January 10, 2015 · 11:00 am

What do you do when things go flat?

I got a bike trainer for Christmas from my son. It’s a pretty cool gift. A couple of years ago I took up cycling, but the thought of getting out on my bike during the winter weather was not at all appealing to me this year. And, thanks to my new bike trainer all set up in the basement – I don’t have to!

You may know this, but in case you don’t, a bike trainer works by elevating the rear wheel of your bicycle so that it can spin while you cycle in place. (see example below) Your front wheel is contained in a stationary block. You can put some tension on the rear wheel through the trainer. You pick your favorite podcast or music, put your earbuds in, and you are off – in the warm confines of your home on a blustery winter day. So, this is how I’ve been kicking winter to the curb and getting some regular exercise this season. bike on trainer Continue reading →

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Filed under Cycling, Leadership, Uncategorized

January 3, 2015 · 1:57 pm

Gaining through Goals

I find a new year to be one of the more invigorating times in both my personal and professional life. I have almost always used the turn of the calendar to examine, evaluate and reinvest in the things for which I am passionate and responsible. Usually this means setting some goals.

In his book EntreLeadership, Dave Ramsey shares that goals should:
• Be Specific
• Be Measurable
• Have a Time Limit
• Be Your Goals (not someone else’s)
• Be Put in Writing

Often our goals fail because they are too fuzzy or vague. Continue reading →

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December 30, 2014 · 10:35 am

Ringing in the New Year

The world has changed a lot since I was a kid. It’s the new year, and specifically “New Years” that makes me think of this. A family tradition of several years running in my growing up days was to attend the New Year’s Eve Watch Service at church. What’s that? It’s where you gather with folks at church to “watch” the new year come in.

Our celebrations were often filled with food, games and conversation in the church basement. I faintly remember one year when Father Time and Baby New Year made an appearance in some kind of dramatic presentation. I think this was imprinted on me as some adult relative played the part of Baby New Year, clad in nothing but a cloth diaper!

As the hands on the clock crept ever closer to midnight Continue reading →

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Filed under Christian Faith, Holy Days

December 19, 2014 · 4:17 pm

The Electric Color Wheel Christmas Tree

The Electric Color Wheel Christmas Tree

When I was a kid Christmas night meant a trip to my maternal Grandpa’s home for the Cunningham Christmas. A day that usually began well before the sun came up was extended to well after dusk with food, games and gifts as relatives gathered in the farmhouse Grandpa called home.

I had been in this house many times and often our visits took place in the combination dining and living room. Grandpa dwelt there, where his easy chair sat; the television on the opposite wall, a dining table to one side, with a stairway to the upper floor tucked away in the room’s corner. It was in this space that we visited, ate, and shared time with Grandpa – here, and outdoors on the farm itself. But not on Christmas! No, on Christmas we were fancy. This meant we went into the home’s front room, a room largely unknown to my siblings, cousins and I, and gathered round Grandpa’s spectacular aluminum Christmas tree. Continue reading →

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Filed under Family, Holy Days

December 4, 2014 · 2:08 pm

Lo, Woe, Go . . . a Response of Advent

During these early days of Advent, as Thanksgiving has given way to Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday, ushering in the secular season of sales and anxious economic forecasts; one is left to ponder another response. Rather than unleash the credit or debit card, joining the throngs of holiday consumers, why not recover a little of the spiritual side of the season?

This season of waiting, expecting and hoping is pregnant with promise. It draws us to the nativity story and its fascinating cast of characters. Among them we find the shepherds, the true working men of this tale. They, like the other characters, have a story to tell, and a particular angle from which to tell it. Do you remember the shepherds? These character actors are discovered in Luke 2 between verses 8 and 20. A description of their brief foray unto the Nativity stage might be summarized in the words “lo”, “woe” and “go”.

Having drawn our attention to these shepherds abiding, Luke, Continue reading →

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Filed under Christian Faith, Holy Days, Spiritual Formation