? "One of God's main jobs is making people. He makes them to replace the ones that die, so there will be enough people to take care of things on earth. He doesn't make grown-ups, just babies. I think because they are smaller and easier to make... That way He doesn't have to take up His valuable time teaching them to talk and walk. He can just leave that to mothers and fathers. God's second most important job is listening to prayers. An awful lot of this goes on, since some people, like preachers and things, pray at times beside bedtime. God doesn't have time to listen to the radio or TV because of this. God sees everything and hears everything and is everywhere, which keeps Him pretty busy. So you shouldn't go wasting His time by going over your Mom and Dad's head asking for something they said you couldn't have. Atheists are people who don't believe in God. I don't think there are any in Chula Vista. At least there aren't any who come to our church. Jesus is God's Son. He used to do all the hard work like walking on water and performing miracles and people finally got tired of Him preaching to them and they crucified Him. But He was good and kind, like His Father, and He told His Father that they didn't know what they were doing and to forgive them, and God said "O.K."  His Dad (God) appreciated everything that He had done and all His hard work on earth, so He told Him He didn't have to go out on the road anymore. He could stay in heaven. So He did. And now He helps His Dad out by listening to prayers and seeing things which are important for God to take care of and which ones He can take care of Himself without having to bother God.. like a secretary, only more important. You can pray anytime you want and they are sure to help you because they got it worked out so one of them is on duty all the time. You should always go to church on Sunday because it makes God happy, and if there's anybody you want to make happy, it's God. Don't skip church to do something you think will be more fun, like going to the beach. This is wrong. And besides, the sun doesn't come out at the beach until noon anyway. If you don't believe in God, besides being an atheist, you will be very lonely, because your parents can't go everywhere with you, like to camp out. God can. It is good to know He's around you when you're scared in the dark or when you can't swim and you get thrown into real deep water by big kids. But...you shouldn't just always think of what God can do for you. I figure God put me here, and He can take me back anytime He pleases! And...that's why I believe in God." Thank you so much for hiking with us through the October, November, December issue of the Hiking the Trail of Truth Newsletter. Until January 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