Tag Archives: Amanda

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Of noble causes………

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Amanda has been sick all day, and I have been working, so getting home to help out has been important. Unfortunately we had plans to attend a Bone Marrow Registry Drive being held tonight at the Forum in Fishers (a great ice arena) and being sponsored by the Michael Treinen Foundation. As you may remember, Michael was our Assistant Coach for the Noblesville Lady Millers’ Lacrosse Team, and who died of cancer last year after a courageous battle. We miss him all the time, and wanted to be there tonight to show our support.

As a member of a cancer family, I am already on the registry, but if you are not I want to encourage you to do so. Marrow donors and blood donors save lives and are so very appreciated by those going through treatment and their families. I am thankful to learn that many people were added to the registry by the efforts tonight. It warms my heart to see people step forward to do the right thing.

It would have meant a lot to me to be there, but I made the right choice. Amanda is exhausted, and needs help. Please keep her in your prayers, and hopefully tomorrow will find her on the road to better health.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless.

Tom+

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Getting closer to the prize………

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I am happy to report that Amanda seems to be getting a bit better. Ben still has a whale of a cough, but the doc says he is doing just fine. I am just happy to know they are heading in the right direction. It is hard in a family when one or two people get sick.

I am always reminded however, of our call to serve others before ourselves. I suppose it is easier to do for a family member, but in truth our responsibility goes far beyond that. We were created, not to be all about ourselves, but to care about and for one another and God. It’s a tall order I know, yet one we were indeed made for.

As a priest it is often frustrating for me to see people act self-focused. It is a misunderstanding of the Gospel, and even of the American Dream. It is not that we are not to achieve individually, in fact we are, but we then use what we have gained or even become to freely serve others. No, not by having what we have earned taken by the government and redistributed, that’s socialism. But instead freely giving of ourselves and our resources to reflect both who it is and Whose it is we are. Faith and faithful living are never to be coerced…..they are meant to be our choice. We freely choose God too!

Anyway, after this long day of service I am heading to bed lest I collapse and need some service myself. I am so very pleased we are getting a spirit of health and wellness back here at home. But keep praying…..both Amanda and Ben have a ways to go. And they, as well as I, appreciate your help.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless.

Tom+

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Just one? No thanks, let’s make her’s a double……..

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Well this has been one of those instances where I really didn’t want to be right, but unfortunately I am. Though Ben got an “all clear” from the doctor this morning, Amanda did not fare so well. And though I was worried about them both, in truth, she appeared to be much worse.

To make a long story short, she has double pneumonia and bronchitis. The rest and the antibiotics I am certain will help her, but they of course are not instantaneous. I knew she was stubborn before we married, but I told her a week ago when she was heading off to work once again that she would have a hard time getting to work if this killed her. She just laughed it off. I am so very pleased that she is only as stubborn as she is. I was surprised to see her go today.

Anyway, please keep us all, but particularly Amanda, in your prayers. Being sick is no fun, and she is more on the miserable side of everything right now. In time it will change, but I will bet anything she will be up and ready to head to Church in the morning. It is just how she is. I won’t complain. I admire her drive and determination. But I am anticipating her not going Back to the 80’s tonight!

God Bless.

Tom+

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The end of a busy day…….

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Today many members of St. Patrick’s in Noblesville joined us in Nashville at St. Matthew’s to get an idea of they type of facility we might be able to acquire up north. It was a great day. The people of each mission are so different, and it was great to give them a glimpse of the possibilities! And though there was no cake, there certainly was coffee and donuts as well a lunch…..as I said, it was a great day!

BUT, it was a long day! With all I had to do, I am just finishing up….just prior to 11. I did get to speak with Amanda and Ben, though I understood Ben better. I miss them both and Scotty and I got to talk to them on the phone. Steph, who has a boyfriend AND a life currently, was at the movies. She seemed disappointed to miss their call. We are just two days from their return, so we will just be patient.

I have to say though that I miss Ben running us ragged. I miss Amanda coming to bed talking about how exhausted she is. I miss having Ben as an excuse in order to watch Nickelodeon and Sponge Bob. And I know we all do! Though it is often chaotic, our house is best and blessed when we are all here.

Anyway, that’s it for tonight. I am beat and can go to bed without the expectation of being disturbed…..at least until Monday night. Tonight will be great, but I am looking forward to Monday more!

Good night my friends and God bless!

Tom+

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Amanda (again) to the rescue…….

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A couple of bad memory days have led me to ask Amanda to write again…..I forgot yesterday, and though I remembered today, I am getting nowhere….my apologies….Tom+

In reading a book today, the reflections at the end of the chapter asked, “Have you told Jesus yet today that you love Him?” Immediately after reading the question, an old Rod Stewart song came into my head. Why, I have not clue….since I am not even remotely a fan of his music. But for whatever reason, I knew the words to the first verse. Go ahead, sing along as you read this, because I know you know the words too! Have I told you lately that I love you? Have I told you there’s no one else above you? You fill my heart with gladness, You take away all my sadness, Ease my troubles that’s what you do.

It struck me that these words are a love song for Jesus! What perfect words to sum up His presence in our lives. I am not a deep theologian (obviously!) if I find religion in a Rod Stewart song. But I went online and searched for the rest of the lyrics to see if it the rest of the song fits. I won’t bore you with the lyrics, but look it up and decide for yourself!

My point in this is to say that sometimes when I try to find words to “summarize” my faith, I get tongue-tied (which is hard to believe for me!). I just can’t seem to find the words that can give due honor to His name or my faith in Him. But I have realized that the words don’t have to be fancy or complicated, they just need to be grounded in what He does for His children. (who are you and I). Each day, we should spend time in gracious thanksgiving to our Lord, and share with Him how much we love Him in return. So if you can’t find your own words to get started, try Rod Stewart’s song as a place to start! God bless!

Amanda

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Expanding the horizons, expanding the ministry…..

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Amanda and I were talking about the ministry and this blog tonight. I had originally started it for more serious and expressive ideas, yet the stroke seemed to get in the way. She wrote for me a few times, in much more depth than I either had the desire or ability to do at this point, but people seemed to respond to it positively. It reminded us of two things prior in my ministry. The first was the “Love God with Joy” daily devotion line that you could call from your telephone. I wrote it and recorded it each day, and it was widely used. And the other was Amanda and my Daily Devotions that we would email out every night for the next day. The telephone devotions ended after a year or so, though I cannot remember why (there WAS a reason). And the Daily Devotions ended after a computer failure erased our entire database. It was devastating. The database was hard to keep up though, and there were almost ALWAYS problems, in that people’s emails would sometimes be down, or reject them. With a large mailing we were also often depicted by systems as SPAM, and when people didn’t get them, or when they wanted to comment, they would often write and getting back to everyone was very time intensive.
With that, Amanda and I have decided to resurrect a Daily Devotion connected like this one to our website. I will still post daily here, but our Daily Devotion will be a bit more in depth, and be a bit more Scriptural and………devotional. (I have quite the way with words.) We hope to launch it within the next few days and I will announce it here and on www.IndianaAnglican.com too. Our hope is that you will enjoy and be blessed by both.
Anyway, my intention was not to make this an infomercial, but rather tell you what we were thinking and where we intend to go. We are excited about the possibility. Though it was often time consuming for us both, it was something we both enjoyed and enjoyed doing together. Look for it soon!
Thanks for checking in my friends, and God Bless!
Fr. Tom+
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From Amanda in Akron……

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In Ephesians 6 lies a popular scripture verse regarding “putting on the full armor of God…”. I have heard this verse many times, and Tom has even preached sermons on the topic. Tonight I came across another reference to this same verse, but a different part of the verse stood out to me. In Ephesians 6:16, it follows with “In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one”. I was amused by the vision in my head of actual flaming arrows sailing around us constantly from Satan. If only it were that obvious! I’m certain that if the serpent in the Garden of Eden was firing flaming arrows at Eve as he was enticing her to eat the forbidden fruit, she would have made a different choice! If you are staring Right and Wrong in the face trying to make a choice in your life, and Wrong starts aiming straight for you with arrows ablaze, the choice for Right is pretty clear!

Sadly, though, life is not like this. The devil takes on many forms that seem so right in our critical moment of choice. Temptation, greed, dishonesty, adultery (the list goes on and on!) sound so awful to the ear. Anyone who speaks of them would adamantly state they obviously know these choices are wrong and sinful. The very words have a negative, foreboding tone. So why then is sin such a problem in our lives? Because sin is always laced with something that feels good or seems easier in the moment of choice. If you have made a mistake, it is easier to lie about it to another person because you don’t have to face shame and humiliation. We feel better about ourselves in that moment. But the crazy thing about sin is that it always comes with a nasty aftertaste!

I tried to re-think my day and look at it as though fiery arrows were around when the devil was at work near me. If they really existed, they would be everywhere! In the car with me as I become a frustrated driver, on the phone when I am curt with others, and at 116th and SR37 at the Dairy Queen when I hear a hot fudge sundae calling my name. Whatever forms Satan takes on in your life, allow yourself to see it as the flaming arrow intended to harm you, and recognize the right choices to make. Sometimes, it’s just a matter of changing your perspective and it will be easier to see what God wants us to see! God bless!

Amanda

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Of a trip in two separate wagons……..

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Tonight I am in Akron, Ohio awaiting the arrival of Amanda from Indiana. We are attending the CANA Convocation here in Ohio tomorrow through Saturday. Don’t worry….the kids are in great hands. My Mother-in-law flew in this afternoon, and is enjoying all three of them! They ate pizza tonight and were having a great time. Amanda is driving with Deacon Morgan’s wife Jewel, because Jewel had to work, and Amanda’s mom had to be picked up from the airport. Since I needed to be here earlier and we were driving tow cars anyhow, it just made sense to do it this way. Sadly, our wives never protested or complained! Go figure!

UPDATE: Amanda has arrived, and it is late! We start very early in the morning so it is off to bed! Please keep me in your prayers tomorrow as all the activity with hundreds of people will be hard for me to process….but day by day and with God’s help, I intend to do fine!

Nite my friends, and God bless!

Tom+

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Of deep fog and the need for a clear voice…….

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I am sorry to report that this weekend I went into a real fog, and though I was able to work, I did not feel as if I was really connecting with people. As I sat down to write tonight, I found another incedible block…..fortuantely Amanda offered to write another for me. It follows….thanks Amanda!!!

Tom+

From Amanda:

I am reading a great book called Intercessory Prayer by Dutch Sheets. I decided to read it because I don’t think I really understand the power of prayer, and I certainly don’t fully understand the concept of intercessory prayer. I am only on page 75, but it has been fantastic and very thought-provoking for me. There was a story the author shared about a friend who was powerful in prayer, but was unable to intercede on behalf of his gravely ill son with his prayers alone. So he called and asked for help from friends with intercessory prayer for his son. After his son was healed, he asked the Lord why he needed help in overcoming the illness, why his prayers alone were not enough. The answer he received from the Lord was “Sometimes the covenant of the Lord is released to you through others coming to your aid.” (I don’t do justice to the story here, so you should read it for yourself on pages 68-70.)

I am a very fast reader, but for some reason I stopped at this point and actually put the book down (very unusual for me!). I was astounded at the lesson I had learned. For so long, I have been fearful or embarrassed of intercessory prayer, even the prayer we offer at our church after communion. I have noticed that very few people take advantage of the spiritual warfare that is available for them at church. I can’t help but wonder why?
Is it because others are also afraid? Or do they just not understand their need and the power that it can provide?

I don’t know all of the reasons, and if you are someone who is also not participating in intercessory prayer, I encourage you to find out your reasons why. For me, I always feel my needs or request are so small compared to what others may need, that I never want to “hoard” all the prayer time for my little problems! But here is the news…..our needs, no matter the nature, are never too big or small to bring before the Lord. And many times, the prayers of others may be needed for the Lord to work in our lives. All I can say is that the first time I ever leaned on the intercessors at church, my son was not sleeping at all during the night for about a week. They prayed for Ben and I after communion, and Sunday night, he slept the entire night. I know it sounds cheesy, but it is a true story.

I have decided to move past my insecurities about intercessory prayer and confront them head-on…after all, there is no way to get comfortable with it until you try! I encourage you to create your own experiences of intercessory prayer. Pray with others, ask other to pray for you and for those your know are hurting and may not be able to ask for themselves. Take your troubles to the Cross, and lay them at His feet with the aid of other’s that have been given the spiritual gift of intercessory prayer from the Lord Himself. It’s certainly worth a try! God bless!

Amanda

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Another guest blogger……

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The gospel lesson for this weekend is Matthew 14, the famous lesson of Jesus walking on water as witnessed by His disciples. Tom chose to preach his sermon on the gospel today, and it made me think about my relationship with my dad.

As Jesus approaches them walking on the water, He invites Peter to walk toward Him. Peter has a decision to make, to stay in the boat, or to have faith and walk toward Jesus. Choices in life when you must have faith can take on many forms. For me, my choice was about forgiveness. About 15 years ago, my relationship with my dad became rocky, then turbulent, and finally landed at virtually nonexistent. Years passed with little contact and my heart becoming more filled with negative energy. It is this hardened heart that God intended to change. I knew that He was directing me to mend my soul by mending my relationship with my dad. I resisted for quite some time, probably out of hurt, anger, fear, and complacency. After all, confronting these things in our lives is not easy! Unlike Peter, I was not instantly faithful and I “stayed in my boat” for a while. But eventually, with faith, I stepped out of the boat and walked where Jesus was leading me. To my surprise, it was much easier than I thought. I decided to forgive as I have been forgiven, and it released the chains around my heart. It certainly doesn’t change the past, but it has profoundly changed the future. My son knows his Grampy, and my dad knows he is forgiven and will not leave this world wondering if he is loved.

The only reason I share this story with you, is that I truly believe many of us have these choices in our lives to make. Forgiveness is about stepping out of your boat and believing in your faith enough to move past the hurt or anger. I’m certain if you look around, you can see where Jesus is inviting you to step out of your boat and walk in faith toward Him. God bless!

Amanda