So, that 12-½ hour drive from San Antonio to Phoenix that I mentioned two days ago was actually a sixteen hour drive.  We were in the Mav’ from 9am to 3am, central time (you do the math).  Courtney doesn’t even remember the last gas stop (she was sleeping so deeply that she doesn’t remember the conversation we had about the gas station we went to).  Thanks to Red Bull, Sunflower Seeds, and Garth Brooks for making the last two hours of the trip possible.

Needless to say, we made it to Phoenix and all is well.  We slept in yesterday and then went to lunch with Austin, Dan, Denise, and Brittany at “Cracker’s & Co” before they hopped on a plane to Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  Though they were leaving, they offered their home to us for an extra day so that we could get some work done and relax a little before heading north to the Grand Canyon.  We promptly took them up on their offer and spent the day swimming and working on our trip, the website, and running those errands I mentioned in the last post.  We got the oil changed, got air in the bike tires, and are grabbing coffee beans on the way out.

Last night, we went into downtown and ate at ‘Pizzeria Bianca’, a local establishment mentioned in the “road trip food” section of Budget travel.  OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!  I’m not kidding, it was the best thing I have ever put in my mouth.  We had the sonny boy pizza (Mozzarella, salami, and olives) and then ordered a second pizza to go for lunch today (I am eating this second pizza as I type and to be honest, I’m a little distracted by its spiritual goodness).  What was I saying…oh yeah, Phoenix.

Anyway, today we are headed to the Grand Canyon and we’re syked about it.  Tonight will be our first night in an RV park so I’m sure we’ll have plenty to blog about tomorrow.  As a final thought, I was hanging out with Jesus yesterday afternoon and to be frank, my mind was somewhere else.  I was so focused on the stress of the laundry list of things we needed to do:  Getting to Yellowstone in time, finding campgrounds, getting groceries, fixing the website, fixing the bikes, etc.  I’ve been reading Francis Chan’s “Crazy Love”, which, if you haven’t picked up a copy, stop reading this and go get it.  It’ll change your perspective on stuff.  Anyway he talks about the arrogance of stress and worry and that though there are important things in our lives that need to be tended to, worry and stress imply that we think our problems are bigger than God.  James 4: 13-14 says, “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make profit” – yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring.  What is your life?  For you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.”

I began thinking about that amidst the craziness of what Courtney and I are doing and thought, “Wow!  How much time have I wasted in the trenches of detail, trying to map out everything and plan everything and worry about the RV.  Have I forgotten to just show up?  When we set out on this adventure, I suppose there was an element of romanticizing about the trip, all we would do, all we would see, all this time we’d get to spend together, and ALL the money we’d raise.  Well guess what?  Three weeks in we haven’t raised that much money yet, we are two days behind on our trip, we’re tired, and we’ve changed our plans six times in five days, and you know what?  That’s okay.  That’s okay…it’s the first time I’ve said it.  I feel better.

This time we’ve had in Phoenix has allowed me to see that sure, goals are important, and yes we have places to be, but in the midst of all of those things, are we missing what God is doing in us?  Are we forgetting to stop and thank Him that we’ve lived another day and been given another opportunity to share Him with someone?  1 Corinthians 10:31 says, “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all for the glory of God”.  Let us not forget our purpose, not only on this adventure, but everyday in our lives.  Peace out…

Michael