I'm on a Bike! Everybody Look at Me!

My car decided it hates me- probably because I haven't washed it for a year, or maybe ever? I don't remember. Either way the fuel pump (I think) quit working, so as punishment I stopped driving it. I really showed 'White Lightning' who is boss. Now I ride a bike.

It is a one speed and doesn't belong to me, but I feel like we are already starting to develop quite the harmony. Today it took me an hour to get to work, but an enjoyable hour none-the-less. I forgot that jeans get caught in the gear. At one point I had to pretend I was stopping to check out some sweet nature, so the lady walking her dog didn't notice that my pants and my bike were embracing. Embarrassing.

I was surprised at the people who said, "Hi," and the people who didn't. The cute old ladies wanted nothing to do with me, but the burly running football player was more than friendly. I nodded at an old man who looked very frightened, only to see frightened change to confused. It's a big world out there, I guess.

The best part of the bike ride was my date. I pulled up to a street, littered with traffic (and trash). Directly opposite me was a cute girl, stopping at the exact same time, right across from me. The EXACT same time!!! I knew then it was fate. It was just too perfect. When it was safe to cross, we made eye contact, and (get this) we ended up in the middle of the street at the exact same time, right beside each other. Same pace, same location, same time. In other words, that is like bike kissing. Could it be considered my first kiss? That depends on how strict you are on the rules. I would argue that it was my first bike kiss, but that is a completely different category altogether. And those bike kisses from preschool certainly don't count!! I didn't get her number but I am certain I will see her again.

Lessons I learned: My backpack was too heavy. Don't bike kiss and tell. Front breaks are a recipe for disaster. Biking in the rain is fun, but dress appropriately. Biking takes longer than driving, plan accordingly. The other cute girl running who apologized for not seeing me, was definitely saying it out of jealousy of the bike kiss.

I learned a lot of lessons, but I can't forget the most important one. When you drive everywhere, you miss it. I think part of the reason we are so removed from life, is because we are too busy speeding past it. There is something so healthy about using your body to travel somewhere. You experience every inch. I'm not saying cars are evil (White Lighting you are evil), but I am saying that I believe life was intended to be experienced. It is hard to do that sometimes in a car. Bike more.

I don't proofread. Offer me grace.

Empowerment of the People

"When we learn to enjoy and trust the presence of God, we will naturally

turn to that presence in prayer. When the church is no longer teaching

the people how to pray, we could almost say it will have lost its reason

for existence. Prayer is the ultimate empowerment of the people of God,

and that may be why we clerics prefer laws and guilt, though they often

disempower us and make us live in insufficiency and doubt. Prayer,

however, gives us a sense of abundance and connectedness.



An overemphasis on social prayer (i.e. attendance at services where the

clergy happen to be in charge) has left many of our people passive,

without a personal prayer life and comfortable with “handed-down

religion” instead of first-hand experience. We don’t do God any

favors by keeping the people passive and unaware."



-Richard Rohr

Empowerment of the People

"When we learn to enjoy and trust the presence of God, we will naturally

turn to that presence in prayer. When the church is no longer teaching

the people how to pray, we could almost say it will have lost its reason

for existence. Prayer is the ultimate empowerment of the people of God,

and that may be why we clerics prefer laws and guilt, though they often

disempower us and make us live in insufficiency and doubt. Prayer,

however, gives us a sense of abundance and connectedness.



An overemphasis on social prayer (i.e. attendance at services where the

clergy happen to be in charge) has left many of our people passive,

without a personal prayer life and comfortable with “handed-down

religion” instead of first-hand experience. We don’t do God any

favors by keeping the people passive and unaware."



-Richard Rohr

Lost Them In The Forest

Not doing ministry causes me to struggle with me. I define myself by it, and yes, in an unhealthy way. That is not to say that ministry isn’t a beautiful, great, meaningful part of my life. My lack of participation has been more the result of my health, than something of choice.

When you fall out of a routine, any routine, it is easy to forget what was so great about it. When I don’t get to see kids, ministry loses meaning. I hadn’t gotten to spend time with either leaders or kids for a couple of weeks, until yesterday. My heart was instantly reminded why I am called to this.

Here are some stories to illustrate.

At Moore Middle School yesterday I just got to walk around and see all of the kids who I have developed relationships this year. It was great to know that I was missed. Kids came up to me, “SEAN! I haven’t seen you in forever!” Kids love better than me most of the time. Sunday night a middle school student and his dad came to watch Flu and I play soccer. I got to help a girl named Nicole do her math homework. And best of all, there is a girl named Carolina who we always beg to play soccer with us and she never will. It is amazing to me, especially considering how good she is. Yesterday I begged her to play, and since her friend wasn’t there, she did.

The best part of my week, without a doubt, was playing soccer with Carolina. It would have been enough just to see her schooling all the boys, like she normally does, but there was more. Flu and I did everything we could to get her a goal. It was fun passing back and forth with Flu to distract everyone and then giving the wide open ball to Carolina. She hit the post about four times, and things weren’t looking good. We had about 5 minutes left to play and Flu and I told her to stand in front of the goal. We would feed her to ball, she would shoot, it wouldn’t go in, Flu and I would go retrieve the ball, and it would start all over again. Finally, she rocketed a shot into the goal with her left foot. Flu and I freaked out in celebration. Then Flu announced last goal wins, we got her the ball and she yet again put it in the net. Flu and I ended up on the ground, making screaming noises in celebration while Carolina giggled. Probably one of the best moments of my life.

Sometimes we get lost in the forest. Moments like these are my bread crumbs, so that I don’t forget where I came from. And while most would use bread crumbs to get them back home, I use them to remember why I set out in the first place.

The Creative Me

A few things to accomplish this year:

Making my own soda
Drawing a picture
Roommate Board Game Creation
Have a blog (check)

I'm starting simple. Like a new years resolution you can't set yourself up for failure. If I accomplish these, then I will find some new ones.