Category Archives: Steps Along This Journey

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Just Another Bump in the Road

I know, it’s just another bump in the road.  When it happens to others, no big deal.  But it’s happening to you and it’s causing a major delay in your life.

I’ve driven my truck now for five years and never had a flat.  Until now.  I’m a few miles from home when I realize I must have hit something in the road.  Also there was a jarring motion as I slowed down.  What made me realize that I was having a flat was when I got out of the truck, I could here the unmistakable sound of air leaking out of my front left tire.  hhhhssssssss.  Uh oh.  I’m a pretty good detective.  I’ve reached the conclusion that I’ve got a flat.  WRONG!!!!!  Keep reading.

Well, a flat, so get to work, fix it.  Solve your own problem and move on.  I know it’s terribly hot.  I’ll get greasy and dirty.  It’s only a few miles from home.  I have a spare and I have a jack.  I will fix my own problem.

The jack for this truck was new to me.  After a short time though, I had taken the flat tire off, pulled the spare from under the truck and put it on and now I’m ready to go.  Let’s continue on my journey right?  WRONG!!!!!  Keep reading.

I’ll admit there was a sense of satisfaction as I let the jack down.  I had completed the act of changing a tire.  Ya always have to be prepared for situations like that.  I did it.  Now back on the road……….  Uh oh, I notice the left rear tire.  It’s now flat as a pancake.  Two flats at the same time!  Do you think I’m going to let this ruin my day.  WRONG!!…… no, you’re right…..keep reading.

I had to do the unthinkable.  I had to do what none of us like to do.  Obviously I did what I could by using the spare on the first flat, but now I’m staring at a second flat tire.  So as painful as it is I do what for some reason I (and you) dread doing.  I call for help.

In this instance I called Staci.  I let her know where I am located, my situation, and my dire need for some assistance.  I’m up a creek without a paddle.  It’s worse, I’m down the road with two flats and one spare.  You do the math.  “I need help”.  There, I said it.

This may seem just a small run of bad luck to you, but it has ruined my day.  I’ve rolled around under the truck, got hot and sweaty.  Never fails that there is an ant bed where I’m working.  Staci wants to know what I did wrong ’cause how else would I get two flats.  Well, that didn’t sit well with me in the frame of mind I was in.  So I barked at her!  When I got to the flat tire fixer guy, he wanted to spend more time talking than fixin’, so I blew a gasket waiting on him as he fixed the tire.  Three hours later, I finally am back on the road again.  All is back to normal……..except for that frame of mind I’m in.

Confession time here for me…….. I have let the monsters of frustration take over.  I have allowed small inconveniences and a bump in the road to take over my frame of mind…… and it’s not good.  Not good for me,  and not good for those around me.  I have become my own worst enemy.

James 1:2-5 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Should I be joyful that I have a flat?  In that case maybe I should go further and have a celebration because I’ve got two flats.  Woohoo,….. double flats, let’s party!!!!!!

No what the scripture is saying to me (and you,  you know how you are when you hit bumps in the road, so chill). ….. What God is telling us is to count it joy when we face our trials.  Count it all joy means to stay away from THAT frame of mind.  As I look back, I’m thankful that Staci took time out to come get me.  I’m glad the tire repair guy can fix my flat.  I’m happy that it’s been five years since I’ve even thought about a flat tire.

I’ll never be joyful about a flat, or any “bump in the road“, and neither will you.  That’s not what the scripture is saying.  But “count it all joy” will keep my mind from getting in the ill and whiney mood.  Count it all joy will not necessarily change my situation, but it can change my mind.  Change my mind from a frustrated pile of mush to a positive faith growing brain allowing my faith to help produce steadfastness.

Funny how we let the small things in our journey “ruin” our day.  Funny how we tend to see the negatives and how we focus on them.  Funny how our own mind can turn from being happy and even joyful to well, being our own worst enemy.  Funny how, well really none of this is funny.  It is a serious step that we must take.  Steadfast (I looked up the definition) means steadily directed, fixed in direction.  What direction is that?  Onward and upward.

Count it all joy that a flat tire, a bad day, a hurt finger, a “whatever you are going through right now”,  can cause you in some small way to grow your faith.  Being in an ill mood can sure put a damper on my and your spiritual growth.  Being in the right frame of mind changes everything, especially how you handle the “bumps”.

See Ya!   Dan Ainsworth wilderness preacher,  part time flat tire fixer guy

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What I Heard from the Herd

Well, looka there!  A brand new member of a new generation.  So much for them to see.  So much for them to learn.  Who’s going to show them all there is to see and know?

Momma cow is going to be busy taking care of Jr.  She will have to show him where the good grass is, where the gates are, where the pond is located.  She will “train” her baby by making him aware of where the salt lick is, where the farmer places the hay bales.  She will be there as he learns about barbed wires, snakes, electric fences, and gullies that you can fall into.  Momma cow has a tremendous responsibility when it comes to “training up” her calf in the way that he should grow.  But she loves her baby.  Nothing had better come between her and her baby.  (Especially me with my camera.  Two seconds after this picture, she had me running back to the truck for cover!)

Cows are creatures who live in herds. (Us people live in herds also)  So while momma teaches her calf and provides for him, the herd itself also has a chance to help “train” this youngster.  Ever notice in a herd of cows, at certain times of the day when they are grazing, that most of the calves are grouped together with one or two cows overseeing them?  We call it “kindergarten time”.  Each of the calves will learn a lot on their own as they interact with other calves and the rest of the herd.  The interaction with calf and other grown cows is amazing to me.  You can tell that the calf doesn’t “belong” to the other grown cows.  But there is a bond between them because they are in the same herd.

VBS

Staci and I, along with a couple of youth in our church had the opportunity to help “train” the children at our church’s Bible School (Shout out to Zach, Luke, and Brandon!)  We shared Bible stories to these children who are “part of our herd“.  Just like in the animal world, mama (and Dad) has the biggest responsibility for raising and training their baby.  But as part of the herd, YOU and I have a great opportunity to help with the growth of this newer generation.

What about you and your herd?  It may be a son, daughter, grandchild, a friend’s child, a friend of a friend’s child.  It may be someone who is to become a friend and part of your herd regardless of age.  But think a minute on this.  You yourself know about life.  You yourself know where the “fence” is, where the “hay bales” are located.  You know the dangers of life in the “pasture”.  You have faced the “coyotes of life”, the “storms” in the valley, and the dangers associated with living.  Don’t ya think it makes sense to share your experiences with these younger ones coming up.  Why, they don’t even know what “rain” is yet!!!!!!!

Oh, you are saying to yourself…….. you’re not qualified, huh?  Let mama take care of ’em huh……..  Well, mama needs help.  Jr. needs help…. from you.  These new generation creatures are facing a much different “pasture” than what was before.  They face difficulties and adverse conditions that were not there even 20 yrs ago.  You and I (as part of the herd) must help with their training.  Why?  It pleases the ultimate farmer……. The Head Rancher in the Sky………God Himself…… He is pleased.   YeHawww  Cowboy!!!

See, if we let this new generation go their own way, it will lead to hard times for them.  If we spend some of our time, give away some of our experiences, it will benefit them at some point down the road.  This new generation is not good at expressing their thanks and gratitude for the help that you give them, but you help them OK?  You go out of your way to help mama train them OK?  Here’s why.

Proverbs 22:6 – Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

A 55 yr old friend of mine is going through some tough times right now.  But he told me that he relies on a scripture that he learned in Bible School when he was eight years old !!!!

That scripture was about how God takes care of the birds of the air, and that He will take care of you.  Someone in his herd “trained” him when he was eight to prepare my friend for when he was 55 yrs old.  Who would of thought that??

My challenge to you is this.  You are part of the herd.  Some group of people could use some of your experiences of life “in the pasture”.  They don’t need a Bible scholar, or a counselor, or a school teacher, or a crisis manager.  These young “calves” need something much more.  They need YOU.  Just a few words here and there. Just a brief nod of approval.  Just a time of interaction with them.  A time spent with this younger one will be a time of “training” for them….. and a rewarding time with “your herd” for you.  That’s no bull!!

See Ya!!!  Dan Ainsworth wilderness preacher,  part time Cowboy

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I Got Some Sense Knocked into Me!

Here’s a picture of some of the tools I’m using as I build my log home.  The blue tool with the long handle is called a peavey.  It has a metal spike at the end and also a hook.  When this is placed on the log, I now have leverage to roll a massive log wherever I want.  Power!!  I feel like a MAN because I can now move a 1500 lbs log with just my own muscles.  Be careful, I know, I know.  But it is a rush to be able to move that much weight.  I feel like a super hero.  Call me Thor, or Batman, or a Jedi,…….or LOG Man!!!! cause I got the power!  I need a theme song.

But be careful.  With the proper leverage, you can move the world.  Amazing to me how this huge log can be rolled with such little effort on my part.  With these forces of weight and movement battling with and against each other there is a high probability that things may not roll your way.  Things may not go as planned. Did I remind you and myself to be careful?  Well let me say it once again.  There is danger involved with moving and building with logs.  Be careful.  But sometimes I don’t pay attention, ……….even to myself.

While humming my “theme song” and enjoying all this power, I proceeded to roll this log into position.  It continued to roll on its own.  I ah,.. I ah,….. turned loose of the handle.  Ok, I’ll admit it.  I turned loose of the handle, it continued to roll, but then flipped back in reverse and the end of the handle caught me square on the side of the face.  (I feel like I’m giving an insurance report.)  It hit me like a ton of bricks.  I felt like Rocky Balboa himself had just given me an uppercut.  The theme song in my head suddenly changed.  I saw stars,……. my knees buckled…….and now I am down for the count.  It didn’t knock me out, just knocked me cuckoo.  Didn’t knock my brains out, just “changed the channel” I was on.  It didn’t knock me senseless………. It knocked some sense into me.

Proverbs 24:16– For a just [man] falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.

It’s good to know I got up again.  But in a way it’s good to know that I got 6 more times left.  I feel like a cat with 9 lives now.  Well, down to about 4 now.  What I mean is this.  We all fall. We all fail.  At least one of us here falls while singing his own theme song!  I tell myself all the time to be safe,…. be careful.  There is not a day goes by that Staci doesn’t tell me to be careful.  She even calls me from time to time to make sure “I’m OK”.  ( I’ll have to tell ya sometime about the time I fell off the log pile cause I was trying to get to the phone.)  Be safe, Be careful.  I here it over and over.  But when it hits you up side of the head, you get a better understanding of it.

I’ve always said that God Himself will remind you of things that are needed in your life.  He will even hit you between the eyes to get your attention.  With a two by four, on in my case a peavey tool.

I bet you’ve had God “hit you” just to make you take notice of a situation in your life.  That’s what is so “good” about falling.  When you fall, He is there to pick you up.  He’ll pick you up seven times which in Bible terms means as many times as is necessary.

Be careful out there.  Stay safe.  With a very sore jaw this has taken on a newer and more important meaning in my life.

See Ya!   Dan Ainsworth wilderness preacher, part time Rocky punching bag