Thursday, March 13, 2008
Tired
Detroit (Woodhaven), Michigan. No divine appointments thus far. Much grace in getting here and there.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Postscript
One more thing, and this is a reminder note, I would like to write about the marvelous book which my dear wife bought for me at Christmas: David Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount. It is excellent. I would recommend it to anyone.
Monday, March 10
It is Monday evening, March 10. I am at home yet for a few more hours.
To bring things up to date, the remaining parts did arrive in Eloy. I did have a chance to meet again with chaplain Don and I do think he accepted what I had to say. Chaplain Don is up in years. Pray for him. There is little interest now that I can see in these truck stop chapels.
I did not have the opportunity to visit with my friend in Phoenix. I was running too tight once I left Eloy. Another time perhaps. The Lord is quite able to dispatch me west again as it suits His purpose.
In Los Angeles I was favored once again with great grace. Time would fail me to write of all the Lord's kindnesses to me. I sailed into Los Angeles (no small feat), found parking at our central Los Angeles yard, and then made it to the customer, a refinery, on time the following morning. Then it was to time to fly back to Houston with an empty trailer (they had no freight and were already going to be a day late in getting me home). I arrived at our Houston terminal Saturday evening weary but happy. (When time permits, instead of grace, I would like to write about the flesh, about the fruits of the spirit [or lack thereof, in my case], and the events which happened on Friday while I was enroute back to Houston - suffice it to say the flesh is an ever present enemy for the Christian - it is always ready to bubble to the surface - God help us! I would also like to write about church. That is a whole different story. And I would like to write about Jacob, the tank wash employee.)
Home Sunday. Home today (Monday). Out again tomorrow. This time it will be towards Kankakee, Illinois, near Chicago. Now there is laundry to fold, some eggs to boil and it is off to bed. There is a 30 minute drive to the terminal tomorrow morning and truck driving is rather unforgiving if you do not get your sleep.
Above all, I pray that God will have some divine appointments for me. I do not want God to ever take me off of His "go to" list.
To bring things up to date, the remaining parts did arrive in Eloy. I did have a chance to meet again with chaplain Don and I do think he accepted what I had to say. Chaplain Don is up in years. Pray for him. There is little interest now that I can see in these truck stop chapels.
I did not have the opportunity to visit with my friend in Phoenix. I was running too tight once I left Eloy. Another time perhaps. The Lord is quite able to dispatch me west again as it suits His purpose.
In Los Angeles I was favored once again with great grace. Time would fail me to write of all the Lord's kindnesses to me. I sailed into Los Angeles (no small feat), found parking at our central Los Angeles yard, and then made it to the customer, a refinery, on time the following morning. Then it was to time to fly back to Houston with an empty trailer (they had no freight and were already going to be a day late in getting me home). I arrived at our Houston terminal Saturday evening weary but happy. (When time permits, instead of grace, I would like to write about the flesh, about the fruits of the spirit [or lack thereof, in my case], and the events which happened on Friday while I was enroute back to Houston - suffice it to say the flesh is an ever present enemy for the Christian - it is always ready to bubble to the surface - God help us! I would also like to write about church. That is a whole different story. And I would like to write about Jacob, the tank wash employee.)
Home Sunday. Home today (Monday). Out again tomorrow. This time it will be towards Kankakee, Illinois, near Chicago. Now there is laundry to fold, some eggs to boil and it is off to bed. There is a 30 minute drive to the terminal tomorrow morning and truck driving is rather unforgiving if you do not get your sleep.
Above all, I pray that God will have some divine appointments for me. I do not want God to ever take me off of His "go to" list.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Tuesday
I am still not moving, but the day has been busy so far nonetheless. God has continued to hold me here in Eloy. The employees of the Petro Truckstop service shop know nothing this morning of the replacement leaf spring which my company is supposed to send by overnight delivery from Indiana. Unless the part turns up later in the day I will be here at least another 24 hours. But I have lots of food in the truck. There is a Burger King across the street. There is internet access. And, while I do not have shower credits at the Petro chain (my company does not fuel at Petro, and that is how one earns shower credits), the Petro shop gave me a free shower voucher since I am stranded here.
Aside: Living in the truck for days on end leads one to give thanks to God for some very simple things like hot showers. Once again it is grace, God's unmerited favor. In one of my favorite books, Pilgrim's Progress, if my memory serves me, there is a character who aids either Christian or Christiana whose name is "Great Grace". Not little grace. Not medium grace. Great Grace. I doubt we will know even the half of it while we are here below.
The location mystery is solved. I am indeed in Eloy, Arizona. 200 feet away, on the other side of the street which marks the city limits, is Casa Grande, Arizona.
I have visited with the other chaplain, Chaplain Don, at the little chapel here. He told me in our brief conversation that he thought that God does not approve of mixed race marriages. This struck me as a very odd statement. My wife and I have told all of our children that we care not what color spouse-to-be they bring home so long as the spouse-to-be is a devout believer. I told chaplain Don I would drop back in on him. Perhaps the scripture relating to Miriam's complaint about the marriage of Moses to the Ethiopian (Cushite) woman will be helpful to him (Numbers 12). But, ultimately, it is I think up to God to disabuse us of wrong-headed notions provided we are willing to be changed by God. No doubt I harbor yet many wrong-headed notions myself. May I have the good sense to see when God decides to correct my thinking. The day will come, not so very far away, when we will all see things more clearly. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13:
For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face:
now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
---------------
Once I am underway, I may have an opportunity tomorrow or later to meet an old college friend who resides in Phoenix. Pray for that meeting.
Meanwhile, we will see what else God has in store at the Eloy Petro. There is a constant stream of arrivals and departures, and God holds me here for now ...
Aside: Living in the truck for days on end leads one to give thanks to God for some very simple things like hot showers. Once again it is grace, God's unmerited favor. In one of my favorite books, Pilgrim's Progress, if my memory serves me, there is a character who aids either Christian or Christiana whose name is "Great Grace". Not little grace. Not medium grace. Great Grace. I doubt we will know even the half of it while we are here below.
The location mystery is solved. I am indeed in Eloy, Arizona. 200 feet away, on the other side of the street which marks the city limits, is Casa Grande, Arizona.
I have visited with the other chaplain, Chaplain Don, at the little chapel here. He told me in our brief conversation that he thought that God does not approve of mixed race marriages. This struck me as a very odd statement. My wife and I have told all of our children that we care not what color spouse-to-be they bring home so long as the spouse-to-be is a devout believer. I told chaplain Don I would drop back in on him. Perhaps the scripture relating to Miriam's complaint about the marriage of Moses to the Ethiopian (Cushite) woman will be helpful to him (Numbers 12). But, ultimately, it is I think up to God to disabuse us of wrong-headed notions provided we are willing to be changed by God. No doubt I harbor yet many wrong-headed notions myself. May I have the good sense to see when God decides to correct my thinking. The day will come, not so very far away, when we will all see things more clearly. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13:
For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face:
now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
---------------
Once I am underway, I may have an opportunity tomorrow or later to meet an old college friend who resides in Phoenix. Pray for that meeting.
Meanwhile, we will see what else God has in store at the Eloy Petro. There is a constant stream of arrivals and departures, and God holds me here for now ...
Monday, March 3, 2008
A Devotional for Truck Drivers
I have had the idea of putting together a devotional for truck drivers. I don't know how such a thing would get distributed or whether it would be read by anyone. We shall see.
Somewhere in Arizona
It is 10:30 at night. Somewhere in Arizona. The truckstop directory said "Casa Grande", but the shop employee insists I am in Eloy, Arizona.
From time to time the Lord sees fit to stop me or delay me. This was one of those days, and He saw fit to stop me at the Petro Truckstop in Casa Grande (Eloy?).
I had only driven a hundred miles this morning, and was prepared to bypass Phoenix, when I heard a noise, checked my mirrors, and saw bits of tire on the shoulder where none had been before. A blowout? I couldn't see anything in my mirrors but knew that only a fool would proceed further without checking out the situation. I could see a Petro truckstop ahead! Would I make it? One mile ... and then down the exit ramp ... a quick right turn and into the Petro ... a large dirt area across from the shop perfect for stopping and checking tires ... circle into the dirt area and then ...
BOOOOMMMM! A noise that could be heard for half a mile. Heads turned and looked in the shop. It was one of my super singles. It had lost its tread on the freeway and as I circled into the dirt parking area it blew. How I made it a mile down the freeway without tread is unknown to me.
Well, this was no big thing. An hour or two delay while the employer decided where to get a replacement tire. Was God good to me or what? Last night I wanted to write about grace - the unmerited favor of God, but was too tired from the bad cold I was nursing. Now I was seeing still more of His abundant grace in action. What is so "gracious" about a blown tire? Grace is when you are just about to turn off Interstate 10 and head into very barren, very desolate country and the tire blows right in front of the truck stop. Grace is when you deserve to have the ground open up and swallow you but instead you come to a safe stop and your tire does not blow until you are safely off the road while you are carrying 45,000 pounds of flammable liquid.
But the story gets better. While waiting for the tire repair, I discovered a broken leaf spring on the trailer. This is a definite travel stopper. It is more of a travel stopper when there is no replacement spring anywhere in the state of Arizona which will fit this fourteen year old trailer, so now I sit in Eloy (Casa Grande?).
But why here?
I have learned that when God stops me (and his methods are peculiar), it is time to stop, look about, and see why He has stopped me here. I talk with the mechanics. I talk with the bedbuggers parked next to me (I am a tanker yanker - bedbuggers are van line drivers and movers). So far nothing . .. but wait ... there is a little chapel here at THIS Petro (truck stop chapels are becoming rare) and this chapel is occupied (on a MONDAY ?!?) and chaplain Larry is planning to have a service this evening! How good is this! I rarely get to attend services on the road.
Service tonight consisted of me and Chaplain Larry. I needed the church tonight. And I think that Chaplain Larry needed a truck driver to come in and pray with him and encourage him. Truck stop ministries are lonely these days.
Now, God has not yet permitted me to leave, and the part may or may not come in tomorrow (my masters are sending the part from Indiana), so we will see what other appointments, if any, God has for me. He never tells me in advance. It is always a surprise.
From time to time the Lord sees fit to stop me or delay me. This was one of those days, and He saw fit to stop me at the Petro Truckstop in Casa Grande (Eloy?).
I had only driven a hundred miles this morning, and was prepared to bypass Phoenix, when I heard a noise, checked my mirrors, and saw bits of tire on the shoulder where none had been before. A blowout? I couldn't see anything in my mirrors but knew that only a fool would proceed further without checking out the situation. I could see a Petro truckstop ahead! Would I make it? One mile ... and then down the exit ramp ... a quick right turn and into the Petro ... a large dirt area across from the shop perfect for stopping and checking tires ... circle into the dirt area and then ...
BOOOOMMMM! A noise that could be heard for half a mile. Heads turned and looked in the shop. It was one of my super singles. It had lost its tread on the freeway and as I circled into the dirt parking area it blew. How I made it a mile down the freeway without tread is unknown to me.
Well, this was no big thing. An hour or two delay while the employer decided where to get a replacement tire. Was God good to me or what? Last night I wanted to write about grace - the unmerited favor of God, but was too tired from the bad cold I was nursing. Now I was seeing still more of His abundant grace in action. What is so "gracious" about a blown tire? Grace is when you are just about to turn off Interstate 10 and head into very barren, very desolate country and the tire blows right in front of the truck stop. Grace is when you deserve to have the ground open up and swallow you but instead you come to a safe stop and your tire does not blow until you are safely off the road while you are carrying 45,000 pounds of flammable liquid.
But the story gets better. While waiting for the tire repair, I discovered a broken leaf spring on the trailer. This is a definite travel stopper. It is more of a travel stopper when there is no replacement spring anywhere in the state of Arizona which will fit this fourteen year old trailer, so now I sit in Eloy (Casa Grande?).
But why here?
I have learned that when God stops me (and his methods are peculiar), it is time to stop, look about, and see why He has stopped me here. I talk with the mechanics. I talk with the bedbuggers parked next to me (I am a tanker yanker - bedbuggers are van line drivers and movers). So far nothing . .. but wait ... there is a little chapel here at THIS Petro (truck stop chapels are becoming rare) and this chapel is occupied (on a MONDAY ?!?) and chaplain Larry is planning to have a service this evening! How good is this! I rarely get to attend services on the road.
Service tonight consisted of me and Chaplain Larry. I needed the church tonight. And I think that Chaplain Larry needed a truck driver to come in and pray with him and encourage him. Truck stop ministries are lonely these days.
Now, God has not yet permitted me to leave, and the part may or may not come in tomorrow (my masters are sending the part from Indiana), so we will see what other appointments, if any, God has for me. He never tells me in advance. It is always a surprise.
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