Open Mikey

Quit yer whinin'...

2012-01-27T16:51:00.004-06:00

“Do not test the LORD your God as you did at Massah.” (Deuteronomy 6:16)

How did the people test the Lord at Massah? The story is found in Exodus 17. The people were without water. They got thirsty. The thirstier they became the more they grumbled. Moses, the man God put in charge of the nation, talked to God about their situation. God said to strike a rock and water would come forth. Moses obeyed and God provided.

Do you test God as the people of Israel did? Grumbling against God, complaining when he doesn’t provide as you expect?

Quit yer whinin’!

Do not put the Lord to the test. When you complain, you’re saying God isn’t good. You’re dishonoring his name.

Rather than bemoan what God has not given you today, why not give thanks to him for what he has supplied?

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Job's question...

2012-01-27T14:12:00.001-06:00

"Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?"
-Job 2:10

Beans, beans...

2012-01-27T13:32:00.003-06:00

"When I became a runner, eating beans became an adventure waiting to happen."
- Ekim Trefien

I'm clean...

2012-01-27T06:50:00.002-06:00

I love the lyrics to this Petra song, Clean. Been singing it all day long the past couple of day. So glad to blameless in God's sight because of Jesus!

You might see me stumble, you might see me fall
You might see me cornered with my back against the wall
I may be incognito, maybe out to lunch
Maybe caught red-handed or maybe just a hunch

But I'm clean, clean, clean, clean, clean before my Lord
Clean, clean, clean, clean, clean before my Lord
Like a spotless lamb, I'm blameless in His sight
With no trace of wrong, left to right
I'm clean, clean, clean

Kneeling in the closet, begging daily bread
There may be a skeleton hanging overhead
Where are my accusers, nowhere to be found
They all dropped their stones when the master came around

'Cause I'm clean, clean, clean, clean, clean before my Lord
Clean, clean, clean, clean, clean before my Lord
Like a spotless lamb, I'm blameless in His sight
With no trace of wrong left to right
I'm clean, clean, clean

I've missed the mark I can't deny it
I don't condone or justify it
But I've done nothing that His blood can't wash away
When I take it to the cross and start to pray

Hey, I'm talking to you
Hey, He's gonna see me through
Hey, I'm talking to you

I'm clean, clean, clean, clean, clean before my Lord
Clean, clean, clean, clean, clean before my Lord
Like a spotless lamb, I'm blameless in His sight
With no trace of wrong left to right
I'm clean, clean, clean!

stuff non-runners say

2012-01-26T22:22:00.001-06:00

i found this quite funny. i've heard a ton of these things from non-runners!

This is me...

2012-01-26T22:18:00.003-06:00

A friend posted a list of 20 questions and answered them about himself. He then challenged me to do the same. I guess this will serve as my get to know me better post.

1) What is one of your favorite ways to spend a Saturday?

I like to sleep in a bit if I get the chance. Doesn’t always happen. Then I love going for a run or a ride alone or with my wife or a friend. After that, whatever presents itself is good with me. My wife usually has something planned.

2) List your top three favorite TV shows.

I don’t watch TV much. Hardly at all, really. My favorites are a bit older than most people’s probably. I love watching a couple of classics: Emergency and Get Smart. I also enjoy the more recent show, Monk. Adrian makes me laugh out loud.

3) Would you rather be in pictures or take them?

I love seeing pictures of me doing things I love, but most of the time I’m behind the camera. My children roll their eyes at me when I point and shoot, but they complain if they can’t find any pictures of themselves in an activity. They’ve each been tagged in thousands of pictures on Facebook. That’s not an exaggeration. I take loads of pictures.

4) Why do you blog?

My profile says it all. I blog to stay sane and drive others insane. I like provoking thought and instigating silliness. Kind of fun to keep track of life too. (I sometimes post anonymously as Ekim Trefien.)

5) Share five websites you visit regularly.

Facebook: This is where I keep up with my family and a few hundred friends. I’m part of a couple of runners’ groups. My favorite is the Idiots Running Club. Hilarious stuff happens there. I use Facebook to broadcast stuff about my church, too.

Twitter: I follow a lot of athletes – famous and not so famous – on Twitter. Not many of my family or close friends are on the site. I get a bit sillier here than I do on Facebook. Gotta keep my reputation clean.

dailymile: I keep track of all my workouts on this great social network for athletes. I’m a member of the blog team and do my best to be an encourager on the site. It was through the prompting of friends on dailymile that I took up running. I hope they don’t get me into triathlons.

Klout: I have no idea why I find this site so interesting. My score stays the same all the time. It doesn’t even measure my influence on Facebook yet. Still I check in here a couple of times each day and hand out +Ks to my friends.

YouTube: I have a YouTube channel and I’m always using it to find old songs to listen to. I also watch silly stuff and great athletic exploits. Occasionally, I post a self-made movie.

6) If you could have lunch with one person from your Twitter list who would it be?

That’s a tough one. There are a half dozen people I’d like to meet. I really want to get together with several members of the dailymile team, so I can pick the team profile, right? That covers all of them. Don’t ask me to narrow it down any further.

7) List a few of your favorite snacks.

I really like Frito’s Corn Chips. I suppose because they remind me of my grandma. She always had them on hand when I visited her house as a kid. They’re pretty good with chili too. Popcorn and gummi worms are probably my more frequent snacks.

8 ) Do you have a pet?

No pets in the family. Had a few dogs and cats growing up. Killed off several fish when my kids were young. Nothing but humans right now. They’re all staying alive.

9) Which three material possessions would you struggle to live without?

I’m pretty sure I’d struggle without a car, but what I’d really miss if they were gone are my two bikes. Cato, my road bike, and Floyd, my mountain bike, are my main means of transportation since my family steals the cars every morning.

10) What’s your favorite drink?

I love Pepsi. Hate Coke! One time when I was in the Atlanta airport on my way home from overseas, I struck up a conversation with an Atlantan. Just for fun, I said, “What I really want to know is this: Where can I get a Pepsi around here?” Her eyes narrowed as she snarled, “Go to hell!” True story! Atlantans are serious about their soft drinks.

11) Do you enjoy cooking?

I do. I fix breakfast every morning during the school year and help or prepare many suppers year round. My wife doesn’t like to cook, so I do more than some men. I’m make a mean oatmeal waffle.

12) Do you have children?

Yes, three daughters. One in junior high. One in high school. One in college. They are awesome, each in their own way!

13) What are your favorite hobbies?

I love to run and ride my bikes. I like to blog and snoop around on social networks. I enjoy writing in my spare time and reading too.

14) Would you consider yourself shy or outgoing?

I’m pretty outgoing, but I tend to feel nervous in new groups. I can get pretty wound up when I’m around close friends who don’t care how I act. After 3:00AM, I go crazy!

15) If you could change one thing about yourself, what would you change?

I wish I wasn’t so easily distracted. I have trouble focusing on what people are saying at times and I struggle to stay focused at work. I’ve learned lots of tricks, but I’m still a work in progress.

16) Who is your favorite actor/ actress?

I like Will Smith and most of his movies. He seems to get into fun or well-done films. I did NOT like Seven Pounds! Don’t really have a favorite actress.

17) What’s the coolest thing you’ve done this week?

I’m going to cheat and take something from last week. Last Tuesday, I made a backward shot from half court. Banked it in! The kids watching from the lunch room cheered!

18) Do you live near your family or far from them?

I suppose it depends on how you define near or far. I’m within 10 hours of all my siblings. My mom and dad are about six hours away. My in-laws are close except for my wife’s sister who lives on the east coast. My extended family is far flung.

19) List three of your talents.

I can clap with one hand. It’s a family trait. You’re not a real Neifert if you can’t master this skill. I can play the trombone and enjoy sitting in with the pep band at my daughter’s high school. I enjoy graphic design, though I’m far from professional.

20) What is your greatest attribute?

I am friendly. I can carry on a conversation with just about anyone. My daughters think I’m crazy when I start talking it up with people in line at Wal-Mart. I can’t help it.

stinkin' weatherbug!

2012-01-24T06:50:00.000-06:00

stupid weatherbug! it lied to me! betrayed me! told me the wind was out of the northwest! stinkin' liar!

i rode west through town and out into the country side on highway 54. at skyline, i took old 54 south and west toward the coats road and then took it north back to the highway. everything was wonderful to that point. too wonderful!

when i turned east on highway 54, i was met by the southeast wind that my weatherbug had shown as northwest. grrrrr! now i was miles from home, going slower downhill than i had been going uphill on the way out. the worst part was knowing i was likely to be late waking my wife up. she doesn't set an alarm. i'm her wake up call.

i rode as hard as i could into the wind back into town. things got a bit easier once i was sheltered by the houses and businesses. the traffic lights were cooperative, too, so i was only five or six minutes late getting back to the house. whew! (12.96 miles @ 15.7mph)

around pratt

2012-01-23T08:10:00.000-06:00

connect.garmin.com/activity/144024584

it was a balmy 30 degrees when i got up this morning, so i decided to go for a ride rather than run. i got geared up and headed out. my plan: to circumnavigate pratt.

i rode out to highway 61 and then began my clockwise journey around town. i was a little skittish about ice on the roads since there were puddles here and there that were clearly crusted over, so i rode a little less aggressively than usual.

i rode out on country club road to lake road to make sure my route encompassed everything within the city limits. i then rode way out west to the housing development with the long hill and then did some zigging and zagging this way and that on the north side of the tracks, trying, but failing to avoid dirt streets. thankfully, the dirt i encountered was hard packed.

i recrossed the railroad tracks at maple and took in the north side of town. as i was riding along holly, i spotted a dog in the yard next to me. i was pretty sure he was loose. he was. thankfully, his owner, a cycling friend of mine, was right there. i almost hit him eyeing the dog. sorry, brandon!

i finished up my circuit riding up and around the cemetery and then around the pratt community college campus before returning to highway 54 which took me home. (11.55 miles @ 14.4mph)

adventure in the hills

2012-01-14T22:19:00.000-06:00

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/141698109

what an adventure! when dan, brandon, paul and i left pratt around 8:30 it was 32 degrees. quite a bit warmer than it has been the past few mornings, but still a bit on the chilly side. we drove a little over 20 miles to belvidere and parked just off the road beside an old cedar. across the street was the trail end junk shop, a business everyone who visits town should check out!

we unloaded the bikes and layered up before heading north a half mile to the road dan planned for us to ride. we turned onto the dirt and started to climb immediately. not steeply, but it was definitely up! we'd ridden for less than a half mile when we encountered a locked gate. we thought that strange. we were pretty sure this was a public road, so we picked up our bikes and climbed over.

just as we were over and about to click in and head into the wilderness, a pickup truck came flying up the hill and stopped in a cloud of dust. the driver rolled down his window and politely, but firmly informed us that we were trespassing on private property. he thought we should've figured it out since there was a gate to slow us down. "and there's a sign," he said, pointing to an old weathered board that at one time had paint on it. you could NOT read it. i hadn't even noticed it when we rode up to the gate.

we put our bikes back on the non-private side of the gate and talked with the guy for a bit. seems some cyclist had been hit and killed by a water truck on their property fifteen years ago and they didn't want a new lawsuit. there was no way he was going to let us ride on our planned route. we apologized and rode back down to belvidere and headed north on the county roads.

almost immediately, we met with a short, steep hill that i felt the need to rocket up. not sure why hills like that make me speed-hungry. i crested with dan and then we road on and on upward. i'm convinced we were going uphill for six or seven miles. the grade wasn't great after the initial incline. we encountered some cows crossing the road ahead of us and a small herd of whitetailed deer too.

we rode until we came to a T in the road. at this point, dan and brandon got into a heated debate about where we were. brandon was convinced we were west of greensburg. dan insisted we weren't. i mostly stayed out of the discussion though i was pretty sure dan was right. eventually, they came to an agreement that we would continue west and we rode off again. a friend of mine from haviland happened by almost immediately after that. he waved and wished us well as he drove on.

we rode a couple of miles west and then turned south again to begin completing the loop we'd started. the wind was at our backs now, so the sailing was good! dan and i rode behind brandon and paul for awhile, then decided to play breakaway and shot out ahead of them. i tried to latch onto dan's wheel, but he was too fast! he's a demon on wheels! crazy fast! i hit 30mph and he was still pulling away.

we stopped at the top of a steep descent and waited for the other two to arrive. we had to decide again which was to go. to the left was a known road, at least to dan. to the right was new territory. we opted to go boldly where dan had never gone. we shot down the hill, missed the turn and had to double back a bit.

the road took us mostly south to a stream we forded on a newly built concrete bridge. we climbed up from there and road along a fun stretch of rocky terrain. dan rode off the beaten path on a cow trail while the rest of us meandered along on the road.

when we got to the top of the hill, we rode for a long time along the flat top of the ridge before descending into a beautiful valley. the road passed by a farm complete with red barn, then turned suddenly to the right and tilted upward. dan reported at intervals on the grade. he rode out of earshot just after shouting out, "15%!" crazy stuff!

the next few miles included lots more gradual inclines both up and down and then, just when we thought all the climbing was done, we hit another wall! i didn't get shifted down to my small chain ring before this one, so i climbed it slowly. i wanted to give up, but there was no way i was going to stop. i did not want to walk my bike up! that would've been far, far worse!

eventually we came to a long down hill and we hit a road that both dan and paul knew from previous rides. we turned on to it and headed back north toward belvidere.

right before we got back to the blacktop, i got a flat. front tire. i changed it out with some help from dan while brandon took pictures and laughed. we put the wheel back on and continued on to the asphalt.

brandon, paul and i rode on while dan stopped in at the farmhouse of the guy we'd encountered earlier in the day. he wanted to talk to him again and see if he could get phone numbers for others who owned land in the area. dan is quite tenacious when he wants to do something badly enough.

soon after leaving him behind, my rear tire flatted. we could see belvidere at this point, so we aired it up and limped on in. by the time, i pulled to a stop at the van the tire was getting a bit bouncy, but wasn't hitting the rim. i hate flats!

brandon and i began loading bikes and gear into the car while paul watched the road for dan. we hadn't gotten much done when dan rode up. he'd had a nice talk with the farmer and apologized again for trespassing, but hadn't made much progress on the permission front. i have no doubt he will continue to pursue this matter until all avenues have been exhausted.

with all of us back together, we crammed everything and everyone back into the vehicle and set off for home. (32.86 miles @ 11.9mph)

smooth sailing

2012-01-11T08:15:00.000-06:00

connect.garmin.com/activity/140782516

i finally broke down and pulled my balaclava out this morning. with the way my face felt after yesterday's short ride at 26 degrees, i decided it was cold enough today even at 30.

i rode on smooth surfaces for the largest portion of this ride. stout street and highway 281 headed north until just past iuka are amazing! the highway is a cyclist's dream road. wide shoulders. flawless asphalt. freshly painted lines. wow!

the wind this morning wasn't too bad. it's supposed to grow in strength throughout the day. this afternoon there could be 40mph gusts! tomorrow may be more of the same if the weather man gets it right. (14.37 miles @ 16.1mph)

cold face and fingers

2012-01-10T06:42:00.000-06:00

connect.garmin.com/activity/140523570

i didn't have a lot of time to ride this morning since i have an early morning appointment at work, so i just rode around a little. i took the highway west to main street, took it south and then rode along lake rode to the lake. i'd forgotten how much "fun" the hills on that road are. i took in the loop around the lake and then took the road just outside the park north to the highway again and rode back home. my beard had ice in it! that makes it a great ride!

ethanol loop

2012-01-07T07:38:00.000-06:00

connect.garmin.com/activity/139538483

i woke up this morning with a bit of a sore throat left over from last night basketball game. not sure if i'm coming down with something or what. either way, i went out in the 27 degree air and rode around a bit. i wasn't sure what i wanted to do other than get in some miles to stay on track and even get a little ahead of my year's goal. that i did successfully, taking in four miles more than i'd originally planned riding up and around past the ethanol plant. now i have to rush around and get to the college of nursing to help with a free health clinic that i volunteer at.

long cold ride

2012-01-05T06:52:00.000-06:00

connect.garmin.com/activity/139066208

it takes forever to get dressed for an early morning ride in the winter. it took me thirty minutes to pull on a base layer, jersey, jacket, skull cap, shorts, tights, socks, shoes, shoe covers, gloves, garmin and helmet before i could click in. of course, snooping around dailymile didn't help me dress quickly, so not every minute can be blamed on the garments.

i took off down school street trying to avoid as many stop signs as i could on my way out of town forgetting that the price you pay for continuous rolling on school street is a buzzed butt. brick streets are a bear!

i turned south on to main street and sped down yet another section of cobbled thoroughfare before turning west on 54's smooth blacktop.

the going was pretty slow on the way out of town. it's uphill most of the way and the wind, while not terribly strong, was nevertheless in my face. i rolled passed old 54, opting to stay out where i could get a ride back into town if i was to flat. i'm NOT going to change a flat in the dark when it's 32 degrees. thankfully, that wasn't an issue.

when i turned around at byers road, i was averaging around 14mph. that's slower than my commuting miles on my mountain bike yesterday! that simply would not do! i accelerated and kept the hammer down all the way back home. every mile i got a peek at my speed when my garmin lit up. with one exception, i was over 20mph every time.

i flew past the school where i do lunch room duty, past rick's restaurant and RV park, past the kwik shop and rolled up to the light at main just as it turned green. i had a go all the way back home then and spun around the corner and into my drive at exactly 6:30. perfect timing! that's when my wife wanted me to wake her up.

that's done. time to take all this gear off and get ready for the day.

Glory to God in the highest...

2011-12-20T11:25:00.000-06:00

“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.’

“Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.’

“When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.’

“So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.” (Luke 2:8-20, New International Version)

Perhaps you’ve heard this story once or twice before. Linus recites it every year for Charlie Brown and the rest of the gang. Many families read it before they tear into their gifts Christmas morning. I’d guess you’ve heard it if you’ve shown up at any gathering of Christians in December.

Do you understand why this story is important? It’s the beginning of the God-in-the-flesh narrative. “For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son,” starts here. The One who will die in our place is born! Good news! God has come to save us! He’s through with the alienation that man’s fall into sin inserted into His good creation!

How do men and angels react? With praise! From heaven we hear the angel of the Lord proclaim: “I bring you good news of great joy!” A whole host of angels joins in: “Glory to God in the highest!” The shepherds visit the child in the manger and return to their flocks “glorifying and praising God.”

All who heard of the baby’s arrival were amazed! And why shouldn’t they be? It isn’t every day that God steps in to save the world. People are supposed to appease God. That’s what every other belief system teaches. This God – the one who reveals Himself in the Bible – takes the initiative! He sacrifices Himself so men and women don’t have to suffer His wrath. Those who put their trust in Jesus, the baby born in Bethlehem, are no longer condemned! Those who have lived in rebellion against God all their lives can have eternal life!

How do you react to what Jesus did for you? Is your heart filled with joy? Perhaps you don’t understand. You were dead in your sins. You could not save yourself. You needed help. God came to save you!

How can you not shout and sing this Christmas? Praise God with the angels!

“Glory to God in the highest!”

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safety matters

2011-12-17T10:56:00.001-06:00

Safety is important to athletes. When they step out the door on any given day to run or bike or walk alone, they want to know that if they should become injured or incapacitated, someone would be able to, at the very least, reach a loved one. To meet this need several companies have offered identification bands in varying sizes and colors. Most have emergency contact numbers and basic info on them. A few offer other services linked to the web.

A relative newcomer to the sportsman’s ID universe is 1BandID. The brainchild of Joe Vukson, an athlete who cared about his own safety, this band offers one feature the others don’t: it is nearly impossible to forget! The ID velcros to the athlete’s watch or GPS band, something they aren’t likely to leave behind.

Several members of the dailymile team – five women and four men – tried the 1BandID on for size. From the ordering process to customer service to usefulness, they agreed that this entry into the market was a winner.

Each team member involved in this review ordered their own band on the product’s website. They found the process fairly straightforward – pick a color, fill in your information, pay for it, it’s done!

Each band’s ID tag allows five lines of info. The first gives the athlete’s name. One member of the team ordered an ID that her whole family of runners could use. She put all of their phone numbers and info on it. The second line holds the person’s city, state and country. The next two lines can include phone numbers or other contact information. One reviewer who put her mom’s and her fiancé’s numbers on her band commented, “It's nice to know that if one person wasn't home or didn't answer, there is a backup person people can contact if something should go wrong.” The final line is left for the sportsperson’s short mantra. One person spoke in amazement, “A lot can be put on such a small plate!” Another reviewer who didn’t order his with a motivational quote this time thought he’d order another just to add the feature.

One minor complaint voiced by a reviewer or two concerning ordering was having to count characters when entering information. The 1BandID site doesn’t count for you. If you submit your info with too many characters, you will be returned to the entry page to shorten it.

Once everything is correct and an order is submitted, a confirmation email is automatically sent. A second email is sent when the product is shipped. There is not tracking info, but everything went very smoothly. Everyone in the dailymile test group received their ID quickly. When one of the team discovered a typo in his city information, it was immediately replaced. This caused this reviewer to exclaim, “Awesome customer service! I have no negative things to say!”

A few of the reviewers already had another brand of ID. Others had been considering getting one. Those who had another product already were unanimous in their assessment. To quote one in particular: “I always forget to wear it when I go out for a run and sometimes struggle to search for it as I have no clue where I last put it.” Others echoed that sentiment. The other comment from another brand’s user was the size of the print on the ID tag. He said, “I was used to having the writing a little larger.”

Those who had been thinking about an ID purchase for some time said things like, “I'd been wanting to get [an ID], but had held out as I really didn't want to wear something else on the other wrist.” The 1BandID’s design removed their hesitation. A female said she was glad for one less thing to rub against her skin. That was a big plus for her on long runs!

The dailymile team members put the 1BandID on a number of different GPS devices and watches. When one of them first saw the product, she thought it might feel bulky on her watch. She was also concerned that the velcro could be scratchy. Another concern of other reviewers was added weight. When they took the 1BandID out for a spin, that fear was allayed. The band was lightweight. One male commented, “I don't even notice it is there!” Two female reviewers shared their excitement about being able to choose a color that coordinated with their GPS unit.

Most reviewers put their 1BandID on once and left it. There were a few, however, who had minor problems. A couple of female reviewers with small wrists had minor quibbles. One mentioned that she has to remove it and put it back on again for every workout. The other could not find room on her watch. By the time she put her GPS device on to size, there wasn’t able to secure her 1BandID to the strap on either side. One side of the band was too short. While the ID could be put on the side with the buckle and the slotted band it was a tight fit and she feared her watch band would come loose allowing the ID to slide off. This reviewer worked out a solution to her problem, strapping the ID to her shoelaces. That worked out well for her and, incidentally, for another reviewer. The first reviewer said, “With the velcro I can move it from shoe to shoe with ease, no unlacing needed.” One male with smaller wrists could only fit the band on one side of his GPS. The only reviewer who could not fit the 1BandID on her watch band attached it to her hydration pack. She went for a 24 mile run with the 1BandID and it stayed in place with no chaffing or hotspots. Her assessment: “I think the strength in the idea of the 1BandID is in its versatility. While marketed for use on a GPS watch or similar, it works with any piece of equipment you take on the road with you.” She added this one suggestion: “I'd like to see it available with different widths and lengths of velcro to further expand its usability.”

One reviewer noted a feature that the 1BandID currently lacks. There is no online interface where users can update medical info that emergency workers can access by phone or online. They suggested that this might be important to athletes with lots of medical problems, especially those whose conditions are potentially life threatening. He hopes that the 1BandID might include this feature sometime soon at least as an option.

Taking all things into consideration, every gear tester felt they could recommend the 1BandID to their friends. They talked about the peace of mind they had wearing this piece of gear.

Here are a few of the comments that team members made about the product:

“I would highly recommend this to any runner or anyone needing to always have ID or special instructions on them.”

“I'd recommend this product to anyone that wears a watch or Garmin while training.”

“Overall a great item to have in my running gear!”

“1BandID is a fantastic safety option…when you can't carry your wallet, purse, or I.D. on you.”

“This is one of those, ‘Why didn’t I think of that?’ products. Genius!”

“My wife loves the fact that I'm running with ID now.”

“I highly recommend 1BandID, it is a brilliant idea!”

God will finish what he started...

2011-11-29T14:04:00.001-06:00

“I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ – to the glory and praise of God.” (Philippians 1:3-11, NIV)

I love the good news Paul starts his letter with. If you are a believer, God is working to make you more and more like Jesus. It may seem like things go well for a while and then everything falls apart. You stumble carelessly into some stupid trap of the devil and feel miserable. “Ugh! Not again!”

Fear not! God has not given up on you. Not by a long shot. He sees the end and he’s not frustrated in the least. He’s still at work and he won’t quit!

Let me remind you of God’s promise to his children. These words apply to you if you’ve put your faith in Jesus. “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

That’s awesome news, right? What God started in you, he’ll finish! Keep entrusting yourself to him! When you fall down, get back up!

-Sign up for my regular email list by sending a blank email to knowthetruth-join@freegroups.net.

the long way to work

2011-11-22T13:11:00.000-06:00

connect.garmin.com/activity/130328950

i took the long way to work in the lunch room today. i rode out past the school and on to cullison via old highway 54. it was pretty windy, but i was somehow able to maintain a decent speed. i would've been faster with dan's help, but he wasn't with me.

in cullison i took main street north to highway 54 and took it back toward the school. the change in scenery was nice. i picked up some speed with the wind mostly at my back from the northwest. i climbed up hills with ease. the only trouble i encountered was the blast of wind coming off of trucks in the westbound lane.

i made it to the school with time to spare. i changed into the dry clothes i'd brought with me in a backpack and assumed my position watching the kids. the first hour was easy because the fifth and sixth graders ate in their rooms. the second hour was fun since the basketball teams from cowley college were there for most of the time and the seventh and eighth graders watched them. a couple guys put on a dunking exhibition for them. with five minutes to go, the college teams cleared the court and the junior highers took over.

when i'd dismissed the middle schoolers, i changed again and rode back into town. it was considerably warmer by this time, so i was glad i'd decided not to put both jerseys back on. my gloves were a bit too warm, but the rest of my gear was just right. i rolled to a stop before 1:00 and took the newspapers in to get them ready for delivery. (21.04 miles @ 16.8mph)

freezing to death with dan

2011-11-21T15:32:00.000-06:00

connect.garmin.com/activity/130185127

it was 34 degrees when i called dan to see if he'd like to go for a little ride. he said, "yeah, i think i could do that." so we did.

we rode up and around the cemetery on the north edge of town and out to highway 61 where, after a brief encounter with our warmup dog, we headed north toward preston. for the twelve miles or so on highway 61, we shared pulling duties. dan probably took the lion's share, but i did my part here and there.

when we hit preston, we turned south toward cairo (pronounced kay-row around here). we eased up a bit and rode side by side most of the way. the wind had switched around a bit so it was ever so slightly against us. mostly from the east, but a little southerly. we had to pedal downhill to hit 18-19mph. grrrrr!

when we hit highway 54, the ride finally got superfun. (i hope that's a word!) the wind was at our back and we could cruise along at 20mph or so even on most of the uphills. we were going to "ride the temperature", but when we got to town, i decided i needed to stop and get ready for my nephew's basketball game. i don't want to be late and i have to walk. which means, of course, that i'd better get off here and get going! (30.74 miles @ 18.3mph)

big commuter miles

2011-11-20T06:56:00.000-06:00

what a week! i got in several visits to people in need and ran a number of extra errands. i rode out and back to the school every day (except friday) and took new routes home collecting cans to recycle. the seven bags of cans i picked up this week will help kids go to camp next summer. i would have been over 70 miles, but on friday i had to drive out to the school to take my daughter's friend there to spend the rest of the day with her. this week i'll be on vacation, so my mileage will be down. that's okay with me. family time will more than make up for the "loss" of ride time. can't wait to see my little newborn nephew again! (66.89 miles @ 11.2mph)

Devoted to God's Word...

2011-11-16T14:10:00.002-06:00

Here’s what Luke reported as he observed the activity of the church in Jerusalem just days after the Holy Spirit came on Pentecost: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” (Acts 2:42)

A pretty impressive list! One worth studying. One worth adopting!

The church spent time listening to these closest of Jesus’ followers. They took their words to heart as if they were direct messages from God. They believed the truths. They obeyed the commands. The Holy Spirit, working through the first leaders, brought hundreds, even thousands into the church. People’s lives were changed! The church thrived! The whole known world was changed!

If the church today is to succeed as that church did, we too must be devoted to the apostles’ teaching! Understand! That means the Old and New Testaments! In fact, the words the apostles referenced when they shared the good news were all from the Old Testament! They proved that Jesus was the Savior by pointing to the words of the prophets. They said over and over, “He fulfilled the prophecies! He is the one! Don’t miss him!”

Today, we have an advantage the first believers didn’t have. We each can have a written – or should I say printed? – copy of the content of the apostles’ message. We can study the Bible for ourselves. We can hear God speak through it anytime, anywhere.

We in America have the freedom to own copies of the Bible, to read it and -think about it, to assemble and talk about it together. Don’t take these things for granted. Be devoted to the apostles’ teaching. Spend time reading it. Listen to God as you do so. Obey what he says!

-Sign up for my regular email list by sending a blank email to knowthetruth-join@freegroups.net.

injury avoidance

2011-11-16T07:01:00.000-06:00

connect.garmin.com/activity/129032013

i was supposed to do a 40-minute tempo run this morning. i was excited about it because i'd finally figured out what i was supposed to do on one. i'd evidently misread the directions before, because the description i read yesterday was complete different.

alas, this new found knowledge was not to be used this morning. on my run yesterday, i developed a sharp pain in my toes toward the end of my 5-miler. i ran for less than a minute today and it came back with a vengeance. i debated with myself for another minute or so on the virtues of fighting through the pain and then stopped. no sense in aggravating an injury.

i walked back to the house, changed into cycling gear and hit the road. i decided to check the distance on a loop i'd like to run some time, so i headed north on champa and then down maple.

at maple and main, i almost had to wait for a train, but the last car cleared the tracks just as i got there. i whizzed past the cars sitting at the intersection and turned north onto highway 281.

i rode north on 281 until i hit the first road headed east. turning east gave me a bit of a reprieve from the blustery winds that had been in my face. i rode across 20th and then turned south on 61.

riding past the pratt community college campus, i prayed for the students. they need some blessing around finals time, i'm sure. i continued on to the hotels and then turned west onto maple at the southern baptist church.

i rode down the hill around and then rocketed up the hill to terrace. turning south on terrace, i enjoyed the slow curves and then made the final 90-degree turn onto school. i buzzed some walkers at school and howard and then pulled quickly to a stop in my driveway.

so now i know the north 20th loop (i just named it today) is a little over 10K and i can run it with confidence on a day when my time allows it. i think i'll go in the opposite direction when i'm running. that way i don't have to cross traffic as many times. (6.59 miles @ 15.8mph)

Give God the glory...

2011-11-14T10:31:00.005-06:00

“The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I don’t need you!’ And the head cannot say to the feet, ‘I don’t need you!’ On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.” (1 Corinthians 12:21-26)

Don’t you love this church?! They’ve got messed up people who think they’re so good they don’t need anyone else. A touch of arrogance, pride, conceit. Yuck!

Who do you think it was that got to strutting around like a peacock full of themselves? It was the folks just like you and me. It was the guys who forgot who gave them their gifts. It was the gals who thought their gift was the best or most important. It was the men who believed they were able to do it all. It was the women who looked down their noses at those who only encouraged or only helped or only served.

I hate to say this, but I suspect it might have been a few of those in the church gifted with the ability to teach. There are certainly plenty of otherwise godly men and women in the church today who begin teaching, draw a huge crowd and sadly become full of themselves. They become self-confident instead of God-confident. They rely on their speaking skills rather than on the Spirit of God. They quickly cease to be useful to God or his church. They do not bring glory to God nor do they benefit anyone else with what they say.

Let me say this plainly: I am no different than you. I am and you are single members of the church God has put together. I happen to be gifted by God to teach. If anything I say is helpful to you, it’s not because I’m smart or witty or engaging. If you are helped, it’s because God has chosen to speak to your heart. It’s because your heart is set on hearing him.

You are gifted by God to do what you do. You are called to encourage and speak wisely. He has called you to pray faithfully and lead diligently. He has enabled you to give generously and share Jesus with others.

When you see God work through you, don’t get all excited about yourself. Get excited about God! He invited you to join him in his work. You obeyed and God worked through you. Give him the glory!

-Sign up for my regular email list by sending a blank email to knowthetruth-join@freegroups.net.

ugh!

2011-11-08T06:48:00.000-06:00

connect.garmin.com/activity/127329165

what can i say? i wasn't feelin' it this morning. my 5K training plan called for rest or an easy run, so i decided to bike. i got all geared up for the cold and headed out. it was windy and a bit wet, though nothing was actually falling from the sky. i rode into the wind for a bit, went east, rode awhile longer into the wind, circled back around, rode over to the highway, took as much headwind as i could stand, turned around and my headlight battery went dead. sure glad i wasn't miles out in the country when that happened. i rode around town a bit with the low beams on, then rode back home. not very exciting, but all i really wanted today.

insane wind posse

2011-11-05T12:39:00.000-05:00

connect.garmin.com/activity/126608934

i called Dan M. this morning and asked him if he'd like to go for a ride. he asked what the weather was like. i said, "it's 43 with winds in the 25mph range." he still agreed to go. we're both a little off kilter.

the first few blocks south on howard should've told me this was an ill-fated journey. i could hardly move against the south wind. there were several times that i felt like i was going to fall over. when we turned east, it wasn't much better and we were still in town.

riding south on country club road, we got our first real taste of the fury. it was awful. i wanted to wave at a couple of runner friends, but i didn't dare take a hand off the hoods. i was fighting to stay upright!

heading east on lake road was crazy! we were leaned way over trying to stay in our lane so as not to be hit by passing vehicles. we made it past the fish hatcheries emptied ponds and the lake without anything terrible happening. then we hit the hill climbing up from the lake. uphill against this kind of wind is NOT fun. i tried to stay on dan's wheel, but i just couldn't do it. i had no strength in my legs, no "want to" in my mind. my "want to" was back under the covers in bed.

i somehow made it up and over the second hill and endured the eastbound trek to glendale umc without falling over or being eaten by the new dog at the bottom of the second hill. dan lost part of the coating on his helmet about halfway there. the wind just took it and ripped it off. did i mention it was windy?

the trip back was a little better, but the westbound portions were still a bit arduous. still had to fight to stay upright. southbound sections were awesome though. i hit 41mph going down the same hill i'd only done 8-9mph going up. that was fun until my bike started wobbling. scared me a bit.

we made it back into town and, dodging traffic, reached home. i'm sitting here indoors wondering whose bright idea it was to go for a ride. must've been dan. he's crazy! (16.83 miles @ 14.1mph)

library materials return

2011-11-05T12:23:00.000-05:00

connect.garmin.com/activity/126608945

cato normally isn't involved in "around town" errands, but i was planning to ride with dan right after i got back from the library, so he took me to the library and back with some materials i needed to return. the wind was crazy, but didn't slow me down too much in town. i'm used to going slow on errands anyway. (2.48 miles @ 12.6mph)

back in the saddle

2011-11-02T07:00:00.000-05:00

connect.garmin.com/activity/125975243

how long did my sad and forlorn road bike hang in the garage longing to hit the open road? how long was he neglected for the dream of a sub-2 hour half marathon? poor cato. don't you feel sorry for him?

when i took him out this morning, he seemed happy to see me again. he was eager to eat up the miles, to show me some speed. unfortunately for him and for me, the wind had another idea. it was blustery to say the least at 5:30 when i left the house. i fought to maintain 13-14mph on the way out. i had to rise out of the saddle to climb hills with the gale fighting me at every stroke.

on the way back, with a little assistance from the same wind, i gained some speed. at every "no passing zone" sign, i sprinted. on a few of the hills, i made it up and over the top, but on most of them i only made it near the summit before my heart exploded. weeks off the bike will lead to such things.

i made it back to town and had one last power burst up the evil hill up to pizza hut. i banked hard onto howard and then let up, my work done. i rolled up and over the incline and around the corner to home. cato was happy. i was too. life is good! (17.40 miles @ 15.6mph)

Thanks for the gifrts!

2011-11-01T10:14:00.007-05:00

"Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. If the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,’ it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. And if the ear should say, ‘Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,’ it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body." (1 Corinthians 12:14-20, NIV)

This church in Corinth has problems. There are people in the church, evidently, who believe they aren’t worth much. It could be there was a pitiful lowliness infecting some of the members of the body or maybe it was just plain jealousy. Instead of rejoicing in their gifts and calling, these poor souls looked at the gifts of others and cried, "Woe is me! I’m not worth much. Look at the great things that guy who’s performing miracles is doing."

How ridiculous! They have the same Spirit of God working in them. Their gifts are just as God-given. God chose the gifts they had so that the body wouldn’t be lacking in any good thing, so that it would be healthy.

A healthy church has a good mix of the gifts. A healthy church is full of people showing God to the world in a wide variety of ways! Any church that has only one or two gifted people doing what God’s called them to is going to be weak and ineffective. The body is sick when only a few are using their gifts. So rejoice in the gifts God’s given you. Don’t look around and covet the abilities God’s given your sister! You are a part of the body. You are becoming, through the Holy Spirit’s work in you, exactly what God wants you to be. Thank God for what he’s given you to do.

"God, thank you that you’ve made me to encourage others."

"Lord, thank you for allowing me to give generously to meet the needs of others."

"Father, thank you for the opportunities you’ve given me to use the gift of wisdom."

"Jesus, thank you for the gift of faith you’ve given me to help your church."

God has arranged all the parts of the body just as he wants them to be. He has gifted you in a special way. He chose your gift mix and put you here so that his church would be whole and healthy. He’s done the same for every believer who walks through the doors of your local church. Your neighbor has the gifts God chose for him. That person sitting across the aisle has other gifts that, when she uses them, benefit you.

Can you pray this? "God, thank you for giving me spiritual gifts. Thank you for giving my brothers and sisters gifts, too."

Now, go encourage another believer. Thank them for using their gifts. Tell them why you are thankful to God for them.

-Sign up for my regular email list by sending a blank email to knowthetruth-join@freegroups.net.

I Don't Give a Dime!

2011-10-31T09:28:00.002-05:00

Note to self: A dime does not equal $305. I dropped a ten-centy under my car the other day. I couldn't find it, so I decided to back the car out. While I was in reverse, I was looking out my windshield for the dime instead of watching my mirrors to make sure they cleared the garage door. Sudden cracking sounds alerted me to the breaking of the driver's side mirror casing. I got the bill today. Duly noted.

Advertizing Alert!

2011-10-17T14:08:00.000-05:00

Note to self: Be careful how you share your opinion about a product you love on social networks that don't allow advertizing! I got a warning today from one of my favorite sites after someone complained about a comment I added to their post that they thought smacked of spam. Oops! Apologies to all! Duly noted.

There's a Fly in My...

2011-10-12T11:05:00.002-05:00

Note to self: It is good to aspire to do great things. It is NOT good to aspirate a gnat or any other bug for that matter. I hate it when I'm riding down the street and an insect goes all suicidal on me. Couldn't they pick someone else's airway to end it all? Duly noted.

Why are you afraid?

2011-10-05T13:42:00.001-05:00

My heart races every time I think about the wolves that waited on my back porch, hungry for a bite of first grader. If I let my thoughts run wild, I can still see their eyes glowing red in the darkness. Their shadowy forms still lurk around the edges of my mind. They are for me the oldest representation of fear. Their presence on our stoop paralyzed me. I willed myself forward, but my legs would not budge.

These phantoms, as menacing as they seemed to my young heart, were not real. Their razor-sharp claws and saliva-dripping jaws did not exist. I saw them, but they weren’t there. The back steps of our house were, in reality, safe and secure behind a six-foot privacy fence. The light was always on when I walked home from church after sundown. I had nothing to fear at all. There was no danger.

Jesus’ disciples faced a similar fear one night. They were in a boat on the open sea when a terrible squall came up. The storm’s vigor threatened to sink their vessel. Despite years of experience fishing on this body of water, they were terrified.

“Teacher,” they shouted, shaking Jesus awake, “don’t you care if we drown?”

The Master, yawning and stretching, spoke to the furious gale. “Quiet! Be still!” The tempest stopped obediently. The surface of the deep was as smooth as glass. Their sails hung limp.

Jesus looked sleepily at his followers and asked simply, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

The twelve were too stunned to answer. The weather meant nothing to this man. It was no threat to him. The wind was his servant, the water his slave.

“Why are you so afraid?”

The recession’s bad. My son’s disobedient. My friend’s addiction is killing him. Layoffs have been threatened. Milk costs $4.

“Quiet! Be still!”

Jesus is master over all that you fear. He cares about you. He knows your needs.

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:25-33)

“Do you still have no faith?”

Trust God with your life. Put him first and allow him to care for your needs. In reality, you have nothing to fear. He is master of much more than the wind and waves.

“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7)

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virgin pavement

2011-09-29T07:38:00.000-05:00

connect.garmin.com/activity/117864836

i called dan last night to see if he'd like to go on a ride this morning. i think he groaned, but he kindly agreed to humor his early-rising friend. we met up at his house at 6:00 and headed toward the bank to gauge the wind direction. the flag wasn't any help hanging limp, so we headed north toward iuka.

just north of the city limits, we hit brand-spankin' new pavement which took us all the way out to iuka. it was beautiful. something to make grown men cry. they hadn't cut new rumble strips into the shoulder yet, so it was even better. we rolled along it happily chatting.

at iuka we turned east and spun around the corners toward the evergreen rest area. we got there, turned around and headed back home. same corners. same awesome pavement. same route back to school street and my driveway.

it was really enjoyable to ride with dan again and to take a break from running.

Dasturdly Duo

2011-09-27T09:42:00.000-05:00

Note to self: Some foods were not meant to be combined. Skittles and M&Ms for instance. Separately, they are delicious. Mixed together in the mouth? Awful! I learned this while learning to administer medications during my EMS transition class. Duly noted.

report in baiku

2011-09-22T08:00:00.000-05:00

today's dailymission on dailymile required me to post my workout in haiku. i worked mine out in a series of baiku.

dark and lonely road,
stained patchy black by rainfall,
awaiting sunrise.

cyclist rides slowly,
seeing only fifty feet
by dim headlamp glow.

downhill then up,
wheels and cranks spin round and round.
no effort. peace. bliss.

connect.garmin.com/activity/116213537 (21.38 miles @ 15.3mph)

A Brief Note

2011-09-15T10:38:00.000-05:00

Note to self: Never agree to head up a product review for men's undergarments. Let me briefly explain why? The offline (and online) conversation between male reviewers quickly deteriorates into junior high locker room humor full of puns and euphemisms. It's a package deal. Duly noted.

Drinks to Avoid

2011-09-13T09:53:00.000-05:00

Note to self: Caffeinated drinks are not the only kind you should avoid late at night. If you drink a quart of Gatorade in less than an hour right before you go to bed, you are NOT going to sleep for long. You will have to...ummm...get up to see a man about a horse. You might even have to go back and check the horse out more than once during the night. Duly Noted.

Who are you praying for?

2011-09-12T12:54:00.000-05:00

“Jesus went through all the towns and, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.’” (Matthew 9:35-38)

There are two groups in this story for which you and I ought to pray. First, we ought to pray for those who are harassed and helpless in our community, those without a shepherd, those who don’t know Jesus, who haven’t experienced his compassion, those who are lost! Pray for that person living next door who in desperation is calling out to God, “Help me and I’ll get my life straightened out!” Plead the case of the person down the street from this building who’s thinking, “God, if you want me to go to church, work it out.” Weep over the person who is rebelling against God with all their might! See the lost as Jesus sees them and have compassion! If that is not your usual reaction to the pain that sinners are experiencing, pray for yourself. Pray that God would give you his heart for the lost! He loved lost people so much gave his Son to die for them. He still loves them with that same “at all costs” love today! Let his love change you and your attitude toward those without salvation.

The second group we’re supposed to pray for is harvest laborers. We’re not talking those custom cutter guys with their multiple combines. I’m not telling you not to pray for them. I’m just saying that’s not who Jesus is talking about here. He’s talking about those who will take the good news to others. He’s talking about those who will be compassionate toward the lost. He’s talking about you and me and all those who have chosen to follow him.

You see, here’s the truth! When you pray that the Lord would send out harvesters, you’re volunteering. Don’t believe me? Check out the beginning of chapter 10. Assuming Matthew’s account is chronological, we see the twelve sent out to do ministry in chapter 10. Jesus says, “Pray for laborers because there are so few.” The next thing you know, the disciples go. Did they pray for harvesters? It doesn’t say they did, but it could at least be implied.

When was the last time you prayed for either the lost or for God to send harvest hands out? Are you willing to go to a world in need of a Savior?

-Sign up for my regular email list by sending a blank email to knowthetruth-join@freegroups.net.

Only One Day Off

2011-09-09T11:05:00.000-05:00

Note to self: Double check, no make that triple check your schedule. A friend of mine showed up for a funeral a mere 24 hours late because he thought the email he got from the pastor said Friday at 10. It didn't. It read Thursday at 10. Oops! Duly noted.

Prayers God Will Answer

2011-09-08T13:46:00.002-05:00

Note to self: Think about what you're saying when you pray. I had a friend who wasn't a believer who prayed, "God, if you want me to go to church, work things out so I can!" If God wants you to be a part of his church?! Do you think he's going to say no?! I can almost hear a divine snicker at that one. Duly noted.

Choosing a Therapist

2011-09-08T09:06:00.000-05:00

Note to self: Choose your therapist carefully. I got unsolicited relational advice from a friend last night. He assured me I was in charge of my marriage and my wife should do what I say regardless. I am glad he's a car salesman and not my counselor. Duly Noted.

cool down

2011-09-02T08:04:00.000-05:00

connect.garmin.com/activity/111225570

i got home from my run, dripping with sweat. i changed quickly into my cycling gear and headed to dan's house. he had told me that he was riding with brandon this morning, so i wanted to get in on at least part of their ride.

i rode past dan's house. his lights were on. i rode past brandon's house. no lights. i rode back to dan's. he was almost ready by that time. i turned around and the two of us rode back to brandon's. brandon was out and ready to go, so we circled around and headed south on stout.

we followed the route of least resistance, the one we do almost every day. i rode with my companions until we got to the turn on lake road. there we parted company and i rode north toward the highway. an 18-wheeler slotted in behind me as i was climbing the short hill up and over the railroad tracks. i'm telling you, the economy must be bad. he drafted off of me all the way to 54. hope i helped his gas mileage.

i headed west on 54 with just enough time to get back home before my 6:30 deadline. the light was timed perfectly for me at 61. it changed just as i was hitting the intersection. woohoo! i rode down and then up and turned on howard to go home. i pulled into my driveway at 6:28. (7.32 miles @ 15.6mph)

a rest day ride

2011-09-01T07:40:00.000-05:00

connect.garmin.com/activity/111001395

my half marathon training plan called for a rest day today, so i went for a nice easy bike ride. the wind was predicted to be out of the southwest, but when i went past several flags early in my ride, they all said the wind was clearly out of the southeast. i adjusted my plan and rode southeast toward glendale.

everything was going along fine until i turned south at the lake. i first noticed a reflective yellow sign in the ditch. as i approached, i stared at it. it read, "loose gravel." a few feet beyond it, there was indeed loose gravel. i'm not sure how long it went on, but it was long enough to make me wonder if the county had completely destroyed my road. then, just about the time i had decided i'd better turn around, it ended.

i rode out to glendale and turned around. the lights of pratt were pretty spectacular this morning. with a clear sky and a view for miles they were brilliant.

i rode back, taking the crown of the road downhill through the gravel, hoping not to fall. i took a spin around the lake and then rode over to lemon for a second little loop before heading home.

tomorrow i've got a 3 mile run on tap and on saturday i've got to get a 90-minute run in before the volleyball tournament begins at 9:00. anyone want to run with me? (20.33 miles @ 15.6mph)

Take the Scenic Route

2011-08-31T13:56:00.002-05:00

Note to self: Take the scenic route every time you have the chance. You never know the really sweet jumps you might miss if you don't. I got "like three feet of air" on the way home after eating lunch with Mr. G. Duly noted.

Breakers Are Stupid

2011-08-31T11:14:00.000-05:00

Note to self: Always try resetting a popped circuit breaker more than once before calling someone. You will look and feel stupid when your "friend" shows up and resets it with no problem. Leave the breaker alone for a little while and then try resetting it. Duly noted.

Pray everywhere...

2011-08-30T16:29:00.003-05:00

A few years back, a woman from the town I was living in was admitted to the hospital. I don’t recall her medical problem or even her name at this point. I just remember she was in a room at the south end of the floor.

I went to visit her one day. I walked in to her room. We talked for a little while. I asked if she’d like me to pray with her. She said, “No!” I left her room.

Why do I tell that discouraging story? Because that, as best as I can remember, is the only time in 23 years of full-time ministry that anyone has ever turned down an offer of prayer. People who’ve come to me for assistance with food or gasoline have said yes to prayer. I’ve asked complete strangers if they’d like me to pray with them and received a positive response. I’ve never said, “I’m a pastor so let me pray with you.” I’ve just offered.

You can pray out loud with people as you go through life. You can offer prayer wherever you are. At work. At school. On the phone. In line at Wal-Mart. There isn’t any place that you can’t pray.

Where did Jesus pray for people? He prayed for people on mountainsides. He prayed for them in their homes. He prayed for them outside caves. He prayed for them on the beach. He prayed for them on the street corner. He prayed wherever there was a need. His disciples did the same.

You, if you have put your faith in Jesus, are one of his disciples. As a follower, you can pray for others wherever you are. The question is: Will you do it? I’d like to challenge you to, at least once this week, pray with someone in need right where you are, on the spot. Pray out loud so they can hear your love and recognized God’s care for them. Pray so that God’s name might be praised everywhere.

-Sign up for my regular email list by sending a blank email to knowthetruth-join@freegroups.net.

Those Drugs Work

2011-08-30T08:14:00.000-05:00

Note to self: Keep taking your medications even if you don't think they're doing much. I've been off my ADHD meds for a week or so now because of a health insurance snafu which renders them way too expensive. I can tell I'm slipping back into some of my more annoying habits. Duly noted.

byers road and beyond

2011-08-30T07:40:00.000-05:00

connect.garmin.com/activity/110547197

i got up before the crack of dawn, got dressed and headed to dan's house. he wasn't up despite his "i think i'll ride at 6:00 tomorrow" last night. i smiled and went on.

since the wind was out of the northeast, i decided to ride over to 281 on 54 and then head north into the teeth of it. that gave me a little time with the bricks on main street which always make me smile despite the torture they dish out.

i rode out of town thinking maybe i'd ride up to iuka and take an eastward journey over to 61 and take 61 back home, but when i got to the northern edge of iuka i decided to keep going north and take in some new territory.

the shoulder practically disappears north of iuka, so i had to get back into my "pay attention to the cars around you" mode. you'd think i'd always be in that mode, but the wide shoulders on 54 and 281 to iuka kind of lull you into a false sense of security.

i rode north until i's gone far enough that i was concerned about getting back in time to get ready for work. turning around, i enjoyed a decent tailwind. not strong enough to boost my speed a bunch, but enough to reduce the effort required to pick up a little speed.

the shoulder on southbound 281 is worse than the northbound shoulder. there were times when i could barely balance in the inches i was given. other times i was forced to ride out on the highway. thankfully, there isn't a lot of traffic, so i was safe. i must say, though, that i was glad when i got back to iuka and the wide shoulder returned.

i cruised back into town and turned east on maple. i almost caught the draft off a car that was turning at the same time, but missed it. i raced down the hill and then climbed back up toward stout. i turned a block early and then did a little zigzagging to get myself back home.

this will be my last 6:00 ride for awhile. school starts tomorrow, so that means 5:00 rides. hope i can get myself out of bed. (21.47 miles @ 16.7mph)

Thanks Is Always in Order

2011-08-29T13:27:00.000-05:00

Note to self: Be lavish when giving out thanks. The people around you do great things. They seldom are recognized for them. Tell those who surround you how much their kind actions mean to you. Just blogged about a friend and how he helped me adjust to a new town. Sent him a link. Wanted him to know how I felt. Duly noted.

iuka to the north

2011-08-29T08:35:00.000-05:00

brandon and i spent almost our entire ride in the darkness today. fall is on its way!

we took terrace up to maple and then headed out to highway 61 where we turned north. not sure when google maps is going to update things so they actually know that maple goes to the highway. my map is an approximation of that small section.

the traffic on 61 was awful this morning. way too many people going to preston. we rode for about three miles on the edge of the road hoping everyone could see us before we turned west on 30th street to run up the hill past the ethanol plant.

we made it to highway 281 without any problems and turned north again. my legs were not feeling very good at this point, so i dropped back behind brandon for the trip to iuka. just before town, i actually got a little draft off my recumbant-bound friend. i had to duck really low, but it was there.

we took the bypass around iuka, circling around to head south into pratt. what should've been an easy cruise back into town wasn't. at least it wasn't for me. my legs were sore and unresponsive. i could accelerate at all.

we beat the train on the north edge of town, took maple east and then stout south before we parted at school street. brandon went west. i went east. i stopped the clock at just under and hour and packed everything up. (17.07 miles @ 17.2mph)

Overalls Make the Man

2011-08-28T07:13:00.000-05:00

Note to self: Buy overalls when you retire. If you wear a dusty pair and a grease-stained trucking company cap, you can dispense unsolicited advice with impunity to younger people while standing in line at Wal-Mart. They'll even give you that nervous "there's an old person talking to me" smile at no extra charge. Duly noted.

repent

2011-08-27T07:42:00.000-05:00

connect.garmin.com/activity/109678636

dan and i hit the mean streets together this morning and neither of us pushed it too hard. we cruised along and talked most of the way out to cullison and back. we didn't see much wildlife (or tamelife for that matter) this morning. i remember a single bunny hopping across the road. a dog barked at us on our way through cullison. one truck passed us on old 54 on the way out and another on the way back.

the only excitement this morning came at what i thought was going to be our turn around spot in cullison. dan asked, "have you ever been to the end? it's a mile, mile and half south of here." i said, "no. let's go see." so we did. as we approached the end i started preaching, "repent! the end is near!" remember, repent just means turn around. dan just shook his head and kept riding toward eternal destruction. (22.51 @ 17.3mph)

A Hill to Die On

2011-08-26T08:52:00.001-05:00

Note to self: Never say to a cyclist stronger than you, "Hey! Let's paceline up that hill south of of the lake! My legs are feeling pretty good." The hill is longer than you remember it being and no matter how good your legs feel, your friend will thrash them. Duly noted.

lying legs

2011-08-26T07:21:00.000-05:00

note to self: never say to dan, "hey! let's paceline up that hill south of of the lake! my legs are feeling pretty good." that hill is not very steep, but it is very long and no matter how good your legs feel, dan will thrash them. duly noted.

before the hill, things were pretty calm. we rode past lazy brandon's house. he was still in bed, all snug and warm no doubt. we were freezing! ok, maybe not quite freezing, but 63 degrees feels rather chilly after the heat we've been experiencing. just last week there was a day where it was 81 degrees at 6:00!

anyway, we left brandon to his dreams and rode north. after a mile or two, we figured out the wind was at our backs, so we turned on 30th and rode over to highway 61 to head south toward the lake. there was no traffic on 61. very unusual. i rode on the highway almost the entire way into town. not one car passed us.

we had to stop at the light at 54. grrrr! i hate stop lights.

we took 54 east to the "wildlife and parks" turn off. heading south on this road is when i spoke the fateful paceline words mentioned above. dan smiled. we rode a little harder to the base of the hill and then i slotted in behind dan.

i should've stayed where i was.

i came around dan hard to take my turn. i blew up while leading out. dan said later that he had a hard time passing me. i don't believe him. he passed me and just kept going. i was gapped by 10 meters in no time. i could barely feel the draft. then it (and it's creator) was gone.

i backed off the accelerator after dan was gone. there was nothing else to do. i had to get my heartrate back under control. i do not get paid to ride. this is not the hill worth dying on. i watched dan climb. i limped along behind until he and then i turned around and headed back down.

down. such a lovely word. downhill. ahhhh. tailwind. beautiful.

i drafted off dan on the way down the hill and around the corner by the lake. from the stop signs on we rode side by side. we climbed up and over the hill past country club rode and ended up at 281. we headed north to sixth and headed east toward home.

a bit of conversation settled us on our course. we'd turn on rochester and hit the light east of the hospital. i had the better line hitting rochester, so i hit the afterburners and raced toward the stop sign on the north side of the tennis courts. i wanted to beat dan in the sprint. it's never going to happen. he caught me a quarter of a block before the red octogon. at least i made him work a bit.

we made the light before it turned red and cruised home. what a fun (and painful) workout. brandon better wake up tomorrow! (21.28 @ 18.1mph)

Never be lacking...

2011-08-24T11:54:00.000-05:00

“Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.” (Romans 12:11)

Do you understand the words here? Zeal is an ardent interest or pursuit of something. Fervor is intensity of feeling or expression. So what Paul is encouraging here is enthusiasm. Putting energy into your walk with God. Heart, soul, mind, strength, everything thrown into your relationship with God and your service in his kingdom. No holding back.

I have a question for you: Why in the world would you not live like this? Think about what God’s done for you. Out of his deep, deep love for you, he sent his Son to die in your place so you could have eternal life with him. So that you wouldn’t be alone and powerless in this world, he sent his Holy Spirit to help you grow, to make you more and more like Jesus. In view of his mercy and grace and help and power and everything else he’s done, I can’t imagine living for him in any other way than all out.

At the beginning of this twelfth chapter of Romans, Paul said this, “I urge you brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship.” (Romans 12:1)

The King James says offering yourself to God is your reasonable service. Is it not reasonable to give yourself totally, passionately to God when you consider his gracious treatment of you? You were condemned, lost, hopeless when he found you. You couldn’t save yourself. You couldn’t stop sinning. You were pitiful, poor, blind and naked. You were bound.

Now, though, since God has done his work in you, since he has taken your sin from you, since he has given you life, you are free! Free to love. Free to forgive. Free to serve.

Slaves set free aren’t ho-hum, they’re yippee! I know that’s not technically an adjective, but it’s how I feel when I remember Christ’s sacrifice for me. It’s how I choose to live for him – with energy, with fervor, with zeal.

I was talking about having a passion for Christ once, years ago, and a woman said to me, “Passion is what gets you in trouble.” She was absolutely right, you know? Passion is what gets you in trouble. It’s what makes others uncomfortable. They want you to sit down and shut up. “Quit rocking the boat! Stop suggesting that there’s more to this Jesus-following life than sitting in church for an hour on Sunday. Be normal!”

Normal, my friends, is overrated. Normal, as the world defines it, is a dull existence. Why not give your life to God and to the people he sends into your life and see what amazing things he can do in and through you in this world! Don’t worry about the grief you’ll get from others. Remember the joy you’ll get from your Master.

“Never be lacking in zeal,” Paul says. Never! Keep your spiritual fervor! When you feel dead and dull, go after God. Ask for the power you need. He will give it! You will be able to do all that God’s called you to do for his glory and the good of his church.

-Sign up for my regular email list by sending a blank email to knowthetruth-join@freegroups.net.

go west, old men!

2011-08-24T07:24:00.001-05:00

i was almost giddy when i saw the weatherbug's anemometer this morning. the wind was out of the southwest! that meant we'd be doing a different route. nothing against the glendale out and back, but after a few thousand times it's gotten a little old.

i rode from my house past dan's. darkness! dan's going to get soft if he keeps this sleeping in thing going for too many more days. i rode on to brandon's and nearly ran into him trying to figure out in the dark which house was his. there weren't any lights on inside and he hadn't turned on the lights on his bike yet. i just heard this voice and knew he was there.

we circled around and headed west on highway 54. we didn't bother taking the side streets since traffic isn't all that bad at 6:00 in the morning. we rode out of town and took old highway 54 to the south and west.

now, there's something you should know about old 54. it's all uphill to the west. there are very few dips. you just climb and climb and climb. granted there's not much of a grade, but it's incessant. "climb, climb up sunshine mountain. faces all aglow!" add the wind which was "blow the flags straight out" strong and you've got your work cut out for you. our average speed on the way out was barely 14mph.

we turned around at a farm house about 8.5 miles from home and headed back. all i have to say is this: there's nothing like going downhill with a stiff tailwind! woohoo! we blazed back into town.

as we were entering the outskirts of pratt, we almost got hit by a little old lady who was waiting for oncoming traffic to clear to make a lefthand turn. she didn't see us, evidently, because she started across. we locked up our brakes a split second before she did. she waited and we went on.

when we got to main street we had to stop for the light. grrrr! i didn't anticipate this very well and got stuck in the middle of the two lanes beside a pick up with a trailer. the guy's window was down, so i told him to go first. he did and i tried to get started. my cleat missed the pedal and my foot slipped forward. i was rolling between lanes. it was awful. brandon sped away and i was left limping.

after i finally got my foot situated correctly, i accelerated as hard as i could to catch brandon. i rocketed up over 30mph and maintained that for a good quarter mile, maybe more. i caught him just as we took the turn onto champa.

we said our goodbyes and i rode over to my house. my average when i unclipped was almost 17mph. missed it by that much! (16.95 @ 16.7mph)

sans dan

2011-08-23T07:24:00.000-05:00

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/108782283

dan slept in this time. he's a smart man.

it was windy! brutally so on the way out. brandon and i rode the first half of this ride at about 15mph. slooooow going for us. the hill up from the lake to the corner was awful with a stiff headwind. it was like a long death march.

heading back toward home was much more enjoyable. we caught up with a couple of guys on bikes just past the lake and said our good mornings as we passed them. they were just out for a leisurely ride. we sped back into town and parted at howard. (17.47 @ 16.5mph)

wet and windy

2011-08-22T07:24:00.000-05:00

we got a little shower last night some time, so the roads were a little wet when dan and i headed out. we swung past brandon's. the lamp in the front room were on, but there wasn't any human activity, so after a brief wait, we went on.

we circled around the block and headed down stout. dan tripped the signal and we rode through and on down rochester to sixth street where we headed east before turning south on country club.

the climb up the hill at country club wasn't too bad nor was the eastward journey on lake road. the pain came when we turned south on 30th avenue. the wind was in our faces all the way up the long hill. my hams were not happy at all. they complained at every stroke. i ignored them. if you listen to their complaining, it'll only get worse.

we made it to the top of the hill and turned east on 30th street. avenues go north and south. streets go east and west. no you know. we rode out to glendale with only a minor struggle up the hill just past diamond's place.

we turned around at the church and headed back. the wind wasn't all that helpful until we turned north again. the speed was pretty nice all the way back to the lake then.

we went straight at the wildlife and parks intersection and rode back to country club. we took country club north to highway 54, climbed the little hill and turned again on howard and random to get us back home - a nice little ride at a leisurely pace. (17.65 @ 16.9mph)

in the wind

2011-08-19T07:18:00.000-05:00

connect.garmin.com/activity/107687690

brandon and i swung back past dan's house just in case he'd gotten up and around. no such luck. the house and garage were still dark. his loss. we continued on and rode south on howard to get to sixth street and find our way out of town.

on country club, we stopped briefly to move a board out of the road and then continued on up the hill to lake road. we took lake road east to the lake and then climbed cook and gnad hills. i took the lead, giving brandon a good draft all the way up to the corner.

we rode on east to the church and turned around to head home. the wind wasn't as helpful on the way back as i would've liked it to be, but it was alright. i was pretty well spent when we hit highway 54 to head west into town. i just kept up with brandon and didn't push it much. i'd probably have died if dan had been along for the ride. he always pushes the pace.

we made it to town and through the doug reh valley and the hill following. we said our goodbyes at howard where i turned north and rode home. (17.04 @ 17.3mph)

a little warm up

2011-08-19T07:17:00.000-05:00

i woke up before 5:00 and couldn't go back to sleep, so i got up at about ten after, got dressed and went out for a short ride before the ride. i rode up to my office to grab something and then rode around the cemetery before hitting highway 61 south to highway 54. i took 54 to the road that goes south to lake road and then turned west on lake road. as i turned on lake road, i looked at the time and became concerned that i wouldn't get back to dan's before he and brandon left, so i cranked up the speed a bit. i ended up getting to dan's dark house at 6:01. since it was dark, i rode past and continued on toward brandon's. brandon was just coming out his front door when i got there, so i reset my garmin and waited while he got everything ready. i was warmed up, ready to go. (8.04 miles @ 16.0mph)

evil bird attacks

2011-08-17T08:39:00.001-05:00

brandon, dan and i have a hill in pratt we call evil bird hill. dan captures the essence of the hill in this video. i'm not going to ride this street any more.

the cairo-preston loop

2011-08-17T08:34:00.000-05:00

connect.garmin.com/activity/107232714

i don't know what happened to Dan M. and brandon this morning. there weren't any lights on at either of their houses. i hope "evil bird" didn't get them. that would be terrible.

since i knew they'd want me to ride even if they'd met their demise, i went out for a ride alone. my plan was to ride to cairo (pronounced kay-row in these parts) and back - a nice 20-miler. i rode east on highway 54's wide shoulder, enjoying the turbulence as 18-wheelers passed by at 70mph. what a beautiful way to start a morning!

when i got to the sign to cairo and preston, i turned north. my plan was to ride up into cairo, take one of the streets east and then take the road on the other side of town back south to the highway. the only problem with my plan was that it was based on ignorance. there are no paved streets in cairo. not one! i had nothing but sand if i wanted to go east and i don't do sand on my road bike. that's almost scarier to think about than dodging evil bird.

when i discovered the lack of asphalt in cairo, i thought, "i'll just ride to the next road and turn around." you can start laughing now if you know the area. there are not many cross roads north of cairo. by the time i hit one, i'd changed my plans entirely and had it in mind to ride to preston and take highway 61 south and west back to pratt.

one thing must be said of the road north out of cairo. it is uphill! for more than two miles i climbed what some would call a gentle slope. it just kept going up. my average when i passed through cairo was 18.9mph. when i reached preston, it had dropped to 17.5mph. i hate hills...unless they go down!

riding on highway 61, i had the northeast wind at my back so i was able to pick up some momentum again. i rode on the three-foot shoulder with cars and trucks whizzing by just a few feet from me. their speeds were probably normal highway speeds, but they seemed a bit insane from my vantage point.

by the time i got back to town, i'd grabbed back some of my lost average. i was up to 18.6mph when i made the curve to head west on highway 54 again. i cranked it up down the hill and climbed as fast as i could back up to my turn. i rode up howard and turned on random, then edgeford. i didn't lose any speed. take that hill! (31.16 miles @ 18.6mph)

a new friend

2011-08-13T20:05:00.000-05:00

connect.garmin.com/activity/106291580

dan and i did our usual out and back to glendale this morning. it's amazing how much faster i ride when he's around. it's scary!

i hit 19.5 miles when i got to my house, so i decided to get up to 20 miles. for some reason - oxygen depravation most likely - i thought that meant another 1.5 miles, so i rode out toward highway 61 to make a loop. by the time i figured out that i didn't need to ride that far, i was in the mood for more, so i turned east and rode out on the highway to go to the lake.

just as i was turning onto lake road, another cyclist was approaching from the west. i slowed so i could meet this new friend. his name was brian mclaren (not sure on the spelling) and he was training for the MS 150 in winfield later this fall. we rode around the lake and back into town.

after hitting 30 miles, i left brian and rode home. he said he might just show up at dan's to ride next saturday at 6:00. hope so! (30.47 miles @ 17.6mph)

back out to glendale

2011-08-12T08:57:00.000-05:00

connect.garmin.com/activity/105869752

enjoyed another dan-less ride with brandon this morning. not that riding with dan isn't enjoyable. i'm just saying he wasn't there today. slacker! (i'm trying to see if trash talking will get him out of bed tomorrow morning.)

we rode out to glendale and back again, taking a slightly different course back. the wind was horrible going out and my quads were complaining the whole time. i told them to shut up, but they wouldn't comply. where's jens when you need him? (17.60 miles @ 16.4mph)

the discussion begins

2011-08-11T07:56:00.000-05:00

connect.garmin.com/activity/105633805

dan didn't get up this morning, so brandon and i headed out to glendale and back by ourselves. we had an interesting discussion about religion along the way. it was good to finally open up the conversation both of us knew would come eventually. talking about such things made the time pass quickly. i didn't even realize we'd been out for over an hour. the only time i even thought about my effort was when i was climbing a hill and had a harder time talking without gasping. a pretty good pace considering we weren't really paying attention to our speed. (20.23 miles @ 17.7mph)

God's church business plan...

2011-08-10T09:49:00.002-05:00

This, my friends, is how I believe a business meeting in the church ought to turn out. Everyone comes with ideas. They express them. They pray together. They hear from God and everyone goes home satisfied.

That’s what happened in Acts 15 when there was a disagreement about what should be required of the Gentiles who had believed. A few Jewish traditionalists insisted that the newcomers needed to act Jewishly and follow the law. They were in disagreement with Paul and Barnabas, so they took it up with the church. Everyone came with their own ideas. They expressed them. They prayed together. They heard from God and as far as we know everyone went home satisfied.

Why does everyone go home satisfied when business is conducted this way? Because God’s idea, the decision that is made, is better than any of the ideas any one believer came to the meeting with.

God’s smarter than any one of us! He’s wiser than all of us together.

I love what Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, “For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.” (1 Corinthians 1:25)

When we come to any business meeting we ought to hold our ideas, our agenda lightly. We likely have part of God’s plan in mind, but it’s possible we’re missing part of it too. Our brother’s or our sister’s input will probably be needed to make God’s will evident. We would do well to be patient and humble, waiting on God, bearing with one another in love.

God is in charge of your church. He is the vine. You are the branches. He is the head. You are members of the body. He is the king. You are his servants.

More churches than we’d like to admit run into problems at this point. In some of them, the pastor thinks he’s in charge and causes problems. One of my wife’s Kindergarten students a few years back saw her and told her mom, “My teacher is Mrs. Neifert. Her husband owns the church.” No! That’s not it! I am a servant of Jesus just like every pastor. Jesus owns the church which he bought with his blood.

In other churches, a person or a group of people act like they’re in charge. If they don’t get their way, pastors get fired or families are run out of the church. They say crazy stuff like, “My daddy built this church back in 1943. I’ve been in it all my life. I think I know what God wants for this church. If you don’t like it, you can go somewhere else.” If that doesn’t work, there are actually people who use their giving as a weapon. “If you don’t do what I want, I’ll withhold my tithes.” And they follow through. They rob God because he won’t lead his church the way they want him to. How dumb is that?

I hope none of you would do that. You want God’s will. You want to know his direction, so you’re going to and submit to his will and let him lead his church. Pray that God would help his church to hear his voice. He gives wisdom to those who ask. So ask! Ask in humility for yourself. Ask with confidence for your sister. Ask with power from God for your pastor. Ask in faith for all of God’s servants.

Let’s see what God can do when his people recognize his place in his church and choose to follow him.

-Sign up for my regular email list by sending a blank email to knowthetruth-join@freegroups.net.

evergreen out and back

2011-08-09T07:26:00.000-05:00

connect.garmin.com/activity/105110155

you couldn't ask for a better day to ride - 68 degrees and no wind. beautiful! dan tore his legs up yesterday afternoon, so he was looking for a recovery ride this morning. that was fine with me. i was a bit sore from running 7.7 miles yesterday.

we - brandone was there too - rode north toward iuka and then turned east on 60th to go to the evergreen rest area. now, you'd never find this rest area. there aren't any "rest area ahead" signs to announce it's presence. it's just a bunch of evergreens where a cyclist in need can relieve himself. no one needed the break today, so we turned around and rode back.

as we were riding along we discussed setting up a time trial course on the road. dan was going to go out and paint mile markers on the road and then get people together to race. i thought we should do drag races too. i've always thought, win or lose, that would be fun. we'll see if we actually get it done.

time to get ready for work! have a great day, my friends! (21.56 miles @ 17.6mph)

ethanol and other gases

2011-08-08T07:17:00.000-05:00

connect.garmin.com/activity/104898032

after almost a week of no towing service, it was nice to have dan back this morning. the wind was out of the northeast, so dan, brandon and i took off to the northeast on highway 61. it was dark and cool when we started, light and cooler when we got back.

there was some really great paceline work going on for much of the ride. dan pulled the bottom half of most of the hills and i took over for the second half when i could. we rode past the ethanol plant on 30th and kept going straight across highway 281 on a county road i'd never traveled before. the road dead ended a few miles west and a little north at a methane producing feed lot. nice smell.

we turned around and rode at a leisurely pace for a little while, turning south on 281 and taking 20th back across to 61. we picked it up again riding south and then did crazy stuff on cemetery road. that's not the real name of the road, but it's what we call it.

from the cemetery we rode south on stout until brandon turned off one way and dan and i turned the other to ride home. we'll rest up a bit and go at it again tomorrow. (18.16 miles @ 18.4mph)

i love commuting

2011-08-07T07:51:00.000-05:00

this week's commuter miles included a few longer trips. i rode out to skyline schools to pray with my friend, mike. i rode to wal-mart and back at least once and then to ace hardware because wally world didn't have .065" trimmer string. who knew? that put me at almost 40 miles for the week. pretty excited about that. (39.84 miles @ 12.2mph)

spinning around pratt

2011-08-04T08:35:00.000-05:00

connect.garmin.com/activity/103984614

dan and brandon missed out on the bugs this morning. don't you feel sorry for them? i rode solo around and around and around pratt in ever widening circles and every so often i'd be bombarded by tiny little bug bodies. thousands of them in wave after wave after wave! i had to keep my mouth closed to keep from getting breakfast on the fly. ugh! don't know what kind of bugs they are, but they must've been released by the wind and rain we got overnight. crazy storms! there are branches down everywhere. the city clean up crews will be busy today. the tree service trucks are already on the prowl. one guy passed me twice looking for work. no complaints, though. we've been praying for rain and we got it. so praise God and pass the bugs! (24.74 miles @ 16.9mph)

wind's day morning ride

2011-08-03T07:15:00.000-05:00

connect.garmin.com/activity/103792851

dan was a no show this morning. he told me last night at the church's block party that he'd be there, but he must've overslept. his loss. brandon and i had a great ride.

we rode north into the blustery blast. our average was 13mph when we hit our turn around. it was crazy! we had to turn our heads sideways to hear what the other was saying. that's a problem for old guys, you know. still we had a great time despite the headwind.

when we turned around, life got easier. we rode along and could hear what the other was saying. somewhere south of iuka, i noticed that we'd covered the last mile in 2:36, so we decided to see if we could make each successive mile faster. our next splits were 2:25, 2:18 and 2:06. pretty fun! we slowed up a bit when we got into town and turned east on maple, so the next mile was 2:36. i love biking! (18.45 miles @ 15.9mph)

solo again

2011-08-02T07:11:00.000-05:00

connect.garmin.com/activity/103567418

dan was still unavailable and brandon's knee was bothering him this morning, so i rode solo for the second time since meeting dan three weeks ago. i decided to have a little fun and just ride wherever the wind blew me. i rode west on highway 54 and then, on a whim, turned and did a lap around lemon park. that completed, i rode out to lake road and took it out to the lake. i was going to do a lap around the lake then, but saw some cyclists riding south up the hill, so i chased them down. i rode past them and up to the stop sign and mike's before turning around and speeding back down the hill. at the hill's bottom, i took a lap around the lake, passing an older gentleman in a pickup who was circling the lake to honk and wave at his fishing buddies. from the lake i rode back out lake road, up and over the hills and then after a brief time on 281 did two more laps of lemon park before heading home. the best part of the ride: i had fun! (17.90 miles @ 17.7mph)

monday morning

2011-08-01T07:19:00.000-05:00

connect.garmin.com/activity/103323301

dan wasn't back from his weekend away this morning, so brandon and i got in a nice easy ride. dan doesn't know slow. we figured it out. not that we were absolutely pokey. we just didn't push it much. took the time to enjoy the sun rising over the horizon and the deer and racoons scurrying across the road. it was fun. tomorrow, dan will be back and it'll be back to hammer time. (17.85 miles @ 16.5mph)

to iuka and beyond

2011-07-29T07:52:00.000-05:00

connect.garmin.com/activity/102523161

i lost my garmin data before i could sync here. thankfully, i had already uploaded it to garmin connect, so i have the link. even then, my database was full before the end of the ride, so i lost a mile or two. technology...grrrrrr!

the wind this morning was crazy! it was strong out of the northeast, an unusual direction for this part of kansas. dan and i rode over to brandon's and picked him up before we headed north on 281.

when we left the city limits, we organized into a sort of paceline. brandon had the best part. since he's on a recumbant, it doesn't do us much good to have him up front - there isn't any draft - so dan and i took turns pulling. with a little effort we pulled our average up into the respectable range. we'd been piddling around at 13mph before that. nasty wind!

we turned east after passing iuka and rode a few miles to the east. i seriously bonked at one point when dan accelerated and i couldn't hold his wheel. my heartrate was up in the crazy range. after that, i just hung on and did my best to keep up.

the ride home was much more pleasant. we rode through iuka and then south on 281. with the exception of one violent acceleration on dan's part, we took it pretty easy. we cruised into town, turned on maple and then lawrence. at school, we all split off and went our separate ways home. (20.00 miles @ 17.0mph)

High honor, low anger...

2011-07-28T09:53:00.001-05:00

I promised Ron’s daughter I’d go to church with her, hoping he would go as well. However, when it was time to go, Ron was working on a home improvement project with his son-in-law. But keeping a promise is the right thing to do, and in no time, we pulled into the fenced parking lot of a former amusement park—Woodland Hills Family Church. Many noisy kid-filled rooms lined each side of the former theatre as we made our way to the coffee bar, near the sanctuary entrance. Kim and I settled into seats with our coffee in the cup holders. Her friends joined us, and we rocked to upbeat praise music with guitarists, a drummer, keyboardist and vocalist. Then the keyboardist-pastor announced that today, Gary Smalley would be giving the message: high honor and low anger in your life.

Smalley said that what we truly care about is what we honor. It’s best if we honor God, His creation, and the people in our lives. He said we need to honor, and show it frequently, the people who mean the most to us—our spouses, our children, our parents. He told a story about his son breaking his rule of no yelling when Dad was on the phone by running into the room screaming. Smalley told the pastor on the other end that he’d call him back, and swatted his son, who fell out into the hallway, sobbing. He said the look his son gave him said plainly, “You don’t mean it when you say you honor me.” Smalley stopped, took a deep breath, and realized he was honoring a person he didn’t even know above his be-loved son. When he asked his son why he was yelling, the boy revealed he had fallen and hit his ear, and it was bleeding. When he fell into the hallway, he hit the same ear again. Finally, Smalley asked his son if he could forgive him, and the boy hugged him and forgave.

The flip side of the sermon was about how destructive holding anger is. He said that when we harbor anger and resentment against someone, it is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to get sick from it. Anger held in only hurts the person holding it, not the person it is directed towards. Sounds remarkably like the teachings of the Bait of Satan class, doesn’t it? Isn’t it a coincidence how so many of the messages we get reinforce each other? There are no coincidences, only God’s perfect plan for us.

-Kathy Pritchett

rainbow ride

2011-07-28T07:52:00.000-05:00

connect.garmin.com/activity/102313012

i was going to ride with brandon. dan was going to ride with justin and steve. we ended up riding together with none of the others. they all slept in or something.

after figuring out brandon wasn't coming with us, dan and i rode north of town, biding our time till dan's meet up time with justin and steve. we crossed over from highway 61 to highway 281 on 20th and rode into town with a northwest wind at our backs. i saw the "legendary" dog of north 281, but he missed us. we were too fast.

we rode to justin's house and waited for a bit. no lights on and no activity, so we rode back up to fifth street and headed west out of town hoping to catch the other dan on his daily out and back to cullison. i lost about three miles of data when my garmin failed to restart, so there's a gap in the map. ignore it. i am.

we didn't catch the other dan either, so we turned around and headed back toward town. just before we reached skyline school, the rain started. it was wonderful. the wetness cooled the air and over our shoulders to the west was a beautiful arching double rainbow. wow!

dan dropped back while we rode the wet road into town. i guess he didn't like eating my rooster tail. when we got to town, we sprinted for a bit and then turned off to head home. i arrived about the time my wife got back from her run. (19.93 miles @ 16.9mph)

When you're grieved...

2011-07-27T11:31:00.000-05:00

You’ve been grieved by another human being sometime in your life, right? We all have been. How have you handled those situations? What have you done in response to the hurt?

Paul, in this second letter to the church in Corinth, gives some guidance in this area to those who are believers. Take a look.

“If anyone has caused grief, he has not so much grieved me as he has grieved all of you, to some extent – not to put it too severely. The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient for him. Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him. The reason I wrote you was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything. If you forgive anyone, I also forgive him. And what I have forgiven – if there was anything to forgive – I have forgiven I the sight of Christ for your sake, in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.” (2 Corinthians 2:5-11)

The first thing Paul says we need to do when someone has grieved us and they’ve repented…forgive! Forgiveness is an act of the will. It is not a feeling. It is a choice.

“I will no longer hold this person liable for what they did.”
“I will cease to hold them guilty in the court of my heart.”

People tell me, “I can’t forgive.” Not true! You can, but you won’t.

After you’ve chosen to forgive the person who grieved you, what do you do? Paul says to comfort him so he won’t be overwhelmed with excessive sorrow. Show concern for the person who grieved you. Tell him you forgive him. Make sure he knows you’ve chosen to let the past stay in the past. You do this for his good. He is your friend, your brother, remember? You don’t want him to continue to beat himself up over what he did. He’s sorry for it. He’s repented. Let him be done with it in his own heart just as you are in yours.

Paul then tells you and me that we need to reaffirm our love for the person who’s caused us grief, welcome them back into your circle of relationships. Remember this is a repentant person! This is someone whose godly sorrow has led them to turn away from sin. This is NOT someone who continues to threaten harm. What exactly reaffirming love looks like, I’ll leave up to you and God. A card. A prayer. A visit. A phone call. Whatever God leads you to do, do it.

Why do we do all this stuff? Why do we forgive? Why do we comfort? Why do we reaffirm our love for the person who’s done us wrong? We do it so that Satan doesn’t outwit the church.

Tell me, what will the world think of the church if the people in it can’t get along? “That’s how Jesus’ followers act? He loved and forgave. All these guys do is bicker and fight. I can get bitterness and invective elsewhere.”

When the “pagans” see that, the church becomes ineffective in its witness. No one wants what we have to offer. No one believes that Jesus can change their life. That’s a logical conclusion based on observation. Isn’t that what you would think of those who will not forgive or comfort or reaffirm love for a friend?

How do you need to apply what you’ve heard to your life? Is there someone who has repented of their sin against you? Do you need to choose forgiveness? Is there someone who has expressed sorrow over the hurt they caused you? Comfort them. Is there someone who has, in love, confessed their sin against you? Have you returned that confession of brotherly affection?

-Sign up for my regular email list by sending a blank email to knowthetruth-join@freegroups.net.

sawyer or bust

2011-07-27T07:48:00.000-05:00

connect.garmin.com/activity/102100829

brandon called about the time dan and i were meeting up. he wasn't feeling well and didn't want us to wait on him. hope he's feeling better now.

dan and i left his house just after 6:00 and headed south on country club road. we climbed the three bumps on the edge of town and continued on to 30th where we turned west and rode over to highway 281.

taking a left onto 281, we rode south into the strengthening wind. even though we'd only ridden about six miles at this point, my legs were fried. the previous two days - 50 miles and a hard 18 - had caught up with me. i struggled to hang onto dan's wheel as he pulled me to the road that runs east to sawyer.

when we turned to head into sawyer, life got a bit easier. no more headwind! i still had to put in more effort than usual to deal with the uphill, but gradually my body responded more or less normally to my brain's commands.

at sawyer, we turned north and let the wind blow us back into pratt. dan regaled me with war stories as we cruised along at 20mph or more. i still wasn't my strongest, but i knew i'd survive. we rolled down the hill into pratt and zigzagged our way back home. (26.86 miles @ 17.5mph)

alone

2011-07-26T07:08:00.000-05:00

connect.garmin.com/activity/101862297

i hit the streets at 6:00. i rode past dan's house. no lights! i rode past brandon's house. no lights! i passed brandon walking his dog. not riding today. i rode back past dan's house. no lights! i was on my own.

i suppose that's alright, but i've grown accustomed to riding with people. riding alone has become almost foreign.

since i didn't have anyone to push me, i decided to push myself a bit. i rode out toward glendale keeping constant pressure on the cranks. i rode fairly conservatively up the hills toward mike's, but on the short hills after his place, i climbed out of the saddle to preserve speed.

after the turn around, i had the wind at my back so i was able to maintain higher speeds with less effort. i sped down the hill to the lake and decided to circle the lake. i rode at or just above 20mph through the 15mph zone. i'm such a miscreant.

i left the lake loop and headed back into town. i lost a little speed on the slope up to country club road, gained it back and the lost it on the shart ascent up howard. i never regained my 18.7mph average. if dan had been there to tow me, he'd never have let that happen. oh, well. you win some you lose some. (18.78 miles @ 18.5mph)

half of paul's first

2011-07-25T10:49:00.000-05:00

connect.garmin.com/activity/101673155

i met up with dan and brandon a little after 6:00 this morning and rode with them over to paul's house. i hadn't met paul before, just heard of him through dan. paul is a junior at kansas state studying pre-dental, so he's a young buck with energy to spare and a desire to excel. dan was taking him on his first century ride and invited brandon and me to accompany them for part of the ride. brandon took in the first seven or eight miles before he had to turn around and head back into town to get to work. i rode the first 50 miles and then drove dan's car back into pratt.

as far as the actual ride is concerned, it was one of the best 50-milers i've ever done. i felt great on the little hills we encountered. the three of us worked together well in a paceline and brought our average up tenth after tenth. there was one section somewhere after lake city where i kind of bonked. i just couldn't climb for three or four hills. dan and paul were nice enough to slow down and let me catch them on the downhill sections.

we rode into medicine lodge a little before 9:00. i rode a few tenths more to put me over 50 miles and then stopped with an 18.7mph average. it was hard to drive away. if i could've continued on at that pace, i would've had my best century time ever. oh well. can't do everything. there's work to be done. (50.06 miles @ 18.7mph)

45th bithday ride

2011-07-22T09:39:00.000-05:00

connect.garmin.com/activity/100899172

i woke up and hit the road just before sunrise this morning. with no headlights, it was a bit scary here and there, but i managed to navigate the streets of wichita without getting hit.

i rode south into the wind to begin with, taking my bike south to west street and then further south on it until i had to turn left or right. i chose right and soon found myself at hoover road. i'd taken hoover north into town dozens of times, so i decided to take it south. i was pleased to discover several miles of pavement in that direction.

i finally reached the end of the pavement a mile south of 71st street, so i turned around, rode back the mile and took 71st east into haysville. when i hit meridian, i rode south intending to turn around when i hit an hour in the saddle.

the turn around never happened. just before i'd been out an hour, i hit 87th street and on a whim decided to see where it went. i'd never turned there before, so i enjoyed the discovery of a seldom used road with only one dog. he was too slow and didn't get his seven pounds.

at seneca, i turned north again and wound my way back into haysville where i did a little wandering. there's really not an easy way through haysville. i found a bike path and rode on it for a little and then found my way out to highway 81 where i turned to ride back into wichita.

riding up 81 is an adventure. traffic had increased by this time, but it wasn't overly heavy. i rode up and over the viaduct and then grabbed the bike trail at the river just north of used car lot central.

i rode the bike trail all the way up to the sycamore cut off, jumped the curb and rode up to maple and across to the university campus where i stopped for breakfast.

after breakfast, i hit the mean streets again. i needed another 14.47 miles, so i once again headed south on the bike trails. i jumped off on broadway and rode south a mile or two before turning off on 44th street and making two loops around the closed housing development streets.

shooting out of the development back onto broadway, i raced north up broadway, jumped on the bike trail and once again took the sycamore cutoff. a few more twists and turns and i made it back to the dorm parking lot where my odometer rolled over to 45 miles. satisfied, i hopped off my bike and headed into the dorm to clean up and head to workshops.

45 miles on my 45th birthday! what a great gift! the only thing that would've made it better would be 45 friends to share it with. (45.00 miles @ 17.2mph)

Like magic...

2011-07-20T09:47:00.004-05:00

BIBLE READING: Galatians 3:1-9

Unfortunately, there are times I take life into my own hands. I tend to think I have to work and live this Christian life by my own efforts. Sometimes I take a word so literally and intensely that I attempt to muster up more of myself than is humanly possible! Then I am cursed by the resulting mess.

Thankfully the Lord knows my heart is weak and when I give it back to him, he gently heals me. Sometimes little by little, and sometimes in leaps and bounds, my heart is transformed in his best timing. Though I make mistakes along the way, I am changing through forgiveness. Then I give my whole heart to him again and ta-da! Like magic-because I am filled up with his presence- those love muscles enlarge to love more. This is all a mystery explained only by God’s supernatural power. Though love increases more, our hearts also rest more.

As Jesus takes over my life, he pushes out clutter of legalistic striving. If I try to take my heart back and repair it myself, more religious debris comes into play and I can only cover the wounds with bandages of striving and no rest. If I go back to Jesus and allow him to take the forefront of my soul, change takes place so gently I don’t even realize it until much later. I need to let go more and let God do his supernatural work in me. How about you?

-Eve Garrison (Fruit of the Vine, July, Aug, Sept 2011 Vol. 51, No. 3, Barclay Press)

the cullison flyer

2011-07-20T07:21:00.000-05:00

connect.garmin.com/activity/100480229

if you'd asked me before this ride how it was going to go, i'd have told you poorly. my legs felt sluggish when i got out of bed, no pop in them at all. i groaned as i shuffled out to the bathroom and stumbled around the garage getting everything in order. i lost the rubber ring that keeps my headlight battery cable steady in the light, so all i could get was an annoying flashing light. no light at all turned out to be better than what i could get. grrrrr!

then i started riding with dan and my legs came to life. it was crazy! i started up the first hill and they responded with a lot more power than i expected. they spun the cranks at will and the road rolled beneath cato's wheels.

since the wind was almost straight out of the south, we decided to change things up a bit and ride west to cullison and back. i hadn't done that for weeks. this time the wind was out of the south instead of the north and it was almost 10 degrees warmer at 79.

we cruised out with what turned out to be an ever so slight tailwind and then hoofed it back to town. even with a little bit of a headwind, we raised our average speed several tenths of a mile per hour. we just powered over each roller and kept pushing on the downhills.

when we swung off of highway 54 onto lawrence we'd attained an 18.5mph average. pretty good for a couple of old guys who didn't even bother to draft off each other. (20.70 miles @ 18.5mph)

Created to do good...

2011-07-19T14:10:00.002-05:00

“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” – Ephesians 2:10

It blows me away every time I read those words. Before I was born, God knew the good I would do. Before I said yes to his call to be saved, he knew the service for which he would equip me. Then he saved me. He shaped me. He called me. He equipped me. He sent me.

The same is true for you. Your purpose is to do good works. That’s why God saved you. Before he saved you he had works in mind for you to do! You are doing them.

Sometimes people think they have to do the big thing or the dramatic thing to be doing what God wants them to do. They get discouraged. They believe they’re of no value to kingdom. That’s crazy!

So many read about the exploits of Paul and Barnabas and Peter and all and compare their lives with these men’s lives. What about all the other members of the church who kept things going when the apostles weren’t around? What about all the others who quietly served? They were doing God’s will too! They were as valuable to the church as any of the men the Bible names.

You are as valuable as any other saint. I urge you to do the little things God gives you to do each day! Speak a kind word to your neighbor when you both find yourself at the curb moving your sprinklers. Choose to forgive the person whose past actions toward you hurt so much. Pray when the news saddens you. Take advantage of the opportunities to teach your kids God’s ways when they pop up unexpectedly.

You are God’s workmanship. He created to you to do good! Go do it!

-Sign up for my regular email list by sending a blank email to knowthetruth-join@freegroups.net.

meeting mike

2011-07-19T07:28:00.000-05:00

connect.garmin.com/activity/100259001

i finally met mike today. i'd ridden past his house multiple times and been introduced to his name by brandon and dan, but never met him. today he was walking his bike out for a ride as dan and i rode by, so we swung back to pick him up.

after he was on his bike, he rode along with us out to glendale and back to his house and then down the hill, passed the lake into town. we had a bit of a scare on lake road. the winner of "american idiot" came up behind us going full bore, blaring at us with his air horn. he did not slow down or move over, but buzzed us going uphill. he then proceeded to turn around in his seat and flip us off. dan and i both tried to see his license plate, but it was obscured. grrrrr! ignorance is bliss for the possessor, but not the victims.

after our close encounter, we continued on over the hill and down it to highway 281. we turned north into town and took a loop around lemon park before heading up to sixth street which we took to country club. at country club, mike headed south back toward home and dan and i turned north toward our homes. a quick climb up the hill on 54 and a corner or two more and i was back home safe and sound. (20.76 miles @ 16.5mph)

tour de coats

2011-07-18T08:11:00.000-05:00

connect.garmin.com/activity/100038347

monday is my favorite day. it's my day off. i still get up early to ride, but i can ride longer. thankfully, it's brandon's day off too and dan's always off, so we took in a big loop out and around through coats.

we started off into a not-too-stiff south wind riding down 281. we weren't bothered by it much, but it did keep our average speed down for awhile. we turned off somewhere around 70th and rode down to 90th before turning west to coats.

in coats, we took a little touristy detour for a photo shoot in front of the petrified wood creations of one of the town's residents. after two or three shots, we mounted up again and continued our tour heading north.

we turned east again on old 54 and rode back into town. when we reached our normal turn off, we rode on down the hill and added a few miles to make sure we were past 30 for the day. a few more turns and i was home. loved it. (32.69 miles @ 17.3mph)

another trip to glendale

2011-07-15T07:11:00.000-05:00

connect.garmin.com/activity/99269204

dan stayed up for the midnight showing of harry potter last night, so brandon and i were on our own again this morning. we had a great ride at a pretty relaxed pace. we didn't rush up any hills or hammer down them. we just rode and talked and laughed. it was really enjoyable. we took a slightly different route home, so we got to climb back up to country club road. that's one of the steeper slopes around.

the early birds were out enjoying their wormy (or whatever) breakfasts. we saw mississippi kites, mourning doves, wild turkeys and canadian geese. (17.12 miles @ 16.8mph)

un-solo

2011-07-14T07:21:00.000-05:00

connect.garmin.com/activity/99063586

i thought i was going solo today, but on my way out to the highway i ran into brandon and chose to ride with him. we did our usual out and back to glendale without the benefit of dan's towing service. the hills were a little more daunting without a strong engine to follow, but we made it.

on the way back, we found a pair of pliers on the side of the road. a great find for me since my pliers had somehow come up missing after our move.

when brandon peeled off to go home, i went ahead and added a few more miles, looping out by the cemetery and back around through town on 61 and 54. (21.47 @ 16.7mph)

out to iuka

2011-07-13T07:36:00.000-05:00

i rode to dan's house and the first thing out of my mouth was, "i want to do something different today." i like the glendale out and back, but i was ready to explore.

we started out to ride directly to iuka and then meander through the countryside, but a train across the tracks sent us around the block and back to the east. we took highway 61 north to 30th and then went west to 281. from there it was a quick 2 or 3 miles north to iuka.

we rode past the town to 60th, so i could see where the next paved road was and then turned and rode south into town on 281. dan showed me the house with "the" dog, but "the" dog didn't show itself. i'm hoping i never meet the crazy mutt.

we rode into town past the hot and cold water towers and turned east on school street. from there it was a quick downhill and a shallow uphill, a couple of corners and then home. (17.71 miles @ 17.1mph)

big commuter day

2011-07-12T16:41:00.000-05:00

rode to work this morning and then down to the donut shop for my first staff meeting as senior pastor here in pratt. i rode home for lunch then and back to work before riding to a church member's house to pick something up and then riding to the office and then back home. made for a pretty good day mileage-wise. unfortunately, i developed a problem with my front derailleur on the way back to the church on my last trip. i'll have to figure that out. (9.29 miles @ 12.2mph)

not overcooked

2011-07-12T07:16:00.000-05:00

connect.garmin.com/activity/98631484

i'm learning how to ride with dan and brandon. i didn't overcook myself today on any of the hills or on the sprint down to the lake. i rode faster, but didn't get my heartrate up in the blow up your chest range. had a great ride and talk. it's crazy to think that since the day i met dan, i haven't ridden solo once. i love it! (17.70 miles @ 17.2mph)

glendale plus

2011-07-11T08:23:00.000-05:00

connect.garmin.com/activity/98413954

i enjoyed a quick out and back to glendale this morning with brandon and dan. we took it pretty easy most of the time, talking as we rolled along. when we got back to dillon's brandon went home and dan and i went hunting for other riders. when we didn't find them, we decided to go south on 281 so i could experience the uphill at the edge of town. it wasn't as bad as i thought it would be. i still fell behind dan some, but enjoyed the ride.

we rode back into town and took a could of laps around lemon park. as we started the second loop, justin caught us. that makes four cyclists i've met since moving here! we left the park and rode back south to lake road. we climbed the nasty little hill there and then i turned off to head home while justin and dan went out for more.

i zigged and zagged back to howard and then, because of traffic on 54, took a block detour to the east to get across. after i left 54 behind, i made it home in no time at all. i pulled into my driveway at 8:00 just as i'd planned. (32.80 miles @ 17.0mph)

half naked ride

2011-07-08T07:41:00.000-05:00

connect.garmin.com/activity/97637073

timing and exact distance are a guesstimate. i rode about four miles of warm up before dan showed up at my house. we left from there and i forgot to start my garmin until we'd ridden about 11 or 12 miles more. i started it up and then we met brandon and i rode back a mile to the top of gnad hill with dan and brandon before returning to town. a good morning ride to follow up on wednesday's century. (23.00 miles @ 17.2mph)

gyp hills century

2011-07-06T22:11:00.000-05:00

connect.garmin.com/activity/97338715

wind is a four letter word. hill is too! my brother-in-law, my friend dan and i "enjoyed" a lot of both today. the wind was our friend early in the ride. not so much in the middle. good enough at the end. we rode on quiet back roads and major highways through the gyp hills, something i've wanted to do for years! we did a little dirt, too. we picked up gatorade wherever we could find it. toward the end it got hot and we had to take it a bit slower. it was kind of disapppointing to end the day with a 16.5mph average when we were up to almost 19mph early on. guess we'll have to try this route again. well, maybe not the dirt road! (107.6 miles @ 16.5mph)

first commuter miles

2011-07-05T19:58:00.000-05:00

now that i'm actually more than .04 miles from my office, i get to post daily commute miles. today's miles include several trips back to the house to keep the laundry going and to get things i'd left there. there's also a ride to the chinese restaurant for lunch and a quick out and back to downtown to take care of vehicle registration and bill payment. (8.54 miles @ 11.3mph)

My pledge...

2011-07-05T13:39:00.002-05:00

I’ve always taken very seriously my responsibility before God for myself and for His church. I’m not easy on myself. I hate my sin, my weaknesses. Realistically, God is likely more merciful toward me than I am.

As for the church, I know I am accountable before God for every person I serve. That has always been true for God’s preachers and prophets.

“Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you will surely die,’ and you do not speak out to dissuade him from his ways, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. But if you do warn the wicked man to turn from his ways and he does not do so, he will die for his sin, but you will have saved yourself.” (Ezekiel 33:7-9, NIV)

Sobering words to say the least. They speak volumes to me. If I fail to speak the truth God commands me to teach, the blood of every man, woman and child who does not believe on and follow Jesus is on my head. That’s why I speak as clearly as I can when I preach. It’s why I write plainly about God’s word. Not that I always get it right. I’ve made mistakes. I’ve hurt people. I’ve had to reevaluate what I’ve “known” as God has revealed my mistaken views.

I cannot promise perfection to you. I am a man who has not yet arrived. I will pledge this, however, I will do my best with God’s help to point you toward a life of faith and obedience to God’s word and his Spirit’s leading.

-Sign up for my regular email list by sending a blank email to knowthetruth-join@freegroups.net.

independence ride

2011-07-05T08:42:00.000-05:00

connect.garmin.com/activity/96995179

i checked in on the "independence ride" challenge and saw only one entry, so i decided to get a quick 10 in before work. i rode south to sixth street and then zigzagged my way to the lake. i then climbed up and over cook hill and part way up gnad hill before turning around and retracing my "steps" back home.

there's one difference between riding here and argonia that i hadn't thought about until this morning. there are six stop signs in the first mile and a half of this route. in argonia there was one stop sign a quarter mile north of my house and that was it. glad they're changing the laws in kansas to allow rolling cautiously through those ugly red octogons!

drug along

2011-07-04T09:48:00.000-05:00

connect.garmin.com/activity/96943721

fred and i are not stupid. on our third ride with dave, we let him do a lot more work. on almost every hill, no matter how slight, we'd peel off the front and ride his wheel. on the downhills, we'd take short pulls, then dave was back to the front. i don't think he minded much. this arrangement gave us our best overall average of the weekend. the dogs came out again, but they couldn't touch us. the hills were there, but we didn't bonk. great fun! almost wish i could ride with dave again. almost. (25.90 miles @ 20.8mph)

my turn to bonk

2011-07-03T09:31:00.000-05:00

connect.garmin.com/activity/96943725

after a good night's sleep, fred and i were ready to ride with dave again. all the pain of the day before was behind us. we could hang with him.

we left the museum, headed south on highway 77 and turned west onto 322nd road. we'd scouted the road's first three miles, so we knew we wouldn't have the painful rollers to deal with this time. we'd just have to deal with dave's unrelenting speed and, it turns out, two ugly dogs.

the mutts came out of nowhere as we approached a trailer house that looked all but abandoned. the tall weeds hid the evil beasts. i heard barking before i saw them. i accelerated and got away, leaving dave and fred to handle the greetings.

the rest of the ride out was pretty uneventful until we hit highway 166 after finding another "end of pavement" route. on 166, i bonked. i'm not sure exactly why, but i had nothing left. i couldn't climb like i had on the rollers the day before. my legs just quit while climbing a long gradual incline. i watched, powerless to do anything about it, as dave and fred pulled away. i struggled up and over the top and caught up with them only to repeat on the next long uphill.

we turned around after another two or three miles and headed back to the museum. we rode past the evil twins again. i somehow managed to avoid their deadly jaws while riding past powerless to increase my speed much.

finally, dave and fred dropped me. i didn't really care. my heartrate was under control and i was riding. i caught up with them briefly at the junction of highway 77, but then, on the hill up to the museum, i was off the back again. i kept them in sight, but that's about all i can say for my efforts. i pulled into the museum parking lot, unclipped and stowed my bike. (31.03 miles @ 20.3mph)

dropping fred

2011-07-02T09:07:00.000-05:00

connect.garmin.com/activity/96943731

fred and i had no idea what we were getting ourselves into when we swung our legs over the top tube of our bikes and rolled out with dave. we'd ridden with each other before, but not with dave. all we knew was this: dave used to race in colorado.

we headed south from the cherokee strip museum south of arkansas city onto 61st road. our speed ramped up after a lazy first mile and never really slowed much throughout the 20+ mile ride. after a false start, meeting an early end to the pavement heading south, we returned to 322nd road and headed east.

there are hills to the east of 61st road on 322nd and dave's pace was relentless up the hills which came one after another, after another. after a few of these rollers, fred broke. i don't say that as an insult at all. he'd barely slept the two nights before traveling 22 hours in a car from delaware and then dealing with our father-in-law's snoring. when i accelerated on a hill, fred couldn't. i didn't even know i'd done him in until dave pulled up next to me and said, "you dropped your brother-in-law."

we slowed and waited. i apologized. we continued on. the hills didn't let up. we made it together to the end of the pavement after a close encounter with a couple of dogs.

we rested for a little bit at the bottom of the hill leading back to those dogs' home, then clicked back in and began our ascent. we rolled past the driveway at the summit and the dogs came out at full speed. dave and i accelerated. fred was eaten. that might be a bit of an exaggeration. he had to clip out and kick a dog. that's all. he survived unscathed.

we rode on, pushing up one hill, rolling down the next. fred dropped behind, but not by much. we rode back to 61st street. dave and i stopped. fred rolled up. we continued on to the west. crossing highway 77, we discovered a much less painful road with gradual inclines instead of sharp ups and downs. we rode out three miles or so and then turned around to head back to the car together. fred had recovered a bit and stayed with us to the museum. (22.81 miles @ 18.7mph)

with dan and brandon

2011-07-01T07:59:00.000-05:00

connect.garmin.com/activity/96039239

i met dan and brandon yesterday. today we rode together. this is how all friendships should start.

we met out in front of my house at 6:00 and headed south on howard toward sixth. the spun down sixth to country club and took it south to lake road. after buzzing past the lake, we headed south out of town. after climbing two hills, we turned east and rode to the end of the pavement. the small glendale united methodist church is there at the turn around.

on the way back, we sped down the hill and broke the 25mph speed limit through the lake area. rebels! then we took the road north to u.s. 54 and rode back into town. at highway 61, dan kept going straight and brandon and i turned north. we rode up to maple and then across to lawrence which took us both back home.

i had a great time. i'm looking forward to many more rides with these guys and the other cyclists they've told me about. (19.10 miles @ 16.9mph)