Yep, today represents my 500th post to this blog. It seems to me as if I just started, but 500 posts is a pretty good clip, particularly since there have been times I struggled to post.

For those of you who don’t know, I started this a few years ago to comment on quite a few different things, but mostly I wanted to talk about the happenings in the Church around the US and the world. April of 2008 however changed everything. My personal world was suddenly thrown into chaos as I worked to understand how a guy in great shape like I was could have a stroke, and more than that, how I could adjust to the effects of it.

My blog, this blog, became my therapy…..and in a very real sense it still is. At the beginning of my recovery my wife would read and help me edit before we would post. I often would just stare at the screen looking for words and trying to remember thoughts, and when I did get them, they often did not make too much sense. Paragraphs would be full of repeated words and sentences, and for a time seemed more of a testament to frustration than therapy.

What I could clearly see, amidst all the confusion, was that it may have been frustrating, but it was certainly not failure. If I were to do well, that was where my work was to be. And in some sense it is still often a barometer of how I am doing. My mind often still reels, and confusion still comes. Of course people tell me all the time they get confused too…..but in truth, and I am speaking quite sincerely here, the mind I lived with in March of 2008 and before is far different than the one that I deal with now. And the stark contrast is consuming.

What I do confess though is that it has been a gift from God. Does it bother me??? Sure it does, but the struggle I deal with has taken me deeper into life than I could have ever imagined. And though I stress to find my thoughts at times, I indeed have discovered that my life, my discovered thoughts and detours, and even my faith are far more meaningful, insightful, and rewarding than they were before. (yes, I know to not end a sentence with a preposition, but that is the way I talk)

Anyway, 500 with many more to go. Time flies when you are having fun, or when you are terminally confused…..I suppose I will happily admit to being a bit of both!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Though I am clearly on the mend, occasionally my damaged brain catches up with me, and today was such a day. I was the Celebrant at a gathering of The Order of St. Luke this afternoon in Indianapolis. I was to do a sermon, celebrate the Eucharist, and then give a short teaching at the lunch that followed. And as that old Meatloaf song goes…..”two out of three ain’t bad!”

I am sure recovering from strep had a bit to do with it, but after getting through the sermon with that finish line in sight, I found myself lost and talking in circles much of the time. Deacon Dan, our eternal optimist, said it was not all that bad….but I bet I probably could have made more sense speaking Russian….and I don’t know a word of it!

Ironically, the topic I chose for my teaching was the idea of making sure you are healthy (in all aspects – mentally, physically, spiritually) as a foundation to your ministry of healing. If I were a more persuasive teacher I suppose I would have told myself “you have strep throat and are exhausted….maybe you should stay in bed.” But the truth is I live in a house where no one listens to me anyway, so I though, “why should I?” And the rest of course is history.

But the good news is that my day is done, and in a few short minutes I will be resting in my bed! It has been a doozy though. I hope to have a better time of things tomorrow.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless. Thanks for checking in.

Tommy+

What a surprise……..strep throat. And it wouldn’t be so bad if I were not scheduled to celebrate at a service tomorrow in Indianapolis for The Order of St. Luke and deliver both a sermon and a teaching on healing of all things. I have been miserable all day and tonight as well, and tonight was when I was going to finalize my thoughts for tomorrow. It should be a very interesting day!

But how in the world do you live 48 years and not get strep, and then suddenly get it twice in two weeks? I suppose there are some things I will never understand, but if I never have it again I will be quite satisfied. These episodes have topped my previous sore throat record of having my tonsils taken out when I was 5…..you know, back when they did surgeries with flint and put you out you with whiskey or a swift rap to the head. At least that’s what my kids think. I grew up in the Dark Ages.

All that aside, I am interested, and highly motivated in fact, to get better. I will certainly be there to do this service tomorrow, but if I am not tons better I will leave the healing prayers for other people up to my staff. Not that they should be worried….after all these are the same guys who pray for me and I am doing terrible!! ha ha!! No no no….the guys on our staff are incredible and I am thankful they pray for me, and in truth they do a pretty great job.

Anyway, I guess I should take some more medicine and head to bed. Tomorrow I am hoping will be a great day. Keep it in your prayers. I have a long way to go before I get there!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Today has been a busy day, but one that is seeing me crash, or should I say re-crash, at the end of it. Though I endured and enjoyed a bit of traveling through the morning and afternoon, by 6pm not only were my beloved Chicago Bears being destroyed right before my eyes, but my throat became as sore as it was two weeks ago and my head is killing me! I have heard that lots of people who get strep get it again pretty quick, and with all I have going on, I will be sure to stop in at my doc’s for a quick swipe of the throat tomorrow. My voice was leaving me all day, but my throat never hurt. Somehow things have changed.

But the good part is that it slowed me down. I was able to not just watch the game with Ben, but also a Tinkerbell movie on Disney Channel and Balto. He like popcorn and ate a ton of it too. I kept asking him to give me some out of the great big bowl he had in font of him too, but clearly he was not looking to share. Two year olds crack me up.

But as for me, I am ready for a load of Motrin and warm bed. It will be good to get some sleep!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless! Thanks for checking in.

Tommy+

Well I am back at the house working on sermons and bulletins after a day of work up at Christ the King in Kokomo. I need to leave early in the morning because I am scheduled in Nashville at 9am, and then up here in Noblesville again at 1:15pm. Deacon Dan will be doing both services with me, but where I have the long drive there, he will have it going home…..he lives in Nashville!

The hard part is that I am trying to work with the game on. Notre Dame, God Bless them, got behind right at the start. My blood pressure is good, but it cannot take that! I hope and pray they do well too. No one will want to hear a sermon from me after a lousy game! The only hopeful thing I have is that tonight is probably the coach’s last game. He has had a miserable tenure at Notre Dame…..and I deserve to be a winner on every Saturday during the season.

Of course I love Notre Dame because I literally grew up there. My dad went there and taught there. We were on campus and at sporting events a lot. If we were not there it was on the TV. I grew up playing in the Irish Youth Hockey leagues, and even if I didn’t, everyone is an Irish fan up there….I believe it is an on the books law! (if not, it should be)

Of course when it came time for college, I never even considered ND. Leaving home seemed appealing, but I know now it was one of the biggest mistakes of my life. So now I just have to be a fan. It’s not a bad gig, okay, this year it has been. But most of the time it is pretty fun.

Anyway, we are getting close to a score, so I will close in order to cheer at the screen rather than yell at it. Every year it is the same, but it is my life and I love it!

I hope it is a good evening for us all!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy O’Tirman+

Okay, no more excuses…..Thanksgiving is over and I waited for it. My daughter’s 18th birthday is next week, and I just need to say no to the cake. It is best she has me to walk her down the aisle than to just eat cake with her next week.

Yep, my weight is back up higher than it ever has been, and to be honest I cannot stand it. And although I have blogged about it before, I really need to stop talking and start doing. I am so very disciplined in other areas of my life, but clearly my eating is not one of them. So I am committing myself to changing all that tonight. No more excuses. I am heading in a new direction.

As for you, I would ask that you pray for me. I did great a couple of years ago, losing 45 pounds, but of course then I HAD a stroke, and I know that hasn’t been helpful to say the least. Clearly being in great shape and having the biggest medical problem of my life was disheartening. But as they say where I come from, “you cannot cry over spilled milk.” I had a stroke….big whoop tee do. It doesn’t change today or tomorrow, although I do believe another, or a heart attack, or even dying would. I am a doctor, but the wrong kind to know, so I will just trust my gut on this one….things need to change.

I know the road ahead will be a difficult one, but where it heads is far better than my well-worn path. But I am committed. Pray and encourage me. I want to see my life change as I move ahead!

Thanks for checking in, and thanks for your support in advance…..Goodnight my friends and God Bless.

Tommy+

An early in the day post to say Happy Thanksgiving to you all! My hope is that your day is filled with many blessings and that you pause to give thanks to the One who has given you all things!

God Bless you on this day and always!

Tom+

Dear Lord, as I get myself settled to write my entry tonight I realize that I cannot even remember what I did today. It really has been all a blur, and I am mostly thankful that this day has ended and tomorrow we have no plans.

It’s a good thing too. I have a raging headache and I am sure I have been less than a delight to be around this evening. Hopefully a good night’s sleep will help me feel better and give everyone else forgetfulness….at least about my grouchy mood! We will see. That would certainly be far better than bribing everyone.

Anyway, off to bed for me with the hopes of waking up into a joyful Thanksgiving! I hope and pray you have had a wonderful day!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless.

Tom+

Tonight we went to Logan’s Roadhouse to enjoy a dinner together. Scotty and I got there first and reserved a table for us, Amanda, Ben, Steph, and her boyfriend Sam. As we were waiting, Amanda called and said that Sam could not make it. So Scotty, who unbelievably conscientious, went up to the hostess and asked for a smaller table. They were quite crowded, and it seemed the honorable thing to do.

After Amanda, Steph and Ben arrived, we were sitting at our cozy little table when Steph heard from Sam…..he was coming, so we immediately asked for a larger table in a very crowded restaurant. After about 10 minutes they were able to move us to a larger table, which we were so happy to get to……and at the moment my butt hit the chair it happened. That’s right, Sam called and now couldn’t make it, so we immediately asked for our old table again (before it was cleaned).

Our waitress was a saint, and we were so blessed to have her. Ben was just being 2, the people at the neighboring tables I am certain thought we were nuts, and we seemed to be just along for the ride. BUT, we were all together and had fun. It was too bad to miss Sam. He’s a great guy, and it would have been fun to have him there. I suppose we will wait until after the holiday break though. And maybe the next time we will head to the Texas Roadhouse. We like the food there too, and the people there don’t think were nuts!

Off to enjoy the kids! Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Today Deacons Morgan and Conley, as well as Father Hicks and myself, went up to Christ the King in Kokomo and finished up most of the painting. It was an all day job, but clearly professional painters we are not! But we do a good job, we have a great time, and in the end the walls look quite a bit better. It is a labor of love, and a tangible thing that we get to do in a vocation that has very few tangible things.

Of course we were all exhausted and covered with paint. Fortunately however, most of the paint got onto the walls. It was a big transformation too. We have some incredible guys on our staff that do some incredible work!

BUT, clearly working all those hours straight is a good path to an early grave! At least it feels that way! I will be fine I am sure…..but it is a young man’s work, at least that long. Thank God that my bed is only a few keystrokes away!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+