7 Aug 2013 by Sojourner’s Tales
When you were a child and you were about to do something that you knew that your parent would punish you for do you remember hearing a small voice in your head? Many times we think of that “voice of conscience” as a product of our upbringing or training or just our own life experiences. At other times we hear that same voice urging us to take a step along a new pathway in our lives and we call it a “hunch” or an “epiphany.” Why is it so seldom that we think of that voice as coming from God? Continue reading
On The Road
The posts that fall into this category are my thoughts and musing as I am traveling. My intent is that they will also include stories of events as I wander, and Testimonies of people that I meet along the way.
Are We Good Samaritans or Satan’s Tools?
Mascoutah Murals
Mascoutah Murals
Rearing Horse Statue in Mascoutah
07/27/13 by Sojotales
A beautiful day and the open road greeted my wife and I as we swung our legs over the motorcycle and went exploring. We didn’t have any specific destination in mind, but wound up seeing some beautiful countryside as we rode through Mascoutah and on towards Okawville. Before today we’d only been to Mascoutah to eat at the RoemerTopf German restaurant (which serves some wonderful varieties of schnitzel!) The town is small, but clean and well maintained; along the main road it even had a couple of artistic murals and some statues. A rearing horse was the first thing that caught our attention as we drove down the main street. The ride itself was the least of the blessings that God poured out on us as we continued down the road. We saw beautiful fields of corn rippling in the blowing wind, and children playing in the mud beside the river as we rode along.
We pulled into a gas station in Okawville to fill up the motorcycle’s tank. While I was pumping the gas I was witness to a blatant display of haughty disinterest followed in turn by the actions of an elderly gentleman who made me think of the story of the Good Samaritan.
A lady who was obviously from out of town pulled up in front of the service station looking for directions. She seemed frantic and lost; like she was in a hurry to get somewhere and was late. Continue reading
Matthew 5:39, 1 Peter 5:6-10 Turning the other Cheek and Letting Go.
07/26/13 by Sojotales
During a situation that happened at work a few weeks ago my feelings were hurt pretty badly. I tried to cover it up and pretend that it didn’t bother me, but it was eating me up inside; especially since I saw the potential for the same thing happening again in the near future. The worry and anxiety about going through that type of situation yet again was disturbing my sense of peace. It bothered me so much that my stomach had begun to hurt over the last few weeks. This situation just seemed to get worse and worse the more I thought about it. Yesterday though was different; I got an answer I wasn’t expecting when I prayed about it. As soon as I’d stopped praying the words “turn the other cheek” came to mind.
- But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. Matthew 5:39 KJV
I realized that I wasn’t being a forgiving Christian, Continue reading
Matt 10:28-32 & Psalm 91 Birds in the air
07/19/13 by Sojotales
This morning as I drove to work a flock of birds wheeled and turned through the blue sky overhead. The Brownian motion of the flock flowed effortlessly through the current of the air. Watching them fly from east to west above the road in front of me brought an amazing thought to mind, “God who created these small fragile creatures has used them to create this wonderful scene.” That thought in turn led me to think of the verses in Matthew 10:28-32 that speaks of sparrows. Continue reading
Psalm 120:5 and Sandy Creek Covered Bridge
Sandy Creek Covered Bridge
07/13/13 by Sojotales
PSALM 120:5
I was wondering what to title this Blog and the word Sojourner kept coming to mind. One of the Bible study groups that I attended while I lived in Tennessee was called Sojourners or Sojos for short. The class was led by an amazing missionary couple who described the class name as the way we as Christians travel through life. We are all Sojourning (traveling, wandering) through life towards our ultimate goal of going to live with Jesus. The name and description struck a chord with me when I first heard it and it still does. As I was praying about this blog the name Sojourner kept coming to mind, but I debated with God about the name; vacillating between trusting that God wanted these stories called Sojourner’s tales, or whether my fleshly self just liked the name due to the fond memories that I had with an amazing Sunday school group. Now I know for without a doubt that the title Sojourner’s tales is His will. Continue reading
Psalm 118: Sojourner’s Tales
07/10/13 by Sojotales
PSALM 118 The start of the blog
Sunday 7 July 2013 was an amazing day for which I give thanks unto the Lord; for He was so good to me on that day. A quick jaunt with my lovely wife to one of the local Ice-Cream shops filled me with more peace than I’ve had for quite a while. The warm summer breeze carried the scent of freshly mown grass as we meandered slowly down the road to the Ice Cream shop. I could almost taste the Vanilla Malt that I knew would be waiting for me once we got there. When we arrived, the anticipation that I’d had on the ride made the flavor explode across my tongue as the frosty beverage cooled my throat. It was so good that I had to force myself to slow down in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent BRAIN-FREEZE!!!! Aaaargh!!! J Continue reading
Sojourner's Tales 