Unconventional

Old Faith, New Following
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image by Thermo Fisher Scientific

image by Thermo Fisher Scientific

Too Much Salt

Tim Riter July 3, 2017

After worshipping on Sunday, you head off with friends to a local café for a late breakfast. The waitress brings the requested cheese omelet, you fork off a bite, insert it, and it leaves you flat. Flat in taste--the chef forgot to add some salt before cooking. The waitress apologizes and says she’ll be sure the cook adds some salt, and soon returns it with a smile and another apology. The fork does its job, you take that first bite, and spit it out. Too much salt this time, too much to even eat. The lid must have come off the shaker, or the cook got offended and decided vengeance was his. Yeah, a ...

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In Happenings Tags Telling about Jesus, Sharing Grace, Stiffing a waitress, spiritual formation, Christian Living, Audience Orientation
image from pinterest

image from pinterest

Fresh Adventures, Familiar Names

Tim Riter June 26, 2017

In early June at 4:30 AM, I pulled the Honda ST1300 out of its comfortable garage for our latest Gray Hogs ride, with our ever present goal of finding fresh asphalt. We hit five states (CA, NV, OR, WA, ID), a foreign country (Canada), and covered 3800 miles in 9 days. Yeah, some familiar roads were necessary, but we found a lot previously unridden routes, took the bikes on a ferry ride across Kootenai Lake, dodged some very drenching storms, so our plans were also new. And a lot of new names, Ymir, Metalline, Sedro Wooley, Sultan, Skykomish, and Oronda for a few. Exotic. A fresh adventure. But...

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In Happenings Tags Adventure, Familiar, God's Presence, New Roads, Spiritual Formation, Change, Christian Living

Your Best Life Now?

Tim Riter May 15, 2017

No, you won’t be reading a critique of this book by the pastor of a huge church, but Unconventional will touch on the concept. What is our best spiritual life? Is it now? Can we have it now? If so how do we grab it?Two issues arise that keep us from the best. First...

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In Happenings Tags Joel Osteen, Your Best Life Now, Incremental Journalism, Incremental spiritual growth, Christian Living, Carl Cannon
image from Diamond Canyon Christian Church

image from Diamond Canyon Christian Church

Back to Our Future

Tim Riter April 3, 2017

Satchel Paige, star of the old Negro League and Major League Baseball, once advised, “Don’t look back, someone might be gaining on you.” Like most “rules,” that too possesses an exception. I experienced that yesterday. Jim Price, a friend from 50 years back retired from pastoring a church for the past 37 years, and the organizers of the celebration asked me to share five minutes. Condensing 50 years into five minutes forces a lot of recollections and refining and focusing. Here’s my take—Jim is ...

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In Happenings Tags Jim Price, Diamond Canyon Christian Church, Consistency, Wisdom, Learning, Emerson, spiritual formation, Growing, Hope International University

Take Five...Or Fifteen

Tim Riter February 20, 2017

The stack of pavers, the kneeling pad, the hammer and brick set chisel, the wheelbarrow with a shovel, and the saw, all suggest a work scene. And it even has a worker, with torn jeans and a sore on the knee…and the sweat stains on his chest indicate some work might have been done. But no one’s working. He’s sitting back with a cold drink. Why? He’s trying to copy Jesus. Really?

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In Happenings Tags Rest, Sabbath, Spiritual Rest, Spiritual Breaks, Feed Yourself], Selfcare, Spiritual Formation

Appearances Deceive

Tim Riter January 2, 2017

Looking down from 50 feet away, the above hole at McGee Creek looked promising. Deep enough for a nice sized trout, with enough movement of water to bring plenty of food to hungry fish. I carefully worked my way down through the scrub brush and rocks and loose dirt, but at 10 feet away, the hole lost its great appearance. Up close, the shallow water moved too fast and held little promise. Appearances deceive. But ...

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In Happenings Tags Sierras, McGee Creek, Appearances Deceive, Judging, Surface
Rock Stack by Juan Cisneros

Rock Stack by Juan Cisneros

When Rocks Talk

Tim Riter December 19, 2016

Signs of Christmas abound. “Silent Night” to “Jingle Bell Rock.” Manger scenes to those of Santa at the North Pole with his elves. But the pic above, which I put up earlier last week on its own, takes me to a deeper level on getting into the “Christmas spirit,” a level beyond our typical cultural Christmas. And may I suggest that the spiritual signs dominate the cultural ones. The pic of stacked rocks prompted ...

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In Happenings Tags Rock Stacks, Manger Scenes, Christmas, Secular Christmas, Festivus, Evidence, Signs
image from dailymail.co.uk

image from dailymail.co.uk

Puke and Rally

Tim Riter November 28, 2016

The Air Force Thunderbirds often take media people or celebs on PR flights in their jets. You likely won’t recognize Gerard Butler in the pic above, taking an in flight selfie. A family friend who has worked with them says it’s 50-50 if the media flyer will puke, so they prep them on how to avoid it, and then share their slogan: Puke and Rally. Or, if you feel like it’s gonna happen, grab the bag and...

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In Happenings Tags Gerard Butler, USAF Thunderbirds, Troubles, Life, Carry On, Spiritual Formation
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TimGlacierMcDonald.jpg

A bit of an unreconstructed Jesus freak. Almost old enough to have known him when he walked this world. About 27 on the inside. Investing his life in university and teen students. Inveterate cross country motorcycle rider. Nature lover. Entranced with the power of written and spoken words. Still learning.

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Unconventional

Old Faith, New Following