Miracle on the Mountain

Today was the day that I drew closest to God. I left Hiawassee at 9:15 and pedaled back into town to grab breakfast. At 10:00 I headed towards Franklin, NC. For next 4 hours I watched my 2 water bottles dwindle down to nothing as a climbed an 11 mile climb after moving into NC......no drinkable water in sight.

A little education here.....hydration is your life in endurance activity......you run out of water.......you shut down.....that simple.

At the crest of the climb I later discovered is called by the locals "Chunky Gal", a local told me I still had another mountain to go over before I would find water. That is when I began to pray in earnest.

Several miles later as I was asking God for his provision I found this on the side of the road.......see the picture. I picked it and put it in my bag knowing I would survive the second climb.

Although I did not have to use God's gift, I clearly see He was sending me a message of His provision for my needs. Within 2 miles of thie gift, I crested the second long climb, enjoyed 5 mile descent right into the drive of a Fire Station that allowed me to top my water supply for the rest of the journey.

Today, I feel like the Israelites as the mana fell from Heaven. I hope I do better than they did of staying faithful and grateful.

Today I am leaving Franklin for Waynesville.....in essence heading for home......2 big mountains to climb. I will not make the same mistake today. I know these roads and hills well. Yesterday was a miracle on the mountain.
g
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Alert!!!!

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

OH No!

I just typed in 5 paragraphs and accidently deleted it!!!!!!

It was really profound......talked about how much we stress ourselves trying measure up to standards we put on ourselves, or allow others to impose upon us.

And it talked about how God wants to accept that we are good enough despite our imperctions.......

And it talked about the wonderful people I met at dinner.......

It would have been great, but to retype it all would be to illustrate the very issue I just described.....in my desire to write something profound to meet my own expectations, I would add stress by having to retype the whole thing. SO........I'm going to bed.

Pictures are from an overlook in Helen and Noi......the entertaining fellow that made dinner!

g
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Margaret and Heather

As promised, here is a picture of Margaret, my dinner date and host last night. Heather works the front desk and is on the right. More about the epic ride today later tonight.........
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

My dinner date

The ride today was hot! At mile 45 I came into the big climbs leading into Dahlonega. It hit right in the heat of the day and I truly did look like a mentally unstable turtle. My highlight was seeing the expression on 2 teenagers faces as I passed them while they were walking their bikes up the climb!! I must have made one feel bad cuz he got on his bike and started pedaling. LOL

When I arrived at Puravida, I learned that I had a dinner date, Margaret Nemac. She is the lovely 60 year old inn keeper who came to make me a pasta dinner so I wouldn't go hungry. I am pretty sure she did that just for me since I am the only one staying on this 72 acre retreat. We enjoyed a quiet dinner together while she explained about the different birds flying around the garden. We then enjoyed cake on the porch and watched an amazing sunset over the mountains.

Margaret illustrates a great God point in her servant's heart tonight.........what makes a random act of kindness special is not the size of the task. It is the size of the suprising randomness.

Off to bed. Tomorrow will be a full day of big climbs. Thank you for support and prayers.
g
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Bigger than Life

Ever noticed how God is bigger than life? You think you have the perfect plan and then under stress from it not working out right, He blows you away? Sure we all have had the experience of things working out far better than anticipated.

Let's get real.....do we really want to give God the credit?

When we acknowlege our desire to live a Godly life, we implicitedly acknowledge there is always hope for a better outcome than anticipated. Yet we are still suprised when it happens.

Such are my current circumstances on this trip. I hoped it would be good. Because of some unforeseen opportunities it has been better than ever expected. More on the specifics tonight.....

I'm in the mountains now. Here is picture of me going up hill..........
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Brutal

Today was a hard day! First we dropped Meredith off at camp for 2 weeks. I know......I can hear you out there saying you better get used to it. I will never get used to missing her when she is gone. And if you are honest, you miss your kids too! LOL I am attaching a picture at Winshape I shot before leaving Rome.

Because I did not leave Rome until 3pm, I had to pedal like mad to get to Jasper before nightfall. Truly my arrival before dark was a God thing and answer to all of you out there praying for me. I arrived at 8:20pm! Tomorrow should be an easier day.

Cool story.....the place where I am staying is owned by Pam Martin of WSB fame, and her husband Larry Butler, an attorney no less. Cool way to end a day of hard riding.

I close with this thought......I challenge each of you in your own lives to embrace a BHAG......Big Hairy Audacious Goal. You may just find God is their waiting to meet you.

Goodnight from Jasper.

g
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry