It’s one of those old-timey songs. I’ve heard it dozens of times, but when it popped into my head this morning – things just stopped. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, there’s something about that name… Honestly, I know the melody but I’d have to look up the rest of the lyrics. That’s okay, because that one line […]
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Learn What I Already Know
I’m waiting, preparing for FREEDOM TOUR 2021 and the birth of Jesus. In His Advent journal, my friend Jon encouraged us today to “listen” as part of waiting. I thought about a guy who came up to me after a presentation a while back. After thanking me, he said something quite profound. “You taught me […]
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Believing And Deciding
“We make decisions based on our beliefs.” Pastor Dick Foth spoke about the difficult choice Joseph made. His teenaged fiancé was pregnant, and he wasn’t the father. Mary told an unbelievable tale, then an angel showed up in a dream and said, “God did it.” Joseph could have broken the engagement. He could have had […]
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Prince Of Shalom
Every Christmas we hear the ancient words of Isaiah: For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. I’ve wondered a lot about that last phrase, never more that during this insane year. What could it possibly mean […]
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How About Tomorrow?
Becky put up some outdoor Christmas lights this weekend. Not a big deal for most folks. But this weekend was also the 33rd anniversary of the day I met two paramedics following a 10-foot fall – while installing outdoor Christmas lights. This time our neighbor helped. Everyone kept their feet on the ground. We’re not […]
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It’s Tricky
Planning FREEDOM TOUR 2020 was tricky. Our team absolutely believes we’re called to support the kids at the HOME OF HOPE. We take that seriously, and their needs didn’t disappear with a global pandemic. We also care deeply for the community that’s formed around riding bikes to support these special children. So we did our […]
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Back To Basics
“How are we gonna do Thanksgiving?” With all the disruptions and restrictions, in the midst of a pandemic, in a year characterized by turmoil and disruption, lots of us are wondering how we can possibly do Thanksgiving. 1863 was another year of turmoil and disruption in a nation ripped apart by civil war. I’m sure […]
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It Is Well
It was nearly 40 years ago. Hard to believe. I sit here planning exciting new adventures for FREEDOM TOUR 2021 and a familiar hymn takes me back to the day I publicly began my journey with Jesus. It was a simple ceremony, and I got to choose a favorite song. An obvious choice captured the […]
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Are They Really Principles?
It’s easy to talk about lofty principles. It’s easy to follow those principles when following them leads to comfortable short-term outcomes. It’s easy to impose the difficult consequences of our principles on others. It’s hard to follow our principles consistently, regardless of circumstances, especially when the short-term outcomes might be disappointing or painful. But following […]
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Forgetting What We Know
We forget. For eight years, whenever a group of Freedom Tour cyclists completes a difficult ride, everyone celebrates. Smiles, hugs, handshakes, silly pictures. Watermelon and chocolate milk and ice cream. It’s a universal experience of joy and achievement. You know what NEVER happens? We never divide into men and women, conservatives and liberals, Black and […]
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Who Are We?
It was an interesting online conversation. A pretty well-known personality fielded questions about a published article. As always, comments ranged from helpful and educational to silly. This one caught my attention. “You’re not the smartest guy in the room, are you?” In the online world, a snarky remark isn’t all that unusual. It was the […]
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Four Years Later
Four years ago. Someone who’s in a leadership position in one of my circles publicly celebrated a difficult, divisive outcome. An outcome I knew would elicit fear and anguish in people I loved. An outcome I believed would bring real pain. If felt like he was laughing at those who wished for a different direction. […]
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