100 Things That Made 2025

      It’s the most wonderful time of the year, the time for making lists. I love lists. They make me happy, calm me down, and push me forward into the future – especially lists of happy things and good times.

      When we look back over our life, over the previous year, we tend to remember the bad over the good.

      Why is that?

      Two reasons: Most good things stretch out over long periods of time, but bad things happen all at once, so the bad things stick in our memory while the good things fade to the back. Also, we have an Enemy who tries to rob us of joy and love and covers over our best memories with the debris of daily life. He wants to convince us that life is nothing but anger and bitterness.

      Therefore, we must intentionally remind ourselves of the good things, the grace-filled things, the influential things, and the things that make us human.

      Writer and artist, Austin Kleon, taught me to create a list of things that made my year; I wrote my first list in 2014, so this is my 12th edition. You may notice some repeats from my previous lists. That’s on purpose. I love the good things that stick year after year, and I want to call them out.

      I encourage you to put together your own list and try not to stop until you can identify at least 100 things. A list of the best things you watched, the best things you ate, the best advice you received, the best apps you discovered, the best lines you heard in a movie, the best book you read, the best changes you made to your daily routine. Ask yourself, what did you watch or read or cook or listen to or consume this year? Look back over 12 months and ask: “What did I love this year? What do I recommend?” Living with gratitude is the secret to a meaningful life, and this exercise of listing people, events, and things that made the year better is a powerful move toward having a habitually thankful heart.

      It won’t be easy, and it will take some time. You may have to find help to remember the best, so dig out your journals, flip through the photos on your phone, comb through your calendars, review your reading lists and music purchases, and ask those who are close to you. It can be a lot of work, but trust me, it’s worth the effort.

      And when you do, I hope you share. I’d love to see your list. A big part of imbedding gratitude in your life is making it known.

      (By the way: (1) This list has been randomly sorted; trying to rank items by importance is paralyzing; and (2) I don’t always mention Cyndi, but you can correctly assume she was part of every one of these.)

1.      Quote: “We have created a society where we do everything possible to stay alive yet dread being old.” (Louise Aronson, Elderhood)

2.      Yellow highlighters. I buy them by the box and use them all the time. Also Pentel EnerGel 0.7 tip ballpoint pens, red and blue.

3.      When people show me their own list of 100 things.

4.      Walking around our neighborhood park with Cyndi.

5.      FBC Men’s Retreat at The Greathouse Center with my good friend, and our speaker, John Witte.

6.      Mailing birthday cards.

7.      My birthday ride: Cycling 69 miles in June.

8.      Book: Tough Broad, Carolyn Paul

9.      Quote: “The first step is to understand that TV is just a delivery system for ads.” (Dean Batali)

10.    Publishing my first novel: Somewhere Down the Road. A mostly fictional account based on stories from both my family and Cyndi’s family.

11.    Cyndi’s fresh-ground homemade bread.

12.    A car show in Toledo, Brazil, featuring classic VW Beetles. Cyndi’s first car, and the car we drove when we first got married, was a 1970-ish Beetle.

13.    Book: The Explorer’s Gene, by Alex Hutchinson

14.    Tuesday and Thursday morning gentle yoga class at Midland Yoga Works. It’s just my speed.

15.    Watching our granddaughters grow into fine young ladies.

16.    Quote: “The intimacy of being someone's first thought in the morning and their last at night isn't just romance, it's safety.”

17.    Cornfest 2025!… the resurrection of what was once an annual event. (We stopped in 2013 when we lost our sweet-corn supplier. We finally resurrected it this year and it was great. Watch out for it next year.)

18.    Rereading Mark Batteson’s book, Wild Goose Chase, and discussing it with the Iron Men.

19.    Quote: “Too often we want a spiritual jacuzzi when God wants to throw us into the white water rapids.” (Erwin McManus)

20.    C.A.B.B.A.R. (Coffee And Breakfast Burritos At Rosas (or Rudy’s)) with men from the Ezekiel Class, the first Monday of each month.

21.    Attending 108 yoga classes in 2025 (108 is a big milestone in the yoga world). No one is more surprised than I am at my increased engagement with yoga. I believe it will help me stay on my feet, on my bike, and on the mountain trails, as I continue to grow up.

22.    Playing with the FBC orchestra and choir for the Christmas presentation.

23.    Sharing cartoons on my Facebook page.

24.    Cycling 50 miles up and down the Texas Hill Country near Dripping Springs in the Ride to End Alzheimer’s. All I did was ride; my generous friends contributed more than $5,000 to Alzheimer’s research.

25.    Celebrating 20 years of Iron Men. I’m grateful to have these men in my life. I’m stronger, deeper, and more faithful, because of their influence.

26.    Skiing in January at Steamboat Springs with Cyndi, Katie, Madden, Landry, and Tonya.

27.    Quote: “Don’t ever be the best musician in the band.” (Vince Gill, reminding us to surround ourself with talented people.)

28.    Watching The Muppet Christmas Carol on November 1st. with April, Michal, Dannye, and Marquita

29.    Dancing with Cyndi.

30.    Passing the 40,000-mile mark for lifetime running and walking on August 8th. I celebrated with a vanilla milkshake from Texas Burger.

31.    Cyndi’s homemade apple pie. Not only is it my favorite, knowing she makes it just for me feeds my heart and reminds me I am a lucky man.

32.    Quote: “Too many people recognize their opinions as feelings but mistake their beliefs for facts. Closed minds hold truths to be self-evident. Open minds are willing to question even strongly held views. Lifelong learning requires the courage to challenge our own convictions.” (Adam Grant)

33.    Playing Christmas jazz with Rabon and Craig at the Midland College Faculty Christmas Party. It’s my constant hope that some of Rabon’s and Craig’s skill will slop over onto me.

34.    Personal insight: “I’m not trying to prevent or reverse aging. I’m trying to navigate my way through it and figure out what will help. Like using trekking poles helps me keep pace while hiking – what will help me keep pace while growing up?”

35.    Traveling down the highway listening to audio books with Cyndi. We may go hours without talking to each other, yet it feels like we’re on a date.

36.    Book Study: Experiencing God, Henry Blackaby

37.    Our standing date (Cyndi, Tonya, and me) at Blue Sky every Friday at 1:00 pm. Simple, routines like this place another drop of glue that binds us together. (Join us? We love company!)

38.    Making cotton candy with Cyndi at the FBC Candy Jam. (And I don’t even eat cotton candy.)

39.    Fly fishing in June with Cyndi, Byron, and Angela in the Gallatin River near Big Sky, Montana.

40.    Speaking at Base Camp Gathering about our relationship with calling.

41.    Watching and listening to Cyndi read from the book, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, in our Ezekiel Class. I’m sure I’ve listened to Cyndi read this at least 100 times, whether in class or in our car while driving to my parent’s house for Thanksgiving, and yet, I still haven’t developed immunity. I can’t help tearing up when Gladys Herdman yells, “Hey, Unto You a Child Is Born.”

42.    Donating my 140th pint of blood (18 gallons since 1988). My life goal is 160 pints (20 gallons), which means I have about three years to go before I have to set a new goal. (It makes me happy to donate blood, and I always look forward to it. If you aren't a regular doner, I encourage you to consider it. I can’t think of anything else we can give away that benefits someone else so much and costs the doner so little.

43.    Visiting Yellowstone National Park with Cyndi, Byron, and Angela.

44.    Kevin Willhite with Soft Touch Chiropractic Clinic. He keeps me straight and pain-free.

45.    Serving as an elf for the 14th Annual Gingerbread Haven, a fundraising event for Midland Fair Havens ministry. It was my first time to volunteer. I don’t know why it took me so long. (Maybe because I didn’t know it came with benefits!)

46.    Book: Aging Faithfully, by Alice Fryling

47.    Solving Crossword puzzles each morning as an exercise to use a different part of my brain. It’s one small offensive effort against possible dementia.

48.    Stuffing my first dollar into a Salvation Army kettle at Loop 250 Market Street in Midland. I miss the days when the bell ringers were all over town.

49.    Goal: “Not only was the Teacher wise, but he also imparted knowledge to the people. He pondered and searched out and set in order many proverbs. The Teacher searched to find just the right words, and what he wrote was upright and true.” Ecclesiastes 12:9-10 (NIV) (I can’t state my own goal as a teacher any better than this.)

50.    Quote: “Nobody is omnicompetent.”

51.    Reading my Daily Bible.

52.    Men Around the Fire eating hamburgers, telling stories, and sharing our hearts. We met four times in 2025 and plan to do the same in 2026.

53.    Book: The Notebook: A History of Thinking on Paper, by Roland Allen

54.    Pentatonix concert in Ft. Worth. It was a stunning performance shared with 15,000 people.

55.    Quote: “Mountains are giant, restful, absorbent. You can heave your spirit into a mountain and the mountain will keep it.” (Eugene Peterson, The Contemplative Pastor)

56.    Cyndi Simpson in yoga pants.

57.    Playing trombone with the FBC Midland praise singers and band as we led worship for the 2025 Baptist General Convention of Texas.

58.    The Thanksgiving Sunday evening worship service at GCR Church, a combined service of four churches from four denominations in Midland: First Baptist, First Methodist, First Presbyterian, and Golf Course Road.

59.    Monthly lunches with my pastor, Dr. Darin Wood, and friend, Clark Moreland. The conversations trend toward brainy, even when discussing Legos.

60.    Book: The Memoir Project, by Mary Roach Smith

61.    Visiting Iguazu Falls in Brazil. We were once again reminded of the scope of God’s creation.

62.    Not watching 24-hour TV news; not missing the anger that comes with it. (It’s one of my observances of Proverbs 14:3)

63.    Publishing my book: Presence and Grace. About God and the Exodus home from Egypt.

64.    Playing in the FBC orchestra and Midland College Jazz Band with Cyndi. (One of my favorite things about life is that Cyndi and I’ve played music together since 1973. It’s a strong tie that binds.)

65.    Bill Britt with Integrity Massage – he keeps me moving

66.    Quote: Walking in the morning is the equivalent of writing a daily journal. It’s a place to be with thoughts of the day. There are going to be days where you don’t feel like writing/ walking. Do it anyway. (Libby Delana)

67.    Remembering the lives of Bill Burchard, Dale Pond, and Lou Calhoun. I hope to be like them when I grow up.

68.    Taco Tuesdays with friends from the Ezekiel Class.

69.    My Whataburger Yeti cup.

70.    Metro Big Band music mission trip to Toledo, Brazil. It was the 5th Global Missions Project for Cyndi and me.

71.    Reading Austin Kleon’s compilation newsletter every Friday morning

72.    Spending one Friday morning driving internationally-known storyteller Bil Lepp around Midland from venue to venue.

73.    Eight days of hiking and seven nights in my tent on the Appalachian Trail (just north of the Great Smokey Mountain National Park) to celebrate ten years on my aftermarket knees.

74.    Cooking on my Pit Boss pellet grill. So far, pork chops, brisket, and hamburgers have been my best efforts.

75.    Base Camp Gathering (men’s retreat) in Buena Vista, Colorado, with my Noble Heart friends. There is a depth among these brothers that I need, and I was doubly fortunate to spend quality time with Gary, Sam, and David.

76.    Thanksgiving dinner at Granbury planned and cooked (mostly) by our son, Byron, and Cyndi, Katie, Tonya, and Angela: (Bourbon braised pork shank over brie polenta, Parisian glazed carrot and cucumber salad, Dauphinoise (radish au gratin), Rosemary roasted potatoes, and remnant salad, followed with four different pies, extra-rich pecan bars, and ice cream).

77.    Wrangler Relaxed-Fit jeans. Skinny jeans don’t work for me.

78.    Advice: Short naps (30:00 or less) will make you happier, renew your focus and creativity. Longer naps (45:00 or more) should curb the effects of stress and lower your blood pressure. (Men’s Ultimate Health Manuel) (Personally, I think of naps as investments in creativity)

79.    The 34th annual Midland Storytelling Festival. We’ve attended all 34.

80.    Sharing our lists of Life Goals among the Iron Men.

81.    Book: Flight of Passage, Rinker Buck

82.    Book: The Beauty of What Remains, How Our Greatest Fear Becomes Our Greatest Gift (Steve Leder

83.    Mailing my books to Amazon. It means someone somewhere is buying them and (I hope) reading them.

84.    Playing in the combined jazz ensemble (from Midland College, Odessa College, UTPB) with premier guest musicians, Willie Murillo and James Morrison.

85.    Friday evening dinners with Britt and Patti Pyeatt. Feels like family; feels like home.

86.    Quote: “Still married after all these years? No mystery. We are each other’s habit, and each other’s history.” (Judith Viorst).

87.    The Southern Cookie Lady on the Appalachian Trail near Highway 70 in North Carolina. She gives a free homemade cookie to every hiker and has a big thermos jug filled with filtered water. And if you donate at least $20 to the Hot Springs Library (they were flooded in last year’s hurricane and lost 5,000 books) she’ll bring out warm peach cobbler with ice cream.

88.    Oklahoma Sooners in the College Football Playoff. They went from a 6-7 record in 2024 to 10-3 in 2026.

89.    Quote: “Some say Texas isn't so great. Maybe so. But I've never seen a waffle maker in the shape of Illinois or heard of Rhode Island toast.”

90.    Working out in the Telos Gym with our friendly yet demanding trainer, Orlando. It feels like a step toward living my life on the offense instead of defense.

91.    Soft-Cover, black, squared Moleskine Journals.

92.    Nathan Gresset, a former Midlander, who now shuttles hikers to and from the Appalachian Trail near Asheville, North Carolina. He helped me work out a week-long section hike on the AT, including shuttling and advising. I can’t imagine how it would’ve been successful without his help.

93.    Lyrics:

We're all sons and daughters, just ripples on the water;
Trying make it matter until our time to leave;
One day, they'll carve your name in stone;
And send your soul on home;
Until then it's praying for rain and pulling up the weeds;
Planting trees we'll never see.

(Marshall Altman and Michael White
recorded by Amy Grant)

94.    Playing Rummikub with granddaughters

95.    Cowpooling. Spending an entire day driving to Texline and back to retrieve a beef to share with our friends has proven surprisingly gratifying.

96.    Teaching in the Ezekiel Class at FBC Midland.

97.    Quote: “Age is not the enemy. Stagnation is the enemy. Complacency is the enemy. Stasis is the enemy.” (Twyla Tharp, Keep It Moving)

98.    Personal Insight: “If my life ended today (a car crash, bike crash, etc.) I would consider it successful. We’ve left a trail of changed lives, our children are fine adults, and our family is not only intact but love each other. So, everything is a free gift from here on out.”

99.    Cyndi playing conga solos and vibe solos with the MC jazz band.

100. Speaking about writing to Clark Moreland’s Integrated Reading and Writing class at UTPB

 *  *  *  *  *  *  *

“I run in the path of Your commands, for You have set my heart free.” Psalm 119:32

20 Good Books I Read in 2025

      I’ll admit right up front: I’m a reader. I love to read books. I often read because I want to learn new things, but it’s seldom the actual data that I’m interested in. Most of the time I read because I want to know how the author thinks, to engage the author in a conversation. I seldom read a book without using a highlighter to mark my favorite parts and a pen to write comments in the margins, either agreeing with the author, disagreeing with the author, or linking something the author said with my own thoughts and observations.

      Sometimes I want to import the writer’s thoughts into my own heart and mind, to absorb his sense of time and pace and dialogue, to be a better storyteller. There is value in immersing in a particular author, especially if the goal is to absorb his technique and his voice and his imagination. You need a broad swath to catch someone’s heart - reading only one or two books is not enough.

      I often read in order to have something new to share. For me, it isn’t enough to simply journey through life; I need to talk about it. I’m not the solitary man I claim to be, even though I certainly enjoy solitude. I have a need to talk about what I’ve been through. I have to tell my story, and reading brings new stories.

      Some readers get frustrated, even embarrassed, because they can’t remember something from a particular book ... even books filled with personal notes and highlighting, and ask: what’s the point in reading if I don’t remember? But something from one of my favorite writers, Kathleen Norris, rescues me. She wrote, books are “a way of reading the world and one’s place in it … working the earth of my heart.” I wrote in the margin of her book: I read so many books and listen to songs and stories on my iPod, hoping the bits and pieces will compost in my subconscious, and come out as intelligent thought when I write and teach.

      I don’t expect everyone to love reading as much as I do, or like the same books I like, but all of us would be better people if we read more. And so, here are some suggestions. These are listed in the order I read them (or listened to them); I didn’t try to rank them by importance or enjoyment … that’s a paralyzing and pointless exercise. However, if you’re interested, give me your email address and I’ll send you my entire reading list for 2025. And send me your own list. I’m always searching for ideas.

      These twenty books turned out to be the most meaningful for me over the past twelve months. Should you choose to read one of these, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Also, if you have any recommendations, I’d love to see those, too.

 1.      The Notebook: A History of Thinking on Paper, by Roland Allen … This book is a journey through history describing how humans chose to record ideas, first on clay tablets, then on paper, in order to preserve ideas. The author wrote, “What is it about moving a pen across paper that stimulates the brain so brilliantly? The physical labor seems to play a part, as we encode memories better when muscular effort is involved. So do the tactile, sensory qualities of the paper itself, and the fact that a note on a page has a fixed location, while a note on a screen scrolls away or vanishes altogether.”

2.      Ira Gershwin: A Life in Words, by Michael Owen … This is an excellent biography of a modest man who penned the words to many of America’s best-loved songs, like “Fascinating Rhythm,” “Embraceable You,” and “They Can’t Take That Away from Me; and the first lyricist to win the Pulitzer Prize.

3.      What A Fool Believes: A Memoir, by Michael McDonald … Reading this was a walk through my own musical history, from Steely Dan to The Doobie Brothers to R&B. McDonald wrote this memoir at the encouragement and help form Paul Reiser

4.     Tough Broad: From Bird-Watching to BASE Jumping―How Outdoor Adventure Improves Our Lives as We Age, by Carolyn Paul. … I live among a tribe of strong women that stretches from Cyndi’s grandmother, Ruby, to my own granddaughter, Landry, and I love reading stories from women like them.

      This particular group of strong women includes a ninety-three-year-old hiker, an eighty-year-old scuba diver, a fifty-two-year-old BASE jumper, a sixty-four-year-old birdwatcher, and the many septuagenarian Wave Chasers who boogie board together in the San Diego surf.

      The author wrote: “There was a statistical correlation between thinking of aging as infirmity and disease and fulfillment of those views. Ditto for cardiovascular health. Those who equated aging with frailty and illness had twice the chance of a fatal heart attack, and at an earlier age, too. Those who held positive age beliefs from the outset went on to experience 30% better memory scores in old age than their peers with negative age beliefs. When it comes to longevity, one’s perspective is not just a significant factor, it is the most significant factor.

5.      Alone in Antarctica, by Felicity Aston … Another powerful story by another strong woman. Felicity Aston, physicist and meteorologist, took two months off from all human contact as she became the first woman -- and only the third person in history -- to ski across the entire continent of Antarctica alone … She wrote about her #1 goal: “Keep getting out of the tent,” and the advice she gave herself by scrawling above the tent door in black marker: “Let routine take command of feeling.” (Strict routines often provide a momentum that can overcome any emotional reluctance.)

6.      Flight of Passage: A Memoir, by Rinker Buck … This was my third book by Rinker Buck. It won’t be my last. In Flight of Passage, Buck tells the story when he and his brother, 15 and 17 respectively, became the youngest duo to fly across America, from New Jersey to California. Having grown up in an aviation family, the two boys bought an old Piper Cub, restored it themselves, and set out on the grand journey, in the summer of 1966, becoming national heroes.

7.      The Shadow of War: A Novel of the Cuban Missile Crises, by Jeff Shaara … In 1961, the new president John F. Kennedy, inherited an ill-conceived, poorly executed invasion of Cuba that failed miserably and set in motion the events that put the U.S. and the Soviet Union on a collision course that nearly started a war that would have enveloped much of the world.

8.      The Memoir Project : A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing & Life, by Mary Roach Smith … This was my second time to read this book and reading it again has changed how I write and how I think about writing … The greatest story you could write is one you've experienced yourself. Knowing where to start is the hardest part, but it just got a little easier with this essential guidebook for anyone wanting to write a memoir.

9.      The Complete George Smiley Radio Dramas; BBC Radio 4 Full-Cast Dramatization, by John LeCarre ... I can’t get enough of John LeCarre. I’ve read all of his books at least twice, and thoroughly enjoyed this BBC dramatization, which perfectly captured the atmosphere of le Carré's taut, thrilling spy novels.

10.    Aging Faithfully: The Holy Invitation of Growing Older, by Alice Fryling … Given to me by a friend, Gary Barkalow, this book actually made me look forward to growing up ... In Aging Faithfully, spiritual director Alice Fryling guides our walk with God in a vulnerable time, listening for his voice and responding. As we age, something unusual happens: God renews us from within, when we allow him access. As we accept our responses to the aging process, we grow closer to God and experience his grace … She referenced John 2:10 when Jesus turned water into wine and the steward commented it was unusual to save the best wine for last. “Using this metaphor for the aging process, I might say, I thought you gave me the best gifts when I was young and able to use them well. I thought you would save the inferior gifts for when I am old and slow and nobody cares. Perhaps Jesus would answer me, I have saved the best for the end of the party.”

11.    Wild Goose Chase: Reclaim the Adventure of Pursuing God, by Mark Batterson … “Celtic Christians had a name for the Holy Spirit–An Geadh-Glas, or ‘the Wild Goose.’ “Much like a wild goose, the Spirit of God cannot be tracked or tamed. An element of danger, an air of unpredictability surrounds Him. And while the name may sound a little sacrilegious, I cannot think of a better description of what it’s like to follow the Spirit through life. I think the Celtic Christians were on to something.

12.    The Explorer's Gene: Why We Seek Big Challenges, New Flavors, and the Blank Spots on the Map, by Alex Hutchinson … Bill Bryson, in his 1988 book Notes from a Big Country, wrote about this U.S. national parks: “98% of visitors arrive by car, and 98% of those venture no more than 400 yards from their metallic wombs.” This book is about the other 2% who are driven to explore, get off the beaten path, follow an unmarked trail, and search for the unknown.

      “Meaningful exploration, says Hutchinson, involves making an active choice to pursue a course that requires effort and carries the risk of failure. It requires the embrace of uncertainty, not as a necessary evil to be tolerated but as the primary attraction.”

For me, the 8 days hiking on part of the Appalachian Trail was exactly this. Facing the unknown was a huge part of the attraction. Could I do this? Am I too old? How would I fare? And most importantly, who will I be when I finish? … Several years ago my daughter, Katie, gave me a patch that said, Keep Exploring, and Cyndi sewed it onto my backpack. I need the constant reminder to keep exploring.

13.    I Guess I Haven’t Learned That Yet: Discovering New Ways of Living When the Old Ways Stop Working, by Shauna Niequist … New York Times bestselling author Shauna Niequist writes about unexpected loss, change, faith, midlife, and a move to New York City. In this book, she invites us to practice curiosity and self-compassion, to become beginners again, and to rediscover resilience and courage in our own seasons of change.

The author asked: “What do we keep? What do we let go because it makes us lighter, because it opens up space, because it keeps us right in the moment and location of where we are, not yearning for a world that doesn’t exist anymore, a self that doesn’t exist anymore? What do we keep because it’s part of the story of who we are, not just in this moment, but over years and decades, our essential selves?”

14.    Enough is Enuf: Our Failed Attempts to Make English Easier to Spell, by Gabe Henry … This was a fun book to read and it left me amazed that any of us learned to spell at all. For example, why does the G in George sound different from the G in gorge? Why does C begin both case and cease? And why is it funny when a philologist faints, but not polight to laf about it? Anyone who has ever had the misfortune to write in English has, at one time or another, struggled with its spelling.

15.    I'm Your Huckleberry: A Memoir, by Val Kilmer … A very personal look into the life of Val Kilmer, a famous actor who has played many iconic roles over his nearly four-decade film career.

16.    The Infinite Game, by Simon Sinek ... In The Infinite Game, Sinek applies game theory to explore how great businesses achieve long-lasting success. He finds that building long-term value and healthy, enduring growth - that playing the infinite game - is the only thing that matters to your business.

17.    Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Wing the Space Race, by Margot Shetterly … I loved the movie, and I loved the book even more. Because I love stories when the heroes are smart people. This book tells the true story of the black female mathematicians at NASA whose calculations helped fuel some of America’s greatest achievements in space.

18.    The Beauty of What Remains: How Our Greatest Fear Becomes Our Greatest Gift, by Steve Leder … Practical and heartfelt stories of ministering to the dying and their families, from the senior rabbi of one of the largest synagogues in the world, Steve Leder has learned over and over again the many ways death teaches us how to live and love more deeply by showing us not only what is gone but also the beauty of what remains.

19.    The Men We Need: God’s Purpose for the Manly Man, the Avid Indoorsman, or Any Man Willing to Show Up, by Brent Hanson … While we know what men are not supposed to be, it's not clear to us what masculinity looks like when men are at their absolute best. Brant Hansen believes men should protect the vulnerable, be ambitious about the right things, choose today who you will become tomorrow, and take responsibility for your own spiritual life.

20.    Do Walk: Navigate Earth, Mind and Body. Step by Step, by Libby Delana … For me, this was a personal reminder why running, and now walking, have had a hold on me my entire adult life. Like my friend, Fred Walsh, the author started walking early each morning in 2011 and hasn’t missed a day since … The author reveals how walking each day provides the time and space to reconnect with the world; to process thoughts, improve wellbeing, and unlock creativity.

The 2025 Ride to End ALZ

      I’ll just start with this:

      The first time I forgot to load a suitcase and didn’t notice until we were miles away and I had to drive back to get it was the time we spent a few days in Angel Fire before going to Camp Oro Quay near Albuquerque for Cyndi’s Family Reunion. The next morning I drove back to the condo, grabbed the suitcase, then back to the camp, arriving in time for lunch.

      The second time I forgot to load a suitcase was Friday, November 7th, on my way to Dripping Springs for the 2025 Ride to End ALZ. When I got to San Angelo I realized I didn’t have my suitcase that contained all my cycling gear. Since I didn’t want to hunt down a cycling shop to buy a whole new kit, I drove back to Midland, grabbed my suitcase, drove back to San Angelo, and the on to Dripping Springs, making the total drive nine hours instead of five. This wasn’t a great start to the weekend.

      A few days later, when I told this story to a friend, he said he would’ve taken the missing suitcase as a sign that he should spend the weekend at fine restaurants instead of cycling. I told him I’d raised too much money from generous friends to not ride. He said, you don’t have to tell everybody everything.

      The original plan was to do the ride together with my brother, Carrol. This would’ve been our 3rd year participating. We’re always looking for opportunities to ride together, something we never did while growing up because of the 12-year age gap between us. He was one of the convincing voices that encouraged me to take up cycling when arthritis made it increasingly difficult to run, and in 2010 he helped me get my first bike in this modern era. He once wrote, “Riding myself into oblivion is something I hope I can do with my brother until the day when our wives have to hide our bikes from us.”

      We were first drawn to this particular ride as an opportunity to honor our mother, Lenelle Simpson, who passed away with Alzheimer's in July 2014. We wanted a chance to ride together, and to do our bit to raise money for Alzheimer’s research.

      I used to visit my mother every Friday in the Manor Park Younger Center; I don’t know if she recognized me as her oldest and most cherished son, but she wasn’t afraid of me and would tell me stories from her past. Afterward I’d ride bikes around Manor Park with my father. It’s interesting how those two things (Alzheimer’s and bikes) have circled back around, together.

      As it turned out, my suitcase fiasco wasn’t the first blow to our plans for this year’s Ride to End ALZ. Carroll was struck down by the recurrence of a stomach bug. He even had his pickup loaded and ready to go when he texted me that he was running a 102* fever. It was to be a solo effort for me this year.

      Since I would be riding by myself, my plan was to enter the 50-mile group. Not only would I miss Carroll’s company, I ride slower when I’m by myself. I’ll crank my way up a steep hill trying to breathe, trying to stay upright, and then stay slow at the top of the hill as I catch my breath, but often forgetting to speed up and enjoy the flat portions. In general, I’m slower by myself than when I’m with a group, even if the group is only two of us.

      The route is famous for all the hills. In fact, to this West Texas flatlander, it felt like it was nothing but hills. The only level places were at the peaks and valleys. For me, with no place to train on hills, that means a lot of suffering.

      This was one of the few occasions I’ve had to use every single gear on my bike, over and over. More than once I bottomed out into the lowest gear and then had to mash the pedals the rest of the way to the top.

      I’m not familiar with the roads around Dripping Springs, so I never know where I am. All the roads wind around hills and valleys, and though I love the views and beautiful scenery, I never know if I’m riding north or south or east or west.

      As a result, somewhere along the way, about 2/3 into my planned 50 miles, I made a wrong turn. The only reason I knew this – all the road markings were for the 100-mile ride. I was in trouble, but I didn’t know how to recover from my mistake. I just kept riding. I didn’t actually know where I was until I got to the next aid station and studied their course map. It revealed I was about as far from the finish as I could possibly be. I asked one of the course sag drivers my shortest route home, and he smiled and said, “In my car.”

      My odometer said 51 miles. Good enough. So I took his offer and let him drive me to the finish line. He let me out about a 1/4-mile from the finish so I could ride through the chute. It was an unconventional ending, but I got my 50 miles and heard my name called out when I crossed the line.

      The 2025 Ride to End ALZ was a great event, and one of the most beautiful cycling routes in Texas. There were plenty of smiling and helpful volunteers, the course marking was the best I’ve ever seen (it wasn’t their fault I got lost), and the aid stations were friendly and fully stocked. H-E-B was everywhere, with teams, riders, volunteers, food at all the rest stops, and lots of energy and enthusiasm. They continue to make me proud to be from Texas.

      The 714 registered riders raised $1,029,289, 100% of which goes directly into Alzheimer’s research. Together, Carroll and I raised over $6,000. I’m certain we’ll be back in 2026.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

“I run in the path of Your commands, for You have set my heart free.” Psalm 119:32

Some Benefits of Growing Up

      Wednesday morning, on the way to the men’s room, I walked past several booths full of rough-and-tumble covered-in-field-dirt young oilfield workers. I doubt any of them noticed me, and they certainly didn’t notice what I was wearing, but it felt to me like I was parading down the runway in a fashion show.

      Why?

      Because I was wearing a jacket on a warm sunny day. Do real men do that? None of these burly guys were wearing long sleeves.

      My previous self resisted putting on a jacket or windbreaker or fleece on a warm day because I didn’t want to look foolish, unmanly, or soft.

      Nowadays, I don’t care. I put on the jacket and don’t worry who sees. In fact, I find myself pulling it out of my backpack two or three times a week. I figure my gray hair and gray beard give me permission to be eccentric. 

      Growing up has finally become an asset. 

      I don’t think I can actually say I like being old, but I don’t resent it, or fight it, as I thought might when I looked ahead to this season so many years ago. Cyndi and I’ve had enough peers pass away in the past couple of years we both know how fortunate we are. (I have a note taped to the inside of my bathroom cabinet: Aging is a privilege; don’t waste it.)

      Growing older no doubt brings diminishments, but more than a few benefits as well.

      Here are a few personal examples:

      I’ve learned to enjoy walking as much as I once loved running. I still miss running when I see a race or someone out training, but the moments are few. It took me a long time to be comfortable telling Cyndi, “I’m going walking” instead of “I’m going running,” without it feeling like a downgrade, but now I’m completely used to it.

      I don’t feel I have to be good at everything, or pretend I’ll learn auto mechanics someday, or plumbing, or home electrical wiring. Nowadays I’m more interested in having friends who are experts.

      I trust my intuition more. Not everything has to be evidence-based.

      I no longer mind if someone rushes across Lowe’s parking lot to help me load something heavy into my pickup. Now I appreciate and accept their offer.

      I’ve grown accustomed to my public persona. I look in the mirror and think, “Well, this is the way I look, now.”

      I love bringing up ideas and details from 60 years of reading and studying - it feels like a superpower.

      I’m grateful for the people God has surrounded us with. I feel blessed to be around so many men and women who think deeply about significant things.

      I resent intrusions on my private time less and less. I’ve learned to enjoy the interactions instead of seeing them as missed opportunities to work on something.

      Both Cyndi and I are learning to do stuff now, while we can. We don’t intend to slow down until we have to, until life forces us to, which will happen someday soon enough.

      I’m more confident in my ability to speak or teach in a large, crowded room, and braver using the weight of my personality and history to speak out when I need to. Also, I’m more confident in my ability to bring people together.

      I’m becoming more cold-natured-ish, and enjoying it. One reason why wearing my jacket in Whataburger bothers me less is because I like winter clothes better than summer clothes. I’m happiest when wearing a fleece pullover. Also, if my personal temperature runs cooler, I’ll be more like Cyndi. Always a good idea.

      All of these changes have made me a better man, and I’m looking forward to more changes in the future. It’s my desire to grow up with more grace, less judgment, broader interests, less dogma, a bigger view of life, and a deepening walk with God.

      YOUR TURN: How have you changed in your current season of life? What has surprised you?

*  *  *  *  *

“I run in the path of Your commands, for You have set my heart free.” Psalm 119:32

40,000 Miles!

      I was out walking one morning last September when I remembered the milestones soon to arrive in my life. I repeated to myself “10-20-40” so I would remember them when I got home. I wanted to celebrate them all, hoping they were lead-ins to more and greater. Here’s what happened.

      Ten: 2025 is my 10th year anniversary using after-market knees. I celebrated with an 8-day backpacking trip on a section of the Appalachian Trail.

      Twenty: 2024 was our 20th year of Iron Men, and we celebrated as a group with a raucous dinner party.

      Forty: I calculated I would cross the 40,000th mile of running and walking (since I first started in June 1978) in the summer of 2025. I didn’t know how to celebrate this milestone. Should I enter a big race – like a marathon? Or ask people to join me as we walk the last mile together?

      Well, last Friday afternoon, August 8th, I walked in 98* heat and pushed my lifetime cumulative to 40,000.76. I ended up walking it by myself, which was fitting since 95% of my miles have been alone. Afterwards, I had a vanilla milkshake to celebrate.

*  *  *  *  *

      Leonard Sweet wrote about stories and how they form the “deep structure” of our life. Another writer, Penelope Lively, used the word “ballast” to describe those stories.

      Running is one of my deep-structure, ballast stories, one that I told in my first book, Running With God:

      In May 1978, after I completed my first senior year at the University of Oklahoma, I came home to Hobbs, New Mexico to work as a summer engineer for Getty Oil Company. Within my first week home, I realized my plans were in trouble: the girl I’d dated the previous summer, who attended New Mexico Junior College in Hobbs, and whom I’d hoped to date again, had been seeing a track-and-field jock during the school year. He was a javelin thrower, of all things. How could I compete against a guy like that? I needed something besides good grades, a slide rule, or a trombone, to win her back.

      So I did something uncharacteristic for me - something that shaped the rest of my life. I decided to go for a run. If I had to compete with a jock for the affection of this girl, I knew I had to do something physical. Running was the easiest thing I could think of.

      I was never an athlete as a young boy. I simply wasn’t interested, and I had no skills. I didn’t play baseball, or football, or run track, and I didn’t learn to swim until I was a junior in college. So my first day on the roads was also the first voluntary run of my life.

      I ran almost every day that summer in Stan Smith Addidas tennis shoes (a big mistake) and Levi cutoffs (an even bigger mistake).  Eventually, after beating my knees and chafing my legs, I realized how important it was to buy real running shoes and better shorts.

      I continued running when I went back to school in September and even went to the mall to buy a pair of shoes. I was so nervous about which shoes to buy that I made five trips to the athletic store before finally settling on a pair of Brooks Vantages. I was a student with very little money, and the $35 I spent on shoes specifically designed for one thing was a difficult commitment. But I stuck to it; I ran four or five times a week that entire school year.

      Back in 1978 I never imagined that running would become instrumental in how I lived my life, how I planned my time, where I traveled for fun and leisure, how I met my friends, and how I ended up serving in local government. All I wanted to do on that fateful day in late May 1978, when I put on my shoes and stumbled through three miles, was to win the heart of a girl.

*  *  *  *  *

      Nowadays, I’m no longer running thanks to two replacement knees and one rebuilt foot, but I’m walking three miles about 4-5 times per week. And, yes, I include those walks in my running log. I don’t differentiate between running miles and walking miles since I do them both for the same reasons and the same purpose.

*  *  *  *  *

      But still, why the big deal about 40,000? It’s just round (albeit large) number.

      I believe we should find reasons to celebrate our victories whether the celebration is an eight-day hike, a dinner party, or a vanilla milkshake. The world we live in is scary enough, and the Enemy actively distracts us from the things we should be thankful for, so we must make it a point to celebrate. Not as an ego boost, but in gratitude for the gifts God has given.

*  *  *  *  *

PS: Three things I should mention:

(1) This 40,000-mile achievement says more about my ability to keep records for 47 years than my skill as a runner. It’s more engineering than athletics. All those miles works out to only 2.3 per day, nothing outstanding in the runner’s world.

(2) I already know the next set of milestones: 15-17-70.

(3) And that girl I was trying to win back? Her name is Cyndi, and we’ve been married now for 46 years. That’s definitely worth celebrating.

*  *  *  *  *

“I run in the path of Your commands, for You have set my heart free.” Psalm 119:32

Tell Her About It

      I’ve been drawn toward love songs for a long time. Mostly on the assumption they were all written about Cyndi and me. I may not agree with every lyric, but I can enjoy the song and appreciate the fact they wrote it just for us.

      Paul McCartney once wrote, "There were accusations in the mid-1970s – including one from John – that I was just writing silly love songs." Paul then went on to sing:

Some People Wanna Fill The World With Silly Love Songs.
And What's Wrong With That?
I'd Like To Know, 'Cause Here I Go Again

      Silly love songs often describe the best parts of life; and besides, I’ve always been more McCartney than Lennon.

      Cyndi and I married on July 28, 1979, so this summer is our 46th anniversary. We feel fortunate and blessed to have each other, and we want to share that with people close to us. And so, for you, here is my 2025 playlist of love songs.

      This practice started in 2007, as a project for Iron Men. I collected my favorite love songs into a playlist and gave them away. Since there were always more songs to put on more lists, I kept doing it. Now, this is my 19th list. In the beginning I made CDs and gave them away, but starting in 2020 I began creating playlists on Spotify. Mostly because, as was pointed out to me, few people had CD players anymore.

      Music is a deep root for Cyndi and me. We first met in a high school band hall in 1973 in Hobbs, NM – I played trombone, Cyndi played percussion. We rediscovered each other and started falling in love at a North Texas State University One O’clock Jazz Band concert featuring Bill Watrous, in Denton, TX, in 1976. We’ve been playing music together ever since – in our church orchestra, in the Midland College Jazz Band, and on several mission trips with Global Missions Project. It’s impossible for us to separate love from music.

      To listen to the playlists (I have them all, back to 2007), follow this link. It’ll make me happy if you listen to them. Let me know which are your favorites. I hope at least one of them will soften your heart and push you toward your own true love.

*  *  *  *  *

1      This Will Be (An Everlasting Love), Natalie Cole, 1975, … “Together forever, throughever, whatever, you and me”… Cyndi and I recently attended the O’Conner/Norris wedding, and Mr. and Mrs. (Chase and Bethany) Norris left to this song. It lit up the entire room. You could feel the air vibrating as they joyfully walked up the aisle.

2      Conga Heartbeat, 2025, … My friend Rabon used AI to compose this song, based on one of the stories (one among many) of how Cyndi and I first met. It’s scary how swinging this arrangement is. I hope you can listen to it through Spotify, but if not, write to me, I’ll send a copy of the file.

3      Dancing In the Moonlight, Bossa Nova Covers, Mats & My, 2020, … “It's a supernatural delight, everybody was dancing in the moonlight” … After our June trip to Brazil, I couldn’t resist including a couple of bossa nova tunes. This song contains one of my favorite lyrics of all time: You can’t dance and stay uptight.

4      How Deep Is Your Love, The Bird and The Bee, 2007, … “How deep is your love?”

5      What the World Needs Now Is Love, Steve Tyrell, Burt Bacharach, Martina McBride, Rod Stewart, James Taylor, Dionne Warwick, 2018 remaster, … “What the world needs now is love, sweet love, it′s the only thing, that there's just too little of.” … This has become our (Cyndi’s and my) favorite version of this 1965 classic Burt Bacharach/Hal David song. It may be the only pop hit to begin with a euphonium solo.

6      All I Do Is Dream of You, Michael Buble', 2009, … “All I do is dream of you the whole night through.” We played this same arrangement in a recent jazz concert with members of the MC band, the OC band, and the UTPB band, and it’s lived in my head ever since.

7      We're in This Love Together, Al Jarreau, 1981, … “We're in this love together, we got the kind that lasts forever” … We used to tell our kids that all love songs were written specifically for the two of us. Especially this one, of course, since it plainly says, “like Berries on the vine, it gets sweeter all the time.”

8      Be Without You, Dave Barnes, 2020, … “Girl, I'm still learnin' pieces of you, all these little encores that I never knew” … It often surprises me that after 46 years of marriage preceded by 2-1/2 years of dating, Cyndi and I still learn new things about each other.

9      If You Were the Rain, Stephen Day, 2016, … “I you were the rain, I'd be saying, well, I wanna play in the rain” … Thinking about rain makes me happy.

10    I Will Always Be Yours, Ben Rector, 2018, … “But no matter who I might become, or who I've been before, I will always be yours” … As we both continue to change year after year, I’m always yours.

11    Your Love Has Lifted Me Higher And Higher, Rita Coolidge, 1977, … “When you wrap your lovin' arms around me, I can stand up and face the world again” … I’ve loved this song for decades; I can’t believe I never used it on one of my previous lists.

12    Our Love, Gregory Porter, 2012, … “How did we meet? This is the question of our love” … I have a collection of stories telling how we met. They are sort of mostly true.

13    Say You Love Me, Kurt Elling, 2025, … “Cause when the lovin' starts and the lights go down, and there's not another living soul around” … When I shrink the world down as far as it will go, I see only two people – Cyndi, and everyone else. There’s not another living soul around.

14    Swayin' to the Music, Done Again, 2012, … “And we're slow dancin', swayin' to the music, just me and my girl” … Cyndi turned me into a dancer (well, not a great one, but a lucky one).

15    Meet Me In Montana, Dan Seals & Marie Osmond, 1985, … “Won't you meet me in Montana? I want to see the mountains in your eyes” … We joined our son Byron and daughter-in-law Angela for a week in Montana in July, and this song lived in my head the entire time. I love the line, “I want to see the mountains in your eyes.”

16    Ends of the Earth, Lord Huron, 2012, … “To the ends of the earth, would you follow me? There's a world that was meant for our eyes to see” … Cyndi and I hope to spend adventures together for many more decades. We discovered this song from the movie soundtrack to A Walk In The Woods.

17    You Belong To Me, Ben Taylor, 2006, … “Fly the ocean in a silver plane, See the jungle when it's wet with rain, Just remember when you're home again, You belong to me”

18    Kiss on My List, Daryl Hall & John Oates, 1980, … “Your kiss is on my list.” … I remember well our first kiss; I realized in that moment Cyndi had been waiting for me to step up.

19    Night And Day, Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66, 1970, … “Night and day, you are the one.” … Again, in honor of our trip to Brazil, here is Sergio Mendes, who introduced Brazilian bossa nova to the pop-music world.

20    Tell Her About It, Billy Joel, 1983, … “Tell her about it, tell her everything you feel, Let her know you need her, let her know how much she means” … Most of our dating life was long-distance, and in the early years I wasn’t good at telling Cyndi how I felt about her. As a result, I almost lost her. And so now, Billy Joel and I both say, “Tell her about it.” Don’t waste time making her guess. Even after all these years together … tell her about it.

*  *  *  *  *

“I run in the path of Your commands, for You have set my heart free.” Psalm 119:32

Just Keep Breathing

Every time I fool with my feet I realize I need professional help, but I’ve been too timid to simply walk myself into a nail salon and ask for a pedicure. My recent birthday reminded me that I’ve reached that stage in life when I must turn my toe maintenance over to someone else.

So, last Saturday afternoon, when Cyndi pulled out a gift card to a local spa and said she wanted to “have her toes done,” to my own surprise I seized the moment and asked, “Do you ever see men like me in there when you do that?”

“Occasionally. Do you want to come with me?”

“Well, I’ve been thinking about it. Nowadays I can’t bend my feet enough, or see well enough, or stretch over enough, to take care of my feet. I’ve been considering a – pedicure – but too chicken to walk in by myself.”

“OK. Let’s go.” And just like that it was a done deal. I couldn’t turn back.

The spa had at least forty big, leather, mechanical massage chairs with fancy, plastic bag-lined tubs for feet. I didn’t see any men, but going to yoga classes has conditioned me to being the only man in a room full of women, so I was fine.

The maître d' sat Cyndi and me in adjacent chairs and handed us laminated menus from which we could select the treatment. I showed the menu to Cyndi, and she selected for me “Elegant Pedicure: Indulge your feet in an aromatic foot bath while having your legs exfoliated with a Sugar scrub. This is followed by a mask treatment wrapped with a warm towel. This pedicure also includes a soothing foot massage With a moisturizing scented lotion.”

She added, “No, he doesn’t want polish.”

“Thank you, Cyndi.”

I watched Cyndi to see where to put my feet, mostly because I didn’t understand what my technician, Kim, was telling me to do.

I was braced for Kim’s scream when she saw my crooked toes and protruding bunions, but she must see that sort of thing often because she had no reaction. She immediately started clipping nails only nanometers from my delicate skin. I averted my eyes and tried to think happy thoughts.

When she reached into her toolbox and pulled out a wood rasp, I gripped the armrests and stared across the room, trying not to flinch in front of Cyndi.

      Apparently, I was shaking the entire chair as Kim scraped skin off my feet because she stopped, smiled, and asked, “Does it tickle?” I didn’t know how to tell her it reminded me of when I had stitches removed from my left foot. Simultaneous pain and tickling. Complete and total discomfort.

      Cyndi smiled, looked at my grip on the armrests, and said, “Just keep breathing.”

      I’ve never been a barefoot guy. Not even when I was a kid. So I haven’t built up resistance in my feet. It took me seven years of regularly seeing the same masseuse before I was comfortable having him jack with my feet. I’ve spent a lifetime keeping my feet to myself.

      And now Kim is rasping my soles.

      I told Cyndi through clinched teeth, “I didn’t expect this to an ab workout.”

      “You aren’t supposed to tense-up your stomach muscles. You’re supposed to relax.”

      “Every part of my body is tense. Even my eyelids.”

      “Just keep breathing.”

      Cyndi knew I couldn’t resist writing about this experience, so she suggested I not use the word “toenails” in the first sentence. I told her I wouldn’t, and considered two reasons she might feel that way: (1) she thinks toenails are funny only to 5th grade boys - the sort she taught for 20+ years and still thinks are mostly gross; or (2) she’s still haunted by an essay I included in my first book, Running With God, entitled Collection of Courage, about the toenails I lost while running marathons. “They represent personal sacrifices … tiny white badges of courage.”

      Well, my spa experience ended quicker than Cyndi’s because she had to sit and wait for the pink polish to dry. I asked, “What do we do now?”

      “We sit and wait to let it settle.”

      I wasn’t sure if she was talking about the polish or my own erratic breathing. I finally pried my fingers from the armrests and relaxed my shoulders, and thought, this isn’t my last time to do this. I’ll be back.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

“I run in the path of Your commands, for You have set my heart free.” Psalm 119:32

Birthday Ride: Level 69

      One thing I’ve put a lot of thought into but haven’t decided on yet is my favorite metaphor for aging. Should I approach it as a laboratory experiment (What can I still do and what adjustments do I have to make to keep doing it?), or as a spiritual pilgrimage (Who will I become; what sort of man will I be?) Aging is a privilege, and I don’t want to waste it.

      Several years ago, without considering I was making my future harder, I decided to ride my age on my birthday. I’ve continued the practice almost every year since. It’s been pointed out to me more than once that I set a goal to do something progressively harder each year of my life, which may be unsustainable. Will I ride 90 miles in 2046?

      Maybe.

      A phrase I learned last week, used by Neel, my new friend from Dripping Springs, to explain why he always took the hotel stairs: Do it “While you can, until you can’t.” In the past two months I’ve learned I can still cover big miles, whether hiking on a mountain trail or riding city streets, as long as I pace myself and take more breaks. I don’t know how many years I’ll be able to ride my age, but I’ll ride while I can until I can’t.

*  *  *  *  *

      Last Monday, June 23rd, I rode another birthday ride and I gathered this collection of random thoughts from the day. At least, the thoughts I remember and feel at liberty to write down. Other thoughts still stranded in the back of my mind may never break into the open and should be forgotten and never repeated.

      I doubt I’d’ve tried this ride had I known the wind would be blowing 18 to 19 mph all day. Sometimes it’s better not to know all the data.

      Sixty-nine miles shouldn’t have been such an ordeal for me, and wouldn’t’ve been had I been training, but as it turned out, it was further than I’ve ridden by 3xs since last November. I’ll be walking stiff-legged for the next couple of days.

      To my non-cycling friends, 69 miles sounds like a death wish and why would I take on the added risk in this season of my life? But to my cycling friends, 69 miles sounds merely like a solid day’s ride and why am I going on and on about it. Well, (1) going on and on about things is what I do, and (2) the ride actually had less to do with mileage more to do with choosing the harder yet more fulfilling option.

      From my house, I can’t ride more than 40 miles without crossing busy major highways or making mind-numbing back-and-forths through residential neighborhoods. To get 69 miles I had to ride multiple laps around Green Tree, Fasken, and Greathouse. And I took 3 breaks at different Kent Kwik convenient stores where I bought soft drink, salty snacks, and energy snacks.

      Mile 20 was a major decision point where I almost talked myself into turning back toward home. My butt and shoulders were aching, and the wind was pushing me around, and besides this was a stupid goal anyway.

      But I told myself this might be more important than one bike ride. Going on without turning back will set the pattern for the rest of the summer and predict how hard I’ll work to accomplish my goals. Will I push through the hard parts, or turn around and give up? I knew I had to decide at that moment. And then, before I knew it, I was at mile 30. Decision made.

      Anytime I ride more than 60 miles I earn a milkshake. So there’s that. A Vanilla shake at Texas Burger is a worthy goal and sweet reward.

      For me, my birthday always accompanies personal analysis, and I’ve realized there are some things I do better nowadays than I did when I was younger. For example: playing trombone, teaching, and writing.

      There are plenty more things I can still do but they take longer, such as: hiking, walking, cycling, recovering from injury, sitting down on the floor, or getting up off the floor.

*  *  *  *  *

      Thank you, God, for giving me the physical ability, health, and resources to do something long and stressful like a birthday ride. Thank you for giving me the desire to keep doing hard things. And thank you, especially, for giving me one more turn.

*  *  *  *  *

“I run in the path of Your commands, for You have set my heart free.” Psalm 119:32

They're All Younger Than Me!

      I don’t remember the day I crossed over the line where most of my advisors were younger than me.

      The line-crossing happened organically in the normal course of life – there wasn’t an announcement. Still, why didn’t I notice?

      I surprised myself this morning while listening to a financial analyst on Morning Edition discuss the possible fallouts from higher tariffs, and the chance the tariffs might not lead to inflation as many of colleagues have suggested, when I noticed how young he sounded. That’s when I started going over my personal list of advisors and mentors.

      Many years ago when I was part of the city government, I remember being in a meeting in Washington DC when we were quizzing our congressman’s staff about government grants and programs we might’ve missed. It occurred to me that while all the young staffers were bright and insightful and friendly and well-informed, I doubted any of them had ever owned a mortgage or paid property taxes. My friend, Kieth, who was sitting beside me, and I decided the US government was being run by fresh college graduates wearing their first suits.

      Maybe that was the day I crossed the line.

      Now, there is no going back. My financial advisor is younger than me (maybe younger than my adult son and daughter), my lawyer is younger than me, both my pastor and my worship leader are younger than me, the podcast hosts I listen to are younger than me, everyone I know in city government, including the mayor and my neighborhood councilman, are younger than me, and most of my favorite authors are younger than me.

      The only reason I can’t say my Adult Bible Study teacher is younger that me is because I’m the teacher and I’m younger than two-thirds of the class. I’ll leave it for them to say they’ve crossed the line.

      I once overheard Cyndi ask someone who was trying to give business advice with a cold call, "What’s your favorite Doobie Brother’s song?” She was trying to get a handle on the caller’s life experience before she spent time listening to his pitch.

      Don’t misunderstand my point. I believe I’m in good hands. I trust the advice I get from all of these youngsters even when I might disagree with it. But the awareness of aging comes in bits and pieces, and this bit hit me this morning just after my morning walk and before my shower. At my age, that’s when the best ideas usually arrive.

“I run in the path of Your commands, for You have set my heart free.” Psalm 119:32

First Day On The Trail

      I started hiking as soon as Nathan dropped me off at the Sam’s Gap trailhead and was immediately surprised at the long continuous steep climb, no switchbacks, no warm-up, no easing into it, just straight up the mountain trail stairs, and then straight down the mountain on the other side. I expected more level ground when I set a goal for ten miles per day.

      In retrospect, ten miles per day was overly optimistic for me even for level ground, but I was captured by this epic journey. I intended to hike on the North Carolina / Tennessee border portion of the Appalachian Trail for eight days, and I’d been planning the route and sorting gear for weeks.

      It was exhausting and, as always on the first days of a backpacking trip, my hips began to ache. Everything is hard when you just get started. So to make it up the mountain I started counting steps, one-to-hundred, then stopped to lean over both trekking poles and counted recovery breaths, one-to-fifty. Repeat, over and over, until I cleared the top.

      I finally reached Hogback Ridge Shelter about an hour before sundown and decided to camp there. It was getting darker and cooler, and I knew I didn’t have enough daylight left to make Flat Gap, my original goal for the first night. I hiked down to a small creek and filled all three water containers, then back to the shelter to set up among the tent village of thru-hikers.

      During those afternoon hours on the trail I traveled through all the thoughts: Is this the end of my backpacking career, or the beginning of my next phase? I’m certainly feeling my age, but maybe I’m supposed to. Is counting my steps and stopping to breathe a picture of my future? Is setting goals based on time (8 days) rather than distance (70 miles) what I have to look forward to? Even so, settling for what I can do rather than being disappointed for what I can’t do doesn’t mean settling for less, but embracing the new life God has for me going forward.

      Those weren’t my only thoughts. I also appreciated how fortunate I was to do this hike, how beautiful it was walking in countryside that’s green in every direction, and how blessed I am to have the desire and health to stay on the trail for eight days. On the outside I was wheezing; but on the inside I was smiling in gratitude. Many of the most gratifying experiences in my life have also been the most demanding. They seem to go hand-in-hand.

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      One night I texted Cyndi: “Only a 6.7 mile day, but probably the longest and steepest trail of the entire trip. It rained with cold wind today. It’s cold now, at 6:50 pm. Colder than I expected or packed for. I’m now in my tent curled up in my sleeping bag.”

      My text should have been clearer because to Cyndi it sounded like I was miserable, and she worried about me. But I meant to say I was safe in my tent and had figured out how to relax and stay warm. Overcoming discomfort is the fun part. I was never miserable or sad to be there, even in the cold wet wind, or going up and down those trail steps.

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      My basic assumption going into almost everything is: I can figure a way to make this work. I may not be the best or fastest but I will make it work.

      Too often that assumption turns out not to be true, but that’s always where I start. I trust my ability to discover solutions and workarounds. I believe I can work it out, solve the problems, or develop a hack that works for me.

      But even as I was hiking up the mountain God reminded me that His promise was not, “Berry can do all things by himself alone,” but, “Berry can do all things through Christ who strengthens.” I need these difficult uphill trails through life to remind me where real strength lies.

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      Cyndi said if I do something like this again, she wanted me to have someone with me. I pointed out, “It would still be hard, cold, and windy,” and she said, “But you’d have a friend. Besides, I don’t want you to take someone else for your own benefit, but for mine, so I can worry less.” Fair enough. She’s a very smart woman.

      And so, I’ve already started dreaming of a weeklong backpacking trip on the Colorado Trail next summer (June 2026) with a group of men. Write to me at berry@stonefoot.org if you’d like to be part of the discussion.

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“I run in the path of Your commands, for You have set my heart free.” Psalm 119:32