Rejoice!

Luke 6:23 (New International Version)

²³"Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven.

What a great verse to start out the day with! We have everything to be joyful and thankful for. Life may feel like it's crashing down, that we can't stay on top of anything, yet we have respite in knowing that we are going to Heaven to spend an eternity with our Father and his Son.

Raising a family, working full time and then some, starting an addition, then launching a business- it's been easy enough to get discouraged and want to give up on any one of those things. Yet, that's what God has for us right now and we're to rejoice in the fact that we're to live with Him for eternity and let that joy flow out through all that we do. You know, be holy in all we do (got to get that in :). What a blessing to live in a county where, for now, we can live and worship as we please!

"Culture"

Reading bike magazines and attending that bike expo really reminded me of how easy it is to get caught up in the idea of culture. I love bikes- all kinds, mountain, road, bmx, single speed, fixie, it doesn't matter what it is, I really enjoy them all. I love to ride them, I enjoy fixing them, I like to read about new technologies, custom frame builders, and other people's experiences. It's inspiring to read about trail advocacy and how others find ways to bring under-privileged youth out on a ride. I'm drawn to be a part of that bike culture and all the positive things it represents.

But then I catch myself. Once again I'm being drawn into something that should not take the precedence in my life that it could. It's a wonderful, healthy activity that does a lot of good for lots of people, but in the end it has no eternal ramifications. Bike "culture" will not really do anything for me to keep me fulfilled. It won't get me to heaven.

And it's not just bike- look around. There's a "culture" wrapped around every pursuit out there- fashion, politics, cars, cooking, even religion at times. There is a constant bombardment of things from the enemy to distract us away from what we're called here to do- bring people to the cross. Can we use these pursuits to share the gospel? Sure. Just don't let them distract us from taking opportunities to share Christ's love.

Choose narrow

We got a lot of feedback and continue to do so on what "choose narrow" means and why we chose it. I wanted a tag line that would relay a few things- keep it applicable to the sport and line of clothing and more importantly- point people to the cross.
Choose narrow fits right into the sport aspect. What's better than a narrow ribbon of single track winding through the woods or desert. Or how about that narrow, hill-infested winding road that snakes lazily through the countryside? Let's not forget that little narrow hole-shot that is our main focus when that gun goes off. Being passionate about cycling, those are the paths that we long for- the difficult ones that drive us to a new level and fill our minds with visions of the next ride.
But far more important that the cycle aspect is the narrow path aspect found in scripture.
Our world is exceedingly drawn into the broad road of "acceptance" for all things that even 10-20 years ago would have been appalling to majority of the population. The media is constantly pushing music and video out there that has no place in a public forum, let alone on "family" networks. It's made even easier as those that participate and create it deam it the politically correct way to go. Who are any of us to tell others what to do? As long as it makes us happy... hogwash.
We are told multiple times in scripture (Matthew 7:13,14; Luke 13:24)

that we are not to go down that path, we are to choose the narrow, difficult road that leads to eternity, not destruction. That's the main reason we have that tag line.

So choose narrow, stand for truth and flee from the things of this world.

Here are the pics from the first show. You can see our simple booth, the apparel out, and the choices for 10 back on the table in front. We moved things around for the second day and learned that although the banner may look cool, we have to have the words "performance cycling apparel" so anyone walking by knows what we are selling. Our neighbors to the left were the International Christian Cycling Club- a great group that we are members of and gladly support. We need to be willing and open to share the gospel in any venue that we can.

Post show report

Well, I would have to say that overall the show was a great success. We didn't sell a ton of stuff but we at least sold something and more importantly we got lots of people excited about the brand and the opportunity to be witnesses while out riding their bikes. The name itself drew in lots of people, believers and non-believers alike. Once I explained to them what holyroller meant- that we were taking a saying usually reserved in putting down a Christian and turning it on it's head to use as a conversation starter to share the gospel, one of two things happened. If they were interested they would come in, take a card or sticker, ask about the 10 back and maybe buy something. If they didn't know the term, once they heard it was about the cross, eyes would glaze and they'd walk away. It was wonderful to meet other believers sharing our vision but it was just as important to be able to share with anyone who came. What a blessing that we live in a country where we can do that! We'll post pictures and fix some web stuff today.

First day at the show

Well, we set up yesterday and it will be interesting to say the least. I know that there will be plenty of spiritual opposition down there but we're right next to some great guys at the International Christan Cycling Club- where there are two or more gathered...
I'm pretty nervous right now, but more related to timing than anything else. Once I get there and get into the flow it will help. My dad is coming over to help with the getting everything out then this grand experiment will kick off!
If you're around come on down! If your not, pray for a chance to share the gospel, both us and you!

Job 28

As believers, everything goes back to the cross, everything. Anything that is not of Christ is not worth our time. Such a powerful concept but so hard to actually act out on. As holyroller™ gets going I'm constantly brought back to that place, time and time again.
When we first started to dream and design and build it was a cool company idea with a wide reach that filled a gaping hole in the Christian marketplace. I remember the night when I first envisioned what the ramifications of starting a company like this could entail- cool jerseys and apparel, trips to bike shows to spread the word, sponsoring races and even riders someday, hosting rides for kids in need, slowly migrating to motorcycles, cars, skate, anything with wheels. I hardly slept that night, praying and sketching out ideas and paths to take. I started working on a name based on the concept and holyroller emerged. Perfect! Take a name used by people to describe on-fire Christians and turn it on it's head- use the term to give believers a chance to start a conversation while taking part in what they love.
I started work on the logo, started the trademark filing and began to design shirts when the time allowed. Everything worked great, God walked with every step of the way opening doors that needed to be open and putting in the position we're at now.
The company was shaping up and looking good... the company, not the cross. From the beginning I failed to see the importance and value of what that meant. Sure, we prayed and made sure that everything was biblical and proper and saw the potential to witness to others, but the cross wasn't the center, the business was.
But throw in a Calvary Chapel conference on keeping the fire and constant devotions and preaching that centers everything back and we were on the right path. It's going to be bumpy and the spiritual attacks are going to increase, who even knows how the company will do? But in the end, we win! In the end we go to heaven and the devil is defeated! Be praying for this weekend- God's got some plans.

The First....

Never thought I would be here, blogging, but here it goes.
Being led by the Spirit we are starting a little company called holyroller™ brand. Biking (and all things rolly) has been a passion of mine for a long time and I've always hoped that some day I could design for a company in the industry. I didn't expect this. I didn't expect that God would lead us to fill a niche that was lacking in the Christian marketplace. There's a great bunch of brothers and sisters designing fantastic casual clothing out there to further the gospel message, but there's hardly any performance-based apparel that can be worn at races or in the pits proudly proclaiming our love and devotion to our Maker. There are few, and we'll share those that we find, but we saw a need to create apparel that wicks and can take a beating. Sure, we'll have some casual stuff too, but our focus will be on creating an established brand with connections to the wheel and things that roll.
But trumping the retail is taking the opportunity to use this brand to share the gospel with anyone that will listen. We owe everything to Jesus for dying on the cross for us and we want to share that absolute joy and peace that we've found at the foot of the cross with anyone who will listen. That's where the verse comes in, "Just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do," 1 Peter 1:15. And that's what we want to do- let the holiness that dwells inside us from the Spirit to come out in every aspect of this company.
So there you go- first update down, many to come.