Many have followed the Facebook progress of transforming our neglected, dead, and dated back yard into a relaxing retreat. OK, I'm retired, so I have less stress to retreat from, but I still need it. Building the waterfall provides a metaphor not just for the entire job, but more so for the spiritual life. We'd built one at our previous house and had an idea of what we wanted, then a friend ...
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image from gatewaypundit.com
Super Bowl 50
Superbowl 50: a marvelous defensive game, particularly by the Denver Broncos. Close fought, except for the final score. Two dueling quarterbacks with different styles, one a rising star who moves well, the other the veteran epitome of a pocket passer. Blend in a bit of controversy, with the losing quarterback giving a short, curt postgame interview, one that garnered a load of comments, mostly negative, prompting him to explain his conduct. But lost in the resulting discussion was ...
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image by wesaveland.org
Purpose and Productivity
Two months ago, Sheila and I enjoyed God's creativity in Park City UT, while exploring the history of my dad's family up there. One day we headed to the Olympic Park in hopes of riding a bobsled (no luck, we were in between the summer and winter seasons, but we did see the top 5 US luge drivers practicing!). Next to the road, the McPolin barn above entranced me. The largest I'd ever seen at 8969 sq. ft., it enclosed the milking operation, hay storage, and a lot more. But the largest impact came when...
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Saying No to the Good
Today taught me something about myself--I may be more prone to some addictions than I imagined. Here's the story. If you've read Unconventional enough, you likely realize I'm not much of a legalist. Yes, let's follow biblical commands, not as the way into faith but to express faith. BUT. I appreciate Sunday's focus on God and worship and rest. And I have no problems with doing some stuff on these days. But...
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image courtesy of San Bernardino Police Department
The Evil in Here
Just last week, a husband and wife used the above SUV in killing 14 and wounding 21 people in San Bernardino. ISIL, or ISIS, or the Islamic State, or Daesh, who "inspired" these two, for all of its faults, establishes the reality that evil exists, and abounds. Charlie Hebdo. The France train attack. Paris. San Bernardino. And more. Much more. Yet we face a greater temptation than that presented by terrorism...
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Hard Times
The pic above looks serene, two nice looking bikes in the California redwoods on an early morning. September 2015. Yet the surface appearance never reveals a clue to the hard times those bikes and one other experienced on that trip. Nor the difficulties of the riders. Look at ...
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Purposeful Balance
True confession time, annoyance is growing in me. Already, in EARLY November, two Christmas Facebook posts have made the rounds. Yes, I chastised both posters--one a writing friend, the other my wife. NOVEMBER! Next, on Saturday November 14, the neighbor across the street began hanging his Christmas lights. In mid November! Have people no sense of timing? OK, it's not as elaborate as the pic above, but...
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Brevity
130 years ago, this gravestone of my great great grandfather was fresh and clear. Now, the information about his life can only be read with difficulty. Not long ago my wife and I traveled to Park City Utah, near the birthplace of my father, to combine a week's vacation and a family heritage tour. Thomas Jefferson Thurston pioneered a valley east of Ogden, accumulated a number of worthwhile accomplishments, and passed away in St. George UT in 1885. But outside his family and a few historians, few have heard of him. But seeing his gravestone struck me with
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