Dear Lord, could I have chosen any teams harder to follow in my life? Tonight my beloved Chicago Bears lost. Yesterday the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame bit the dust (again). And I understand that the Chicago Cubs have already lost next season without even playing a game! It wouldn’t be so bad for me if I were just a fair-weather fan, but I have been a fan of all these teams since before birth. It is no surprise I suppose that I have had a stroke. What really does surprise me is that I haven’t blown up anything!

Of course I am the eternal optimist. I do believe that the future is always brighter, but to get there I know I have to give up the fact that I felt those same feelings last year about my teams. I just wish things could be different.

But for now I will drown my sorrows in anything that does not contain Ginko-Bolova. I just do not need my memory. It has been a bad weekend for my teams! I feel like I live in Cleveland!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

We are getting ready to launch what we call “Fellowships” in both Brownsburg and Bloomington. Neither one has a name yet, but since Deacon Tony lives in Brownsburg I am sure he is pulling for St. Anthony’s. The Brownsburg Fellowship will launch in December, and the Bloomington one, particularly with its focus upon students and Indiana University, will probably launch in January. It is an exciting time, and one which we can see the Lord blessing every day.

I generally am a pretty easy going guy, but knowing that Brownsburg is very close to the Indianapolis Colts Training Camp I am ready to veto anything containing the name “Peyton,” as I am the name “Knight” in Bloomington. My hope is that we will get a few good names out of each of them and then move ahead. After all, these launches are not meant to be temporary endeavors. A name is pretty important…….it should be a permanent thing!

All our other plants have very meaningful names, each with a story. And all their names reflect a little about their particular ministry in the world.

Thomas of course is the Saint known best for his doubt, and though that is not really part of my story, I suppose I could weave in a truth such as, I am pretty tired and doubt if I can stay up much longer. Oh the blessings of middle-age. In my 20’s I would be thinking about going out, and maybe not for yet another hour or so…..now I am thinking about how I will drag my tail upstairs and go to bed.

I am sure St. Peyton could do it, but he is young. And St. Tony, though amazingly old, lives in a ranch. But I am going to give it my best because I am neither young, or blessed with no stairs. I will however make it and dream my way into tomorrow……..I am sure it is going to be a blessed day!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless! I hope your day was filled with God’s abundant blessings!

Tommy+

My son Ben, as so many toddlers do, is into a different theme every few months. We have been through Veggietales, Lightening McQueen and Cars, Buzz Lightyear, and now Balto, the sled dog who is immortalized in the animated movie that bears his name.

Though it is “based” on a true story, it is heavily embellished. Balto, though depicted as part wolf, really was just a Siberian Huskey. The real Balto was the lead dog of a team that ran the last leg of a relay that brought diphtheria medicine in the 1920’s across Alaska to save a snowed in Nome. Other teams and dogs ran and led the route (which is now commemorated each year in the running of the Iditarod), but Balto running as the lead of the last team got the glory.

Really, ALL the dogs were heroes. The real workhorse was a dog named Togo who led the team that ran the hardest and one of the longest legs through mountains. It was the most dangerous part of the journey. But the most amazing part was that the medicine got through….many lives were saved.

It got me thinking, wouldn’t it be great if people could be as focused on the prize? We often get so tied up in recieveing credit or praise that we often lose sight of the most imporatnt parts, and that’s a shame. I have no specific examples, because there are just so many.

The real Balto was hailed a hero, but then expolited for money. At one point a businessman from Cleveland, Ohio bought Balto and his team and they spent their last days living the lives they deserved at the Cleveland Zoo. AND if you go there today you can see the real Balto Himself……he was taxidermized after his death and is still on display (you can even see him online). A statue of him is also erected in Central Park in New York.

I suppose this may be an odd post for my blog, but it has been on my mind. Lot’s of good always comes from doing things for others and from the right reasons. Maybe we can learn a bit from a dog! I know I have!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

I am making progress. I have had a lot of energy all day, and in meetings I felt pretty sharp! It’s not that my throat and head don’t still hurt a bit, because they do. It’s that there comes a point when you really feel you are heading in the right direction. Today has been such a day.

We had two women’s lacrosse games tonight, and Scotty’s team even played concurrent with one of them. It is a very rare occurrence, but one I am so thankful for. I only got to see a piece of Scotty’s game, but I did get to see some. My kids are fun to watch, and coaching is something I utterly enjoy. My teams are doing great in the indoor and are looking forward to February, where we will combine back into one team and head into the regular season. I am encouraged by what I see.

Anyway, I will call it a day, especially while it is a good one!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Ben and I spent most of the morning traveling around picking up a few papers I needed signed in order to make a mailing deadline that I set for myself. He was a real trooper, talking to me most of the time, and seemingly enjoying all he could see out his window.

It was good to have time with him, though it was not wrestling time. Yes, even in Indiana we have laws about wrestling in the car while it is moving. And on the way from Anderson back to his babysitter we stopped at our veterinarian’s office where we are frequent visitors being dog breeders and all, and Ben was able to lay on the floor and stick his arm into a pile of Cavalier puppies! He thought it was pretty cool, and the puppies did as well.

I was able to get everything mailed off later on, and was pretty pleased with all I accomplished today. I know I am no longer contagious, and I know my throat is almost completely healed, but in truth, I feel like a total dog (no, this is not an intentional attempt of working the dog theme throughout….it is just an Indiana expression, like “God, Country, and Peyton Manning.”) I just cannot find the energy. I feel totally whooped!

With that, I think I will call it a day. I have an early and full day tomorrow, and I hope to make big gains sleeping tonight.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless! I hope you have had a wonderful day.

Tommy+

Well I made it……it was a beautiful drive across the sunny farmland of both Ohio and Indiana…..all until I was 20 miles from home and hit the rain. It has rained all day too, but as Dorothy says, “There’s no place like home.” Dor 3:16 (yes, my wife is from Kansas where they revere her as a saint)

I did manage to meet up with my VW adviser too at about 3pm. We talked at 7:30 and he said to drive it home, and he was right. A six hour drive to spend another hour at the VW dealer to reset the warning light after checking it out and telling me it was okay was WELL worth it! I was pretty worried, and getting home with that off my plate was wonderful!

Of course the fact that I cannot infect anyone will be a lot more cool when my throat heals. And I am not just healing, but the strep took most of my energy! A little rest will do the trick I am sure, and this is the last thing I am doing before bed just before midnight.

But in the end, despite the detours in my life, the road is almost always paved with blessings. Ben is next to me because he just HAD TO sleep in our bed, and my late arrival under the covers means his feet are plowed under him mom’s side and not mine. But I am glad to be here. I have a great life and there really is no place like home for me!

Goodnight (Ben’s feet free – so far but it will not last) and God Bless! (He is moving back now!)

Tommy+

If a sore throat (now not contagious) were not enough, I received a call this morning from the Minute Clinic that diagnosed me with strep throat yesterday to tell me that they had incorrectly prescribed my antibiotic, and that I should NOT TAKE the dose as prescribed….it was too high. Of course I was happy to hear this BEFORE I took the dose, but a little confused as to how this could happen. I called both my pharmacist (who did NOT fill the original) and my doctor. They told me how to take it.

Of course it was a big detour in my day, and if that were not enough, sure enough, after my meeting and dinner with Fr. Kelly Irish, my check engine light came on. This gives me something to do in the morning after I wake up I guess. I am hoping to just drive home, but that decision I believe will be made between myself and my service adviser in Indiana that I will talk to in the morning. Apparently my trip was an opportunity for me to call back to Indiana to ask for advice, and though I have been given it, I’d rather just visit without all the drama!

Anyway, with all of that, I suppose I will head to bed. I hope to see home tomorrow so keep me in your prayers!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless.

Tom+

I am posting at 11pm from Ohio, and I am happy to be here. In truth, I never thought I would make it. I knew I wasn’t feeling great last night, but I just thought it was the need for sleep. But after two services today, and the long drive looming, I thought it would be best to stop in at the Minute Clinic just in case. I am glad I did. My headache and sore throat turned out to be a sinus infection AND strep throat.

What surprises me is that I have never had strep before, and the test really was just a precaution. But instead of being here in a hotel with a fever and miserable, I am stable (at least physically) and should be fine by the morning. They gave me the nuclear option for an antibiotic (only three days) and I feel tons better.

Of course as a priest of many years, I have often done services under the weather. We are taught from the beginning of our careers how to work without getting sick, or spreading it too. I was ultra cautious today, and am glad I was. I really did believe it was just a headache and allergies. I am not happy to be wrong, but pleased I was cautious in dealing with others this morning.

Anyway, me and my medicine laden body are heading to bed. Tomorrow is not just a new day, but a day I am looking forward to. I am tired, but blessed. AND, I can sleep till noon if I need to….right, that never happens!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

It seems to me that if I pay all that money to get my car repaired that it would drive differently (and yes I mean a more luxurious ride)than it did before I paid…..but alas, it seems to be the same car I had. Not that I am complaining of course. I loved my car then and I love it now. I am glad to have it out of the shop and took it to both St. Patrick’s today and to Christ the King in Kokomo (okay, and also the Sonic in Kokomo because I was with my wife the addict). It ran like a champ, and it makes me pretty darn confident about it running the long distances over the next few days.

I will actually be in Westfield and Anderson tomorrow before heading to Ohio in the late afternoon. It should be a pretty good day for me, especially in that my sermon is done and I hopefully will have a good night’s rest. I have been feeling out of sorts as of late, and I am sure a lot of it has to do with stress. Yep, even I, with my boring, easy-going, nothing ever happens, slothful and mundane life, get stressed! Yes that is meant to be funny….I live a pretty stressful existence much of the time….but by choice. I like it when things are busy and flying around. I love accomplishing things too. But I could do without the feeling off these past few days, and I pray it will leave me by morning.

Anyway, I will stop complaining and get to bed. Tomorrow is a new day and I have my car! For all of it I am thankful. The Lord blesses us even amidst the storms, big OR small. And I still know I am truly blessed!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless.

Tom+

Well it is only going to be between $800 and $900, that ironically I do not have…..double bad news! Apparently this “bullet car” that I have (that when I was buying it was told will run forever..perfect for my job and kind of driving) has one little occasional major problem….the one that I have. I will now get it back and treat it like a star, because if I do after what they’ve done to it, it will indeed run forever! I get it back tomorrow morning and yes, that is the good news!

So since it is apparently illegal to sell organs, unless they are marked “Hammond,” I will be just toughing it out and getting onto what I normally do…..get into my car and drive too far!

Thanks for your prayers! I will post again tomorrow!

Goodnight and God Bless.

Tommy+