I just wanted to post the Sedona Marriage Adventure event on this blog.

My good friend Joel Malm gave me the phrase “anti Conference” last September when I hiked Half Dome with he and a few other crazies.

He said, “an anti conference is smaller but more powerful way to get a message across because you are not in a big conference room with thousands of other people.”

I agree. We have all attended conferences and felt like we were just a number in a crowd… or as we sat in the ninth balcony we were not really involved or engaged in what was going on.

Connection Expeditions is totally opposite of the BIG conference and strives to be more personal and a whole lot more organic in its approach.

Connection Expeditions exist to give people another opportunity to grow both personally and collectively in a unique setting other than inside the walls of a church or conference center.
We believe that God gave us the outdoors to help us see the bigger picture He has designed for us.
Church settings are nice but the roof is to low. God took Abraham outside his tent and told him to look up at the stars in the sky – God told him that his offspring would outnumber the stars. What God did is just as significant as what he said. He led Abraham outside for an object lesson that he would never forget.

Why did God take him outside? Because inside the tent, Abraham’s vision of God and God’s amazing future for him was limited. He could not see the potential of God’s promises displayed against the backdrop of God’s creation. God wanted him to get a glimpse of just how big a God he was. Taking Abraham outside was God’s way of telling him not to put limits and ceilings on what God wanted to do through him and for him.

Conventional leadership, marriage conferences are neat to attend and meaningful without a doubt. They give us a new perspective on everyday life and work. But with the unique angle Connection Expeditions take we get out of buildings and into God’s creative natural sanctuary’s for lessons and connections that give us another way of learning what God is speaking to us.

In short,  Connection Expeditions exists to create unique outdoor experiences that inspire vision and broaden

the perspective and connectivity of people of today.

Here is a brief look at the conference in Sedona this May 6,7 and 8 of 2012.

Sunday afternoon you arrive at Sedona’s Hilton resort and spa.

The event begins at 5:00 pm on the patio of the Hilton Resort and Spa and a brief mixer and introduction to our time together.

Monday and Tuesday we will explore the amazing sites of the region. - Connection Expeditions will use the geography and beauty of Sedona to teach couples from God’s creation the timeless truths that have kept couples together for thousands of years.

Then just before couples go to dinner we will teach on three tracks that will guide us through next few days.

THE CONFERENCE TRACKS

1.  COMMUNICATION CONNECTS US

We will take a short walk into the distant past and see messages carved in stone by the Sinagua tribe some 900 years ago. Through this session we will see the significance of how important real and meaningful communication is between two people who desire to invest in a lifetime together.

#2. THE LOVE BRIDGE
Sedona offers some amazing natural scenic illustrations that can teach us how to adapt to and adjust to the challenges that attempt to keep us apart.

In this session, we will explore Sedona with the help of Jeep Tours on a 3 1/2 hour trip through the red rocks to Devil’s Bridge.

#3. CREATING ORDER IN THE NEST
One of the amazing gifts that this region offers is the ancient Native American ruins that still exist today. This session will be a trip back to some of the places and spaces people used to live hundreds of years ago.

We will see some biblical ways to create order in our homes that will have a lasting effect in our lives and the lives of our families for generations.

To register for this event, go to:

http://www.connectionexpedition.com/

Or feel free to email us or contact my cell @ 928-710-0750.

Please plan on registering early. This event is open to only 15 couples.

A $200.00 deposit per couple  is due by march first to reserve you spot and room at the resort.

http://www.visitsedona.com/

http://www.hiltonsedonaresort.com/

http://www.connectionexpedition.com/

We are really looking forward to this time with you.

Steve and Brenda Lummer

Double click on the pick with your mouse to enlarge the photo.

All of these places were adventured by bike.

Granite Basin and Thumb Butte.

Get out there and enjoy the places and spaces you have been gifted to occupy while you are able.

Psalm 104:24, 30 - How many are your works, O Lord! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures…. When you send your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth.

I knew it was going to be a great day when I saw this on the counter while getting our morning coffee…. gotta love Arizona.

Last months edition of Dirt Rag.

We rode the northern section of the  BCT (Black Canyon Trail) from Hwy 69 to Hidden Treasure Mine TH and back. It included the Big Bug, Drinking Snake, and Antelope Canyon Sections, 25.9 miles of mountain biker heaven.

(double click on the pics with your mouse to enlarge the photo)

Today Dave Sewell  Doug Korell,  Jeff Combs, Robert F. Coombs,  Thomas Stotler,  Scott Golden and I started out fully layered with jackets that quickly came off .

Jeff came in the parking lot with his new red bike rack.

The first half of the trail meanders through typical cow pastures and beautiful high desert terrain. – There was a two mile section that was pummeled by post holes cause by horses and I only lost three teeth.

The first half of the ride quickly changes after you pass the water tank into into Antelope Canyon. The singletrack is cut into the side of the canyon and if not careful, you could slip off into the abyss and get an expensive helicopter ride out.

Photo by Doug Korell.

photo by Doug Korell

The BCT is a great winter edition for any mountain biker who wants to feel the Arizona sun.

Thanks Dave for the pre ride coffee and thanks Robert for the In and Out Post ride burger.

Great day, great ride and a great crew.

Steve

As we leave 2011 remember to do it with dignity, grace and a good healthy sense of humor.

2011 might have been a real challenge for a lot of us but the fact of the matter is good has happened and you are still moving forward.

If 2011 was a year of TRIAL & PRUNING then 2012 can be a year of NEW LIFE & GROWTH.

It has been said that for every door that closes, there is a new one that opens. That being said, Then knowing how we leave one thing will greatly effect how we are going to enter another.

Here are a few nuggets to help you leave 2011 and enter 2012

1. Don’t enter a NEW year with OLD negative attitudes.

2. Look forward to another opportunity to get it right.

3. Last year’s words belong to last year’s language – Learn a new language of hope  of and some new  words in 2012.

4. Change of PLACE + change of PACE = change of PERSPECTIVE. (Mark Batterson)

5. Continue to do WHATS RIGHT, then WHATS WRONG and WHOSE WRONG will eventually leave your life. (David Blunt)

6. New Year’s Day is every man’s birthday.

7. When it comes to  New Year’s resolutions; Integrity – the ability to not promise something you can’t come through on.

8. It’s O.K. to have a new definition of success.

9. Keep up with technology.

10. FORGIVE – It will keep you moving forward.

Happy New Year

Steve

(half moon bay section the CCT)

Its time to start investigating what sections of the CCT to ride in the next couple of years.

This page of stevelummer.com will be dedicated to mapping that route.

The California Coastal Trail (CCT) is a network of public trails for walkers, bikers, equestrians, wheelchair riders and others along the 1200-mile California coastline. It is currently more than half complete. Coastwalk California is a volunteer organization that advocates for completion of the Trail.

(Muir Woods to Stinson Beach)

Here is the county by county map for the CCT – (click on the county to view the trail)

http://californiacoastaltrail.info/hikers/hikers_main.php

For example, here is the Mendocino County map section 5

http://californiacoastaltrail.info/hikers/hikers_main.php?DisplayAction=DisplayCounty&CountyId=4

A section of the CCT in Marian County.

Now for the research and development of these trips.

Photo above taken from bowcycle.com

Yes, this is what I am talkin bout.

The options are plenty – Bike Packing, Travel trailer or travel by SUV and hotel it. I prefer one and two.

Pics for follow from the CCT.

Steve

From deep sea fishing with my wife in the Pacific Ocean / mountain biking in Mexico, the Iditirod trail in Alaska and Arizona / climbing Half Dome in Yosemite / fishing the amazing waters of Canada / getting to Espejo Peak in the Venezuelan Andes @15,633 ft / scuba diving and canoeing the Ozarks / hiking into the Grand Canyon or riding a bike across Iowa … all of these adventures had one thing in common.  Friends to enjoy it with.

It is amazing how you get to know someone when you get out of your routine. Being in the outdoors helps open doors to new and lasting relationships with family and friends.

When John Muir said; “most people live on the earth not in it”, I think he nailed it by describing how easy it is to miss an amazing place called planet earth. We live on the only living planet in the universe, (that we know of), with 7 billion other people. What a shame to miss out on the greatest gift in the universe, people and the planet we live on.

The adventure is great! But it is amazing when it is experienced with people of like hearts and passion.

If you are reading this blog, you are a member of an elite group. A group of adventure types that love being outside the walls of  a  mall or structure that has your view clouded by ceilings and walls.

We believe that God gave us the outdoors to help us see the bigger picture He has designed for us.
Church settings are nice but the roof is to low. God took Abraham  of the Old Testament outside his tent and told him to look up at the stars in the sky and God told him that his offspring would outnumber the stars. What God did is just as significant as what he said. He led Abraham outside for an object lesson that he would never forget. Why did God take him outside? Because inside the tent, Abraham’s vision of God and God’s amazing future for him was limited. He could not see the potential of God’s promises displayed against the backdrop of God’s creation.

God wanted him to get a glimpse of just how big a God he was. Taking Abraham outside was God’s way of telling him not to put limits and ceilings on what God wanted to do through him and for him.

Get yourself outside yourself and mix it up with some good friends or good strangers for a change…. Get outside and adventure yourself.

Here are a few opportunities we are putting together over the next year for you to connect through some amazing adventure trips.

Upcoming trips in 2012/13

Connection Expeditions –  Marriage Adventure May 2012 – Sedona, Arizona

Connection Expeditions – Grand Canyon Adventure September 2012 – Grand Canyon National Park

Connection Expeditions - Yosemite National Park/Halfdome- September 2013

For more outdoor adventures contact Pastor Steve Lummer @ 928-710-0750 or go to Connections web site at: http://www.connectionexpedition.com/

In our neck of the woods we still have about five to six inches of the frozen H20 up in the pines.

I wanted to test ride the fat tire bike to see how she does in the deeper snow before I actually pull the trigger and get one.

When going up any incline with deeper snow you really need to have some momentum and legs. The fat tires do actually get through snow pretty good.

The 82mm rim/3.8″ tire combo was created to go where standard “all terrain” bikes flounder. The floatation and traction afforded by large-volume, low-pressure tires can get you over and through otherwise unrideable terrain…sand, mud, wet rocks and roots, ice and many kinds of snow.

The Mukluk  on John’s bike is a 1×9 and does well in most snow conditions.

The ideal snow level is in my opinion 1- three inches or a mix of decomposed granite/mud.

The fat tire is a great option for riding when a conventional mountain could not cut it. – I think for the money FAT IS WERE IT’S AT….to give you another riding opportunity in rain/snow and slightly muddy conditions.

I loved having the option to get out on the snowy singletrack and not having to sit on my bike in the garage for another boring spin video.

The actual fat tire bike I am looking into in the Surly Moonlander. It has even a wider bigger tire for getting you through snow with better traction.

Here is the beta on the Moonlander from Surly’s web site.

http://surlybikes.com/bikes/moonlander

Steve

Sedona is one of those treasures that keeps you on a quest to discover more each time you visit.

Our group of ten started around 11:30 in the morning at the Bike and Bean in the Village of Oak Creek

.

http://www.bike bean.com/Sedona_Bike_%26_Bean_Sedona_Mountain_biking_and_Coffee/Enter.html

The plan was to start at the “made in the shade” trailhead and get to chicken point and then back to the parking lot.

Here is a map provided by Cosmic Ray.

The actual route we ended up taking was: Made in the shade” – “Slim shady” – “HT” – “Little horse” – to Chicken point – Llama – “Little bell loop” – Bell rock loop and back to the parking lot.

The “made in the Shade/Slim shady section in one of my favorites.

Here our group stops for a photo op.

The “HT” (highway tunnel) trail travel under highway 179 and over to the Little Horse trail.

After “HT” things get a little technical and steep on the Little Horse”

No one cleaned this section but they gave it a good try.

Chicken Point is a destination and point of interest for hikers, Jeeps and mountain bikers.

The views are amazing and give you a “back country” view that most Sedona visitors don’t experience by traveling up and down the main roads and tourist shops.

Chicken Point is a playground on the hidden side of Sedona.

A couple of our braver souls attempted ti ride part of the “white line” pictured below. (double click the image with your mouse for the bigger pic)

The “white line” is not really a shelf ledge …. but rather according to Rob H. more like just a sloped part of the rock formation that is “steeper than it looks”.

Here is a youtube video of the entire “white line” by a couple of crazies.

The entire day was awesome with the exception of a mechanical small ring failure on the way back to the cars.

Looking forward to getting back to another Sedona adventure real soon.

Steve

We have also heard some amazing stuff come out of the mouths of people but the ones we really love are the prayers kids pray.

Here are some examples.

Dear God: Please send a new baby for Mommy. The new baby you sent last week cries too much. Debbie, 7

Dear God: Who did you make smarter? Boys or girls? My sister and I want to know. Jimmy, 6

Dear God: How many angels are there in heaven? I would like to be the first kid in my class to know the answer. Norma, 8

Dear God: This is my prayer. Could you please give my brother some brains. So far he doesn’t have any. Angela, 8

Dear Lord: Thank you for the nice day today. You even fooled the TV weather man. Hank, 7

Dear God: Please bring me a new brother. The one I got socks me all the time. Agnes, 6

Dear God: Please help me is school. I need help in spelling, adding, history, geography and writing. I don’t need help in anything else. Lois, 9

Dear God: Do you have any helpers in Heaven? I would like to be one of Your helpers in Heaven when I have summer vacation. Natalie, 7

Dear Lord; Tomorrow is my birthday. Could you please put a rainbow in the sky? Susan, 9

Dear God: I need a raise in my allowance. Could you have one of your angels tell my father. Thank you. David, 7

Dear God; I am saying my prayers for me and my brother, Billy, because Billy is six months old and he can’t do anything but sleep and wet his diapers. Diane, 8

Thank God for Kids.

Pastor Steve

“Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” –  Matthew 18:3