Random Thoughts

Hi folks,
When a mountain is in your path do not sit down at its foot and cry.Get going and ride up it.Well i have had to do that the last two days and its hasnt been easy .At times i had to stop every few hundred yards to get breath and occasionally get off and push the bike.Fortunately my body was feeling good and up to the challenge of it but after 2 twelve hour days battling uphill i was pretty tired when i crawled into bed last night.

I slept in a cematry one night but only cos i was dead tired.(groan).Also had my first encounter with a bear but he took one look at me or decided he didnt like the smell of a dirty aussie and bolted the other way.One girl i talked to recently said she was trapped inside a toilet for 16 hrs while the bear attempted to get in but i think they are not to bad around here.

West Virginia is really beautiful country and listening to John Denver sing the almost heaven west virginia country road song while riding through took on knew meaning.Yes i own up ,i know its not cool to like J Denver but i never had great claims to being that anyway .

I have really enjoyed sleeping outside,no tent,not even a mat under me ,just the sleeping bag .Its some of the little things that i appreciate.I was late into the second day with no shower and realized i would be sleeping out again and thought i really wanted to clean up.I looked to my right and saw a running creek and that was better than any shower.
In amongst the hard grind there are moments when the beauty of creation or just a thought that reminds me i am not alone out here enters my being.I would like to sence it more often and deeper but its still great when they happen.

My skeptic athiest mate would say its all a delusion that there is no God who made all this but for me to beieve it all happened by chance requires a far greater faith that just doesnt make any sence .The God thing is to involved to go into here and at one stage thought i wont even mention it as it may turn non christians from taking an interest.In the end you cant deny who you are or what you stand for unless you want to compromise your whole being .

A few days ago i recieved an email supposedly from someone who was dying and was a christian who wanted to leave 5 million to a good cause and read what i was doing and gave me details to contact her lawyer.etc.After my worst day of riding i really wanted to believe it and despite the word scam coming immediately into i let myself go with it for 10 mins before allowing reality to catch up.It did make me think though why not believe for something like that to happen.That sort of money for some folk is loose change.Is our God so small that we cant believe He cant touch the hearts to give in big ways and that doesnt mean not to appreciate the small donation that may be given far more sacrificially .
What if we set up on this site a place where people could put there name and commit to praying each day even for just a few miniutes that they would belive God for 20,000 each to come in.So if one hundred signed up and each believed for 20,000 that equals 2 million.Now if i said to one person to pray for i million to come in maybe the faith may not be that strong to believe that but 20,000 is alot easier.I mean God loves and wants to help and bless the widows,orphans,the sick and dying,the hungry etc far more than we do,why wouldnt He want to provide on what in our mind is a lot of money but really isnt.

Is He simply limited by our lack of faith.Am i being an idiot here.I would really like ya feedback on this. Perhaps you have a better idea. I am open ,i just dont want to bust my guts for a small result.Its hard work day in day out and lonely at times so it sure helps to know that at the end of it we can raise enough to make a significant differance in the lives of many poor and desperate people that we are in the fortunate position of being able to bless.

Anyhow i must get back on the road .As i have just done 6 days i will probably make today an easy one and just ride for four hours and have a the rest of the day off.Really missing going to the footy and the movies and my friends of course,but not the winter.Bless you all,
Bernie