Thursday, April 30, 2009

For Chuck - downtown riding

Chuck, get a bike (and a helmet)
I love riding downtown - I see parts of the city that most people miss, there is such variety - terrain, sites, sounds.., there are lots of great obstacles.
One of my favorite spots is 7th street. Here are the docs along the side of the Trading Post warehouses.
Here's how it goes:
Come across a vacant parking lot - over a curb - up a loading ramp - then drop off the dock - down to the next dock - down the stairs and into the parking lot.
Or - another warehouse:
Up a ramp down the side of the bldg - tight turn - pick up speed - hop up onto a wooden bridge connecting 2 docs - off the bridge and immediately down a set of stairs. How fast can you make it through?

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

I Just Wake Up And Try To Do What Is Right...

I had lunch with a friend who is in the midst of life change, major life change. Everything in his life is in transition - job, friends, habits, addictions (smoking), hobbies - even a change in transportation. It is a life pointed in a much, much better direction and a friend I have prayed for more times than I could count. As we talked again today about all that is changing and how he deals with it, he said, I just wake up everyday and try to do what's right. (which led me to share the gospel again - he filled in the blanks as I did and said - yeah, I have been listening, just gonna take some time).
The change is good. But it comes with a cost - it is incredibly difficult, a little scary, and requires a lot of effort. Doesn't any real and meaningful change fit that description? Getting in shape? Losing weight? Changing Career? Going back to school?
Many have said that the election of our current president had more to do with a country wanting CHANGE than it did anything else.
I have been thinking about CHANGE for weeks. We say that we want change - in politics, in policies, in our city, with crime, in our relationships, in our families, in our churches, in our own lives - we want change. So, it seems we read about change, we talk about change, we vote for change - BUT most often, we are essentially unwilling to DO anything that actually brings about change.
What change do you want to see in your life?
Are you willing to stop talking and dreaming - or griping and complaining - and DO Something?
I commend my friend. I am proud of him.
One day he woke up and said, this needs to change. And he didn't wait for it to change. He didn't talk about it changing. He didn't vote for someone else to change it for him - he just woke up and tried to do what was right. And everyday since, he wakes up and tries to DO what is right.
Change. What are you willing to do to see it actually come about?

Thursday, April 2, 2009

City Watch on TV 41

Click "Improving Downtown" for the story.