Reading the newspaper was a daily ritual growing up. Dad picked the front page first, mom got the local, and I went for the comics. Then we’d shift around. I’ve always liked papers, and even wrote a weekly column for several years for our local news rag. BUT. I’m likely to end a decades-long habit. We had a fine local paper, then…
Read MoreWho's the Best?
Baseball’s heart throbs with competition. MVP, Cy Young, World Series. But probe below the surface, because cooperation between team members, complementing one another, and wise managing that puts each the area of their strength, provides the foundation for winning baseball. Cooperation within the team, competition without. And perhaps that gives us a metaphor for the church, because…
Read MoreWhat Kind of Wine Are You?
Recently, Sheila and I joined a local wine club. Avensole offers a tranquil, relaxed setting, some fine wines, and good conversations with the sommeliers and fellow members. One benefit—we each get a free glass of wine on each visit, and I’ve learned a lot. Particularly, I’ve seen some spiritual lessons that wine provides, enough to craft a book proposal! But if you don’t drink wine, no need to stop reading. I’ll share a lesson I learned on how to better connect with the world’s best winemaker—Jesus.
Read MoreThe Gratitude Challenge
This fearsome sevensome, a blend of riders from two local churches, putted a week ago from Temecula up the back way to Big Bear. Yeah, we wandered off on some side roads. But once we reached the big evergreens, relaxation grew. Something about the aroma of pine and cedar and the crispness of mountain air, coupled with the beauty of creation, always soothes my soul. We lunched at Mountain Munchies before heading down the front route, until…
Read MoreThe Key to Intimacy Is...
How do we enhance intimacy in human relationships? An important question, since as humans we’re so enmeshed with others. But I suspect what builds intimacy between humans often works between humans and God. Makes sense, since he created us in his image. That key is…
Read MoreMurphy Was an Optimist
Four weeks from the day this post is written, I’ll head north to Montana to meet Jerry, then east to Duluth, and then west to meet Mick and Brad, and we’ll all journey to Banff and Jasper. Then home. About 16 days, 4,500 miles, and the first day will feature a solo attempt at an Iron Butt ride—1,000 miles in 1 day on 2 wheels. And because life has taught me that Murphy, famed for his law “If anything can go wrong it will,” was an optimist…
Read MorePeople Get Ready
On a seldom fished section of Rock Creek in the Sierras, a bit overgrown with trees. Yeah, nowhere near a campground. The pic above had the caption, “If casting is difficult, you can assume not many have fished there.” My kind of stream. I spotted a nice pool and wove through the tree branches with just about 3 ft of line hanging down from the fly rod tip. Letting out a little line and dropping in the hole, I realized a route was blocked to extract any trout that chose to bite, so I gently moved a branch aside with my left hand, the one that controls the line, that sets the hook.
Just then…
Read MoreOwn It!
The 2018 NBA Western Conference Finals. Steph Curry, leader of the Golden State Warriors, had missed a good chunk of the regular season with injuries. Game 2 saw the Houston Rockets blow them out by 22 points, and the game stayed tight at half time of game 3. Then Steph stepped up, with 19 points in the third quarter, leading them to a 41 point margin of victory. After one layup, Curry turned to the crowd and yelled, “This is my…”
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