Blended

Introduction

By the name of this book, you can see that blended has a meaning, purpose, and goal that you can find out about by going through your blended situation. I wrote this book to help God’s people in their blended situations by making their walk a bit easier. Now some may ask, “How can a changed man from Atlanta, Georgia, help in my situation?”

Allow me to introduce myself! I am a reformed man who is still being reformed in my life through the grace of God. My name again is Terrance George Whitlock. My father was a country boy from Monticello, Georgia, and my mom was a city girl from Miami, Florida. So right off, I have a little blend going on right from the start of my life. Just like everyone else who attended school or worked in a multicultural business, that atmosphere can give you experiences you’ve never imagined.

I was introduced to God’s Word (Jesus) at a very young age. My mom would sit me in front of the Bible and make me read it until I could answer her questions. I never knew that was what she was doing until later in my life. My mom was no saint in everything she did, but she believed in God enough to tell me about Him.

After daycare and preschool, I attended school regularly. Like any other American kid who was sent to school until I was introduced to the wiles (tricks) of the enemy, I made choices that I would regret later in life but also be thankful for. Going through those experiences with God by my side, who never left me or forsook me, made me the man you see today.

Shortly after the bad decisions, I would see jail time, Grady Hospital, mental care, boot camp, and prison, all experiences of being blended in a blended society. I would learn quickly how to cope with people both alike and not. After Atlanta Public, Clayton, and ultimately Fulton County school systems, there were the streets I chose over being a student and working citizen. Then there were the correctional facilities and my second shot at school after prison, where I took an offer to attend Lincoln College of Technology to learn the trade of electric service technician.

I wouldn’t stay and finish due to life’s courses and my decisions along the way, but I can truly say I’ve learned through it all. Through becoming a working citizen, husband, father, student of the living Word, and a teacher of Him as I learn, I can truly say it has been a blessing experiencing uniquely divine sequences of a life that has made me more aware of the blended experiences through God’s grace. I truly believe this book will help the body of Christ, communities, families, cultures, vendors, corporations, schools, systems, and so forth.

The blended experience will open your eyes to view things the way God does. Led by the Spirit of Truth, I plan to give you all the blended moments of my life along with scriptures to back up my sayings in this book. May this book be a blessing to your life and mine as well. In Jesus’s name, Amen!