| A MONTHLY PUBLICATION | DECEMBER 2002 |
HAPPY HOLIDAYS with our website Grand Opening
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
Page 2
Happy Holidays to you and to yours! Welcome to the Holiday issue, and very first website edition, of the Hiking the Trail of Truth Newsletter. I sincerely hope that you are well, able to get outside and enjoy the many wonders of God's creation. I've been doing a little less physical hiking myself lately and instead have been hiking through my mind in putting together the new web site for the series. Yes, indeed a miracle, Hiking the Trail of Truth is now available to the whole world! What a great spiritual adventure this has been and will be as we hike, Lord willing, on into the new year! Let me first tell you of the features within the new web site, then I'll show you what changes will appear in this newsletter and upcoming newsletters for 2003. Our web site address, E-mail address, and new Trail Office address are as follows: Web site: www.hikingthetrailoftruth.com E-mail: hikingmark@DIRECTVInternet.com New Trail Office address: HTTOT c/o Mark Taylor, PO Box 492 Windsor, CA. 95492-0492 24 hour telephone: 707-477-2460 The new web site now (December 5th) makes this series available to the entire world. This is indeed a blessing for us and an even greater blessing for those who discover its existence on the Internet. Profound, non-perverted truth is hard to find out there in the world (Amos 8:12), and God has chosen to allow Hiking the Trail of Truth to at this time begin its unique worldwide ministry in reaching the lost and enlightening the saved to the timeless truths of God's Word. We are ecstatic here with this opportunity, to say the least, and look forward to this journey of journeys, along with its persecutions; the opportunity to confront the world with the gospel of Truth and Grace. The web site introduces to the world; Hiking the Trail of Truth, A profound look at pure reality. There are, in addition to the home page, 11 trail markers (or trailheads) to choose from. Some trailheads have several junctions for the hiker to negotiate and to, hopefully, complete successfully. Clicking on the trail marker, "Hiking Maps and Trailheads", gives the hiker a brief overview of the enlightening challenges he or she will face on the individual trails. The series of course is new to the web and portions of various trails may still be under construction. We are confident that the hope and inspiration of learning that will be available on these upcoming portions will be worth camping along the existing trails, and waiting for the proposed routes to open. We encourage you to visit the new web site and to spread the word to others, that they might enjoy these most illuminating hiking experiences along with you. The monthly Newsletter will also be available to hike through on the web site. There will be, I believe, only one change to the current Newsletter format which is, to us, a very rewarding change for the better At present, the Newsletter features; From the Editor, Friends along the Trail, The Church in Your House and Encouraging God's Children. The new format eliminates The Church in Your House and adds Trail Tales in its place. The Church in Your House (understanding God through the things He has made) has been incorporated within three areas on the new web site; Desert Trail, Lake Trail, and the High Sierra Trail. These three trails each contain 7 hikes (a total of 21 hikes) into understanding God through the things He has made. It's a vast improvement to the original, single monthly Newsletter editions. Trail Tales opens the monthly Newsletter series up to children, ages 1 thru 101, with continuing stories that will teach, inspire and encourage all of you. These stories can be read aloud to children of all ages, anytime of day or night, and will make good bedtime stories that will inspire; "I can't wait 'till next month to see what happens!" We are thrilled to open the first segment of Trail Tales in this very first issue of the web newsletter. The Newsletter itself will still be available by U S Mail to anyone who requests it. Those of you now on the mailing list will shortly have an opportunity to continue or to decline to have the Newsletter mailed to you on a monthly basis. You will receive a letter asking if you have accessibility to the Internet, or if you wish to remain on the U S mailing list to receive the Newsletter. A prepaid postcard will be provided for your response. I hope to hear from you if you're able to view the series on the new web site. Thank you for your continuing interest. Take time to think about God each day and He will surely bless you. He is at all times truly concerned about you. In your service through Him, Mark S Taylor I look forward to talking with you again in next month's From the Editor. Back to top Page 3
We began this new series in June and, thanks to positive subscriber responses, we've been continuing 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. 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 on your own life. I would like to talk about my friend, Sandie, from Santa Rosa, California. Friends like Sandie are extremely rare...as a matter of fact, a person would be extremely lucky to have one friend like her in their lifetime. Sandie is probably the most supportive person this series ever had. She was there in the filming of several of the original series videos. She contributed much time and artwork on the booklet, The Monuments. She is responsible for the birth of the web site version of Hiking the Trail of Truth. The world would not have this series available to them without her! Many times I stand in awe of the hope that her friendship and efforts have inspired in me. Thank you, Sandie, for your endless time and support to this work. I would like to honor an old friend from high school, John Brandt. I was able to visit John in May of this year when my trail took me through Tucson, Arizona. John and I had a close friendship in high school and it had been over thirty years since we had seen one another. It was a grand visit. I was honored to meet his wife and daughter, and we were able to take a little hike among the cactus in a local mountain range. We discussed our trails through life. We both had a difficult way, but were each able to accomplish things and create some fine memories. John has had some writing success over the years and I am hopeful that he will find success once again in that endeavor that he loves so much. I hated to say good-by to John when I left Arizona, but we are hopeful that our trails will cross again soon, perhaps on a Mount Whitney trip next August. Thanks, John, for being such a good friend and continuing inspiration in my daily walk. I would also this month like to honor Sharon Anderson, of West Covina, California. Sharon is a lover of animals and has quite a few residing with her in her Southern California home. Some people are exceptionally good with God's smaller creatures. It requires patience and a special ability to be able to deal so well with animals. The Lord honors those who honor the creatures He has made. I am sure He is pleased with Sharon's contributions to the care and preservation of His unique creatures. Thank you, Sharon, for who you are, and for the inspiration you have had on my life. I hope all of your little friends are doing well. Thank you, Lord, for these renowned friends. Please protect them 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 speak about and to honor their friends, you're welcome to write in to Hiking the Trail of Truth, PO Box 492, Windsor, CA. 95492-0492. Back to top Page 4
Continuing stories of life on the trail A WINTER'S TALE Episode 1 The high mountains are indeed a beautiful reminder of the skillful, artistic work of God's tireless hands. There are mountains sculptured throughout the world, each range majestic and distinct in its formation. We read often of skiers and mountain climbers on many slopes around the globe, and all of us have seen pictures or have heard stories of the mountains. Yet, within our own United States, the greatest and most enduring stories have come from two mountain ranges; The Rockies near the Continental Divide, and the California range known as the Sierra Nevada or High Sierra. I've hiked throughout the High Sierra many times. I learned over the years to understand John Muir's fascination and obsession with this unique array of white granite rock and tall pines. It is within this high and lofty place that God and your heart can become one, and so it is an honor for me to take you there within your heart and to share with you and yours, a Winter's Tale... This story features Grandpa Johnson, his granddaughters; Hannah and Riley, his neighbors Taylor and Sean, their cousins Bryce and Cael, and their friends Ryan, Cameron and Mason. There are other characters, like John Windwalker for instance, who come to life within this story, and you can use your imagination to insert your own characters. Everyone and anyone can be a part of this story... One Christmas season, many years ago, an aging grandfather had invited his two only granddaughters to come out west for a long overdue visit. The old fella lived in a town called Big Pine, at the foot of California's High Sierras. The granddaughters had now arrived by railroad, all the way from the Ohio country. Meeting them, with great joy, at the train station in the nearby town of Independence, the grandfather helped them aboard his horse drawn wagon and a short time later the trio started out together on a twenty mile journey back toward Big Pine. It was a warm day along that old winding road, a brilliant sun shining above the tall peaks, and most of the snow had melted at the lower elevations. "We gonna' do some hikin', Grandpa?" Hannah, the eldest of the two children asked. The younger granddaughter, Riley, nodded her head in anticipation. "We heard you hiked all over these big mountains... is that true, Grandpa?" The old man pulled on the reins while speaking gently to the team of horses, bringing the wagon slowly to a halt. "I've been around". He looked kindly at his granddaughters, the delight of their questions was a warmth to his heart. "I can tell you some real good stories", he whispered, gently shaking the reins to start the horses moving again. "How about a Christmas story?" he asked. The girls were indeed joyous. "Tell us now", Hannah encouraged. "Yeah, tell us now, Grandpa", Riley echoed. The old man tilted back his hat and relaxed somewhat on the reins as he spoke. "Well, a couple Christmas's ago I was decorating the tree in the cabin... nice little blue spruce pine that I brought down from the mountain. I had some popcorn and a little tinsel and it was turnin' out quite fine. It was Christmas eve and I wasn't expecting anybody. I had my hands full of decorations when I heard someone knocking at the front door. Well, I put the decorations down on the table and walked on over to the door to see who was there. When I opened the door, there stood Taylor Perez, a young boy who lives down the lane with his folks. He has a brother, Sean, but there was nobody with the boy when I answered the door. He had a cookie tin in his hands and offered it to me. 'My ma made you some fudge and cookies, Mr. Johnson. She said you wouldn't be havin' any visitors this year and she wanted to know if you could come down for breakfast tomorrow. She's makin' that sausage and egg casserole. It's real good...will you come?' Well, I reached out and took the tin out of the boy's hands and thanked him. Sure, I said, I'll come over at first light. Is that OK? 'That's good', he said. 'I've got a project I'm workin' on...maybe you could help me with it?' What's that? I asked him. 'I'm buildin' a house for my turtle. I have a little pen I made him out of rock, out back in the field, but it's been snowin' somethin' awful and he don't have no place to keep warm. He don't like to stay in the house 'cause my dog keeps snappin' at him. He can't get his head out of his shell much. Ol' Sam, my dog, just ain't made friends with him yet. My cousins, Bryce and Cael, are over for the holidays and they keep Ol' Sam riled up anyway. I never see'd such a racket!' I then asked him if I could help him build his turtle house. I told him I could bring my tools along in the morning and some old pieces of wood that I had out back. I told him that particular wood would make a fine house, it was oak. Well, his eyes lit up like the candles on that Christmas tree. 'I can stay a spell and help you with the tree', he said. I told him that sounded fine. Come on in where it's warm, I motioned to him. He stepped inside grinning and shut the door behind him. We soon got to working on decorating the tree, and kind of lost track of time. Before I knew it, it was dark outside. I couldn't let that boy walk home in the dark by himself. Fact was we'd seen a bear in the area about a week before and most folks were staying inside at night. It was a big ol' Griz'. They like to prowl around at night and hunt for food. They won't usually bother ya, but if you're carrying any food they'll chase ya sure!" Leaving the town of Independence behind the old man and his granddaughters soon came to the fork of the Big Pine cut off. At this point the old road leveled off somewhat and began its wind along Lone Pine creek, through the heavier groves of pine. There was a lot of water running off the mountains that year and the roaring creek was both an enjoyable sight and sound to the trio. An eagle soared majestically overhead just as they cleared the rough water above Horseshoe Falls. The old man pointed him out to the girls. They were in no small way captivated by the eagle's grace. He floated just above them for quite some time, riding the currents due north of Mt. Whitney. "A couple hours from here and we'll be at the cabin...anyway, as I was saying, I wouldn't let the boy walk home in the dark. So I got my coat on and helped him with his and we went on out into the night, headed down the lane toward the Perez place. The place wasn't far but the snow was gettin' a little thick and the clouds were coming in low...gettin' foggier by the minute. It was then that we heard the bear. He was growlin' and he was close!" "Wow", Hannah breathed. "Wow", Riley echoed. Hannah put her hand upon her Grandfathers arm, wringing the sleeve of his jacket in her grip; "What happened, Grandpa... what did you do?" "Fortunately we could still see the road in the fog, and we ran. I figure it's better to stand still when a bear is close but the boy took off running and I had to stay on his heels! I was responsible for that little...that little man that night! He could run too, but I caught up with him and grabbed his hand and ran alongside of him. I looked into his face and he was scared, that's for sure... poor kid." Suddenly the old man pulled up on the reins of the horses and pointed up the road alerting the girls; "Elk up ahead there... crossing the road... Big 'uns!" Indeed they were big. "There's two bucks!" Hannah whispered. "I can see their horns... Are they horns or antlers, Grandpa?" "We'll, they're both, Hannah; They're basically horns, but that particular type or style of horn is known as an antler. An antler is just a branched or forked horn. Several different kinds of animals have 'em." "We've been studying animals in school, Grandpa", Hannah said. "I'm in the ninth grade now... Riley's only in first grade so she hasn't learned a lot about animals yet. My class I have is called; science. It's a new class at the school and some of the things they talk about are weird. They talk about us coming from monkeys or something... evolution is the word they use. Some of the things the teacher says we all laugh at. She gets so mad at us for laughing. But, it is kind of stupid... coming from monkeys and stuff, don't you think so, Grandpa?" "That is pretty silly, Hannah. I swear, I don't know what this world is coming to. That's why I like it up here in the high country. I don't pay much attention to what goes on down in town.___ Look! It's three bucks now, and five doe! Headin' up for higher ground, I guess. There's a nice green meadow up above; plenty of food for those critters to eat. No hunters up there this time of year. I'm sure the deer and elk are comfortable with that." The old man shook the reins once again and the horses pulled onward. The creek was below them now and the tall pines dominated the horizon. "What happened with the bear, Grandpa?" Hannah asked, as she and Riley watched the elk move on until they were completely out of sight. "Well, we made it to the boy's house. I don't think the bear actually chased us, but we could hear him out there. The fog was so thick that we couldn't see ten feet from the Perez place. They asked me to stay all night there but I had to get back. I'd left those candles burning on the Christmas tree and I was a little worried that something might catch fire in the cabin. I told 'em all I'd be back for that breakfast, and so I visited a little while, then headed out the door, back towards my place.___ I walked a little ways, then stopped to listen for the bear. I didn't hear anything so I continued on. I guess I was about half way home when I started to hear that growling again. He was closer than before and sounded a lot unfriendlier! I stopped dead in my tracks, trying to figure out just exactly where he was. Sound doesn't have much direction in the fog; it's hard to tell where a noise is actually coming from. Snow kept getting into my eyes too. I was... wait a minute...somebody on the road up ahead there..." The girls eyes quickly turned onto the road ahead where a man on a painted horse approached them. The man was dressed in deerskin and there was an eagle feather protruding upward from a colorful headband he was wearing. He soon raised his right hand in their direction, palm opened, his fingers pointing upward. He said nothing as he rode slowly toward them. Grandpa spoke suddenly and loudly at the rider, startling the girls, while at the same time raising a hand in like manner toward the man. "Na-shees-ta-shay!" Hello my friend! Don't worry girls... It's John Windwalker, a good friend of mine. Don't be scared of the way he looks. He's a Crow Indian. Best man I know, though his father and I were once upon a time mortal enemies. He knew you were comin' and I'm sure he's here to meet you." Riley clung to Hannah, somewhat fearful of this stranger who was fierce looking indeed. His flesh was tanned and rugged underneath the thick, straight black hair that dropped below his shoulders. There was a long scar on the left side of his face that continued onto his neck. His eyes were narrow and piercing and he did not smile. He was approaching on the left side of the wagon. Still not speaking, but eyeing the girls for a brief time, he then rode around the wagon and on up the right side, coming to a slowed pace directly beside them, then keeping in step with the team of horses. The horses seemed untroubled by his approach and present movement. The Indian continued to eye the girls. Hannah finally managed to say, "Hello, sir." The Indian looked at the old man. "That's the first time anyone ever called me sir since I knowed ya", he smiled. At his smile, both Hannah and Riley relaxed. "Are you a real Indian?" John Windwalker laughed as he stroked his hair from his eyes and leaned forward, both hands on the horn of his saddle. "I think so", he replied. "I'm not a good one though, 'cause I ain't dead yet." His remark seemed to go over the girls heads. "Johnson," he said, "There's a couple men up at your cabin. I don't know who they are, never seen 'em around here. They were lookin' into the windows when I rode up. They backed off right away when they saw me. Asked me if I knowed Jeremiah Johnson. I says, who don't? I told 'em you were probably on your way back from Independence. I told 'em I was ridin' out to meet ya. Told 'em you had your granddaughters with ya. They didn't seem to happy. And they acted like they'd never seen an Indian before. I don't think they liked me much. I told 'em they could ride along with me if they was a'mind to. They said they'd just wait there.___ I backed my horse up a'ways. Didn't feel like turnin' my back on 'em. I looked around and didn't see anything out of place on your ranch. Then I rode out, headed your way." "What did they look like?" Johnson asked. "Both of 'em was skinny", Windwalker replied. "Looked like they'd been in the saddle awhile. One man had a tattoo on the top of his left hand. Looked like a cross." "Who do you think they are, Grandpa?" Hannah asked. Johnson hesitated. "It's hard telling. Perhaps some folks I knew a while back. Maybe when I lived in the Rockies." "Was that after you left Ohio, Grandpa?" "Yes." Johnson was deep in thought. The others could tell by the expression in his eyes. "Let's get going. We'll be there shortly." "I'll go with you", the Indian encouraged. "Will you finish the story about the bear, Grandpa?" young Riley spoke up. TO BE CONTINUED Back to top Page 5
Here is this month's list of those who need your 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. Suzi Kopanski, Boulder City, Nevada; Suzi and her son, Ryan, are in need of your prayers that their lives may be drawn closer together. Family relationships are indeed important. Remember that God brought you into His family and it is our honor as well as our duty to care for and to pray for one another. Raymond Laird, Bullhead City, Arizona; Ray has recently undergone surgery for cancer. He had to have a lung removed, but is recovering well and is even now back to work! I admire your great courage and strength, Ray. You are always in my thoughts and prayers. Jack and Marge Myers, Crestline, California; These are active subscribers who need your prayers or letters of encouragement that good health may remain theirs to enjoy during the remainder of their stay on earth. Brian Hadley, Mt. Sterling, Ohio; Brian is in need of your prayers due to problems with his legs. It has been difficult for him to work the long hours necessary to help his family. Storm Yetter, Hungry Horse, Montana; Storm needs your encouragement in dealing with some of the many difficulties life can bring. We've all been there and still are there, so lets pray for Storm and get some letters of encouragement out to her. Please remember the homeless this month. Locate a homeless person and help them in any way that you can. Pray for all of those in need, and pray for the world at large, that men and women will desire to find wisdom, that they will turn and seek God's face in this world full of fear and doubt.. Lord, grant us the humility to seek your face for the well being of others. Help us to reach out to them in word and in deed. We are each one of us in need of your guidance in the use of our tongues and our talents. Though we are unworthy we ask you to bless our efforts...In the name of your glorious Son, Jesus, we pray. ******* Thank you so much for hiking with us through the Holiday 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 |
HIKING THE TRAIL OF TRUTH
Mark S. Taylor
(707) 477-2460