Long Winded

I know that I'm capable of talking to a wall but I realized this morning just how wordy I am. I have an ongoing microsoft word document that I started about a year ago. A journal of sorts, I found writing to be an outlet for where I am in life. I could vent frustrations, pray and just chronicle all the things going on in my life. The document is very long and this morning I realized that most of it has taken place since my move to California. I began talking about the move on page 13, which at the time I thought was pretty impressive. In four years of college I think I only wrote two papers that length.
Today the document is 46 pages long. That's a lot of venting, praying, and who knows what else! I thought for a moment perhaps I should publish it someday as a memoir or something. On second thought, probably not a very good idea. Maybe with a LOT of editing I could do something with the majority of it. But who knows.

Anyway. Things are going extremely well. I moved this passed week from the house I was living at in Rainbow, to Murrieta. I've been praying for an opportunity to move into town so I could be closer to friends, have internet in my home and save money on gas. God provided a nearly brand new house with a couple of awesome Christian guys for dirt cheap. I was getting free rent where I was at before but I'm saving a lot on gas by living in town. Amazingly, pretty much everywhere I go in town is within a mile or two of where I live. I actually have two rooms, kind of like a home office. Its a huge blessing as I can now walk out of my room, sit down at my desk and begin working on stories, photos or any number of other things I have going on.


I've still been looking for work but with no success. I'm very blessed by a company that has begun paying me for blogs that I write. It's fun to chronicle my experiences and share them with others, and a bonus to get paid for it. Right now thats my only income but God has been faithfully providing small writing jobs here and there to keep me affloat. One example, I did a story for a guy back in December and he had a difficult time paying me up until this past week. For my trouble he sent me an extra $150! That check is taking care of rent for next month so I'm continuing to trust that God will continue to provide.

I attached a few pics of the new pad. You can join me in praying for new opportunities with riding. Shows are super slow right now and I have nothing in the forseeable future. I did have an encourageing conversation the other day with a friend and fellow rider that I've looked up to for most of my life, Mike Metzger. We are going to work on putting some shows together in the coming months and both hoping for opportunities to ride. You can keep him in your prayers also as he sufferd a bad crash this past week and broke his femur. Its his fourth time so at this point its somewhat of a minor injury, but pray for a speedy recovery.

An Ode to Moms

Today we salute mothers everywhere. They love, they nurture and they get far less credit than they deserve. They wipe our noses, change our diapers and kiss our boo boos. Considering my chosen profession and the childhood experiences that have contributed to said profession, I've put my mother through the ringer. My famous last words growing up were, "Mom watch this!"

One of the most exciting of those memories was on a family ATV trip to the beach. Between rides I could be found jumping my bicycle off anything and everything around the campground. I found an awesome embankment that served as a perfect jump. The only problem is you had a small area to land and slam on the brakes or risk face planting off a 3-4 foot ledge.

On my final run I pedaled with all my might and accordingly, flew higher than I had all day. The rest is mostly a blur but I remember my front wheel hitting first forcing me over the bars and into a bush. I jumped up to see my mom sprinting in my direction with a look of sheer terror on her face. I assured her I was ok but it didn't seem to settle her much.

Since I started jumping ramps there have been a few phone calls that went something like, "Mom, I crashed again." Though she's never seen me jump, my mom has been one of my biggest supporters. She's always asking for the latest news, and demanding that I send along photos, articles and any other paraphernalia that I come across. (Sorry mom, I'm not that big time.) When I have my own bobble head in stores, I will truly know that I have arrived.

Bobble head or not, mom has always been in my corner and I know she always will be. Here's a new photo from a ride session this past week. Huge thanks to Richard Hurtado of Backdraft Photography for coming out and shooting photos.

The Full Scoop

Below is the entire report I previously as seen on AllTerrainResearch.net Visit their site for more photos and more of my industry related work.
I do not race. I’ve lined up on an actual racecourse three times in my life and have been ill equipped each time. My first experience was in 2006 aboard a nearly stock LT250R. I was home on summer break from college and my dad suggested I give racing a try. The fellow running practice must have sensed my inexperience as he approached me and kindly suggested that I practice with the “old farts and women.” You can imagine how that experience went.

Fast forward to 2010 and I’ve got Wes Miller, world renown producer and desert champion calling me out to join him at some of the WORCS events. While my skills have increased a great deal since those days on the old LT, my equipment is still sub par. For the two WORCS events I’ve participated in I rode my trusty (and stock) TRX 450 the entire grueling 45 minutes.

Wes most recently talked me into joining him for the fourth round in Adelanto and I had declined his offer until I spied the guys loading their quads early Friday morning for practice. We loaded mine into the rig and it was off to Adelanto to see what the day would bring.

Upon arrival I was slightly intimidated by the track. There was a rather large 120ft step up and a semi-challenging double into a whoop section. As I began making laps on the course each time I came around to that step up I told myself “you’re a freestyle rider, you have nothing to gain and everything to lose.” I managed to talk myself out of going for it the first few laps but on lap four or five while I was again conversing with myself, I ended up pinning it and to my surprise cleared it with ease. I didn’t quite down side it to the 120 foot mark but I managed to land on top and not crash which was all I cared about. My newfound confidence lead me to attempt the double which proved to be not quite as challenging as I had thought. The only problem really came if you were to get squirly off the double and then lose control going into the whoops. One rider did just that resulting in the first of three air lifts for the day.

Race day dawned and Wes and I drove back to Adelanto eager for our perspective races. To our surprise the “desert” section of the course looked more like a 4.2 mile long motocross track. Be it we opted to only run the Friday practice we hadn’t even seen the majority of the course when we lined up to race.

I entered the Sport 15-29 B class hoping to improve upon my 6^th place finish from Havasu. As I took my place on the unusually saturated starting line, I found a semi dry spot to the far left of the start. This would give me the shortest line to the first turn.

Moments before the race I met a fellow named Charley who, upon discovering that I ride for the Bomb Squad, suggested I do a little freestyle on the mx track. I told him if I managed to holeshot I’d give it my best.

The green flag dropped and I gave my little TRX everything it had. I was pleased to find myself in third place as I exited turn one. While I hadn’t managed to holeshot I did a little heel clicker over the first tabletop to appease Charly. Come to find out later he missed it.

As we left the motocross track I was able to sneak past 2^nd place and put pressure on the leader. Deep ruts in every turn mad passing in the corners almost impossible but I found my opportunity down one of the straights just before reentering the motocross track. I snuck by and used the motocross track to put some distance on second place.

Again I was faced with the dilemma of attempting the step up or opting to play it safe as my arms were already burning from only one lap on the course. Windy conditions during practice had been sending me sideways in midair and I was afraid if that happened during the race I wouldn’t have the strength to muscle the quad around. I opted to try it anyway and was pleased to jump it cleanly as there was no wind to deal with.

I talk to myself when I ride. Sometime I pray. Sometimes I sing. On this particular day I was running though conversations I could have that might enable me to score some contingency money should I maintain my lead. Unfortunately fatigue began to set in and I was passed partway through lap three.

By this point we were starting to catch riders from the class in front of us and I somehow lost track of what position I was in. As I neared the motocross section for what would be the final lap a KTM mounted rider maneuvered his way around me. I recognized the name on his jersey as one who flipped me off during the race at Havasu and decided that I was not going to let him beat me here.

As we approached the ever-exciting step up I noticed that he chose not to jump it. I used this as an opportunity to close the gap and managed to almost land on him in the process. Realizing that I was in hot pursuit, he picked up his pace but I caught him again as we approached the double into the whoops. Though most of my body was aching, my competitive spirit won out and I opted to jump the double in hopes of making a pass. I lucked out and my counterpart chose to single it. Though it was ugly, I cleared the double, bounced through the whoop section and to my delight received the checkered flag a few turns later. Unsure of where I had placed I was ecstatic to find myself in third after viewing the results board.

The whole experience came as a personal victory to me. While I would consider myself an expert level rider I’ve spent very little time on a motocross track and next to no time banging bars in a live race. To have actually lead for a portion of the race was completely unexpected and finishing on the podium was the icing on the cake.

I’m not sure when I’ll be lining up behind the gate again but you can be sure that I’ve caught the racing bug. I am tremendously blessed to be at a place in my life where I’m able to pursue my passion and equally blessed to have friends that share my love for this sport.

A Fresh Start

I'm turning over a new leaf. I must admit that between riding, facebooking, church activities and any number of other things that pop up on a daily basis, this blog has taken a back burner. I'm going to try VERY hard to not let that happen again. My posts will probably be shorter but hopefully more frequent.

The last week has had quite a lot of excitement. One positive thing is that a company contacted me about doing freelance work for them. All Terrain Research (ATR) is an offroad prototype and manufacturing company. They're owner, Jeremy Bratcher, contacted me and asked me to contribute content to their website. He said that he enjoyed my writing and thought that providing an inside perspective on the industry would be interesting to his readers. I'm SO thankful for the opportunity as it gives me yet another outlet for my musings and I'm actually getting paid for this work!

Last weekend my roommate and our company owner Wes Miller again talked me into racing a WORCS event with him. I've actually already written several recaps of the event, one of which was for ATR so rather than write another one, I'll post it here after Jeremy posts it to ATR's website. In short the race was spectacular. I almost took the holeshot (beating everyone to the first turn) and was able to lead for two of the first three laps. I finished the race in third place which was COMPLETELY unexpected. I had so much fun and was again so blessed by all the kind people in this industry.

Thursday: For as long as I can remember I've wanted to build a full on race quad. Money is no option, the best parts, just make it as cool looking as possible. Well we had a $15,000 limit but the quad we built was definitely one of the coolest I've seen. Dirt Wheels magazine was putting together a story on modified 450 quads and we offered to build the Polaris since they sponsor our freestyle team. While we had the quad almost a month prior to the shoot, we didn't receive all the other parts until this past Wednesday, including the motor which we didn't have until 9pm on Wednesday night.

We started on the quad at 6:30am on Thursday and Wes and I returned from dropping it off to be dyno'd at 1am Friday morning. Paint, assembly, graphics, studio photo shoot and finally the dyno. It was a long day but SO fun being a part of one of the most insane creations I've ever seen.

Friday: Yet another experience that I am going to write about in full and will post later. Needless to say the opportunity was spectacular. Dirt Wheels was testing all 6 of the race quads at the world famous Glen Helen Raceway. Simply being there was monumental for me as I've heard about this track for years but never actually been. I threw my gear bag in just in case they were in need of another rider but didn't expect much. I'll leave it at that until I put the story together but it turned out to be one amazing afternoon!

And that brings me to today. One organization I've been seeking to get involved with for some time is called Riders 4 Christ, a team of freestyle motocross riders devoted to spreading the message of Jesus Christ. I've tried multiple times to touch bases with them but was unsuccessful until recently. About a month ago I connected with Jimmie McGuire, a professional freestyle rider and one of the directors of R4C. We talked about adding a quad to their line up and have been in contact off and on since. Today I spent the afternoon at his house playing music and jamming on some worship songs that we are going to play at a worship service next week.

To cap it all off, as if you haven't read enough already, I FINALLY made some updates to my personal website so if you're not completely board checkout LocalHeroesNW.com

Thanks, check back soon and often. I mean it this time :)

Standing Firm

My football coach in college always stressed being a man of your word therefore I’m trying to follow through by writing a new post each week. It’s a funny place I find myself. Over the years I’ve told God what I felt like my dream job would be. To make money doing what I love, if that be jumping a four wheeler than all the better, to serve as a worship leader in some capacity and to enjoy great fellowship with any number of people, visiting over coffee and genuinely getting to know others. Its funny because God has actually given me all of those opportunities. I am so very blessed to be doing what I do, working with a company I’ve admired most of my life and serving in various roles in different ministries. Through my various connections in different ministries I’ve had countless conversations and cups of coffee with others and have made some incredible relationships. Seemingly I’m doing all that I ever hope I would get to do and for that I am so thankful, I just can’t help but feel like I’m spinning my wheels.
I don’t wish for this entry to have a negative overtone, I simply struggle to fully enjoy all the good in my life when I feel that I’m not taking any strides forward. No doubt doors are opening. This past weekend I connected with two of the biggest names in the industry and began talking about opportunities to serve and potentially ride with a team called Riders 4 Christ. I’ve been trying to connect with them since before I moved down here so that is quite a milestone. I’ve been asked to become more involved with a ministry called Panic Rev on various levels and my relationships with people in the company I work/ride for have never been better. I am excited to be in this place however I’m still living rent free in someone’s guest room and not getting any closer to any sort of a steady income. Though relations at the house are great, I can’t help but feel like I’m imposing after having been here for 6 months. I’m living off the money I made from the tour I went on back in February and have sufficient funds to last me at least another two months or so, I just struggle with the feeling of not really getting anywhere. I’m starting to look for work but torn between simply relying on God, trusting that he’ll again provide when the funds run out, or doing the “responsible” thing and get a real job. As mentioned I’ve begun exploring the option of work, the only problem is its doubtful an employer will eagerly let me go for a week at a time when shows finally do arise, which is the reason I came here and definitely where I feel called to serve.

And so I’m torn, though I’m expectant that God will begin to move in the coming weeks as decisions need to be made. A constant theme in my life has been God moving at a moments notice, seemingly throwing open doors and creating unforeseen paths where none had previously been. (Reminiscent of the Red Sea perhaps?) Its exciting to see God move in such big ways however for a person like me that likes structure and a solid game plan it creates a great deal of discomfort. Such is life I guess and most definitely a life spent walking with Christ. He has called us to depend on Him, not our own strength and I’m certainly learning a whole new level of dependence. I am so thankful to be where I am and have never been more confident of being in the right place, I’m just learning to trust and lean, “not on my understanding” but on the God that “at the right time will bring everything under the authority of Christ.” Eph 1:10

Prayer requests would be to book shows and be able to ride events, ultimately making money for both myself and the company. I'm eager to return the kindness that this group has shown me by taking me in, letting me live and ride for free and helping me take leaps and bounds forward in pursuing this dream. Also continuing to seek a new place to live closer to town where I can have friends over and continue in fellowship with others while saving quite a bit on gas. A job if that’s Gods plan as I’m eager to get more established and stop living off the generosity of others. A greater intimacy with God., I find my faith is often shaken at times when the road extends beyond my view. That frustrates me as I don’t want my faith to be determined by my circumstances.

That is all for now. This past weekend I was blessed to visit with a couple of my dear friends from my days at Greenville and had an awesome time catching up with them. The couple of photos I attached are ones I created in photoshop. That is something new that I’m very excited about as I’ve been eager to learn the program for some time. Thanks for reading and as always please feel free to say hi. I continue to be blessed when learning that people are actually following me on the crazy adventure ☺ sethfargher@gmail.com

Proverbs 3:5-6

"Trust in the Lord with ALL your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths."

Of all the fruits of the spirit, patience seems to be the one God wants me to practice the most. It was a painful, stretching, and trying time waiting many years for this opportunity to move to California and now that I'm here, I again find myself waiting. I'm not sure what I'm waiting for but I continue to ask God to bring about whatever is next.

It was an exciting adventure and a new step of faith going on that 3 week excursion and being able to do my first freestyle shows. Since returning in mid February I've worked very hard at polishing my tricks and adding a few touches to make them all the more exciting. I'm very comfortable in the air and based on what I've seen, have a sufficient enough bag of tricks to move forward in this sport...and yet I'm waiting. For nearly 6 weeks now I've been waiting for a call do go and "ride again." I've struggled with understanding God's reasoning in taking me to the mountaintop of excitement and success with that last tour, only to let things seemingly run dry since then. I feel that I'm ready to go, eager to continue on this path, yet the ability to do shows i.e. being booked for them, does not lie in my hands. I'm dependent upon others for this opportunity thus making it out of my control. Control has always been a struggle for me as I so readily like to be in control of my life. No doubt God is again teaching me to relinquish control over my situation as well as my life as a whole. According to His word He "has all the days ordained to me" already. I need not worry, just take them as they come trusting that He will supply all my needs. This is where I struggle.

My mentor in college thought it was amusing that I'm always ready for the next thing. In my current situation that would be that of making money and better establishing myself. I continue to live in the guest room of our company owner, who remains extremely generous, yet I can't help but feel like I'm in his space. I don't want to be a burden to anyone and I'm eager to support myself. That said, I can't do that in this profession without riding shows. I rely on others to book those shows, thus, my desire to more fully support and establish myself is out of my control. There in lies the problem. I'm trying daily to surrender my situation to God and "lean not on my own understanding." For I surely don't understand the hold up, or why I'm sitting here, spending most days looking for things to do. Not that I'm sitting around doing nothing, I simply FEEL as though I'm not doing anything productive to improve my situation and better establish myself.

I may have brought this on myself. I heard once that when you ask God for more patience or deeper faith, He doesn't zap you with more faith, but rather provides opportunities to practice being patient. I've prayed for a deeper faith and this may very well be Gods way of taking my faith to a greater level. None the less, my goal as I have an increased amount of free time is to write. I feel I need an outlet for my walk with the Lord and writing gives me some sense of sharing what I'm learning or at least what I'm thinking so I'm going to attempt to be more faithful in keeping this blog updated with my daily musings about this journey that I'm on.

My apologies if this is all over the map. Lots is coming to mind and its hard to be brief. In a nut shell I've been waiting on opportunities to do more shows. In the mean time my roomate and I have gotten into racing a little. We made a trek to Lake Havasu Arizona for a WORCS race which was an exciting time. I was pleased with my performance and look forward to doing more of this in the future. You can join me in praying for whatever God has next. I'm eager to move forward from this place I find myself. Not physically as I'm SO excited to be here in Temecula, but to begin actually moving forward to establish myself where I am, and not be so dependant upon the generosity of others.

Caroline

Today I have been blessed. A certain store in the local mall, C28 clothing, put on a free concert. Due to rain the concert was moved inside a parking structure. C28 is a Christian Clothing company based on Colossians 2:8. Their message is that of not following the pattern of this world, but that of Christ. It was a great event, especially for such a unique setting in a parking garage.

One of the bands that played is called Seventh Day Slumber. This was the third time I’ve seen them perform, the first time being probably around 8 years ago. Part of the bands message is for the lead singer to share his testimony about how God has radically changed his life. This was the third time I’ve heard him speak and without a doubt the most powerful. He shared that the only memories he had of his father were of him beating his mother. At age 9 he broke into his first house and began a criminal lifestyle which landed him in jail on multiple occasions. At age 14 he began using cocaine and did so until attempting to end his life with a lethal dose at the age of 22. He shared that through it all his mother, a devout Christian, had been praying for her son as she watched him slide farther and farther away. She happened to walk in shortly after his overdose and found him convulsing on the living room floor. Joseph shared that it was in the ambulance on the way to the hospital, with tubes and wires attached to nearly every part of his body, that he felt the touch of a Father for the first time. He shared that God met him in that ambulance and touched his heart and showed him that his was a life worth living.

Today Joseph is 36 years old, has been married for ten years and has three sons. The very place is he is today is evidence of Gods grace and goodness. He shared that going from where he was, to where he is now, would’ve been impossible without the hand of God.

As he continued to speak he asked the crowd a series of questions. “Where do you find yourself, have you given up hope, are you wondering what reason you have to live?” To married people, “Do you find yourself ready to give up, fed up with your spouses behavior, ready with clenched fists and grit teeth to march to the court house to let a judge end your problems?” From a man that has truly hit the bottom, came a message of hope and healing. One of the most powerful moments of the night came in the middle of their performance. Between songs they played audio clips of letters they have received from friends and fans. One letter read:
Dear Seventh day Slumber
I’m broken and hurting. Yesterday my husband of 18 years left me. Without ever knowing how he was feeling, he decided to leave. I feel rejected and unloved. Does God even love me?
In response to the letter Joseph penned the song Caroline:

Where do I begin? There's so much I want to say to make it easier
Tomorrow's on its way. Do you believe I want to take your painful memories?
I know you want to run away. I know that you can't see tomorrow
Caroline
Let me wipe away your tears, and give you life. Make you feel beautiful again
Caroline
Don't throw it all away. I'm here tonight, to take away your pain.

Yesterday is gone and everything that made you cry has fallen to the ground
I'm here to bring you home. I will always take you back, you haven't let me down

I know you want to run away. I know that you can't see tomorrow
Caroline
Let me wipe away your tears, and give you life. Make you feel beautiful again
Caroline
Don't throw it all away. I'm here tonight, to take away your pain

And when you're feeling all alone and you can't go on….Remember I am here
And when you think you've gone too far, I'll meet you where you are, My arms are open wide

Caroline
Let me wipe away your tears, and give you life. Make you feel beautiful again
Caroline
Don't throw it all away. I'm here tonight, to take away your pain, Caroline

As they closed the show Joseph gave every person standing in the lower level of the Temecula promenade mall parking garage an opportunity to stand before God and give him their heart. To say I’m done doing this for me. “The drugs aren’t doing it anymore, alcohol isn’t enough, the sex isn’t fulfilling anymore, I’m empty and I want to be filled.”

To married people in the audience he said very pointedly “If this is you, take your spouse by the hand and walk forward and place your marriage into the hands of God. Invite the One that created the universe to work in your life and your marriage as only He can.”

I was moved to tears as people flocked toward the stage to meet with God. This wasn’t an alter call for 14 and 15 year old kids to get hyped up on Jesus and caught in the moment. This was a moment in which people of all ages, young and old, husbands and wives took a step forward, from where they are to move into the place that God wants them to be.

God is a God who heals, who delivers and who saves. Please watch this video of the song Caroline. Its written from God’s perspective as he is speaks to HIS child, be it Caroline, you, me or anyone else. Better yet, open it in a different window, hit play and LISTEN to the song while reading the lyrics here on this page.

Play Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hnqApOjl9w