Happy Monday! We’re hitting the road today for Florida Hope Tour 2013, which inspires today’s word-of-the-week… WORK I’ve said before that one of the cool things about these crazy bike trips is the opportunity to visit a variety of churches. Yesterday a pastor talked about John 17:4. Jesus is in the upper room with His […]
Continue readingHow Do You Begin?
There’s something anticlimactic about the beginning of a long-awaited event. It’s never quite as big as all the work you put into it. We’ve had January 28, 2013 circled on the calendar for a long time. Finally all the planning and imagining’s over, and the sun will rise on another ordinary day. We’ll eat breakfast […]
Continue readingWhat Are Your Circumstances?
Rich’s Ride has taken us to some special places. One of those is Grace Place, the homeless ministry of Galloway United Methodist Church in downtown Jackson, Mississippi. The people at Grace Place do amazing work, and it’s difficult to explain how warmly they’ve welcomed us into their family. When I’m asked why I do this, […]
Continue readingRich’s Semi-Regular Newsletter–Florida Edition
I have to admit I’m enjoying temperatures in which the first digit is a “7.” For details, check out the Florida edition of Rich’s Semi-Regular Newsletter.
Continue readingDemand Your Rights?
We’ve heard a lot of discussion lately about rights. Our country’s debating gun rights and constitutional rights. I spent some time earlier this week at the National Civil Rights Museum. I met in Memphis with a group called ARC Mid-South that advocates for disability rights. Everybody’s all about their rights. In a recent article titled […]
Continue readingCan You Have Too Many Blessings?
Have you ever felt so overwhelmed with blessings you couldn’t respond with anything except “Thank you” but “thank you” just wasn’t enough? That’s how Becky and I feel right now. We’ve been adopted in Carbondale, Memphis, Anguilla/Rolling Fork, and Jackson. People have caught the vision behind RICH’S RIDE and shared time, talent, and treasure with […]
Continue readingWhat Are You Afraid Of?
In about a month I’m going to ride a stretch of road known as “alligator alley” during week three of Florida Hope Tour 2013. A number of friends have visited the area. Mostly I’m told it’s beautiful, interesting, and peaceful. They describe gorgeous scenery filled with abundant wildlife and unusual birds and plants. Then there […]
Continue readingWhat Do They Share?
We’re all so different, right? In the past four days I’ve spoken to: Folks from housing projects Kids in children’s church at a campus chapel Developmentally disabled adults Employees at a successful financial company Mentors for underprivileged inner-city kids learning character and life skills through golf Folks from an affluent suburban church Women in a […]
Continue readingMLK Day In Memphis
I’m not a museum guy, but I felt honored to visit the National Civil Rights Museum on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Being in that place on that day was truly a humbling experience. Dr. King came to Memphis in peace to try to help settle a long, contentious sanitation workers’ strike. Yesterday, people walked […]
Continue readingDreams Aren’t Free
I believe God wants us to dream and follow big, outrageous dreams. But let’s never fool ourselves. Dream-following has costs. On August 28, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered one of history’s most famous speeches. In perhaps its most recognized line, Dr. King proclaimed: I have a dream that my four little children will […]
Continue readingEnd
Happy Monday! A Sunday school class we visited this weekend got me thinking about today’s word-of-the-week… END If you’ve hung around the bible at all, you’ve heard of The Beatitudes. (Matthew 5:3-11) It’s always good to hear familiar verses phrased in new ways. The first of The Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3) says: “Blessed are the poor […]
Continue readingThe Dream Center
The Dream Center in Carbondale isn’t what I expected. The building’s kind of nondescript. Inside, things are plain. The furniture’s a bit worn around the edges. It’s serviceable, but certainly not fancy. At first glance, one might feel that the concerned people need to change the furniture, maybe buy a fancy table, drawer pedestal, or […]
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