How does a journey begin?

They say that a journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. Well, Christmas morning my first step ended up with both hands in a cactus! Needing to get a little jump on my 06 resolution to lose 50 pounds, I was up early that morning jogging near my suegro's home in El Paso. Deciding to cut across an empty desert lot was the wrong idea. I crossed an arroyo, and as I climbed up the other side, tripped and fell right into several prickly pear cacti. Still pulling thorns from my hands...

Journeys are tough and painful, and anyone who says otherwise (to paraphrase Wesley--no not John or Charles, Wesley in "A Princess Bride") is selling something. 21st century Jesus-followers need to give up trying to explain life as some simple, easy jaunt. While always being worth the effort, it is often tough. Unexplained detours (or even ones explained by our own choices), trips and falls, spikes in the hand--these don't always make sense. At least not from our point of view. And they certainly aren't fair.

The world needs us to stop selling success and start living life. Life with all its bumps and bruises, joys and celebrations. Life is a journey. Take that first step...

Why this blog?

Stimulation--the little piece of dust that irritates the crap out of an oyster until a pearl is produced. Working in athletics, churches, and now educational institutions (and I guess as the parent of 3 kids too!) is a lot about stimulating things: thoughts, behaviors, attitudes, beliefs. It is in these arenas that 21st century Jesus-followers live, loving people the way he did.