Memorial Day Challenges

Memorial Day we went for a ride through the Decorah Trails. Temperature was great. Sun Shining. Perfect day to get out. This is my son Trevor. Tearing up the trails. Here is an excerpt from an article he wrote called 'Challenges'

Biking has become one of the most cherished ventures in my life. Although I have a risk of acquiring injuries, those risks don’t stop me from riding at all. Every challenge I undertake gives my life a meaning and a purpose. Martin Luther King Jr. expressed, “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” I will never quit pushing myself to try new experiences or to get better at current hobbies. I won’t ever stop. In fact, my dad and I are planning to ride across the US. When that happens, I’ll have reached another one of my goals. Trevor

Follow The Leader

I can still remember when my so called “friend” came running around the fence waving his arms. That was the signal to slip through the fence and take the 4 lawnmower tires that we needed to build our go-cart. That signal meant that old man Munson was busy pumping gas and the coast was clear to take what was not ours. What we didn’t see was Mr. Ramlo watching us from the adjacent yard. We were12 year old thieves caught in the act.

I remember Mr. Ramlo telling me. “Keep hanging out with that guy and he will get you into trouble you can’t get out of. He only cares about himself!”

Following can get you in a lot of hot water at times, especially when the people you are following have only their own interests in mind. We base so much of what we do in life on how we are accepted or rejected by others. At times, we find ourselves doing things that we never would have done just to find acceptance from someone. Just to be liked.

We judge our worth by how many so called friends we have and we would do almost anything to just belong, be liked, or be loved. The truth is that real friends exist to make your day. Not to make you pay. They would never ask anything of you that would bring you shame.

Therefore we have to choose wisely who we are following. After all, our future is a stake.

Tim Keller on Religion Being a Problem in the World

I saw Tim Keller in Orlando last month. He does make a point.Tim is the pastor of Redeemer Church in New York

It's alright to fight

I was reading Bike, a cycling magazine, today when I came across an article entitled “Still Life, The recovery of Tara Llanes.” Last September, Tara Llanes was competing in a dual slalom bike race when she crashed and broke five vertebrae in her back, paralyzing her from the waist down.

I have been watching her blog and reading about her tough road to recovery since her accident. What a terrible thing to have to deal with at such a young age, or for that matter, any age. As I continued to read the article, I saw a picture that particularly struck a chord in me. It was a picture of her room at the Craig rehab center where she was rehabbing immediately after surgery. On the wall, in the picture, next to the hand washing station was a sign that read, “Everything will be ok in the end. If it’s not ok, it’s not the end.”

So many times we live our lives as if we are trying to catch that moment where everything was trouble free. The perfect day, the perfect dinner, the perfect words spoken to the perfect person in our perfect lives. We go on thinking that is the goal of life: to achieve those sensational, trouble-free moments again. Because of that chase, we are left feeling like we are on the down side of life more than on top of it.

Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble…But take heart! I have overcome the world.” Funny thing about that Jesus guy; He always gets it right, doesn’t He?
Sometimes I wonder if we have all gotten soft. Have we no desire to fight it out? After all, what’s life without a good fight? It is part of our human history, but more often than not, we just want it the way we want it. Our very souls demand we fight! That we don’t give up. We are not quitters: whether it is against an enemy who would take our freedom, a disease that wants to steal our days, or a catastrophic injury.

The best part is that we are free to fight. Free to believe that we can. In fact, what are we if we do not? We have and will always be inspired by those who fight. It was Winston Churchill who said, “Never, never, never give up” and he brought a country to its feet to achieve what seemed impossible in defeating an aggressor that was determined to overwhelm them.

Maybe today you have had one of those moments where you have just wanted to give up. There is no glory in quitting, but there is in following. The one I am following told me to expect trouble in this life. But he also said, “Take heart for he has over come the world.” The sign read. “Everything will be ok in the end. If it’s not ok, it’s not the end.”

I know what the end looks like. It’s not here. It’s out of this world. Go for it Tara! It’s worth the struggle.







In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an
invincible summer.

-- Albert Camus (1913-1960) French Writer

See the Signs

Sometimes our preconceived ideas about how God is working in our lives keep us from the very joys that he is trying to give us. It is easy to get in the position of seeing God as if he is a genie in a lamp. We can feel as if he is just here to provide us with what we want, when we want it. God is really asking us instead to talk to him and listen to him. It is a relationship, but in our frantic world it probably looks more like we are demanding and trying to “kick his door in” to get him to respond to us.

One of the great secrets of a simpler life is found in
Psalm 46:10
"Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth."

Paul said after knowing Christ for 15 years "That I may know him." That was still his main goal in life. Although we may struggle at times with the whole, “knowing God” thing, the proof is in the journey. We must pace ourselves and commit to the whole trip. It is not an overnight thing. It takes time and we will grow in him in unexpected ways.

Isaiah 40:31 says:
"But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."
We have to stop trying to kick his door in and instead listen to that still small voice. He might be pointing to the very thing we have been looking for. We were just too focused on our own ideas to notice it. The answer was there all along.