Author: Robert

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admitting failure

iraglass

i have posted before that i am a big fan of the npr radio show “this american life.” i love the way they tell stories. two weeks ago (due to my recent backpacking trip with adam i’m a little behind on my podcast listening) they had to do a retraction of their previous story “mr. daisey goes to the apple factory.” the manner in which they did the retraction makes me like them all the more. instead of doing a small blurb that would probably remain hidden away unread, quietly removing the offending episode, and hoping the whole thing would just disappear they did an entire followup show explaining their failure, confronting the person whose story they had believed and reported, and delving into what the facts really are. 

the manner in which they handled their failure makes me trust them all the more. i figure everyone makes mistakes. every person, every organization screws up every now and then. as a matter of fact, if you are looking for a church and one of the prime things you are looking for is a church an/or a pastor that almost never messes up … well … you might want to look at churches other than tapestry. i won’t say that tapestry messes up a lot but i know the pastor pretty well and let me just say that he has a rare talent for doing rather stupid things. just ask pam she can tell you how often it happens. anyhow, as i said every person, ever organization screws up every now and then. my question is “how to you handle it when you mess up?” do you own it? or do you try to hide/minimize it?

i trust people and groups that own it, try to correct it, and do their best to not make the same mistake next time. i believe that is what “this american life” did in this scenario and therefore my trust for them has increased greatly. which is saying something since i already trusted them a great deal.

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premarital counseling books

i have posted before concerning what i cover with couples during premarital counseling.  since i am doing a great deal of premarital counseling at the moment (5 couples right now) i thought i would post the three books that i ask couples read during the weeks that we talk. these books are in constant update (the first one is a new one for me to use and i wish there was a new book i could use in place of the last one which needs a serious update).

do any fellow ministers, or anyone who does premarital counseling, have any other recommendations? i am always open for change.

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labyrinth & tenebrae promos

here are the posters and handout cards for the this year’s labyrinth and tenebrae worship gatherings.

first the posters

poster-2-resize  tenebrae-poster-2012 - 4 - resize

and next the post cards that will be available for people to hand out to their friends.

labyrinth-ravecard_edited-1 copy  tenebrae-ravecard_edited-1 copy

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every day carry

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last night i found a new website addiction. every day carry is a website that people send photos to of the “tools/equipment” they carry with them every day. i tend to think that most of the photos are from people who, in my opinion, spend way too much money on their “every day carry” (edc). while i might not care about my stuff being this cool i still really enjoy seeing what people consider their edc.

so the photo above is of my edc. while i carry other things with me in the messenger bag that holds my netbook (an old land’s end convertible messenger bag/backpack that noah used as a school bag when he was in 3rd or 4th grade) the photo above is of the things that i pretty much always have on me when i step out the front door of my home.

here’s a list of the items in the photo

of course, i have tons of other “necessary things” in the messenger bag which is usually with me but the above list are my true edc’s.

anyone who knows the terrell philosophy of the 4 things with which a man can fix almost any problem (something my dad taught me and i have passed down to adam and noah) will notice them all present.

SIDE NOTE – after years of trying and failing, when the servers crashed, tonight i was finally able to buy a “BOG” (bandolier of carrots) from woot. i am sure that it will be awesome when i get it.

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a cross GOD

for lent this year i am reading through the gospel according to matthew through a reading plan on youversion.com called “lent for everyone.” in addition to the daily reading from matthew there are some thoughts from n.t. wright. here is part of what he said from today’s reading (matthew 21:23-46).

i was taking a service in a local church when this passage was the second reading. over at the side of the church was a family with a three-year-old boy who appeared to be playing with his toys, taking no notice of the service. but when the reader finished this parable, about the wicked tenants who beat up the owner’s messengers and finally kill his son, there was a momentary pause; and, in the silence, the boy’s voice stood out loud and clear: ‘that’s not a very nice story!’

well, no, it isn’t, and that’s part of the point. we come to the gospels hoping and imagining that they are going to be ‘nice’; that we will find a JESUS WHO tells us it’s all right, we don’t have to worry, nobody’s going to get hurt, no one will even be cross. but with the world the way it is, if GOD doesn’t get cross about it HE is not a good GOD. if HE doesn’t do something about it, sooner or later, HE’s quite simply not GOD.

i hope you know the GOD WHO is rightfully cross every now (while always loving) and the gospel  that isn’t just nice, safe, and comfortable.

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the at journey

i’ll probably post more about adam’s and my backpacking experience on the AT in damascus, virginia. it was great and tiring at the same time. i spent most of the week feeling very thankful for the opportunity to do this with my oldest son.

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off the trail

adam and i are out of the woods after spending a few days hiking some of the appalacain trail around damascus, virginia. we did 32 miles pretty quickly (14 miles on day one, 13 miles on day two, and then a short day of 5 miles). we went over the peak of mount rodgers, white top mountain, pine mountain, and several other places that were high enough that both of us are now walking like 80 year olds. we met some interesting and great people, saw some amazing scenery, saw 40 to 50 wild ponies, and carried our packs a long way.

it was a blast.

i’ll post a few stories and photos later.

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the pack list

adam and i are hiking part of the appalachian trail over his school spring break. we are both really excited about the trip. i’ve been doing the planning with some help from bill, a friend of pam’s sister. bill has been a ton of help. he agreed to look over my pack list so i have been typing it out for the past few days. if you want to you can view it here.

while developing my pack list i gained a great deal of wisdom from this wonderful post concerning the author’s 27lb for 7 days pack list. it is a great pack list.

if you look over my list and see anything that i obviously missed please let me know.