For the last couple of months, several guys that ride from our church have joined in with the biker group from another church, and the motley crew in the second pic above depicts us on one of those rides. But the most recent, a few weeks ago, added an important spiritual lesson to the great companionship on a scenic ride to the town of Ramona. By the way, names will be changed to protect the guilty. ;) The leader picked out a route ahead of time, one he’d not yet ridden, entered it on his GPS, and…
Read MoreNo Good Deed
Read MoreMany consider Lake Louise as the jewel of the Banff region in Canada, but Bow Lake, just a bit north, entranced our Gray Hog group even more. Perhaps the less than crowded conditions contributed to that. We took pics of the lake and Crowfoot Mtn from the central area, then strolled south for another angle of the glacier. Out of the many impressive qualities of Canada, we noticed the almost total lack of litter. Until, walking back to our bikes, we stopped to see …
Will This EVER End?
Insanity or idiocy or a demented desire to identify and challenge my limits? Just about all family and friends thought the first two would explain my attempt at an Iron Butt ride: 1,000 miles on 2 wheels in 24 hours. I lean toward a strange blend of all three. On the insane and idiot side, I’m 70 with a bum knee. 1,000 miles will take about 13 hours of butt on seat time, with 6 stops for bike fuel with 3 including human fuel, adding maybe 4 hours. 17 hours from departing at 4 AM from home in Temecula hopefully will get me into Dillon MT about 9 PM, after riding 1040 miles. Well, 10 PM with the time change. One long day.
Read MoreLiving with Bears
Stepan, orphaned when his mother died in the forest, was adopted by the Panteleenko family in Russia, and 25 years later still lives with them. The kicker—Stepan is a bear. A grizzly bear—one of the most fearsome predators on our planet. He picnics with them, cuddles on the couch watching TV, and even plays catch. What a fine metaphor for dealing with the predators in our lives! And we all have them. Maybe not on the level of grizzlies, but we face antagonism. In traffic. On Facebook. In stores. With families and friends. But how do we respond? Let’s…
Read MoreDefensible Spaces
In addition to nearly two dozen wildfires in CA, smoke from a fire at nearby Camp Pendleton covers our town. No, we’re not revisiting wildfires this week, but I do want to steal a fire fighting term—defensible space, which is controlling the vegetation around your house to help keep it safe. To broaden it, that term applies to our…
Read MoreFires, Floods, and Evacuations
Along with much of the country, California has been blasted with floods, fires, and evacuations. Likely you’ve seen examples on the evening news. A recent fire in the community next door forced an evacuation of a long time friend, Jim Davis. Here’s his story.
Read MoreDeliver the Goods
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…
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