I always wonder what I’ll learn from a tour. As a teacher I learned a great deal from students. On these tours I’m supposed to be a leader, but each year I learn – or re-learn – important lessons from my amazing teammates. COLORADO MOUNTAIN TOUR 2021 brought together a remarkable team of individuals with […]
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Conversations About Blessings
Last in a series about how I’m talking to Jesus about the COLORADO MOUNTAIN TOUR. First parts here, here, and here. + + + There may be some discussion about this one. Honestly, my most frequent specific request is “Your will be done.” Along with the courage to actually mean it. I’m better at the […]
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Conversations About Gratitude
Part 3 of a series about how I’m talking to Jesus about the COLORADO MOUNTAIN TOUR. First parts here and here. + + + I say “Thank You” more than I used to – and mean it. Often it’s gratitude for people and relationships. Sometimes it’s just “thank you” for nothing in particular, even when […]
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Community Conversations With Jesus
Part 2 of a series about how I’m talking to Jesus about the COLORADO MOUNTAIN TOUR. Part 1 here. + + + I love it when our team prays together. I love the community and the unity. Praying together over time is such a bonding experience. Especially for folks with such a broad range of […]
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Conversations With Jesus
The COLORADO MOUNTAIN TOUR begins this week. I find my conversations with Jesus (prayers) about our tours are different these days. I wonder if you’ve had similar experiences. I’ll post a series of short thought thoughts leading to our departure Thursday Morning. Maybe they’ll prompt some discussions. For example, I don’t ask for specific outcomes […]
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The Big Production
My best friend got married a few years ago. I suspect his mom secretly wanted – for her only son – the big, formal Catholic church wedding with a priest and all the traditions. Instead we gathered in a beautiful meadow in the foothills. The groom and groomsmen wore flannel shirts. I performed the ceremony, […]
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Explaining “Why”
What’s the “why” behind the FREEDOM TOUR? The simple answer is, “We’re following Jesus.” Answers the question, I guess, but it doesn’t really explain the “why.” During lunch at the FREEDOM TOUR CLASSIC, Jon Barratt from Project Rescue read the names of every child at the Home of Hope. He read them slowly and deliberately, […]
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What Did You Learn?
Our COLORADO MOUNTAIN TOUR team will gather in 2 weeks. 22 people will show up to ride bikes in beautiful country with amazing people. Each morning an old guy with a teacher’s heart will bring them together and nudge them to keep their eyes open. What will you see? Who will you meet? How can […]
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Happy Independence Day?
As a kid I took freedom for granted. In middle class, white, small town America, of course we were free. It wasn’t even a question. Less than 2 decades removed from WWII and well into 50’s-60’s struggle for civil rights, I grew up in an isolated little bubble in which freedom was as obvious as […]
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Now That I’m Officially An Old Guy
“How do you continue to hope when so many things go wrong? How can you remain optimistic?” It was a question at last weekend’s FREEDOM TOUR CLASSIC. I chuckled (maybe not the best response) because I’m not exactly a fount of optimism. Nobody’s ever going to look for me on the Good Ship Lollipop. Maybe […]
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How Did That Happen?
Neurosurgeons aren’t known for their warm bedside manner. In the weeks after my injury, I was desperate for a definitive prognosis. Nurses and therapists offered a lot of “keep trying, anything’s possible.” I just wanted someone to tell me the outcome. I liked my doc. Gruff, matter-of fact, cared a lot but didn’t spend time […]
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Kerfuffles
There are always kerfuffles. You can plan and prepare all you want. Doesn’t matter. Something always happens that you didn’t expect. The test is how you handle it. Is your system resilient enough to deal with kerfuffles when they arise? During the FREEDOM TOUR CLASSIC, our biggest event of the year, I didn’t want to […]
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