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God-Sightings

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  God-Sightings       Two years ago Tracy and I were in that awkward space of unemployment. We had the highest mortgage payment we had ever incurred and could not see any job opportunities on the horizon. One day Tracy came home and said that she had found a penny on the ground. Not so unusual, especially today when the penny has lost all value and even worse, it costs more to make a penny than the value we get from it. We even have one friend who used to throw them away because their value was questionable   I know I have written about this before but it bears repeating. Tracy interpreted the finding of a penny as a symbol of God’s provision. Over the next two years, during Tracy’s cancer journey, we continued to find orphaned pennies. Like anyone else, we needed constant reminders that God would take care of us. We were not unlike the ancient Israelites who one day would experience God’s miraculous provision of the parting of the Red Sea, manna in the dese...
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The Purpose of Dents and Dings

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     My brother makes trumpets. He bought a business that employs techniques that have not changed for hundreds of years. He purchases sheets of brass and by using precision technology, is able to cut a beautiful bell-shaped flat sheet which is then ready to be molded into a conical trumpet bell. The next step uses, not a robot-guided multi-thousand dollar 21st century machine, but a ball peen hammer and a cone-shaped form. The brass is formed around the cone using the hammer and an artisan’s eyes and hands. The brass is pummeled thousands of times to create the perfect bell until it is seamed together with another hand tool. Because it is hit so many times it gives the illusion of being smooth, when in fact it is comprised of thousands and thousands of minor dents and defects.       You might be thinking, “Really?  This day in age when so many products can be made through automated processes, why do you stick with what sounds like practices from ...
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Rising from the Ashes

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    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. ...
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How Are Tracy and Allen Handling Their Situation?

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  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...
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ENCOURAGER

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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...
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