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A day of lacrosse and now rest…….

Today has been a long day, the end of which we spent at Scotty’s lacrosse game. It is such a great time and my only regret is that lacrosse was not an available sport when I was a young man. I think I would have really enjoyed it. I am not sure if they have an “Over the Hill” league, but if they do, count me in!

Today also marked the end of voluntary fall practices for the girl’s high school team of which I am the coach. We offered the opportunity to practice, and enjoyed it. The girls and I were so amazed to have 70 degree weather in November. There should be SNOW! Anyway, it was good to be out and active. We play tomorrow at 4:20 in the indoor league in Carmel, and it will be a great way to kick off the weekend.

Today will also mark the first time I am heading to bed before 9:30!!! I have been up too late and too early too many days, so it will be nice to get some rest. Ben has been up the last few nights, so going to bed early may be helpful to be sharp at 3 am when he wants to talk!

So it is off to bed for me. I apologize for the lack of depth tonight, but we all know how it is when we are tired! I hope you have had a blessed day.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless.

Tom+

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On the occasion of the election of a new President.

Though I did not vote for him, I am committed to pray for our President-elect Obama. In elections there are winners and there are losers, but in the end the very fact that we are free to decide who those winners are, who will lead, is what indeed makes us all win.

During this post-election season there is always anxiety about what we are heading into and how a completely new administration will lead. But we seem to survive it all, and head off into writing new chapters of our history.

In truth, despite who leads, God is still in control.

Pray for our country. Pray for our government. Pray for President-elect.

Goodnight and God Bless.

Tom+

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A brief election post…….

The election is going on and with so much division we can only hope and pray that the outcome brings us a sense of togetherness and purpose as American people. Despite our disagreements, we still live in the greatest county in the world, and I do not believe that will ever change. We should remember that EVERY election produces winners and losers, and that God’s Hand is still upon us as a whole.

I will not be writing more than this tonight, but instead go back and fix my eyes and thoughts on the TV and the results as they happen.

My hope however is that you voted! God Bless you and God Bless our Country!

Goodnight!

Tom+

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Election day looms………

I will be getting up very early tomorrow in an effort to be at the poll before it opens. Voting is one of the most important things we do as a free people, and I intend to exercise my right.

This election however, causes more anxiety in me than any other. I have never seen people so divided, politics so deplorable, and tensions so high. It troubles me deeply that we seem to go through one election and then see people start campaigning for next. If I lived in Illinois or Arizona, I would be incensed that we were paying Senators to represent us, yet they were hardly ever there. And now with Acorn and the messes of voter registration I wonder how in the world we set common sense aside. Do we really want to be like the countries we send observers into to make sure elections are fair and just? We seem to be unraveling the very fabric that has held us together. It is deeply disturbing.

As much as that bothers me, I will still go out to cast my vote. You need to to give your voice credibility. I hope and pray we all do.

Get out and vote tomorrow!

Night my friends and God Bless.

Tom+

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A day to remember……..

Today on the Sunday after All Saints Day (November 1) we took the opportunity to remember those saints of God who walked the walk of faith before us. It is a special day, and one on which I pause to give special thanks.

I thank the Lord this day for the lives of two of my sisters, Stephanie and Sarah, who entered eternal life much too soon. For my great-grandparents, three of my grandparents, which includes my grandfather, “the architect of my life!” I also remember many friends and others who helped shape the part of the world I walked in. We often are so focused on the present that we forget all those others who made the present possible.

And I also thank the Lord for those saints I did not know, who walked the walk before us. It takes all of God’s people to make all of life work. I am thankful for them all. But today I am particularly thankful that both you and I are His saints as well.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless.

Tom+

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Of seeing the Lord in the beauty of nature…..

Tonight I find myself on the back porch alone. I guess there is something about 4 adult Golden Retrievers that our cat just can’t tolerate. They are all on the deck, but I am guessing that feels a little too close for her. So I will just attempt to write with the sounds of panting.

We were down at St. Matthew’s in Nashville today for a meeting and we will be back there tomorrow for service as well. Brown County is such a beautiful place, and if there was one regret I had about the day it was that we had to be inside for most of it. I am sure there are very few atheists looking over the trees of Brown County. All that beauty and wonder could convict anyone of the need of a Creator! It could not just happen by chance!

Amanda and I became engaged down there in Brown County for that very reason. I figured if I could distract her with all the beauty of God’s Creation that maybe she would let her guard down and say something stupid! AND IT WORKED! We were there in the Spring, which is my favorite time there. Don’t get me wrong, the changing colors are wonderful, but to me I love the feel and the smell of Spring there.

Anyway, it is too dark to see a thing here and all I hear are the dogs and now the inspiration-killing wrestling match that they have started on their own. But they are all wonderful dogs, they just love to have fun. And tomorrow, when I am done with work, I intend to get them out with me in the middle of some of that nature. Nature is always fun to look at, but nothing is better than hanging out among it with the love of a dog!

Okay, I am off to put them to bed and then myself! Goodnight and God Bless!

Tom+

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Who’s that lurking around that corner? Could that someone be “Ben the Shark?”

Tonight was a pretty amazing day. We started by negotiating out a deal with our insurance company that means Stephanie’s car will be repaired rather than totaled. There are so many regulations applying to these things, and with it being a 1999 model, the overall value is low. You do not need to do a whole lot of damage to a car like that before it is finished. BUT, we have had it two years. It runs like a top. AND it has only 75k miles. With what they offered us, we would never find a car like that. Needless to say, the last week has had Steph depressed thinking she would inherit my 1998 dark-green tank-ish Volvo. We had to go get the plate off her car a couple of days ago, so she was sure my car was certainly hers. She obviously is quite joyous now! We even drove out and put the plate back on her car! She was however, not so embarrassed to take the Volvo out tonight!

But before she left, we all took Ben out Trick or Treating for Halloween. He went last year, but only to a couple of places. This year, at 16 months he walked up to every door in his shark costume chanting “go go go”, pushed aside the candy they offered, and tried to enter every house. He doesn’t quite get it, but he had fun with his good buddies Gabe and Bella. We finished off with pizza after it got dark.

Just prior to that however, the shark made an appearance at the Noblesville Lady Millers lacrosse game. Tonight there was a schedule mix up, so they just scrimmaged, but the ladies not only brought the shark candy for his basket, they also played the scrimmage in his honor as the Noblesville Lady Sharks. It was a great time and we enjoyed it immensely.

Now however, it is 9:30 and the shark is in bed, no longer in his fins and tail, but snuggle-bunny pajamas. I am about there too. I have had a blessed day, and for it I am thankful. My hope and prayer is that you have enjoyed one as well, and that tomorrow will be even better for us all.

God bless.

Tom+

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Standing in the line of fire……….

Tonight I watched proudly as my son Scott took his turn in the net as goalie for his lacrosse team. Each player takes a turn, but I do not think they all enjoy it. Scott survived it, and he has the war-wounds to prove it. But I am certain he is not anxious to get in there again anytime soon. The team they were playing tonight was pretty good.

Sometimes it’s hard to just sit back and watch your kids do things without interjecting yourself. You just love them and you want to protect them. I remember the first time I left him at school, the first time I put him on the school bus, the first sleep-over, the first time away. All of them produced anxiety, yet somehow, someway, he managed to survive without me.

Tonight his knees are a bit torn up, his body is a bit achy, and he is bruised in a couple of places pretty good……but there is nothing wrong with his self-esteem. He looks at it more as a right of passage I think, and in looking back to my own life, I guess that is how I’d see it as well. It was a battle, and he was in it, taking his turn, being part of the team. I am sure he will always remember it too. I know I will.

Scott’s a pretty great kid, with a heart of gold. I am proud to be his dad. I don’t take it for granted…..I know that I am truly blessed!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless.

Tom+

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Of coaching, of haunting and blessings…….

Tonight St. Patrick’s Men’s Bible Study met at our home. We are using Tony Dungy’s “Quiet Strength” and its accompanying Bible study manual as our guide. It is an opportunity to look at our lives from a different perspective. For instance, last night’s lesson was all about “our game plans.” As an (former) athlete, it is a model I truly enjoy and I am looking forward to the next five lessons as well as the opportunity I have to study with other men.

About an hour after the study I had to go pick Scott up from “The Haunted Trail,” where he was working in order to not have to write a paper for one of his classes. There were two things about that that I found bizarre…..one, that scaring people could lead to credit, and then two that people actually pay to be scared. Go figure. I just hope the other team finds him just as scary tomorrow night when he suits up for his lacrosse game……my bet is they will not be as anxious!

Anyway, all the ghouls and goblins are home and the little shark (on Friday) is in bed. I need to head there as well. It has been a busy day, and tomorrow looms on the horizon. I am just thankful on this one, for family, friends, and the opportunity the Lord gives me in all of them.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless.

Tom+

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Viva a cool Fall evening!!!

Today we finally got Steph’s car to the body shop and she and I are on our way to no longer sharing a car, although it may be a while. Ben is back on a pretty regular schedule, and Puddy and I are out on the back porch at a wonderfully cool 37 degrees! To me it feels just about perfect!

I know that most people love the warmth of Summer, and though it is nice, for me I prefer it about like it is tonight. In fact, the breeze I feel tonight is about the same way the breeze feels when I skate. It brings back a lot to me. It centers me and actually makes me feel quite good. Of course when I type out here in this weather it also assures no distractions other than the cat waiting for the birds to return (which I hate to tell her will be in the Spring).

I always wondered why the Lord made the different seasons, since each one is so different. Maybe it’s because people are different too and have all sorts of different likes and dislikes, needs and wants. And though I love to cold, I really enjoy all the seasons. That’s one of the reasons I like Indiana…..you get them all. No offense to Florida, but when I lived there I could never get used to hearing “Merry Christmas” from someone in a winter coat when it was 75 degrees!

Anyway I will sign off for now and head back into the inferno (65 degrees) inside the house. I live in a house of apparent potential Floridians…but cheap ones since it is just 65 degrees! But I am glad to have this brief time to enjoy the Lord’s blessing of this crisp cool night and to share it with you as well. I hope you have had a great day….warm or cold, and one filled with the Lord’s many and abundant blessings!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tom+