bemidji, minnesota

Lauren, one of our Minnesota Prince members

 We pedaled sixty miles on Route 2 from Erskine to Bemidji, Minnesota. The scenery was pretty much the same the whole way with a good many hills and lots of pedaling. It didn't seem like we had much downhill, just pedaling all the way. It was hot but when I mentioned it to a man this afternoon, he said, "I love it. With nine months of winter, I live for days like this." The wind was sort of with us today with maybe a few pushes from the side. The shoulder was wide and mostly smooth. The drivers were kind and we made the sixty mile ride in good time. 

The highlight of our day was eating lunch at Dairyland in Bagley. Bagley is about halfway between Erskine and Bemidji. Of course, the real highlight was meeting Lauren for lunch. Lauren is the daughter of some folks (Brian and Sabrina Smart) at our church in Georgia. Lauren lives and works up here but told me she and her family watch Prince online every Sunday before going to their church. She even did the 100 Sunday ministry with us! We enjoyed the time at Dairyland with Lauren. The food was good, too. 

Just so you'll know, our room overlooks Lake Bemidji and we get to enjoy it for two days! Tomorrow is a rest day so we plan to do some sightseeing. We especially want to see the headwaters of the Mighty Mississippi which is not too far down the road. We'll also check out the giant Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox statue in town. We'll probably find some bike shops and ice cream in Bemidji as well. From what we've heard, Bemidji is a great little place to visit. I'll tell you about it tomorrow.

As I said, we enjoyed hanging out with Lauren today. We look forward to these special visits and, thankfully, have a few more planned along the way as we pedal to Maine and the Atlantic Ocean. Friends are important and essential elements in our lives. With that in mind, I'm going to finish this blog with some wisdom about friends from the Bible:

"As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." -Proverbs 27:17

"A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity." -Proverbs 17:17

"Better is open rebuke than hidden love. Wounds from a friend can be trusted, . . ." -Proverbs 27:5-6

"Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm." -Proverbs 13:20

"My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you." -John 15:12-15

"A man who has friends must himself be friendly . . ." -Proverbs 18:24

Don't focus on having friends, be one!