In His Image?

Tim Riter September 29, 2014

One lady from our high school graduating class developed a Facebook page for us, which introduced me to Roland Peachie. This previously unknown classmate from decades back creates marvelous images with photographs. He posted the above pic (dare I call it just a pic?) with these words, “…the new adapter came in today, not only infinity has been fixed (I’d never realized someone broke it) but my Macro is now about 6 feet closer, which I really like.. test shots show even a different background blur with the new adapter.”

Must have been Latin he was speaking, I understood very little of it. But I did get the passion to create and replied...

A Tale of Two Cats

Tim Riter September 22, 2014

After providing a home and family to too many felines during our marriage, I can’t say we were happy when our last cat passed, but we did decide to enjoy being full empty nesters.

Six months later, our visiting grandchildren brought in a visiting, just weaned kitten. Adamantly, Sheila agreed to keep it just overnight to find the owners, and she would put up “Lost Cat” signs the next day while I worked. Heading home with no signs in sight, I found him curled up on her lap, purring. “If they want him, they can put up the signs” was her response to my raised eyebrows.

We called him Sandy for the color of his coat, but Lover Boy fit him more.

A Balancing Act

Tim Riter September 8, 2014

In the quiet before official worship began today, I intentionally opened my Bible to Psalms, randomly to 86. As a poet (no poems today, sorry!) I appreciated the variety of structures that enhanced the meaning. But verse 8 touched my soul on two requirements of growing in Christ. Both flow from how I see our typical and fallen human nature. Guess that makes sense, since God made us and best knows how we operate.

The first prayer by David to God is ...

An Antidote to Spiritual Anemia

Tim Riter August 25, 2014

A good friend and fellow teacher who struggles with anemia posted this on Facebook over the weekend, “Why am I so exhausted after only teaching two days? Oh boy.” 2 down, MANY to go, and tiredness has already hit. I understand; I teach also. But a more pervasive issue comes from the spiritual anemia that so infects American Christianity. We lack energy and motivation for the things of God. We care, but not deeply. We serve, but not joyfully. We give, but not sacrificially.

The antidote may be found in a fishing story, and not a tall tail. The above photo may be...

God Touches

Tim Riter July 28, 2014

Last week we explored how we need to intentionally evaluate each decision on the basis of being a follower of Jesus. Today, let’s flip the coin, courtesy of an experience with a good friend from years back, Wayne Ragland.

Wayne and I yearned to be the next photo/journalist stellar pair, and headed to Yosemite for material. He’d take the pics; I’d write the copy. You’ve heard of us, right? Yeah, thought so. On the long ride up, Wayne mentioned he saw every scene for its potential picture value. I thought that diminished one’s appreciation of creation’s beauty, so we chewed on it a bit. He didn’t convince me, until I started writing in earnest, decades later.

Getting Better All the Time?

Tim Riter June 16, 2014

Mark Twain, one of America’s wittiest authors, proclaimed that “The man who is a pessimist before 48 knows too much; if he is an optimist after it he knows too little.” Well, I’m over 48. Well over. Yet I find a blend of both pessimism and optimism within myself. Pessimism: about how America is abandoning widespread cultural values in place of subjective ethics; about the rise in violent crime, particularly in young adults; about growing alcohol and drug abuse. Optimism: about God working in the midst of a dark world and bringing eventual justice and victory.

Pontificating on the source of evil in the world tempts me...

Mountains or Molehills?

Tim Riter May 12, 2014

While my wife celebrated a few days away with a girlfriend, I figured to pop a surprise on her Mother’s Day return with the installation of a new faucet for the master bathroom. Several complications soon arose. The old house had some funky modifications over the years, and one was the drain trap, a strange conglomeration of plastic and brass and mismatched parts. The threads got stripped, and it took four trips to Home Depot to finally get the correct set up. Eventually I had to replace the entire trap: cutting the outlet pipe, putting in an extension, gluing it into place. That two hour project took nearly an entire day. But the faucet does look nice.

The second complication also came from age. My own.

Looking to Heaven?

Tim Riter May 5, 2014

Heaven’s a hot topic of late, with the movie Heaven is for Real and the still bestselling book 90 Minutes in Heaven. I like that. I believe in heaven, and want to spend more than 90 minutes there! But I sometimes suspect that focusing too much on eternal life in heaven can distract us from the eternal life of knowing Jesus now, and better later.

Here’s the back story.

Unconventional

Old Faith, New Following