Back from the road trip, and now it’s Advent. A season of waiting for Jesus – when He’s already here. It’s an odd sort of waiting. I’m working through Giving A Year Meaning by my friend Jon Swanson. He reminds us that Advent is more about preparing, slowing, remembering. For some, especially this year, it […]
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Pop The Clutch
My high school friends and I often had cars that weren’t 100% reliable. We knew how to gather 2-3 guys, push a car, and “pop the clutch” to get it started. In a pinch you could even do it alone – push the car to get it rolling, jump in, pop the clutch, and with […]
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An Amazing Team
The FREEDOM TOUR is surrounded by an amazing team – a beautiful collection of individuals from diverse backgrounds with widely different ability levels. As we wrap last year and prepare for 2022, I’m reviewing stuff. I noticed a couple of traits shared by this remarkable circle of volunteers and cyclists. They’re Committed Our team shows […]
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How To Follow A Dream (4)
No matter what dream we’re following, there’s one absolutely essential ingredient. It’s good to follow with Grace and Faith and Humility. They’ll help us be calmer, have better connections, stay on track. But one ingredient makes the difference between success and failure. Hope Viktor Frankel was an Austrian psychiatrist who survived the horrors of Auschwitz […]
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How To Follow A Dream (3)
Following the dream doesn’t happen by accident. We’ve already talked about Grace and Faith. Humility In a culture of selfies and Tik Tok and “Look at me!” – following the dream works better with, “there you are.” Please don’t turn this into some sort of legalistic “Never talk about yourself or your accomplishments” or “Never […]
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How To Follow A Dream (2)
Let’s continue our conversation. Part 1 (Faith) here. Grace We’re gonna mess up, make mistakes. Others we meet along the journey will mess up as well. Decide in advance to default toward grace. Decide we’ll give others, and ourselves, the benefit of the doubt. Take the energy we invest in judgment and snarkiness – invest […]
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How To Follow A Dream
Last time I talked about selfies. It’s not about pictures, of course. I love seeing and showing you what my friends are up to. It’s really about attention-seeking in a culture in which people become famous (and wealthy) simply for being famous. Jesus said we should let our light shine before others. As we follow […]
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Selfie Counterculture
I don’t like posting pictures of myself. It’s intentional. In a selfie culture, maybe it’s bad marketing, but I’m not seeking followers. This isn’t some false humility. It’s a sincere belief that following this dream is not about me. In the beginning, when we called our journey RICH’S RIDE, I coined an unofficial tagline: It’s […]
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Following On Bikes
We say the FREEDOM TOUR is a community of people who follows Jesus. Sounds nice, but what does it mean? Hopefully it’s more than just words. As we plan for 2022, I wonder what makes us followers. What distinguishes us from other cool bikes rides? Is it the crosses on our jerseys? The prayers? Follow, […]
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Avoiding Arguments
It’s hard for me to stay out of arguments. Some arguments, anyway, about things that matter. When I hear things that are so clearly wrong and hurtful, it’s really hard to turn away. I admire those whose stand against injustice, who put their reputations and sometimes their lives on the line for what true and […]
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Over The Top
The FREEDOM TOUR is a small army of committed volunteers. Those folks show up to write a big story, and their efforts are amazing. When you hire someone, especially for minimum wage, you often get minimum effort, just enough to get by. You end up coercing and cajoling and supervising and fixing. Our volunteers tend […]
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Us
I asked our MOUNTAIN TOUR teammates for a favorite short quote. One guy replied, “Us” – about as short as you can get. He’s coaching his daughter’s soccer team. He wanted them to know they were in it together. He hoped they’d carry the idea beyond the soccer field. So after every practice, every timeout, […]
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