Wow... our reservations have been made... My passport application has been done... Missing ones have been found... We are on our way to Argentina! What was an idea a few months ago is now gaining momentum. Now we just have to figure out what to do in the week at our disposal... Patagonia is a tad far and we are thinking of the Iguassu falls... so we can also say we saw what Indiana Jones saw! Moon Dancer is booked to deliver a talk on tick resistance when she attends the TTP6 conference... then we have a week to explore, hoping to get a bike trip into the planning as well. I will be scouting Buenos Aires while she is kept busy with ticks... We should also remember these wise words, but I think as bikers we should be able to travel light... Will keep everyone posted as the planning etc. progresses. "He who would travel happily must travel light." Antoine de Saint-Exupery (1900 - 1944)
Psalm 34:5-7 (New International Version) 5 Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.
6 This poor man called, and the LORD heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them. Well... after a about year our trials are over... well actually the trail part never realized but it was a trail in the other sense of the word. I am thankful that common sense prevailed in the end. Lessons were learnt and as always good has come out of this. I am now able to say with conviction that God listens to prayer. The amazing part was that even though things were sometimes not looking good I never doubted what the outcome would be. I learned to trust and lay my troubles in His hands... He promised to look after them so that I would not have to. "Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done." 1 Chronicles 16:8 (New International Version)
Awesome! I am so glad something is being done to assist all those brave "rough men" that have stood in harm's way for freedom. I salute you all on Memorial day. "We honor our heroic and patriotic dead by being true men, as true men by faithfully fighting the battles of our day as they fought the battles of their day." David Gregg
Dirt riding has 3 maxims or Commandments, being. Stand Up Look Up Open Up
Today's sermon had a similar theme in that we as Christians should make sure our focus is always on God and not on circumstances. As a someone that has just recently become a dirt rider proper I felt a lot of similarities between learning to ride dirt and learning to trust God and not my own strenght. The first being to Stand up, we have to stand up for Jesus while at the same time standing on the Word and all it's promises. He will never fail us nor will He let us go. God has us in His hands. On a Bike one stands to use your body mass as a counter weight for faster,safer and more efficient cornering as well as better control, balance and a better view ahead. When we stand on God's word we gain similar advantages. Then we have to Look up to change our focus so that we do not become target fixated on circumstance while letting the Holy Spirit scan ahead for us and help us to visualize the line we should take and then trust God in showing us the best line to take. This verse "let our eyes look straight ahead, fix our gaze directly before you" Proverbs 4:25, applies to both biking and Christianity, you go where you focus! Then we should Open up... to others and to God, let God know our fears and dreams while at the same time telling others about what He has done for us. Giving God all the glory for all that happens as well. Opening up like this empowers us the same way a bike is thrust froward by opening up the throttle, driving it over rough patches, up inclines and through thick sand and mud that would otherwise bog it down. With God's power on tap nothing can make us fall and life's crisis es are so much easier to bear, on a bike opening up can also shorten the suspense in an hectic situation... the same goes when we open up to God in prayer and repentance... the load that is lifted in both cases can be a huge relief. However this is where bikes and Christianity part ways metaphorically speaking... on a bike too much throttle can lead to a spectacular crash while once we entrust our lives to God he will never leave us in the lurch no matter how hard we fall. Come to think of it, I never realised what an adventure it is to be a Christian! "To endure oneself may be the hardest task in the universe. You cannot hire a wise man or any other intellect to solve it for you. There's no writ of inquest or calling of witness to provide answers. No servant or disciple can dress the wound. You dress it yourself or continue bleeding for all to see." Frank Herbert (1920 - 1986)
As I sit here typing the weather forecast on SABC is announcing... "No rain forecast anywhere in South Africa" while the thunder rolls outside and the pitter patter of raindrops on the roof tell me the opposite... wonder when they will stop using those apprentices over the weekends! Not that I mind the rain although it has prevented me from taking Shrek for a cobwebs removal spin... where did this week go! After last weekend's successful MX regional I am enjoying a slightly less stressful existence... even getting time to type a word or two on the blog! I suppose by now you have seen the other posting of the day, the title of this one sort of reflects on this theme... It was not posted to blast or lambaste Oprah but to warn of the dangers out there. There is so many things that pose as goodness when in fact they draw you away from the daily walk with God. While going to the shop earlier this evening L remarked how beautiful the sunset was with the gathering clouds, I was reminded how God is always providing us with what we need to survive this earthly existence. So I gave thanks while remembering so many have less than I have. This got me thinking of a conversation I had with a shop owner today, we both agreed that a business salary package should look like a pyramid... on one side the unskilled and trainee workers, then the next level should be supervisors and then middle and upper management... the other side should be the directors... level with the average worker... Directors are usually also shareholders and often serve in other businesses boards... that means they get profit sharing from more than one source... no need for that multi million rand salary. Rather pay your workers and management more for doing a good job I say! I think big business has gotten it totally wrong with the triangular model followed by big business these days... Oh... another guy getting it wrong is this... posted over on Megalicious Mayhem... "'Whom are you?' he asked, for he had attended business college." George Ade (1866 - 1944), "The Steel Box", 1898
I was told it is high time that Vernon and Ken Lee disappear from the top of this blog, was working on a Mayday Motocross post but could not get the pic's off Moondancers memory card... it went Cyrillic on me! What to do? So I was thinking of the last few weeks, one flat out rush and very little time to smell the roses except for the times when we both watched the sun set and rise on a new chapter in MD's life, half a century sounds a long time but when measured against Creation we are but a mote of dust, a moment in time. That is when I realize once again that life is NOW. I am so glad to be a part of the now in all my loved ones lives but most of all glad that God is also part of my now. Without God's love and presence now is meaningless. What the most amazing part is that with His love we are given the ability to give love without expecting anything in return, the act of giving is reward enough... "It is not how much you do, but how much love you put in the doing."
Down the line...Hopefully these taps will not get feet... plastic does not have the same scrap value as brass... the line is 75mm and should deliver enough water for 10 pressure washers. I still do not know why Dirt Bikes need to be washed between races? It just does not make sense to me? Maybe the chain and number plates but come on guys, no need to wash that machine to concourse standards... this is not a beauty contest! it is a Motocross Race! Here are some pictures of race day... We had some drama medic wise but after some frantic phone calls our problems were resolved... the rest of the day was awesome, especially for the spectators, they had the opportunity to watch some great MX racing and had a grand view of the air show as well! In reflection this was a trail run for the National later this year... should be no problem to get that going smoothly now that we know where the hitches were. "You pray in your distress and in your need; would that you might also pray in the fullness of your joy and in your days of abundance." Kahlil Gibran (1883 - 1931)
Wow... our reservations have been made... My passport application has been done... Missing ones have been found...
