In our society, truck drivers are often labeled as rough and tough people, warriors if you will. A warrior has the ability to seize control of any situation and conquer it. Just like taking over a city in a battle. Even though this warrior label is somewhat flattering to us male drivers, I think there is a better reputation needed for all drivers. Drivers can be known for being patient and controlling their tempers. I believe it takes a stronger person to control their temper than one who conquers a city. How can we help you control your temper? Comment here.

We live in difficult times. The stock exchange has dropped, the cost of living is up, the housing market has crashed, unemployment rates are up and there is a general uncertainty over the economy across the country. Do you find yourself worrying? Maybe these things don’t bother you; maybe you worry about other things like your family. Whatever the reasons, worry steals an enormous amount of time from your life. There’s not enough time to go around as it is. I can guarantee that you cannot add a single hour to your life by worrying about these issues. Instead, focus and trust in something that brings you hope and joy. What is it you find joy in? Comment here.

Do you find yourselves blaming someone else when you make a mistake? This is called the “blame game.” Did you know that people often do this because they feel unworthy of acceptance or love especially when they fail? If you struggle with this particular habit, you will actually believe that you deserve punishment for failing. The difficulty with this mentality is that even though you believe you deserve it, you fear punishment. So you withdraw from others or blame them in order to avoid facing any failure. This is not healthy. Remember there is someone out there that loves and accepts you regardless of your mistakes. Comment here.

As truck drivers, we’ve experienced rude people on the highways. Whether someone cuts you off, flashes an improper hand gesture or just mouths nasty words, we have all either seen or been victim to road rudeness before. Given the size difference between my truck and most four-wheelers, it always amazes me to see some of the rude and erratic driving habits. Maybe you’ve been rude to someone on the highway yourself? Let me ask you this: Since we know how it feels when someone is rude to us, why would we do it to anyone else? That’s especially true with marriage. There is absolutely no room for rudeness in our marriages. Search your past behavior for signs of rudeness and then get rid of all traces of it from your life. Resist the temptation to make improper hand gestures, using nasty words or name calling towards your spouse. Your marriage will be better for it. Comment here.

A couple of weeks ago, I was out West and traveled through the Donnor Pass. One minute it was sunny, bright and warm, and the next minute it was snowing, cold and slippery. Have you heard the term “white knuckled”? That’s when you grip the wheel so tight your knuckles turn white. Well for many miles, I white knuckled it! I would go up and down each hill hoping it would end over the next ridge. The stress of life is just like traveling through Donnor Pass. There are ups, downs, dry roads, slippery roads, clear roads and white knuckle moments. It is very easy to have fears and doubts during these times, but there are ways to get through with the right guidance and comfort. How can we help you deal with your “Donnor Pass”? Comment here.

As a man ages, it’s almost like he loses pieces of himself along the way, a little here, a little there. It gets harder to lift, pull, climb and take the jostling from the road. Muscles ache, stiffen and arthritis affects joints. Yet, we’ve got to keep working so we can eat and pay bills.

We can respond in various ways. We can become bitter and try to fight it. We can deny its happening and keep pushing. We can become depressed. However, the healthiest response is to accept and adapt to the changes in life. Determine to remain positive and pleasant. Embrace the grace you need to live with the difficulties. Want some help with that? Give us a call. Comment here.

Have you heard the expression “It’s the thought that counts?” Well, I beg to differ. Early in my marriage, I tried to use this idea to excuse myself. Men, please don’t try this at home! I would forget to buy her a birthday or an anniversary present. Now, I had thought about it but I didn’t actually do it. When she asked me about it, I would say “Well, I thought about buying you a gift, isn’t that what counts?” The answer was always a resounding “NO!” It seems as if remembering important dates or events is harder for men than it is women, but that’s no excuse. Part of being in love is being thoughtful about what’s important to our spouses. Men, do something thoughtful for your wife today and women, keep it up. Comment here.

My father always used to tell me “you’re known by the company you keep.” In other words, whether I was doing something wrong or not, it could appear to be wrong just because of whom I associated myself with. He was right in a way, because quite often the bad behavior of my friends rubbed off on me too. Now, I’m sure that in every terminal and truck stop you’ve ever been in, you’ve heard or met a driver who complains about everything. Respond to them in a gentle or positive way. After that, if they still don’t change, stay away from them so that their attitude doesn’t rub off on you too. Start hanging out with positive drivers and you’ll be positive yourself. It will change your day. Comment here.

We attend many trucks shows across the country every year. My favorite thing about these shows is the trucks! There are some nice ones out there. Some trucks seem bigger than my first house and have even more amenities. But the trucks I like seeing the best are older restored ones. The one that stands out in my memory was a 1952 B Model Mack. It looked completely new with eight inch stacks and lots of added chrome. I talked to the owner. He said it took a tremendous amount of time to restore that old Mack. But, what a sight for sore eyes!

It made me think about our lives as drivers. We can’t just travel along and never spend any time restoring our bodies, hearts, minds or spirits. If we don’t make time for restoration, the stress of life will break us down. Don’t forget to add time for restoration into your busy schedule. In fact, share with us what you do (or who you know) that gets you refreshed. Comment here.

Let’s face it. Grief isn’t pleasant to deal with. It’s hard, grueling and it stirs up emotions we don’t like or know what to do with. However, ignoring grief isn’t any easier in the long haul. If you bury or cover it up and pretend nothing’s wrong and you’ll lose days, weeks, months and in some cases even years of your life in the process. Things will pass you by. You’ll be numb to the rest of the world, like a zombie, just going through the motions. And before you know it, the hole you’re in will become even deeper. Don’t sweep your sadness under the rug any more. Instead, determine to break out of the grief that’s been binding you. Snap out of it, pull the rug back and get it out. Comment here.

Driver, are you going to be home today or on the road? No matter where you’ll be, you still have the opportunity to express your love to your spouse and family. How about giving each family member a small gift to let them know you are thinking of them? When my kids were still living at home I gave each child a box of candy. They truly enjoyed them so much. Sometimes, we get so busy with the task at hand that we forget to let our loved ones know how much they mean to us. Make a special effort to contact them today and tell them that you care. Let’s make it a special day for your loved ones. You’ll be glad you did. Comment here.

Some people make the mistake of establishing their self worth based upon their performance. This is called the “performance trap.” The idea is that “you must meet certain standards in order to feel good about yourself.” However, this is not true because you will fall short at times. Some of the problems that go along with this are fear of failure, perfectionism, and manipulation of others to get what you want along with withdrawing from taking healthy risks. Don’t fall into this trap. Don’t get me wrong, you must have standards, but don’t determine your significance upon accomplishing them 100% of the time. Choose realistic and healthy standards. Want some help with that? Comment here.

What causes us grief? It could be anything from losing a loved one, facing a crisis, prolonged stress, loss of a job, financial pressure, broken relationships, unresolved conflict, physical pain to deteriorating health. In other words, anything that hurts. There are many different things that can bring sadness to our lives. Some react by trying to avoid anything that hurts or causes them grief. Do you do that? Quite frankly, it’s impossible to do. You’d have to live in total isolation completely removed from the entire world in order to avoid all sources of grief. And no one can do that. Rather than desperately trying to avoid it, why not learn to cope with it instead? In the long run, facing our grief head on might hurt less. Think about it. Comment here.

Have you heard this expression “Don’t poke the bear?” Obviously, it means don’t aggravate someone who has a tendency to be hot-tempered. Hot-tempered people are always looking for trouble. So today, if you are confronted by one of these “bears”, don’t stir up more trouble for yourself. Simply reply to them in a patient manner. This will calm the storm by keeping the angry “bear” in hibernation. If you are one of the “bears” always stirring up trouble, let me encourage you to practice patience today. This will make everyone’s life more pleasant, including yours. Comment here.

Many of you experience sleeping in your truck every night of the week at a truck stop somewhere around the country. As you all know, it’s anything but quiet. To make matters worse, drivers today deal with sleep apnea, time deadlines, and the stresses of the highway that can make sleep virtually impossible. There is very little quiet time for you. Oh sure, you spend countless hours by yourself behind the wheel, but your hectic days and sleepless nights can make you feel like you’ve been in a hot, dry desert with no water to drink. You need to make sure you spend quality ‘down’ time too. Imagine slow moving water flowing through a bubbling creek. You hear nothing but the sounds of the water. It brings rest to your soul just thinking about it, doesn’t it? Quality down time is refreshing. What do you do to find peace and quiet in your hectic day? Comment here.

Who is the most important person in your life? Is it you? Our society today is very self-centered, and it promotes us to be the same way. Just listen to some of the slogans used in TV advertising, “You deserve a break today” or “Have it your way”. This type of thinking is very damaging to a marriage. Have you heard this expression of marriage “the two shall become one”? In order for that to happen, our thoughts need to focus on someone other than ourselves. When each spouse puts the best interests of the other first, both partners’ needs are met. I promise that you will both be much happier. Do something that meets your spouse’s interests today. Comment here.

For more information, check out the issues section on our resources page or contact us. You can also call our toll-free Trucker Prayer Line at 1-877-797-PRAY (7729). We’re here for you.

I often hear and see ads on the radio and television to become a truck driver and “see the country”. These are usually accompanied by some picture of glorious mountains or a beautiful green pasture. As you and I both know, this is very seldom the case. Most of them time you are stuck in traffic or running at night when you can’t see a thing and on very little sleep. There never seems to be enough time. You always have to be somewhere. Your stress level rises with each and every line on the highway. You have to find the time to rest and relax, and put the worries of the day behind you. What is your glorious mountain or green pasture, and how do you get there? Comment here.

You’ve heard the old saying “don’t throw fuel on the fire” haven’t you? Well, this saying definitely applies in the trucking industry. We are faced each and every day with difficult situations. There are a couple ways to respond. We could respond with harsh and angry words which will only throw more “fuel on the fire” and create a potentially hostile situation. Another way to respond is with gentleness. A gentle response will immediately pour water on the fire and calm the situation. So the next time you are faced an angry person, respond with a gentle answer. It will make your and hopefully their day go much better. Comment here.

Part of loving your spouse, is being kind to them. There will be times when we don’t feel like being kind. In fact, there probably were some times that we weren’t kind to our spouse. Our mates will do things that don’t deserve our kindness, but so do we, right? Kindness is not a feeling, it’s an action. When we are kind, tender hearted and forgiving instead of mean, angry and bitter our marriages will be much better. Let me encourage you to do something kind for your spouse today for absolutely no reason to show them your love. Comment here.

In the military, SOP stands for “standard operating procedure.” That means there is a procedure for how the military will get things done that has been written up and approved. Instead of creating your own way of getting things done, everyone is expected to follow SOP. In fact, there will be consequences if you don’t follow these standards. I’m sure trucking companies function in a similar fashion. In order to work there, you are expected to abide by the SOP set forth for each and every member of that company (they’re not just for drivers). Maybe you’ve seen the effect of a company not having an SOP? There was probably a great deal of chaos and stress, right? Like the military and trucking companies, setting an SOP or a standard for your life will help you avoid chaos and negative consequences. The trick is to set good standards. These standards will be what you base your significance on. Do you know how to set good standards? Where can you find them? Comment here.