My Life in a Bin

Helena Montana, 50 miles today. Interviewed for Beartooth NBC news about Venture Expeditions


"Grain must be ground to make bread;
    so one does not go on threshing it forever.
The wheels of a threshing cart may be rolled over it,
    but one does not use horses to grind grain."-Isaiah 28:28

Kid things as of late: Being tired. Fear of being tired. Mental complaints about miles ("It's not about the miles, it's about the smiles.") Wanting answers to questions while not being fully checked into the conversation to begin with. I blame the lack of praise and the increase in wanting on my exhaustion.


God wants us to ask though.


I wake up with reminders of inabilities to do each minute, each passing moment, on my own. I wake up distracted by exhaustion. As grace pours over me like milk and honey. I can't help but get choked up with a prayer from a host church or a smile when a teammate, family, becomes vulnerable in the midst of this journey.


I struggle with my selfish bones. They creek and grown while being ground and threshed daily for family whom I've never met. (It's about Hope and Justice.)


My life in a bin...
My life in a nutshell...
My life in a seed waiting to burst open with Gods plans as He continues to water and sew others into me, building upon this garden.
My life in a helmet...
My life on a bike...
Forward pedal stroke, pedal stroke. Jaw scraping pavement from things still very unknown to me.
My clips...
My feet...
This is my journey but not really...
Merely the will of Gods journey through me...


...Just Keep pedaling

I'm Going on a Picnic

104 miles and 3,470 in elevation gain...That was just day three but there is more to be said about the last 48 hours in general.

OUR plan was to ride 67 miles yesterday but clearly other plans were already set. And all 11 of us are rather content in that. Seeing such amazing sites, Elevation gains and creation bursting all around. 104 miles was nothing.

We played games to distract us from the noise of trucks and the pains of our tents...

I'm going on a picnic and I'm bringing:

Apricots, Bananas, Carrots, Dragonfly's, Elephants, Fungus, Grapes, Huey Lewis and the news CD, Igloo, Jessica, Klondike Bar, Llama, Muskrat, Nicholas, Octopus, Pizza, "Cue-ball", Rocket Ship, Slurpees,  Triskets, Underwear, Volvo, Water, Xylophone, Yaks wool, Zebra Cakes.

Through out the day we talked to various people. One of which was named Erma. A teammate needed to use the bathroom and we were in the middle of NO WHERE in irrigation land. She was planning on peeing around a corner but I felt like this was an amazing opportunity to talk to someone, somewhere in which we had never been. We walked past the gate, got pounced by a dog and introduced ourselves to the this woman who was gardening. Her name was Erma. We explained what we were doing and we were hoping she would let us use her bathroom. She was so excited. We spoke for a good 15 minutes about the cause. As we left she gave us her blessing and I was filled with joy.

We hit head winds and tail winds but mostly heart winds. Sitting on the side of Soap Lake and being incredibly blown away by where God was moving our legs. Where he is carrying us to. We sat on a cliff side and just looked out. "I am just so glad to be here." 80 miles into nowhere, and we are so glad to be here. One of the most joyful things I've witnessed thus far.

50 miles into our 96 mile ride to Spokane WA, we spotted lightning and our day of riding was over. We rode the rest of the 46 miles into Spokane where the sun ended up shinning again. We are staying at Jacob Well. A church that reaches out to a lot of international families and refugees. There are actually refugees living upstairs who are from Burma. Burma refugees are one of the places in which we are on the road to raise money for! it all continues to fit together.

Attractions, nails in tires, lightning storms and laughing. There is so much to be crammed into just a few hours... It's only just begun.

Elevation Gained

Cascade Mountains through screaming legs... The screaming wasn't as loud as it will be tomorrow.

We awoke in a high school wrestling room at 5:30 am West coast style. Sleepy eyes but excited hearts we began to stack bins and work on the routine that is sure to follow in the next couple of weeks. Jeff our host whose nick name is Santa...Guess why, brought us donuts and blessed us with the love that poured out of his jolly eyes.

We headed out at 7am after a prayer and smiles. 79.1 miles one of our hardest days to conquer for the entire ride. The majority of the ride would be up the Cascade mountains. Welcomed in at breaks with smiles and high spirits. You notice that I use smile a lot. It is true that again God has blessed me and knows my needs. These people I am blown away by how lovely they are. I am blown away by how beautiful they are and to see their hearts on this journey. with only 4 days into the trip.

The roads were gradual, we gained a total of a little over 5,000 ft in elevation. And our spirits soared higher as each snow capped mountain and water fall continued to steal our words and breathe. I am amazed each hour that passes with how God created these paths and knowing how much we would adore and be in awe of  these things built around us. perfectly shaped with His mighty hands, bursting with love and light.

I counted pedal strokes, 1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10... I got to 1,000 and realized I was some place new. I realized that this summer would be more than just a ride. More than just seeing things from a different side, two wheels or states. There are things that we realize when growing up. A constant wondering of when we are going to feel older. When do we move into adult hood and out of this "I'm so young" Nonsense. Perhaps drastic things need to happen in order to properly move from one place to another. Perhaps this is that bridge.
These next few weeks will tell. But for now I have much to enjoy literally every moment not just to look forward to.

Things we can be looking forward to are the 86 miles to be blown through tomorrow and the 90-something on Wednesday.
I am so blessed and so so thankful that God has chosen me and these individuals perfectly. The dynamics, the stories, histories and hearts He has built. I am so blessed.

Please pray for continued strength, endurance and fire to be ignited in our hearts and to keep burning hard through the long hours and hard rides. The harder the more joyful.

Go Adventure...

Brisk

After some cat naps on air planes and an awesome van ride to an awesome host church, we are in Seattle.

We didn't waste time. excited we put together bikes and then sat and hung out. I am very thankful for the non rushing atmosphere currently. I am very much feeling a bit on edge. And will be completely honest when I say I accidentally even grabbed my hip and slightly freaked out when I didn't feel the radio that has been glued there for the last two years.

It makes it more real to be sitting in a room with 12 bicycles. Yes there will be 11 of us beginning on Sunday, meeting up with 2 more along the Midwest.  13 all together. The number is smaller than what was announced. But my belief is that small packages hold big punches. It has already been made clear to me that this group has got major punch.

We have a training ride and pictures in Seattle on Saturday and we begin our trek through the Cascades on Sunday.

It's cold... Very cold.

My heart and soul are warm!

Vegas Baby

I'm sitting in Vegas...

And I have been reflecting upon the power of prayer. It calms the nerves and calms the heart. While at the same time moving it to the brink of bursting at the seams with joy. I have had such a blessed couple of days. Who am I kidding... A blessed couple of years.

Things I love as of late:
-Morning meeting prayer time
-Prayer requests
-Praises
-Questions
-Bike rides
-Prayer circles
-Tears of joy
-Words of encouragement
-Joyful tears in exit interviews
-Laughter in a car at 3am
-Hearty hugs
-Prayer via telephone
-Gods timing (always)

This morning I felt as though I was departing for California all over again. So unknown and yet extremely exciting. A new adventure. More people whom God has placed (or currently placing) in my life and I can't wait to embrace them. To know them. To learn them.

I've said in the past that I've never really seen a clear direction on where I am supposed to go. But this morning it is more clear than ever.

 Seattle Washington.