I mispell things!
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).
by gary chapman
by douglas rosenau
by larry burkettdo any fellow ministers, or anyone who does premarital counseling, have any other recommendations? i am always open for change.
i saw this earlier today and thought it was well worth a quick share. gorgeous.
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
& old original rapala lure on it 
with 2 bandages 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
first i want to say that today is adam’s birthday. i can’t believe he is 18 years old. he is such an awesome kid that i am really proud of. i am looking forward to hiking with him over spring break.
now to my story.
this week has been one of those weird weeks in wisconsin weather where i cross country skied at the beginning of the week and was riding my bike and running in shorts at the end of the week. seriously, it was in the mid-60s today while we experienced a low of 9° on monday. so while i was running in shorts today, i was running in tights and shorts to stay warm throughout the rest of the week.
that’s where the weirdness came from.
wednesday i was running through our neighborhood and i saw a guy that i often see running around the neighborhood too. we usually just nod at each other when we run past one another. since i could tell he had obviously just finished running, i thought i would stop and get to know him. after all, i like to be a good neighbor and this guy only lives a few roads from me. we started talking about running, how we both did in the point bock run (he is much faster than me), and various other things. during the conversation he asked me about the tights i was wearing. he wondered if they tended to get hot. i told him not really because they are pretty thin and made of wicking material. i pinched them and pulled them away from my leg so that he could see how thin they were. apparently my pinch and pull method didn’t convince him because he quickly reached out and placed his hand, palm first, on my leg and said “wow, those are really thin.” he then slowly removed his hand from my thigh.
i was in complete shock. i really wasn’t expecting it. i’m sure he didn’t mean anything from it but at the same time i wasn’t sure how to respond. so i decided the best thing to do was run away. so i did.
i think i will get a pair of thicker tights next year … or change my running route. 🙂
