Day 27 of Gratitude - Mark Miller

31 Days of Gratitude - In an attempt to publicly express my gratitude for the people that have impacted me in some way in 2015, I'm setting out to write one post a day sharing what I appreciate about them or what moment that marked me. Some of these people I know well, some I've only met, and some I'm just getting to know. There is no ranking to these posts and they aren't meant to put anyone on a pedestal. They, like you and I, are imperfect people with their own flaws, some you may have experienced. Despite those flaws, I believe we all need to have our positive characteristics called into light and celebrated. This is that attempt. 

Mark Miller has blessed me tremendously over the past year and a half as we've gotten to know each other and as he's chosen to get behind the efforts at Team NeighborLink. I would say that his influence and commitment to building a healthy and fun cycling community has been one of the biggest reasons we've had such success in the past year at Team NL. Mark is a natural leader and influencer. Mark is the kind of guy that is committed to his goals and invites people to join him, and communities need guys like Mark, which is why I'm so grateful for him this year. 

I've talked before about not really being much of an athlete and I'm definitely not competitive in traditional ways. Winning doesn't drive me, but having a great experience while getting better does. Mark is driven far more by competition than me and knows how to be successful, but he's learned from years of competing that there has to be more to it if you're going to stay engaged and want to do. So, these days he's as competitive as ever but not at the expense of making sure it's still fun to do and that it includes others. That spirit resonates with Team NL, his friend circle, and a lot of our athletes, which is why I'm grateful for his leadership within the Team. 

I'm grateful for Mark's generous spirit when it comes to including others, sharing his wealth of knowledge in cycling and beyond, and his willingness to represent a cause that really has nothing to do with cycling, but does have everything about loving others well. Something I see him do a lot of. He's a mentor to many, whether he calls it that or not. Mark has married an equally engaging and welcoming wife, Laura, who I see do the same thing. 

Mark, thanks for your continued support this year. It's meant a lot to me and I've appreciated your energy and desire to get others involved at NL. I look forward to 2016 and many more adventures together. I really want to do more 1-day trips regionally with the crew. 

Day 23 of Gratitude - Joe Johns

31 Days of Gratitude - In an attempt to publicly express my gratitude for the people that have impacted me in some way in 2015, I'm setting out to write one post a day sharing what I appreciate about them or what moment that marked me. Some of these people I know well, some I've only met, and some I'm just getting to know. There is no ranking to these posts and they aren't meant to put anyone on a pedestal. They, like you and I, are imperfect people with their own flaws, some you may have experienced. Despite those flaws, I believe we all need to have our positive characteristics called into light and celebrated. This is that attempt. 

Joe rode solo across the country in 2014. This was at the finish line in San Diego

Whether you think I'm an ok guy or not, you can attribute a large portion to the influence Joe Johns has had on my life. Joe has been one of the most significant spiritual, personal, and relational influences in my life the past decade. If you think positively about me, it's because of the intentionality of Joe inviting me into a relationship that holds me accountable to personal transformation towards a life that looks a lot more like Jesus, which ultimately impacts the way I treat others and the relationships I'm in. If you think I'm got a long way to go, you'd be right, and Joe is still working on me!

More than the mentorship Joe has provided me, he's become a really good friend during this time to my family and I. Michelle and I got to know his family before we got married and at the time, we were all wondering what it would look like to live more intentionally and choose a neighborhood/house together in the same neighborhood. Essentially choose to live in proximity to one another and the things we were investing in rather than choose based on the type of house, the school systems, or the side of town we lived on. So, they moved into a neighborhood and within a year, we did as well. We've lived around the corner ever since and have enjoyed every bit of being close to each other to watch our families grow together, be in community with one another, and do our best at making friendship with one another easier rather than harder. 

Joe has talked me into riding bikes across the country in 7 days, go to DR Congo in Africa, go to conferences, and even into not returning to advertising when I lost my job 8 years ago and take time off to figure out what was next, which ended up being at NeighborLink. Ok, he didn't really talk me into all those things, but merely cast vision for what meaningful pursuits of Holy Spirit-led living could or should look like. Ask big questions, made decisions contrary to status quo, and pray that it'll all work out and we'll gain a better understanding of what it means to be a Christ-follower at the end of it. I've not regretted anything he's talked me into yet, and I'm grateful for his leadership, encouragement, and accountability over the years to do what's right. 

I'm grateful for more than I can effectively express about Joe. It's good to be known intimately like Joe knows me and to have someone that believes in you despite that. I appreciate his transparency, his commitment to the journey, and his commitment to being the best husband, father, and leader he can be even when he acknowledges its still not enough. Thanks for loving me well over the years, and the love you extend to my wife and family. I'm glad we're neighbors and I'm glad our relationship has morphed from just mentorship to friendship. Our relationship has been transformational and I'll be forever grateful. 

Day 22 of Gratitude - The Ladies of NeighborLink

31 Days of Gratitude - In an attempt to publicly express my gratitude for the people that have impacted me in some way in 2015, I'm setting out to write one post a day sharing what I appreciate about them or what moment that marked me. Some of these people I know well, some I've only met, and some I'm just getting to know. There is no ranking to these posts and they aren't meant to put anyone on a pedestal. They, like you and I, are imperfect people with their own flaws, some you may have experienced. Despite those flaws, I believe we all need to have our positive characteristics called into light and celebrated. This is that attempt. 

John, Brett, Jeff or a future post for Joe Johns aren't the only people I'm grateful for at NeighborLink. We have some really incredible women involved in shaping our organization. For the past couple of years, I've sense that we've been missing some really strong female leadership at our organization and because of that, we weren't doing as good of work as we could. When you feel like you're missing something, you just know that you can be better and need to be better if we're going to serve as diverse of a population as we do. In the past two years, we've had some incredible women join our organization and I'm thrilled to be working with them. 

Gwyn Eastom - Gwyn and her husband, Brandon, got involved in NL 5-6 years ago as volunteers. They were desiring to figure out a better expression of what "Church" could be like when it lived out the greatest commandments, and so they decided to just start serving and loving neighbors practically. They also recognized that a lot of their family and friends were sensing the same kind of thing and so they built a community of servants. A few years ago after we saw just how involved and invested Gwyn and Brandon had become, we asked Gwyn to consider joining our board. Gwyn is a talented CPA with a heart for mission and loving neighbors well. Exactly the kind of person we needed investing at a deeper level. 

I've been grateful for Gwyn's commitment to NL. She's helped strengthen our financial processes as we've grown the past couple of years. I'm most grateful because of how her and Brandon not only invest in a board position, but financially and as volunteers. They're a young family living a radically different lifestyle than 99% of their peers and it's inspiring to me. They are generous, smart, loving, and passionate about Kingdom work. Gwyn adds so much perspective to NL beyond her professional CPA abilities. 

Heather Schoegler - I've been fortunate to know Heather for quite a few years now. We connected professionally around professional communication related networks and shared quite a few friends. Heather is the ultimate advocate for many great causes, initiatives, and is generous with her time when it comes to helping organizations thrive. She's extremely smart and has become a go-to person in our community for many things. Our friendship had grown for a few years as she got more involved some of the efforts I was working on at NeighborLink, like Team NeighborLink activities. A year or so ago I was running some growth-opportunities and challenges by her hoping she'd have some insights for NeighborLink, and one of those things was to grow our board/committee structure so we can keep up with our expansion. She quickly said that she'd be interested in considering joining our board and I was thrilled. Heather is the connector NeighborLink so needed and beyond that, we needed her enthusiasm and perspective on how best to position NL in the community. 

I'm grateful for Heather's enthusiasm, thoughtful consideration, and her intentional commitment to engage the right people for the right reasons. Heather had never done a NL project before this summer when our community faced some flooding due to heavy rains. She jumped at the chance to grab her daughter and go out into the community to fill and distribute sandbags. They spend the whole afternoon and evening as a family after her husband and son joined them shoulder to shoulder with neighbors trying to help. No questions asked, just dive right in. That is the essence of a leader at NL and it was encouraging to me. When I think of people/leaders I want to be surrounded by at NL, I think of Heather and I'm grateful for that. Heather just started her own business helping companies figure out how to take social/community engagement seriously and I believe she's going to be widely successful. Thank you, Heather, for joining our board, being an advocate for us, and bringing your insights to our mission of loving neighbors well. 

Elisa Layton - I'm really just getting to know Elisa as she just recently started working with me at NeighborLink this fall. We received a large grant and had some generous donors put us in a position to hire a new person. We had over 25 talented people apply for this job and Elisa stood out as being the right person from the beginning. She brought the skills, experience, and deep desire to help others that NL needed if we were going to solidify your processes to build a strong organization into the future. 

Just a few days before Elisa was supposed to start, we got word that the grant we were supposed to receive was in jeopardy and without it, we wouldn't be able to bring her on full-time like we had agreed. Devastating news for us to give and for Elisa to receive. Because of her character and what she was sensing from the Lord, she decided to still join us on a part-time level and give us some time to figure out the grant, which after 3 months, we're close to doing. It takes a special person to do that, and I'm grateful that she did. Nothing goes quite as you planned in small nonprofits and we need people on our staff that are able to handle that if we're going to be successful. Elisa stepped into the unknown despite the discomfort that brought, and I'm grateful for that. 

Since she's been working with us, her spirit, grace, and kindness towards our recipients has been a huge boost. Jeff and I do our best to love our neighbors well, but we can get lost in trying to fix problems and keep everything going. Elisa is just what the NL staff dynamics needed if we're going to be a well rounded organization for our recipients and for our volunteers. I am looking forward to getting her going full time and really empowered with projects to see how God uses her to drive NL towards the future. 

We have so many great women involved at NL, including many committed volunteers. Too many to recognize personally, but know that we need you at NL. We're not doing what we need to without you. I've always believed that I'm simply a steward of this organization and without everyone else involved, I'm just someone with the title of director. Thank you for your investment in our mission. 

Day 21 of Gratitude - John Barce

31 Days of Gratitude - In an attempt to publicly express my gratitude for the people that have impacted me in some way in 2015, I'm setting out to write one post a day sharing what I appreciate about them or what moment that marked me. Some of these people I know well, some I've only met, and some I'm just getting to know. There is no ranking to these posts and they aren't meant to put anyone on a pedestal. They, like you and I, are imperfect people with their own flaws, some you may have experienced. Despite those flaws, I believe we all need to have our positive characteristics called into light and celebrated. This is that attempt. 

John is one of the greatest men I've known in my 34 years of life. Big statement to make, but I can't imagine another person that has believed in me as a person and as a professional as deep as John has. John had the concept for NeighborLink, the org I run now, and co-founded its creation 12 years ago. John and his wife, Katie, have invested more into NL than I've ever seen a couple do in a nonprofit they believe, and I'm not just talking finances. John and Katie may give dollars to our organization, but they give so much more in terms of board leadership, project volunteerism, and getting others involved. Eight years ago, John gave me the chance to come on board as the executive director of this small grassroots nonprofit and try to make something of it. John and the previous director had done a phenomenal job creating the foundation for a great organization, but it needed something and I ultimately wasn't sure I had what it needed. However, John did and I trusted that what he saw in me was worth investing. 

Since then, John has become a trusted mentor and created an environment as the ultimate decision maker as board president, that has allowed me to explore my professional abilities and do what I've felt was right for the organization with strong governance oversight and little day-to-day supervision. Since day 1 on the job, I've seen John hold NeighborLink loosely like a true steward of God's resources should and never once take credit for ways we've been provided for year-after-year. NL was never, and will never be, John's in his mind. I greatly appreciate this perspective and it's been the greatest illustration of what biblical stewardship really is to me. It's given me the perspective that NL doesn't have to exist, no one has to support it, and God doesn't have to work through it. We don't own NL and we're not owed anything. We're merely in a position to be obedient to help others connect to their vulnerable neighbors and attempt to do it to the best of our ability with the most radical grace possible. Never has John asked me to lead in any other way, and it's paid off because we can look back and see so many successful projects and relationships built that practically shouldn't have happened because of the scope. When you're just a steward, you recognize that nothing we have is ours in the first place, and our mission is to give everything away to the best of our ability. 

This environment that John has created has been vital to my personal and professional development. I've gotten to concept and execute ideas that have been both wildly successful and utter failures. I've told John that I no longer feel like I'm the right person leading NL a half-dozen times and he's always just listened, asked really great questions, pointed out truths to things I was questioning about myself, and encouraged me to make the right decision regardless of the outcome. I can't imagine any other board president responding as well as he has over the years to my uncertainty and growth challenges. I'm grateful that John has trusted me, created an environment that allows me to lead well, and always been the stability that has made NL and myself thrive over the past 8 years since I've been around. 

I'm grateful that I've seen a man who could easily justify never volunteering or investing much time into NL due to a busy family and a very demanding job as an attorney never forget just how important interacting with the poor is for himself, his family, and the church community he's a part of. John is the best example of a servant leader that I personally know and have seen. When I grow up, I want to be like the Jesus I seen shining through John's life. The grace and love for others. The sacrificial living and truth I see spoken. The love and priority he gives his family and community. Thank you for giving me so many things to admire and to emulate as a man, leader, father, and professional. 

Day 15 of Gratitude - Team NeighborLink

31 Days of Gratitude - In an attempt to publicly express my gratitude for the people that have impacted me in some way in 2015, I'm setting out to write one post a day sharing what I appreciate about them or what moment that marked me. Some of these people I know well, some I've only met, and some I'm just getting to know. There is no ranking to these posts and they aren't meant to put anyone on a pedestal. They, like you and I, are imperfect people with their own flaws, some you may have experienced. Despite those flaws, I believe we all need to have our positive characteristics called into light and celebrated. This is that attempt. 

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Team NeighborLink is my tribe. What started as an ideas to screen print "Love Your Neighbor" on some running shirts for a couple of guys that wanted to do an off-road triathlon and a half-marathon one summer has turned into one of the things that gives me so much life. Team NeighborLink is now a legitimate thing with 60 cyclists and triathletes, CrossFit athletes, and dozens of runners. It's a movement made up of people that believe athletics can include and even be more about bigger things than just winning, PRs numbers, or number of people involved. It blows my mind every time I think about just what has happened at Team NeighborLink in the past 5 years. My heart is full of gratitude because of the diverse community that gathers around a shared mission that being a neighbor, even within athletics, is worth investing in.  

I've been into athletics since I was a kid but never really an athlete. I've gotten into a lot of different sports over the years, but there was always something missing for me. I always worked hard to only ever be mediocre at the sports I got into. It took a lot of years to be ok with this, but as I've grown older, I've learned that I'm quite alright being average because it's not the competition that brings me joy, it's the shared experiences. I'm never going to win anything and I've come to the realization that even if I did, it would only likely bring a temporary fulfillment. I want to suffer with others, enjoy the backroads of the country-side with others, and celebrate personal achievements no matter how big, small, or the results they did or didn't generate. 

What I wanted is to do was bring the message that each and every one of us has the opportunity to incorporate more than ourselves within the things we invest our time in. For me and what has become a whole lot of other people, we are telling the story of NeighborLink in every t-shirt, running shirt, or cycling kit we wear at every workout. We create conversation about the love volunteers pour out in the form of raked leaves, new roofs, or the warm heat of a brand new furnace. We tell the story that each and every athlete has the opportunity to tell the narrative that there is more than sport to those athletes that are let down by failed expectations. We tell the story that there is always a team in their community that is far more concerned about relationships than PRs, wins, or sponsorship gains. 

For this, I'm grateful.

As the director of a nonprofit that created an athletic team as a tool to generate new relationships as well as funds for my organization, I have to make tough calls. The tough call heading into 2015 was that if Team NL didn't raise $15,000 this year, I would have to pull back my time investment and let it go, which is not what I wanted to do, but is the tough call I was preparing myself to make. But, something happened this year and Team NL exploded with new members and people that wanted to raise money on our behalf. To date, over $18,000 has been donated or raised by our members or through our events. I'm humbled. 

Tonight we celebrated the end of the year with about 20 members and it reminded me just how incredible this journey has been. What started out as a vision by a guy that isn't even really an athlete, an introvert, and not particularly persuasive, has turned into something that I really always hoped to be a part of. For everyone that calls themselves a Team NeighborLink athlete, bought our gear, or has participated in one of our events, thank you. I'm truly grateful for you, even if I don't really know you or haven't gotten to meet you yet. I appreciate you beyond what words can describe and likely more than you'd value it yourself. You don't have to support us, but you do and anyone that invests their time in creating positive experiences for others, is a friend of mine. 

Team NeighborLink a highlight of my 2015.