Unconventional

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Nice News About the Blog

Tim Riter March 29, 2016

After months of faithful readers and a semi-disfunctional blog, Zak Erving of Spark Punk fixed the non-working subscribe feature. So now, if you'd like an email notice of each new blog post, just hit the subscribe button and enter your email address. And, feel free to pass the news on!

In Happenings Tags Unconventional
image from en.wikipedia.com

image from en.wikipedia.com

Changes and Mistakes

Tim Riter March 28, 2016

Funny how some changes and mistakes can benefit us. Although a regular at the Mount Hermon Christian Writers conference near Santa Cruz, I missed the last seven years. However, my confidence never dimmed regarding directions, so I left the map at home. Never even glanced at it. A well-worn route. But Palm Sunday came early this year, right at the switch to Daylight Savings Time, and the conference changed its close from lunch to a 7:15 breakfast, so I left in the darkness at 6 AM, hoping to beat the metro LA afternoon traffic. Those changes led to my mistake...

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In Happenings Tags Watsonville, Mistakes, Sins, Triumph, God Leading
image from mariposaresearch.net

image from mariposaresearch.net

Mount Hermon

Tim Riter March 21, 2016

As I put together this post on Wednesday, I'm getting ready. The Mustang is gassed, soon to be cleaned. A case of clothes soon to be filled, then all packed in securely so cruising the coast with the convertible top down won't blow anything out--except worries and cares and stress. As you read this, starting Monday, the Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference will come close to its conclusion. Set in the redwoods just above Santa Cruz

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Tags Writing, Passion, Wholehearted, Serving, Love God
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image by media.photobucket.com

When I Cause You Pain

Tim Riter March 14, 2016

A major step in my spiritual development came when I finally discarded a legalistic view of sin. Yes, sin violates God's laws. Yes, that violation has consequences in our lives. But I focused on the wrongness of sin. So, if I could rationalize that it wasn't that wrong, then it became easier to slip into it. Kind of like running a red light if no cars are in sight. Basically, viewing a wrong as less wrong made me more likely to do that wrong. Then I discovered another dimension of sin, one that changed not just how I view sin, but how I view ...

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Tags Temptation, Sin, Law, Legalism, Loving God, Spiritual Formation
image from youramazingplaces.com

image from youramazingplaces.com

Morning Devotions

Tim Riter March 7, 2016

On a late June morning we fired up the bikes and rode out of Kalispell, Montana, expecting great things at Glacier National Park. Early indications didn’t encourage us. The chill cut deep, even through our leathers and layers of clothing, and we had to endure 30 miles of mostly urban traffic before approaching the park. So far, the shivers from cold and the frustrations from traffic seemed like a typical day. Nothing awesome, just unpleasant conditions. Then we entered Glacier...

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In Happenings Tags Glacier National Park, Motorcycles, Fear God, Morning devotions, Majesty, Mountains

Perpetual Tinkering

Tim Riter February 29, 2016

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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In Happenings Tags Change, Test, Evaluate, Improve, spiritual formation
image from mmamania.com

image from mmamania.com

Defeats and Identity

Tim Riter February 22, 2016

Previously invulnerable in the fight ring. Undefeated in 18 bouts. Champion. Rhonda Rousey had it all, until Holly Holm knocked her out in late 2015, not only stealing her crown but her identity: "I was sitting in my corner and was like, 'What am I if I'm not this? I was literally thinking about killing myself...I'm nothing. What do I do anymore and no one gives a (rip) about me anymore without this.'" Rousey yields a great example of ...

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Tags Rhonda Rousey, MMA, UFC, Viktor Frankl, Logotherapy, Meaning, Value
image from gatewaypundit.com

image from gatewaypundit.com

Super Bowl 50

Tim Riter February 15, 2016

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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In Happenings Tags Cam Newton, Super Bowl 50, Values, Epistemology, Culture, Religion
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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