John Southwood and I led 6 people on a month-long mission trip to Penasco, a small town close to Taos. Two of us rode bikes, four rode in the van. The many abandoned old homes along the Arizona roadside grabbed my attention. Made of stone or blocks or wood. Many with missing roofs, all deserted. People built them, lived in them, worked to scrape out a life in the blazing desert, only to leave them. So why did they take off?
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The 750 from the first Iron Butt Ride.
70 Isn’t 28
Every so often, “Unconventional” features a fresh post from a 2018 ride at the age of 70--an Iron Butt that covered 1,080 miles in just over 16 hours, from Temecula to Dillon MT, all on the fairly straight, sometimes barren and sometimes scenic I-15. My Honda ST1300 was without music and the interstate quite uncrowded, providing time to think and pray and ponder. Leaving at 4 AM and traveling 450 miles, the bike entered Cedar City UT at 10:30. Good time, but already some tiredness arrived. So a longer pit stop provided an early lunch and rest. During the last two hours of the ride, I wanted nothing more than…
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Reflections on a Life Well Lived
Almost a year ago, my good friend John Southwood and I journeyed north to the Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference. John had a book concept—on the much-needed topic of integrity, based on Job. Not long after, some issues arose that the doctors diagnosed as brain cancer. Just last Saturday, that cancer took John’s physical life even as he received a full healing. Yeah, I’m a bit jealous, but my day will come. Many of you knew John, many of you prayed for him this year and I so appreciate that. Our lives have been entwined since…
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