We are Going to Ride the River Again!

It's confirmed. A decade after the last "Ride Across the Rez" in 2012, we're heading back to the Missouri River and South Dakota. This time we will start in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and finish in Chamberlain, South Dakota. Along the way, we will visit Sgt. Floyd's monument, Spirit Mound, Calumet Bluff, Chief Struck by the Ree's grave, St. Paul's Catholic Mission (Marty, SD), and other places both connected with the Corps of Discovery and those significant to our own mission trips to the Sioux Nations.

Part of any journey is preparation, and as Pastor Ellen and I prepare for this one, I am once again reading through "Ride the River." (See the previous post for more info on the book.) I've done this every few years, and each time I discover something new. This time is no different, and I am only a few days into the study. This re-discovery comes at a time when I am at a crossroads with my job at Bethel University. I am truly trying to "Ride the River" under the guidance of the Trinity. I will let you know how it goes, when I know how it goes.

Proceeding on...

Every Person Has a River to Ride

In 2009 I had a dream, a dream that became the main item on my "bucket list." But over the years, life got in the way. I want to revisit that dream, to do that thing: To ride the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail (and the associated bicycle trail, as much as possible) from St. Louis to the Western Sea. I've done St. Louis to Defiance, MO, and from Vermillion to Pierre, SD. I want to fill in the gaps before I get too old to do it. My guidebook? My very favorite devotional book ever; "Ride the River" by Larry Christenson. I've created a Facebook page and will be resurrecting my blog to tell the tale. It's going to take a few years, but it's time to join the Corps of Discovery again.

God's plan for the Christian life always has been that it be lived out under the active hands-on leadership of Jesus Christ and the HIf I type this normallyoly Spirit. For many, the Trinity is a theological doctrine but not an experience in their everyday lives. Using the journey of Lewis and Clark as a parable, bestselling author Larry Christenson writes that knowing and following God's will is a journey in which each person of the Trinity has a unique and integral part.