I really can’t believe how tired I am…..and what is funny is that I began the day talking about that very topic with father Dan Conley this morning.  A million things later, I am still “dead-dog” tired as they say (although I do not think dogs that have died are tired, but more likely “not-alive”) and though I accomplish a ton, I am not quite sure I could tell you what.

On the upside, I do believe that the retreat we will be leading tomorrow for Brother Robert Jennings, who will be ordained a priest on Saturday, should be a good one.  We “seem” to be all set for it, but of course there are “technical” things that have to go well tomorrow too, so your prayers will be appreciated.  What I can say is that it reminds me of my coaching career.  You prepare all you can, but at some point you have to walk onto the field and just see what you have got.  We are praying for it to be a great day for us all.

And here at home, my wife and her sister have been fun to watch.  The picture is of my time with them yesterday for lunch at Pizza Hut.  But Rhonda and Amanda are having a blast and the kids are too.  It was all made even better this afternoon by the arrival of my father-in-law from Kansas (I do not have father-in-laws from any other states, he is the only one, I was just using the state to reference how far he came).  The kids of course went wild.  This is who Ben identifies as “Cowboy Grandpa,” and he has been all about the kids.  They are in heaven.

So of course I will not be missed too much sneaking out to do a retreat.  After all, I am the dad and uncle, and that is far less cool to hang with than a grandpa.  I know, because I miss mine.  And given a choice, he would be my first.  I am just very blessed to see the kids enjoy it like they do!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Yep, ARRRRGH…..MOST of the plumbing in my basement is done, but now with company and all that is going on, it will be Tuesday until the job is completed.  It is not the plumber that is the problem, they are some of the finest ones I have ever met……it was the contractor for the concrete.  Honestly, they are not among the best I have met.

There good part is that I have a bit of a reprieve in terms of building a wall for the bathroom we are adding downstairs.  It would have had to have been already done, but now as long as it will be done by Tuesday, it should be okay…..I however will build that wall tomorrow because then I am DONE with that part.

The big part is that we are making progress…..the second big part is that it allowed me to use a Captain Feathersword picture for my blog (I am a big fan!)  But more than that, we are within sight of the end of this project which pleases me to no end.   I just hope that by the end of March it is something for which I no longer have to worry.   ARRRRRGH….

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Yes, that is the magnificent Ben Tirman next to the cement truck for which he would not leave home until it arrived.  This whole big project thing is right in hos wheelhouse, and of all the people here today, he clearly had the most fun.  The good news is that the concrete was poured….the bad news is that is was a terrible job.  Our plumbers were not happy with the contractor, so tomorrow we will see what the options are.

Of course that is not the BIGGEST thing.  The biggest thing is that my sister-in-law Rhonda, and her two children Kayla and Logan arrive tonight for a WEEK!  That is BIG!  I have never met our nephew, and Kayla and I always have a great time.  But the best part is to see Rhonda, because as a sister to my wife, we have dealt with a “common enemy.”  And we spend most of our time together sharing those important survival strategies.

Of course you might be saying, “wow that is a gutsy confession, as your wife reads your blog,” but NOT when her family comes.  She is currently possessed with cleaning stuff with a toothbrush, and no, it is not anyone’s teeth.  My OCD comes from a stroke….Amanda’s comes naturally, and all I am sure Rhonda will share is that what a bummer it probably was to be me as she was heading here!  Rhonda has had many more years dealing with this “serial cleaner.”

The nice part is that it will seem like old times.  We have spent a lot of time together, but since Rhonda has moved, it has been hard.  Lots of husbands have bad in-law relationships…..I do not.  As a matter of fact, I would be hard pressed to find better in my humble opinion.  So for a week we will have a blast, and I can hardly wait.  It s going to be a great BIG TIME!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Today has been a busy busy day.  I got Viper to the vet.  He is pretty bruised up, but now on pain meds and antibiotics…….plus he’s got that whole hero-thing going on.  He’s going to be fine.  Amanda is doing fine as well, although she did not go to the vet.

The plumbers and excavators are still here and they will be pouring the floor of the basement tomorrow…..just in time for my sister-in-law and her kids to arrive tomorrow night.  The plumbing will not be completed yet, and they will be out to finish it later in the week….but as long as the bathrooms and showers work, then who really cares?  It however, has been a brutal job for them, but these are truly the finest contractors I have ever known.  Call me if you ever need a plumber!  Angie’s List doesn’t have a category for how high I would rate them.

But tonight my thoughts are really on my good friend Father Art Going.  Art is a priest who almost came up here to plant a church, but who ended up in Louisville instead.  I got to see him in Texas last week, but the day we left, he had a heart attack….which is surprising as he is in excellent shape.

But Art had bypass surgery today in Texas and did great!!!  We are all so thankful for that!  I just got off the phone with his seminarian in Kentucky, as I will be heading down there this Sunday afternoon to cover for Art.  I can tell you however, I am convinced the parish is in good hands!  It was a great comfort to me, as I am sure it is to Art as well.

BUT……please still keep my brother Art and his wife Nancy in your prayers.  Art will be in the ICU for a few more days and then will be on the road to full recovery for a few more weeks.  But the good part is that he will be doing it with that rebuilt ticker.  I am thankful for that.  He is a great priest and a great friend.  Today may have been busy for me, but in my mind, there are very few ways it could have turned out better.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Yes, they both are…..real life heroes.  This morning I was doing the service at St. Anne’s in Anderson, and Amanda was home, outside in the driveway.  Ben was with her as well as our dog Viper.  There were tons of little kids next door in our neighbor’s back drive as well.

On the street behind our house (you can enter our house from the back and the front) a lady was out walking her small dog when a great pyrenees that lives across the street came and attacked them.   The lady was bit, and it could have been far worse had Viper not gone out to intervene…..but he did.  Viper is 70 pounds and 8 years old.  The other dog dwarfed him….but he went out and got in the way.  The dog attacked him, the lady and her dog got away and Amanda ran out to help him.

Viper got away and he and Amanda came back toward the house.  Ben was by the door crying, when the dog came toward them all for more.  Amanda threw Ben into the house and Viper went back to protecting his family.  Amanda said it was a vicious fight, and one she again intervened on.  She took a garden rake and was hitting the Great Pyrenees trying to get him from killing Viper.  Its owner finally came over and got him to leave, but did say he was supposed to be on an electric fence, which is hard to believe as he is always in everyone else’s yard.  But Amanda got bit as well and Viper had quite a bit of blood on him, but as I discovered when I got home, now cuts……he apparently did the damage.

A few minutes after I got home the police arrived, already having taken a report for the woman who was initially attacked and who had called them.  The owners of the Great Pyrenees had left apparently, as they did not answer their door.  The police could see it in their garage (one officer said that it was horse-sized). He said they generally take the dog away and quarantine it for 10 days.   But they left without him.  Fr. Dan, who is a retired police officer for over 30 years said they probably went to get a warrant to do that.  But the big thing is that everyone seems to be okay.

Viper looked horrible and was throwing up as I checked him out, no doubt form the stress.  But he has had a bath and will head to his vet in the morning.  Amanda was shaken up tremendously, but I was glad she made the right choices.  It could have been far worse had she and Viper not intervened.  That dog could have attacked one of the kids….and one of them would not have had a chance at all.

Thanks Amanda and Viper!  This picture was taken “post-attack.”  You are both my heroes.  Thanks for being so brave!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Well, well, well…..how time flies.  Yes, 22 years ago today I knelt down in front of the Bishop of Southwest Florida and was ordained a priest.  I was far younger, much lighter, and I had a head full of hair.  My grandfather presented me, which was a high honor, and the equally young, and then ministry-greenhorn, Father Kelly Irish (he and I were in Plano together this week) delivered a now famous sermon.  Kelly is the young buck behind me in both the pictures.

The sermon we now label as “Father Phony,” and it was about how surprised we were that we made it even THAT FAR, and what would happen to us if they ever found out we didn’t know it all.  My my my…….how time doesn’t change.

Here we both are now 22 years later……and we both still don’t know it all.  Actually, we are not even close to know it all.  The difference is that now we know better.

I am often struck by what I see in many people who feel called to ordained ministry.  Many feel that it involves hoop-jumping and check-lists, as if they just do these things they have to do that they will get it.  Others see it as something they attain or reach, like a finish line, when in fact there is no such thing.  In fact it isn’t something you attain or qualify for with good performance….it is just something you are called to and are made into by God’s Grace.  It doesn’t make you any more special than the next person, it is just what you are called to do…..to serve the Lord as a priest in His Church.

So today I give thanks for that day many years ago, and for the opportunity to serve, particularly with someone like Father Irish.  He always said that in combining the two of us the Church probably got one good priest, and perhaps he was right. (I think that was in his sermon 22 years ago)  But the bottom line is that for even more than that time, he and I have kept each other in the right perspective…and by that I mean sane.  I thank God for Him every day, as well as for the opportunities He has given us.

Anyway, it’s been a great ride!  Here’s to AT LEAST 22 more!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Yep, I came home to this…..our basement is totally busted up and we have just three more days with the plumbers!  But honestly, I am VERY EXCITED they are here.

By Tuesday afternoon, just hours before my sister-in-law and her two children arrive, the whole project should be done, and I would say Hallelujah to it, if it were not that we are in Lent.  The new pipes will be in and I can start on the construction of a downstairs bathroom, as they will do the plumbing for it!

But in all honesty, it is a TRUE TO LIFE construction zone right now….and yes, I like that because I am a guy.  I will be home Friday, Monday, and Tuesday to watch them…..not to make sure they are doing their jobs, but to learn.  I am highly skilled electrically, but these particular plumbing things are things for which I want a degree.

So home I am, and home I will be.  I have a lot of work to do, but fortunately my office is in the same house!  I am not missing Texas, but I had many blessings on my trip.  We will see where they lead, but I have a sneaky suspicion that the entire week was something God wants me to pay attention to!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Today has been my last full day in Texas, and tomorrow in the late morning Father Irish and I will head to the airport where we will both head home.  It has been well worth my time to be here, and I have been able to make a lot of progress in terms of networking, learning, and telling people about the Order.

Another added benefit is that tomorrow in the early morning Delmolino Plumbing will be at my house in Indiana where they will spend the day jackhammering my basement floor to remove and repair the pipes and I will not be.  So YES, I will miss the jackhammering!  AND, there will be pieces of time in this tomorrow where the bathroom will not be available.  So traveling tomorrow is good!

But it will be good to get home.  I am not looking forward to the airports or the flights, but I am looking forward to getting home.

And sometime tomorrow, God Willing, I should arrive there.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Day two in Texas has been a long but productive one.  Anglican 1000 is a great resource and it is also very technology-driven.  But being 50, I am clearly “techno-savvy” and wanted to prove so with my ability to post on Twitter like all those young people.

And so I did.  I tried to take pictures and post and I felt I was doing pretty well.  But being a bit of a joker, I took a picture of the Archdeacon and two other priests that I thought made them look a little sleepy.  It was going to be a TWITPIC, which I want to be clear is actually what they call pictures you put on Twitter and not in any way a criticism or description of the guys.  So I posted it with the caption “The future of the Church????”  And I was quite pleased as I thought it was funny.  I copied it to Facebook too.

But soon I was getting all these messages about my post with pretty serious answers to the question I posed, which of course I meant to be a caption.  They were quite deep and well thought out, and I knew something was wrong……..yep, I sent the caption, but not the picture.

But for a short time I suppose I felt proud that I at least looked thought provoking.  And, in all honesty, the responses gave me something to think about.  It was an additional blessing I did not expect and one that I will gladly take.

But the question now is just what I do with the picture.  We will see, but a good picture is a terrible thing to waste.

Goodnight Y’all and God Bless from Texas.

Tommy+

At 4 this morning it didn’t seem possible, but I am writing this post from Plano, Texas where I am attending a national conference on Church Planting.  (yes…..it NEEDS to be capitalized!!)  But I just happy to arrive.  AND, I am trying to come to grips with the fact that I enjoyed my day on planes and in airports much less than I did my drive to Washington DC a few weeks ago.  The whole experience today seemed claustrophobic.