2000 miles to New Orleans

What if I got in a boat in central park, here in boulder? What would i see, where would I go?

I looked on google maps and it looks like i'd float through Greeley, through Nebraska before joining the Missouri in omaha. From there I'd cut down to Kansas City, through my childhood home of central Missouri to St. Louis and then south, through memphas and eventually to the gulf.

I'm sure there are more scenic stretches of river, I've been on a lot of rivers, but there's something about just heading out my door and ending up in the gulf. I've gotta think that the trek would take close 3 months to complete... but there's something slightly appealing to me of living a couple of months on the river.

I think i need a straw brim hat first. and a fishing pole.
Peace.
mike

a good weekend

This weekend was fun. Also, I didn't tell you this but i got a digital camera for my birthday. That means I can blog, and post pictures too!

First off, I went to velo swap and scored a new bike. It's a red Felt, and its soo fast. For you bike nerds out there, its a custom built felt with a carbon fork, carbon stays, and a full dura-ace group on it. I took it for a spin saturday and had a personal best on one of the little local climbs.

After the ride, my friend Shannon came in town with her puppy. We had a good time hanging out on the roof, watching an awesome Boulder sunset! Sunday, we went to my church, which is amazing, and went on a little hike with the puppy. Shannon left this morning, which is sad because she won't be close by anymore.

Anyhow it's getting cold out, and it won't be long till the snows arrive! I'll keep you posted!
Peace.
mike

Cool!

I was reading Alieen's blog the other day and found this. It's super sweet, especially for those of us who are graphically stimulated.

pretty much, it reads my blogs, picks out 150 words (i think their size is based on how much they're used) and makes a sweet graphic.

My amazing friends

So before you read this post, if you're not an avid reader of my blog, you should back up and skim the last two for some background.

So tonight I'm sitting in the living room with Josh and William, we're making some homemade pizza (if you've never made your own pizza, let me know and I'll send you the recipe, its easy and delicious!)

Anyhow, the doorbell rings and I yell "Come In!" then there's another knock, and I realize I'm going to have to get up and get the door because Josh and William weren't phased. When I open the door, there's a crowd of maybe 20 people with balloons and a giant check for a new bike! Apparently a ton of my friends rallied together and all chipped in a couple bucks, to raise $760 to replace my broken bike! (the check was made before the last few donations were counted)


So a very special thanks to all the unknown people who donated to help me get back on the road! Thanks to Andrew Adare for talking me out of buying that $100 beater bike I was looking at yesterday, and thanks to Laura and William for masterminding the operation. This is a perfect example of the amazing un-intentional community I've found myself in here in Boulder.
I love you all.

Peace.
Mike

Hit by a car

I keep getting asked to tell this story, so I figure I'll just blog it for posterity.

Friday night i was hanging out with my good friend Matt D. We were on our way home, riding down the Broadway bike path.

At Broadway and Euclid, i had the walk sign and there was a car stopped at the light. I entered the intersection when the car gunned it making a right hand turn, t-boning me. I flipped over the hood and landed on the other side of the car, watching it drive off. Immediately tonnes of slightly intoxicated college girls came to my rescue, but were a little helpless as far as identifying the car that hit me. I did a little self examination, and when i felt i was ok i got up and with a shoulder to lean on walked over and sat by the side of the road.

The police and the ambulance were there pretty quickly. They asked me a lot of questions at once, and it took some convincing to the paramedics that Yes, i was OK, and NO, i did not want to ride the ambulance. I didn't get a good look at my bike, the police took it in as "evidence" but i did see that the fork was in 3 distinct pieces, and I'm assuming both wheels are done for.

I caught a ride to the hospital, where i was in a bed between two drunken college girls. After my x-ray i opted to leave the emergency room and told the doc i could be found in the more peaceful waiting room.

The x-ray's showed no bad news, (my left knee was really swollen). I also when to a physical therapist who said my knee was bruised but in really good condition.

I'm glad I'm OK! And I'm really thankful for all the supportive calls and e-mails I've gotten. I'm especially appreciative of everybody who's offered to let me borrow a bike or help me fix my old one. My plan of action is to get my bike back from the 5-0 and see what Trek will do for me (they sounded hopeful that they might be able to do me some sort of favor). If the frame and components are salvageable, I'll start from there. If not, i might be in the market for a new bike.

Oh, and as far as the car that hit me goes: I didn't get a good look at it as i was flipping over the hood, but I do know that it was a sedan, and it was dark colored (Black, or maybe dark green or blue). Some at the scene thought it was a Volkswagen but based on the hood ordainment (the one part of the car i did get a glance at) I'm thinking it was more like a Dodge or a Pontiac. At any rate, if you see a car driving around boulder with a mike shaped dent in the hood, take a picture or write down the license plate #.

Peace.
mike

Un-intentional Community

A "hot topic" in modern-day Christianity is "Intentional Community." I'm not an expert on this whole I.C. idea, but I'll give you a rundown of what I know about it. I.C. is living together with the purpose of seeking a shared vision, also sharing responsibilities and resources. Christian I.C. is based on the latter portion of Acts 2:

They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

There are also a lot of mainstream books on this idea of intentional community. One really good book is "irresistible revolution" by Shane Claiborne. Although not strictly about intentional community, Shane exhibits a great example of a working community. I'd highly' recommend the book.

With all that said, I'm all about Community. I think Bonhoeffer in "Life Together" and Merton in "No man is an Island" both do a fantastic job of going through scripture and showing how necessary it is for the Christian to live life with the support of a community, and if you don't like the idea of community you should grace yourself with these fantastic reads.

But this "Intentional Community" thing is, in my opinion, an extremely dangerous trend for Christians. Here's the bottom line:

Our Intention is not Community, our Intention is Christ. Once we start living selfless lives reflecting Christ's love the community can't help but follow. It can't help overflowing. But, if we shift our gaze from Christ to some ideal way we should be living, we've lost sight of the goal. We've substituted something we can do on our own for what Christ has already done for us. We're seeking an ideal over the Ideal.

I have been a part of fantastic communities both in Clemson and here in Boulder. I love my roommates, all solid christian men, and can go to them with any need. Spreading larger I have amazing friends, brothers and sisters, to lean on. Larger than that is my Church, which is a body of Christians whom I love each dearly. This fantastic network of support, this amazing community which I've fond myself flourishing in, its of no work of my hand. It was completely Un-intentional. A gift from Christ. For this gift, I could not be more grateful! Thanks be to God.

Would you try to build something with your hands with the assumption that you could do it better than Christ? Would you dare?

-mike

Riddle me this:

If McCain wins, he'll be the oldest president in U.S. History. Now, he might be in pretty good health now, but Old people have this bad habit of dying sometimes.

If McCain kick's the bucket, do we want a woman with 2 years of political experience governing a state about the same population as Charlotte or Memphis running our country?

Do we want a President who picks his running mate not by experience or what he/she can add to the party, but by the potential demographic of voters he (or she) can pick up?