Allen's Blog

    Rising from the ashes Day 52 since Tracy made the journey from this earthly realm to what many call paradise.   Not the new heaven and new earth that are promised at the end of time but a place of perfection, of peace, of total healing and joy.   I want to share what I think is a   balance perspective on what it means to lose my life partner.   I still have so many questions but I want to let you know what I think I know. In this perspective there is good and bad.   Positive and negative.   Pain and heartache along with relief and joy.   Let me first tell you that the loneliness is overwhelming.   I think this has something to do with the spiritual union that we shared.   We had become one flesh and that was ripped away.   And this seeps into what my future may look like.   It’s hard to imagine doing traditional ministry, i.e. pastoring.   We did this together.   She was my confidant, friend and counselor. ...

  How are Allen & Tracy handling their situation? “The Lord God is my strength,   And He has made my feet like deer’s feet,   And has me walk on my high places.” Habakkuk 3:19 Hannah Hurnard wrote an allegory entitled Hinds Feet on High Places about a little crippled girl named Much Afraid who lives in the village of Much-Trembling, and her desire to go to the high places with the Shepherd.   The story follows her journey not immediately to the wonderful places where the Shepherd resides, but she first goes through the valley and is assigned the unexpected companions of Sorrow and Suffering.   Just as it was confusing to her to continue to limp along and to be plagued by miserable relatives like Craven Fear, Dismal Forebodings and Spiteful, it is also mystifying to us when we accept Christ as our Savior and life seems to get harder rather than easier. At one point as Much Afraid is gazing at the beautiful high places, t...

What is a man?   An alphabetical list of attributes to which every man should attain. E Encourager What encouragement is NOT. Saying, “You can do anything you want if you put your mind to it”; Making promises that you know you cannot keep such as, “If you get all A’s on your report card, you can get into any college you want”;   Or giving false hope in the midst of a dire situation.   Often these types of words come out of our mouths because we want to be helpful.   Without much thought, we promise the world only to leaving those we love disappointed and disillusioned. When a moment calls for the right words.   We often say nothing.   I’ve seen men caught in this bind when watching their children play sports.   It’s built into us to seek our Dad’s approval.   A child is struggling on the court or the field and they look to the most important man in their life only to see disappointment all over his face.   In these moments we need to ask if w...

In 1968 a statement was attributed to Andy Warhol, “We live in an age where each of us is seeking our fifteen minutes of fame.”   Little did he know what was coming.   Whether it’s ‘hits’, ‘tweets’, ‘comments’, ‘likes’ or the number of ‘friends’ you claim, each of us has the potential to thrust our thoughts, accomplishments, talent (or lack thereof) before a world-wide audience.   And yet, not everyone takes advantage of pursuing such fame.   Everyone has enjoyed some aspect of this brave new world, and I will confess that I enjoy a smattering of entertainment that the internet provides.   Some of my favorites are clips from old TV shows, series of posts about Border Collies demonstrating their intelligence, and the amazing skill of a few on “America’s Got Talent”. Much of it is meant as pure entertainment, but the temptation to thrust your personal thoughts and images before a watching world should be examined closely. Many of you not only avoid such exposure b...