w.b.ledbetter, jr.

I heard an interesting phrase on the podcasts a few weeks back while riding my bike:

What echo of yourself will you leave in time?

I immediately thought that was a cool way to put the concept of a legacy, even a photographic one. But, I also thought it an interesting question, because the answer could be all about me, or it could be about Jesus. If the thing I leave behind is all about me, that might have some value later on to someone. But if the thing I leave behind is about Jesus and His love for the world, and how I lived that out, perhaps He will receive glory that He wouldn’t otherwise get. That will have an impact, on others around me as well as me, and will be something I can carry to the throne of Jesus at the end of time.

Looking back, I think I’ve tended to pour my heart into singing; music is a huge part of my mind and heart. I pray that I have had something like this kind of impact on my own kids!

http://www.theblazingcenter.com/2012/03/dads-sing-like-you-mean-it-because-your-kids-are-watching.html

Last Sunday morning, thousands of people from everywhere participated in the Livestrong Marathon in Austin. The interesting thing about this particular marathon is that is passes right in front of Hope Chapel, which is where we go to church on Sunday mornings… In the past, this has always been a bit of a problem as it makes it difficult to get to and from the church on race day. So this year the church decided to do something completely different and participate in the water stop right across the street and move our regular worship time from Sunday morning to Saturday evening. The main idea was to get out and serve the city by helping out and participating in what has become a very important event in the Austin culture. Lots of people from Hope handed out water to runners as they came by, while others set up a series of worship teams to just sing them by, giving out a little musical encouragement in the process.

I participated by singing on one of the worship teams, leading another and by taking a few photographs and videos.

From that I put together an animated slide show / video:

This week I crossed over 500 miles on my bike in the year. Pretty good for me! Last year I made it to a little over 1000 miles, and still hope to do that again this year. I had a rough patch with all the cold wind (hard to remember that!) early on in the year. Just a couple of days ago I was riding along Sam Bass Road and remembering again how wonderfully secluded that path is. It’s almost buried in the trees at points and is a total pleasure to ride. At several points, Brushy Creek passes right next to the road and at one point the path goes across the creek.

Further up the road, right near Parmer Lane, there is a bunch of construction. It’s kinda sad, even though I know it will bring a better traffic flow at peak times for the neighborhood, because it means that there will be a lot more traffic and the road will not longer have that secluded feel to it.

I’m hoping that they’ll be able to retain some semblance of natural beauty in the midst of urbanization. I love it that I can ride out from my home in several directions and enjoy the earth that God gave us!