Worship Is... What?!

WORSHIP IS . . . WHAT?

Two Scenarios:

            Pastor invites friend over to help out on Sunday morning

            Game Time:  “Make Some Noise”

wor·ship

Christian worship joyfully ascribes all praise and honor, glory and power to the triune God. In worship the people of God acknowledge God present in the world and in their lives. As they respond to God’s claim and redemptive action in Jesus Christ, believers are transformed and renewed. In worship the faithful offer themselves to God and are equipped for God’s service in the world.

-       Presbyterian Book of Order W-1.000000

wor·ship

 noun \ˈwər-shəp also ˈwȯr-\

: the act of showing respect and love for a god especially by praying with other people who believe in the same god : the act of worshipping God or a god

: excessive admiration for someone

-       Merriam Webster Dictionary

(Webster considered education "useless without the Bible")

Scary Stats:

In a 1999 research study by Barna Research Group, Ltd., disturbing statistics were discovered regarding the worship experience of regular church attendees (NOT the Poinsettia and Lily crowd!) in American churches. Results included:

Ø  Two Thirds of faithful church-goers cannot give an adequate definition of worship.

Ø  One-Third of church attending adults stated they have never experienced God’s presence.

Ø  One-Half of regular church attendees asserted they have not experienced God’s presence in the last year.

Biblical understanding of worship:  Worship is not a suggestion it is an often repeated command.

            “Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord… (Psalm 29:2)

            “Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness…” (Psalm 96:9)

            “You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve” (Matthew 4:10)

            “And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures;    and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, "Amen, blessing and glory and        wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever Amen."

            (Rev. 7:11-12)

            “Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:10)

First three of the Ten Commandments are about worship:

1. You shall have no other gods before Me.
2. You shall not make idols.
3. You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.

Worship may be the most important thing we teach and do since we will be doing it for all eternity. It is one of our most important purposes in life as is an essential part of our beingness.  

 “Worship is written upon the heart of man by the hand of God… In a broad sense worship is inseparable from and is an expression of life. It is not that man cannot live without worship, it is that he cannot truly live without worship…man was made to worship as surely as he was made to breathe. We may restrict the expression of worship for a season, just as we may briefly hold our breath, but there is an inward craving for worship that cannot be permanently stilled.”  - Judson Cornwall The Practice of Praise

Worship challenges of those who work at church on Sunday mornings.

The enemy of our souls understands the priority of worship. The truth is that Satan will often tempt you and me in the same way he did Jesus. If he cannot get us to worship him, then he will do everything he can to keep us busy with mundane tasks, problems in life, etc. He will even help keep us busy with church activities in order to keep us from focusing on the Lord and worshipping Him. Do not fall for his ploys.

            Worship. It is and always will be our first priority.”    - Tom Kraeuter Worship Is… What?!

TABLE TALK . . .

1.     Discuss which of these worship experiences you can relate to:

It is the priority of your life.

It starts in your heart.

It proceeds from heart to action.

It is a response to God, a giving to God.

Your conscience has been quickened by the holiness of God

Your mind is fed by the word of God.

You heart is open to the love of God.

Your will is devoted to the purpose of God.

2.     What does your worship life look like on Sunday mornings? 

3.     Is there somewhere else, some other time you practice worshipping?

4.     How do you respond to traditional/liturgical elements of worship? 

            Do they have meaning for you, or are you simply reciting familiar words?

            Does singing familiar hymns bring you into a worshipful, heartfelt, honoring God, giving Him glory           kind      of place?

            When the choir sings is it a worship experience for you, or is it more like a performance to break up the   service?

            Do you feel like you’re brought into the presence of God in our traditional LJPC services?

5.     How does the contemporary worship service style impact you?

            Do you feel like you are brought into the presence of God by the music?

            Do you wonder how many people stand during worship due to peer pressure or because of genuine        heartfelt worship?

            Does the music portion of the service feel like worship or entertainment?

            Do you feel like you’re brought into the presence of God in our contemporary LJPC service?

6.     When have you richly encountered God in a gallery, book, performance, or film? Try to explain what happened to you and why.

An All Y’All Anecdote

While on the LJPC Holy Land Tour last November led by Stan and Marie Beard, I often found myself in a state of wonder. Of the many magical moments that moved this old music man, none compared to an extraordinary event at the tomb where Jesus was taken following His crucifixion.  Our group had just finished viewing the tomb and had gone to a shaded area on the grounds. Surrounded by olive trees, we reflected on what we had just experienced and prepared to take communion together.

The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”

Stan had just finished reading Matthew 28: 5-7 when, as if on cue, a group of Christians under the canopy next to us began singing . . . in Korean. Although we didn’t understand their words, we knew ours by heart and without so much as a nod from anyone in our group we spontaneously joined them through the universal languages of music and Christianity. Truly an “All Y’All moment as we sang:

I serve a risen Savior,
He’s in the world today,
I know that He is living,
Whatever men may say.
I see His hand of mercy,
I hear His voice of cheer,
And just the time I need Him
He’s always near.

He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today!
He walks with me and He talks with me
Along life’s narrow way.
He lives, He lives, salvation to impart!
You ask me how I know He lives:
He lives within my heart.

The vastness of the global Christian community overwhelmed me as East met West less than fifty feet apart. A ‘Divine Appointment’ such as this could only have been orchestrated by God Himself. If one little tumbler hadn’t clicked exactly at the right time in the complex itineraries of these two tour groups we would have never touched greatness in this extraordinary moment. Though normally separated by miles, cultural differences, and languages, we joined in the same place at the same time sharing our common faith in the risen Savior living in our hearts.

The Coolest Community . . . Forever!

What’s the coolest community you’ve ever been in . . . Your neighborhood . . . Your workplace . . . Your school . . . Your growth group?

For us as Christians, the greatest community possible is one that includes God. That’s right! Our almighty Father, the Creator of the entire universe, invites YOU and ME to be in community with HIM! How cool is that? In a world where increasingly many find community only on digital devices and gadgets, as believers we can skip right past the technology and go directly to the source of all that is or ever will be. God promises to be in community with each one of us.

For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.  Matthew 18:20 (NIV)

Did you ever notice that the word ‘unity’ is embedded in ‘community’? To be in unity we must have trust and love. That’s the endgame . . . creating unity with others and with God through following His invitation to spend time with Him. The challenging part as we commune with God is to de-clutter our minds, to be good listeners, intent on hearing that “still small voice”.

Here’s a Lenten challenge for you. Spend a minimum of four minutes a day in prayer with someone you love. Pray for each other. Pray for family members. Pray for friends, the church, the world, and then . . . listen. My wife and I have been doing this for some time. We believe this habit is deepening our relationships in the coolest community forever. (And yes, listening is the hardest part!)

Over the past 40 years I’ve been blessed to direct six church choirs. So many extraordinary moments made even more intense through God’s gift of music. Members of these choirs became close, like an extended family, oftentimes the ‘largest small group’ in the church. The root of the word “choir” in Hebrew comes from the ancient root that refers to community! It’s only natural for me to end this devotional with music. Please get together with one or more loved ones and listen to The Brilliance singing Breathe at the link below. Let their song be your prayer to conclude today’s devotional while you listen for what God is saying to you!   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7zQ6g-yy3M

I Got Knocked Off My Bike By A Truck Today!

Out for a ride today . . . riding safe . . . riding smart . . . riding with Jesus as usual.  I've ridden over 30,000 miles on the roads over the past dozen years. Today was different.

Despite my brightly colored jersey, bright red bike, and bright flashing tail light, a driver in a large pick up truck apparently did not 'see' me or perhaps thought she could "beat me" and turned into a driveway in front of me, knocking me off my bike. Note in the photo below . . . I call it "The Scene Of The Crime" . . . that there is a solid white line indicating the bike lane that I was in at the time.

Cyclists:  It's just paint on pavement. It will not protect you in your bike shorts from 3000 pound vehicles. It is not a concrete barrier that will cause cars and trucks to be deflected away from your right of way. The law may be on your side, but a truck can be on your side even faster! Ride safe. Ride smart. Please share your thoughts and comments below.

Drivers: Please watch out for people riding bikes on the roads. Please share the road with courtesy and grace toward cyclists.  You are surrounded by tons of metal, plastic, rubber, seatbelts, airbags, glass, etc. Cyclists are wearing little more than their underwear.  Drive safe. Drive smart. Please share your thoughts and comments below.

P.S. I appear to be fine. My bike appears to be fine. Good thing I was riding with Jesus!

I Get More Green Lights When I Read The Bible!

Okay, maybe not really. But life does seem to flow much easier for me when I’m in the word. My road of life seems a bit smoother with a peace and prosperity in my soul that passes all my understanding.

One of the regular readers of this blog asked the question some time ago, are these literal or metaphorical experiences? The answer is both. My job is not to convert. Only God can do that. I am simply sharing my observations, my take, my spin, (see what I did there?), on life and what makes it meaningful. I simply share what's been pressed on my heart to write.

Speaking of some time ago, although I haven’t written on this blog for several months due to deadlines on a book my wife and I were writing as well as lots of consultant work, the number of hits on this blog has continued to rise. We’re up to 3,600 viewers from 45 countries around the world.

What if someone reads this blog who isn’t a follower of Christ? Hallelujah! I hope they do! Not being a follower of Christ doesn't mean that a person can't be a follower of this blog. Since we're all made differently with our own purpose and plan, each person will have their own 'take away' from these blog pieces. To be honest, I've wrestled with this a lot since starting this blog. Toeing the line between being too preachy, too teachy, or just plain banal. I have so much to learn about this craft and how to appeal with artistry and insight to the largest number of folks in the fewest, choicest words.

One of my frequent bike rides is to the beach. There’s a mural on the side of a building depicting the resurrection scene but with modern day people from all walks of life attending. There is a reflection on a scripture reference at the bottom of the mural “For those who have not read the word this is foolishness. For those who have read the word they know it is the power of God.” . . . 1 Cor 3:18-23

That would be my challenge to anyone reading this blog. STOP READING THIS BLOG AND READ THE BIBLE EACH DAY INSTEAD! Come on . . . is there really a choice between reading my word and God's word? Seriously, read the whole Bible cover to cover. As the history and mystery of several thousand years written by 40 authors unfolds you’ll be amazed at how it all applies to your life. Issues that the children of God were dealing with 5000 years ago are still being dealt with in our world today. We don’t want to offend anyone by saying the G word, or the J word, or the C word. Think that’s new? Read about when the exiles were returning to Jerusalem.

My experience of reading the Bible cover to cover was that my life was forever changed. The timeless truth of the WORD shared directly from the Creator of the Universe. Absolutely mindblowing, heartblowing, soulblowing stuff. Make a bold commitment. Take the challenge and read it for yourself and see what your experience is. Find a Bible-based church family to join. Ask questions. Get into a small group or Bible study. You may find there are more green lights in your life!

As always I invite your comments below.

Choose And Move!

Sometimes I think I wait too long.
The paralysis of analysis.
Or just plain procrastination.
Or too many things on my plate.  (And no, getting a bigger plate hasn't helped!)

I recently got a new pair of pedals for my bike. I've ridden with clip-in pedals for the past 7 years. I can't seem to get a straight answer on how long these pedals are supposed to last, but I'm thinking 17,000 miles was stretching it a bit. The deal with clip-in pedals is that the rider is directly connected to the bike. A little daunting at first when you realize that you are "As One" with the bike. It is truly a marriage of muscle and machine.The power transfer increases dramatically because you are not simply pushing down on the pedals (like when you were a kid), but you are also pulling back through part of the pedal stroke so you ride further, faster, stronger, etc. Ah, engineering. Gotta love it!

Trouble is, my pedals were really old and I had worn them down to a point where my knees were being affected because they were slightly out of proper alignment. My tibia was actually rotating out of place and causing tarsals in my foot to get out of whack. (Yeah, "whack" is the medical term!)

 

 You see the pedal is connected to the foot bone and . . .

The foot bone connected to the (pause) leg-bone,

The leg bone connected to the (pause) knee bone,
The knee bone connected to the (pause) thigh bone,
The thigh bone connected to the (pause) back bone,
The back bone connected to the (pause) neck bone,
The neck bone connected to the (pause) head bone,
Oh hear the word of the Lord!

ALL TOGETHER NOW!

Dem bones, dem bones gonna RIDE a-roun'
Dem bones, dem bones gonna RIDE a-roun'
Dem bones, dem bones gonna RIDE a-roun'
Oh hear the word of the Lord

But I digress . . .

The point of all this is that as soon as I went for a ride on my little red bike with the newly replaced pedals, I felt like I was on a brand new bike. The power transfer from me to the bike was much improved and gone was the looseness in the old pedals that had probably caused my knee problems. (Let's sing the song again!)

So it's my head bone I'm really talking about here. How often in life do I not choose AND move? For whatever reason, rationale, or excuse, I sometimes fail to act. You see, choosing a path is one thing. Going down that path is another thing. In cycling vernacular it's where "The rubber meets the road." In church they might say, "Putting feet on your prayers." In writing they might say, "Putting wings on your words". (I made that last one up!)

You see, it's developing that culture of "AND" in yourself AND in others. Empowering yourself to move forward (like on a bike), AND empowering others to move forward with you. Could be your spouse. Could be your children. Could be your students. Could be your neighbors. Could be your colleagues. Could be your friends. Could be your small group. Could be your accountability partner. Could be countless unseen, unknown people on down the road of your eternal life.

All those 'coulds' and 'ands' in life add up, don't they?  The powerful, imaginative, loving people God created us to be can only be unleashed to roll down the road of life if we are truly connected (like a cyclist to his bike), to who God designed us to be, AND to the Creator himself.

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, 

“plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

 Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

Did you pick up on the 'ands' in that verse? 

I choose to move AND be connected 'as one' to God.

Pictures Of My Hero

Yesterday I rode my bike out to our church to ask a question about the Children's Ministry. When I pulled open the main door our Worship Pastor, Steve, put a video camera in my face and asked me who my hero was. Standing there with my helmet on and my bike in hand, I answered without any hesitation. (I think if there's any hesitation involved it may be later on when the pastors are contemplating which 'video interviews' to cut from the upcoming message series on Heroes. The thought of putting me up on two 10' by 10' screens wearing that much spandex is downright scary. Probably just as well that I end up on the 'cutting room floor'.)

Back to the story. So I'm asked who is your hero and I quickly skip through all the athletes, astronauts, action figures, military leaders, world leaders and spiritual leaders, and went straight to somebody I knew really well . . . my mom.

My dad skedaddled, (funny how "dad" is in the middle of that word!), when he decided marriage wasn't a good fit for him. My mom packed up the car with her mother, me, and whatever else she could fit into a navy blue 1949 Ford and drove from El Paso to San Diego at the ripe old age of twenty-two. Just to make sure we're clear here, Mom was twenty-two. I wasn't even two. She had no friends, no relatives, no job in San Diego. She had visited once with my Dad and thought it looked like a nice place to live. There was a great zoo you could take a kid to. 1950 was a different time. She was a courageous young lady. Mom had dropped out of college to get married and bounced around the country with my Dad as he worked his way through a series of jobs as an engineer.

She quickly found work in San Diego, soon bought a home and showered a whole lot of love on our tiny little family of three generations. Yes, I was raised by two women. Men, if you ever get into a game of "Battle Of The Sexes" you definitely want me on your team. I know way too many answers on those female cards!

Carving out a living in the 1950's wasn't easy for a single mom. This was way before the "Women's Lib" movement of the late 1960's. She complained about doing the same work as a man and getting paid less for it. But being the head of the family she had to be first and foremost a problem solver. So she took on a second job, running her own business teaching piano in the evenings. Soon she had a full 'studio' of kids and was putting on annual recitals.

There was always a shortage of money. Mom spent hours budgeting to make the ends meet, but through it all there never was a lack of love. Not only did she shower love on me, but she also shared with me the great loves of her life: God, family and music. Those loves and values became so central to my being that to this day, sixty years later, I look back and see how those things are the solid foundation upon which my life has been built. Dragging up a kid with a passion for God, family and music . . . not a bad way to go! You did good, mom. Real good.

Oh, she also instilled in me her love of riding. When she was a kid growing up in southeastern Colorado it was riding horses. As a teenager, she became a state champion trick rider. That was just before the high school Principal came to call her out of class and tell her that her dad had been killed in a plane crash. He was an avid pilot and apparently some kid working at the airport had filled the gas tank with water instead of gas. Hard to believe, huh? Small town. Small airport. 1943. I guess it could happen.

So for me, growing up in the city, she instilled the love of riding a bike. We lived a pretty hardscrabble life, but somehow she found the money to help put me through college and then ten years later she put herself through college, meanwhile adopting a baby out of an orphanage in Tijuana. Single women in the 1960's had a hard time adopting a child on this side of the border.

But the first big expense I remember was my shiny red Schwinn bike. With that bike, mom taught me that persistence and hard work always paid off. There wasn't money to buy training wheels for that bike. I'd like to say I had to learn the hard way, riding it by myself, but the black and white picture at the top of this blog of me riding that bike doesn't show the back end of the bike. The truth is my mom was there, running down the street right behind me, keeping me upright, steering me in the right direction, giving me the support I needed to move forward. Yeah, she kept on doing that as I was growing up.

Okay, I'm getting a little misty here as I write this. I guess I've needed to write this down for some time. Time to lighten up a little bit. Mom also had a great sense of humor. That lives on in her son, too. In case you missed last month's blog piece, When Bears Talk, it's still posted here. It's a four minute animation script I wrote to promote our annual Christmas concert at our church. Check it out, the early reviews are already in. Mark said it was "Comedy Genius".  Max said it was "Golden Globe" material. Heather said it was "Riveting". Cathy and Gina both agreed it was "Hilarious". Dave said it had "Oscar Potential" (Animated Short). Andria said it was "Awesome, Too Funny". John said it was "Not Boring". (You'll have to watch it to understand that last review!)

Mom passed away after her second bout with cancer in 1990 at the way too young age of 62. I'm 62 now. Below are a few pictures of my hero. You can see her halo in one of them.

 

Mom and I in 1948 in El Paso, Texas. That love you see in her face . . . 

it was was always there throughout my life. 

(I'm thinkin' those are my diapers on the clothesline!)

 Our tiny family, Thanksgiving, 1952

 Mom and me by a camel at the San Diego Zoo on my birthday, 1954

 Mom at work at San Diego State University, 1975

The women in my life on my grandmother's 75th birthday in 1979

L-R:  My Mom, My Nana, My new bride Reina, 

My adopted sister, Jodee (being tickled by Reina)

 Mom and her first grandchild, Gina, 1982

When Bears Talk

Who knew that if bears could talk, they would sound like the navigation systems on your bikes and in your cars?  

Okay, so maybe it has very little to do with riding a bike, but I did think up most of the plot while riding a bike!  Check it out. You'll laugh. You'll cry. You'll say, this guy should be a screenwriter!  


Click on the link below and turn up your sound!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyihqIZwyw8

Ride Safe!
Ride Smart!
Ride With Jesus!

Ron 

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I May Have Died Last Summer

A few months ago I had a setback in my bike riding schedule. In the middle of the night I had a nocturnal seizure. I had never had any kind of seizure before. After spazzing out for a few seconds, I was not “present” for about 10-15 minutes according to my wife, Reina. Apparently there were family members and paramedics scurrying around our bedroom and I was lying on my side in bed with my eyes open, but I wasn’t really there. It was like the lights were on, but no one was home. After spending the rest of the night in the emergency room and having a complete battery of eight tests that all came out normal, I was told by my general practitioner and my neurologist that these things happen from time to time, and sometimes we never know the cause. Then they put me on a medication to prevent another seizure from happening.

Ten weeks later I had to take a behind the wheel driver’s test. Haven’t done that in 46 years! Sitting in the chair next to all the nervous teenagers for two hours I was thinking about what a great state we live in where a guy has a lapse of consciousness and the Department of Motor Vehicles does it’s due diligence by giving me a behind the wheel driving test . . . TEN WEEKS LATER! Ah, the bureaucracy of it all. I’m just sayin’! I passed my driver’s test with flying colors by the way, so I guess I’m good to go on a bike, too!

But here’s the really good part. Brace yourself. My wife was amazed at the fact that all these people are fussing around in our bedroom at ‘oh-dark-thirty’ in the morning, and I’m just sitting there with this peaceful expression on my face. (I’m guessing she’s thinking I wouldn’t normally act that way). But here’s the wondrous thing. All the time that this commotion was going on, I wasn’t there. I have this vivid recollection of having spent that time in a meadow or a field. I remember being encouraged to lie down and rest in the field by someone. I felt it was a male presence that was with me. I felt safe. I felt great peace lying on my side in the tall yellow grass with a warm gentle breeze blowing. After awhile, at the urging of the male presence, I got up and left this peaceful place, this private reverie, and woke up in an ambulance on my way to the hospital. Now I’m thinking that it was Jesus who was with me in the pasture. But it could have been Jesus, the paramedic.

A few months later I happened across one of my earliest favorite scriptures. One I had memorized as a child long ago. The Twenty-Third Psalm:

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; 

my cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Okay so I’m old enough to have memorized it in the King James Version, and the pastures were yellow in my experience and not green, but hey, I live in San Diego and that’s what our pastures look like in the summertime!

Or is it that I live in His kingdom and this experience was simply a gentle reminder?

Sometimes The Tiniest Thing . . .

. . . can stop our forward motion. 

On a road bike with skinny tires we’re talking about the sharp pointy tip of a thorn, or maybe a tiny shard of glass. Could be a rusty sliver of metal. Things not seen can derail your progress. Do you have a plan for going on down the road?

We usually see the big things in life. We plan for them. We make detours. We go around brick walls, and brick buildings. We weave our way around waterways. But tiny unseen things can change the course of our lives. A cancerous cell. A virus. A fertilized egg. A look. A comment.

It could be a thought planted in your brain. By God. By Satan.

How do we do get ourselves back on course? How do we draw ourselves back into proper alignment? Some lean on their own understanding. Some lean on God. Some lean on the wisdom of others.

Picture yourself reading a book, holding it in your hands. Go ahead, put your hands up like a book in front of you. In your left hand are all the pages you’ve read. In your right hand are all the pages you have yet to read.

Now picture holding the book of your life. In your left hand is the written record of all that has gone on in your life. The roads you’ve traveled. The path you’ve taken. The family, loved ones, friends, colleagues, employers, and neighbors, who have in part shaped your life and who you are. The choices you’ve made. The decisions you’ve made. It’s all written in the book. In your right hand is the rest of your life. The pages are all blank. The roads and paths you haven’t ridden on yet. The choices and non-choices that will create the landscape of the remainder of your life.

It’s all about the choices you’ve made about how to handle those big things and those tiny things that come up as you ride down your road of life. What’s your plan for the twists and turns in your road of life? How will you get around the big boulders and the tiny shards of glass in the road? How will you negotiate the parts of your road where gravity is your friend and the parts where gravity is your worst enemy? How will you handle the wind at your back? How will you handle the wind trying to blow you back? Are you ready for the wet and slippery passages? What will sustain you in the searing draining dry hot times?

Who will you lean on?

Where will you turn for help?

Riding Between The Lines . . .

Marching Ants

Contribute

Power

Donate

Rainbow

Give

Dotted

Bestow

Fence

Serve

Marching Soldiers

Support

In The Sand

Provide

Border

Help

Furrow

Volunteer

Groove

Share

Railroad Tracks

Assist

School Children

Teach

Wiggly

Connect

Broken

Commit

Solid

Celebrate

Marching Band

Endorse

Traffic

Believe

In The Concrete

Love

Checkout

The Road Les Traveled

My apologies to Robert Frost, but I have a friend named Les who had a singular view of life. Les loved bikes. He viewed life through the lens of biking. He loved biking as a child. He loved biking as an adult.

He loved long rides and short rides. He loved commuting to his job on his bike. Les loved weekend rides, riding to school, or just a quick spin around the block. He believed that no matter how or when or where or with whom he rode his bike, biking made him happy and was great for his health, his community and the environment we all share.

Les believed that bikes not only carry us from point A to point B, but they also help us avoid high gas prices, make our air cleaner and our roads less congested. Les believed that bikes fill our lives with adventure and excitement, relaxing our minds and energizing our souls.

Les loved to ride with friends and Les loved to ride by himself. When he rode by himself, he often tried to ride stronger, faster, better, smarter. Les knew that one man’s ceiling is another man’s floor. He knew there would always be stronger faster riders than he. But he also knew there would always be slower weaker riders than he. There would always be those with less experience and talent and those with more experience and talent.

Les always pushed the limits when he rode his bike. He tried to beat his previous times on routes that he often rode. Beating other people wasn’t important. Beating himself was what mattered. Improving his performance was what counted. Complacency was the enemy of progress in his mind.

The way Les felt about bikes, the way he loved bikes, was the way he felt about life and loved life. He believed God designed each of us to be brilliant. He wanted to use all the gifts and talents God had given him all the time. He believed that if he didn’t dream big, he was insulting God. He knew that even if it appeared to others that he was riding alone, he really wasn’t. Jesus was always with him.

His practiced passion for pedaling carried over into other areas of his life. He loved creating and accomplishing. He loved sharing and teaching. He loved leading but he was an excellent follower as well. He loved giving and knew that in giving he received so much more in return. Les believed in standing up for what he believed in, even if it meant he was unpopular.

Les knew in his heart of hearts that relationships were the most important things in his life. His relationship with his parents, his wife, his children, his colleagues, his friends and even with God sometimes took a backseat to the pursuit of his dreams. But Les knew in the end it was the relationships he had developed throughout his life that mattered most . . . especially his relationship with Jesus Christ.

Les is gone now . . .

. . . out on a ride.

Obstacles Attract

It all starts with a boy and his little red bike.

We're going to bump into all kinds of things in today's blog, folks.  So, "Obstacles Attract" huh well that's a fine howdy do. What in the world are we talking about?  Here's an example to get us started:

A bird flew into our family room window a few days ago. He left this imprint on our window.

When our Compassionate Samurai friend John saw the photo he was moved. "Wow! That is surreal, sad, and beautiful, all at the same time." 

Our friend Robert explained, "They make stickers that are barely visible to the human eye but birds can see to prevent this from happening. We need to use them because we have so many feeders in our yard. Typically its when a hawk comes by to eat one of the birds, they fly off in panic not really paying attention where they are going."

I said, "Seeing it in person makes even more of an 'impression'!  We never did find the bird, but he left tiny footprints on our hearts."

So what are we talking about today? The obstacles in our life and what we attract. Are we actually 'obstacle attractors' and what do we do with the obstacle when we attract it? Are there things that appear to be obstacles in one dimension but actually aren't when viewed through a different lens? How do we approach obstacles in the flow of our lives?

For instance, yesterday I was riding my bike. (Go figure!) It's a beautiful sunny blue, drop dead gorgeous, burn your drawers at a hundred yards, kind of a day. All right, a picture is worth a thousand descriptive words that I can come up with . . .

So I set out to ride my bike for 70 miles, training for next weekend's MS150 Bay To Bay Tour . . . Nope! You're not too late you can still help me help others by donating HERE! I'll do the riding from Irvine to San Diego. You do the donating! Deal? Did you know 200 people are diagnosed with MS in the U.S. each week? Talk about overcoming obstacles!  I'm trying to raise $2000 that will buy four lightweight wheelchairs for individuals who have MS. So far I've raised enough for three wheelchairs and maybe one footrest.

So I'm out doing this good thing. Being healthy. Being green. Being charitable. I'm in the bike lane approaching a corner and this guy comes up behind me and honks and yells. I look in my rearview helmet mirror (See above), and I don't recognize his 1971 "Anti-EstablishMint" Green Ford Maverick. So this isn't some buddy of mine honking to say 'Howdy".

Now in the state of California the Department Of Motor Vehicles says I have the same right to be in that bike lane that has become a right turn lane as he does. Some painter paid by the Golden State painted a wide stripe on the pavement for me to ride in that lane. It dawns on me that the guy behind me is honking and yelling for me to get out of his way. I'm thinking would he be doing this if I were in a car in that same turn lane/bike lane? I'm moving along at a pretty good clip toward the corner 50 feet away when a beer bottle sails past my head. Yeah, a beer bottle! I turn right at the corner. He turns right calls me a fag, shows me his gnarly middle finger, and continues yelling epithets as he goes on down the road. 

When I'm out riding my bike I try to be aware of everything around me in what I call "The Flow". The Flow has all kinds of elements of which I'm just a tiny part. There are cyclists, skaters, pedestrians, dogs, children, cars, trucks, buses, motorcycles, all moving in The Flow. Every now and then you get something in The Flow that is a disruption. An obstacle. Clearly I was an obstacle to this drunk driver. I'm thinking to myself. It really takes a much better person than me to not respond in anger to a disturbance in The Flow like that. Then I start extrapolating into what obstacles does he attract in his life? Sometimes I get very philosophical when I ride. Sometimes I get very angry. Okay, so I'm not Gandhi on a bike.

It's like we were in two totally different dimensions. A choir directing book writing friend of mine, (who knew there were two of us?), has written two books in a series he's doing exploring dimensions existing in the same place at the same time. At that moment in my bike ride, I felt like one of the characters in his first book, Dimensions: The Wheat Field

It's a good read that will get your mind percolating!  Once you're hooked on the idea, get Dave's second book, Dimensions II: The Plethora.  It's scheduled to be released in November of 2010. Check it out at this website!

Fast forward about three miles. If you're having trouble picturing where I am, I'll map it out for  ya! CLICK HERE! This is my famous "Tour De South Bay" route that I created for my Outspokin' For Jesus! Christian cycling club. Join us sometime! Its a really cool bunch of people!  So, I'm doing a twenty mile longer version that will take me all the way out to the tip of Coronado Island. But I digress. I'm up in the top center area of the route on the map, and there's this car coming up very slowly behind me. 

It's an old Datsun 240Z. I'm thinking "Does everybody drive cars from the 1970's in this neighborhood?"  It's black with blacked out windows and an engine that has a full-throated rumbling sound. He's coming up really slowly, like eerie ominous behind me. Now after my last experience, I'm thinking what is this guy doing? I feel like Dennis Weaver in the Steven Spielberg's first movie, Duel. Only I've got this creepy black 240Z behind me and not an ugly massive tanker truck!

So we get to top of this hill and he's still hovering, loitering behind me. I make a left hand turn and he follows me very slowly. There's no traffic in the oncoming lane, so he moves way over to his left and passes me very slowly giving me a very comfortable wide berth. Once he's safely past me, he takes off. He was simply existing in The Flow with me as a kind, courteous considerate driver. We're in the same dimension, existing peacefully. What a refreshing change from the first guy in the old Maverick.Two totally different ways for a person to deal with an obstacle in their path. To be honest, I'd say 98% of the drivers out there are very conscientious about those of us on two wheels.

Speaking of two wheels . . . It's an eerie experience to be dropped off on a bus in Irvine at Oh-Dark-Thirty in the morning and realize that the only way back home is two skinny wheels and a 4 inch seat over the next two days. Did I mention you can still donate to my charity ride for MS . . . HERE?

So I'm going along with The Flow, and get another three or four miles down the road. I ride through an intersection and this car on my right runs the red light and makes a right turn coming precariously close to my back wheel. I glance back quickly to see if I'm nuts or if I still had a green light. I did. I then look at the teenage girl talking on her cell phone driving the car that had almost hit me. She's oblivious. She's in a full metal jacket weighing maybe 4000 pounds and I'm in a jersey and my ever stylish spandex shorts. Clearly there's no contest here, if we collide I lose. She turns left at the next corner into the mall probably to hook up with her friends. I'm thinking she still doesn't know how close she came to hooking up with the back wheel of my bike! Two dimensions at the same time in the same place . . . again. Drunk driver or dialing driver either way it's the wrong place for me on my little red bike. Am I the obstacle or are they the obstacle? Sometimes dimensions and obstacles are nothing more than puzzles and shadows to be figured out.

Those of you who know me know I love the arts. I see them as a bridge between heaven and earth. The emotional swelling in the throat, witnessing the fantasy of creation, experiencing the emotion and flow of a musical masterwork. I think they're all glimpses of heaven.

Along the ride there are lots of pieces of public art. Not necessarily things that make your soul leap with wonder, but more like things that make you say "cool". Like this sculpture piece, Banner Art by John Banks. I'm now miles away from the near misses I shared with you earlier. I'm out on the coast in Imperial Beach. So I ask you, is this art?

It may be an obstacle to you to see this as art. It may be up to debate until you see it from another angle. Dare I say another dimension?

Viewed from this angle, clearly it's "ART". Okay, so points for clever if not classic, but clearly, dimensions and angles can be hurdles or obstacles to our understanding. It reminds me of First Corinthians 1:18 (NCV)   The teaching about the cross is foolishness to those who are being lost, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.  Those who believe by faith they are saved, live life and view life through a different lens than those who are not believers. Again, living in the same space at the same time, but in different dimensions. 

Well, I'm ending this piece on a happier note than I started, huh! A metaphor for life? Our paths are always filled with ups and downs and boulders and borders, and dimensions and angles, obstacles, and moments of 'flow', artistry and amazement. Sometimes frozen on a piece of glass. Sometimes a fleeting sensation in our heart. There will always be obstacles in our lives. It's how we deal with them, that defines our life. 

I leave you with another of my favorite pieces of public art along my bike ride. This one is called My Bike by Amos Robinson.  
 

 Yep! It's a red bike. Just like mine. Ars Longa, Vita Brevis.