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Harriet: Along the Way Series
Today I am giving thanks for Pastor Harriet Mouer. I am trying to remember when I first met her. She and her husband Bill pastored the Foursquare Church in Amherst for years which is about 15 minutes from Vermilion. It may have been at a friend’s wedding or a pastor’s retreat. Who knows? All I…
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Dad: Along the Way Series
One of the most influential people I have had in my life, if not the most is my dad. Harry “Cooner” Strickler was a character, one of those larger-than-life characters. He was 49 when I was born and always wore a crew cut. I used to describe him as Archie Bunker. He was not quick…
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Along the Way: The People Who Have Shaped Me
Somehow I am in my mid-fifties. I don’t know how I got here. On the inside, I still feel like I am a 20-something with boundless energy. On the outside? Not so much. I have spent a lot of time lately reflecting, writing, and giving thanks to God for His faithfulness to me through the…
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My Sacred Space
“Life always occurs in a place.” I read this back in January. And it has stuck with me. I have found myself thinking about this a lot over the past few months. Eugene Peterson wrote this in his book, The Pastor. He goes on to say, “It (life) is never an abstraction, never a generality”.…
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The Summer of Choosing Paths
“Making a decision, choosing a path is only the beginning of things. When someone makes a decision, chooses a path, he is really diving into a strong current that will carry him into places he had never dreamed of when he first made that decision.” (From the Alchemist). Tonight is my last night off of…
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Growing Through Failure
My favorite place in the world is the beach. I love everything about it. The smell of sand mixed with suntan lotion, the sound of waves crashing to shore with kids playing in the background. I love the feel of the hot sun beating on my skin and the cold shock of the water when…
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Continuing to Grow: The Scandal of Grace & Love
I am sitting at my kitchen table doing homework while the snow falls listening to John Mayer. Three classes and a Capstone project are all that stands in the way of me completing my Masters in Strategic Leadership. It has been a challenging chapter in my life. It has spurred incredible growth in me, personally…
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You Can’t Always Get What You Want (But sometimes you get what you need)
2017 is winding down. I can honestly say I will be relieved to see this year go. It was a hard year. A transformative year. A painful year. A year in which I finally allowed myself to feel every painful feeling even when it was suffocating. A year that saw a breaking in me that…
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Lessons from Journaling ’17
I have always loved to journal. I do not do it every day but often. I do it to process good things, bad things, and decisions that need to be made. I started journaling when I was 11. Back then I called it writing in my diary 😉 I still have my very first one.…
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Whack-A-Mole Living
This blog has been about six months in the making. It began percolating last fall. The Women’s Bible study I teach fueled it further. The tipping point was a couple of weeks ago. A couple of weeks ago I was having lunch with a good friend. We were talking about some serious stuff…struggles, sins, victories…it…
