Once in a while it’s good to remember why we do what we do. The whole point of BOUNCING BACK is to form a circle of folks who want to discuss what it looks like to live life on purpose as followers of Jesus. One of my big goals is to invite you into the […]
Continue readingNo Door Busting
Okay, it’s leftover time. And, of course, we now move on to those uniquely American holidays: Black Friday and Small Business Saturday. At this point I feel like I need a big-voice guy shouting about crazy, impossible-to-resist deals. Set your alarm, beat the crowds! Sorry, but that’s just not our style. Frankly, I don’t want […]
Continue readingFifty Years Ago
The past few days have been about remembering an event that re-shaped the world fifty years ago. For me, the public remembrance of President Kennedy’s death always evokes a more personal memory. I’ve told this story before, but a fiftieth anniversary seems like the right occasion to tell it again. (Note: I’m posting this on […]
Continue readingA Different Fiftieth Anniversary
The past few days have been about remembering an event that re-shaped the world fifty years ago. For me, the public remembrance of President Kennedy’s death always evokes a more personal memory. I’ve told this story before, but a fiftieth anniversary seems like the right occasion to tell it again. # # # As Elmer’s […]
Continue readingWhat If I Don’t “Feel” Thankful?
“I have a hard time with gratitude.” Do you ever hear that? Seems like a common lament, especially around Thanksgiving. It’s like people think they should feel more grateful, and they don’t, so they feel guilty about not feeling grateful. So now there’s the guilt as well as the lack of gratitude. We’re really good […]
Continue readingWhy Thanksgiving?
Why do we have Thanksgiving? In reality, it’s a secular holiday, an excuse to travel, visit family, and enjoy a great feast. To be brutally honest, Thanksgiving is mostly about food, shopping, and football. There’s nothing inherently wrong with any of that, but I wonder what happens to the “thanks” part of Thanksgiving. I came […]
Continue readingIs Gratitude Required?
We talk a lot about gratitude this time of year. Like a lot of other things, we get the notion of gratitude turned around. We act like gratitude’s an obligation, something we owe to God. You’d think He commanded us to be thankful because He needs our thanks. When you say it that way it […]
Continue readingThe Downside Of Compliments
I appreciate all the nice things people say when we complete a RICH’S RIDE tour. We receive many kind notes. People stop us at church to tell us how much they appreciate what we do. We hear from folks all over the country who are inspired and encouraged by the rides and the blogs. It’s […]
Continue readingMe
HAPPY MONDAY! The first four words of the Bible got me thinking about today’s word-of-the-week… ME That’s what it’s all about, right? Becky and I are putting together a year-end recap of RICH’S RIDE, trying to summarize the results of our project. Did you catch the end of that sentence? As we wrote, we noticed […]
Continue readingAre You Really Free?
I love the freedom of cycling. I’m not sure everyone understands what I mean when I say that. Some reading I’ve been doing reminded me of the apparent paradox of freedom as a follower of Jesus. In some ways it’s like cycling. It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, […]
Continue readingAre You Spiritual?
“I’m just not a spiritual person.” Ever heard someone say that? I’ve been doing some reading lately that reminded me of a friend who claims to be “a science guy.” He echoes a popular notion that some folks are spiritual and some aren’t. I believe that’s a lie. We’re all spiritual—in fact, our very essence […]
Continue readingGuts
Lucy and Kevin Donaldson have guts. The “red light district” in Delhi, India is six hundred years old. It’s big business, operated by organized crime. The ruthless human traffickers who buy and sell women and children place little value on a single human life aside from the income it can produce. They’re not kind to […]
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