08282011 Church on Sunday and people we meet

It is important for us to continue our church life while we are on the road. Last week we were in the middle of a load and broke down so we were not able to attend a church. This week we are waiting on a load, so we were able to go to church. The trick was to find one. We began our search with Lutheran churches, just to narrow it down a little and since we are Lutheran it made sense to us. We found quite a few in the area and decided to go to one that was closest. We talked to the crew at Pilot and they shared that there probably wouldn't be a place to park since the church was on a hill and in a residential area. They were very helpful, but we decided to go and see if we could find some place to park and then walk.

We got as far as the road it was on and found a sign that said "No trucks". We went back the way we came and decided to park in a shopping center parking lot and walk. We actually saw a small church on top of the hill that was closer and decided to make our way there. Once we hit the top of the hill we noticed that the church service started at 9:00 and for all of our church going friends, 9:00 is early, just ask North Salem. Well we obviously were about 40 minutes late for that service so we decided to make our way to the one we had originally decided to go to which started at 9:45. According to our calculations it was just down the road a ways. I'm sure I'm exaggerating but I think it had to be at least a mile and since we are not big exercising people, it took us a little while longer than most to walk, so naturally we were a little late. Of course we figured we'd be able to just slide in and sit in the back in case we needed to get up and and leave early. We walked in and of course everyone was sitting in the back. There were plenty of seats up front, so we headed down the aisle and very quietly sat in the fourth row from the front by the band. Now I wonder if Lutherans are the only ones who sit in the back. We joke alot about that at our church but I think that I've heard others say their church is the same way.

It was a great service with Pastor Catherine Douglas presiding with a great message about putting God first in our lives which is difficult when everything tells us to look out for ourselves and put ourselves first. The scripture today talked about loving everyone even if they have done something evil to you. That is pretty tough. Showing love and kindness to strangers without judgement, again difficult when humans are always trying to one up each other. Pastor Douglas shared that in such a competitive world, we live for our own egos and how something will make us feel instead of thinking about how it will affect others. Jesus loved us so much that he was willing to die for us, what if we loved each other the way he loved us? Anyone out there ready to die through public humility for a stranger that they've never met that has done wrong (even killing someone else?). Jesus was willing to do that for all of us, not just the people we judge as being good people but all of us, sinners of all kinds.

Jim and I started this expediting venture because we felt that God was calling us to do something more in sharing His word and His love. This is also something we are pretty newbies at. We have always been church goers but have kept our faith to ourselves except when another person talks first about their faith. Now we want to be the ones to speak up and both of us feel this works well when you first get to know people and share love and then when we are asked why we are positive and happy then we can share what God has done in our lives because He has sure worked miracles. Getting to know others and sharing faith stories just shows God's power and love for us all. We are still learning and of course sometimes shut God out when we think we know best, but really are trying to listen a little more to what He has planned for us.

We miss our friends and family at our home church but since The Church is not a building, we are looking to grow in our faith and getting to know more of God's wonderful children.We have already met such wonderful people along our journey so far. We've met other team drivers and we've met lots of people along the way both on pickups and deliveries. It is great to be able to share our experiences with each other.

In this blog, we will talk about our truck adventures and also about the people we meet who have touched our lives in special ways. We would also like to share the outside of our box world we are experiencing. Sometimes we get caught up in our own difficulties that we forget there are others out there who are experiencing difficulties that we can not even imagine. As we move forward in this blog we will share our special experiences as well as our God sightings.

So far I've noticed that God uses truck drivers to help spread his love. In just our short experience in truck stops, I have noticed that there is much more noticeable prayer before meals. It wasn't something I was trying to notice, it was just obvious. So far I've noticed that drivers genuinely care about others on the road and how others are affected by what they do. In our short experience, drivers tell you like it is. I know we've been pretty lucky but most of the drivers we have talked to will talk about the hardships but usually gave a positive outcome.

We'll keep working and posting as we have the opportunity. Once we figure out our power issue with the laptop, we'll be able to post more often. Thanks for reading about our adventures.

Peace, love and joy,
Judy