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Deeper and deeper…….

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The damage to our house is more extensive than first thought. Though we got the water shut off, and a plumber to the house finally about 7pm (thanks Scott’s Plumbing), today the discovered water had seeped under the hardwood floors on the first floor. This led to the tearing out of the laundry room, first floor bathroom, and the floor in our hallway and most of our family room. I was able to wrestle the washer and dryer back into the torn-up house, but it is really all a mess. Steph and Scotty leave for New York City with my dad late Christmas day so getting laundry done is pretty important. Hopefully we will make some headway.

And if things were not bad enough, on my way to get the Pointsettas for Christmas services today our Volkswagen lost all traction (even at an extremely slow speed) and crashed into the curb while turning into the store. It is still there in the lot, undrivable. Now there will be yet another deductible….yuck. I had driven it all morning to Indianapolis and back. It was just icy as I came into Carmel. Sadly it was the only place I slid. Fortunately no one else was involved.

Anyway, I will not say “it cannot get any worse,” because I am too smart for that! Instead I will sign off for now and look at my sermon for tomorrow. It is suppose to warm up a bit. It doesn’t really matter though. I am just praying for a better day!

Keep the faith!!

Fr. Tom+

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Under the water……again!!

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Today I ventured out with Deacon PT to move a refrigerator (thanks Jo!) to St. Patrick’s and to get a few other things done. Amanda picked me up at the church and when we got home we discovered a pipe had burst in our wall and our basement was flooded ONCE AGAIN! Our main floor was flooded in parts as well.

Fortunately for us, the good people at Indiana Restoration were out in no time. Sadly I know many of them on a first-name basis, but they are pretty great guys. Our water is still not repaired, but they were able to shut it off at the street. I am still waiting on a call back from a plumber. It is amazing to me how many 24 hour, 7 days a week, emergency service told me they could get here tomorrow….despite hearing the water running into my basement. An ad is an ad I guess. I just want someone with integrity who can come and fix my pipes. If I do not hear from someone soon I will do it myself.

Anyway, there is no goodnight at this point. It is just 4:30 in the afternoon. Our pipes will be fixed and Indiana Restoration will repair our basement, and our insurance agent will wonder why her ever got involved with us in the first place. But in the whole scheme of things these are relatively small problems. I am just glad we are on our way to resolving them.

I will keep you posted. Keep us in your prayers! Christmas is going to be a bit different this year!!

God Bless!

Tom+

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Under the weather………

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I have not felt well all day, and of course it is not the right time of year for me to be getting sick. I came right home after services and went to bed, and though it is just 8:00 pm here, I am up only to type this…..then back to bed. Everyone else will be finishing up decorating the house for Christmas, but as for me, they will just have to Photoshop me into the pictures! I clearly am not going to make it.

I do have a few days left until Christmas. They will be helpful for me in terms of getting some rest and getting better. Sure, I still have Christmas shopping to do (after all, though I am a priest, I still am a guy too). But there are no real pressing issues that will “require” my time. I hope to be good to go on Christmas Eve.

I don’t really have too many tough days, so though I feel bad I still know how very blessed I am. But for now, me and my blessed yet worn out body will lay down yet again. Tomorrow will be another day and hopefully a better one.

An early goodnight to you all, and God Bless!

Fr. Tom+

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Of the Lord’s Work in many places…….

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I was wondering tonight, why I was so tired and then I remembered that yesterday I became just a year and a half away from eligibility for my AARP card! We left St. Patrick’s tonight at around 11pm, and it is all set to go but for one bathroom which will be completed about 2 weeks from now.

It felt different working there at St. Patrick’s since it is just a couple of miles from where we currently live. Since I am the priest of currently four churches, I thought WOW, this is so close to my house, but then I thought I am in lots of places and A LOT! As a matter of fact, I am only there at St. Patrick’s tomorrow because Deacons PT and Dan thought I should be at the first service when it was mostly done. Otherwise I would have been in both Nashville and Greenfield. It is funny to me……we are all so committed to all of our Missions, and to us it really doesn’t matter where we are. It is about serving God’s people and being among them. All of us, including Deacon Tony and Father Chuck, are just thankful for the opportunities we have to serve. I am blessed to work with such a wonderful gaggle (the proper term I believe for a group of clergy) of people.

Anyway, I am exhausted and going to bed. I hope and pray you and I all have a blessed and productive day tomorrow!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Fr. Tom+

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Everybody’s working for the weekend……….

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With a lot of prayers and a lot of work, I am happy to report that the work on St. Patrick’s should be finished sometime tonight before midnight! I am SO HAPPY. The people have been so patient and it will be such a blessing to have a completed and permanent home.

Often things like this get completed and it feels like a finish line when in fact it is just a beginning. We have a new church, new chairs, room to do things, yet we are called not to put our feet up and enjoy it, but rather to use it! We will use this to teach classes, to worship, to spread the Good News, and to grow God’s Kingdom. And just as the goal of the early Church was to expand, so too from St. Patrick’s do we hope to plant other churches!

I will not kid you, I am exhausted! We have been working non-stop for weeks and now Christmas is upon us! It is going to get a bit more intense before it gets easier! But thank God for the opportunities and the blessings He has bestowed upon us and our ministry! There is no greater privilege and no better place that I could imagine to be!

Come visit or join us at ANY of our missions!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Fr. Tom+

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Breaking Free…….

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Not a long post tonight other than to report that I went to the Neurologist today for a stroke follow-up and not only got a good report, but my next appointment has been scheduled 6 months down the line. The longer between appointments the less concerned they are for you! Praise God!

Anyway, I will post more tomorrow. I just wanted to share the good news! Off to bed for me!

Goodnight and God Bless.

Tom+

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Of giving and offering over anything else……..

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Just a week from now we will gather together and celebrate the birth of Our Lord on Christmas Eve. All four of our missions will hold services that evening and it will be a joyous occasion.

As I look around this world, I see so much that Our Lord speaks to, yet there seems so much resistance to Him. I saw a news program today where a town was arguing over whether they were “holiday lights” or “Christmas lights,” and there was quite a bit of anger on both sides. We have the manger vs menorah thing still going on, and now Kwanzaa has entered the debate as well. There is a lot of Santa, but very little Jesus. And as I ponder it all I wonder why anyone is surprised at the tension.

Being a Christian is not always easy, but it is important……particularly in the world we live in today. Jesus is not about the tension, He is about saving souls, and we would all do well to be able to tell the difference……not by ramrodding things down each others’ throats or fighting to the death over lights, but by sharing the Good News with others of what Jesus has done for us.

Keep on the path my friends and share what you know. The Greatest Gift ever given is never forced, but joyously offered and willingly received. And we can count on Him to do His part as well. The world needs Him and what He has to offer. Step up in faith, and help offer Him all the more!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Fr. Tom+

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Winter is back!!!

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I am glad to finally see all the snow and the cold weather! And though all our cars are iced up and the roads are treacherous, it just feels right to have all of it in the month of December. Certainly I could do without the bad roads, but with all the leaves gone the snow makes everything look so wonderful.

As breeders of Golden Retrievers I love getting them out in the new snow. There are no bigger idiots than our four, who romp and play and have so much fun chasing each other and rolling around in it. It makes me so happy to watch them. In a way it just makes all the hustle and bustle of life seem very small. Watching them is watching pure enjoyment and love for the moment. I only wish I could capture some of their exuberance!

Winter is kind of my thing. I know I am an anomaly rather than the norm, but I really don’t care. I feel blessed to enjoy it, and thank God for the opportunity to do so each day it is with us. Snow is God’s way of covering up the muck, and the cold reminds us that our hearts are what’s warm. And for those of you who do not believe it, that’s why He made hot chocolate. Pour yourself a cup and sit it out. Spring is just over 3 months away!

Stay warm! Goodnight and God Bless!

Tom+

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A day of great distraction…….

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Sometimes it is just hard for me to write. It’s not that I don’t have a lot running through my mind, it is just the distractions. I can say that since my stroke, it takes very little to distract me. I always thought that if I were ever tested for ADD they would make me the ADD King, but since the stroke I am even more proficient at being distracted.

Case in point, I have sat down to type this blog numerous times tonight. It is too cold now for the porch, so I am in the kitchen at the table. Everything tears my attention away…..Amanda, Ben, the phone, the TV, and now even the dishwasher. And every good thought that comes seems to leave me as I concentrate upon something else. I envy those with the ability to not be distracted, and I am pretty certain I will never be asked to join them!

Sadly, one of the problems with my problem is in trying to concentrate, I often appear rude. I don’t mean to be, but pre-stroke I could at least recover. Now when a thought leaves me it is just gone forever. I have to try really had to stay focused, and as you can imagine with all the writing I do, that is a big task.

I don’t think the Lord wants me to give up doing what I do, but He has led me to make major adjustments. Being on the porch with the cat to write these blog entries was one of them, but now that she is hibernating for the winter, I am left to fend for myself. Cats are loyal mostly to themselves…..a lot like toddlers!

Anyway, me and my fuzzy mind will head off to bed. I have outlasted all my distractions but the dishwasher and want to finish before it expects me to unload it. And I hope and pray that your day was productive and distraction free.

Until tomorrow goodnight and God Bless.

Tom+

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Of joy, of work, and of rest……..

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We finally held our first service at the new St. Patrick’s today and it was a joyous event. I wish I was not so tired, but the people and the cake made it well worthwhile. We still have a lot to do to the facility and most of that will take place this week. I will be much more prepared to be there too, having slept after doing our Riverwalk service with Amanda (and Ben) in the early afternoon. I was exhausted!

And of course, as you may imagine, I still am! I notice very few problems from my stroke anymore, but if I am tired or stressed they float right to the surface. Today those problems were everywhere, but I can laugh them off. I can banish them quickly with just a little more sleep.

So of course that’s where I am going…..to bed. I hope to wake up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed (as my grandma would say) and the best way to get there is to turn in.

So goodnight my friends and God Bless you! It has been a busy, but great day. I hope and pray that yours was wonderful as well.

Tom+