Joel Stiff's Adventure

My sister-in-law, Renee, had a birthday last week.

I have been trying to use those days to say a little something about each immediate family member.

Her birthday fell at a really busy weekend and I failed to properly recognize her day.

It makes me very happy to have Renee in our family and in my brother’s life.

She came along at a time when he needed someone.

She was smart enough to see what an amazing man he was and all that he had to offer to the right lady.

Part of what attracted her to him, besides his devastating handsomeness, was his desire to live for Jesus.

It has been my privilege to see her accept Jesus as her Savior and baptize her.

I have watched them grow close and fall more deeply in love over these past few years.

I remember a picture he had in his office at a time when they were dating. The look she was giving him in the photo spoke volumes of the adoration she has in her heart for him.

She has given him a daughter and me a niece. A joy that will be in our lives for years to come.

Thank you Renee, for loving my brother and loving our family. You are very special to all of us.

I hope your birthday was great.

Sorry I couldn’t find any other pictures of you. :-p

We have been together for more than half of our lives.

As the time has gone by, we have grown up, grown closer and grown wiser.

You are the sweetest and most graceful lady I know.

You also have a strength that very few people know of, but I see every day.

As you have grown older, you have grown more beautiful and desirable to me.

I love you very much.

I hope you have a great birthday.

When we have them and we do not get what we want, we are disappointed.

If we have no expectations, setbacks aren’t an issue and blessings are a bonus.

Seems simple.

And so does everyone else.

Opinions and unsought advice abound in our connected world.

Seeking counsel and advice is certainly wise and a biblical principle.

The trouble is we can become Reheboam like in our approach to advice – seeking and following from the source we like best.

Before the counsel of man is ever sought, the counsel of God should be.

My uncle was telling me that his favorite instrument is the French horn.

I told him I would buy him a CD of only French horn music.

His reply was that it didn’t sound good alone. It was best when blended with the rest of the orchestra.

This rings true for people as well. We do all right when we are on our own, but we are most effective when we cooperate with a group effort.

This is also why it is important that we are different. If every instrument sounded like a French horn, there is no purpose for more than one.

Likewise, if everyone is just like me, there is no purpose in duplicates.

Sometimes we wish people thought more like us, but it’s important that they do not.

If the whole body were a hand then where would be the seeing?

 

Nothing.

It rained for half the day yesterday.

When it rains, we try not to ride.

A lot can happen: discomfort, unpleasantness, the sting of needles on your face, wiping out on the slick, wet road.

It’s just not worth it.

This is good advice for life in general.

When it’s raining stay put.

Don’t make any rash decisions, don’t make any changes, don’t do anything foolish. Just don’t do anything.

A wise man once said, “Don’t make a decision when your decision maker is broken.”

My cousin Jeff was describing his ride to our house for the trip this week.

By the time he and my unk arrived in the vicinity, it was dark.

He began to describe the curvy, winding roads and their dilapidated condition.

Dark, unfamiliar roads that are in disrepair are a motorcyclists nightmare.

He stated that the following thought occurred to him, “Ok, so this is it. This is how I go.”

He said it with a bit of a wry smile, but I also understood the degree of honesty behind it.

We drove the exact same roads at the exact same time last night.

The uncertainty of road conditions, animals crossing and oncoming traffic is disconcerting.to say the least.

Any motorcyclist understands that any given ride could be your last.

The reality is that motorcycles involved or not, any given day can be our last.

Are you ready for it? Am I?

Am I living today with gratitude?

Is my soul prepared to meet Jesus?

Is yours?

I am in Pennsylvania with my family riding motorcycles.

On our way to the house last night, I was leading the group of riders.

As we topped a hill, I saw a large, dark object in the middle of the lane.

It was easy to see that it was a very large black bear.

This was my first bear sighting outside of a national park. My first wild bear.

He simply turned around and walked back into the woods.

I've never seen a bear in my living room.

In fact, all of the amazing experiences I have enjoyed have been outside of my home.

I enjoy using technology as much as the next guy. Watching tv, playing video games, surfing the internet, working on my laptop, using a tablet or iphone are all great things.

But I've never seen a bear in person while using one.

But when I shut everything off and went outside, I did.

As we were riding, I saw a bait shop sign that read, "trade your xbox for a tackle box." Not bad advice.

Go outside.

I don’t know why.

I didn’t want to be there.

But He wanted me there or I wouldn’t have spent seventeen hours there.

I talked to a lot of people, but none of them specifically about Him.

It’s one of those things I will find out later or never at all.

Lots of things in life are like that.

I can get upset about it or trust Him.

I sold my truck yesterday.

A sixteen year old girl bought it with the $1000 she had been saving for a long time.

Her name was Lindsey.

It’s not the truck pictured above, but it may as well be.

A 1993 GMC extended cab, full size 4×4 with a topper that was too big for the bed.

Her father checked it out for her and approved.

He understood just what to expect from a $1000 truck. Not much.

As they were loading it on the trailer, she looked at me with a gleam in her eye and said, “I’m so excited.”

That was cool. Most people would look at that truck and think it’s a hunk of junk, but not Lindsey.

For her, it was a dream come true.

I hope I still get as excited about new things in my life as she did.

Even if other people don’t see the value in them.