What is Unconventional all about? It’s purpose? To see God in the details of life. To let our faith touch each dimension. Here’s some wise advice from a friend on how to do that.
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image from flexjobs
Juggling Life
A year after Dad retired, he semi-jokingly said he couldn’t understand how he used to do all his daily duties in addition to a full-time job. I didn’t get it then. Now in retirement myself, I finally do. Life tumbles in. We all juggle so many demands that we get stressed, we get short-tempered, we get rushed. I still have to craft a weekly schedule of needed tasks that go beyond daily duties. This week features 22 tasks and 9 major appointments. This is retirement? 😉
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image from mirror.co.uk
An Unholy Comfort
I’m a strange cocktail of belief and unbelief. Of stunning spiritual successes and just as stunning descents and stretches of unholy comfort. From decades of ministry and hundreds of conversations, I suspect the father and I…
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image from Kevin Wing
Friendly Fire
Rich began riding bikes a few years before me, on a Honda 350. I soon bought a similar one, then Rich moved up to a larger ride, the Harley Super Glide. Yeah, a few decades back. We’d rag on each other’s bikes—Rich defending Harleys, me defending Hondas. Once his wife thought we were ready to break out the fists, but it was a friendly rivalry. Much like the comparison in the pic above of a Harley and a Honda. So when he T-boned me in Blythe, CA, it was accidental, right? We’d…
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Painting by Leilani Strong Smith
Desert Oasis
The bad news arrived in Grants NM, nighttime. Appropriate. In the midst of a two-week bike trip with friends, Jerry and I received word that key family friends and church members had passed. Totally separate events and people, but we each had to abort the ride. The next AM we left Mick and Tom behind and headed the over 700 miles to SoCal across the desert, with temps nearing 118. Beaten by the heat, we stopped for gas in Needles, after 455 miles, with 270 left. I remember …
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image from wabc-tv.com
What Child is This: A Praiseworthy Gift
Welcome to Day 4, our journey’s end. Christmas has come! We’ve seen Jesus as a humble human, a conquering king, a reconciler. At the core—Jesus is God’s gift to us. A gift so great we can get lost in him. A gift so great it can break the back …
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image from stevenaitchison.co.uk
What Child is This: A Reconciler
Christmas “split time” in a sense—we date our years from Jesus’ birth. It sparked a worldwide faith. At the core of those changes, we find a Jesus who entered the world to be a reconciler. To bring often radically people together. That had to begin with…
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image from Loving the Word with the MudPreacher
What Child is This: A Conquering King
Jesus first came as a human. As a human, he lived and died. Unlike most, he came back to life before returning to heaven. The baby Jesus was safe and cute. Cuddly. Adorable. But on his second coming, we’ll see him as a conquering king. Halfway through the carol we read, “The King of Kings salvation brings, let loving hearts enthrone Him. This, this is Christ the King.” No longer…
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