A special 2-part final Trail Talk reflecting on the gift of being fully aware and fully alive, with gratitude for every mile and every child supported. Be sure to keep watching to catch both parts.

Knowing when to take cover or when to forge ahead despite adversity can be difficult. God makes our paths straight and our way clear.

During long dry spaces, in life or on the trial, we need to keep faithfully walking. And the presence of a good friend can make the trail easier.

The numbers – miles ahead or kids in need – can feel overwhelming. Until we remember one important fact.

Remembering today that, even in the middle of nowhere with coyotes nearby, none of us is ever really alone.

Grateful for being past the halfway point!  And grateful for good people along the trail, like Rob – a stranger that was willing to help when it was needed.

Visiting a place that had life-changing impact years ago, in the company of a lifelong friend, is a reminder to honor someone who made a difference in our lives, and to be that kind of person to a kid in our own sphere of influence today.

Mountain Springs are refreshing. And so are these words from friends and leaders at Mountain Springs Church who are walking a portion of the trail with us.

Hiking at 12,000 feet with smoke in the air can make us consider the quality of what we’re breathing in – through the culture around us as well as the air.

In the remote wilderness stands a legacy of stone and wood. Thoughts about legacy lead us to ask, “Do we produce, or do we consume? And what can we leave behind that makes the world a better place?”

The surprising discovery that it’s the custom on the trail to use “trail names” spurred thoughts about identity. What would your trail name be? More importantly, where is your identity?

The 4th of July on trail #1776 inspired thoughts about Freedom. Freedom is not just being able to do what you want – that can be slavery. Freedom is a state of mind that comes from knowing who you are, that you are loved by God. Freedom is a liberation from yourself, that allows you to love. It’s the freedom we read of in Galatians 5:1 “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”

Today is a special milestone on this 500-mile journey. On the trail, as in life, it’s important that we take time to celebrate milestone, even when there is a lot of trail still ahead of us.

Hardships and hazards along the trail are reminders of what’s involved when we set out to do hard things.

A day of rest along the trail inspires thoughts about how rest, dependency and productivity are connected, and whether the same principle applies everywhere.

Why is mile marker 58 so meaningful? This Trail Talk explains the deep significance of this number to the work we’re doing for kids in hard places.

On the trail, you can’t take anything for granted. The importance of basic necessities brought to mind what, until recently, was the number one killer of young children, and the work we still have ahead in this area.

Day 1 ended with a storm.

Sometimes when I’m hiking solo in the backcountry I think about bears or mountain lions or other risks, but I don’t tend to worry about the type of encounter I had today. A lot of friends have encouraged me to carry when I’m solo but I never have. I wonder what you would have done?

Training day. Today I am covering 10 miles with full pack and 1600 vertical feet at elevation of 8500 – a fairly light day to prepare me for the 500 mile trek from Denver to Durango. Today I’ve been thinking about training, about readiness for the trial, about how training is so different from “trying.”

Life will inevitably test us. In this world you will have trouble. How do we prepare for the moment of the test so that we respond well to the tough circumstances of life?

To follow Jesus is to live according to his way of living, to imitate him as an apprentice. The regular practices or habits of our faith – prayer, study of scripture, fasting, solitude, Sabbath etc, are vital to the life of a disciple. But they are not an end in themselves, that would be religion. Instead, these practices of the abiding life are used by God to transform our minds, to renew us and reshape us, so that when we face the test, the character of Christ is revealed in us.

We do not study to study well, or fast to fast well. Instead, the “spiritual disciplines” are a form of training.

A mentor once gave me a simple axiom, “The test is not the test. Your response to the test is the test.” We don’t have an option to go through life without challenges but we can be prepared to handle them well. We train our minds and hearts to be ready for them so that in the moment of the test our “natural instinct “ (new nature) is toward patience instead of anger, toward grace instead of judgement, toward humility instead of pride – for others more than for ourself.

I guess I could just show up at the trailhead and “try really hard” to finish the hike, but that’s not likely to go well! Instead, I am training for a 40 day, 500 mile trek through the wilderness. I hope my training prepares me to finish well but, even if I can’t finish, I won’t regret a single step because I’m doing this hike to raise awareness and support for kids in poverty. This cause, those kids, deserve everything I can offer. They are the “why” of the hike and remembering why is an important part of readiness.

I am also grateful to know that I am not alone. I’m doing this “walk” as part of a global community of Child Champions who are walking in solidarity with those who serve kids in hard places.

We would love to have you as part of our community. Walk with Us!