Oh! Hi there!
I like to imagine that there have been people who wake up each and every day, longing for new fresh J-Blog content, click their way over to here, and sigh heavily with disappointment that I've been away for a while. Perhaps they even got excited when I put up a teaser page, suggesting that the site would be back up and running on February 14th. They may have even set a little countdown clock on their computer, and lived through further disappointment as that day came and went. A month later, those folks would be extremely happy to be here!
More likely than not though, no one noticed I was gone.
But I'm back! Things were nuts there for a little while, with all kinds of ministry travels and adventures and to-do lists. But things seem right to bring this thing back, to get the creative juices flowing, to write.
I also think the theme of this blog is going to shift just slightly. I mean to be honest, it's always been a sort of stream of consciousness thing, blogging about whatever really comes to mind, and I'm sure that will still be true moving forward. But I want to focus more on the two-wheeled life, what it looks like to live the #bikelife.
It all started with Lent, as I wanted to spend this year adding joy into my life instead of taking something away in the name of discipline. Bicycling for sure is one of those sources of joy in my life, something that no matter how miserable the weather, always seems to put a smile on my face. But an odd thing started happening in my life, that I would make excuses for myself every time the idea of cycling came up. "I have too much going on today, I can't ride." "I need to look nice in the office, so I can't ride." "The weather is just a bit below what's acceptable, I can't ride." All of these excuses combined together into a season where my bike sat in the garage, unused, and frankly feeling a bit unloved.
So for Lent, I decided that I would ride my bike to work each and every day. I politely informed my inner voice of doubt that I had spent entirely too much money over in my life, and had more than enough gear to face any and all weather conditions that were thrown my way. I have enough bags and backpacks to ride with any amount of stuff in any kind of weather. I have rain coats. I have snow pants. I have hand warmers. I have road bikes and mountain bikes. Let's get to it!
So that started exactly a month ago. The only days I've missed are the days that my wife needed me to drive the boys to childcare (which seemed reasonable) and one day that I slept in (which was just silly). Otherwise, I've been on the back of a bike both too and from work.
And you know, it's doing exactly what I wanted it to do. It's bringing me joy.
Which isn't quite the same thing as saying that it's been super enjoyable all the time. Case in point: today I rode here to Judy's Java Joint to drink coffee and work on the sermon I'm preaching on Sunday (which, incidentally, another reason for the blog's return is that it is a killer way to procrastinate when you have sermon writer's block). It is 23 degrees outside, and the headwind made me literally cry. Turning the pedals over even once was an incredible struggle. But I am here, and I did under the power of the bicycle. That's a pretty good day if you ask me.
I have a lot of ideas for content, including some new gear reviews, tips tricks and hacks, and even the occasional J-Vlog. Of course, if you want to know anything about the world of cycling, leave a comment and we'll see what we can tackle together.
And, welcome back!