Happy Monday! A statement of frustration brings us today’s word-of-the-week… OPENS “It feels like even when I’m at the right door it never opens for me.” “Okay, tell me how it works.” “It’s like I’m following my dream, doing the thing I think I’m called to do, but the door never opens.” “So following your dream […]
Continue readingAuthor: Rich
When Should You Seek Justice?
Paul and Silas were beaten and tossed into prison illegally. God intervened and used the opportunity to convert the jailer and his household. It’s a cool story until the following morning when the city officials try to get Paul and Silas to leave without making a fuss about their unlawful punishment. Why not leave well enough […]
Continue readingWhy Not?
If you have the opportunity to make an impact, why wouldn’t you do it? Our culture tells us impact is all about power and control, or at least fame and flash. Most folks, I think, would like to make an impact, but they’re unlikely to do something outrageous like riding a bike around the world. The truth is […]
Continue readingBike Around The World…Really?
Can you imagine riding your bike around the world? Last Friday, Becky, Monte, and I were guests at the sendoff party as my friend Dr. Scott Acton embarked on a solo, unsupported, 16,500 mile bike trip called the James Webb Space Telescope World Bicycle Tour. Scott’s tour is the result of a decades-old dream with an […]
Continue readingPerspective
Happy Monday! A fifth grader’s comment brings us today’s word-of-the-week… PERSPECTIVE The young lady told me she loved the idea of perspective. I just spoke to her class and she was escorting me to the office. “Why is perspective so interesting to you?” She stopped and gazed right into my eyes. “Because,” she explained, “it means I […]
Continue readingI Didn’t Know
I thought I knew a lot about school. I taught in schools for thirty-five years. With all that practice, in some pretty divergent environments, I figured I knew about schools and kids. About three years ago I learned about a Christian school called Life Center Academy in New Delhi, India. Math, science, bible classes. It’s […]
Continue readingAnd
Happy Monday! The day after Easter brings us a simple word-of-the-week… AND Most of us read some version of this passage over the weekend. “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell […]
Continue readingWe’re Not Trying
We’re not trying to be the biggest bike tour. We’re not trying to be the fastest bike tour. Or the most efficient. Or the most diverse. Seth Godin pointed out that you ought to be prepared to invest your heart and soul into the thing you’re trying to be. So you should know what that […]
Continue readingDo I Turn Toward The Need?
I’ve been thinking about compassion. I’m thinking about it because we live in a world filled with passion. We can summon passion for all sorts of ideas, causes, and groups. Over at Rich’s Ride yesterday I wrote: Passion might boil over into hatred and a demand for vengeance, or passion might lead to a decision to love and seek justice. I […]
Continue readingHow Passion Seeks Justice
“Where did you get your passion for this cause?” Great question. Like a lot of mission commitments, our involvement with the kids at the HOME OF HOPE has a back story that starts with a tug on the heart strings. In 2012 Becky and I did a bike tour from Cincinnati to Washington DC to […]
Continue readingFeeling
Happy Monday! A conversation from a long time ago prompts today’s word-of-the-week… FEELING “Love isn’t a feeling.” My friend looked at me like I’d just landed from Mars. “Of course love is a feeling. When you fall in love, it’s the greatest feeling in the world!” “And then you fall out of love and it’s the most […]
Continue readingHope With My Fingers Crossed?
I heard someone speak about hope as an invitation to disappointment. “I’m hoping for something to happen when I know the odds are stacked against it. So when I say I hope it goes well, I really mean I’m worried it won’t.” We’ve all hoped that sort of hope. I hope my friend recovers from cancer. […]
Continue reading