FIRED-UP!

The men of MorningStar have arrived, set-up camp, eaten dinner, made s'mores, started building new friendships, and spent some quality time challenging each other to a deeper stronger walk with Jesus. Now that's a great way to start the weekend!

IF IT'S THE WEEKEND THEN WE ARE PROBABLY PREPARING FOR A GOD-AWESOME CAMPING TRIP!

We are honored and blessed to be hosting Morning Star Church of Tampa's annual Men's Camping Retreat! We love this church!!

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT ON TV...

Here's the link to our CTN TV interview from last week that was posted to YouTube. We had a blast with host Darlene Greenlee and the awesome CTN crew!!

Too bad I've got a face for radio hahaha! But at least Laurie rocked it!

Click here for link to GTD Interview

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- ACTUAL VIDEO -

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MISS THIS YEAR'S IGNITE??? ....SET YOUR CALENDAR FOR IGNITE 2020!

How much progress are we making at the GTD Headquarters?

We already have the Public Events planned, reserved, & websites updated for the first quarter of 2020!! Including our annual IGNITE Camping Retreat that just finished!

This may be unprecedented so we are savoring the feeling of being "ahead of the game" (in some areas haha) and giving our faithful participants plenty of time to plan ahead for some God-awesome adventures for 2020 =)

The website & registration page are updated so check them out when you're ready to plan out your own 2020 adventure calendar =)

Click here for the IGNITE Website & Registration Page

Going The Distance Adventure Ministry
Love'n Life Because of Jesus Christ!
Est 1996


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GTD FEATURED ON CTN TV!!

Laurie & I were honored to be in the Christian Television Network (CTN) studio yesterday recording a 15 minute interview about GTD with host Darlene Greenlee of Bay Focus.

It's always a laugh fest and great time with the wonderful people at CTN! We can't thank them enough for promoting our ministry to our community =)

Our Bay Focus interview airs this week on CTN (WCLF) TV Wednesday at 11:30am EST & Thursdays at 7:00pm EST.

(Check your cable provider for the specific channel of WCLF TV... or you can also watch it on their website... or after it has been uploaded to their Facebook Page... see links below)

Bay Focus Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/BayFocusTV/

Bay Focus Website: http://www.ctnonline.com/bayfocus.html

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THANKS FOR MAKING THIS YEAR'S IGNITE SOOOOOOOO GREAT!

Lots of fun people, nonstop activities, perfect weather, quality time in God's Word, yummy meals, new friendships, and so much more all helped make this past weekend's IGNITE Camping Retreat a great success!!

We had kids, teens, young adults, parents, and grandparents join us on this multigenerational event. It felt like an amazing family reunion =)

Our profound thanks to everyone who volunteered, donated, & participated!!

Click on this link to see some of the pictures from IGNITE: https://goingthedistance.smugmug.com/2019/2019-Retreat-IGNITE-Public

And we've already scheduled next year's IGNITE for March 13-15, 2020.... so start planning to join us on this annual God-awesome event!

Glory to God!

Going The Distance Adventure Ministry 

Love'n Life Because of Jesus Christ!

Est 1996

PREEMPTIVE STRIKE! ....FIGHTING THE "CURSE OF GTD"!

4 new trailer tires!!

If you've followed our ministry for anytime at all then you know that flat tires is our nemesis! We (and those who work for, volunteer for, and participate with GTD) get flat tires while on our events all the time. It happens so often that I often wonder if God's actual call on my life is to the tire changing industry. In fact, I jokingly refer to our routine flat tires as "The Curse of GTD". It hits us and everyone who joins us. We have not gone a year without a flat tire for... for... for... possibly forever. Last year we made it to the last event of the year before we had our first flat... a blowout on the expressway... we almost made it the full year! (But several of our volunteers had flats last summer.) So, with that somewhat recent flat in mind & the tell tale signs of much wear & tear on our current tires we are switching from a reactionary approach of tire changing (from on the side of the interstate) to a proactive approach to tire changing (before the flat tire ever happens). Last week we purchased 4 new trailer tires to kick off the 2019 retreat season. It's one more small/big wise "change" we are making as we strive for excellence in ministry & life. One of our goals for 2019 is: NO FLAT TIRES! Hopefully this becomes one of the wise adjustments that minimizes "The Curse of GTD"... but, then again, I've always liked the Nascar tire changing challenges along the journey... and it has supplied us with endless stories, memories, and highway team building & bonding... maybe I should put the old tires back on.... maybe.... maybe?!?! Hahaha!

Hopefully this post didn't leave you deflated and feeling flat ;)

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MISS THIS YEAR'S SWAMP THING OR PADDLE PROWL? ....GET A JUMP ON YOUR 2020 ADVENTURE PLANS!

GREAT NEWS... THESE 2 EVENTS ARE ALREADY ON THE 2020 GTD CALENDAR!
.........AND THEIR WEBSITE LINKS ARE UP!

Progress is the name of the game over here at GTD Headquarters! One of our goals is to give our participants plenty of time to plan ahead for some of our God-awesome adventures. We are pleased to tell you that SWAMP THING 2020 & PADDLE PROWL 2020 are already on next year's calendar, AND their websites and registration pages have already been updated online =)

Start planning ahead for a year full of adventure!

Jan 25-26, 2020 - SWAMP THING!
....Click here for details

Feb 8-9, 2020 - PADDLE PROWL!
....Click here for details

LIVE THE ADVENTURE!


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LOVED OUR ANNUAL MEN'S EVENT WITH CALVARY!

Great weather! Fun activities! Hilarious moments! Delicious food! Spiritual growth!

It's always an honor & blessing to host the annual Men's Advance Event for Calvary Church of Clearwater.

The theme this weekend was: FORGIVEN - CALLED - RESTORED. It revolved around Mark 2.

We love this church and these men who are striving to put God first in their lives.

Real men don't "retreat"; they advance!

Special thanks to Pastor Ron Cooney for choosing GTD as Calvary's Christian adventure outfitter! And a gigantic thank you to "Doug The Bug" Lardner for all his heart & hard work while volunteering this weekend!!

Check out all the pics from this event on our online photo album here: https://goingthedistance.smugmug.com/2019/2019-Retreat-Calvary-Church-Mens-Advance/

Going The Distance Adventure Ministry
Love'n Life Because of Jesus Christ!
Est 1996

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Men's Advance Event This Weekend!!

Loaded up and ready to gooooooo!! Looking fwd to our annual Men's Advance Event with Calvary Church of Clearwater this weekend!

Why is it called Men's Advance instead of Men's Retreat??? Because Pastor Ron Cooney says, "Real men don't retreat, they advance!" We love this church!!!!

Going The Distance Adventure Ministry
Love'n Life Because of Jesus Christ!
Est 1996

IT'S BACK! MY FAVORITE GTD EVENT!! (24th Annual SLAMMED)

OUR 24th ANNUAL SLAMMED ADVENTURE TRIP IS SCHEDULED FOR JULY 10-14, 2019 IN LAKEMONT, GA!!!

In celebration of the 24th Anniversary of the trip that started it all >>> SLAMMED <<< we are offering this 5-day adventure trip in July for only $124/person!! (That's $75 off the regular price!)

Start planning ahead to join us on this God-awesome adventure that slams you with 5 days of non-stop adventure & fun!

Click on this link for all the details

Going The Distance Adventure Ministry
Love'n Life Because of Jesus Christ!
Est 1996


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FIRST TIME EVER... ANNUAL CORPORATE FINANCIAL ENTRIES DONE BY FEB 15th!!

I know this sounds sort of lame to get excited about, but it's actually a significant indicator of great progress... I've ALREADY completed all of the 2018 financial entries for GTD and have sent them off to our accountant. That has NEVER happened in the previous 22 years of operation! We ALWAYS have to file for an extension till Aug or Nov. That has been the normal operating procedure every year.

Without a part-time (or full-time) admin person I have to make all of the financial entries between trips. One weekend retreat actually takes 4 full days to accomplish. Add 1 day (sometimes 2 days) off each week and that leaves 2 days (sometimes 1 day) to tackle all the admin work (including returning emails, phone calls, text messages, social media messages, etc), upcoming trip planning & preparations, equipment maintenance & repairs, family involvements, blah, blah, blah. It's mathematically impossible to get everything done in 8-16 hrs per week. Then factor in being on the road for 2 months during the summer and you can quickly see how it's very challenging to ever be ahead of the game.

BUT, we've been on a multi-year mission to turn everything around and become as efficient and streamlined as possible. It's like turning an aircraft carrier around. That kind of transformation is a slow progression of many small incremental changes that have a compound effect over time. Today we are seeing more signs of great progress. We still have a long way to go, but a lot less miles ahead than we started with. That's very encouraging. It may not seem like a big deal to many people, but it's HUGE in our little world!

Now that my goal of being current on all financial entries early in the year has been attained it has to be sustained. I've blocked off 2-4 hours per week (depending on the week) for financial data entries to help maintain our current status. Time will tell. I've never sent our annual finances to our accountant this early. They're going to think I was hacked haha!


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4 HUMANS, 3 KAYAKS, AND 1 GOAT!

PADDLE PROWL 2019 WAS SMALL, BUT UNFORGETTABLE =)

Here are some of the pics from this past weekend's Paddle Prowl Island Camping trip. Dunkin the goat was everyone's highlight... except when he started eating the Bible!! Jesus said man shall not live on bread alone, but from every word that proceeds from the mouth of God... I guess the same is true for goats ;).

The weather was perfect! The people were perfect! The weekend was perfect! God's amazing playground feeds the soul =)

To check out all the Paddle Prowl pics check out the GTD online photo album: https://goingthedistance.smugmug.com/2019/2019-Adv-Trip-PADDLE-PROWL-Public

Going The Distance Adventure Ministry
Est 1996

Love'n Life Because of Jesus Christ!