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Come on, LET’S DO THIS!!!!

I have a young woman who is a member of our church in Kokomo, Christ the King, who has decided to step out and make a real difference. Erin Tidd, who is entering the 8th grade (pictured here with her mom Stephanie) on July 18th will fly to Houston, Texas to take part in “Soul in the City,” which is an outreach program for youth geared to reach out to inner city Houston. Here www.theamia.org/new/events/ is the site.

Now before I go any further, let me say something important. Erin is more than just a special young woman for wanting to make such an incredible commitment, she is a leader, in that she in faith is stepping forward FIRST. You see, what connects Erin to Houston is her commitment to her faith and helping all God’s people, but what she brings back is even more significant, because Soul in the City is something next summer and many to follow, we would like to do here.
I am writing my blog tonight to ask you for your support for her. First and foremost, we would appreciate your prayers. It takes a lot to hop on a plane to fly hundreds of miles to a place you’ve never been, to meet people you have never known, and to minister in a way you could have never imagined…..and that is at any age. Let’s remember that this committed young soul is not even yet in high school. And then for her parents to faithfully support this is big as well! I pray and worry when send Scotty to the Kroger! And if Erin is this committed now, you can imagine her influence on others as she makes her way through high school!
What I am asking is for you to help me build a small fund that will pay, not just for Erin on her trip, but for the future of youth work here in Indiana. Anything additional would be kept to use for similar work, and ultimately for us to launch a Soul in the City ministry here in Indiana in the future. The cost of her stay is just $150, her airfare, the transportation, is the rest. All and all, it’s really not a whole lot of money to raise, but it is something I’d hope we would all support! This is SO BIG a deal, and I am asking for your support!
Please consider making a contribution to support this important work. Checks can be sent to St. Michael the Archangel Anglican Church, 149 N. Walnut Street, Westfield, Indiana 46074 and just put in the memo YOUTH MINISTRY. Erin leaves on July 18th. We will keep you posted on the trip and the developments all the way along.
Thank God that there are young people like this in our world! It really gives me a lot of hope!
Goodnight my friends and God Bless!
Tommy+
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The Ordinations!

Although this post will SAY 10pm on July 2nd, if the truth be told, I am writing this from my bed at a little after 1am on the 3rd. I am finally getting around to posting tonight because we didn’t finish up at the church until midnight. I have been home only a short while.

What I can say is that all the work was worth it. PT and Dan we made priests tonight in a glorious service led by Bishop Doc Loomis. The were lots of people there, and all our missions took part in the service in one way or another.
In truth, it was one of the most moving experiences I have ever been a part of. These two men have worked for four years to get to this point, and they are loved dearly by the people. But most of all, they have been called by God to this important ministry and have answered that call faithfully. They are truly amazing men, and are already great priests!
I wish I had a picture too, but I am sorry to say I do not. There was so much going on that I completely spaced needing one for tonight. But as soon as I get one, I will post it.
Anyway, I best hit the bed before the alarm clock rings. I am just thankful for tonight! Congratulations my brothers! We are all very proud of you!
Goodnight my friends and God Bless!
Tommy+
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I cannot bear to watch!!!

Thankfully, June is over for the Tirman family, meaning the birthday celebrations are all over too. The cake is gone, the cookouts (at least the required ones) are finished, and we can get back to normal lives (and sizes) soon.

Okay, Ben doesn’t really turn his head when he looks at me. He actually just was hiding from me taking his picture. He is normally such a ham that when they x-ray him they can see the spirals, but tonight it was “no way.” I didn’t mind though….it was really more of a game, and it was kind of fun.
Tomorrow will be a very busy day, culminating with the ordinations of PT and Dan to the priesthood at 7pm in Anderson. After they are over, I intend to take a deep breath and relax…..at least until Saturday morning. I intend to post a picture of me with them in tomorrow night’s blog too. I just can’t wait.
But for now I have to go to bed. I have gotten a bit foggy over the past hour or so after a couple of what I would consider pretty sharp days. I need to be sharp for tomorrow too.
So off to sleep I go. Goodnight my friends and God Bless!
Tommy+
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Happy Birthday Ben!

Today, three years ago, our lives changed forever, and most of the time we feel that it is for the better, although the pudding in the hair part I was not totally convinced about. Yes, today is Ben’s birthday, and we celebrated with a nice little party/cookout and of course CAKE!

He has been so funny too. His good buddy Celeste, who is off to IU in the fall, got him the biggest bag of M&M’s I have ever seen and he pathetically followed people around trying to convince them to open it (No, we are not cold-hearted. It’s just that he already had a regular bag opened when he got the BIG BAG and abandoned what he felt now was a worthless small one) He is a big fan of M&M’s and Celeste too! (Yes, meaning Ben is a big fan of Celeste, not Celeste loves M&M’s. Celeste is like a daughter to us and we would do anything for her, but her candy needs we do not feel are our business.) But I digress….
Anyway, it was a wonderful birthday and the picture is of Ben and Amanda, with Ben wearing his new Ironman boots. He has never seen Ironman, but he has an Ironman action figure and often thinks he is Ironman himself. Years from now he will probably be crushed to learn that Ironman really never wore Ironman rain boots, and if he ever did, it probably would not be every waking moment of the day. But we are in Ben’s world, and those are the rules.
And to tell you the truth……we really love it here.
Goodnight my friends and God Bless.
Tommy+
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Living in the post-secretarial age…..

Our modern church world is filled with new lingo that we didn’t have when I was a kid. Back in the Dark Ages we had terms like “Altar” and “pew” and “Holy Mysteries” and “Sacraments.” But now I guess I am a dinosaur because we have words like “emerging” and “post-modern” and a “host” of others (not “heavenly host” because I would actually understand that) all of which I have trouble understanding.

I suppose I deserve it. I remember when I was a young buck, and was riding that cutting edge, and had that sharp disposition. Of course now I am 49, ordained over 20 years, and my priorities have really changed. My faith and my understanding of it have simplified. Perhaps it is due to my diminishing capacities, but I have my doubts about that. I think at the beginning I was too smart for my own good, and that faith is far more simplistic than the current terms or theories.
And than God for that, because it really needs to relate to us in our lives. It is not meant to be some theoretical or intellectual exercise. It is experiential and personal. And for me, praise God, simplistic.
Fortunately for me, I hang with a 2 year old and 364 day old kid most of the time who really doesn’t care about the latest thing I have read as long as I will play. And for me, that it more than fine. I have spent most of the day doing just that too…..playing, while finishing and printing ordination bulletins and my sermon for Friday. And it has been a productive day too. When I had a secretary we never played “monsters,” but today we did and I got a lot done. Who’da thunk I could do so much in this “post-secretarial” age?
And I was going to post a picture of a secretary, but an image search produced much less than the “G” rated results I was expecting. I guess that makes my point….I am out of touch. Enjoy this sexy copy machine instead!
Goodnight my friends and God Bless!
Tommy+
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Ferb, I know what we are going to do tonight……

It is a little after 10pm, and instead of sitting out on the back porch with the cat and dog, I have been relegated to my room with Mr. Incredible, because he and his mom just got home and she has some work to do for a meeting that begins tomorrow morning at 7:30am. My final piece of the day is often this blog, and dag nab it, she knows I can do it from our room. So I am typing, she is downstairs, and Ben is watching an episode of “Phineas and Ferb” on Disney. And unlike many of the awful shows for kids that are on, this one is awesome…..so I do not mind.

I am certain hell has many of the bad shows there running 24/7. Thankfully I am heading in the right direction. I cannot imagine an eternity of that kind of torture!
So in truth, it is a pretty easy night. I am already in bed and Ben is laughing at me because he has managed to weasel himself into our room yet again. I am clearly not as smart as any of my kids. But fortunately at my age, the blessings of sleep are not that far away!
Goodnight my friends and God Bless!
Tommy+
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Oh get real……..

When you are a little boy, your life is often all about “mommy.” And Ben is the poster child for this concept. He loves me, I do know that, but he would gladly throw me under the bus to be with his mom. In the end I have the upper hand though……he loves sports, and she throws like a girl. All little boys also abandon their moms, at least for a short while when they think they are superstar athletes (in my case roughly from 4 to at least 49….but I am an anomaly.)

But driving home from Kokomo yesterday I saw this sign, and I had to get them both in my car and drive them out to see it. It was too funny to me. And although illegal in ALL STATES, it cracked me up. Ben really does see me as in the way most of the time.
But in the end, I will have the last laugh. Ben, like all little boys will have to come to the realization that their dads are married to their moms and they need to find someone of their own.
Not that this is a real comfort to me…….Amanda also would gladly throw me under the bus for Spiderman too.
Off to play third wheel!
Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+
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Spiderman dreams…..

Yes, that is Ben and Amanda at the Wal-Mart with Ben pulling his new Spiderman blanket through the store because he trusts no one else to do so. Parents will do a lot to get a toddler to sleep in his own bed, and if his attachment to this blanket is any indication, we may not see him out of his room for years.

It was pretty funny though, not just to us, but to all the people at the store. The package was about as big as he was, and yet he just pulled it along. He did manage to let it go long enough to get it home and has set up shop on the couch in the living room where he insists he is now going to bed….fat chance!
We did let him pick out what he wanted though, and there were plenty of choices too. It came down to Spiderman verses Toy Story, and no offense to anyone, but I am glad he picked Spiderman. Spiderman is not just popular now, but it was when I was a kid too. Every boy wanted to be him and many still do. Even I will admit, Spiderman is a lot cooler now than when I was young….sort of like me, just ask my kids….okay don’t. But he has that manly and exciting persona that all men are drawn to be. Plus, the blanket matches his light up shoes and pillow!
So Spiderman it is, but somehow I am still expecting his little feet digging into my side tonight. Not that I would be disappointed, I am very used to it and have trouble sleeping when I travel and he is not kicking me. But Spiderman doesn’t sleep in his parents room. After all, we would notice if he headed out to fight some bad guys. We will see!
Goodnight my friends and God Bless!
Tommy+
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Missing Buzz….

I suppose when you are just shy of 3, and just had met the very real Buzz Lightyear in person, you might, upon your return to Indiana, be experiencing some sort of withdrawal. So I am not surprised by Ben’s behavior. He sees his Disney stuff in a new way. He stares at it, and you can just tell he is remembering. There is always a smile on his face, but though his body is here, his mind is elsewhere……he is missing it, and we can tell.

I am glad though that he had the experience. He is such a happy little guy, and he was just so over-the-top with happiness when we were there. I am sure it will not be his last trip, but right now the world of fantasy and reality is blurred…..just like me and my athletic career. I am just glad his memories of all of it are more accurate and realistic than mine!
So for not it is off to bed to dream of a trip just past. He got to meet all his heroes in person, and I hope he dreams about them all. I am so glad he had the opportunity.
Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+
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The good news and the bad news….

The good news is that we are back home from our vacation and we are so very thankful. The bad news is that my weight is out of control. I would HATE to traumatize you with a picture, but I am going to be honest, I am moving on from this. By the end of this I hope to be some sort of AARP beach model.

But for today, I am on the porch with now just the cat because Scotty and Viper have gone to bed. Steph is at an overnight, and I am just trying to get my bearings. Tomorrow I begin a Marine regime, and I am serious. Tonight there is calm before the storm.
I do not regret all I did on vacation, but in order to have others I need to be alive! I intend to be on my way in the morning! Keep me in your prayers! Disney cost me in more ways than one!
Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+