if the bike fits, ride it

My wife learned quickly after getting her motorcycle license that your motorcycle is a very personal thing.  Not so much the cosmetics, not so much the cool it makes you feel, but the way you feel on it while riding down the road.  We lowered her ride 101/2 inches, easier than stretching her the same, and suddenly the bike was rideable.  After adding a small windshield, she goes anywhere, and some places others trailer their ride to.  Just a few personal touches made a huge difference.  And soon she learned about her engine size, how fast it would go, and could hold her own with many men who would ask her questions, amazed that the pony tail hanging out of the helmet was a girl.  Under the leather jacket was the heart of a rider...and it became personal.  And so there are many bikes for many types of riders.  I have done 1000 mile days on sport bikes and arrived comfortably, and done 200 miles on cruisers, swearing I would never ride one again, until I did.  I have ridden fast at 40 mph, and slow at 100.  Personally I prefer bikes without all the goodies, but my mind as been changing lately, as all the new press bikes I ride have electronics, from throttle, to ABS, to cruise control, to mini-computers that give a wealth of info at speed.  But it still comes down to how I feel behind the handlebars, and some just take a little more time than others to get used to.  And some I never get used to...must be my age.

Yesterday I rode 300 miles of freeway, mountain roads, and high desert on a Trophy, Triumph’s BMW version of a tourer.  With an electric windshield you can adjust while moving, I was enjoying wind in my face in the mountains, and protection behind it on the freeways.  Cruise set at 80, I could fall asleep, after all that is where it is supposed to excel, but I was surprised how well it handled in the mountains.  I passed Harleys, sport bikes, and rode a pace I usually would on my Street Triple.  It handled very well, and once you got in a rhythm, the fun factor was pegged.  This 900 pound bike handles, it is a Triumph of course, but where you pointed it, it went.  And stayed, no frame shake, no rear end wanting to pass me, and looking at the rear tire, no chicken strips, and it is 200mm wide!  I came away refreshed, amazed, and impressed...but still love my Bonneville.  That does the same thing for 400 pounds less, and no windshield.  So does both my Tigers, or my old Suzuki.  Something to consider when you buy your next bike, or try one out.  Maybe the most important component on a motorcycle is the rider.

Boo hoo to those HD mavens who claim all sport bikes are uncomfortable.  Or you must ride with your feet in the birthing position. True, some sport bikes are a bit exaggerated, but above 80, they are more comfortable, and the light weight in corners doesn’t wear you out.  A new trend, for some years now has caught on, ADV bikes, or adventure bikes, sitting up like on a dirt bike, has become popular.  Once called dual sports, or scramblers, they handle as well, don’t tire you out, and handle great, with superbike power, and ABS brakes.  Why be uncomfortable when you don’t have to be.  Yet we all have the illusion of how we look while riding, my best view is from behind the handlebars, nothing cooler than riding, don’t get caught up in the fashion end of it.  Riding is much more than how I think I look to others, get over it, it is about the ride, it is personal, so enjoy the ride, and if the bike fits, ride it.  And if it doesn’t fit, ride it any way.  Unless the thought of a Prius moves you to emotion...it brings me to tears.

So get over yourself, and ride.  Better than any car, except maybe the new Mustang GT, you have a freedom on a bike no others experience.  All roads call, some will deserve your immediate answer, some will be the way to get to the ones you want, but ride.  For me, one stop along a deserted road, just me and my ride, reminds me of why I ride, sometimes even more than while riding.  It is that personal, get to know your bike, and what better way than to go riding.  So what’s your excuse?

Being a Christian builds confidence in who you are, but more importantly who you are in Christ.  We’re accepted, name written in the book of life, we are saved.  Yet many take their spiritual temperature by the hour, am I in God’s will?  Am I hot?  Am I cold?  Am I praying enough, am I going to all the church I should?  Suddenly it is all about you, when it is really all about Jesus.  It is not who we are, but who he is.  Not what we do, but what he has done.  And some micromanage themselves into a depression worrying if they are doing enough.  They focus on themselves, and forget Jesus, who loved them as sinners, and does the same now saved.  I love it when some well meaning Christian, after bragging how they read so much Bible, ask me “are you in the word?”  My answer is “is the word in you?”  Jesus is the word, is your new life all about him, or still about you?  Many ask “what would Jesus do?”  As a Christian, you have to ask?  Do you know the book or its author?  Does your walk consume you, or does the love of Christ? 

Like what you ride, many are more concerned about the bike than the ride.  The ride is life, and where you are is more important than who you are.  So where are we?  We are in Christ, and should enjoy the ride he provides every day.  So put away your spiritual thermometer, quit worrying about if you are doing enough for Jesus, you can’t, and start living in the spirit, and rejoice because you are simply, wonderfully one with Jesus.  Read your Bible because you want to, same with church.  Don’t fell forced, feel led.  Pray often, meditate, think on Jesus as the day goes, and enjoy the road you are on.  Once saved, you are on the road to heaven, and it takes freeways, back roads, gravel, and driveways to get there.  So enjoy the ride, it is that personal.  Just like riding, except you have heaven.  And can on earth also.

Jesus accepts us as we are, but also is excited about who we will become in him.  To those of us who have gotten over the all about me part, we love the ride, and get excited about it.  And when we get over ourselves, and live a life in Christ not worrying about our performance, we actually perform better.  Riding and walking in the spirit.  So where are you with Jesus?  Where do you want to be?  Still trying to impress others with your walk?   Life is more than stickers and a cool Bible cover, it is knowing the only one who can save.  It is all about Jesus.  Never take to the road without him.  Next time someone asks you about your ride “what’ll she do?”  remember it is all about who twists the throttle.  Does Jesus twist yours?  Ride in the spirit, and don’t worry about what is behind you.  Use your mirrors wisely, and keep looking ahead.  Where your eyes go, the bike will follow.  So keep your eyes on Jesus, the ultimate ride.  You will find that others don’t care about how much you know, but about how much you care.  So if the bike fits, ride it.  All the way to heaven.  And enjoy the ride.  It’s a personal thing.

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

no animals were injured making this film

It is hard to believe that 6 years have passed since I made my film debut with Angelina Jolie.  It may surprise you to think I was in a film with her, it would surprise her too, but I was, and for almost two minutes in the film “SALT” I was there, or really there I was.  When Mickey called me and asked if I wanted to make some money riding a Street Triple, I jumped at it.  Triumph has many connections within Hollywood and with celebrities, and needed sound for the film SALT, would I be interested?  Was the Pope Catholic that day?  So I agreed, and my friend Stu rode along up to a deserted road in Lancaster, where I would ultimately make over 100 passes at 100 mph, and get paid for doing it.  So off on the 2009 orange Street Triple I went.  Stu and I had talked about dealing with Hollyweird types, and we wanted to be a good representative of Jesus, so planned a day witnessing.  But while praying on the way up, a 120 mile ride by itself, God spoke to me,and the impact it would have on the day was important.

Arriving at the preplanned spot, we met two sound guys, one with the script, and wanted me to follow it, making the sounds they would need.  New to motorcycles, he had no idea what he really needed, so I looked at the script, and told him I would make the sounds he needed.  Some riding at him at high speed, some away, some using all 6 speeds, and some using only three.  Maximum effect, I only hoped it wouldn’t turn out that the bike sounded like it had 12 speeds, that the audio would match the visual.  And away I went...

First using a stationary mike, the sound was impressive, but the mike overly sensitive.  At a half mile away at the top of the hill, you could hear me idle.  Wind noise was more than I was used to hearing, and so was brake noise.  They wanted sound, not noise, but got the real sound of riding.  But with repositioning of mikes, we got some great sounds.  One in particular was incredible, while he was standing at the shoulder, I rode at him going through the gears, and when I was about to hit him, at over 100, veered right and continued.  How good was it?  Listening to it later, we were blown away, best described by his words.  “You’re gonna be sitting in the theater, and hear this, and the shivers will go down your spine, and you will say ‘that was me.’”   Even after playing it a dozen times it still made my heart leap! 

And by the end of the day we were all tired, hungry, and spent time over burritos listening to me ride.  Watching the listener on headphones move to the sound...if only Angelina knew!

But the time I spent with God riding up made all the difference.  His plan for the day was different than mine.  I wanted to use the opportunity to share the Lord, never a bad thing, but he had a different way than mine planned.  His words to me that day were simple, “go and have fun.”  He had prepared the day for me, knowing my passion for him, and for riding, he provided an arena for me to enjoy and be myself.  A true witness of who Jesus is in my life, not going out to witness.  Not switched on when needed, when Jesus is in your life, all you do is a witness.  The good shows how he changed your life, the bad places you haven’t allowed him in yet.  We all had a great time, they got some great sound, and my 8 hours of riding came down to 1:41 on film.  A film I have never seen, except for that  1:41!  I let God bless me, and in doing that was a blessing to others.  Simple gospel, being yourself in Jesus, but usually the hardest thing to do.  Be yourself.

It seems we put demands on ourselves that God doesn’t.  When we just live our lives we often show more of a living God than when we try to choreograph our walk.  So truly God’s ways are different than ours, and yes, he rides.  And he loves the sinners just as much as  the saved.  The reason Jesus came into the world.  Where we can be ourselves, and still be saved.  And still live in a fallen world.  So maybe a lesson from Abraham and Sarah, with the focus on Sarah is important.  God told them they would bear children, they were old and she was barren.  But he promised, they believed, never a bad thing, until Sarah decided to do it her way.  As we do so often, God gives a vision, an idea, a plan, and we take it upon ourselves to see it comes to pass.  Isn’t the same God who promised good enough to fulfill his promises?  Does he need our interference, I mean help?  How differently my day of riding would have been if I hadn’t trusted God, he wanted to bless me, and I let him.  And others were blessed too.  And no animals were injured making this film!  It’s OK to let God bless you!  So let him!

Be all you can be in Christ.  Enjoy all the freedom you have been given in the spirit.  And tell others.  Maybe even ask yourself, “if I wasn’t a Christian, would I want to be like me?”  Lighten up and let God be God.  Learn from Sarah, her not trusting God led to a family fight between brothers that still continues today.  Isaac and Ishmael couldn’t get along as brothers, and today the Jews and the Arabs, their descendants still battle.  Just like we do if we don’t trust God.

So next time, the first time you see SALT, or Google the motorcycle sequence on Youtube.com, Angelina Jolie Triumph, think of me.  But really think of God, and how he blessed me that day.  He allowed me to be myself, still loved me,and blessed me more than I would have allowed myself to be blessed.  Jesus saves, we don’t.  We are simply messengers bringing a message of salvation to a lost and dying world.  Be that messenger, let your life be a witness of Jesus Christ, and ride and have fun.  Be you, the hardest thing to be sometimes, and let Jesus change you.  Even harder.  The blessings are there is we only let him.  For me I was more excited about riding and getting paid for it, for some it may be the movie.  Or Angelina.  But it will always be about the ride, so bring Jesus along.  The best blessings come when we let him bless us, and don’t try to do it ourselves.  Sarah learned the hard way, for me it was riding in obedience.  Trusting a loving God.  Riding more and enjoying it less?  You need Jesus...and yes, when I heard that part on the film, I stood up and said “that was me!”  We ride, Jesus saves.  Apollos planted, Paul watered, but it was God who provided the growth.  And the blessings.  Don’t wait for the film version, read his book today.  And when you get to the part where Jesus saves the sinners, you too can say “that was me.”  If you were miked up for a day of riding, what would we hear?

love with compasiion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

bridges-to get to the other side

We all know the old chicken joke about why he crossed the road, but do we realize that bridges are really the reason we get to the other side.  I am fascinated by bridges, and also their building.  Great technology, skill, and patience goes into the design and construction of them, and we have travelled many miles out of way just to cross one.  Some are famous like the George Washington Bridge, I went over it years before Martha was built underneath, making it a two level bridge.  George on top.  Prompting many a joke.  The Tappan Zee Bridge which I read lately is falling apart, how many times have I crossed that escaping from Jersey via New York on my way to Connecticut?  The Verranzano Narrows Bridge to Long Island, referred locally as “The Guinea Gangplank,” and that is but of a few in the New York Metro area.  My first time across the  Royal Gorge in Colorado with Theresa I rode across, she walked.  In case it fell.  Been over the Golden Gate too many times, sometimes visible, sometimes mired in fog.  All on the same crossing.  On trips to my grandparents we used to go over the new bridge, but when I could drive it was the old bridge in Easton, washed away in 1955 by Hurricane Diane, now referred to as the Free Bridge.  Something about the age and history...One day riding on Highway 61 from Mississippi to St. Louis we crossed over it 7 times, sadly such bridges such as the Chain of Rocks Bridge are gone. 

Ever ridden to the Florida Keys?  I forget how many bridges you cross, locally in Miami they refer to them as causeways.  Like bridges and tunnels, then the Chesapeake Bay Bridge is the only way to go to get to Delmarva from Virginia Beach.  17 miles over the Bay, and under it.  Riding along you suddenly disappear under the water...cool sensation.  But what’s Delmarva?  The peninsula of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia...the bridge to it the main attraction.  One of my favorite is the Astoria Bridge in Astoria, Oregon to Long Beach, Washington.  A great bridge really high so the ships can pass under, then long after for the river it crosses is very wide.  And free, so we have ridden back and forth over it many times, and the view...WOW!  While further east the Bridge of the Gods is a two lane bridge over the same river, steel grated, not much fun on a motorcycle, and last time we followed a semi, which made the bridge shake each time he edged forward, as we looked down 100 feet. So many bridges, so little time, but my favorite, for its length, height, and scare factor is the Mackinac Bridge in Michigan, uniting the Upper Peninsula with the glove part of the state.  I have ridden over it both ways, and it was scary enough the first time that I vowed to never cross it again.  Windy, rainy, and cold that day, reaching St. Ignace the town had closed down the weekend before for the winter-it was still September.  The bridge was celebrating its 50th birthday, been there, done that, still have the shirt.  And the Yupper is a ride all its own.  But with lanes paved and grated, the second time with Theresa the paved lane was closed, and the grate wet and slippery, a five mile prayer just to get over it.  With some sections under repair, just 5 feet from going into the lake if the wind caught you...

But the story of the men who built it, under budget and ahead of schedule is another story.  The pictures make my knees weak as you see men on girders 100 feet above the lake, no safety tethers.  The men who designed it fascinate me, as they were able to take a dream, put it on paper, and make it real.  Just some stats on this 5 mile wonder, height of the main towers over the water 552 feet-over 50 stories tall!  42,000 miles of suspension cables.  Total weight of bridge, 1,024,500 tons!  4,851,700 rivets!  Any way you look a it that is a lot of bridge.  A must see and must cross over, at least once in your riding career. 

But what did this majestic bridge replace?  A ferry, which in busy season could present you with an up to 19 hour wait!  Just to get to the other side.  Which is where we find our friends the apostles when they encounter Jesus, walking on the water in the early morning hours.  Why was Jesus walking on the water?  To get to the other side, just as he told them he would meet them.  Many concentrate on Peter also walking on it, in faith they say, but it was really obedience.  Jesus told him come and he did.  “If that is you” Peter had asked.  And of course how Jesus rescued him when he fell.  But we see here a new side to the relationship after Peter is rescued.  Up until that time Peter knew him as rabbi, teacher, had seen him feed 5000, heal the lame and blind.  He had seen the miracles of Christ, but had never experienced the miracle of salvation, the reason Jesus had come to earth, to save us.  Note Peter had travelled with him and was close to him, but on this day was so close that when he fell in fear, he yelled “Jesus save me!”  Jesus was so close he reached out and saved him...and they were instantly on the other side.  Just as he had said.  Literally and spiritually Peter was saved that day, and now knew Jesus as his savior.  And had crossed over to the other side, from death to life, from hell to heaven.  How many today will accept Jesus as a philosopher, religious figure, teacher, and even profit?  But he is really Lord and savior, and is reaching out to save us.  How many of us when faced with drowning in our sin called out to Jesus to “save me!”  To rescue me form my situation?  to get me to the other side?  But as we find, in the midst of the storm, there was Jesus, and he is in the midst of our storm today.  Not to take us around it, but to take us through it, to arrive at the other side.  Just as he says.  And he is the only way to the other side, to heaven,and being reunited with God.  I the storm you are in right now, will you call out to him to be saved?  No one else but Jesus saves.  No other god, holy man, religion, philosophy, lifestyle, or denomination can save you.  Only Jesus.

Like a bridge, he is the way to the other side.  Get to know him today as Peter did as savior.  You may have seen miracles, or even been one.  But only when asking Jesus to save you will you bridge the gap of sin and arrive on the other side.  Peter spent years with Jesus, it took a storm at 3 in the morning when he was afraid to call out to Jesus.  It wasn’t faith that made him walk on the water, it was obedience when Jesus told him to come.  He recognized Jesus at that point and went to him in obedience.  Which follows faith, which leads to trust.  Are you so close you can see him, but still not know him as Lord?  Do you pray aimlessly without knowing him?  Are you assured of getting to the other side when you die?  Peter did, and is.  But it took meeting Jesus face to face to be saved.  His outstretched hand is extended to you today, will you reach out ad grab hold of it?  Or are you still in the boat shaking and scared?

Jesus told them he would meet them on the other side.  Peter found out exactly what Jesus meant that night when he was saved.  The others were instantly there too, but without the heart experience Peter had.  That would come later.  Personally to each one.  So maybe my fascination with bridges reminds me of Jesus.  And being saved. I have no desire to walk on the water when I can ride over it.  One storm over the Mackinac will do that to you.  I never thought of it as a place of prayer, but thousands cross it everyday hoping to get to the other side.  Peter knew, I know.  Even the chicken knew.  You cross over to get to the other side.  And you thought it was a story about faith...

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

wouldn't you really rather ride a Buick?

In my defense, I admit I love motorcycles..  All kinds.  All sizes.  I have anything form Bonnevilles to Classic bikes to sport bikes in my garage right now.  Of the six, each one has a different motor.  And of the dozen or so times I have ridden from coast to coast I have done it on anything from 650 to 1100cc, from 2 to 4 cylinders.  So I rest my case even before mentioning all the bikes I ride for Triumph.  You be the judge...I love motorcycles, and motorcycling.  Guilty, serving a life sentence.  But some do stretch my affection, such as my friend Stu’s Gold Wing, aka The Buick.  It weighs as much as any two bikes I own, has a windshield the size of an NBA backboard, 1800cc six cylinder, the rear seats have arm rests, it has a trunk, a front tire the size of my rear tire, a radio, cruise control, and the new ones have airbags.  Hence the name The Buick.  All the things new cars have, including reverse, “honest officer I’m not drunk, that motorcycle backed into me...”  Its owners claim they are the ultimate touring bike, I leave that one to individual taste, with a warning, pass them whenever you can.  On one ride encountering a group of them, they never exceeded 50 mph, and when we stopped and talked I mentioned the low speed, “can’t you hear your radio if you go any faster?”  A tap on the shoulder reminded me “no they can’t.”   Like I said, in my defense...

Swapping bikes yesterday at Triumph, I am now riding a 2015 Trophy SE, their big touring bike.  Not my first, and I sorta like them.  For their size they handle-they are a Triumph after all, they go fast, great motor, and I like having bags every once in awhile when I forget to bring a bungee cord along.  But I never have listened to its sound system, and mu curiousity got the best of me yesterday, so riding down I-5 along the ocean, I adjusted the windshield up, still like wind in my face, set the cruise on 80, and turned on the radio.  Finding KGB appropriately playing Hitching a Ride by Boston.  And for the next few minutes I was in Buick land.  The sound was great, the air clean, and I was cruising with no input from me.  And when the song ended I woke up, and realized what I had done, I had ridden a Buick, just like the Wing nuts do, except I did it at 80, and could hear the music fine.  But I had lost all contact with riding, no input from my right wrist, minimal wind in my face, and no music from the 3 cylinder exhaust.  I had crossed over the line, and I asked myself “what had just happened?”  Had I aged decades for few miles?  Had I crossed over into a land where motorcycles had become car like?  I had sorta enjoyed it, but them I asked myself “wouldn’t you really rather ride a Buick?”  And the answer was, is, and will be “NO!” I was on a motorcycle, just not of motorcycling.

It was everything I don’t ride for.  I like light bikes that handle, are quick and are fun.  This was fun only because it was a motorcycle, but I was riding a Buick, a car.  I was mesmerized by the computer screen telling me I was getting 49.1 mpg at 80 miles per hour, but had lost contact with riding.  Input, just not sensory. I had crossed over into a land I hope to avoid and was the better for it.  True, for the next 1000 miles this will be my ride, but I will enjoy the wind in my face, the roar of the triple, and wearing the sides of the tires off.  Using the cruise as a defense mechanism, it helps keep the speed down, this sucker is fast, and fortunately the cruise only works to 100.  Like I said, in my defense...and parked next to the Street Triple in my garage, which has everything you need on a motorcycle and nothing you don’t, I feel a ride coming on over some curvy roads I know.  Therapy from therapy, I don’t need no doctor, just two wheels and a motor.  And no, I really rather not ride a Buick.

When Jesus left his disciples, he prayed to his father to not take them out of the world, but to protect them.  We are of God, but still live in this world.  With two kingdoms fighting for our souls, God’s and Satan’s.  And many Christians, myself included have warned new believers to get out of the world, seclude yourself from it.  Avoid any and all contact with it, and don’t get mixed up with it as long as you live.  Just the opposite of what Jesus prayed.  We are to be in the world, just not of it.  We are God’s, bought with a price, and belong to him.  And he protects us.  And think about it, where did Jesus spend all his time?  Where were you when you heard about Christ?  And where was the person who shared Jesus with you?  Out in the world!  If we are to be salt and light where are we to be it?  Out in the world!  Not covering our light under a basket, or behind a windshield, but in it.  Just not of it.  I rode behind a fairing, radio and cruise on.  But I was not of it.  Don’t fall into the trap of segregating yourself from the lost.  True bad company corrupts good morals, and we are to not even say “God bless you” to the cultists, but we are to walk in the freedom Jesus did, in the spirit protected and guided from God above.  Not from our own rules, but by God’s.  God is calling us by his spirit to live in the world, just not be overcome by it.  To not be contaminated by it, but bring life to a dying generation.  We are to be a release for those in bondage, ambassadors of Jesus Christ, not seclude ourselves with those who believe like us, shielded by doctrine and not God.  We need to live in the spirit, and enjoy all the freedoms Jesus died for.

It is possible we are walking in sin if we aren’t out in the world becoming the light of Christ and isolating ourselves.  Without us to be that light, the world is left in darkness, and it is left with only the rocks to praise God, to cry out.  To do what we are supposed to do, but neglect to do.  So try a different approach today, ask Jesus what he wants you to do, without giving him the choices.  Be warned, you will encounter Lazaruses laid in your path, don’t step over them.  You may encounter those who are the least of them, be reminded that what you do to them you are doing to Jesus.  Try showing love and courtesy, compassion and understanding, knowing that if not for the grace of God, there go I.  Find the freedom of getting out from behind the windshield of religion and experience life in the spirit.  Maybe even talk or ride with someone your parents warned you about.  God will protect you, and like he says, obedience is better than sacrifice.  Some ride protected from the wind, I like to ride in it.  I am selfish, I want everything I can get from my ride and my God.  I want to be blessed, so if you ask, “No, I really rather not ride a Buick.”  But I will share in the blessings he provides while riding it.  I love Jesus, guilty serving a life sentence. Life!

Now about those plush animals on your trunks....

love with compassion,

Mike

matthew25biker.blogspot.com

home cookin' and not a microwwave in sight

With a few exceptions, very few, I try to avoid chain restaurants.  I like to eat fresh prepared food from family recipes.  Taste the different spices that make one carne asada different from another, but look forward to both.  No premade hamburger patty, but one made by hand, not quite round, but thick and juicy.  Local delicacies that make you detour to an area just to eat.  When traveling through New England breakfast means a muffin, grilled.  A few seconds on the flat top giving it a whole new flavor.  Recently in Tulare I had my wrap grilled, and what a difference a few seconds made.  Personal touches that separate the ordinary from the exceptional, and make even the mundane flavorful.  No secret ingredients, just the right proportions....made by loving hands where a dash of this and a pinch of that make all the difference.  No written recipe to work from except from the heart.  Years ago when traveling it was looking for signs that offered home cooking, which I never understood, don’t you go out to eat because you don’t want to eat at home?  Didn’t you want a Big Mac to taste better than your mom’s burgers on the stove?  No matter how much I tried, I could never make a sub like Duke’s, and my salads never have the same something they do when eating out.  Same ingredients, but something is different...maybe it is the atmosphere, being waited on, or drinking a Coke at the table, but home cookin’ today is much different than even a few years ago. 

For me home cookin’ means roast beef, with mashed potatoes, from real potatoes, corn on the cob, and gravy on everything, except the corn.  Fresh biscuits, and apple pie for dessert.  Ice cream on top, all made fresh except for the ice cream, unless it was at Grandma’s, where we made it with the old hand crank.  A meal that took hours to prepare and was gone in minutes, with conversation uninterrupted by cell phones.  A meal, that was home cookin’.  Today home cookin’ has a totally different meaning, as for breakfast it is a microwave breakfast sandwich, or Pop Tarts.  Lunch is fast food, or a salad made yesterday, kept fresh by the wonder of refrigeration.  Dinner for many is microwaved lasagna, reheated left overs from last night, renuked to the point of hardness, and gravy comes in a can from the store.  Add water to make potatoes from a bag, salad from a bag, at least it was in the produce section once, and a Klondike bar.  At least the ice cream is the same.  Or better.  So when home cookin’ is seen by today’s generation, it means something completely different.  And I can’t blame them for not wanting home cooking, they want something different than a microwaved surprise...and so restaurants with home cookin’ are fading away with the generation that once was invited in by them.  Today 7-11 sells breakfast sandwiches, AM-PM sells lunch, and any drive in is a drive through any more.  Giving a new meaning to the old signs “eat here, get gas.”  And fading from our society are waitresses and waiters, once professionals, now replaced by starving students.  Who stand behind a counter and take your order by number, “give me a number 3 to go,”  even the old stand by “do you want fries with that?” is passe any longer. 

Seconds are a thing of the past too, or thirds as there was always some potatoes left, an extra piece of corn, or an extra roll.  To sop up the left over gravy.  Home cookin’, cookin’ from the heart.  Another thing that my generation will not pass on to future ones.  I can see the displays in museums, “people really ate like that?”  Clean your plate having a different meaning than pickup your wrappers and throw them away.  Last night’s feast is today’s lunch special, leftovers, but still tasty when reheated, not renuked.  Remember when Mom made enough so you could have the rest for lunch?  Try that with you fast food burger, or salad sweepings.  And yet one store tells us “have it your way.”  Another tells us “you need a break today.”  As long as we like the way they prepare it.  So I will hang onto the last vestiges of home cookin’ as long as I can...until I can only eat the memories.

“Give me that old time religion, it was good enough for me...” goes the chorus of an old song.  A personal relationship with a loving caring God. Who was a real person, and still is.  Yet today many are satisfied with a fast food god, one they can text to, spend time while streaming, and avoid all contact with others.  With the advent of satellite services, some churches today are beamed to other locations, with a few staff members there to assist.  Make the hour go by as fast as possible so we can get onto the next hurry up and wait event.  Some think that is church, and sadly it can be.  But even worse is when they confuse Jesus for the church, and think that knowing God is a fast food experience.  Eating was a personal and almost spiritual event for the Jews.  It was personal when you ate, a time to share, to fellowship, and to get to know others.  Jesus made it even more personal at the last supper, and maybe the best example of home cookin’ was feeding the 5000.  With leftovers for later, for just as spending time with God fills you, Jesus knows you will get hungry again, and need food.  And more time with him.  Home cookin’.  Feeding the body, but also the soul.  Something one quick church buffet on Sunday morning cannot do.  We get hungry everyday, and we need to be fed, every day.  Real meals, not fillers, not a quickie snack.  We need real food, soul food if you will, that feeds the soul and our spirit.  How many times do you leave church full?  Or wanting more?  The 5000 left full, with more for later, a good example of feeding by the holy spirit.  Scripture tells us that we re filled to overflowing, pressed down and shaken, like you do for your Slurpee, to get all you can.  But unlike after downing the Slurpee, and you are still thirsty, the spirit satisfies.  And at the same time has you desiring more.  Do you desire more of Jesus?  Is a daily feeding even enough anymore?  Do you snack on the spirit, looking forward to that special meal time with him?  Or do you settle for a fast food relationship with God, when he offers home cookin’?  Cookin’ from the heart and soul.  His recipe written on our hearts.  He knows just what it takes to fill us up, but also to make us hunger again.  And he can feed one just as much as he did the 5000, personally.  Your food cooked just the way you like it, and not a microwave in sight.  And you find you can have it your way, because you find you want it his way. 

Jesus is home cookin’, sadly religion is fast food.  Both fill you up, one leaves you hungry.  Never satisfied, only in Jesus will you be.  Religion served family style, we are part of the family of God, and as he passes the blessings, we pass the plates.  Each one with a promise of love, to not just meet the need, but to be part of a relationship we look forward to.  How many used to make fun of Sunday pot roast, but would travel 100 miles to eat that meal again?  If Jesus is missing from your church experience, if it is not personal, seek him now,  wherever you are. You plus him equals church.  Enjoy the fellowship, let him feed you, and watch as you grow in him.  Home cookin’ never tasted so good as cookin’ from the heart.  It takes longer like any good relationship does, and always ends with dessert.  Even after a big meal, we always find room for dessert.  Do you always find time for Jesus? 

Love is a recipe that must have the ingredient of Jesus in it.  God is love, more than an experience, he is with us always.  Full but yet hungry after religion?  You need Jesus.  Why leave the table still hungry, when you can leave full, and with dessert to come.  Heaven awaits us, and we will all get our just desserts.  Only Jesus offers and delivers heaven.  All else is hell, and you cannot have it your way.  Jesus allows you to have it your way today, make your ways his, and enjoy home cookin’.  And not a microwave in sight.

love with compassion,

Mike

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