Sunday Mornin' Hope : What's In It For Me?

Last year I was blessed with a 06 VTX Neo. The great thing about these bikes is you can personalize them to your liking. Before our trip out west I put a ultimate seat and stereo loaded faring on it. It came with a tiny set of saddlebags. They barely held a rain suit in each. A few months ago I found a used set of saddlebags and trunk from a Kawasaki Voyager 1300. The trunk was easy to put on. Just get a strong rack and drill some holes. The saddlebags are much more challenging. You need to hang them with supports and spacers.




Some friends helped me fab some sheet metal and brackets so they would hang straight. After much measuring and cutting and stuff, I finally got them on. Tomorrow I'll find out if my labor was in vain or not. Sometimes I imagine them rolling off the side when I hit a bump or run over a cat.




Hab 2:2 -And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.




Working on your bike takes a vision. What do you want your bike to look and function like? Do you dress it up with lights and sound or soup up the engine. Your bike is an extension of you. Many things are extensions of you and your priorities. Your kids will grow up with many of the same interests and attitudes you have. Someone said children learn almost everything in the first few years of their life. Yeah I know, scary eh? This is a great opportunity to teach them values and how to live life to the fullest.


So what if we made a mistake in life? What if we 'bet on the wrong horse' and have a lot of regrets. Is there still hope? Can you go back and fix anything? Some things you can. Some things you just have to move on and do the best you can. When our first born came, I was the least prepared of any father ever. If there was a wrong way to do it, I did it several times. One time my son came out in the living room at age 3 wearing my new helmet. I scolded him so bad that he dropped his head and walked back into his room. My wise loving wife said "He's just trying to be like you." I felt terrible. You couldn't find a sharper knife in the drawer to cut with, than to say something like that. She was totally right. No groveling or whatever could repair that damage. A few years ago he and I had to make a quick run to the store for dinner rolls. Riding home I asked if he remembered that time. He said "No." but I never forgot it. I asked him to forgive me anyway and he did. A few years ago my youngest son came into the living room wearing my new helmet and acting silly. I laughed and we all had a good time with it. God gave me a second chance. This summer he and I rode 4077 miles out west and had the most wonderful memorable trip of my life. We even dropped the bike a few times in the gravel parking lots. So what. Thank God for crash bars and riding pegs. My guardian angel Clem also got a good workout keeping us safe.




It's people and not things that are important. With the time I have left, I want to make memories with the greatest family in the world. I want to do what THEY want and help them achieve their visions. I want to be an extension of THEIR lives, not involve them in my life when it's convenient. At times I'm very selfish and only think about 'what's in it for me'. A great friend helped me with that discovery. It's great to have older friends that speak directly into my life. He was totally honest with me about my attitude. If you don't have any friends that will speak truth to you, go find some.




With the holidays coming, begin making plans to spend yourself on what they want. Listen to what their interests are. Do they want to travel or do something with you? Probably! (I just asked my daughter what she wanted to do for Christmas. She said "Let's go to Paris!" That's probably NOT going to happen in the near future.)You have a great opportunity to get this vision started right now. Don't lavish them with money (as if you had any ). Give them you. Like Ebenezer Scrooge, YOU go get that big turkey. YOU take the time to create lasting memories. Get a vision, write it down and run with it. Oh yeah, don't expect them to change their attitudes about you overnight. It might take a week or more. Enjoy what God gave you and accept what mistrakes you accomplished so far. My bike doesn't look that great right now, but it's functional. I hope it's up for a trip to Birmingham and back this month.




I hope you have the greatest week and holiday season ever. Remember I'm praying for you.

thanks dino

thanks dino

Thanks Dino.