Tag Archives: cake

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Of hammers, birthdays, and doing our part to protect the environment………

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What a day!!

I came home tonight after a full and long day in Nashville. I was out the door at 6:30am, and home at 7:30pm. We got a lot accomplished, and it looks great, but I was probably over the top with activity by 10.

The highlight of the day was that it was Deacon Dan Conley’s birthday today, and we were able to share in a little pizza and cake with him. We only put 1 candle on the cake, since we know that the number we needed was out of our price range, Dan could probably not blow out more than that, and plus we are concerned for the environment. So it was Pizza King and cake, two of my favorite things, and I sat their through lunch wondering if it were indeed my birthday!

We will move to this location in just a little over two weeks. Our service in Nashville is currently on Saturday evening at 5:00pm. On August 31st it will move to Sunday at 9:00am. We expect to grow there with the better time too.

Overall it was a great day. Dan Prather from St. Patrick’s came down to help and a few parishioners from St. Matthew’s stopped in as well. Father Sean was with us, and he’s been great! I believe all of this has been a great learning for him. Of course by this point he probably thinks he works for a construction company instead of a Church, but in truth it really is so much more than worship. In a very real way we help people build and rebuild lives. We help them lay down good foundations, repair and repaint damaged souls…..and occasionally do secular construction too! But it is all good work, and for the opportunity we are all thankful.

Nite my friends and God Bless…..I am off for some Advil and sleep!

Fr. Tom+

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Of flying cakes and birthday blessings…….

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I was hoping to resist doing another birthday post, but it was too funny to pass up. I started the day at 6am with a rousing version of Happy Birthday before getting Ben back to bed, and then went to speech therapy. It was a productive, but difficult session in that my headache is still pretty severe and it makes it hard to concentrate. But I got through it, and worked on a few other things throughout the day….particularly on a funeral I will be officiating at tomorrow.

Needless to say by late afternoon I was totally spent. We were going to some friends later, but I just did not have it in me, so we decided to just eat dinner, give Ben his real birthday cake, and call it a day, which in the end is what we did.

The birthday story comes from the cake. It was an eighth of a sheet, the smallest the store had, and we set it on Ben’s high chair for another round of Happy Birthday. After we cut ourselves a small piece, we let him have it. He laughed and put his hands in it, tasted it, and then suddenly kicked hard in a fit of joy which caused the entire tray and the cake to go flying…..that’s right, BOTH all over the floor! As quickly as that cake came into our lives it went, but it was probably of the Lord…..after all, none of us really needed any more sugar anyhow!

All and all, as I sit here typing I can see so many blessings in my life. Sure, I have some struggles and challenges, but really we all do in our own ways. The Lord does not promise us paradise, only His presence. And even though I deal with issues surrounding my stroke recovery they are nothing compared to the blessings I enjoy!

Three kids, sixteen, fifteen, and now one……..that’s a lot of blessing! I cannot imagine it being any better. Today, though exhausting, has been a great day.

I hope you, like me, have had a blessed day! Let’s make tomorrow one too!

God bless!

Tom+

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Of birthdays, family, and of course cake……..

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Today is my dad’s birthday, and as always, I made it a point to call him. My dad is 25 years older than me, and though that makes him just 72 this year, (Lord I wish it were just 50) I always pretend it is about 172. He never fails to get me back though, after all my birthday is June 19th. Even at his advanced age he can remember that long! He and I jab back and forth at each other every year, but it is always in good fun. I am just thankful we can.

June is always a big month in our family. After we get Amanda’s birthday out of the way on May 28th (it is our warm up), we celebrate my dad’s, Scotty’s (June 16th), Father’s Day (I am not sure when), my birthday, and then now Ben’s birthday (June 30th)! And we all put on about 15 pounds in 30 days……and most of it comes from cake! I am not a big fan of sweets (unless it is cake) and I can think of no better way to spend the month than laughing, joking, and choking down my favorite poison….cake, with the real buttercream icing!

I suppose if I finally have to come off of medical leave and show everyone how far I have progressed, it may not be the best plan to do so in a semi-diabetic comatose state. But please understand, old habits and family traditions are the hardest to break…..plus, all the graduation parties make it almost impossible. In truth I will take what I can, after all, I am just happy to be back.

And back I am! I am now again working full-time and excited to be doing so. It is not always easy, not always pretty, and sometimes quite a challenge, but I see each day as a gift and as an opportunity. In time, I should be fine, but I do not want to take any of it for granted. God has blessed me, and the future is looking bright. And I thank Him daily for it….and of course for the month of June and all that cake!

I am preaching and celebrating at all three missions this weekend! I hope you and come on out and worship with us!

God Bless and I hope to see you soon!

Fr. Tom+