George and his friends rode to the beach, the mall and construction sites, where they wedged through fences and dared one another to ride over huge dirt mounds and other obstacles.
Home meant chores, homework, annoying siblings, dressing up for church. A bike meant escape.
George transformed that reverence into a livelihood. He opened his neighborhood bicycle shop in 2010. Before that, he had worked for years slinging boxes for FedEx while selling bike gear and accessories online.
The store fulfilled a lifelong dream. George named it Penuel Bicycles because Penuel is the name of the place where Jacob wrestles with the angel in the book of Genesis. George had been wrestling over his future. Spend the rest of his life working for someone else? Or pursue his true love?
Many people harness their passion and start a business. Roughly 60 percent of those businesses close after less than a decade, according to the Small Business Administration.
Ten years after opening his shop, George feared he was about to join that 60 percent. Penuel, it turned out, was the place where George struggled after he opened his business. It was also where he learned about God’s business: redemption of what seems irretrievably broken.
Penuel Bicycles is a one-room shop on a busy commercial strip some 10 miles from Hollywood but a world away from the limelight. There are rows of bikes as well as parts and gear for sale, plus a small repair area behind the counter.
Inglewood is a working-class city with a diverse population. Historically, the city was a center of L.A.’s Black community. Today nearly a third of residents were born outside the United States, and half speak a language other than English at home.
Continue reading your story on the app
Continue reading your story in the magazine
The Legacy of Flight 93
An Army officer remembers his cousin Rich Guadagno and the other 39 heroes who died in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, on September 11
The List
After two divorces, did I really know what I wanted in a relationship? Did I even know who I needed to be?
“God Will Bless Your Business
George Turner was sure the pandemic would spell the end of his struggling bike shop. His pastor had other ideas
The 46th Peak
We decided to do this last hike of the challenge together. Partway down, I heard my husband scream
Challenge Yourself to...Connect More!
Eager to emerge from the loneliness of lockdown and socialize again? We’ve put together a list of 15 challenges for reconnecting with the people you care about—and making new friends too. Focus on a few activities, or pick one each day to try over the next two months. Pay attention to how your relationships flourish!
Reason for Hope
I feared my son would never get off drugs. Until an art class changed my heart
Pistol
He was the dog I always wanted. But he came with baggage, a little like me
ALONE WITH MY FAITH
The pandemic left a lot of us feeling isolated. Including me. But it opened the door to something deeper in my music and in my soul
Brought Together
How two strangers found friendship and healing as they came to terms with the legacy of slavery
70 Years of Hope & Inspiration
Elizabeth Sherrill’s life as a writer has been a journey of the soul, a journey that also became the very soul of Guideposts magazine
Alana Stewart & George Hamilton Our Love is Sweeter Now
The long divorced couple still share one of hollywood's happiest romances
Alexisonfire – "For One Solo I Was Using Eight Fuzz Pedals!"
The reunited Alexisonfire are reinventing post-hardcore - with "ancient" effects and blues-inspired solos...
The 1975 – "In one song there's nine guitar parts going on simultaneously"
How the two-guitar dynamic works in The 1975-by the band's lead player and secret metalhead Adam Hann
Stories That Singe
Our world is stranger than fiction but not George Saunders's fiction. In Liberation Day, his first collection of short stories in nearly a decade, the Booker Prize winning author of 11 previous books tees up nine genrebending tales of hell-themed amusement parks and brainwashed protesters for hire. In a world getting weirder every day, these stories are the medicine we need. Saunders sat down with Esquire to take us inside his creative process.
WENDT’S HEALTH GOES DOWN THE HATCH!
No cheers for ginormous George as he waddles toward disaster
The U.S. Mint Just Struck Morgan Silver Dollars for the First Time in 100 Years!
Struck in 99.9% Fine Silver for the First Time EVER!
The Beatles – It was 60 years ago today...
On the very first day of 1962, The Beatles failed their audition with one of the biggest record companies in the UK. On the final day of 1962, WITH they had a No 1 single in the can and played their last gig on the Hamburg club circuit – on the verge of conquering Britain in 1963, and the world in 1964. How could just one year change their fortunes so vastly? As the 60th anniversary of Love Me Do approaches, we offer a full appraisal of their 1962 recordings, and the myths and mysteries that continue to surround them. Richie Unterberger delves into the archives.
5 Modern Technologies ‘The Jetsons’ Accurately Predicted 60 Years Ago
In honor of George Jetson’s birthday, we took a look at all the current technologies the show accurately anticipated.
In This Museum, the Paintings Do Talk
The George Phippen Museum continues to inspire Western artists.
The System: Zak Cheney-Rice
When Funding the Police Backfires How Democrats ended up bolstering the post-Roe enforcement regime.