I am not quite sure which superhero is responsible, but at this point none of them are talking.  For I had been planning to prank my daughter Stephanie for over a year and on Friday I put that plan into action.

Yes, on the way home from doing some work at St. George’s in Muncie with Ben and Scott, we stopped at a BAIT STORE where I bought $3.00 worth of crickets.  The idea seemed fool-proof.  We got home and took the crickets out of their sealed bait shop container and put them into Ben’s “bug box.”  There were 35-40 of those little boogers and the plan was to sneak them up into Steph’s room and hide THE BOX before she went to bed.  So that when the lights went off the concert would begin.

Steph went out, Scotty delivered the crickets, and then nothing was said……for days.

Apparently crickets make noise in the dark to FIND EACH OTHER but when they are all hanging out, let’s say in a bug box, they just “chill” (“chill” – young people’s lingo for loitering).  So when Steph never complained, yesterday I sent Scott to get the bug box……but it was gone.  And soon Steph was asking me about crickets she was finding (in a VERY SUSPICIOUS WAY) and then they began to appear elsewhere.

Of course no one knows where the bug box is, nor how the crickets got out.  I imagine there is a superhero involved but the ones I have interrogated are not talking.

There is most probably a moral to this story, but I believe it is still playing itself out.  But it is surely a victory for cricket freedom if such a thing exists.  And although I have my suspects, I must confess….one man’s suspect is another cricket’s hero.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+  

I DO NOT miss Sundays, but today I did.  And I missed it, not for me, but for others.

Over the weekend I was not feeling well.  I had a temperature, and last night, even after Motrin, I was at 102 degrees.  My stubbornness said go, but my head won over.  There were THREE of us scheduled at St. Patrick’s and they assured me they would be fine.

And they were.  And as hard as it as for me to stay home, the lesson was a good one.  The Lord has raised up some spectacular people in our ministry, and in truth, they can actually cover, if not exceed, for me!  AND THEY DID………

Yes, my post is short tonight because I am STILL under the weather, but my gratefulness is never ending….

The Lord is doing marvelous things!!!  Can you see it??  I can!!!  And I am excited about being a part of what He is doing in our part of the world!!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

I was always of the mindset that as an athlete you play smarter, not harder…..sometimes however, harder gives the edge.

I approach my day tomorrow with that philosophy.  I have felt awful all last night and for much of the day, and as I get ready for bed tonight my temperature is at 102……Ben’s is at 100.  And since I am one of three clergy scheduled for tomorrow at St. Pat’s, I have already sent word to the other two that I may not be making it.  They are both very capable guys and will do fine, even though I am scheduled to deliver the sermon.  But if I am sick and go, others can be exposed.  And for how I feel now, I would hate to think of giving it to anyone.  If I feel fine when I get up I will be there, but I am VERY DOUBTFUL that I will be making it.

On an up-note, Amanda, Steph, and a bunch of her friends ran in the “Color-Run” today.  It was a 5k and they had a blast.  I often stay out of their “weirdness” and today was such a day.  Amanda left in a white outfit.  The picture is an example of what they went through.  Steph has a BUNCH of pictures of it on Facebook.  Look them up if you have some time.

But as for me, the day is done and I am going to bed.  My head hurts, and it hurts just a little bit more than the rest of my body.  I am hoping that all of this is a memory in the morning………but I am not counting on it!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

To confess to you that I am a bit “under the weather” would be a bit of an understatement.  In fact, I feel miserable.  It has RAINED here much of the day, but the fronts that come through often wreck havoc with my head, and today that has been the case.  I have a headache and feel like a SLUG.  I have spent much of the day in bed, but hopefully I can “make the turn” tomorrow.

Headaches can be debilitating.  My wife has migraines and I cannot even imagine.  At one point in my life I had headache all the time….mostly from the weather.  In truth, that was far easier than this.  I was used to them.  Now they hit me hard……tomorrow however, should be a better day.

The fronts should be through the area and my head should clear up….but I AM THANKFUL for the RAIN!!!!!  There may be a shot of my lawn returning to green bu summer’s end.  That would make me very happy!  There is nothing more miserable than all the dust and dry, dead grass from a drought……other than maybe a Cub’s loss…..but I digress.

Saturday is a new day and a new start……….and honestly it cannot start soon enough.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

The New Sign

Ben and Scotty joined me up in Muncie this afternoon to do some work at St. George’s.  Tonight’s picture is the design of our sign that arrived today and will be up tomorrow.  And while Ben did his usual disconnected rambling about superheroes and watched Transformers on the computer, Scotty and I finished most of the place up.

We had converted the bathroom into a unisex handicapped bathroom and Scott and I had to put a new toilet in today.  As Scott had not done one before it was a great teaching opportunity and we really made a good team.  Scotty re tiled the floor before installing the new commode and despite TELLING Ben we were removing the old one 10 times, he only had to go in the time between removal and installation.  I swear I think he does it intentionally sometimes.

BEFORE

AFTER

But the good news is that it is done.  The kitchen area and sacristy need some work and we will put furniture in over the weekend.  The sign will go up tomorrow and the web will be updated to show the address and ALL our progress.  So if you know ANYONE in Muncie, tell them to check it out tomorrow and see what we are up to.

And although I am home, sore, and tired, it has been a good day.  St. George’s will open soon, and I am blessed that my family could be a part in it all.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless.

Tommy+

Tonight I had the great pleasure of going to dinner with my family.  Steph has company in from New York and with that, the usual crew…….and we had a great time!

I know it is a somewhat usual thing for me to post about getting to have dinner with all three kids, but I suppose that has a lot to do with how special I feel it is.  But more than that, Steph no longer lives here and Scott is rarely here, so being connected to them and the people in their lives is important to me as well.  And I am always impressed as they seem to be doing quite well and they seem happy too.

Sure, there is a part of me that would like to nose in and be more involved, but that would just not be proper!  They have their own lives and I am a PART, and I try my best to let them navigate it on their own.  My observation is that they do a pretty great job, and I am proud of them.

So now I am home, well fed, and will be able to be asleep by 10!  I even told Ben he could sleep with us and I have not seen much of him this past week and he jumped at the chance.  Life should get back on schedule in the morning.

But for now I am just thankful for the kids we are raising and the lives they are living.  They are a blessing to me, and the people they bring into my life are as well.  It has been a pretty wonderful evening.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

So many things are happening that are good that I decided to post this awesome picture of Father PT eating the “bacon sundae” I bought him (as a joke).  He is a big fan of bacon and there was no way I was not getting him this after seeing it on the menu!

So two big things happened to day.  One, Viper passed all his tests at the vet.  He is on antibiotics now for what they think may be going on, but the believe that this will clear him up.  He had x-rays, blood work, and an exam.  But no masses or anything dangerous.  The second thing was that we saw A LOT of rain (at least in Muncie) where we were today.  It was to the extent that we though we probably should be building an ARK….yes, it was that bad.  And at lunch at the Pizza Hut, as the ceiling was leaking everywhere, we saw on the news that in terms of Indiana, it was the worst in the STATE!!  Go figure, but it was RAIN!

So enjoy your bacon sundae my dear friend.  I am glad you enjoyed it.  And I will also enjoy a future blog I have yet to write about the successful visit to cardiologist for you….for as I understand, most cardiologists have big money invested in the bacon industry!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

We are a few days into an intense renovation.  We have acquired a facility for our newest church plant and we hope to have it ready to show by early next week.

The name of the Church is St. George Anglican Church and there will be a Chapter of St. Raphael’s Campus Ministry (for BALL STATE) there as well.  St. George’s is just about a half mile off campus!

We will work hard to reach the people of Muncie, and the mission of this particular church, in addition to making and deepening disciples, will be to support the Campus Ministry as well.

I have been taking pictures and I do intend to post them, but I would like to wait until I can show the whole transformation.  We should have most of the facility done tomorrow, but the furniture may be closer to the weekend.  I appreciate your patience about the pictures, but I ask for your prayers as we plant.  First of all, we are not young guys doing this renovation.  But most of all pray for the success of this endeavor in faith.  And if you would like to be a part beyond praying for us, please know there is a donation option for the work of our Order on our website at The Order of St. Michael Donation Site (Paypal)  Please use the donation for the ORDER option.

Thanks for your support!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Yes, this is a picture of our garden.  It is now mowed under, but before it left us it did yield 3 jalapeno peppers, one green pepper and approximately 60 million cicada killers (please see my prior posts for information concerning these lovely “hornet-looking, aircraft-sized flying insects)!  Sadly the drought proved too much, or in this case too little (in terms of water), and we are now looking ahead to next year.

What disappoints me most about all this however, is the fact that gardening really gives my wife a lot of joy.  She enjoys every stage…the planning, the planting, the care taking and the harvest.  And one of her favorite parts is the tilling that she has me do….which of course this year I had Steph join me in as I love to share all that joy!

So now I have my “burn area” back, and I was not expecting it until later in the year.  Of course it means nothing with a burn ban on, but at least I can pile branches and stuff there just in case the ban is ever lifted.  I am just saddened for Amanda though.  It is a hobby that gives her joy, and one that she is quite good at.  I am just thankful she has a trophy-husband like myself to keep her mind off all that desolation.

I am sure that helps a lot!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

WOW….my prayers have been answered.  At 51 I cannot see small print and I FAKE seeing far away. If I go to a restaurant without glasses I am hosed, and reading messages on my phone is a real challenge for sure.

This is why I am in CONSTANT CONFLICT with Ben.  He STEALS my glasses ALL THE TIME and feigns blindness so he can wear them.  Of course it totally honks me off, not just because it is not good for his eyes, but because I NEED THEM TO SEE!  Okay I know I hardly EVER wear them, but sooner or later my cheating will not get me by.  BUT I need Ben to quit stealing my glasses to give me more time.

So he and I had a talk tonight.  I had actually purchased him a pair of clear glass glasses about a year ago.  They were kid-sized and SAFE….plus they were HIS and not MINE.  He lost them within days (a $10 loss).  But I reminded him of this tonight.  I told him that from this point on he would no longer be wearing my glasses (or stealing them).  He agreed but asked me to go with him to the basement to find his lost pair (it was the last place he had them MONTHS AGO).

So to humor him I went……..AND we found them.  They were actually sitting in plain sight on a chair. And this is a MIRACLE as he says he can now see better than ever, and we KNOW I CAN as I have MY glasses back!

But the life lesson here is that if you do not want your things messed with then do not have kids!!!  But as for me, I think I will keep mine.  Sure they mess with my stuff, but what is life without the adventure?

And of course, I have plenty!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+