Hiking – Explorience by Ryan George

2 Mar 2023

Finding My Purpose While Lost in the Woods

by Ryan George | posted in: Explorience, Ponderlust | 0

Sometimes, Jesus does multiply loaves and fishes. Sometimes, he puts booming voices in front of large crowds. Sometimes, lives are changed by words said on bright stages. My life has. I’ve learned over the past few years, though, that Jesus does a lot of work outside of the spotlight. That has proven especially true on my journey with him. Some of the most fulfilling conversations of my years in ministry have happened when hikers’ headlamps have lit up my J7 reflector or R9 sign.

12 Jun 2022

Where’s That?

by Ryan George | posted in: Uncategorized | 0

My brother-in-law, Sam, and I drove and hiked around the archipelago nation of the Faroe Islands. From almost every person we told that we heard, “Where’s that?” Well, these 18 islands within the Kingdom of Denmark erupt from the North Atlantic Ocean southeast of Iceland and north of Scotland. And every bend in their roads and trails wows you with a ruggedness that distracts you from almost all thoughts but amazement.

21 Aug 2021

Is There A Wrong Way to Do “Morning Devotions”?

by Ryan George | posted in: Uncategorized | 0

At 5:47 A.M. on Monday, I started sobbing. Walking in a dark woods where nobody could see me, I ugly cried. At one point, I had to stop walking because I couldn’t see straight. I had been listening to a song whose lyrics spoke into a wound my therapist and I had been discussing for months. The truth of Scripture in the lyrics broke me—or more accurately, poured into my brokenness. This was not the first time this has happened, not even on this mountain.

7 Nov 2020

Boundaries? We don’t need no stinkin’ boundaries!

by Ryan George | posted in: Ponderlust | 0

Doing things God’s way often takes longer and requires more patience. Staying inside Jesus’ cones makes us feel like we’ve lost our autonomy. Going where the Holy Spirit points sometimes doesn’t make sense to us. But I can tell you as someone who has set out cones weekly for a decade, those cones are there for someone’s safety or the community’s benefit—or both.

24 Feb 2018

How Adventure Got Redefined for Me at Cracker Barrel

by Ryan George | posted in: Explorience | 0

I regularly get asked how I got into adventuring, how I find such exciting experiences all over the planet. My go-to answer is that I’ve surrounded myself with adventurers. These people call out the adventure in me and invite me along on their bold and crazy journeys. They know my legs might tremble, that my stomach might be in my throat; yet they don’t let my fears keep me from missing out on incredible moments.

9 Jan 2017

Serotonin Gives Me Hat Hair

by Ryan George | posted in: Explorience, Ponderlust | 0

I’ll never forget that moment in my life: the sense of accomplishment, the impression of awe. Scientists have found that reflecting on life’s wins like these refuels our serotonin levels in our bodies, which helps us manage stress. Triggering those memories and what goes with them immunizes us to burnout. So, I wear these hats regularly to take me back to January 2008.

28 Jan 2015

5 Reasons to Spend Your Vacation in a Desert

by Ryan George | posted in: Explorience | 0

To be fair, there’s a reason few flock to this slice of the Chihuahuan Desert. It’s not convenient to get there—hours from an interstate highway and seven hours from a major airport (San Antonio). The unabated sun makes visits bearable only half the year, and paddling possible for even fewer months on the calendar. You have to buy water, because it’s that scarce; and educated folks know not to drink the river water that’s already there.

22 Apr 2014

You Should Move Here, Too

by Ryan George | posted in: Explorience, Random Acts of Ryan | 44

I chose to move to Lynchburg and have fallen in love with it enough to call it home. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that my wife and I are factors in my sister and some of our closest friends emigrating to what we lovingly call “LynchVegas.” Here are the selling points with which I would counter the Lynchburg skeptics.