December 2012 Newsletter

In this issue:

Homeward Bound

Ice was building up again on the windshield, and I pulled the van to the side of the slush-covered road. Frustrated, I got out of the car and began scraping the windshield with a plastic cassette shell I had scrounged from beneath the seat. It was another delay in my journey to be with family for a holiday get-together, and I was determined to get there in time.

The road trip had begun uneventfully. After packing the sound gear in the back of the van and throwing in a few changes of clothes, I had left my home in Florida for a series of concerts and Christmas with family in Michigan. But as I crossed the border from Florida to Georgia, I noticed it was cooling down outside. I turned the heater on. To my dismay only cold air blew from the vents. Because I was still clad in my shorts and T-shirt from the balmy 80 degree temperatures I was leaving behind, the cold front was obvious as I continued to drive farther north.

I decided to spend the night in a hotel north of Atlanta and get the heater fixed the next morning. When I awoke in the morning I found a thin layer of ice coating everything in sight. The service station found the problem with the heater. It was a blocked heater core and replacing the part would not be possible before they closed for the holidays. So I made the decision to press on, heat or no heat. I was determined to be home for Christmas.

The rain continued to fall and freeze making the roads nearly impassable and bringing the holiday highway traffic to a standstill on more than one occasion. With no heat inside to warm the glass, the rain froze instantly on the windshield of my van. I could drive a maximum of two miles before having to stop and scrape the windshield. And since I lived in southern Florida where we rarely even experience a frost, I didn’t have an ice scraper. I had to resort to the cumbersome, old, plastic cassette shell to scrape the ice away.

Hours passed. I finally crossed the border into Tennessee. In Chattanooga I stopped at a second hand clothing store and bought a stocking hat to keep my head warm. It was so ugly the sales lady insisted on putting it in a bag so no one would see me taking it out of the store. I had no gloves so I resorted to a pair of boot socks from my suitcase to keep my hands warm. A fleece blanket provided a little warmth to my legs, and I wrapped a towel around my neck like a scarf. I was in a battle to prevent hypothermia.

I was cold; cold like a bag of frozen broccoli. The windshield was frosting up even on the inside. The temperature continued to drop with the falling rain. It took me twelve hours to drive from Atlanta, Georgia, to Nashville, Tennessee, normally a four hour trip. Finally, north of Nashville the freezing rain stopped, giving me relief from the windshield scraping duty, and allowing me to make a little bit better time.

I pressed on. What should have been a thirteen hour trip turned into twenty. I would stop occasionally at a rest stop, stumble across the parking lot, and stand inside the heated building trying to restore circulation to my legs. But it didn’t help much. It was painful to even move my lower body. There’s cold and then there’s dumb cold. I was clearly dumb and numb. But it didn’t matter. I had one thing and only one thing on my mind – I was going to be home for Christmas.

You should have seen the look on the officer’s face when he pulled me over in Quincy, Michigan. By now it was 1:43 in the morning. It was fifteen degrees outside and not much warmer inside the van. I guess I was weaving between the lines a little, and his natural assumption was I had just left a bar somewhere. I’m sure what he saw when he looked in my window suggested he was right. I was still wearing “The Hat” along with the rest of the stylish can-I -please-get-some-heat winter wear. I was so cold I could not open the glove box to get the registration and proof of insurance without shuffling around the front of the van to the passenger side and turning the little knob with both numb hands. At that point I seriously considered asking the kind officer if I could sit in the patrol car and warm up while he filled out the paperwork. I just wanted out of the icebox on wheels. I could not feel my feet past mid-shin. I really couldn’t feel much of anything. I was beyond pain.

But I was going home, home where it was warm, home where my family was waiting for me, home where I could finally rest from this incredible journey.

And that, in a sense, is what this life is all about.

We are going to have troubles. Life is a journey, not a destination. The sooner we understand this, the sooner we can put our trials into perspective. You see, we are merely working our way home. Jesus said in this world you and I will have trials. But take courage, He has overcome the world. And in another passage He reminds us He has prepared a place for us so that ultimately, where He is, we can be also.

The point is this. We are not yet home. This is not the end of the road. The problems we face today are temporary. While difficult, they are just trying days in a journey of a lifetime. Like sheets of ice they will eventually melt away, and we will make it home.

In case you are wondering, I did not get a ticket. The only thing the officer got was a good laugh. I was able to get the heater fixed a few days later and, most importantly, I made it home.

And so will you.

See you when we get there.

Till next month,

Free Downloads Page on the website

All of the resources we have available as a ministry are available for free downloads through the downloads section of the website. There are copies of several messages Tim has shared at conferences and special meetings, along with three different full length CDs you can download for free. Help yourself! And if you know of anyone who would be blessed by the resources, feel free to share the link with them. Click here to go to the Downloads page.

Connect with Timothy on Facebook

If you would like to keep up with what is going on in Timothy’s life and ministry, he would love to have you as a Facebook friend. This is also the primary means he uses for sharing prayer requests. So if you are interested in supporting the ministry through prayer, this would be a great option for you. Timothy will look forward to connecting with you there. Click here to go to the Facebook page directly.

Upcoming Ministry Events

Come hear Timothy live at one of these upcoming events and mention you heard about it through the newsletter. For details, click here to view Current Schedule.

  • February 20, 2013 – Lake Placid, Florida
  • March 3-6, 2013 – Chillicothe, Texas
  • March 31, 2013 – Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada
  • April 14-17, 2013 – Jefferson, North Carolina
  • April 21, 2013 – Jefferson, North Carolina
  • April 28, 2013 – Marlette, Michigan
  • April 29, 2013 – Three Rivers, Michigan

Interested In Hosting a Timothy Mark Ministry Event for your Organization?

We are actively scheduling preaching and music ministry events for the next two years. God has blessed abundantly with multiplied opportunities for ministry. If you are interested in hosting Timothy for a conference, concert, or preaching ministry event, please let us know as soon as possible so we can accommodate you. It would be a privilege. As always, all of the ministry events are booked on a simple love offering basis. If the church or organization is able to help with travel expenses it is appreciated but never required. You can use the online booking request form through the link below. Or simply call 941-445-3288 or email today at timothy@timothymark.com.

Click here to go directly to the Booking Request Form.