I don’t stop enough. Odd comment about bike riding. Usually we think keep going, just a little more, you can do it. DON’T STOP. It’s easy, especially on a bike, to roll on with that mindset until you’ve cranked a lot of miles. Yesterday I was huffing and puffing my way up a significant climb. […]
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Write A Better Story
I keep hearing this will be the summer with nothing to do. Everything’s cancelled. Summer camps, organized sports, vacations, pools, rec programs. An entire summer, cancelled. Maybe not. Depends on the story we tell ourselves. Here’s a brief parable. + + + In 2011 Becky and I planned a bike ride. I would crank my […]
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Uncharted
Back in the old days – three or four months ago – bike tours involved groups and maps. Everyone meet here. Go that way. Turn left at the second light, right at the highway, and stay together. We even had electronic gizmos to keep us on course. So what happens in a new world? What […]
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What’s Exactly The Same
I did my first outdoor ride of 2020 yesterday. Felt good to remember the sense of fresh breeze, warm sunshine, and straining muscles. After a long winter, after weeks of upheaval, cruising beside a river beginning to swell with spring runoff felt safe and familiar. So much has changed. It’s easy to wonder if life […]
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Who We Are
Human trafficking didn’t shut down. No surprise, perhaps, that those who prey upon the weak and marginalized don’t observe niceties like social distancing. Ruthless criminals exploit vulnerability wherever they find it. No surprise, either, that those already rescued and living in shelters and safe houses are struggling during this crisis. As lock downs limit access […]
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Overstating “Everything”
“Everything’s changed.” Maybe you’ve heard it, or said it. When suddenly it seems like we can’t depend on anything, it’s good to remember an eternal truth: Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. “Everything” has not changed. Our plans changed, because plans are based on what we knew when we made them. […]
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Noisemakers
Principles written on paper aren’t worth much. Unless, of course, they’re backed up with action. High-sounding honor codes mean nothing if they’re not reflected in tough choices. It’s the behavior that’s matters. I’ve told you before that in later years my classroom operated on a single principle: Everyone (including the teacher) gets treated with dignity […]
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I Don’t Know
I thought I’d talk to you about all the things I don’t know, and a few things I’m sure about. Can’t see the video? Click here.
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Helpless?
No, we’re not. But maybe that’s how it feels. When we’re confronted with big numbers, when the message isn’t clear, when an invisible boogeyman lurks around every corner, it’s easy to default to helpless. Helpless happens when we feel like we’ve lost control. Of course, what we really lose is the illusion that we were […]
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About Going Viral
Most people don’t really understand the math of exponential growth. Right now there’s a lot of talk about a virus spreading “exponentially.” I don’t want to talk about illness, but lots of other things spread exponentially. Generosity, for example. Let’s imagine ten people committed to a cause like a bike ride to support kids rescued […]
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It’s Not Fair!
If life’s a baseball game, I was born on second base. A white male with a stable two-parent family in middle-class America, access to quality public K-12 education and very low-cost, world-class university. I got an undeniable head start in a culture that’s allowed me to maintain and amplify my lead with less effort than […]
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Priceless
We spend a lot of time taking pictures. Posed group pictures. Action photos. Scenery. Video. On our Photo Site you can see hundreds of pictures and videos from our rides. If you didn’t know better you’d think capturing images was the whole point. Memories matter. Joshua placed an alter of 12 stones at the place […]
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