Thanking God for my Scout

We started a monthly offering this morning in church. We haven't passed offering plates before, but we want to give our congregation a few minutes in the service each month to reflect on various aspects of Christian living, like prayer, communion, and giving. The focus for this morning's offering came from Deuteronomy 8, which was written to a people whom God was about to bless materially. He offered a warning:

"Take care lest you forget the Lord your God... lest, when you have eaten and are full, and built good houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and when all you have is multiplied... Beware lest you say in your heart, 'My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.' You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth..." (ESV)

So we reflected for a few quiet minutes on material things we own, and how they all came from God. My thoughts turned to my Scout. :) Yes, I love the rig as a hobby - 4x4 the way God intended! But more specifically I just spent all of last Friday up in the Tillamook State Forest, soaking in the rugged winter landscape. I mushed through several spots of snow and mud, eventually pulling over and making a "camp lunch" on a service road, did a bit of target shooting, and just generally basked in the quiet. I took all the pictures in this post on my Friday excursion.

The dual battery setup I have allows me to run accessories (like the laptop) indefinitely, and so I sat in the front seat suring a torrential downpour late afternoon, up in the middle of nowhere, composing several thoughts on the computer (which may work their way into blog posts at some point). Basically, it was a day of refreshment and re-energizing for which I am thankful. But I realize I couldn't have done so much of what I did without my Scout. Amy loves her Honda Accord, but it will never see Brown's Camp or Larch Mountain!

So today, I find myself thanking my God for the material blessing of a 34-year-old iron workhorse, which opens up so many possibilities and so many pleasures to me. The might of my hand did not get me this gift - it has come from the chief among givers.