Rich’s Ride – Page 11

I Don’t Know

Three simple, powerful, humble words. As a new teacher I thought I was supposed to know it all. Nothing terrified me more than a question I couldn’t answer quickly, immediately, on-the-spot. Students wouldn’t respect a teacher who didn’t know stuff. That’s what I thought, so I did everything I could to pretend. Because nobody knows […]

Personal Responsibility

It’s all about making good choices. Personal responsibility, right? You and I are responsible for our choices and their consequences. Have you ever thought about the sense of privilege embedded in that so-called truth? I think a lot about the kids at the HOME OF HOPE. They, and their mothers, weren’t enslaved and abused because […]

Losing A Hero

I don’t use the word “hero” casually. Especially when referring to professional athletes, it’s easy to become hyperbolic when describing our favorites. In one case, it’s nearly impossible to overstate a man’s impact. Hank Aaron was a hero. Certainly among a small handful of the greatest baseball players of all time. Civil rights icon. Humble. […]

An Unexpected Sermon

Sermons come in many forms. Sometimes they’re in church. This week we all got to hear a wonderful message from Amanda Gorman, America’s first-ever National Youth Poet Laureate. Ms. Gorman read her poem THE HILL WE CLIMB at President Biden’s inauguration. If you didn’t hear her recitation, I recommend looking it up. The poem included […]

Good And Bad Things

I may have a new philosophy of life. Okay, maybe that’s a bit over the top. But I heard a statement that stopped me in my tracks. I’m not even sure about the specific topic, but that’s not important. We don’t do bad things to stop bad things. We do good things to stop bad […]

The End

Actually, it’s the beginning, but you and I don’t need another rant about how 2020 was the most horrible year ever so the next one has to be better. The calendar has no agency. The past year didn’t do anything to us, and whatever was happening yesterday will continue, unless we do something about it. […]

What’s In A Name?

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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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