M2MS

"The greatest fault is to be conscious of none." Thomas Carlyle


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Location:52 St E,Saskatoon,Canada

My Shepherd is Near

Our pastor preached on Psalm 23 today. All our fears are dispelled by the assurance that we have a God who cares for us. David writes from the perspective of a sheep who is in the loving care and protection of a good shepherd. In fact, he says, "Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life." As I read the words of this comforting Psalm, I was reminded of an observation I'd read in another book some years ago. David begins his song by talking about his shepherd and then in verse four he transitions to talking to his shepherd. It's almost as if the shepherd shows up part way through the song. When does the shepherd make his presence know, or better, when does the sheep recognize the presence of his shepherd? As he walks through the valley of the shadow of death. I believe he was always there. But like me, David never felt the need for his comforting protection until in the midst of adversity. The fear of evil flees in his presence.

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Location:The Snuggery, Douglas, ON

The Deeps

Lord Jesus, give me a deeper repentance, a horror of sin, a dread of its approach. Help me chastely to flee it and jealously to resolve that my heart shall be yours alone.

Give me a deeper trust, that I may lose myself to find myself in you, the ground of my rest, the spring of my being. Give me a deeper knowledge of yourself as saviour, master, lord, and king. Give me deeper power in private prayer, more sweetness in your word, more steadfast grip on its truth. Give me deeper holiness in speech, thought, action, and let me not seek moral virtue apart from you. Plough deep in me, great Lord, heavenly husbandman, that my being may be a tilled field, the roots of grace spreading far and wide, until you alone are seen in me, your beauty golden like summer harvest, your fruitfulness as autumn plenty.

I have no master but you, no law but your will, no delight but yourself, no wealth but that you give me, no good but that you bless me, no peace but that you bestow. I am nothing but that you make me, I have nothing but that I receive from you. I can be nothing but that grace adorns me. Quarry me deep, dear Lord, and then fill me to overflowing with living water. Amen

(a Puritan prayer)


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Location:Lougheed hwy, Port Coquitlam, BC

Childlike Faith

These are my two little faithful pray-ers! Last week both Denise and I had near misses with large wildlife on the road. Thank God it didn't happen. Every night in their bedtime prayers Elijah and Grace ask God to keep us safe on the road. Grace prays, "Help Nanna and Pappa not to hit a moose again." We have often envisioned an angel dispatched on a mission to shoe a moose off the road, or one time holding the muzzle of an elk as we drive by. Thank God for the prayers of our family.

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Location:Thessalon, ON, heading east on hwy 17.

There is a River

We have a vacation wish list of places that we've driven by in our truck. Some day we'd like to return to take some time to really relish the scenery and sights. I84 heading east out of Portland, Oregon, is one of these. This route is also called the Oregon Trail. It follows the Columbia River. The scene transforms from rainforest and waterfalls to desertlike landscape.

Traveling along this route we passed through many cities using the mighty river as their source of life and commerce. I was reminded of Psalm 46:4-5
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
5 God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.
God is the source and constant supply of all life. Every moment our sovereign Lord is providentially sustaining life on this broken planet. If He were to remove His gracious hand even for a moment we would all dry up and perish.

Further, He has mercifully provided for our life beyond our existence on this planet. In the final words God's message to us, we read these words of hope in Revelation 22,
1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.
Dive deep into God's unending flow of love and experience His grace for whatever challenges that you are facing. He alone is the source of our life.


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Location:I84 eastbound in Oregon

Psalm 121

In two months from now, when we approach the mountains I will start to get a nervous feeling in my stomach. I am usually confident driving in the mountains in the warm months, feeling assured with my skills and well maintained equipment. But when the weather turns cold, there are so many factors that I cannot control. In reality, I have no ultimate control over anything. My sovereign Lord graciously has everything in control.

I was reminded of Psalm 121 as I approached the mountains today driving through Black Diamond, AB. As the Hebrew pilgrims trekked towards Jerusalem for the festival they would sing this Song of Ascent. Jerusalem was built as a fortified city on Mount Zion. It was a safe haven for all weary travellers. However, the Hebrew pilgrim would acknowledge in this song that in truth safe is only found in the Maker of the mountains.

1 I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.

Today, and everyday, I renew my commitment to trust the Lord for our safety; for everything.



Here we are parked in Fernie, BC. On the Crow's Nest Highway. We are the blue truck (Yanke), not the black Schneider National.

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Location:Fernie, BC

The Necessity of Thankfulness

Psalm 50
The Lord has no need of my sacrifices or anything else I can offer Him. He already owns all things (vv. 8-12). My only appropriate response to God, who created and owns all things, is thankfulness. "He who sacrifices thank offerings honors me, and he prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God." (v. 23). Gratitude acknowledges that I have nothing and He has everything I need and has graciously given to me all that I need. His gift of mercy is new every morning!


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Location:Calgary, AB

A Drive Through the Desert

Just got back into Canada after a five day trip down to California. We passed through the Mojave Desert on I15. 40C, but it's a dry heat!



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Weakness with watchfulness will stand, when strength with too much confidence will fail. Richard Sibbes

Don't forget that you need His help for everything in your life.


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Location:Prince of Wales Dr,Regina,Canada

Breakfast of champions. We're currently on a reset of our driving hours, parked in Regina, SK. I haven't blogged in such a long time. One reason is that we have started using an iPad for our Internet needs and blogger doesn't work on our iPad. So I found a Blogger manager app and we'll see how it works.

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Location:Prince of Wales Dr,Regina,Canada

M2MS

What changes the quality of your life is not improved circumstances, rather a changed perspective (Philippians 2:5-8).

M2MS

"A room without books is like a body without a soul." G. K. Chesterton

My life has been enriched by feeding on the thoughts of others through their writing. I have never lacked a mentor to give me guidance or a friend to share comfort. Reading has been a source of education as well as entertainment. The more I read the more I realize there is so much I have yet to learn and discover.

Of all the books I have read, the Holy Bible has had the greatest impact on my life. Through its words I have come to know the living God and His Son, Jesus Christ. Its penetrating wisdom has peeled back the external layers of pretense I have created over the years in order that I might become a person of true character. In a culture that pursues the acquisition of stuff, the Bible has informed and molded my desires towards the things that hold true and lasting value. Although I have read through it many times, I have never been bored by its stories and have yet to exhaust the wealth of its insights. This book is alive because its Author lives through it and transforms my life. I try to read it every day and meditate upon it through each day. My sons, I encourage you to make reading an important practice in your life, moreover, the Bible the most vital.

M2MS

When you fall pick something up.

This pithy proverb speaks three lessons. First, a fall is inevitable. It says when you fall; not if you fall. We are born to blunder; that's our inheritance from Adam. Don't despair and give up; get up!

Second, when you find that you have chosen to walk down the wrong path, turn around! When you fall get back up! Although we all blunder, by God's grace, we are destined for for something better. That's our hope: we don't have to stay down and wallow in our failure. God has granted us an incredible gift for escaping the grip of our sins: repentance. This word may sound archaic; conjuring up an image of a grimacing young monk bent over in an act of self-flagellation. No, repentance is a beautiful picture. Like the prodigal son rescued from homelessness to honor; rags to riches; loneliness to lavish love. It's the picture of Ebenezer Scrooge transformed from a grumpy grasping fiend into a giddy giving friend.

Repentance is not something you do to gain God's favor. It is simply the act of changing your mind to return to the place of God's favor. It's a transformation of perspective about what got you down; about the wrong choices that you've made; that there is a better way to live.

Third, learn something from the failures in your life and make the necessary course corrections that will take you to the place of grace. Pick something up! Failure plus failure plus failure plus repentance and God's grace equals success.

Happy Birthday Josh!

Today is my son's 30th birthday. The day he was born was one of the happiest of my life. And I experience that happiness every time I am with him. There is a mutual respect and admiration between us. We talk freely about any topic, from love and leadership, to the Lord Jesus and faith, to cars and carpentry. And we are at ease to be silent and work together.

One of the greatest blessings in my life has been to watch my son grow and develop into a man; a godly man. He is becoming a man of Christlike character and faith. He loves his wife and he will be a good father.

My son has been a hero to me. At one of the lowest points in my life he opened his arms wide and welcomed us into his home; no questions, no conditions. He never criticized but he did challenge with truth and love.

I thank God for my son, Joshua Caleb.

"The father of a righteous man has great joy; he who has a wise son delights in him." (Proverbs 23:24)

M2MS

"All our authority is derived. Either God gives us a word, or we are only giving opinions. either God vouches for us, or our credentials are forged. If anyone ever stops to listen to you or me, this had better be solidly in place: Our speaking comes out of our listening. What we say comes out of what we hear. We have to be people who listen, day and night, to God. (1 Peter 4:11)

"Carl Sandburg, in his biography of Abraham Lincoln, describes his childhood this way: 'In wilderness loneliness he companied with trees, with the faces of open sky and weather in changing seasons, with that individual one-man instrument, the ax. Silence found him for her own. In the making of him, the element of silence was immense.'

"What makes me? What makes you? What are the elements that shape us? . . . Silence is the condition for true listening. . . .

Henri Nouwen noted that the root of the word absurd is the Latin word for 'deaf,' surdus. Absurdness is deafness, where the voice that speaks truth in love, that wounds to heal, that gives clear guidance amidst many false enticements-that voice is lost in the cacophony. We cannot hear. We are deaf to it. For lack of silence, our lives are absurd." (Mark Buchanan, The Rest of God).

Over the past six months our life has been busy and hectic to say the least. With building a home and our work load as team drivers. There has been little time for quietness and silence. But God is faithful to get our attention. This past week we were back to work heading west with our first load when the truck slowing started to lose power and then stall. Seven hours later, at the Freightliner shop in North Bay, Ontario, we were told that the repairs would take a few days. Since we were only two hours drive from our home, we rented a car and headed for our cabin.

These few unexpected days off the road have been a rest from the business of our life. Here in this quiet place, I have intentionally set aside time to be quiet and listen for the voice of God. And I am beginning to understand that there is nothing of greater value and satisfaction in this life than to know the God who loves me and to hear him speak.

"Lord Jesus, . . .

Love brought thee from heaven to earth, from earth to the cross, from the cross to the grave.

Love caused thee to be weary, hungry, tempted, scorned, scourged, buffeted, spat upon, crucified, and pierced.

Love lead thee to bow thy head in death. . . .

Thy love is not intermittent, cold, unchangeable; it does not cease or abate for all eternity. . . .

Let me see thy love everywhere, not only in the cross, but in the fellowship of believers and in the world around me.

When I feel the warmth of the sun may I praise thee who art the Sun of righteousness with healing power.

When I feel the tender rain may I think of the gospel showers that water my soul.

When I walk by the river side may I praise thee for that stream that makes the eternal city glad and washes white my robes that I may have the right to the tree of life.

Thy infinite love is a mystery of mysteries, and my eternal rest lies in the eternal enjoyment of it." (Love, The Valley of Vision, p. 161).