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#RealAthlete#SheGetsIt!

Monday, August 2nd, 2021

Now THIS is what it is all about. I, personally, have not watched one second of the Olympics because of all the political c_ _ p (you can fill in the word) that is going on. Kneeling before a soccer match. Turning a back during the National Anthem. Crossing the arms during a photo op. Sad that our world and that games which were supposed to bring unity and sportsmanship have turned into political statements.  If the “O’s” continue like this, I will be hoping they go the way of the dodo bird. All this “woke” garbage is frying me. (You want to know how I really feel?)

More power to people like Sydney!

I apologize for the screen shot. I was unable to clean it up so it is shown as it was sent to me.

It has come to my attention that the screenshot was not accessible. Please tune in tomorrow for the words and a description of this deleted screenshot.  Sorry for the misunderstanding. Blame it on my “technologically-challenged” abilities. They, as you can tell, have much to be desired.

#ImportantDay#DayofReflection

Wednesday, February 17th, 2021

Today is an important day for several reasons: one personal and one spiritual.

The spiritual first. Today, February 17th, is the beginning of Lent, or Ash Wednesday. Lent is the 40 days before the day we celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus. This year that will be April 4th. I must confess to you that growing up in the church tradition I belonged to we did not observe Lent. I was so naive about it that I almost went up to a teacher who had a dark spot in the middle of his forehead and told him he had dirt there. 🙂 I had no clue! I also know some of my friends would talk about giving up something for Lent. Again, I had no clue.  My teacher was Catholic, as were my friends, and I now know that was a significant aspect of their belief system.  It had to be only 15 or so years ago that I really gave any notice to Lent. I heard some folks talking and decided it would behoove me to know more. For several years I decided to give it a go so one year I gave up caffeine pop. Another year I gave up beef (which wasn’t really hard since I didn’t eat it much anyway). One year I gave up all pop and drank only water. Then I finally figured out it really wasn’t about giving up something; it was really about surrender.

In his book, Journey to the Cross, a 40 day devotional to be used during Lent, Paul David Tripp writes: “It is right and beneficial to take a season of the year to reevaluate, recalibrate, and have the values of our hearts clarified once again. Lent is such a season. As we approach Holy Week, where we remember the sacrifice, suffering, and resurrection of our Savior, it’s good to give ourselves to humble and thankful mourning. Lent is about remembering the suffering and sacrifice of the Savior. Lent is about confessing our ongoing battle with sin…And Lent is about giving ourselves in a more focused way to prayer, crying out for help that we desperately need from the only One who is able to give it.” (Pages 8-9)

I no longer use Lent to give up something physical. I try to use it to do just what Tripp says: “to reevaluate, recalibrate, and have the values of my heart clarified once again.”  May I challenge you to do the same? I have been reading his book in preparation for my sermons on the cross and the resurrection. I’m actually on Day 17…and no I didn’t plan it that way. Perhaps you might even consider getting a copy of his book to help guide you.

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On a more personal note: this day has some significance. Many of you know of my struggles physically since testing positive for Covid on December 21. I will spare you the ugly details. Let’s just suffice it to say I lost between 40-50 pounds in less than a month. After multiple tests they have narrowed it down to gall stones which lodged in my bile duct which caused my physical issues. After having them removed, it was highly recommended that I have my gall bladder removed. My words: I have a gravel pit in there.  Oddly enough, I NEVER had a moment of pain. However much I hated getting Covid, it actually alerted my doctors (and me) to the potential for a great amount of pain and the possibility of infection which could have caused serious issues down the road. So I am having my gall bladder removed today. I guess that gives new meaning to Lent being a time of giving up something?  🙂  By the time many (most) of you read this my surgery will probably be over. I am hoping for the laparoscopy so I can come home today. All I ask is that whenever you read this you do say a prayer. I would like to recover as quickly as possible. On the bright side: we were “blessed” with 8-9 inches of snow Monday and Tuesday morning so I can’t be outside riding my bike anyway.  But I have been riding inside and am praying for a good answer to my question: when can I start riding inside again? I’ll keep you posted on how things went. Meanwhile, I do ask for your prayers. For more on this whole process and how I am “seeing” it, please check out my other blog here.

#Relax#PermissionTo#Refresh

Sunday, August 9th, 2020

If there has been one thing this whole virus fiasco should have done is given us permission to take it easy. I know…that is hard when someone is uptight and scared. But then again, maybe that is exactly what was needed to relieve anxiety.

I have a book in my office I read years ago by the late Tim Hansel. It is called When I Relax I Feel Guilty.  I thought that was a rather unique title. Sadly, it is also true. We have this crazy mentality that the busier I am the better it looks. But I think the old saying is true: “The hurrier I go, the behinder I get.” One of the statements Tim makes in his book is the word leisure comes the Latin word which means “to be permitted.”  He then says, “More today than ever, we need to learn how to give ourselves permission to relax, to play, to enjoy life, and to enjoy God for who He is.” (p.30)

And because we can’t relax, we find ourselves wound up tighter than a drum.  We have to somehow give ourselves permission to enjoy moments/hours/days of leisure.  I read enough blogs and listen to several podcasts to know that pastors/youth pastors, etc across the spectrum have found themselves burning out due to the failure to take some leisure time and not feel guilty doing so. Especially during this pandemic.  I’m going to be honest. I tend to be high energy.  I get up at 3:30 and most often my feet don’t go horizontal until 9:30 at night (unless I am happen to be sitting in my recliner).  🙂  But during this pandemic I made sure I found time to do leisure. Now…my leisure was not doing cross-stitch or redoing antique furniture or making a boat in my basement. (NCIS anyone?) My leisure was physical in nature because my relaxation is riding my bike.  Going to the Y was out for obvious reasons so I made sure whenever possible I took a 15-25 mile spin on my bike. Some will say, “But that is not relaxing!” For me it is. I breathe fresh air. I can feel the wind at my face. I can sweat. And I can clear my mind.

We have just got to stop letting work become our identity. That is what gets us into the mess to start with.  Work= identity. More work = recognition added to my identity.  Been there done that.  I find it interesting that Jesus often withdrew to be by Himself to be with His Father. Luke 5 tells us it was to pray.  Hey, the way I look at it, if it was good enough for Jesus to withdraw and relax then who am I to argue?

Take some time away. Relax.  Enjoy yourself.  Someone has said, “If you don’t come apart, you will soon come apart.”  There you go. Think about that the next time you want to cover yourself with a load of “To Do” stuff.

#Done#Finished/UnfinishedBusiness

Wednesday, August 21st, 2019

The 2019 BikeMS is history. After a long wait and months of training and fund-raising, the ride was this past Saturday. Dave, my friend from 3 Feet Please, made the trip from Arizona with his son and daughter. Chris drove with him; Nina flew in Thursday. We met up at the hotel Thursday night. It was mine and Jo’s first time meeting Chris and Nina. They were a delight! Chris’ first words were to Jo when he said, “I heard you like Mexican!” Guess where we ate supper Thursday night?  🙂  If you guessed El Toro in Indianapolis give yourself a virtual high five!!

Friday we drove to the site of the ride, checked out some things, registered, then Dave and his two took off to visit relatives in Fort Wayne. Jo & I drove the route so I could check it out then spent the rest of the day just chilling.

Saturday started out beautifully. We made it to Lebanon and Dave set up the 3 Feet Please tent and merchandise. He was giving away bears and t-shirts and had a drawing for 3 winners. We finally took off for our ride and 9 miles out the young lady who was riding with us (and was ill-prepared) had a flat. That took close to 1/2 hour to finally get on our way. She went flat again about a mile down the road and we finally made it to the first stop where they replaced the tube. She didn’t flat again but we were way behind. By the time we got to the lunch stop we had ridden about 2 miles in a steady rain. While there it came down in buckets and we were told we would be unable to leave until 3:00. It was 1:45 at that point.  Dave and I made a decision to call it a day. The young lady could not have made it back and staying with her (we would never leave her) would have gotten us back to the home place about 5:00. So after 38+ miles we called our rides (Jo & his son) to come get the three of us.  Although I was disappointed in not doing all 65 miles (which I think might have ended up closer to 76), I was content.

I’m thankful for:

  • Many of you who donated to a great cause. MS can strike anyone at any time. I rode for Kirby and Marge and everyone else who suffers from this disease. I was able to raise $1100.
  • A safe ride. Roads are not closed off just because there are a plethora of riders.  Dave’s friend, Lynn, was killed on an MS ride by a 93 year old man who thought he could pass a ton of riders at one time and when he found out he couldn’t swung back in taking out Dave and Nina on their tandem and hit Lynn so hard she flew over them.
  • Dave, Chris and Nina for making our weekend extra special. Dave paid for our two nights in the hotel which allowed us the opportunity to relax and not do a lot of driving. It allowed me to study some on Friday so I wouldn’t be so tired and ill-prepared for Sunday. The three also made their way to OVCF to worship with us Sunday and go to lunch before he took Chris and Nina to the airport.
  • Dave came to Spencer yesterday (Tuesday) to ride with me. We were able to get in 20 before the skies told us we better cut this short and get to the church building (where we left from). That might have been one of the smartest decisions I have made lately. The skies opened up shortly after we got there. We would have been soaked to the bones. It was fun riding with a friend whom I’ve come to love like a brother. (Now we just gotta get to Arizona. Sounds like a great January/February trip).

Unfortunately, I didn’t get a picture of the three of us in our 3 Feet Please cycling kit. But I did get two pictures of our help.  On the left is Jo, Chris and Nina. On the right is Chris and Nina. (In the back is my bike).  Marge also helped but was not in the picture (by choice, hence the empty chair).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All in all it was a great day and a great experience. An absolutely fun weekend spent with friends and some down time with Jo. Lord willing, I hope to ride again next year. So start saving your pennies! I am!!!  🙂 🙂 🙂

RoadID

Monday, October 1st, 2018

I have been using RoadID for a lot of years…so many I can’t even remember. I hoped it would never be needed. I never worried dreamed I would someday be hit by a car.  Seriously, I never worried about it. I can’t even say I thought about it that much. To think about it would be paralyzing. I don’t ever want to be a slave to fear so I just would not allow myself to think about it.

I do now. Well, I think about it; say a prayer; then head out for a ride. How was I supposed to know a hit-n-run driver wanted to play bumper cars with me? Only it was his passenger-side rear view mirror and I was his bumper. More accurately, my left cheek was his bumper.

That happened back in November of 2016. Lots has happened since then.

In this post I talked about meeting a camera crew from RoadID.  That meeting happened and after two fun hours it was done. The finished product is now on YouTube and you can link from it here.  I’d like to ask you to listen and comment if you care to.

Test

Wednesday, September 5th, 2018

Although I don’t subscribe to everything in his books, my favorite of the ones he wrote was Wild at Heart. I’m speaking of John Eldredge and what became his seminal book. He had a statement that became a mantra for many men, me included, for a long time.

Every man has a battle to fight, an adventure to live, and a beauty to rescue.

The beauty to rescue is easy for me. It is Jo.  She is my #1 priority.

It is the other 2/3 of that equation which is my challenge.

I fight a daily battle with sin. Since I live on Planet Earth; I am a man i.e human; I am a sinner. True…a sinner saved by the merciful and powerful grace of Jesus, but a sinner nonetheless. I will battle my flesh til the day I breathe my last breath. (I don’t believe in sinless perfection here on earth).  Ephesians 6 is clear that my battle is “not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (6:12 ESV).

Every man has an adventure to live. It is easy to settle in. No excitement. No adventure. No challenge. While I love what I do as a pastor, I also realize there is “another part of me” that wants a challenge. I know not all men feel this way. Some are content…way content. I am content to a point. I love Jo. I love my girls, son-in-law and grandson. I love my brothers and their families. But those don’t count in the contentment scale.  Neither does loving what I do.  Some men hunt. Some fish. Some build things. Some snow or water ski. Some play competitive basketball or another sport. Me? I cycle. I love the challenge of climbing a hill (even if it is super slow). I love sweating. I love the euphoria of coming down a hill much faster than I went up. I love the tired feeling when I am done. It is a good tired.  I love it when my legs are toast after a ride and “toasty” for the rest of the day.

Maybe that is why I am challenging myself with the MS150 this coming Saturday. But I do know it was the reason I got up early to have my Quiet Time on Monday (a holiday) before I headed for Linton, IN on my bike. It was 15 miles of hill after hill. Then it got flat about 1/2 way through, but the 9 mph wind was against me for the next 15 miles.  It was a test. A challenge I wanted to take. Jo stayed with me as she followed me in my truck. And if the truth be known…it was for her too. I wanted her to be proud of me (it’s a man thing trust me).

I finished the 30.9 miles in 2:15. The heat index had climbed to 85+ by then (10:30) so I called it a day. I do have some sense about me still. 🙂 🙂  In my head, I passed the test. And yes…I was proud of that. We did go out to eat and then I took a nap in the afternoon. On purpose.  But it was good.  I could wax spiritual about all of this. But why? I found out something about myself…and the God to whom I prayed for strength. We did it.

YES…WE DID IT!

Direction

Thursday, June 21st, 2018

Your viewpoint will often affect what you do. For example here are two pictures from my morning ride today. I got up, showered, dressed then sat down to do my Quiet Time (which involves my New Morning Mercies). Before I started I checked the weather on my phone and it wasn’t supposed to rain until 9:00. That was a change from when i went to bed (supposed to start at 3:00). So I did my Quiet Time, gathered my cycling clothes, came to the office to enter my devotion, then got dressed for a ride. Below are 2 pictures from my ride:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The one on the left is a cropped selfie looking behind me. The one on the right is looking ahead of me. I rode anyway hoping the weather man (for once) was right.  I was going in the direction of picture #2. Even if he wasn’t right, I knew I could find shelter pretty quickly on my route or if I dared…make a dash for the office. I turned around at the 10 mile mark, rode another mile and a half and saw this:

Yeah, that was rain. Fortunately, it was more south of where I was riding. I’m glad I did not let the appearance of rain stop me from my ride. My blogging friend, Martha, wrote about directions here.  I’m reminded of the Scriptures in several different places:

“The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? Psalm 27:1

“Your Word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path.” Psalm 119:105

It is vitally important that we get our directions for the day from the correct source. I like to start my day in the Word. Today, may the Father be your guide. May His Word be your direction.

Did I get rained on? Well…there was a spit or two (rain not a driver) but it didn’t go any further. When I was done with my 20 miles, the only “wet” was my sweat. Now…time for a nap. 🙂

Refreshment

Tuesday, June 19th, 2018

My idea of refreshment and your idea of refreshment could be is probably different. For some it is a sit down in front of the TV. Or maybe it is a lawn chair or hammock and a good book. For others it may be yard sales (can you say gag?). Or maybe it is a quiet evening with your spouse or children or someone you love.

Mine? Well can you spell B.I.C.Y.C.L.E? Yeah…I know. How can that be a refreshment? “That just makes me tired thinking of it.” I respect your wacky haywire feelings.  I really do. I live with someone who shares your thoughts. She would just as soon my bike would turn to be covered in mothballs as to be able to be ridden.

Of course, she and I disagree. Good thing love overcomes HER crazy thinking. You know? I have tried to get her sane but no-o-o-o-o-o-o. I think I am getting an award for being the most patient person when it comes to listening to others’ thoughts about me riding a bike. 🙂

I rode this morning (Tuesday). It has been sweltering…like in the 90s with humidity in the stratosphere. I went to the Y yesterday because I knew I planned to ride today. I rode early this morning because I was heading to our church camp where we had 18 campers and faculty involved in camp and wilderness camp. I left at 6:15 as soon as it was light enough to safely ride so I could back to the office by 8:00 then head home for a shower. About 7 miles into the ride (about 6:45) I took these pictures. I took them while riding so they aren’t the best. And yes, I was on a back road where I saw no traffic. There are some simple pleasures an early morning ride gives. Some refreshment one can miss. I saw this and thought of Lamentations 3:22: “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end, they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What is your way of refreshment? What time of the day is your favorite?

Invasion

Friday, September 15th, 2017

Mention history and ask for examples of invasions and one is likely to hear about Normandy, an invasion so horrific the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan and other movies like Band of Brothers cannot do it justice (although they tried).  over 150,000 troops were committed to the initial invasion, employing 6900 vessels, 4100 landing craft, and 12,000 airplanes flying 14,000 sorties. The death tool was astronomical.

History is filled with invasions like that. In one sense, the great invasions of history are analogous to the way in which God chose to deal with the enemy’s rule over the earth. He invaded, but not with guns and ammo and an army trained and armed to the teeth. Instead, He chose a different kind of invasion. One of the HILLS of our faith is God became flesh and lived among us in the person of Jesus Christ (Christmas). Then He lived a sinless life only to find Himself being led to a cross where He would die for the sin of the world and then raise from the dead (Easter).

That is one of our Core Beliefs, a HILL we will die on defending. Your prayers are much appreciated

Released!

Wednesday, March 1st, 2017

Needless to say, after this post, I’ve been waiting for this day.

WEDNESDAY

MARCH 1

1:20 P.M.

After having the 22 staples removed, a series of x-rays to check on healing, a chat with the doctor, a visit to the therapist (physical smarty pants), I was released to go my own way! I will check back in at the end of the month, but for the most part I am free and clear. The only restrictions are physical pain and movement. I’m allowed to return to the Y (but I have to be smart obviously). No incline bench presses. No shrugs. No…no…no.  I have to be smart he says and I hear the peanut gallery (composed of my wife) saying, “No. No. No.”  🙂

It felt good to be released. To be able to drive my Frontier to the office without being chauffeured. To experience that sense of well-being which comes from something new.

There have been several “something news” which have come as a result of this accident. I’d like to share some of them with you in a future post or two. But time has run out for me on this one. I have a bike to ride.

OOOPS JUST KIDDING.  🙂

And here, for your viewing pleasure, is the xray of the repair. I think it is safe to say no airport security line will be safe for me.