Tag Archives: Uncategorized

what I am working on right now

THE SHADOW OF INFLUENCE

 

This weekend I will do a teaching called the shadow of influence.
Really looking forward to exploring how our influence impacts people our entire lives and beyond.
I am looking at Acts 5:13-15 that talks about the time when people would bring their friends and family and lay them along the street so that “at least” Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them.
The passage goes onto say that everyone was healed.
It is also said that in India people would try to position themselves in a way that Mahatma Gandi would pass over them….ummm?

Wow, to be able to help people at that level would be unimaginable.

Here are my thought points I am developing.

1. OUR INFLUENCE IS ALWAYS ACTIVE.

2. OUR INFLUENCE IS MOSTLY UNCONSCIOUS

3. OUR INFLUENCE LIVES BEYOND US

4. OUR INFLUENCE IS IRREVOCABLE.
 
Phillip Brooks says;
“no man or woman of the humblest sort can really be strong, gentle, pure and good, without the world being better for it.” 

“I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me, And what can be the use of him is more than I can see.” – anonymous
 
Really looking forward to this teaching.

 

 

 

 

 

Standard
what I am working on right now

NEGATIVE PEOPLE MOTIVATE ME

I hope this blog post doesn’t bumb you out but rather motivates you.

This afternoon I almost took my cast off a month early!

I came home from the office after a long day of meetings and phone calls.

With crutches I was headed toward the front door of my house with my wife and then it happened…..The voice from the road in front of our home came toward me like a audience of cynical spectators… “what happened to you” …..did you fall off your bike?” The question was surrounded with almost a laugh from a neighbor who walks his dog past my castle everyday.

It wasn’t the first phrase that fired me up….nope, it was his second grouping of bad weather words that almost motivated me to go into my garage and get my gig saw and cut my cast off and start physical therapy tonight.

As he continued to walk by he said, “you’ll never be the same” and then he threw in a quote by Clint Eastwood we all know, “A mans got to know his limitations”. And then he was gone.

He was gone but his negative words and negative outlook on my outcome have helped me make up my mind to be back on my bike quicker than expected.

I’m not being over sensitive or unfair to this guy, I have always known him to have a negative view of life since I have known him.

I feel sorry for negative people…….but I don’t have to feel sorry for myself for having to be around them. They actually make me want to prove them wrong.

In the mean time, here are a few suggestions when you have to be around a Grinch.

1. Keep moving forward toward your goals

. movement forward generates motivation. A sense of pride in yourself will follow.

2. Separate yourself from that negative person. Don’t listen to their negativity or change the subject.

3. Set personal goals The spirit of inspiration and motivation continues by driving for results.

4. Don’t take someone else’s negativity personally. Let it roll off your back and let their negative attitude motivate you to focus more on your goals and proving the negative voice wrong.

5 Choose to fight or take flight. Most of the negative people are not going to change their outlook on life, so chose your wars wisely.

Side note #1 …..I still have my cast on….the voice of wisdom and my wife win.

Side note #2……I can’t wait to ride past Mr. Grinch’s house on my bike soon.

Thank you Mr. Grinch for the motivation 🙂

 
 

 

Standard
Life Goals

ONE OF MY LIFE GOALS….RIDING RAGBRAI

 

Today a 36 six year old tradition began.
One of my life goals is to be able to ride RAGBRAI
RAGBRAI is a bike ride across Iowa.
The ride started in 1973 by two riders and today almost 10,000 people ride across my home state of Iowa in the annual RAGBRAI ride across Iowa..
The RAGBRAI route averages 472 miles and is not necessarily flat. It begins somewhere along Iowa’s western border on the Missouri River and ends along the eastern border on the Mississippi River.
It is a week long ride across the corn feilds of IOWA. 
I will start now to make preparations for the 2009 ride across Iowa

Next year’s RAGBRAI is July 19 – 25, 2009 – RAGBRAI XXXVI.

 

 

 

 http://www.ragbrai.org

I will update you on my progress and trainning for the ride throughout this next year.

Standard
what I am working on right now

PEOPLE THAT LEAVE A MARK

 
For 28 years I have visited people in the hospital or at least did my best to follow up on the sick, the injured or the one who just needed a visit.
I have always felt a compassion on people who for one reason or another have been knocked down in life.
Maybe I do it out of ministry duty or being taught all my life that no matter how busy you are, people who need a visit should be visited and encouraged.
Well, today the tables were turned.

After week three of no driving a car, no walks in the woods, no mtn. bike, and no anything that I enjoy, I was getting “cabin fever ” pretty bad until some mountain bike buddies showed up at my front door to visit me.

WOW, it was great to laugh, joke and to see my friends again.

I usually ride with these guys at least once or twice a week and today they came over to the house after their 22 mile ride.

Pictured below are:

(left to right) Jack, Billy, Joni, Coomsie, Middlemore and the famous Steve Becker

These guys are all top level mountain bikers and I have learned so much from them all.

 

 

 

After they left the house we all headed for a local Mexican joint for a bunch of carbs.
That was when they all “Left their mark” on me.
The “signing of the cast” is an American ritual and tradition that happens when a friend breaks something.
I have signed many cast in my day but I have never known what it was like to personally have people “leave their mark” on me in this way.
 

 

 

Thank you Prescott mountain bike friends for the ink and leaving your mark of friendship with me today.
 
 
 
 

 

Standard
family

SPECIAL DELIVERY

SPECIAL DELIVERY TODAY
A few days ago I was talking with my brother Gary over the phone and I had mentioned to him how boring t.v. can be.
I explained to him after watching the entire 2005 Tour de France DVD set and all three Bourne Identity trilogy movies not to mention CNN, Fox News, The Discovery channel, Food channel and every other channel available to us on cable and that I became so desperate I tuned into the Spanish channel and watched a BABAR cartoon in Spanish.
He got a good laugh from that.
Well today I received a surprise from my brother Gary. His daughter Lindsay and her two sons Christian and  Brandon age drove up from Phoenix and hand delivered Gary’s Xbox for me to use during recovery.
I’m not much of a “game guy” , but I’m going to give it a shot.

 

 

 

 

Thanks G for your compassion and your unending giving spirit.
You are my hero.
Standard
What I'm missing right now

WHAT IS MISSING IN THIS PICTURE

Comments and guesses are welcome!

CHECK BACK …THE ANSWER WILL BE POSTED IN ABOUT A WEEK.

The correct answer wins a free subscription to this blog

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a camp site just along the Taylor river in Colorado.

What needs to be here is pictured below….Got to have one someday.

Why suffer in a tent when you can have a home by the river?

AIRSTREAM IS IN THE FUTURE.

 

 

Standard
Life experiences

SINGING IN THE PAIN

Monday was a great learning experience for me.

I went to Doctor Phluger’s office to get the “hard cast” on my right leg.

To fit the cast, doctor Phluger needed to bend the recovering ankle in a position that would allow it to heal right.

It was at that point that I began to appreciate the gift of singing.

As my doctor began to do his work I had a choice. I could concentrate on the pain or I could focus on something else.

In my best attempt to not be a “baby”….I looked to the other side of the room and began to sing to myself a song.  Not loud enough to distract anyone in the doctors office but enough to get through the needed tansition until the artist finished his work.

Lesson learned:

It is better to worship than it is to whine.

I think SINGING IN THE PAIN would be a great book title….. But it has already been written by a pastor friend of mine.

Walt Weaver pastor’s Faith Assembly of God in Indiana. Walt’s story of falling from a construction sight mutiple stories to the ground is an amazing story.

Here are some pictures of my reason to sing. (music not included)

click the pic to enlarge if you like.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I want to thank Doctor Paul Phluger for his part in getting me to this point.

He is a good doctor with some great fishing stories.

Thumbs up to you doc!

Standard
What I'm missing right now

Liquid History pt. 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All I can tell you is that the Holitna River in Alaska still flows in my memory to this day.

I witnessed 6 grizzlies in the Alaskan wilderness and all of them where along the Holitna river.

I spent a fantastic week at the Holitna lodge and fished one of the best rivers in the world.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alaska’s Holitna River is one of the most remote southwest float trip options. Part of Alaska’s second largest drainage, the Kuskokwim drainage, the Holitna supports all five species of Pacific salmon and is the best char fishing river we have ever fished. The char are plentyful and their size and appearance is impressive by any standard. The king fishing is excellent in areas as is the sockeye and chum fishing. The river also has grayling, northern pike and even sheefish at times. One of the least used rivers I have ever floated, it is very likely that you will not see another person on this river system! It is also one of the easiest rivers I have ever floated and seems to have endless large gravel bars making for virtually unlimited camping opportunities.

We landed a small plane with our gear on a gravel bar on the upper Holitna and camped for two days and nights.

Wildlife on the Holitna River includes bears, wolves, moose, bald eagles and beavers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Special thanks to Rocky Mclveen of Alaskan Adventures for a great adventure and to my good friend Steve Parisi for the trip of a life time. 

This is my last “Liquid History” post….but not my last day on a river.

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.alaskan-adventures.com/

Standard
What I'm missing right now

Liquid History pt. 4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE GIFT OF THE GUNNISON RIVER ABOVE

THE TAYLOR RIVER PICTURED BELOW THAT FLOWS INTO THE GUNNISON.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What a great week I had with my son Caleb to celebrate him graduating from Full Sail University as well as my 50th birthday.

Brenda was the enabler to allow us to spend the week together in Colorado for  week of fishing and outdoors.

Highlights of the week included:

Hanging round the cool little town of Durango and the Animas river

Spending time in Quray, Gunnison and Crestted Butte.

What a great adventure and gift to celebrate 50 years of God givin life.

The next time we head up to the area again  we plan on rafting both the Animas and Taylor rivers.

There are so many outdoor activities to do in the Southwestern part of Colorado.

So thankful to have so much …..so close.

Standard