Biking

Cove G-Spot

I love mountain biking!!! Above is my dream bike. I hope that I can get some friends to help me build a teeter totter for our bikes off the back wall of our house. If we really get ambitious I think we will be able to create a whole trail that has ladders and banks and all that fun stuff

Daring Ways to Reach Out

I have been taking all the cars at work for emmissions testing today (a crappy requirement the Colorado Springs has) and so I have been reading a book called Blue Like Jazz. In the chapter on confession, the author and his friends set up a confessional booth on their college campus during a big party. The twist is that the booth is for these guys to ask the students forgiveness for all the sins of Christians over the ages. I think stuff like the crusades and all the corruption in the church over the years is what sticks in non-christians minds. There are many times I have tried to distance myself from the standard American church with my non-christian friends and even in just normal life I cringe everytime I see someone protesting homosexuals or trying to make everyone conform to the "Christian" way of thinking. You would think that Focus on the Family would have realized by now that we are no better then the catholics who went down to Jerusalem during the crusades and forced values onto people.

I am defintely not anything like Jesus when it comes to this. I do not tend to embrace the periahs of society. It is so easy to stay in my own little shell with friends and not risk rejection by the Christian community to reach out to those in America who really need it. I confess that I have not blatantly witnessed to anyone in the past year.

Even confessing the sins of corporate Christianity to non-christians would be so relieveing sometimes. I may not have been in the crusades, but I complicitly stand by while Christians hate other people every day and do not say anything. One of my friends is always saying, "Choose your fights" I feel like those kind of fights are worth choosing but I sometimes back away for political reasons and i kno I shouldn't I wonder how many other Christians back away from confrontation every day just so their lives will be easier.

Environmentalists Catastrophe

I have been wondering and thinking all day..."Does it pollute less to keep a old car that is not as environmentally friendly or to build a new one." It would seem that building a new car on top of how much gas it uses over its life time would put out more pollution then recycling an old car and driving it for eons.

The Learning Curve

I was trying to upload this picture to my profile but I guess it was a little unsuccessful. Unfortunately I did not ride the blast today, but today was an amazing day. The weather was perfect for tree planting.

Students from Kent State and University of Illinios are at the Glen this week volunteering during their spring break. We transplanted trees from our nursery onto a creek bank that was destroyed by a flood in 1999. Even as my tone was quiet somber yesterday I do have to reiterate that I love my job, especially during the times when I am working with volunteers. Serving God is so cool!! It is so much easier to connect with people when I work with them.

Over the past couple weeks I have began to ponder what my spirtual gift really is... I had always assumed it was serving, but at work one of the guys said that our root motivation for our actions was our spirtual gift. It popped into my head, that my root motivation for serving is to give to other people. I love to bless other people through giving to them whether through time or money.

I am defintely a selfish oaf much of the time, I look after what I can get unstead of what I can give. I wonder what I am seeking to give when I am working with the guys from kent state and UI. Do I just enjoy working with others or is it something deeper. Is it the bond of Christians serving the Lord together, is it something based in the flesh???

I do love tree planting, sowing grass seed, watering anything that gets me outside and lets me be blessed by God's creation. Walking around watering plants epitomizes the utmost state of relaxation and meditation for me. I can think more clearly with the sound of water flowing onto a plant and dropping down to the earth.

Sitting back in a chair does not get my mind whirling like writing or talking to someone.

Does the Learning curve ever stop??? I hope not. (man do I think disjointedly)

A Start

It is amazing how God has blessed me lately... With a job I love, great friends and a beautiful place to live.

I have got a couple passions, mountain biking, God, and the newest one is motorcycles. I have always had a desire to reach the lost through mountain bikes. I wonder what has happened to that desire lately. Has God put it on hold or has He moved me on to another stage in life... I hope not! I always felt that God would use mountain biking to reach other people through me. What has happened to that desire ( I guess I should look deeper) I feel to some extent that I have lost my hunger to see God reach people since I have been at Glen Eyrie. I love seeing people being able to worship God at the Glen, but I am doing nothing to reach the lost. Where is the passion, it used to be so strong in my life, what happened to it??? Did I become callous and hardened towards those who need him most. I have no compassion for those who do not know the Lord, why is this, what happened, how did I get so far off track. I guess I cannot say I have no compassion, I have compassion for a couple people who do not know Christ. I focus on making Glen Eyrie beautiful every day, I wish that I had the passion for the lost that I do for God's Creation.

Where does God want me, How does he want me to reach people. The one major problem I have living and working at Glen Eyrie is that I have no contact with people who are not saved. It sometimes feels like a trap to be in this bubble. It is even refreshing during those times when I get out away from Christians and get into the normal world whether it is at the bike shop or at independent records. If the only people who are in your life are Christians can you still effectively minister to the lost, or is it enough to seek to minister to those who reach out to the lost. I do struggle with doubts about whether the Glen is where God wants me. I feel like I could be used by Him more effectively somewhere else but where is that somewhere else. I do not want to be content I want God to spur me on to follow Him with a greater and greater passion, a passion I lack now...I have faith God will lift me towards Him and I know I can never do His will on my own. What is your will in my life Lord. I search it out and ache to be near you but have that one persistent sin in my life that seems to impede that and may be the root of my lack of desire. What a ramble, I guess once it gets started I have a hard time reaching a dropping off point :-)