A funny thing happened on the way to work

I love the fall. Mostly because in the mid-atlantic area you can do things outside without breaking into a full sweat within the first few minutes.

One of the things I love doing when it's cooler outside is to ride my bike to work. It usually takes me about 20 minutes either way and I've noticed something when I ride:

You notice things at 10 miles per hour that you miss at 40. House colors, Trees, Church marquees, people mowing lawns and walking their dogs. Sure you may have a fleeting thought about those things driving by in a car but they're just that, fleeting. Riding a bike allows you the time to actually think about those things and let you're mind wander to how each has been shaped by God.

Particularly with the church I pass along the way I wonder what happens inside those walls on a weekly basis. The first few times I passed by I remember being unimpressed by the witty remarks on the marquee and wrote off the church as irrelevant. Lately when I pass by it, God has shown me how foolish I am in disregarding his church in all its various forms. This tiny building represents part of God's story and in that fact alone, should be celebrated and appreciated as a movement of the Spirit to the world. So, lately, I've found myself praying for that Church and its pastors, that they would boldly and creatively follow God into unexpected places.

A simple thing like taking 20 minutes to get to work rather than 5 can open your eyes to things you missed before. More on this later...