• What’d you do?


    hearts31How did you celebrate Memorial Day?

    We went up to spend a few hours with my dad. I’d only seen him briefly since his return from the 3000 – mile bike ride. It had felt like a year since I’d sat and talked with him.

    Although I couldn’t talk very well yet (had mouth surgery last week, I won’t gross you out with the details. Just know, it wasn’t fun, and I still have a sore mouth). But regardless of my inability to converse very much, I had a blast hearing his stories.

    I’m sure I’ll pick a few throughout the coming months and share with you, but one that stuck out to me from the weekend was about the Lion’s Club breakfast.

    My dad had stayed overnight in a small town and needed a big breakfast to start off a long day of biking ahead. He found a Lions Club having a pancake breakfast. What better way to start the day, right?

    He and his wife got in and seated and began eating. In came some former city officials and sat with my dad. They asked him what he was doing, and after a while of talking, one of them got up and went to the microphone.

    The man told the entire group about my dad’s coast-to-coast bike ride to raise money for Young Life. The crowd applauded and encouraged. But they even went further and started dropping money on his table.

    Yep, my dad walked out with a bag of donations!

    Dad said that he experienced “God” things like that almost daily on the trip. Sure, not all of them dealt with money being dropped on his breakfast table, but amazing nonetheless.

    ~~~

    So, how’d you spend your Memorial Day weekend? I’d love to hear what you did.

    ~~~

  • GOD CARES ABOUT BIKES?


    wowOkay, so, it’s kinda mucky out there right now, isn’t it? Economy, swine flu, you name it. But, let’s take a few minutes and think about something that’s inspired us! Tell me your story.

    Here’s mine.

    So, you all know about my dad. He did a 3,000 mile road bike to raise money for Young Life.

    Well, with less than a couple hundred miles left on his ride, his bike broke. Something about a gear shifter lever. You can tell I’m not a technician, can’t you?

    Well, this broken shifter meant that he was stuck in ONE gear. And that’s just not good when you’re navigating hills, battling headwinds, etc.

    Well, after a day of pedaling with just one gear, he decided he’d stop in a bike store to ask if they can manually put it in an easier gear.

    The man said, “Sure, I’ll take a look at it.”

    “I know you can’t fix it, two bike shops already told me it’s not fixable, but if you can get it in an easier gear for me, that’d be great,” my dad said.

    “Sure, let me take a look.” The guy took the bike back.

    Now, a couple hours earlier, My dad had talked to his pastor on the phone to give him an update of the ride so far, so they could share it with the congregation back home in AZ. When he heard about the bike problems, he said he’d have them pray for him.

    A few minutes later, the technician came out with my dad’s bike, “Well, fixed her up for ya.”

    “You fixed it? Or just got it into an easier gear for me?”

    “No, I fixed it.”

    Turns out he was able to band-aid fix the gear shifter. So, for the last 119 miles, my dad had all his gears. He said it was a good thing, because he had a head wind the entire 119 miles on that last day!

    The power of prayer, even when it’s just about a bike ride. Amazing.

    ~~~

    Your Turn

    ~~~

  • 3,100 mile bike ride update


    dads-bike-picture2My dad is almost five hundred miles into his journey across America. Can you believe it? He’s raised over $20,000.00 so far! It’s amazing.

    He rode through Phoenix on Sunday, so Charlie and I met up with him and biked about 47 miles with him.

    It was such a blast even though we had a 20 mph headwind at times.

    In case you haven’t read his story, you can see both parts by clicking links below:

    Part One

    Part Two

    For the most part, things are going well. Some predicted aches and pains from riding a road bike over 100 miles per day. He is having a little unexpected foot pain, but my sweet hubby, who’s a physical therapist, took good care of him when he stopped through Phoenix.

    So, keep my dad, Don, in your prayers. He has a long way to go until he gets to Florida.

    He’s such an inspiration.

    ***

    I’m curious — who inspires you? I’d love to hear your stories.

    ***

  • 3,100 MILE BIKE RIDE, PART 2


    Here's the car...they're driving to California to start the adventure.
    Here's the car...they're driving to California to start the adventure.

    My dad, Don, is on his way…he actually started the 3,100 mile bike ride across the country on Wednesday the 18th, earlier than expected. So far, so good. I’ll post some updates on the side bar as they come in.

    For part 2 of my spotlight on his efforts, I thought I’d ask him a couple questions.

    If you missed part one, CLICK HERE.

    Dad’s answers:

    LYNN: How’d you get involved in Young Life?

    DAD: One day at church I was introduced to a man who first mentioned Young Life (YL) to me. I had never heard of it. So I listened primarily because I had worked with the youth group in our former church and still had an interest in the spiritual welfare of this age group.

    This man turned out to be the Committee Chairman of Verde Valley Young Life. A few weeks later he asked if I would be interested in attending a banquet to learn more about this youth ministry.

    Sometime after this banquet I attended an informal gathering of other YL Committee members where I learned about the role of the Advisory Committee. Subsequent visits to YL weekly club meetings, meeting the YL pastor, and other information gained from searching the website convinced me this was an effective ministry that was valuable to the youth in the Verde Valley.

    When I heard that the ministry was in a dire financial position, I thought my previous financial and administrative experience could be of value in “righting the ship.”

    I became a committee member primarily to establish financial and administrative focus and discipline within the Verde Valley YL committee, that I thought was seriously lacking. The more I got involved, the more I understood the mission and vision of YL, and it has become a passion with me to do whatever I can to assure the sustainability and stability of this valuable ministry.

    🙂

    LYNN: What made you think to bike 3,100 miles? That’s a ton!!

    DAD: I like to bike and I do a lot of it. I also look forward to physical events that I feel will challenge me. For several years a bike ride across America has been a vague someday-I-would-like-to-do-this-idea.

    When it became apparent that Verde Valley YL was facing severe financial difficulty, I thought of all those other fund raising events we hear of: Run for Luekemia, Run to beat Breast Cancer, etc., etc.

    I thought, why not actually do this “someday, maybe” bike ride as a fundraiser. I thought if people heard about this senior gentleman doing something this bizarre, they might decide it was worth a few bucks to support him.

    So…….the ride became a reality. And the distance had to be great enough to grab people’s attention. And it makes good press: Coast to Coast, transcontinental, Ride Across America.

    🙂

    LYNN: How did you get into the extreme sports? Running marathons, climbing mountains, riding 3,100 miles?

    DAD: I don’t view any of this stuff as extreme sports. But I do like to keep upping the ante.

    If 26 mile runs get to be blasie, then run 50 miles.

    When backpacking gets routine, find tougher, more challenging routes, maybe with a few mountain peaks thrown in.

    If you can bike 100 miles in one day, why not string a bunch of these 100-mile days together.

    Life must continue to offer challenges to renew the spirit, motivate performance, and kindle new dreams. The accomplishment of extreme challenges builds confidence and self esteem.

    Most of the stuff I do requires prolonged periods of being alone, which to me is refreshing and energizing. After such long, arduous events, I invariably feel more alive and invigorated.

    🙂

    Wow. That’s really all I can say. And yes, I’m a writer…usually we have lots to say, right?

    Dad, may God bless you and keep you on this mighty adventure! Stay tuned for updates if you’re interested. If you want to financially support the cause, drop me an email, I’ll get you hooked up: sheriboeyink {at} cox {dot} net.

    CHECK OUT THE BLOG my dad set up for this: http://coasttocoastforkids.blogspot.com/

  • 3,100 MILE BIKE RIDE–Part 1


    img_0353“A 3,100 mile bike ride,” you ask? “Did I read that right?”

    Yep you did.

    Three thousand, one hundred miles!

    I’ve written about my dad on this blog before when I’ve talked about his mountain-climbing excursions and other adventures.

    Well, here is another adventure on which he’s about to embark. A 3,100 mile ride from California to Florida over a six week time period. It’s a fund raiser for Young Life.

    ***
    A letter from my dad:

    On March 29, 2009, I will begin a solo, coast-to-coast bike ride from the Pacific Ocean at San Diego, California to the Atlantic Ocean at St. Augustine, Florida, a distance of approximately 3,110 miles. The purpose of this trip is to raise funds in support of Young Life in the Verde Valley, a nondenominational youth ministry reaching out to high school aged kids in Sedona, Cottonwood, and Camp Verde, Arizona.

    Young Life is an international Christian organization, serving kids in 58 countries with over 3,700 ministries in the United States. One hundred percent of all donations will go directly to support this very effective and worthwhile organization.

    I am inviting you to become involved in this event by sponsoring me, with a monetary contribution per mile pedaled or a fixed sum amount. Even “One Penny” per mile would go a long way to reach my goal of $10,000.

    Please note that all donations are tax deductible. Young Life is a registered 501(c)(3)
    non-profit organization.

    ***

    If you’re interested in donating, send me an email, and I’ll send you a form: sheriboeyink {at} cox {dot} net

    Be sure to check back periodically, I’ll have a page on my sidebar that will have updates on his six week adventure. Keep him in your prayers.

    ***

    Part 2 will be next Saturday. I ask my dad a couple questions…come see what his answers are.

    ***