Today (Friday) Rebekah and I drove over to Chesapeake, and I came back with the first seriously cool car I’ve owned in a long time. No offense, Santa Fe, but Golf is going to be a lot of fun. Not the “haul mulch and run to the hardware store” kind of fun, so much as “tool around in a high-performance car with Rebekah in the passenger seat, the roof open, and The Eagles Rocking” kind of fun. Besides, there is room for clubs in the trunk and grandchildren in the back seat.

Golf has come to me via Italy, where he logged over 80,000 kilometers and visited several European countries in three years of primo turismo. He represents our son Andrew’s embracing of automobilismo – or Italian motoring – but with a German twist. Alas, there was no room for Golf in the plan for Tashkent, so instead I get to re-up my euro-chic with a little help from a VW Golf TDi – packing more tech features than I can begin to wrap my head around.

One thing I do understand is the fuel economy. An hour after I filled my tank in Suffolk the “fuel-range” number said I could drive another 620 miles before worrying about diesel.

SWEET RIDE: Andrew said he’s worried Golf might be bored in America, driving on wide, straight, highways with the cruise control set on “snooze.” After all, the sporty VW is more familiar with adventures like the recent tour of Sardinia, where the mountain roads make even the goats nervous.

But I told our son not to worry, because I’m going to be driving Golf around on the amazing adventure that is my day-to-day life as a hold-nothing-back follower of Jesus. Life is too short to trade away valuable time in pursuit of anything other than God’s best at all times, and in everything we do.

I haven’t adopted the motto, “Live Like You Mean it” for nothing! God certainly meant something special when each one of us was created, and every time I start up the engine of my new-for-me VW I’m going to be heading somewhere as a highly motivated, generously redeemed, abundantly blessed, specially equipped, deeply loved, bursting with good news child of the Living God!

You can bet your bottom euro, a mission like that is going to make abundantly appropriate use of such a sweet ride!

– DEREK