Warm Companions: Training Partners

26“…find a group of friendly local racers to train with and learn from. I emphasize the word ‘friendly’. Of course, all of us in the cycling community really are friendly, but there seems to be a scale of friendly. Some racers willingly embrace new riders and some, well, let’s just say they stay more to themselves.” Kim Morrow, Masters World Champion

Kim Morrow, center, one of the friendliest riders in the peloton

I came to bike racing as an adult. Someone told me to exercise for my mental health in order to manage the stress from a young marriage wrecked by my husband’s cocaine addiction. I started riding the old Schwinn that hung in the barn and felt accomplished with my daily three miles. Next I read about group rides and decided to try one. It was a blast! Someone from that ride invited me to a club ride. I was mystified by the idea of people in association who liked riding bikes in groups. The club suggested I bump up to B then the A ride from the gentler C ride, especially after one of them loaned me an updated bicycle. I’d graduated from a tank to a touring ton of steel but it felt like a feather to me.

During those summer weeks of discovering the entirely novel experience of riding fast, club members cajoled and encouraged me. Without quite knowing it, my trauma was being processed and my confusion about the past was dissipating in the slipstreams of new friends. Out of gratitude for the attention and affection, I entered the club time trial. I won it and beat most of the men. The club took me to the big city bike shop where I met a mechanic who ran development clinics. In a bitter cold January, I learned how to pace line, corner, and discover the joys of bumping drills and grass criteriums. The sponsoring bike shop invited me to race for them, providing me another equipment upgrade. Now I was on a sleek Italian racing frame. It had been wrecked and I couldn’t take my hands off the bars because it was so bent but it felt like a Ferrari to me.

Thus began decades of racing, and I haven’t stopped riding with others since. Kim Morrow was one of the ones who encouraged me. During the dreariest of days, faithful companions not only brighten your ride but show you roads you’ve never traveled.

Prayer for Training Partners
“By yourself you’re unprotected. With a friend you can face the worst. Can you round up a third? A three-stranded rope isn’t easily snapped.” 27Ecclesiastes 4:12

We are thankful for the social benefits of cycling. We recognize a time to ride with others and when to train alone. We ask blessing on those who make what seems impossible simply a smooth and speedy draft.

Ponder Who are my favorite wheels? Affirm I can shield another from frigid winds. Watch your friendly paceline grow.

26“Thinking About Racing?” by Kim Morrow on EFC Coaching Tips www.elitefitcoach.com. Kim Morrow is one of the friendliest riders in the peloton. Sometimes I think comfortability with one’s abilities comes across in a generous spirit. What you have a lot of overflows to others. From Kim’s website, “Kim Morrow has competed as a Professional Cyclist and Triathlete, is a certified USA Cycling Elite Coach, a 4-time U.S. Masters National Road Race Champion, a Masters World Road Race Champion, and a Fitness Professional. BUT, in her very first official bike race she got dropped right from the start.” Her friendly nature sought out training companions, who encouraged her and in turn were encouraged.

27The Message, Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson.

Tranquilo…Relax!

59“Dont worry is ok… just let me know what u need and when, I glad to know people like you, please keep in touch!” Santiago Lopez, Mexican Team Director

Bike racing and Mexican food are a match

The transition of the aging professional from paid athlete to retirement and a new place in the world can be an anxious time of searching: one’s soul, for a job, and a new identity. My decisions were 60tranquilo, pretty relaxed. I knew I’d never leave cycling, but I was ready to retire from racing as a participant. I was more interested in developing talents in others.

So my first gig was as a Team Director in an international stage race that traveled deep into Mexico. Just me, over a hundred Latino correros, and my team of wholesome Midwestern boys. Even though my vehicle had a position number on it, there was no strict assignment in the caravan. I had to fight like an aggressive classics rider with my rented cargo van against compact Central American cars to hold my spot at the front! I thought to myself what kind of initiation is this? Yet we were well treated by the organization, and I made friends there. We also brought home the U23 jersey despite the cooperative efforts of favored teams of the region.

The culture of the race was as chaotic and despotic as perhaps the governments in Central America. Not exactly precise, a lot of unplanned last minute, we-weren’t-told stuff happened. For example, the race bible said we finished after a sharp right on the main boulevard. So our team led-out right, and the entire peloton kept straight. True this fiasco could’ve been a result of my neo-director amateurism. But I could find no printed change on any document and it wasn’t mentioned on race radio. A little band of los directores worked this out in some dark corner and neglected to tell us. Would I go back for the tours that ride all over this region? ¡Si hermanos! But with prayers to be tranquilo in all circumstances. Vaya con Dios.

Prayer for Central American Cycling
“But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy great peace.” 61Psalm 37:11

We are thankful that the discipline of quiet strength brings an inheritance. We confess we find safety in structure and at times complain about spontaneity. We pray for dignity under pressure and ask blessing upon Central American cycling.

Ponder Do I take matters in stride in appropriate situations? Affirm I can be dignified at all times. Watch for respect when behaving honorably, even in chaos.

59Conversations with Santiago Lopez, whose translation, good will, and brotherhood saved me a few scrapes in Mexico.

60Tranquilo- Peaceful, Quiet is used as a gentle command to relax, don’t worry
Correros – racers
¡Si hermanos! Yes brothers!
Vaya con Dios – Go with God, God bless you.

61The Bible, New International Version, Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society

International Associations

Links in the Chain

⁴⁰“I’ve had enough.” Patrick Lefevere on resigning from AIGCP due to constant quarreling between the UCI and Grand Tour organizers

Nelson Mandela in yellow!

There are cycling associations with distinctive missions, activities, and concerns.The chain works best with well-oiled cooperation. These groups are links in a chain of multinational communication among special interest groups, the UCI and Grand Tour organize:

IPTC International Professional Cycling Teams,
AIGCP International Association of Professional Cycling Teams,
CPA Association of Professional Cyclists,
ADISPRO International Association of Directeur Sportifs,
MPCC Movement for Credible Cycling,
AIOCC International Association of Cycling Race Organizers, and
CAS Court of Arbitration for Sport called in to make rulings.

There may be other important organizations or powerful individuals not mentioned here that may contribute to a working dialogue.

The chain can get a bit squeaky during hard pushes. Conflicts arise over doping scandals and how to treat the alleged perpetrators: to exclude or not to exclude and who has the right to team selection in major events – UCI, the promoters, or the reps?

We do need leadership who can mediate and reunite factions in conflict. Perhaps cycling should look outside cycling for a neutral negotiator that understands how to bring a variety of perspectives, on the verge of breakdown, into a compatible cause.

Perhaps cycling needs a ⁴¹Nelson Mandela – a consummate diplomat whose appeal transcends provincial interest and outmoded regimes and who represents positive change and willingness to patiently endure for it. Pro cycling needs to oil its chain. Some literature refers to oil as a symbol of grace. Less finger pointing, more merciful discussions please.

Prayer for International Associations
“How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! It is like precious oil poured on the head… running down…down upon the collar of his robes.[the links of his chain] …” ⁴²Psalm 133:1-2

Cover our shame and help the people and issues in these causes and organizations. Restore talks, reveal solutions, raise up cooperative leadership to improve cycling at the top. Let this be cleansing balm that trickles down to the common cyclist. Amen.

Ponder Whom do I blame for cycling’s recent disgraces? Aren’t we all in some ways to blame? Affirm I am as much to blame. Intolerance for cheating starts with me. Watch and pray for continued talks.

⁴⁰“Lefevere stops as head of AIGCP,” Latest Cycling News for December 5, 2007 Edited by Gregor Brown, with assistance from Susan Westemeyer www.cyclingnews.com

⁴¹Nelson Mandela was pardoned and released from prison by President F.W. de Klerk after serving twenty-seven years in prison for activities related to ending apartheid, a policy of racial separation. Afterwards, Mandela became the first Black president of South Africa, and he chose de Klerk as his first deputy. “However, the relationship was sometimes strained, particularly so in a sharp exchange in 1991 when he furiously referred to De Klerk as the head of ‘an illegitimate, discredited, minority regime.’” (www.wikipedia.org) Even so, Mandela and de Klerk were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993. Mandela’s presidency and involvement in the U.N. was characterized by a Policy of Reconciliation, and he won respect for his advocacy of national and international cooperation. Mandela’s urging for Black South Africans to support previously hated white South African national rugby team and his presentation of the World Champion trophy to the captain, an Afrikaner, was “widely seen as a major step in the reconciliation” process. He is a great statesman, able to endure long negotiations among highly conflicted parties.

⁴²The Bible, New International Version, Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society

Pack Skills: A River Runs Through It

A River Runs Through It 

⁴⁷“…the flow experience of cruising around in a 100 rider peloton at 50kph… when your skills seem up to the task is sublime.” Gordon Ross, Category 2 Cyclist

Majestic old man River

Maneuvering in the peloton is like a current in a river. Talweg is a term which describes the most navigable channel in a river – generally the place where the current moves the quickest. If you stand on a bridge above a river, the talweg is easy to spot though it isn’t necessarily straight down the middle where you’d expect it.

Each racing field also has a talweg. Common wisdom is to use the outside to continually move and reposition toward the front where braking is less likely and crashing usually more avoidable, and where one can see and act upon swift racing action. It’s true moving on the outside often gives one a path of escape if the peloton suddenly dominoes in front of you; but the outside also requires more effort because of less aerodynamic protection. The same openness which provides a way up also has to be forced through with less draft, and domestiques sit on the outside of team leaders taking the wind for this reason.

Miners bring forth gems by following a river’s origin and so can racers in the peloton. Watch to see where the flow is in the field, the talweg. Sometimes it’s outside and sometimes it’s a crooked path from line to line well inside.

In either case, move subtly as sudden line changes don’t win friends. In race situations, an etiquette which respects safety is rewarded at times by a rider who remembers how you moved around them. Poise on the bike is a great advantage in these tight jostling scenarios. Size can be an advantage either way – larger riders moving others aside to get through and smaller riders coming underneath to pick a path to the front.

Watchfulness is key to moving in that flow, so jump in with both feet taking care where the least amount of splash derives the way to best positioning.

Prayer for Pack Skills
“They discover the origins of rivers, and bring earth’s secrets to light.” ⁴⁸ Job 28:11

We are grateful for the wonderful tension between group speed and constant motion in the pack. We confess we blunder like tugboats rather than skilled kayakers at times. We ask for pack savvy and safety as we master this skill.

Ponder Do I move in the group with stealth and grace? Affirm I can move my bike like flowing water or surging floods, whichever is appropriate and safe. Watch for points of entry and exit in the flow.

⁴⁷“finding flow,” blog entry of Gordon Ross, February 07, 2005 www.disseminate.com

⁴⁸The Message, Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson.

Savoir Faire: Skill Mastery

Savoir Faire: In the Know 

⁴⁵“French cyclists are…much richer in cycling skill. It is enlightening to see a couple of 50-something guys riding on old bikes with cottered cranks, Mafac centerpulls and tubular tires cruising along at 20-25 klicks side by side, with their handlebars maintaining a constant gap of 3 or 4 inches between them.” Sheldon “Francophile” Brown

Wet roads, tight peloton, typical

I spent a season racing in France for a team based in the province of La Drôme, a fruited plain bordered on the west by small mountains – Les Ardèches, and the foothills of Les Hautes-Alpes hedging us to the east. Notable cycling events, such as Paris-Nice and stages of Tour de France pass through the region, which is home to reputed clubs distinguished for developing certain French cycling stars.

Between big events, I frequently raced with men in the Categorie Regionale. Sometimes I had to drive to these men’s events using my host family’s tiny Fiat. Driving and racing were the same in France in terms of a Latin sense of geospatial awareness. An opening the size of a road atlas is an invitation for a sedan to pop in front of you on a French highway.

Likewise, racing on goat path roads in the rain with 200 men proved a similar experience in closeness. One time during a race, my toe cover bumped off my shoe and got lodged in my front derailleur locking my front cranks. They pack so tightly that guys racing next to me noticed that I was unable to pedal. These Frenchmen leaned on me pushing me for what seemed like 2k’s keeping me in the peloton while I dislodged the neoprene booty – and the peloton continued without so much as an, “Oh là là!” – another example of French intimacy and competency.

I knew I was a successful Euro when I could race and drive there without clenched white knuckles, and I came back to American roads – wide as prairies it seemed- maneuvering in the peloton like a current in a river.

Prayer for Competence and Skill Mastery
“Observe people who are good at their work— skilled workers are always in demand and admired; they don’t take a backseat to anyone.” ⁴⁶ Proverbs 22:29

We acknowledge that riding a bike with skill requires coordination and self-control. We are grateful that practice leads to perfection! We pray for competence, expert teachers, and savvy competitors. We pray for opportunities to exchange information, courage that leads to mastery, and to be able to drill, drill, drill!

 

Ponder What do I need to learn to be a better bike handler? How can I help someone else who needs to improve? Affirm I can be an expert at every skill in cycling. Watch and learn how the best do it.

⁴⁵Cycling in France, Sheldon “Francophile” Brown on tandem@hobbes.ucsd.edu mailing list. Sadly, Sheldon Brown passed away while I was writing this book. I’m glad I’d quoted him – let this be a small tribute to his desire in generously conveying cycling knowledge and tremendous humanity.

⁴⁶The Message, Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson.

Team Directors: Field Commanders

Field Commander

⁴¹“Noel is brilliant. He knows the courses, the riders, every scenario and can predict and anticipate, nearly flawlessly, what’s going to happen in a race.” Ted King, Pro Cyclist on Noel Dejonckheere, then US National Team-European Director now with Team BMC

Noel not leaving things to chance

The best directors know their riders, competition, courses, and conditions and can suggest tactics which comprise a thoughtful strategy. The height of directing excitement is watching a rider realize what was imagined in pre-race discussions while calling modifications to meet real-time race demands.

Command-Control-Communication or C3 is a system of information exchange within a military organization; its functional process verifies and corrects activity based on knowledge and rapid two-way information exchange between strategic or tactical units in order to attain its objective.

The chief officer in cycling’s C3 is the Directeur Sportif who commands race strategy via a reliable communication network with some form of feedback. Historically or under technically challenged circumstances, C3 is simple race-side support with team meetings. Now sophisticated radios, secretly coded and requiring special licensing meet the need for responsive, short reactions to racing’s rapidity. The DS cannot always see the action or sense the peloton, so riders must still learn what’s required of them to act at the critical moments, just as foot soldiers on front lines take orders from the Pentagon.

One of the beautiful aspects of directing is utilizing tactical insight, based on knowledge, intuition, and sensory perception, which prognosticates foreknowledge of race probabilities. The beauty is demonstrated by riders capable and willing to take advantage of it. Even a prophetic director’s vision is exceeded in victory. As the teams head into battle, pray for the front line field commanders.

Prayer for Directeur Sportif
“Strength! Courage! You are going to lead this people…Give it everything you have, heart and soul…Don’t get off track, either left or right, so as to make sure you get to where you’re going.” ⁴²Joshua 1:6, 7

We are grateful to those seers among us whose prognostications and high-speed calculations are part of cycling’s arsenal. We confess we lose our line when improperly directed. We ask for courage, incredible perception and blessing on team directors.

Ponder Do I see what really goes on in a race? Affirm I can listen to that insightful voice in my ear and respond immediately. Watch for all the intuitive and sensory information you can absorb at high speed.

⁴¹Conversations with Teddy King, pro cyclist. Teddy was on the US National espoir team and rode in Europe for Noël  Dejonckheere in 2005.  

⁴²The Message, Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson.

Warm Bods

24“Massage…gives a jump start by warming the muscles, tendons, and ligaments…preheats your body…to endure the demands to come.” Roger Pozeznik, Cyclist, Massage Therapist

Even sports massage can be luxurious!

The rigors of travel or hill repeats merit some spa time. The healing hands of a masterful masseuse compete with the heat of a warm sauna or outdoor hot spring for soothing relaxing recovery. Though cold therapies may be better at certain times, massage is important for injury prevention, recovery, and enjoying day after day training and touring, not to omit – yikes – help healing from a crash, and for a pre-ride warm-up.

Many techniques of massage are available. From deeply cleansing sessions to gentle clearing, the sequence for cycling should include legs of course, but also neck and shoulders. The goal is supplesse – that oft elusive state of great strength and flexibility – found after hard training. With appropriate recovery, supple muscles dance, responsive to the rhythms of the road.

Massage is necessary for pros but the entire community can avail of this service, either through self-massage, foam rolls, or some method of rubbing smooth the contours accumulated through fatigue’s metabolic by-products. Some believe a connection can be made with long-held emotional by-products as well, as mind-body-spirit types have felt for years. Many a tale can be told about tears on the massage table and some memory returning evoked lovingly by deep touch. With this vulnerability in mind, it’s important to choose practitioners carefully.

Sometimes targeting specific tightness or injury is assisted by physical therapy or chiropractic modes. It’s pretty common in cycling to have some kinetic dysfunction now and again when even subtle changes wreak havoc on palpable areas.

Prayer for Massage & Therapeutic Treatments
“But Jesus said, ‘Someone did touch me; for I perceived that healing power has gone forth from me.’” 25Luke 8:46

We are grateful for masters of muscular manipulation and for deep relief from soreness. We confess we sometimes neglect this necessary part of training. We ask for conscious effort and opportunity to care for laden legs and for blessing upon massage therapists and other muscular practitioners.

Ponder Am I caring for my legs as much as I’m cracking them? Affirm I can learn some self-massage when absent from experts. Watch for happy legs when warm hands apply their healing power.

24Massage for Cyclists, by Roger Pozeznik published by Vitesse Press, Montpelier, Vermont

25Amplified Bible, Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation

Warm Accommodations: Host Housing

Some digs are better than others

19″ We are looking forward to your visit! We’ll take everyone. If I get to eavesdrop on a conversation …on the day’s racing in the evening I am more than happy. Now I have a team to root for when I watch the race.” Michael Foley, Recreational Cyclist, Host Housing extraordinaire

In nine countries in twice as many years, I stayed in hundreds of homes at various training or racing venues. In all that time, I only had one really sketchy bed – the one where two large outside dogs slept and it was rainy season; and one bad experience – with a feuding couple just prior to their divorce. The smell and feel of wet flea-bitten dog sheets and inadvertent conflict for two nights was well worth the risk to become acquainted with all the other hosts. I owe a huge debt and will probably have company in my house as payment for the remainder of my life.

Benefits to home away from home include: visiting a place from a native perspective; instant fans; insight on routes; more control over meals or accommodating special diets; at times, but not expected, logistical support. In some host situations, I was able to give back and have a positive effect, even remedially influencing troubled relationships or watching kids grow up while reacquainting them to an active, healthy lifestyle year after year. But even that is no guarantee. There was one raucous night when the race organization put our team at an inn above the cantina – the party beneath us didn’t end until dawn. Needless to say, we started that day’s stage a bit bleary-eyed.

Host housing isn’t always the way to go, sometimes you want to return from a race and be alone to recover in solitude or with a choice of teammates who are restful. In that case, to make yourself at home in a hotel is an artform and there are certain tricks – like setting it up as you’d have it at home for ease and comfort. The best hosts know that hospitality means not entertaining you but making you feel at home.

Prayer for Hosts
“Don’t quit in hard times; pray all the harder…be inventive in hospitality.” 20Romans 12:11

We are grateful for welcome receptions. We confess we can never repay all the hospitality we’ve received from others in this community. We ask to be polite and housebroken guests and blessings on willing hosts.

Ponder Do I leave a place as clean as I arrived? Affirm I can groove into a household while setting up my needs. Watch how big your connections grow when housing is exchanged.

19Conversations with Mike Foley and family from an anonymous location. Let’s just say his area is host to an important race in America.

20The Message, Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson.

Warm Climes: Tropical Travel

Cycling shorts in Paradise

¹⁵“Mallorca is quite fascinating! It has a great climate and great scenery and it offers unbeatable conditions for both holiday cyclists and professionals.” Stephen Roche, Pro Cyclist & Camp/Ride Director, on his choice for a winter cycling paradise

Although globalization is expanding cycling’s scope, Eurocentric traditions drive our sport. January’s cold latitudes in the northern hemisphere become wearisome, and we seek ways to warm ourselves this week. After the new year, many pros head to winter training meccas from Majorca to New Mexico, San Diego to Santa Barbara, Tucson to Tasmania. Our friends down under are in full blossom in their warm “winter” (their summer actually, mate) racing season; but track their racing calendar with the north’s seasonality for international competitiveness.

This opens up possibilities to heat up your training travel, especially if your agenda calls for early season fitness. For a mid-winter motivational trip, recreational cyclists can also enjoy a variety of balmy options at winter cycling camps and on touring vacations. Even in nations where bicycles aren’t raced, their prime use as transportation broadens possibilities for warm-weather riding multi-continentally. Then there are the isles – ranging from Hawaii’s sea-shore-to-celestial climbing to tropical circuits around the ¹⁶Canary Islands.

January jump starts travel legs as a beginning of our community’s roving. One of the rules for an itinerant lifestyle is to try to return to base camp periodically: the more you travel the shorter the time between ¹⁷exercusions, about every three weeks for a domestic pro for instance. This is one competitive advantage of indigenous racers since they can race near home and therefore enjoy the benefit of secure recovery, as well as “home field” advantage. Travel widens one’s definition of home allowing for a bunch of base camps – in our international village.

Prayer for Travel
“Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage” ¹⁸Psalm 84:5

We are grateful for our gypsy free wheeling. We confess frustration when travel is hectic. We pray for safe passage.

Ponder How can the inevitability of cycling travel become an advantage? Affirm I can be a seasoned traveler who migrates with as much ease as a rotating paceline. Watch your requirements for feeling settled, and balance your time away accordingly.  

¹⁵Stephen Roche as quoted in “Cycling Tourism,” under Majorca on www.illesbalears.es

For reference to Roche’s own Majorcan cycling camp and for cycling-specific trips to warm climes, see www.stephenroche.com

¹⁶For a great article about the Canary Islands, “On your bike in the Canary Islands,” by Nick Ball, editor of www.lanzaroteguidebook.com posted Monday, 24 Sep 2007 on www.travelbite.co.uk<

“The island’s year round clement climate and super low rainfall (it lies just off the coast of west Africa and the Sahara) attracts professional and amateur cyclists in droves during the winter months, as they seek out warmer weather for training…”

¹⁷Conversations with Jim Copeland, former pro and team director of Team Saturn. His suggestion was three weeks on the road and then swift return to your base to recover and recharge. Just as we rely upon the stabilizing security of gravity while zooming downhill off camber, we need a sense of home between trips. This is one reason under-resourced cyclists are at a competitive disadvantage to those who can afford to travel back and forth, or have luxuries similar to home as they travel.

¹⁸The Bible, New International Version, Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society

Making It Happen

Podium time comes through Planning

6“…right away, I started to think about what I’ll do differently next year — because I plan on getting there again next year.” Nick Frey, American U23 TT Champion after his ride at World’s

Dreams revisited and hope refreshed, now it’s time to think about the activities required to create a desired future. For some in our community, this may mean an actual business plan with financial projections for sponsors, promoters, managers. In some cases, this may be a strategic plan which forecasts a global racing agenda. A cyclist’s annual plan may consist of a training program, a race schedule, and performance-related goals. These are all stages in the dream tour. Some homework is in order today: creating and gathering these documents; and setting up meetings with trusted advisors to discuss it.

Contemplate where your bike is taking you this next year, how it’s going to get you there, and how you’ll know if you got there or not. You know from where we’ve gone together so far, that you’ll not get off simply with the bike goals. It’s best to add some other essential ingredients. Soul-search on your true motivations, check their veracity and integrity, skim off the fat of self-absorption and the dross of vengeance.

Focus instead on what your unique contribution can be thinking about your goals within a series of concentric circles in community. From the inner circle of you and your intimate allies to an ever-widening sphere of influence and involvement, evaluate your strategy to include club/team/organization, then racing region to national impact, and finally international exchange and the universal good of all. Your contribution to the world may be as simple as responsibly approaching your goals so as not to expect from or be a burden upon others. Interdependent realism has amazing returns during tough times, at all times.

Prayer for Planning

“May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.” ⁷Psalm 20:4

We are grateful for free will and the right to pursue happiness. We confess our dread of tangible measurements to that happiness at times. We ask for divine intervention to make a path before us and be our rear guard.

Ponder What are some tangible steps I can take this year toward my dreams? Affirm I can plan where the light shines upon the next steps and not fear the unknown beyond them. Watch those steps turn into destined pathways.

⁶“Need for Speed: Engineering Propels Champion Cyclist,” Science Daily Nov 5, 2007 on www.sciencedaily.com. Adapted from materials provided by Princeton University

⁷The Bible, New International Version, Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society