ryansanders1.blogspot.com
the ryan sanders: January 2014
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Friday, January 31, 2014. A Wife Who Wants Beauty - Part 6. The second plastic surgeon declared the second surgery a success, though Lisa wanted a second opinion. The skin looked stretched to her. The second opinion on the second surgery led to a second job, this one in retail, and a third surgery. The third surgery begat a third job and the fourth begat a fourth. The fourth job was selling newspaper advertising. After all, she had made a habit of not stating the obvious. She did not cry, "Unclean! Or at...
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the ryan sanders: My Olympic Commute
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Thursday, February 13, 2014. This may be a sign that I'm watching too much olympics coverage. This morning, like every other morning, I drove to work. But in my head I couldn't stop imagining how it would sound if the commentators from various olympic sports were broadcasting my commute. That was a combo double-lane-change-McTwist / right-on-red. Super-hard to do and he nailed it! Flaming pistols of awesome-sauce! Ryan is driving uphill now! Uphill in the snow! I've been to a lot of sporting events. ...
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the ryan sanders: Cows & Community
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Monday, March 17, 2014. Last week I came across an article. That revealed recent research about cows. It turns out, cows learn better together. A researcher at the University of British Columbia named Charlotte Gaillard has actually been studying cow learning. She discovered that cows penned individually have more obstacles to assimilating new information than cows penned with a friend. At the risk of comparing everyone reading this to livestock, may I draw a parallel with small groups? There's another e...
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the ryan sanders: December 2013
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Monday, December 16, 2013. The Theology of Christmas Poop. My pastor's sermon yesterday reminded me of a conversation about poop I had with my grade-schooler recently. A few months ago, I had one of those conversations you can only have with a seven-year-old boy. My son asked me, "Dad, does God poop? I had to think about the answer. Was there an answer to that question? And did the answer matter? Because he doesn't eat. And you know why he doesn't eat? Which brings me back to Andy's discussion of the Bre...
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the ryan sanders: Small Groups Chaplains
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Monday, March 24, 2014. I was reading in one of my pastor books* about hospital chaplains. The author was telling the story of her service as a hospital chaplain that was part of her seminary training. Nervous, overwhelmed and unsure of herself, this is what happened the first time she was summoned to the emergency room:. 8220;I was paged? 8221; I said to the security guard at the ER desk. She offered me a sarcastic “congratulations” look and went back to her crossword. 8220;Trauma one,” she said. What w...
ryansanders1.blogspot.com
the ryan sanders: March 2014
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Monday, March 31, 2014. Don't get me wrong. I love to hear about small groups who include kids. What could be more formative for a child than watching her parents struggle with the word of God and their community of friends? Small groups can be a powerful tool in building stronger families. Is your group seeking to bless someone who is not a good example for your kids? If so, then it's absolutely appropriate to separate from the kids for a while. The light of the gospel shines brightest and most beautifu...
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the ryan sanders: Declining Church
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Tuesday, March 25, 2014. This morning, my friend Jason sent me a link to this article. About declining American church attendance. He might as well have sent me an article that says the sun came up today. The report begins with the same kind of stats we've heard before:. Church attendance in America has dropped to 36 percent of the population. Only two in 10 millennials believe church is important. Almost 60 percent of millennials who grew up in church have dropped out. To be closer to God. People want t...
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the ryan sanders: A Wife Who Wants Beauty - Conclusion
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Monday, February 03, 2014. A Wife Who Wants Beauty - Conclusion. The award had arrived in the mail and she kept it on a shelf above her desk. It reminded her why she started the agency. Since that December night when the hotel valet thought she had lost her mind, Lisa's charity had grown to a national powerhouse. Macy's Mirror had provided counseling, career assistance, play therapy and plastic surgery for nine hundred women and girls, free of charge. The war was over. Her cheek showed the broken lin...
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the ryan sanders: PG-13 Small Groups
http://ryansanders1.blogspot.com/2014/03/pg-13-small-groups.html
Monday, March 31, 2014. Don't get me wrong. I love to hear about small groups who include kids. What could be more formative for a child than watching her parents struggle with the word of God and their community of friends? Small groups can be a powerful tool in building stronger families. Is your group seeking to bless someone who is not a good example for your kids? If so, then it's absolutely appropriate to separate from the kids for a while. The light of the gospel shines brightest and most beautifu...
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