mentor, ohio

Cleveland, Ohio.

 I feel like we've gone over the last major hurdle before getting to the Atlantic Ocean . . . Cleveland, Ohio. We did not get lost in Cleveland but we did do a little trailblazing. We made some new routes but I knew if Lake Erie was to our left, we would be going east and a little northeast and that's the way we wanted to be going. We pedaled 50.16 miles from Sheffield, Ohio to Mentor, Ohio. Most of the day we were on bike trails of one kind or another. 

Before we had pedaled two miles from our start, Phil had a flat tire. It was caused by a piece of glass lodged in his rear tire. After replacing the tube and tire, we were on the way for a hot day or riding. But . . . we are now fifty miles closer to Maine. Our total now is 2,809.62 and our mileage to the finish line is approximately 905. We're goin' ta Maine!

Seeing the skyline of Cleveland was exciting. I knew that just on the other side of the FirstEnergy Stadium we would be on the other side of the city and headed away from city streets. We really didn't have much city riding because Cleveland has an abundance of bike trails. The problem comes when a person doesn't know which ones to choose. With the help of a local fellow, walking his dog on the bike trail, we made it over the Detroit Superior Bridge, to the stadium, and out of town without a problem. The bike trail, Alfred Lerner Way, is wide, smooth, and quickly got us out of town! The rest of our ride was on the Cleveland Lakeshore Trail.

This evening we went to supper at Clay Street Grill where we met David Newby. David was in the student ministry at Prince in the early 1990s. David drove almost 400 miles from Dearborn, Michigan, to eat supper with us and what a good time we had together. He shared much about his growing up years, his time at Prince, and hs dream and passion for ministry to an elite group of people. David just realeased a new book, Beyond Billions: Create Lasting Wealth Using Trillionaire Solomon's Success Secrets. I asked him about the source of his information and he said it was from his own life and the books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. 

I remember teaching through Ecclesiastes and telling students, "The first ten chapters of Ecclesiastes may make you feel like committing suicide but the last two chapters will help you see why you should not."

Ecclesiastes 12:1 gives wise advice to young and old alike, "Remember now the Creator in the days of your youth . . . " 

We live in a world where it seems like most people are looking for power, possessions, and pleasure. It also seems like enough is never enough. Storage units are everywhere! I have seen them in towns and literally in the middle of nowhere as we've pedaled. We have way too much stuff! We have so much stuff now we cannot keep it all at home. We find and rent places to store things we don't even use. I'm reminded of a verse from Mark's gospel, "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"All of this stuff is costly, however. And the cost is high: families, reputations, stress, health, sorrow, and sometimes life itself. In Ecclesiastes, Solomon, who was worth trillions of dollars in today's money, tells you all about it. He did, after all, have it all. His storage buildings were never enough. He tried it all but it never satisfied. But along with all of his stuff, Solomon received from God the greatest gift of all, Wisdom. Wisdom is seeing things from God's point of view. And Solomon saw those things and told us how to avoid the pitfalls that steal joy and peace. We can have the same wisdom as well. Look at James 1:5, "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him." 

If we have to buy stuff to store our stuff, we have too much stuff. Get wisdom!

2,809.6/approximately 905