Posts – Page 10 – Deepening Our Journey

Deepening
Our Journey

Trust Your Struggle

Navigating Uncharted Territory

September 1, 2019

You’ve heard that coincidence is God’s way of staying anonymous? Well, I had to wonder what God might be trying to tell me when in less than a month I “just happened” to encounter three very concerned grandparents facing remarkably similar struggles regarding grandchildren they loved. The first incident occurred when a long-time friend and I caught up on the way to a party. Almost immediately Dorothy hit me with the question, “Terry, what are the odds of having two out of three grandchildren in the same family turn out

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Parable in the Parking Lot

July 14, 2019

When I pulled into the grocery store, I was expecting to get some vegetables, not step into a Bible story come to life. The Bi-Lo certainly didn’t give me any hints. It was a little run down and the rickety carts in the parking lot looked like they might have been around in Moses’ day, but nothing out of the ordinary. On my way to the entrance to the store, a very thin senior black man with a weathered face and a full head of snow white hair coached a

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The Whole Truth?

April 23, 2019

On the way to the recreation center I met an older gentleman walking a small fur ball on steroids! I expect this little four-legged creature’s only goal each day was to meet and greet as many humans as “doggily” possible! Even non-dog lovers would be won over by this enthusiastic little charmer who greeted me like an old friend he hadn’t seen in years. He was ecstatic when I bent down to pet him. The old man said, “My little friend has the unique ability to pick out sensitive, caring

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Celebrating Characters!

February 10, 2019

I love meeting new people. Every single person is unique, with their own unique history, personality, and perspective. But some people are, shall we say, more unique than others! Some terms I have heard to describe these people on the far end of the continuum are oddball, offbeat, quirky, peculiar, strange, kook, weirdo, eccentric, and “not playing with a full deck.” Personally, I call them characters. One of the easiest ways to spot an authentic character is to observe the general public‘s reaction to them. It can be rolling of

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What Happened to the Unicorns?

December 27, 2018

The sanctuary was filled with alligators! There were also long-necked geese (I’m sure some of the older folks were concerned about the carpeting!), humpty-backed camels, some excited chimpanzees, and they’d even managed to somehow fit an elephant through the front door. But most extraordinary of all were the unicorns. I had never seen such a herd of the magical creatures! It was Sunday morning and the children’s choir was singing The Unicorn Song, the charming piece by Shel Silverstein and set to music by the Irish Rovers, which imagines that

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The Ugly American

October 23, 2018

During a recent cruise vacation, Rita and I were having lunch at the open dining restaurant that Rita referred to as “the trough” when I overheard two couples talking at the table behind us. The one gentleman explained how badly he felt about taking so much food and then not being able to eat it all. The other gentleman quickly and loudly stated, “I paid for this vacation with my own hard-earned money and I’ll eat as much and throw away as much food as I want!” It got very

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The Lesson of the Lodgepole Pines

August 7, 2018

During a recent trip to Glacier National Park, Rita and I took one of the most amazing and awesome drives we have ever experienced. Along the road we saw several areas that had been destroyed by fire, great swaths of charred black pines, dead and yet fighting to stay upright. On closer observation, you could see thousands of little lodgepole pines in various levels of growth. The extreme contrast of the vibrant electric green against the charred black landscape made for a dramatic sight. My initial thought when I viewed

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Meeting a Mormon in Mid-air!

June 20, 2018

On a flight from Philadelphia to Minnesota, on our way to Glacier National Park and eventually the Canadian Rockies, my wife and I happened to be seated beside a banker from Calgary Canada I’ll call Daniel. After we had pressed Daniel for the best places to visit in Canada, as often is the case, I carefully and craftily moved our conversation to my lifelong interest in the formation of God image. It’s easy enough to do when I tell people I’m writing a book I on the topic. I hope

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Front of a grocery cart against an out-focus grocery store aisle background

The Gift of Failure

August 17, 2017

I could smell the rotisserie chicken as the Hispanic man placed three warm plastic dome containers on the checkout counter in front of me. I hadn’t eaten since lunch and my stomach was letting me know. I commented on how good the chicken smelled and that he must really be hungry! The man gave me a puzzled look and said something in what sounded like Spanish. The teenager who was bagging the groceries interpreted the man’s response for me. “He said the chicken is lunch for him and several of

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