Tonight’s picture was taken in the parking lot of the Anderson Public Library, where I took Ben to return last week’s “Justice League Film Festival,” and hopefully talk him into something a bit more educational…..like a book.

Clearly his Nanny’s genes are being repressed by the do-gooder genes that favor the Justice League.  After all, she is a LIBRARIAN, which to her grandson apparently means she works at the Blockbuster.  And yes, I know that there are no longer any Blockbusters anymore, but I am sure you got my point.  The  boy just like fighting evil.

He also apparently has NO VOLUME CONTROL either, raising his voice in the video store, I mean library.  Now I am certifiably hard of hearing and DO qualify for hearing aids, however even I do better than Ben at understanding how loud I am.  And warnings, threats, anything…..he is not afraid, as he is a superhero and has not a lot to fear.  So I just apologize left and right and check out a few movies and head off on our way.

So tonight at home he watched his movies and was talking about how great a friend his cat was to him.  Of course I mentioned to him that he never feeds her, although it is on his chore list.  AND, I told him I thought it would be nice and she would appreciate it if he fed her tonight.  He agreed.

As you can see, there is little doubt in my mind why that cat loves him so.  Superheroes are hard for me to understand.  But who cares?  It really cracks me up to be able to live with one!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

As I stopped into the Wal-Mart yesterday to pick up a few things my mind went back to another time.  I was watching an older woman, who obviously was working their, stretching up on her toes and balancing the item on the very tips of her fingers to get it into place.  Yes, she was short.

And that made me laugh.  No, not because she was working so hard to get this done, but because she had a lot of determination.  It reminded me of my grandmother, who also was pretty short but yet determined.  And I always loved to hang around with her, not just because she was my grandma, but because she thought I was tall…..or at least led me to believe it.

So I left the Wal-mart and went to pick up Ben……early.  He just seemed out of sorts, and really hadn’t been feeling well this past week.  And when I asked him what was wrong, he said he was felling “low.”  Of course I knew that meant he just wasn’t feeling well, but as he said it my mind went right to my mom whose favorite song was Garth Brooks’ “Friends in low places.”  I felt for him, but the analogy made me smile, as did the good memories today of two people I miss very much.  God rest their souls.

But as the day wore on, I began to wonder.  Ben took a great nap at home but woke up fine.  And it was after he got his pajamas on that he began to feel “low” again.  The picture is my hypothesis.  Yes, that is MY BED he is in, next to his MOM.  Just before then he was a wild man, playing with his dog, his cat, and his brother.  He was singing and clowning in the tub before this too.  But as the now “imaginary umbilical  cord” began to stretch, he reeled her in….after all, he was feeling “low.”  What a short memory she has, although I dare not complain as I benefit from it often.

So today I thank God for some good memories, and pray to Him tonight for no little feet jammed into my side of put across my head in my sleep.  But if it does happen (which I imagine it will) as least I can thank Him also, that that little weasel (a favorite word of my mom) is clean.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

There are so many things that are happening right now in my world that I am almost afraid to share them as my head feels it is about to explode, but I want to assure you they are all wonderful things.

First of all, I have been training to be certification as a coach, and tonight I found out that all seems to be in line to obtain that certification.  I want to us this as the Superior of our Order (check us out at The Order of St. Michael the Archangel) as a way to help new churches and faithful Christians discover and move into their ministries.  Our hope in the OSM is to be a blessing to others.  So that is going well.

And in terms of the Order, I also want to share that we are getting inquiries from ALL OVER!  And this BLESSES US!  And though at this point there are FOUR brothers who are a part and have taken life-vows, our prayer is to see others join us and that means WOMEN as well.  And the inquireries are encouraging as well!

But more than the INWARD FOCUS, exists the OUTWARD one………we want to be a blessing to you. If you are wondering what God is calling you to do or be in your life; if you feel called to plant a Church where you are or elsewhere, or if you just need to talk, we are here for you.

The Lord has called us to this wonderful place and He has blessed us to be a blessing to you.  Let us know how we can help you or how we can pray for you.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Although he is much less “super” in this picture than he is now, Ben did indeed pick it out and ask me to use it on my blog tonight.  I was actually looking for a different picture, but he has been home much of the day not feeling well, and seemed pretty insistent.  I was smart enough to not argue.

Of course, even I, like most of us, like pictures from many years ago.  In my pictures I was not only younger, but I was thinner.  Unlike Ben however, I was just as super…….I swear, delusions are absolutely wasted on the youth.

But as I perused through the pictures I began to see a theme, as well as a theory of why he is the way he is.  Ben, unlike Steph and Scotty, had PJ’s that were almost exclusively superhero.  There was very little Barney, or preschool stuff, but instead all the classics that had screwed me up so well throughout my life.
Everything began to make sense, and as I reflected on it, I cannot say I regretted it one bit.

And why?  Because I was actually worried about Steph and Scott at Ben’s age.  In truth, a purple dinosaur  influencing kids without their parents around, or other kids that used musical instruments for fuel and protection, just didn’t seem like decent role models.  I just thank God they have turned out well.  But the whole good verses evil along with the basic formula of God and Country just has never failed me.

So I am glad for what I have and for where it appears to be headed.  Superman at this point, he is not, but that will not deter me from encouraging it.

Somethings in life are just worth teaching and believing in…….and being one of the good guys is among them.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Oh I just got the call.  Ben and Amanda are returning from Zumba (not Zumba-rehab, but the actually addiction, Zumba) and I have been informed that Ben is on the edge of a meltdown.

These calls are always such a joy to receive, because as a husband I am very clear as to what they mean….”I have had enough, and when we get home he is your problem to deal with.”  This is such a contrast to what I heard when they left, as I had made homemade chicken soup and was hopeful for the joyous return to eat it.  My instructions, although they were not passed on as such, but I am a smart man, are to make sure I am prepared to get him in the tub, his pajamas, (<—an Oxford comma….yes, I use them) and in bed.  What she had said was that they were on their way, he was on the edge of a meltdown and he needs a bath.  He is always MY SON at those times….after all, this is not my first rodeo.

On the plus side, my writer’s block for this evening’s blog has been cured.  But that is no comfort as I look at what lies ahead.  A stinky little boy with a bad attitude in a bath tub is like herding cats…..IN THE RAIN.  Sure, you can think you are doing well, but it is a delusion…..you are a moron.  But that is the life of a dad sometimes.  I will figure a way around all this I am sure.

So it is off to run his bath and prepare for battle.  Good thing I have finished this though.  Lord knows what I would have written after being soaked and wrestling a kid who has no desire for a bath and the will of a lion.  I’d imagine it would have been a pretty angry post!

Mr. Bubble take me away!  (sorry Calgon)

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

I shared an interesting conversation tonight at dinner with my youngest, Ben, who was insisting that he didn’t like his chicken.  But I am pretty sure that this is the same kid who at dinner last week ate approximately 10,000 chicken nuggets right in front of me (other than the three he gave to his dog).

This picture could not be more appropriate.  I thought when I saw it how I would use it, but it has come to represent my day.  I have worked feverishly all day to get myself, not just caught up, but well ahead.  But as I sat down to type this blog entry I discovered that I still have 117 unread emails in my mailbox, which is not really true….I only have ONE.  It just SAYS 117.  And now you can see why this picture represents my day.

You see, I was born in 1961.  I was in graduate school before computers were in dorm rooms and I understand them no better now than I did then.

Sure, my dad has better stories, like how they all gathered around the radio and listened to games and such.  But he can complain all he wants to…….I was his antenna in the 60’s as all young kids were.  It was aluminum foil and touching the antenna with your arms extended that worked.  Cable is a big luxury for sure.  It is all so easy now.

That is except for my email.  I may be a techno-moron, but I can still count.  117 is nowhere near accurate.  And it is all frustrating enough for me to call it a day.

Tomorrow will be another.  And if I have 117 or more in the morning, screaming will be the least of my problems!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

I have to admit I was a little disappointed when Ben and I went to the library in town after I picked him up from school.  As you can see from the picture, he got his very first library card, and I thought he was anxious to use it.  But what he wanted wasn’t a book……some woman mentioned to him all the children’s DVDs.

Of course he really didn’t want any of those either, and DVDs cannot be checked out on his card anyway.  What he wanted was new superhero stuff he had not yet seen.  So we finally found a section full of “Justice League” DVDs and he picked out four.

I was happy he found them, and he seem thrilled, so I asked him if he wanted to go upstairs to pick out a book…….but he said no.  It troubled me a bit, as he used to love to be read to, and now he doesn’t.  He just exists in this weird little world of battling evil and all.  But I was tired and had a headache, so we headed home, DVDs in hand, and him pretty dang happy.

As we shared an after school snack, we watched a Justice League classic that had them saving the world once again.  I however had pulled a muscle in my back yesterday and the chairs downstairs were just too much, so we went up to my room where I could lay down and he could watch an episode of the next DVD before his mom came home to pick him up for his haircut.  I was still feeling guilty about not getting him a book, and wondered just how he was going to make it through school.

But what happened next was quite remarkable.  The episode was called “Christmas with the Joker,” or at least that’s what it said on the screen.  But Ben suddenly said “Oh no.”  So I said, “what?”  And he said, “Christmas Joker?  Really?”  My jaw just hit the floor……he was READING.  So I stopped the DVD and told him what he just did!  We were both smiling ear to ear.

Of course when Amanda got home he became Ben again.  It had only been 15 minutes so I said, “Tell mommy what you did, tell mommy what you did!”  And he looked at me with a puzzled look and said, “what?”

Thank you God for at least those 15 minutes of hope.  I am back to square one!  Oh well…..

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Yes, this is a picture from my car.  And yes, this is a picture of my youngest child.  OH YES, he is carrying a SNORKEL, because Indiana is full of barrier reefs and diving opportunities.  NO NO NO…he thinks, or better yet pretends, that it is some type of “super weapon” and carries it with him all the time.  And as long as all the bad guys dies from laughter, I can declare that we are safe.

The four year old mind is fascinating, and considering it is a Tirman mind as well, that makes it all the more worth our study.  There is very little about it that we could predict as “normal,” or at least normal as in reasonable in terms of mainstream society.  But quite honestly, it is FOR THAT that I am THANKFUL.

In all honesty, hanging with Ben is like living with a really good comedy writer…..he is funny all the time.  But more than that, he is also unpredictable.  And although he will always choose the good over the evil, there is an innocence, a purity, that refreshingly shines through.  It makes me covet his perspective on life.  And I am honest about that……life would be far less stressful if we could all just go for ride in that mind of his.

But for now I must just choose to observe him and be jealous!  I don’t carry any super weapons, although I do apparently drive a superhero around town.

It makes me feel young……and for that, I am eternally grateful!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+

Tonight my wife was reading me a blog she follows where the woman has a fascination for metal chickens and wolf skins (of wolves that die of old age).  She was just about crying from laughing so hard while reading this, all the while chanting, “isn’t that funny, isn’t that funny?”

In a way, I suppose it was.  And it was nice to see that Amanda enjoyed it like she was.  I am not sure if I remember correctly, but I do not believe there is a genre for such humor, so this is to say that Amanda just may be on the cutting edge of something, just as she has been by marrying me.  Thus, I do not want to be critical about people who laugh at metal chickens or wolf-skins, as it may demean the credibility of such brilliant decisions as to chase, capture, and marry me.  And if the truth be known, if she is indeed insane, what would it matter to me?  I have the better end of this deal for sure.

But more importantly than anything, the brilliant  Mr. Ben was awarded a star today for eating all his lunch and exhibiting “good manners.”  Amanda made a big deal of this, intentionally overlooking apparently the fact that some of his lunch today returned in his lunch box.  This could mean a variety of things, but I want to assume the best.  Therefore I am certain that the Good Lord added a few things to Ben’s lunch box just in case he got hungry on the way home from school.

Of course a reward is a reward.  You can score a goal by making a great shot, or by the goalie making a lousy save…..it doesn’t matter.  I am just happy for him because he is excited, and I am happy for her because she thinks he is eating all his lunch.  Flag leader, gold stars, and perhaps next week the Noble Peace Prize………as long as it is not a metal chicken, I will be along for the ride.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+