In this devotional monologue, M.t. Clark recounts a spontaneous‑ish road trip from his hometown to Buffalo, New York, highlighting stops at Oswego, Lake Ontario’s Seaway Trail, and Niagara Falls before checking into a hostel in Buffalo. He uses the travel narrative to urge listeners to “enjoy the journey” by intentionally trying new things, stepping out of comfort zones, and trusting God’s guidance. Clark reflects on his anxiety about staying in a hostel, the peace he found at the falls, and his anticipation of serving at a David Jeremiah event. He meditates on Hebrews 12:11, explaining that discipline is painful now but yields a peaceful harvest, and he references Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s The Cost of Discipleship on the hiddenness of piety. The piece concludes with a heartfelt prayer and a call for others to travel with God, take photos, and share their experiences.
Chapters
Good morning! Well, to see today's photo, go to mt4christ.org or follow me, M.t. Clark, on Facebook or Twitter. Good morning. Today's photo of a bright mid-afternoon sun shining over one of the natural wonders of the world comes to us from yours truly, as I decided to make the best of the somewhat long drive to Buffalo by going to Oswego last night. And by skipping along the coast of Lake Ontario along the Great Lakes Seaway Trail for a time yesterday before making a beeline for Niagara Falls. The Welcome Center for the American Falls may be under construction, and it may be— may have been off-season, but there were no lines, no crowds. Well, the crowds were small, and the observation deck was open and didn't require a ticket. Add to that the bright afternoon sunshine, and I really couldn't have asked for more, as my trip to the falls was the climax of my decision to enjoy my journey to Buffalo. Well, it's Friday, and although I may not be sure what I will do with the hours between now and when I check in as a volunteer for the evening with David Jeremiah event at the KeyBank Center at 3:30 PM, I wanted to take the time to encourage all who read or hear this message to occasionally force yourselves to enjoy the journey by intentionally— by being intentional in trying new things, doing things differently occasionally, and appreciating the way to your next destination. When I travel, I'm normally pretty destination-driven. If I'm going to X, let's get to X, and let's get to X as soon as possible. But on occasion— not too often, mind you— I will make the intentional decision to go a different way, not concern myself with the travel time, and to stay stop and see and appreciate the things along the way. When I first heard about tonight's event in Buffalo, I got the sense that this would be a wonderful opportunity to be spontaneous and to do a small act of service to the man in ministry that delivered the message that saved my soul and began my new life in Christ. Even though I could have just used today's holiday— Happy Veterans Day, by the way, thank you for your service— to drive out to Buffalo in time to make the event, I decided to leave Wednesday evening and use a personal day yesterday so I could take some time to visit my alma mater city and to just see where the Lord would lead me as I slowly moved west to Buffalo. Okay, maybe I wasn't completely spontaneous because I was responsible in scheduling the time off from work and did book my stay at the Knights Inn in Oswego and the hostel Buffalo, Niagara well in advance, but other than making sure I had a place to lay my head before going, I decided to take my time and to take a more scenic route and to stop at Niagara Falls before going to my 2-day hostel home in Buffalo. So yesterday, after dropping off an old fraternity shirt I have no use for in the mailbox of the new Psi Phi Gamma fraternity house on West 4th Street, I went to the Oswego Marina and drove along the Lake Ontario shore up to SUNY Oswego campus. I took a few pictures of the lake behind Riggs and Johnson Hall and then set the GPS for Niagara Falls. But I quickly realized that the GPS was going against my desire to drive along the coast, so I decided to put in Sodus Point as a destination and try to keep the lake close. I had a great morning drive all around Sodus Bay, uh, to the point, and then stayed on Lake Road, making stops at Beef Warman Park, the lake shelter at Webster Pier, and the— erendiquoi— some Indian name— Bay Outlet Pier and Beach. Go to the blog to see what the name of the city is. But when I reached the Seabreeze Amusement Park, my leisurely pace, the unfamiliarity where I was my desire to visit Niagara Falls and to get to the Hostel Buffalo Niagara before 5 PM all caused me to take the GPS quickest route to the Falls. As I headed south and realized I'd only gone as far west as Rochester, I was a little disappointed because I wanted to take the long way around to the Falls initially, but my stopping to smell the roses had taken time and I had a date with Niagara Falls. So I hit the thruway with enthusiasm, driving very fast, and made it to the falls around 2 PM. The falls were as magnificent as ever, and I took some time to intentionally sit, um, on a park bench to enjoy the view and thank the Lord for the wonderful weather and all the wonderful sights I had seen thus far. And of course, to thank him for where he had brought me. In life. And of course, when you think about how good life is because you are experiencing pleasant circumstances, you naturally think about the people you love. So I thought about my wife, Tammy Lynn, and sent her some photos and to let her know that I was thinking of her and that I wished she was with me and that I loved her. After some anxiety over finding a place to park my car, I eventually made it to the hostel and Buffalo, which admittedly is a new experience and caused a bit of anxiety too. I think college dorm room meets fraternity house meets army barracks and maybe a bit of the apartment on Friends. Uh, the Hostel Buffalo Niagara is a laid-back pad, man. Can you dig it? Okay, I'm a nerd, and as I planned the spiritual pilgrimage, I decided to intentionally step out of my comfort zone and stay at a hostel. Hey, if you're gonna try new things, you actually have to plan new things and do them. So I am doing it. And although my anxiety level was up because Mr. Slotnatey hasn't stayed in Buffalo before and couldn't reserve parking— what? I have now this morning settled down. Now, now that I have gotten some sleep and my horror movie fears have murder, theft, and sexual assault at the hands of strangers were baseless. Uh, I'm currently in the lounge typing this out, and maybe may even be so bold to do the podcast if no one else is around. Anyway, I am alive and well and looking forward to this afternoon and tonight's event where I will be able to serve, worship, praise, and thank the Lord for who he is and for all that he has done. So it is my prayer that all who hear this, uh, hear or read this message will enjoy the journey of this life by connecting with God through faith in Jesus Christ, and then by traveling with God wherever you go. And even if you have fear and anxiety of doing the new things or doing things differently, let me encourage you that when you do them with the Lord, and you never have to worry because he will never leave you and and he will guide you in the way you should go. So keep walking and talking with God. It's the only way to travel. Today's Bible verse comes to us from the New Living Translation Bible Promise Book for Men. This morning's meditation verse is Hebrews 12:11, and it says, no discipline is enjoyable while it's happening. It's painful. But afterwards, there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in This way, today's verse tells us a hard truth but reminds us of a greater purpose. Today's verse tells it like it is. Discipline is painful. Some of the changes that will help us to become more like the people God made us to be will require some concerted effort to renew our minds and possibly shape our bodies to accomplish the changes that we want and the deeper relationship with God requires we be disciplined in instituting solutions and in the regular application of biblical wisdom through Bible study and prayer. Developing new habits and crucifying the flesh can be a daunting task, but if we remain diligent in our seeking the Lord and in doing what he directs us to do, we'll eventually create new godly habits and see significant results as our minds are renewed and our hearts are surrendered to God. So discipline might be painful, but as today's verse assures us, it will reap a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in the way. So keep at it, keep pursuing the Lord and the person he wants you to become. As always, I invite all to go to mtforchrist.org, where I always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk. Today we continue sharing from Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Discipleship, also known as The Cost of Discipleship. And today we conclude the, the section on The Hiddenness of Practicing Piety, also known as Hiddenness of the Devout Life, from Matthew 6. And it's a very short section, just 2 paragraphs. So if you want to check that out, go to mt4christ.org and you'll see that to the end of today's blog post. Well, today's the day. The spiritual pilgrimage is coming to a head as I'll be at a big event tonight praising the Lord and serving David Jeremiah's ministry. So I'm very excited. I took so many photos yesterday on the road, it's, uh, I should have enough material for the blog until the new year, but it might be a little redundant seeing so many pictures of Lake Ontario. So I encourage all my friends to get out there, try something new, um, travel and, um, take photos of what you see so I can share them on the blog. Um, and you know, our lives to be lived. There's responsibilities, but we can also enjoy them, and, uh, part of that's doing new things and going a different way, uh, but always going with God. So That's what I would encourage you to do. Um, I think I have to get in the shower and get ready for the day, so we're gonna pray and see where the day takes us. So happy Friday anyway, and God bless. Lord God, Heavenly Father, thank you for another day in your kingdom. Lord, we thank you for all that you've done for us, and we thank you for bringing us here safely. And we pray for all the people listening or reading the blog. We pray that they be blessed by your grace, and Lord, that you would guide them and move them in the way they should go. And Lord, we pray as always for you to open our eyes and show us the things you have for us to see today, and to move our steps in the way we— in the things we— you would have us do. Lord, that's after all you've done for us, that's all we want to do for you, is to best represent you in your kingdom on the earth. Lord, we thank you, we praise you, and we love you. We pray all these things in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.
