This morning I am preparing for another mini road trip; a brief 155 mile (according to Google Maps) ride to share an evening program at Enon Baptist Church near Holden MO. After the 7:00PM program, I pack up and make the return ride home.
I haven't spent a lot of time on the bike at night and hope to have an easy ride. On the few occasions that I have ridden at night, I tend to find a car or truck traveling at the same speed to follow. I can use their headlights to extend my sight range. I can also hope that they'll scare off potential wildlife ahead of me.
It's kid's night at the church's revival and I get to come in and share a message through magic. I'm looking forward to the 5+ hours on the bike as much as I'm looking forward to the 40 minutes of the actual program!
I really do enjoy the opportunity to perform a little magic and share the simple message that God loves you and Jesus died for you. When people respond to that message there is an energy that fills me up and drives me until I get the chance to do it again.
Currently, my August calendar is open. I am preaching in September, have a revival gig in October, and a youth conference in November.
Off of the ministry calendar, I have a road trip to central Illinois in August and (hopefully) another Chicago trip in November. I haven't been riding quite as much this year and only covered around 6,500 miles so far. Maybe I need to work on that!
Since tonight's event will wrap up my summer kid program schedule, I plan to write a little summary of the interactions I've had along the way and the things that I've shared through the programs, the planning, and the travel to and from the various programs. In spite of the negative stuff that we hear and see in the news and on social media forums, there are some incredibly good and kind people out there. They go about their days being kind because that's who they are. They come in all shapes and sizes and from all different walks of life. They're just good people.
I'll share more about them soon.
For now, I've a show to pack and a highway to travel.
Be safe and watch for old, retired guys on motorcycles!
John <><
Wednesday, July 25, 2018
Sunday, July 22, 2018
What's in your cup?
Recently I read a modern day version of an old story. I remember it as an old man and his grandson watching people in the marketplace. They observe a man leaving a shop with a cup of tea in his hands. He is bumped by another person and spills some of his tea.
The old man asks the grandson, "Why did the man spill his tea?"
The boy replied, "Because the person bumped into him."
"No," replied the grandfather. "He spilled tea because that's what he was carrying in his cup. If he had water in the cup, he would have spilled water."
The lesson is that we are always going to experience bumps along the way. What spills out is what we carry with us. If we carry anger, then we will respond with anger. If we hold on to frustration, then frustration is what will spill out.
We've probably all heard the saying that hurting people hurt people. Maybe it doesn't have to be that way.
What if we take the time and make the effort to fill our cups with love and joy?
What if we are filled with peace?
What if we refuse to carry anger, fear and hatred?
How would our response to life's sudden bumps change?
I wish that I could tell you that it's going to be easy, but today's life can be full of frustration and anger. We need to find a way to set that aside so that we can react to life's bumps with kindness and love.
What's in your cup?
John <><
The old man asks the grandson, "Why did the man spill his tea?"
The boy replied, "Because the person bumped into him."
"No," replied the grandfather. "He spilled tea because that's what he was carrying in his cup. If he had water in the cup, he would have spilled water."
The lesson is that we are always going to experience bumps along the way. What spills out is what we carry with us. If we carry anger, then we will respond with anger. If we hold on to frustration, then frustration is what will spill out.
We've probably all heard the saying that hurting people hurt people. Maybe it doesn't have to be that way.
What if we take the time and make the effort to fill our cups with love and joy?
What if we are filled with peace?
What if we refuse to carry anger, fear and hatred?
How would our response to life's sudden bumps change?
I wish that I could tell you that it's going to be easy, but today's life can be full of frustration and anger. We need to find a way to set that aside so that we can react to life's bumps with kindness and love.
What's in your cup?
John <><
Monday, July 16, 2018
Acts of Kindness Shouldn't be Random
Wow!
It has been nearly three weeks since I've posted here!
I know that there have been several days that I started to write but then decided against adding to the steady stream of negative garbage that floods the internet these days. I'm not swearing off of the political or religious bandwagons but I am going to let you get most of that news from other sources.
Much has happened in the past few weeks -- a couple of kids's camps, a broken down motorcycle, serving breakfast to homeless people, an outing with church friends and one with old work friends, a day at the lake, and a few days of doing nothing, as well.
I'll get to the kids' camps after I've had time to put a little distance between the camps and writing. They can be a little tough sometimes and it helps me if I give them some time. I also need to let some of the adult drama and church politics settle a bit.
The motorcycle breakdown happened on the way to a camp and it was truly amazing at the amount of help that people were willing to provide. People took time to get me (and my bike) to and from a shop (that was unable to repair it until the following week). Daniel took the afternoon off from work to drive four hours to pick me up and tow the bike home. And strangers on the way helped us when Daniel's alternator on the truck went out.
In the end we had to have the truck towed the last 40 miles home and the trailer with the bike towed separately.
I am grateful for the kindness we received along the way and am paying it forward by serving with a group of people from The Venues. Every Friday morning, a group from the church provides the food and serves breakfast to about 150 homeless people at the the Veteran's Center in Springfield. It is just one of the ways that The Venues acts out the teaching of Jesus by caring for others. I plan to be a regular at this service event since retirement gives me the time to do it.
I've also arranged a night (next month) for our small group (also from The Venues) to prepare and serve dinner at The Ronald McDonald House in Springfield.
I'm finding it to be a great pleasure to be associated with followers of Jesus that are actively working to share his love by taking care of people in the community -- not once in a while, but as a regular part of who they (we) are. It's amazing how much you can learn about love from people that have been hurt by the traditional churches in the area or by other so called Christians.
Certainly, not everyone at The Venues has suffered church trauma, but it is a very different gathering of Jesus followers.
In any case, I wish you a grand week and I'll be back with more to share.
Show somebody that they are loved!
John <><
It has been nearly three weeks since I've posted here!
I know that there have been several days that I started to write but then decided against adding to the steady stream of negative garbage that floods the internet these days. I'm not swearing off of the political or religious bandwagons but I am going to let you get most of that news from other sources.
Much has happened in the past few weeks -- a couple of kids's camps, a broken down motorcycle, serving breakfast to homeless people, an outing with church friends and one with old work friends, a day at the lake, and a few days of doing nothing, as well.
I'll get to the kids' camps after I've had time to put a little distance between the camps and writing. They can be a little tough sometimes and it helps me if I give them some time. I also need to let some of the adult drama and church politics settle a bit.
The motorcycle breakdown happened on the way to a camp and it was truly amazing at the amount of help that people were willing to provide. People took time to get me (and my bike) to and from a shop (that was unable to repair it until the following week). Daniel took the afternoon off from work to drive four hours to pick me up and tow the bike home. And strangers on the way helped us when Daniel's alternator on the truck went out.
In the end we had to have the truck towed the last 40 miles home and the trailer with the bike towed separately.
I am grateful for the kindness we received along the way and am paying it forward by serving with a group of people from The Venues. Every Friday morning, a group from the church provides the food and serves breakfast to about 150 homeless people at the the Veteran's Center in Springfield. It is just one of the ways that The Venues acts out the teaching of Jesus by caring for others. I plan to be a regular at this service event since retirement gives me the time to do it.
I've also arranged a night (next month) for our small group (also from The Venues) to prepare and serve dinner at The Ronald McDonald House in Springfield.
I'm finding it to be a great pleasure to be associated with followers of Jesus that are actively working to share his love by taking care of people in the community -- not once in a while, but as a regular part of who they (we) are. It's amazing how much you can learn about love from people that have been hurt by the traditional churches in the area or by other so called Christians.
Certainly, not everyone at The Venues has suffered church trauma, but it is a very different gathering of Jesus followers.
In any case, I wish you a grand week and I'll be back with more to share.
Show somebody that they are loved!
John <><
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