We crossed the Mississippi three times during the first day. I recall thinking that it was a bit disappointing. Even thirty miles from its source, the great river offers little clue of its eventual magnitude. It’s nothing more than a stream. We passed a lot of small streams in northern Minnesota. There was no way […]
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Way To Go!
Have you seen the movie FORREST GUMP? At one point, Forrest starts running. He just runs, and doesn’t stop. Eventually people join him and cheer him on. The rally cry becomes, “Run, Forrest, run!” Today felt a bit like that. We had a nice article in the La Crosse Tribune Thursday morning. Thursday evening we […]
Continue readingIs It Supposed To Be This Hard?
This ride we’re doing has me wondering: what if it’s not as complicated as we make it? What if God doesn’t mean for life to be all about frustration and fear? What if He wants calm and peace? We’re trying to get down the road and talk to folks about hope. And everything we’re focused […]
Continue readingAn Unexpected Trail
One of the big lessons we’re learning on this ride is that apparent adversity often leads to unexpected joy. That happened today between Winona and La Crosse. If you can’t see the video, click here. Please leave a comment here. Where’s Rich? Today This Week Want to get involved with Rich’s Ride? Check here for […]
Continue readingA New Thing
It feels like God’s speaking to me on this trip. I’ve seen some stuff in familiar scriptures that eluded me before. Today I spoke to some kids about this passage: “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive […]
Continue readingTrust Makes Life Easier
It’s Monte checking in again. We’re doing something called a “trip.” I don’t really know what that means, but I have noticed that lots of things are different. I don’t have my nice cushy bed to sleep in. Don’t tell Becky, but that’s really not a big deal to me. But I am all about […]
Continue readingSay Hello To The Hills
Today we met the hills. It began innocently enough. We set off on our carefully planned route and re-encountered our acquaintance with flexibility. Road construction and a washed-out bridge didn’t just divert us onto unanticipated roads—we found ourselves in an entirely unexpected STATE. The back roads of eastern Wisconsin afforded striking beauty, but their designers didn’t […]
Continue readingTogether On This Journey
Yesterday I was privileged to speak to about 800 students at North Central University in Minneapolis. It was an awesome experience with a wonderful group of young people. As I prepared for my talk I got a new perspective on a familiar Scripture story. You can read the entire passage (The Sheep And The Goats), […]
Continue readingWhere Does It Begin?
A couple of friends suggested that the Mississippi River provides a pretty good metaphor for this project. I think the river also offers some lessons about dreams in general. So as we crank along together I’d like to share some observations about the river we’re following. It’s interesting to look at the source of the […]
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Happy Monday. Week two on the road with Rich’s Ride, and we’re immersed in the word-of-the-week… CONTINUE When you’re in the middle of an adventure, sometimes you just need to continue. The excitement of beginning has faded, the conclusion’s far off. You didn’t think much about the time in the middle when you planned and […]
Continue readingBlessed Are The Flexible
As we pulled out of Fort Collins, Pastor Mark Orphan imparted one final bit of wisdom: Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be broken. I don’t think he was quoting the Beatitudes, but we’re discovering it’s great advice for operating on the road. We had a great first week of Rich’s Ride, but […]
Continue readingWhat In The World
Week one’s in the books–195 miles and still going. Here’s a video wrap-up of some thoughts as we pursure this big dream together.. If you can’t see the video, click here.
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