Well my intention was to spend much of this week catching up on things I have neglected through Lent, and one of those things was to finish our bathroom downstairs.  It is now just a little after 9 on Monday night and I accomplished A LOT…..unfortunately, one of those things has been to injure my knee.  It is as big as a baseball right now, and that is after going down!  My hope is some sleep will get it back to the right size and a new start tomorrow.

The good news is that I may be ready to paint tomorrow, that is if I am given the colors.  Sure, I am trusted with everything else other than how it will be finished.  My hope is to get that far so I can trim it out and have the plumbers back out at the end of the week.

But for now, me and my icky knee are off to bed.  I will confess that it is my “good” knee, as the other one was rebuilt in 1995.  The picture shows my rebuilt one a few years back!!  But I will still call it good, especially as I intend for it to cooperate tomorrow!!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

I once again am posting at the END of a long day upon which the beginning may have been more appropriate, but Happy Easter to all of you!  I had the great blessing of celebrating at three different churches today, and was blessed by them all.

In addition to that, I was able to be with Ben and Amanda for all three, Scott for two, and was able to speak with Steph on the phone who actually had GAMES on Good Friday AND Easter.  Fortunately they won them both handily!  So it was a pretty good day, even though it would have been better to have Steph here with us.

My odd moments came throughout the day when I thought about calling my grandma or visiting my mom.  It surprised me at how often I thought about that too.  I wondered if I felt this way at Christmas, and I suppose I can look back to find out, but it (having them both gone) is just a hard thing to get used to.  I wondered if my inability to get this right might have something to do with my brain, but I suppose it does not matter as it is what it is, and honestly, it is what it will be as well.  My comfort was knowing that the Easter Miracle makes it easier to know that in the end it is all okay.  I still think however, this is going to take me some getting used to!

But as I hear my bed calling, let me say Happy Easter to all once more.  What a great day!  I am so thankful for it, and all that it means to me in my life!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

I have to admit, today was one long day.  I normally do not do too much on Holy Saturday other than to contemplate the happenings of Holy Week and to prepare for Easter Sunday.  In the beginning of my ministry I would do Easter Vigils on Saturday, but they gave way to VERY early ones on Sunday mornings, so that the Vigil would end with the sunrise and we would celebrate the first Eucharist of Easter as the sun came up.  Vigils were often times for baptisms, but even that gave way to doing them in the main Easter Day service.  (I figured if I had so many people who only came twice a year that I might as well keep them a little longer)

Today however, Father PT, Deacon Kim, and I went up to some ordinations in Fort Wayne.  One deacon and one priest were ordained and they both are great guys.  It was a real blessing.  But with all the stuff I have been doing, I got a bit behind with all I had to do.  I do believe, now at 10:30, that I am caught up……but only tomorrow morning will tell.

But for tonight, my prayers go out for all of you.  There are good churches open tomorrow all around you with good people waiting to walk with you in faith.

Tomorrow we celebrate the biggest victory of all!  Come celebrate it with us and join us tomorrow in Church!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Yes, I know.  I should really post my Good Friday blog post at the beginning of the day rather than at the end, but I generally do this each day at the same time with very little exception, so at the end it is.

Although we had services everywhere, I attended the one we had in Nashville.  We were short on cassocks, and I really just wanted to be a part, so I told Father Dan I would just be a participant, rather than help to lead the service.  It was the Stations of the Cross, and he did a marvelous job, and I enjoyed just responding rather than leading, as it was a great opportunity for me to reflect.  It was a blessing to me for certain.

Good Friday is important to me as I am a firm believer that in celebrating it, although the imagery of the Crucifixion (particularly since it takes place for each of us) is often difficult, it makes the celebration of Easter far more meaningful.

Yes, Jesus died this day on that Cross for both you and me.  He thought of us both there.

Contemplate this day His Sacrifice for you, and allow it to transform your experience of Easter this Sunday in Church!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

I am an ice hockey player by experience, so my illustrations sometimes may be a bit off….but with today being Maundy Thursday, I think it means we are now in the “stretch” in terms of Holy Week.  I am not too sure if I have the right rems, but I know from this point on it is pretty much a dash to the end….with meaning of course.

But tonight Father PT and I had the opportunity to see Father Robert celebrate his very first Maundy Thursday service.  I did the sermon click here to get our sermons and Father Robert did everything else.  It was pretty great to be a part!  And for me in particular, it was a great way to start these very important days.  It was a real blessing to see a new priest doing such an important service!

But now I am home and my thoughts have shifted to Good Friday……tomorrow.  I will celebrate it tomorrow in Nashville, but we will be offering services everywhere.  It is one of the most solemn and important days of the Church Year, and my hope and prayer is that you get to church wherever you are.

Now however, I must call it a day.  Working through these days can be a distraction, and I will need my rest to fully engage.  My prayers however are with you Dear Reader.

Blessings to you as we continue to journey toward Easter.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Well as I wrote yesterday, I was in Akron, Ohio for an ordination and a Chrism Mass.  AND, since we were right by a Berean, and since it was so close to Easter, I thought I would stop in and see if I could buy a clergy shirt to wear on Easter.  Sure enough they had one, but what I discovered is the topic of tonight’s blog.

The picture tonight is supposed to be of JESUS, and it was displayed prominently on a table just as you came in, (along with $70.00 REAL crowns of thorns for those who wish to inflict personal pain during Holy Week).  I however, could not stop laughing because I thought it was David Copperfield.   AND, I made sure I took a picture of it for my blog.  (I think it is my reflection that makes it look like his is getting his hair cut).  Father PT and I was laughing too, and we were both in our clerical collars.  And I couldn’t help but think that we were upsetting some of the staff, but in truth, how were we to know they were big fans of David Copperfield.

You know, I am a big fan of inspirational stuff, and was in no way trying to be irreverent.  BUT, I do believe that if you are going to sell pictures of the Lord you might want to look for someone who looks a lot less like David Copperfield.  It is just a distraction….really.

On a more positive note, tomorrow is Maundy Thursday and I will have the blessing of delivering the sermon tomorrow night at six at St. Patrick’s in Noblesville.   (It will be a pretty straightforward sermon about our mandate to serve, and no, I will not make anything disappear).  I will then be in Nashville for Good Friday, and split between three different services on Sunday.

It is however, HOLY WEEK, and we priests tend to be doing a lot during these times.  I however would not want it any other way.  I love what I do, and I am blessed to be able to do it.   Jesus is calling you to join me at Church over these next few days and I hope you do!  And I mean the REAL Jesus!    The seats are free……and nothing you will take part in will be an illusion.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

I have been running 20 hour straight, but I am pleased to confess that I am typing this from my own home and in my own bed (in case I do not make it).  Ben has apparently “weaseled” his way into my bed, obviously convinced of my demise, and my follow up visit with the surgeon is just 9 short hours away.

Today however, I have been to Akron and back, where we attended an ordination, meeting and a Chrism Mass.  We brought back blessed oils for use in all our churches, and all of them will be in their proper places by Friday evening.  And I say Friday, as that will be the day I am in Nashville for a service there.  I will deliver it to father Dan then!

But for now I need to apologize that I just cannot go any further.  I have a great picture that I will be posting tomorrow, but my cord is in my car and it will just have to wait.  The day is done and if I do not get to sleep getting to my follow up appointment will be the least of my worries!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Although something serious generally happens during Holy Week, what I am seeing now is clearly unexpected.  In many years of ministry, I have had people die, funerals, family crisis, and a myriad of other things, so much so in fact that I have come to expect it.  But this week, despite leaving for Akron early in the morning for a Chrism Mass, thus far, things seem much less chaotic.

Oh sure, Amanda has a migraine and a trash can next to our bed.  She also has jury duty, but will not need to go in tomorrow according to the recorder on the court-line.  Scott is doing his very best to help out and is torturing himself by trying to get Ben to stay in his bed.  Scott has to work at five and is about dead to the world.  Ben is just waiting him out.  It will not be a surprise to see who will win.

As for me, I will be up at 4 to put my clothes in the dryer and then out of the house about 45 minutes later.    Oh sure, it all seems too staged at this point, and like always, I am anticipating a crisis.  Somehow, one always seems to come, but at least I am prepared for it.

Sadly, I have not ever had an uneventful Holy Week either.  I suppose I would not know what to do if I had one.  But in the big picture, I still have it pretty good.  Sure I will be driving 12 hours tomorrow for about 4 hours of meetings, but things could certainly be a lot worse.  I will count my blessings and continue to make my way through this week.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

The picture is a couple of days old but I thought I would use it, as it reflected “happier times.”  Steph is now back at school and Ben and I are home.  And although it is Palm Sunday and I have worked all day, Ben and I find ourselves in MY BED (as there is a thunderstorm) and we are apparently BOTH in trouble for interfering with the sleep of the queen….which is indeed a felony in our home (as we have been warned).

It is certainly not the night I had envisioned, but this is a pop-up storm and a pretty good one too.  Amanda was already in bed, and Ben used the storm to exit his room.  Of course even bombing would not wake up his mom, at least not enough to be anything other than grouchy, so he found his way downstairs to let me know that he was so hungry that he was in danger of dying (and no, I am not kidding.)  So I gave him some cookies, which seemed to save him, although I was not quite sure of the proper treatment as my doctoral degree is not in medicine.  He seemed however to respond well, so perhaps I am not as poor of a doctor as you might think.   What I can say is that it was a pretty fun, and pretty cool adventure, that has led to even more trouble for he and I tonight in bed.

Of course I really do not care, as I enjoy my role……but the bottom line is that I did not marry me, and I suppose in the great scheme of things there needs to be punishment for that at least.  Perhaps it is me and my little minion, I do not know.  I just know that he and I are in bed, and in trouble.

It is just always good to go with what you know……

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Well I am ready for Palm Sunday, although I am clearly not on top of my game.  I am still out of sorts, and I am still in pain.  It will not stop me from working tomorrow, but it will at this point, influence a bit of how I do.  My hope and prayer is to be far better in the morning.

I will say that I am far better than I was yesterday, but still far from where I expected to be.  In my humble estimation, this surgery was really nothing, yet it seems to be more than I anticipated.  Just getting though tomorrow will be a big victory for me because then my next BIG thing will be on Thursday.  I am scheduled to attend a Chrism Mass on Tuesday in Akron, but there is very little responsibility in that other than getting there and back.  I should do fine!

But I will confess that I do believe I am making progress.  My eye is still as bad as ever, but I expect it to begin working anytime.  Until then, I will patiently wait!

Tomorrow is Palm Sunday and the beginning of Holy Week!  Make sure you attend Church!  I hope to see you there!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+