A Note From Tom: December 20th, 2012

Hey, everyone! 

Hope you’re having an awesome, carol-singing, hall-decking, joy-to-the-world week of Christmasy-ness!! And with folks stressed and frazzled all around, it’s an awesome opportunity to show the love of Jesus and do something really Grinchy for someone, somewhere near you! 

Well, is almost time for us to… 

What?

Oh, sorry.  

“Doing something Grinchy” means doing something kind and helpful, for peace on earth, goodwill toward men.  

“But I thought the Grinch was the meanest, coldest, most hateful, most spiteful creature ever!” 

Yeah. But only at the beginning. Not in the end! 

In the end he wasn’t that way! He was different! He’d changed! His heart grew three sizes in one day! He brought Christmas back to Whoville, after risking his life on the top of Mt Crumpit! "And he, the Grinch, carved the roastbeast!"

I wish folks would remember him for what he became, not what he had been! 

That song still says, “You’re a mean one, Mr Grinch!” 

It should say, “You WERE a mean one”! 

Even worse, it goes on to say stuff like,…

“You’re a nasty wasty skunk

Your heart is full of unwashed socks,

Your soul is full of gunk

Mr. Grinch…"

"You’re a rotter Mr. Grinch

You’re the king of sinful sots

Your hearts a dead tomato splotched with moldy purple spots

Mr. Grinch…"

"The 3 words that best describe you, are as follows, and I quote

Stink, Stank, Stunk”

Maybe he WAS those things (“the king of sinful sots”…wow!), but not by the last page!

If you met him today, he’d be the sweetest creature you could ever know! To do something “Grinchy” is to do something loving with a heart full of Christmas! Because that’s who the Grinch is now! 

(Except that he doesn’t actually exist.)

It’s not about what you WERE! It’s about what God is making you now! The past is gone! It’s past! That’s why they call it that! You’re not who you were! You’re new! Our God doesn’t see the mess of before! He looks at us and sees saints! (Eph 1.1) Sons and daughters! (Rom. 8.14) Holy ones! Whole ones! His choice! Beloved! (Col 3.12) Beauties! (Song of Songs 1.15)

The new you…a Christmas miracle! It really DOES happen! 

And not just in stories! 

And all because of a story! 

The Christmas story! That story is different from the "How Grinch Stole Christmas" story. The Christmas story is a true story! It’s a “story” in the way they talk about a “news story” in the newspaper or on CNN…the story of something that really happened! 

In one of his letters, the apostle Paul talks about "speaking with the tongue of…angels" Apparently, angels have an amazing language all their own! Let's just call it "cherubimese"…or "seraphimian" But when one burst thru the clouds on the first Christmas, with a message he wanted the folks to hear, he spoke in one of the languages humans speak and know! In the Greek language, he said (or sang!)… 

“Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy!"

The words “I bring good tidings” translate one word from that language. It's "euangelizomai"…

"Euangelion" means "good news"…and “I euangelizomai you!”  means, “I tell you good news! NEWS!! News about something that has really happened!” 

It’s true! A savior has come! He really has! We’re not who we were! And a heart really CAN grow three sizes in one day! 

Makes you just wanna sing with all those Whos down in Whoville, the tall and the small…

“Fah who for-aze

Dah who dor-aze

Welcome Christmas

Christmas Day!

Welcome, welcome

Fah who rah-moose

Welcome,welcome

Dah who dah-moose

Welcome Christmas, fah who rah-moose

Welcome Christmas, dah who dah-moose

Christmas Day will always be

Just so long as we have He!

Welcome Christmas

Dah who dah-moose

Welcome Christmas

While we stand

Heart to heart

And hand in hand

Fah who for-aze

Dan who dor-aze

Welcome welcome 

Christmas, Christmas Day!

A Note From Tom: December 14th, 2012

Hey, everyone!  

Hope you’re having an awesome, “joy to the world” week! As the old carol says, “So why should men on earth be so sad, when our Redeemer has made us glad?”

Sadly, one of the sights that tells us “it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas” is that grumpy face with the grouchy expression you see everywhere.

“Who you talking ‘bout? All the hastled shoppers?”

Oh, no. I didn’t mean that! 

I was talking about the face of Ol’ Ebenezer Scrooge you see everywhere these days. You see that “grumpy gills” all over the place! The sad thing is that, even tho’ he was super mean for years…(Dickens described him as “…a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner!”)… in the end of the book  he changed! Totally!  But people ALWAYS think of him the way he was at the beginning and not the way he was at the end!

At the end of the little classic, he “… became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough, in the good old world… and it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God bless Us, Every One!”

Wonder why they never show him that way?

Could you a imagine smiling, cheery, chuckling “Ol’Ebenezer”, giving a hand and a hug to a weary begger, or stopping to sled down the hill with the kids behind his house? I’m sure it happened! One of my favorite pictures of the end of the story is in a kids’ book that shows Scrooge and Tiny Tim sitting in the grass on a hill outside spring-time London, laughing together.

When a person really changes from what they shouldn’t have been to what, with God’s help, they could’ve been, I wonder why it’s easier to remember what they were than what they’ve become?

One time Theodore Geisel…ah, I mean, “Dr. Seuss”…got a letter in the mail asking him the change the name of the star of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”, because “people always hastle us” about the book. The letter was signed, “David and Bob Grinch, Ridgefield, N.J.”

Bummer.

But Dr Seuss disagreed. “Can’t they understand that the Grinch in the end is the hero of the story? It’s not how you start out that counts, but what you are at the finish!”

Amen!

Here’s a good Christmas verse…”If anyone is in Christ, he (or she) is a new creation. Old things have past away; behold! All things have become new!”

That’s how God sees you! Not what you were! Not even what you are, really! But who you are in Jesus! Being outside of time, He already sees you as who you will be one day! Free! Faultless! Filled with overflowing love! All the time! The “You” you were always meant to be!

He sees you as the new “Scrooge”…the new “Grinch…that He always meant you to be when He put you in this world! 

It says in the last book of the Bible, that when we’re finally with Him in Heaven, “we’ll get a new name…” so people won’t remember you by the one you had when you weren’t fully the “You” you will be one day.

For all us “Scrooges” and Grinches”, that’s an awesome idea!

A Note From Tom: December 7th, 2012

Hey, everyone!

Wow! It's getting Christmas-ish everywhere! You could see it on the faces. You could feel it in the air. You could hear it in the horn-blowin’ holiday  traffic. There was a lotta Yuletide…grumpiness! 

You know how it is at Christmas…it’s the season of love, giving, “peace on earth, good-will towards men”. I praise God so much for every ounce of that! How we need it, now and all through the year! As Scrooge’s nephew, Fred put it, “… I have always thought of Christmas time, when it comes round…as a good time: a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time…”

But with the shopping pressure, the baking pressure, the financial pressure, the time pressure, well, folks just get pressured!  There was so much pushing and shoving on Black Friday that they were calling one store “BrawlMart”! 

I guess Christmas stress and pressure has been around a long time...

Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote a Christmas story (before she finished “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”), where someone says, “Oh, dear! Christmas is coming in a fortnight, and I have to think up presents for everyone! Dear me, it’s so tedious! Everybody has already got everything that can be thought of…It’s impossible to decide what presents to get for people who have more than they know what to do with now…” She said that in the old days, a child would have been “perfectly delighted with a single piece of candy…Nowadays things are different. There are worlds wasted, at this time of year in getting things nobody wants, and nobody cares for after they are got!”

One ad in a Boston magazine in 1823 said..

“ ‘There is a time for giving’, says Solomon the king, and had that preacher lived in these days, he would have acknowledged that there is no time like the present and never a better assortment of gifts. If he could have just peeped into the Bookstore of Monroe & Francis, he would have found a book for each of his wives and for all of his concubines, and for each of their children!”

The Ghost of Christmas Presents has been haunting us a long time!

It would be awesome if the remembrance of the coming of the Prince of Peace was a time of peace…if during the whole season, and not just for one night, “all was calm, all was bright.” Thankfully, today there are support groups for alcoholics, workaholics, even choco-holics! But some folks get so compulsive at Christmastime, someone needs to start a group for Deck-the-hall-ics!!

What if we decided that this year would be the Christmas of Going Slower!...Singing More!…Spending Less!...Baking More!...Buying Less!  (Average American spends…$750 at Christmas! Each person! Wow! In some countries, that’s more than the average income per year!)

Sometimes, it makes my heart so sad that Christmas is not about the “retelling of the story”, but the “retail-ing of the stores”. 

I’m not trying to be a "Scrooge" about Christmas. But really Scrooge was the one who wouldn’t stop buying and dealing, in order to, as Bob Cratchit said, “remember upon Christmas Day, the One Who made lame men walk and blind men see”.  All Scrooge cared about was buying, deals, savings and profit… even on Christmas Eve! If you say, “I’m NOT going to get carried away with commercialism and materialism this Christmas!”, you’re not the Scrooge…  

In a world of Christmas Scrooges, you’re Bob Cratchit! 

“God bless us, everyone!”

A Note From Tom: November 30th, 2012

Hey, everyone!

And welcome to the Christmas season! As the song says, "It's beginning to smell a lot like Christmas!" Those aren't exactly the right words, but it is true! 

When you have the Salvation Army bucket dude ringing beside the Christmas trees for sale, that's when Christmas smells are like Christmas bells! They're everywhere! (Except that one goes in your ear and the other up your nose!)

Scientists tell us that smells bring back memories of Christmases past quicker than the Grinch, Charlie Brown's tree, or a crooning' Bing Crosby…And it's kinda unexpected since Christmas sights arrive at the speed of light and Christmas carols at the speed of sound, but Christmas smells poke along at the speed of the breeze! 

But it turns out that when Christmas smells go up your nose (kinda like Santa up the chimney), they stick to the 20 million receptors in the olfactory epithelium, waiting about three inches up there in the dark. Blood hounds have 220 million! That's why their noses are so long! ( But they're uglier than we are so, it's a trade-off). 

Snuggled up in there, is your omygdala, which is the place in your brain where emotions live. In the neighborhood nearby is your hippocampus, which is basically "Memory Lane". As soon as a molecule of cheddar cheese, or Gouda cheese, or "Say-excuse-me-pleese"…or Cheese Puff, or cheese cake or Cheese Whiz "hits the spot", nasally speaking, the olfactory stands up and says, "Do we know you?" And the hippocampus asked, "Are we happy or sad about this? I'm trying to remember…" And in an instant you're crying over something' that happened in Miss Pippins second grade class and you don't know why!

Our dad used to get us boys to sneak down into the woods of the Green Belt and climb 20 feet up the pine trees, where we'd cut off the top seven feet of them and drag 'em home for our family Christmas tree. Apparently it's a federal crime. I didn't know it at the time, but I figured it was a covert operation and there was a reason why we were supposed to talk, chop, and saw…"quietly". So, the other day, I walked into the Young Life office. It was filled with garlands and wreaths and Christmas evergreen smells. For a minute, I wondered why I began to sweat, hyperventilate and feel a panic-attack comin' on! 

Ahhh! Christmas memories!  I can just smell 'em!

Nutmeg is apparently one of the strongest Christmas smells. It's in Christmas cookies, Christmas egg-nog and Granny's Santa Lucia Christmas Stollen braid. All kinds of wars were fought in history over the nutmeg trade. Apparently in the 1660's, the Dutch traded Manhattan to the British for one of the Spice Island that had tons of nutmeg! Seems that nutmeg has a property in it that produces "feelings of well-being". That's why it's in all the Christmas goodies…It's pretty cool that there's a spice that helps you gain 37 pounds in three weeks…and feel good about it! 

I love how the New Testament talks about smells! 

The Christmas story doesn't specifically mention them, but think about it…With the donkey, stalls, sheep, stinky shepherds, and frankincense, there must have been a lot of 'em! 

In one place, Paul says that we smell to our Father in Heaven, just like Jesus! You're a Christmas smell to Him!

"…through us He spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God…" (2 Corinthians 2:14 and 15)

This Christmas…

...when you give yourself in love to someone who needs His love…

…when your heart breaks for someone who is alone, hungry, or struggling…

…when you whisper a name to His throne, because someone isn't making it without Him…

…it smells like Jesus! 

It smells like Christmas!

We tied 157 cards to a Christmas tree in the Triple C lobby a couple of weeks ago…30 bucks each…"Buy an orphan who lives in Victor's home and goes to their school in India, his or her school clothes for a year. Or buy three widows their yearly dress. All for $30…"

I wondered…Or maybe I doubted…"Will we do this? Can we do this? Will Victor kids and widows have anything to wear?…"

Last Sunday afternoon, a UT student drove into OR. He listens to the C3 podcast and had heard about our tree. He wanted to pay for four cards…

and it just so happened that…folks were decorating for Christmas around 3:00 when he arrived!

And it just so happened that...there were only four cards left on the tree!

Because it just so happened that…y'all had already taken ALL THE REST!!!

AHHHH!!!!  Christmas!!!

I love how it smells!!

A Note From Tom: November 21st, 2012

Hey, everyone! 

Hope you're having a beautiful day of slicing, dicing, last-minute grocery shopping, last-minute onion chopping, braising and praising! And even tho' we're almost to the day so many have waited so long for, but I'm just kinda sad it's here!

"What?! Thanksgiving?! You'd have to gobble to be sad THAT day's arrived! What kind of a Scrooge-y pilgrim are you?"

No! I didn't mean Thanksgiving! I LOVE that day! It's the perfect holiday! Expectations are lower and pace is slower than the next big day on the holiday calendar…and I ain't talking' 'bout Christmas! I mean "Black Friday"…or "Black and Blue Friday"! 

Wow. After a whole day devoted to thanking the Living God for all we have when so many have so little, the next day is devoted to pushin', pulling', thrown' out elbows and tossing' down cards to get more stuff than anyone could need! Interestingly, apparently the name comes from the '60's in Philadelphia, the "City of Brotherly Shove"! 

I do have a holiday shopping tip for you though!

I know where you can get an entire new wardrobe for an entire year for $30! 

Unbelievable!!!!

But true!

As most of y'all know, there's a Christmas tree in the Triple C lobby. It has paper ornaments of red and green. Each one represents a gift of 30 bucks. By taking a paper ornament and giving this gift of $30, you are buying two school outfits and a school bag for one of 42 children who live in the orphanage that Victor Nandigam and his wife care for in India! All the clothes that child will need for school for a whole year! Or you could designate your $30 gift for three of the 360 widows Victor helps. With just thirty bucks he will buy three saris, or Indian dresses, that will be the entire wardrobe for THREE widows for a whole year!! 

Where else can you find deals like that?! 

Huh, Kohls? Huh, JCP? Can you beat that?!

I didn't think so!

Not only this, but our Lord Jesus said this…

"For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me!" (Matthew 25)

Did you catch that!? 

"I was naked and you clothed Me!"

If you buy clothes for widows or Victor's orphan kids…"for the least of these My brothers (and sisters)"…you're buying them for Jesus! 

Our Lord is "clothed in glory and majesty"! But somehow, you can still buy Him things…Like all His clothes for one whole year! For $30! 

What a deal!

And you don't have to be here at 4:00 am!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

We love y'all!

A Note From Tom: November 16th, 2012

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! 

Hope you have the most beautiful day ever! Hope your day is as stuffed with thanks and joy as your turkey will be stuffed with stuffing! And a big thanks goes out to Abe Lincoln! He's got a new movie comin' out today! We owe so much to him! Lincoln Logs, LMU, one country instead of two, and…Thanksgiving Day! He was the one who decided that we really needed a day for nothing but thanking God! 

Actually, it wasn’t his idea…

Sarah Josepha  Hale, editor (she liked to be called “editress”) of Godey’s Ladies Book (as well as the author of the epic poem, “Mary Had a Little Lamb”) thought that we reallllly needed a day to thank God for how much He has blessed us all. And she thought the idea needed to come from the top! So she wrote to President Zachary Taylor, saying, “Y’know, we really need a day to give thanks to God in America!” 

No answer.

She wait ‘til he was gone and wrote the next Chief Exec, Millard Fillmore. “We really should have a national thanksgiving day!”

He didn’t write back either.

So, she waited ‘til there was someone else in the White House. 

Franklin Pierce didn’t answer either.

Her next letter was to…

 “President James Buchanan

1600 Pennsylvania Ave, Washington, DC 

(they didn’t have zips yet!)”

Nada.

It wasn’t until the 6’5” Kentuckian from Illinois was sitting in the Oval Office, that she got an answer back! As he leaned back in his chair at the desk and propped those huge boots on the desk (as he usually did) he sliced the envelope open, puffed into it, pulled the letter out and read…

“Philadelphia, Sept. 28th 1863.

Sir,

Permit me, as Editress of the "Lady's Book", to request a few minutes of your precious time, while laying before you a subject of deep interest to myself and -- as I trust -- even to the President of our Republic, of some importance. This subject is to have the day of our annual Thanksgiving made a National and fixed Union Festival.

 For the last fifteen years I have set forth this idea before the Governors of all the States and Territories -- also I have sent these to our Ministers abroad, and our Missionaries to the heathen -- and commanders in the Navy…it has occurred to me that a proclamation from the President of the United States would be the best, surest and most fitting method of National appointment.

…Thus the great Union Festival of America would be … forever secured.

 Excuse the liberty I have taken.

With profound respect,

Yrs truly

Sarah Josepha Hale,”

So he did!

In his 1863 Thanksgiving Proclamation, he wrote..

“…It has seemed to me fit and proper that God’s blessings should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and one voice, by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens. … In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. Done at the city of Washington, this 3d day of October, A.D. 1863, and of the Independence of the United States the eighty-eighth.

A. Lincoln

But, it wasn’t really his idea. 

It was hers.

Actually it wasn’t her idea, either.

The Apostle wrote long before that…

“Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!”

“Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord,  always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

“I pray…that you will be strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience,  and giving joyful thanks to the Father…”

“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

I think those Scripture say our Lord wants us thankful every second! Even tho’ I’m super thankful this coming Thursday is one of my favorite days of the year, maybe one Thanksgiving Day a year isn’t such an awesome idea after all!  Every day is supposed to be Thanksgiving Day! …(The menu can vary)

One wise person said,…

“If you’re so low that you only have one prayer, let it be a prayer of thanks. It is the easiest way to pray and often the most powerful…In some circumstances, thanksgiving, like forgiveness, is both the quickest and the only route to joy…Imagine yourself in a meadow gathering wildflowers-violets, let’s say. When you’re finished, do you have a fistful of stones or twigs? No, you have a bouquet of violets. If you’re looking for reasons to be grateful, you’ll find them! …Give God a standing ovation every day. It’s what He’s waiting for. It’s what you’re waiting for too…Years ago, realizing I needed to develop gratitude, I began the practice of saying thanks to God for five things before I went to bed. I still do this whenever I feel the least bit low.  Looking for reasons to be thankful, instead of focusing on worries or fears, is like putting on a new pair of glasses. Life looks better through the lens of thanks.”

Being thankful…It’s God’s idea!

It’s the best idea!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

(By the way, we’re super thankful for you!)

A Note From Tom: November 9th, 2012

Happy Holiday, everyone! 

"Huh?! Isn't it a little too early and a little too pc to be saying that?"

Wait! I don't mean "Happy Holiday" as in "Happy Holidays! We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!" I'm talking' about today! November 9, 2012! 

"Let's see…googling…googling…how do you spell 'wikipedia"? is it wik or wek?…Oh…Ok…hmmmm…There it is…November 9, 2012…umm...the 314th day of the year…the anniversary of the first foreign trip by a US pres, when Theodore Roosevelt left for Panama to check out progress on the canal…the anniversary of the release of 'Piano Man' by Billy Joel…I don't get it! What's so special about today!?"

Well, today is one of those holidays you read about in the Bible! If you want to read about Christmas, look up Luke, chapter 2. If you want to understand Easter better, turn to John 20. But if you want to understand why November 9, 2012 is such a special day, open up to Hebrews, chapter 4!

That book was written to folks who were having a lot less fun than they thought they would when they first believed in Jesus…They were stressed, distressed,  bestressed.

"Bestressed?" 

Well, you know what I mean. Anyway, the Book of Hebrews was written to tell them that their new life wasn't supposed to be like that! They weren't supposed to be hassled and frazzled. They had trusted Jesus at the beginning for forgiveness and Heaven. They were supposed to trust Him the rest of the way for peace in their hearts!  A heart with Jesus in it should be a joy-filled, peace-filled, praised-filled heart! Jesus rose from the dead and lives today so you wouldn't be distressed and bestessed!

"You said 'bestressed' again!"

Sorry. But you know what I'm saying. 

Peace in the heart…even when troubles come your way and problems multiply… is one of the benefits of the Good News! In fact, the author said that they knew the Good News but it didn't really benefit them as much as it shoulda because they didn't combine the Message with faith (Heb 4.2)! Jesus our Lord died to pay for all our wrong and He lives to rule over the whole world and every detail of my life and yours! He lives to help us and to work out a beautiful plan for all of us! He's alive and waiting to help you when you call to Him! If you truly believe that, you receive unbelievable benefits! Peace in the heart! Calm in the storm! A quiet joy when all heck breaks loose!

As the Christmas carol says, "So why should men on earth be so sad, when our Redeemer has made us glad?"

Well, probably the biggest reason is that we haven't really believed these things as much as we should have. Do you believe Jesus loves you individually, constantly, infinitely? Do you believe He rules over every moment and atom of your life? Do you believe that you have a Father in Heaven Who is weaving all of it into a perfect plan for you?  

"How do I know if I believe this stuff enough?" 

Peace. 

In your heart. 

That's how you know.

Or as Hebrews 4 says, "Rest…You enter His rest"…A restful heart and mind.

That's how you were meant to live. He didn't intend you to spend your days in tension or sleepless nights in anxiety. "For we who have believed enter that rest" (Hebrews 4.3)

"Well, what do I do? I DO worry about stuff all the time! My life isn't all that fun because I'm afraid and anxious and tense a bunch! I suspect I'm not easy to live with because I'm always so…well, as you say…bestressed!"

Well, "Happy Holiday", everyone!

"Holiday" is actually short for "holy day". "Holy" means "special"! Today is a special day! Today is the day when you could begin to enjoy your life! Have more fun! At least, have more peace! 

"C'mon! Tell me! What day is it?!"

Today is…"Today!" Check this…

...Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because they didn't have they faith they should…again he appoints a certain day, "Today,” saying through David so long afterward…,

“Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts…(Hebrews 4.6-7)

If you've had tons of anxiety and worry…if you know you've lived in stress and been a stress to live with… you haven't blown it! You can start over! There's a holiday…a special day… to celebrate your new heart of peace! 

"What holiday you talking about? Thanksgiving that's coming? Christmas around the corner?"

Nope! You don't have to wait! The best day of the year is…Today!

Did you catch it?  

"…He appoints a certain day, 'Today!' "

You can trust Him today! You can praise Him today! You can grab a promise of Scripture and hold on tight! You can ask Him for peace today! "Let us therefore strive to enter that rest" (verse 11) You can decide that today will be a better day…a new day…a holiday! And when it's over, trusting in Him, tonite you can "sleep in heavenly peace!"

So…

Happy Holiday, everyone!

Happy Today!

A Note From Tom: November 2th, 2012

Hey, everyone!

Hope you're having an awesome…

"PRAISE GOD FROM WHOM ALL BLESSINGS FLOW!

PRAISE HIM ALL CREATURES HERE BELOW!

PRAISE HIM ABOVE YE HEAVENLY HOST!

PRAISE FATHER,S ON, AND HOLY GHOST!

AAAAAAAAMEN!"

Wow! Where'd that come from?! 

I usually don't just spontaneously break into the doxology! Spontaneous doxologizing!

I guess it just comes from knowing that sweet little Josiah's doing fine on the other side of our world! Lots of y'all know that Christy's in China helping her sister, Patty and Patrick while they finalize their adoption of Jack, a precious Chinese orphan. Then fatigue and jet-lag turned into viruses, which turned into fevers, vomiting, and chills for their seven year old Josiah, which turned into seizures, brain swelling, real danger, and almost a tragic ending. By Tuesday morning at 6:00 when we received the news of the dire and frightening turn for the worst, a bunch of us were calling out to our Lord for the whole family! 

As the day dawned and the news spread, so many of you all were asking our Lord to not let this story end in the sad way… 

Pottsie, Lee, and I let a stinky, dank, roomful of dudes in oranges ill-fitting outfits in Unit Five of the Anderson County Detention Center know that we needed them and their help. "There's a little dude we need to lift up to God right now. He's sick and getting sicker. He can't get much sicker before it'll be too late. Would you guys help us call out to God for Josiah?"

And they sure did! Brothers behind bars helping their little brother under the stars on the world's other side. Guys in trouble, caring for a little guy in trouble. The Body of Christ being His Body. Most important thing to happen in that jail this week, I bet!

Guys in the Morgan County Penitentiary were saying Josiah's name as well on the next day! Wow! When you count up all the years some of the folks who cared about Josiah this week either HAD BEEN or WILL BE incarcerated, it's probably ten to twenty times the number of years he's been on earth! 

As Garth Brooks sang, Josiah's "got friends in low places"!

Tina was at the Norris Craft Guild on Tuesday, weaving on ancient looms with all her weaving buddies. It's an eclectic, mixed group of folks. All over the map, spiritually. As she shared her heart with tears for her desperately sick little friend, they all just decided to bow and pray together for Josiah. When they were done, one of Tina's friends turned to another and said, "I didn't know y'll Unitarians ever pray!" 

"Sometimes we do,:" said the other one.

Folks were calling out Josiah's name across America and even around the world! Our missionaries were praying and Lee's "flock" who follow his blog from the Philippines, to Scotland, to New Zealand were praying for their little brother they'd never met!

And our Lord did what only He can do!

By late in the evening of Tuesday, we received the text we hoped would come! "…Josiah's awake, stable…asking for Paba. Doing better! Praise the Lord!"

Yesterday we got this…"Just heard from Christy that Josiah was up playing with toys and that he just ate an apple and a hard boiled egg! PTL!…It's a beautiful day!"

Yes it is!!

You know, "doxology" comes from two Greek words. The "-logy" part comes from a word that means… well, words! and the "doxe" means "glory" or "something about God that you may not see always, but you always believe". Such as…

...We believe that God is always good. 

...We believe that He is Love! 

...We believes He's in control of everything! 

...We believe He always knows what's best! 

...We believe His plan is perfect!

And it helps to says these things about Him with words!

Sometimes, when He lets tears stain our face and pain fill our broken heart, as He has done to us in recent days…

Sometimes when in His infinite wisdom and love He says, "No, My precious child…" when we beg Him for things and for those we love more than words can say…

…there comes a day when it does help to say, "And yet, these are the things I believe about You…

…I believe You know best.

…I believe You are love.

…in my pain and with a broken heart I say these words about You...

...I believe You are always, and will always be, good."

These days will come to us all. If they haven't come to you yet, they will.

But there WILL be other days! 

For all of us! There will be other days so good and hopeful and full of joy and relief from heaven, that we can't help but sing…

Praise God from Whom all blessings flow!

Praise Him all creatures here below!

Praise Him above ye heavenly host!

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!!

Amen!

A Note From Tom: October 26th, 2012

Hey, everyone!

Hope you’re having a day FULLLL of thanks, praise, and just…you know…a day that’s a happy one! “Cause we have a million reasons to be thankful all the time! If you just count all the stuff God has forgiven us for on a day-to-day basis, it comes out to an average of about a million reasons to be thankful per month! Plus, all day today, no matter where you go, in ways that go beyond our mind, according to the letter Paul wrote to the brothers and sisters who lived in Ephesus, you’re “seated already in heaven with Jesus”! I don’t fully understand what that means because it’s too awesome to comprehend! But I AM thankful to be sitting there! 

Everything looks better from up here!

For all the reasons Jesus gives us to be thankful, we oughta be dancing down the hall at school, cart-wheelin’ out the door to work, and jumping on the desk, doing the tarantella when we get there! It oughta keep us up at night like Christmas eve used to do! 

And yet, it takes amazingly little to put a gimp in that dance step. The other day I had this jagged-y toenail that somehow was digging into his neighbor. I could feel it when I was walking down the street. Like every step. You know how it is…

…Step…”mmm”…step….”hmmm”…step…”yikes!”…step…”uuhhhh, I need to fix that”…step…”owww! That kinda hurts!”…step…”wonder if it’s bleeding”…step…”That’s gonna drive me NUTS!!”...step…”DON’T THINK ABOUT IT!!”...step…”HOWAMISUPPOSEDTONOT THINKABOUTIT!??”...step…

Just takes a toenail to dominate your thankfulness. 

Last week, I was thinking about how little it takes to deflate my praise because I was reading some stuff by Joni Eareckson Tada., whose heart knows how to praise no matter what! Maybe you know who she is. You should. She is amazing! At seventeen, she broke her neck, diving into a too shallow Chesapeake Bay. She’s been a quadriplegic in a wheelchair since ’67. At the beginning, she didn’t know how…or, if…she could make it through each day. Her desperation prayer…”Lord, if I can’t die, help me to live!!” 

Wow! Has she ever!! She learned to paint with a brush between her teeth… she’s written 35 books (which rock!)…“Joni and Friends”, her international ministry to the disabled, has served thousands in hundreds of countries…and her radio program is heard on 1000 stations! She’s been on Presidential advisory boards and U. S. State Department commissions.

If a raggedy toenail messes with my thanks, what if you couldn’t use your whole body below your head? Joni decided to praise Jesus!...No matter what!

The other day, I was reading something that she wrote about the first moments she’ll spend in Heaven, suddenly enjoying a new, WORKING, glorious body. She was reflecting on the first things she’ll do… things she hasn’t been able to do from her wheelchair all these years. “Will I dance like I haven’t in forever? Will I jump up and down and then leap into my Savior’s arms? ”, she wondered. And then she mentioned a conference she attended. The speaker asked everyone at the end of his talk, to slip out of their chairs and quietly kneel on the floor in a few moments of worship. She said that as she looked over the room, the only one sitting upright in her chair she couldn’t abandon, she wept. Not for loneliness of being the only one excluded from adoration’s posture, but for the beauty of a room full of kneeling. 

“The first thing I’ll do when I have a body that is made new won’t be running, or jumping, or dancing. The first thing I’ll do when I see Him is…kneel.”

Me. too.

A Note From Tom: October 19th, 2012

Hey, everyone...

This has been a week of ups and downs.

Tina and I got to spend the beginning of the week in the shadows of the Colorado Rockies at an amazing conference for leaders of Young Life from around the world. But today we'll be at the cemetery. 

Just looking up at the Rockies on Monday and looking ahead at what later in the week had for us made me think of another day of serious ups and downs for us. We were driving through the Alps in Switzerland in 1992. When you drive from Italy to Germany through the Alps, you drive almost straight up for a long time and then you go down for a long time. So it was a day of ups and downs

It was a gorgeous, sunny day but one of the darkest we’ve ever gone through. The Alps in Switzerland are breath-taking.  And something was taking my breath, f’r sure. But it wasn’t the Alpine scenery. We were taking our older two kids, Mary and Charlie, 12 and 14, to missionary kids’ boarding school in Germany to live.  At 12 and 14! We felt led by God and all…and He had provided after tons of prayers…But it was just starting to slam into my mind what was going to be happening in the next two days. I remember when we arrived at this awesome, beautiful school in the Black Forest. We drove first to Mary’s dorm. One of the new “dorm parents” came out…”Hi, Mary! I’m going to be your new dad!” Shaking his hand, I thought, “Whoa, baby!! You couldn’t have thought for four seconds longer and come up with a better opener than that!? Didn’t you go to how-to-not-be-a-dufuss-of-a-new-dorm-parent.com? …where they teach you how to not say stupid stuff in front of sniffling, whimpering parents?!” 

On the way through the Alps that beautiful, sunny day, when the skies were bright and sunny but my heart’s forecast was “considerably cloudy and unstable,” a song came on the tape player (remember those?). It was by someone who had become my favorite musical encourager… Steven Curtis Chapman.  His songs in those days were getting me through all kinds of tough stuff! I was singing along and wasn’t really thinking about what the next song on the cassette was. But when it came on, his familiar words were like a singing prophecy from heaven directly addressed to my heart. It was a song he wrote called, “Higher Ways”

If I could only fly

I'd go up and look down from the sky

So I could see the bigger picture

And Lord if I could sit with You

At Your feet for an hour or two

I'm sure I'd ask too many questions

'Cause there's so much going on down here

That I must confess I just don't understand

But I have prayed

And at your feet my whole life has been laid

So I wont worry I wont be afraid

'Cause my soul is resting on Your higher ways

Let the road ahead become unclear 

I am Yours so what have I to fear

If my soul is resting on Your higher ways

Your higher ways teach me to trust You

Your higher ways are not like mine

Your higher ways are the ways of the Father

Hiding His children in His love

So let it rain

And if my eyes grow dim with tears of pain

This hope I have will not be washed away

'Cause my soul is resting on Your higher ways

Maybe then You will take me aside 

And show me the bigger picture

But until I'm with You 

I'll be here with a heart that is true

And a soul that's resting on

Your higher ways

I probably shouldn’t have been driving in that moment because I didn’t have wind shield wipers for my eyeballs. Couldn’t really let the kids know I was up there in the front seat about to totally lose it! I couldn’t get my breath…and it wasn’t because we were at about 13000 feet of altitude…Silently sobbing to myself and feeling like I needed to pull over…I was wondering why we were being led down this family  path. But…

 “Your higher ways teach me to trust You

Your higher ways are not like mine

Your higher ways are the ways of the Father

Hiding His children in His love”

As many of you know, the Steven Curtis Chapman family lost their sweet five-year old adopted daughter, Maria in an accident in their driveway a few years ago. Little Maria was born in China and became the Chapman’s third adopted child. The five-time Grammy award winner and his wife, Mary Beth have been humongous advocates for adoption of orphans left alone in the world. They have three natural kids and three adopted Chinese kids. Mary Beth said once, “There may or may not be issues ahead for us. But even if Shaoey turns 16 and says, 'I hate you, I'm going back to China,' I know God put Shaoey in our lives; God put Stevey Joy here, and God put Maria here. Whether it's all peaches-and-cream or it's miserable, this is God's work."

I remember how my heart was so broken for them. I can’t ever thank God enough for how much that guy has encouraged me in my darkest times. I wished there was something I could do…

Just like all of our hearts are all broken for Jen, Patty, Tim, Haylee, and Rick this week. I could never thank God enough for how much Tim and Patty have encouraged us all with all they do for Triple C! How we all wish there was something we could do.

All we can do (and have done!) is lift their precious family up to the throne and pray that God will give them the strength of heart to have a “soul that is resting on Your higher ways”.

Hug your kids today. Tell them you love them. Tell people you love, that you do love them. 

Lift up the broken hearted.

And no matter what happens today, decide in your heart that, with God’s help, you will trust in "His higher ways".

A Note From Tom: October 12th, 2012

Hey, everyone!

Hope you're having an awesome week! Even tho' it might have had some "challenges" and struggles, let's don't give up!! God promises us what we need to make it through! 

I just read the other day in the letter Paul wrote to the folks in Colossae, who also had "tons o' problems", that God promises to give us…by His glorious strength, power, and might…the supernatural ability to…

…fly like Ironman? No.

 …leap tall buildings in a single bound like Superman? Not that.

…bend and stretch but never snap like Elastagirl in "The Incredibles? Nope! (But that's getting close!) 

Check it! He promises the supernatural superpower to be incredibly, amazingly, unbelievably…patient! (Col 1.11)

And He promises the power of "endurance"! That means "hold-on-and-hang-in-there-and-never-quitability"!  

That's a power I need! Especially when I'm having a confusing time. 

Tho' I did read something this week that made me feel better about myself…

Monday was Columbus Day and a dude explained that when Chris showed up in 1492 in America, he thought he had arrived in Asia. He stepped on the shore of Cuba, thinking it was China. When he jumped over to the Dominican Republic, he believed it was Japan (There have been talented baseball players from both those countries so that's kinda understandable). But he concluded that he was in India. 

It made me feel a less confused about myself! 

I do get "turned around" and disoriented easily. The other day, I was trying to find the Appalachian Fairgrounds in Gray, Tn near Johnson City, for a thing I had to do there. I have a new phone that has this feature where a bouncing ball on a map follows a blue path to where you're supposed to be. You just follow the blue while you drive. (It's not risky at all like texting and driving is! I took the pledge on that!) When you get off the blue path, you're officially lost and you stop, ask in a auto parts store if you need to (like I did), and go 'til you find the blue! 

When I found the blue again, I said, "There you are!" Got to the fairgrounds in thirteen minutes! Right on time!

This week, I was a little disoriented and confused. I might have gotten a little over committed in helping some folks. Even with the amazing team working together that we had, I kinda estimated that this thing would be easier than it was and would take less time than it has. At times, I started to feel my heart race a little. "Lord, how did I get into this? Where's the finish line? Are You there, Lord?...Lord?! …Hello?!"

I couldn't find the blue! "Yikes! I'm lost again!" I thought.

But then things started to come together! Guys with skills started to solve problems! And I had a moment in the afternoon when I was driving in my truck with my friend, Don. I asked him about his growing up. I heard about what it was like living on a farm between Clinton and Lake City with eight brothers and sisters and no electricity or running water in the house. "How did you go to the outhouse when it was frosty in the morning?" "You just did what you had to do with a smile! We never thought about it!" 

He told me about going to school in Clinton during the scary time of desegregation in the 50' and the days of the "Clinton 12".

Then I got a chance to talk about faith and the conversation took a turn to Jesus. And what it means to trust in Him. And why having faith in Jesus as our Savior is really the only thing that matters. It was a beautiful moment.

And I realized that maybe this whole thing was about that ride in my truck. And that conversation. I started to feel in my heart that maybe I wasn't disoriented and maybe I hadn't lost my way. My Shepherd knows where we are! He's leading me thru stuff! As we were pulling out of Home Depot, there was a break in the clouds on that cloudy day. I saw some blue.

"There you are!" I said.

A Note From Tom: October 5th, 2012

Hey, everyone!

Hope you're having an awesome day, full of cool stuff happening! And even if you don't have those, you can have a day full of thanks, anyway! I was just reading this morning in 1 Thessalonians 5, where the Apostle wrote, "In everything give thanks!"…Maybe not "FOR everything" but at least "IN everything" that happens, there are tons of reasons to be thankful! 

F'r instance…tonight the Braves might not win the National League wild card game ( tho' they might!) but at least we can be thankful they made it into the post-season!

There are millions of reasons to be thankful…if you're looking for them!

I was listening to this guy on the radio talk about how he has 4300 baseballs at home that he's collected from Major League baseball stadiums! They aren't all foul balls he's caught (he only has 124 of those) or home run balls he's snagged (he only has 11 of them)…Some are balls he's caught during batting practice before the games…Some are balls umps have tossed to him as they leave the field…Some are balls players have thrown to him as they're warming up in the outfield (it helps to know some Spanish and Japanese phrases, he tells us!)…But he does have Barry Bonds' home run ball #724, and the last home run ball hit out of Shea Stadium, and two of the last ten hit out of old Yankee Stadium!

How does he get so many? What's his secret? It's simple!

When he leaves the game, he wants to take a baseball home!

He's a brother collecting baseballs!

That's why he's the only dude over twelve who still brings his glove to the game! That's why he buys tickets for aisle seats! That's why he sits in the rain in the center field bleachers instead of under the over hang like the "fake fans", as he calls 'em! That's why he doesn't care all that much if his favorite Mets are losing all season!…"The more losses, the less fans at the park! And the more balls for me!"

If he was collecting plastic drink cups like kids do at Neyland, he'd have a bunch at the end of the game… If he was collecting programs folks leave lying around, he'd have thousands at home…But who wants those!? He wants baseballs! That's why he has so many!

What's all that got to do with you and me? Well,…

If I want reasons to complain, these are supereasy to find! If I'm planning to gripe all day, things to grump about come and find me! But 1 Thes 5.18 says those aren't what God wants for me! Check this!…

"Give thanks in all circumstances for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus!"

It's our Lord's will for us to give thanks! If I'm going to give some, I have to find some! So, I'm going to go around looking for reasons to be thankful!

Ed Dobson is a former pastor who is suffering from…actually he would say he's dying from…Lou Gehrigs Disease. It is a fatal, incurable degenerative disease where, one by one, your muscles fail to work. He has millions of reasons to not only complain, but to despair. But as his muscles gradually become weaker and weaker, he has learned that if his heart isn't filled with thanks, it will get weaker too. Like his body, without thanks, his soul will quit! And he can't let it happen! 

He learned the secret of heart health one day at home…

He knew he needed to find reasons to thank God in a difficult and potentially dark situation. He was in his bedroom at the time. So he just started there! Jesus said to go in your closet…So he did! And he thanked God! For his ties…for each one…one by one…And then his pants…each pair…and his shirts…each one! One by one! He moved out of the dark closet…Things were brightening up! He opened his drawers! He began to thank God for his drawers! I mean, his under drawers! I mean, his underwear! Each pair! His socks! Each pair! In fact, each one! And in just a few precious minutes, his heart was filled with thanks! And when your heart is jammed packed with thanks, it miraculously makes room for other things! Like joy! Like peace! Like praise! 

Now Ed says every day, as he gets weaker and weaker, in giving thanks, he's getting stronger! He starts each day with…

"Thank You, Lord that I woke up today!

Thank You, Lord that I can walk to the bathroom!

Thank You, Lord that I can still use the bathroom by myself!

Thank You, Lord that I can still brush my teeth!

Thank You, Lord that I can still eat breakfast by myself! My right hand doesn't work, but my left still does!

Thank You, Lord that I can still dress…still walk…still talk!

Thank You, Lord!"

One of my favorite writers says, "Looking for reasons to be thankful, instead of focusing on worries or fears, is like looking putting on a new pair of glasses. Life looks different through the lens of thanks."

Tina and I are pumped for tonight! Hopefully the Braves will beat the Cards! 

We can't wait to hear this…

"Here's the pitch…(WHACK!!)…It's a high fly ball to center! It's going!…GOING!…It's GONE"

I wonder who's gonna find the ball and take it home?

A Note From Tom: September 28th, 2012

Hey, everyone!

Hope you're having an awesome day! But, hey! All things being equal, maybe a lot of that is up to you! God loves you! He's promised tons of stuff! If you not having any disasters going on…if you're world isn't presently coming apart…maybe you just need to loosen up a little! 

Did you know that in any given major league baseball regular season, all the teams together use 157,950 baseballs?! That's 65 per game! One writer estimates that they use closer to 196,800! I don't think this even includes the balls they hit in the bleachers for warm ups. One of the reasons is that they're super generous with 'em! If a player hits a line drive foul, the ball boy or girl picks the ball up and throws it in the stands. If an outfielder catches a fly in center, he'll toss it to a lucky fan! It's just a ball! But it's a lifelong memory!

One sport writer guy noticed that the National Football League is super stingy with footballs. They use an average of 12,046 per season. But it's not like they let 'em fly into the stands! They put up a net on extra points and field goals to catch 'em! "We can't just be letting fans think they can catch one and take it home!" 

Why not!? 

Loosen up! 

Let 'em fly! 

Give a fan a smile!

Give a kid a memory!

Sure they cost a little more than baseballs ($56 to $12), but Major League Baseball sends almost a quarter million smiles home per year!

So, I say to anyone in the NFL that might read this…Why not take down those end zone nets!

Take down the nets!

Take down the nets!

TAKE DOWN THE NETS!

TAKE DOWN THE NETS!

(C'mon! All together!)

TAKE DOWN THE NETS!!

TAKE DOWN THE NETS!!

Opps.

Sorry. Got a little carried away…

Uh…as I was saying…(What WAS I saying?…Oh, yeah…)

Sometimes, it's good to just loosen up. Don't make a big deal over things that don't really matter! Laugh more. Criticize less. Does the thing that really bugs you, really matter?

Really?

I remember when I was a kid, there were lots of rules for the table. I never understood most of them. With our kids, we didn't have them. Rules like…

"Don't put your elbows on the table." 

"No singing at the table."

"You have to at least try everything."

I remember a lot of crying and some gagging when I was a kid, but not much singing.

Then I read John 13.25 where John "leaned back against Jesus' breast". Scholars say this is because they ate on couches, leaning to one side. If their elbows weren't on the table, they almost were! And they sure weren't "sitting up straight"! 

In Mark 14.26 at that table, they "sang a hymn". Gasp! Jesus called them, "My children" (John 13:33) and He let His kids sing at the table!

And as far as having to eat everything, Paul says, "The one who eats everything must not look down on him who does not...for God has accepted him… I am fully convinced that no food is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean…. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit!" (Romans 14)

If your kids don't like stuff, it's OK! If you don't stress about things that really don't matter, you may find that the Kingdom of God, with all it's joy and laughter, might just break out at your dinner table!

And remember…

TAKE DOWN THE NETS!

A Note From Tom: September 21st, 2012

Hey, everyone!

Hope you're having an amazing week! Well…maybe it'd be better to say, "I'm so thankful you're having an amazing week!" Because even if you're having a really cruddy, yucky, problem-filled, fun-deprived one, just think!   God, Who is immensely smarter and wiser than all of us put together, knows exactly what is happening to you! And He is using this very week and all of the events and moments in it, to make you more and more like Jesus!

I love those verses where the Apostle says, " Y'know those things that are changing in you? I hope and pray for more and more!" For the Philippians, he asks that their love would grow "more and more"…He asked that the believers in Jesus at Thessalonica would want to please God…and not just please Him, but please Him "more and more"! And love folks "more and more"…and have faith…but "more and more"!

"More and more!"

If God is squeezing out every moment of your week to make you like Jesus "more and more", than it must mean that this week and all it's joys, laughs, groans, and tears are working to make you…
…kind
…sweet
…gentle
…humble
…courageous
…lowly of heart
…servant-like
…trusting
…loving
…meek
…self-denying
…self-giving
…and caring.

And "more and more" of all of those!

If all that's been happening, wow! This has been an amazing week, so far!

I can't wait 'til next week!

Y'know, I started helping and volunteering at the Morgan County penitentiary on Wednesday afternoons and that's been a little tougher than I anticipated! It's like the Anderson County jail environment, but "more and more"!

When you go through all the security checks, then you walk way to the back along a sidewalk. I'm not sure how far it is, but it feels like about a quarter to a third of a mile. I try to bring some sunshine and greet guys along the way, but some of them aren't super cheerful! I waved at some guys in another yard last week and then remembered that a friend of mine who was in prison in Nashville told me that you have to be careful your wave is not misunderstood for some gang sign you didn't know about! Yikes! He did it once but he said that the guys knew he was just a country boy from East Tennessee who wasn't aware of the signals he was sending! I thought, "Surely they can tell I'm the biggest dork who ever walked this sidewalk and I'm just waving at dudes I don't know!"

I volunteered to teach a class on the Book of Romans and I really have a fantastic class of guys! It's super interesting, to say the least! I was asking myself on the ride home, "Why am I kinda drawn to stuff like this?"  I think it might be that if you want to be  a light in the world while you're here, the easiest way  is to find the darkest places you can. Paul wrote once, "You shine like stars". I guess stars shine all the time, but you see them best at night.

But another reason is that there's place in my heart where I love what C. S. Lewis called "fairy tales."  Y'know, the stories where a frog turns into a prince. The one where a peasant girl turns out to be a princess.  

C.S. Lewis, "Jack" to his friends, was an atheist who eventually accepted Jesus. And it all started one day when he bought a book of "fairie tales" (as the Brits spell it) by a lover of Jesus from Scotland, named George McDonald. It awakened in his mind the thought that the reason we love those stories is because every human heart is hoping for one! "Could I be living one? Could a nobody like me, be someone who matters? Could a beggar like me be a prince someday? Could a mess like me have a royal future ahead?"

And Jack heard Jesus say, "Yes!"

A child who has known only hurt and pain can be loved, healed, and crowned by the King!

A convict who has been filled with hate and wrong can be full of joy, love, thankfulness and light!

A heart filled with guilt and wrong can shine, forgiven and clean! Forever!

I've seen these tales come true! Maybe you are living one! I just love watching them happen!

When C. S. Lewis was dying of congestive heart failure, he grew weaker and weaker day by day. In his last days, he drifted in and out of consciousness and often was unaware of, or didn't recognize, friends who tried to comfort him. Near the end, a woman he'd known for years came  to see him one last time. She was warned he wouldn't recognize her. Her name was Maureen and she had had a difficult and miserable life. Until, one day, she heard unbelievable news! A royal baron had died. His name was Sir George Cospatrick Duff-Sutherland, Baron Dunbar of Hempriggs. He was childless. And it turned out that she was distantly related to him. Distantly, but closer than any living person!  She instantly became heiress to his estate and one of only four baronettes in English history!

She arrived at the hospital and found her friend's room. She quietly took his hand and whispered, "Jack, it's Maureen."

"Well, the Lady Dunbar of Hempriggs! How delightful!"

"Oh, Jack! How did you remember?"

"On the contrary," he answered. "How could I ever forget a fairie tale?"

Maybe you're having a tough week. But someday soon, we'll all live happily ever after!

A Note From Tom: September 14th, 2012

Hey, everyone!

Hope you're having an awesome, praise-filled, joy-packed, pre-thanksgiving Thanksgiving Day!

I know it's tough for some to really go ahead and let the thanks fly, because there are so many undecided, uncertain outcomes ahead of us…How do I know if I can be thankful and joy-filled before we know how it's all going to turn out? There are lots of things that have to be decided! It could go either way!

First, there's the Florida game. Can the Vols do this? There is a chance! We have beaten them twice in the last…ah…let's see…Yikes! Twice in the last ten years…

Then there's the weather. That's an undecided, too! If you're hoping for a sunny weekend, your chances are pretty good 'til Sunday. After that, there some real rain comin'…But when?! As they say, the weather's still "up in the air!"

And we're all watching to see if the Braves can hold on to their wild card lead! They start a series with the division leaders, the Nationals tonite…This could be HUGE!

Then there's the presidential election coming up. That's really undecided. They say it couldn't be closer.

That's news, sports and weather where things might not turn out how you want them to. How are you supposed to be thankful when you don't know if things will go your way?

And what if they aren't decided the way you hoped?

Waaaay back more than a century ago…1888, t'be exact…someone hypothesized how it would feel in mythological "Mudville, USA" if inevitable hopes faded and fell, unfulfilled. It takes great poetry to express the depths of feeling of unanticipated disappointment. The poet, Ernest Thayer, or "Phin" as they called him, called his magnum opus, "Casey At the Bat"

It's long but these are the highlights...

"The outlook wasn't brilliant for the Mudville Nine that day;
The score stood four to two, with but one inning more to play,
And then when Cooney died at first, and Barrows did the same,
A sickly silence fell upon the patrons of the game…"

Ok. So, we're in the bottom of the ninth, behind by two, with two outs. The possibility of the amazing, consistent Casey getting his chance to get to the plate and win the game, was dimming because he was following two mediocre guys who were probably going to be easy outs. We pick up the call…

"...But Flynn let drive a single, to the wonderment of all,
And Blake, the much despised, tore the cover off the ball;
And when the dust had lifted, and the men saw what had occurred,
There was Jimmy safe at second and Flynn a-hugging third…"

So, we've got runners on 2nd and 3rd, with two away and the winning run coming up to bat…Casey!!

"…Then from 5,000 throats and more there rose a lusty yell;
It rumbled through the valley, it rattled in the dell;
It knocked upon the mountain and recoiled upon the flat,
For Casey, mighty Casey, was advancing to the bat."

"There was ease in Casey's manner as he stepped into his place;
There was pride in Casey's bearing and a smile on Casey's face.
And when, responding to the cheers, he lightly doffed his hat,
No stranger in the crowd could doubt 'twas Casey at the bat…"

But C takes the first two pitches…just lets 'em go by… And they were both good pitches! Just not what he wanted! And suddenly it's 0 and 2! Two strikes and only one left! Time to get serious!

"...They saw his face grow stern and cold, they saw his muscles strain,
And they knew that Casey wouldn't let that ball go by again."

"The sneer is gone from Casey's lip, his teeth are clenched in hate;
He pounds with cruel violence his bat upon the plate.
And now the pitcher holds the ball, and now he lets it go,
And now the air is shattered by the force of Casey's blow."

"Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright;
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light,
And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout;
But there is no joy in Mudville — mighty Casey has struck out."

What?!

Casey struck out!?

Who would've dreamed…even in their nightmares…that this could have ever happened!?!

So, in Mudville…"no joy".

Hoooooolllllld oooon a second!!

It's just a ball game, for crying out loud!

No joy!? Really?!

Sure, there are a lot of undecided questions. Will we win or lose? Will we be wet or dry? But I can still have JOY no matter how it turns out! Because some things HAVE been decided!

Just this morning, I was reading in Paul's letter to the Ephesians. And he tells us that in the things that matter, there have been decisions made! Some very important things are already decided!

No matter what, God had already decided that He would love us! "…When we were still dead in our sins…Before the world was even formed…" (Ephesians 1:4 and 2:4)
So, no matter what happens, it isn't because God doesn't love or care! Because that thing is settled! So…because He loves me…no matter what…if I get on base or strike out...I've decided to have joy!

And win or lose, rain or shine, when it doesn't go "my way", it isn't because "the devil's after me." Y'know how, when there's a problem or trouble…even a little one…folks sometimes say, "I think Satan's attacking us!" Well, that conflict has already been decided! When Jesus rose from the dead, He triumphed and is "seated…in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come!" (1:20-21) So…problem or no...rejoice!!

And, no matter what's still undecided, here's one decision that has been made! Having Jesus, you have all the power you need to make it in, and through, anything! In Ephesians 1:19-20, Paul asked God to help us see that the power of God in you is so immense because it's the power of the Holy Spirit Who raised our Lord!  You have this power!  He decided long ago that it's yours! So, vote for "JOY For President" of your heart!

There's a verse that says, "Rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS!"

And you can!

Even if we lose!

Even if you were Casey!

Even if it rains!

Just think about it. If it wasn't for the rain, why else would they call it "Mudville"?

But, I'm deciding that because of the things that have been decided, there CAN be joy in that muddy little town!!

A Note From Tom: September 7th, 2012

Hey, everyone!

Hope you're having an awesome day now that, let's all admit it…IT'S FOOTBALL TIME IN TENNESSEE!! This is, sports fan-wise, one of the coolest seasons of the year! Baseball play-offs are almost here…and the Braves are in a great wild card position!…college football's kicked-off…and now the NFL! It almost reminds me of the verse in Ecclesiastes 3…"There is a season for everything under heaven. A time to punt and a time to bunt! A time for end runs and a time for home runs!  A time to pitch out and a time to pinch hit! A time to…

"That's enough."

Oh. Sorry.

Y'know, the NFL is having a rough start because the regular refs are on strike. They're having to use "sub umps"! I was listening to a radio report on the situation, and some of the calls on the field by the newbie refs were a little…ah…weird.

One ref made this call…"The first…uh… the first down chains were not set prior to the snap, so we shut the play down prior to the snap itself…"

I guess.

In one game, they spotted two footballs on the field on two different yard lines.

Some of the replacements are high school refs. One was even a ref in the Lingerie Football League! When he "throws laundry", I hope it's not anything embarrassing!

We can't blame them tho'! They not used to making judgement calls at that level. I'd hate to try it! In fact, it's really not a good idea to blow your whistle, throw your flag, yellow card anyone, or make judgement calls on…anyone! I love these Scriptures! Check this…

" I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court. I don’t even judge myself. I don’t feel I have done anything wrong. But that doesn’t mean I’m not guilty. The Lord judges me.
So don’t judge anything before the appointed time. Wait until the Lord returns. He will bring to light what is hidden in the dark. He will show the real reasons why people do what they do. At that time each person will receive praise from God!" (1 Corinthians 4:3-5)

I'm so thankful I don't have estimate, evaluate or criticate anyone's contribution to the Kingdom! I'm not good at it. So often, when you don't understand why someone does or says what they do, there is so much you may not know. Struggles they're going through, hurts they carry, pressures they feel. As the Apostle says in 1 Corinthian 13, his amazing chapter on love, "we know in part." It's easy to love a stumbling or troubling person when you remember, "I only know in part. There may be something going on I just don't see."  

I remember once when I was in seminary…

Chuck Swindoll, one of my favorite pastors came to our school to speak to us kids for a week. He told us of a time when he was preaching at a week-long conference. A couple sat on the front row every day, and as soon as Chuck got into his subject, the husband was asleep! Gone! Snoring even! Checked out! Snoozefest! Every time! The brother slept through every talk! After a while, Chuck started to look down and think, "Really, dude? You can't stay awake for one of these?! Why don't you just stay home? Come here and sleep through my message! I mean, dang! It's just rude!"

The last day of the conference, the wife stayed after to speak to Chuck. "Pastor Swindoll, I'd like to apologized for my husband's sleeping during your messages…"

"Wow. How many times has she had to make excuses for that loser?" he thought.

She continued, "But he has a brain tumor and is on really strong medication. He has about a month left to live, his doctors say. He has always loved you, and you were the last pastor he really wanted to hear before he goes home to be with the Lord."

Gulp!

So, when the "subs umps" blow a call this Sunday, let's give 'em slack. I wouldn't want the job of making the calls, blowing the whistle, throwing the flag!

In fact, I don't want it!

I don't know enough!

I only know in part!

A Note From Tom: August 31st, 2012

Hey everyone!

Hope you're having an awesome day and I hope it's sunny in your heart, because I'm really sorry, but it's supposed to be a rainy Labor Day weekend!…

Wait a sec. I think I need to rephrase that.

I was reading back over those first lines and somehow I said "I'm really sorry" and "it's supposed to be a rainy weekend".

Wow! That was a slip-up! I mean, it's too bad in some ways that the weather won't be great, but I'm not sorry about it! When you tell someone you're sorry for something, you're taking the blame and assuming responsibility for a situation and for things that went wrong with it. You're saying "It's my fault. I'm sorry."

So, I'm NOT sorry that the weather may be yucky in the days ahead!
It was not my decision!
I'm not responsible for it!
It's not my fault! And so…
I'm NOT sorry!

Y'know, it's a super important life skill to know how to apologize, ask forgiveness, and say, "I'm sorry. Please forgive me." You need to learn "early and often" how to do it quickly, clearly, and directly! But…

It's also super important to know when you're NOT wrong, guilty, or at fault! It's super important to know when you're NOT sorry!

You may not be aware of this but, as far as guilt and blame go, the instant you opened your heart to Jesus, you were declared absolutely, positively, eternally, totally, juridically, thoroughly, constantly, consistently, hygenically, spiritually, legally, retroactively and forever-ly NOT GUILTY! More than not guilty and forgiven, you were justified ("pronounced once and for all, righteous!!!") because of what Jesus did for you! I bet if we all believed this as much as it is actually true, we'd all be joyfully "jumping for joy", always bright n' sunny, maybe even a little nutty! People across the globe would be asking, "What do those people have that gives them so much joy!? I want it!!"

To keep this from happening…and to keep Christians under control…there is an Enemy who wants you to feel guilty, dirty, blamed for things that aren't even your fault! He can't really do it by putting your picture in those little papers they sell in the 7/11's of all the folks locked up in the slammer that week (What's the deal with those, anyway?) He has to be more subtle than that. Sometimes he uses "church folk". It's an old trick. He tries to make you feel guilty for things you didn't do …or for things that aren't even wrong!

There have been some "church folk" from up in Scott Co. or somewhere, coming into the Anderson Co. Jail, into OUR unit, telling OUR guys that there's only one real, "authorized" translation of the Bible (canst thou guesseth which one they meaneth?) and if you read any other, they say it's sinful! Guys ask us, "I'm reading the Living Bible and I finally understand it! What's wrong with that?!" Really! What could possibly be wrong with that? Those guys have tons of problems, but reading a Bible they understand is NOT one of them! They need to say, "Hey! I like this modern-day, normal language Bible. And I am NOT sorry!"

One day somewhere, I saw one of those church marque signs that said, "Is your time with God well-spent?"

I thought, "Wow. Many who drive by that don't spend time with God ever because they don't know Jesus at all. Many who believe in Him don't spend time with Him because they don't need or want to. But I bet someone who is having a hard time got up before the sun to be with the One he or she loves and needs. And even if they fell asleep in the middle because it was such a sacrifice to get up so early  to be with Him…and even if their Bible has drool stains on it from where their face landed and stuck as they nodded off while telling their troubles to Him…even then, the Father loved that time so much because a heart was looking for His! And He rejoiced over His child "with singing and delight", the prophets say! Being with Him…even trying to be with Him…is the most beautiful and beautifying thing about them!

But someone wants to know, "Sure. But was it good enough?"

Wow.

Thanks…for nothin'.

Why would anyone want to make someone feel guilty about the best part of themselves?

I wondered if someone who had just spent time alone with Jesus…someone who is trying to take care of her kids on her own because she's alone…or maybe someone who just heard news he didn't expect about his job or his health…wished they could say to the sign guy, "Hey! My time with God is not an Olympic Games I'm competing in! It's not a test I'm taking! It's sure not a grade you're giving me! It's a relationship of love that I am…and that He is…enjoying! I spent time with God this morning. And I am NOT sorry!"

There are plenty of times when I have to say, quickly, clearly, directly, "I'm sorry. Will you please forgive me?" I heard a beautiful but chilling song the other morning. It's by Sara Groves. It's called, "Roll To the Middle"...

"We just had a World War III here in our kitchen
We both thought the meanest things.
And then we both said them
We shot at each other till we lost amunition

This is how I know our love
This is when I feel it's power
Here in the absence of it.
This is my darkest hour…

All the complicated wars
They end pretty simple
Here when the lights go down
We roll to the middle

No matter how my pride resists
No matter how this wall feels true
No matter how I can't be sure
That you're gonna roll in too
No matter what, no matter what
I'm going to reach for you…"

Saying, "I'm sorry. Will you forgive me?" It's how you "roll to the middle." You need to know how to do it.

On the other hand, and at other times…

I know I'm clean!
I know I'm loved!
I know I'm His!

And if I laugh a lot, and maybe more than someone feels is appropriate, at things that are really funny because God has filled my heart with joy…
I'm NOT sorry!

And if I eat stuff that "God has giving me richly to enjoy" (1 Timothy 6.17) tho' some might think is not sugar-free enough, or not meat-less enough, or not whole-wheat enough…
I'm NOT sorry!

And this weekend, if it rains all weekend, I may be wet, but…
I'm NOT sorry!

A Note From Tom: August 24th, 2012

Hey, everyone!

Hope you’re having an awesome day!  And if you’re not…
if it’s just a tough one…
if you’re struggling to get through it…
if you feel weighed down with more than you can deal with…
why not stop right now, right where you are, and take these simple steps…

Step 1) Take a deep breath…

Step 2) Read these words: “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you!!” (1 Pet 5.6-7)

Step 3) Read them again…

Step 4) And again…

Step 5) One more time…with feeling!

Step 6) Try to figure out specifically what it is that is weighing on you, bothering you, worrying you…

Step 7) Do what Peter says! Cast that trouble, anxiety, bother, problem, whatever… on Him! (verse 7 of 1 Pet 5) “Cast” is the same word translated “throw upon” in Luke 19.35…When Jesus was almost to Jerusalem, and got ready to ride a donkey into town, ”they threw their cloaks on the colt”…

Whatever is bothering you…throw it on Him! Say to Him, “Here it is. I don’t know what to do about it. I can’t solve it, resolve it, fix it, or make it go away. I’m giving this problem to You. You take it!”

Seven easy steps to a more awesomer (“awesomer”?) day! Aren’t you glad you get your weekly Triple C email?

While we’re on the subject…

This dude was reading a book on praying and the author said that you shouldn’t pray about trivial things like parking places, as in, “God, give me a parking space.”

He shared this author's thoughts about "trivial prayers" for things like needing a parking place with his mom. She had raised five kids, and then went to be a missionary in the slums of Uganda and Dublin, and at 82, was living in London, reaching out to South Asian women, still a full-time missionary.

Her answer?

“How you supposed to find a parking place?”

A Note From Tom: August 17th, 2012

Hey, everyone!

Hope you're having an awesome day and,even tho' the torch is out,  I hope the Olympic fever is still encouraging you to just "go for the gold" today! When you stand on the podium and hear…

Wait a minute.

I need to start over.

I'm not so sure that "Go for the Gold", "Be Numero Uno!", "Be the best in the world at what you do!" way of thinking is any way to have an awesome day!

It could be a really quick way to give yourself a yucky day!

I noticed this while watching the gymnastics from London.  They are so amazing, unbelievable, graceful…

Until they're not!

One of ours was going to do the "run-down-the-runway-jump-on-the-jumping-board-do-a-handspring-upsidedown-off-the-cushiony-thing-flip-a-bunch-of-times-twist-also-and-land-bam!-right-on-her-feet" event. The dude who did the commentating said that she was without a doubt the best on earth at this. Even tho' she was like fifteen, she ruled the gymnastics world in this feat.

So, here it is!

We're tense but pumped to witness this amazing moment.

She breathes…

She runs…

She jumps on the jumping board!

She's upside down on the cushiony thing!

She's flying thru the air!

She's really flipping into a blur now!

She's coming in for her landing…

Bam!

And then another BAM!!

Opps.

Before the watching world, she had two landings. One was kinda on her feet. The second was when she landed (with feet almost over her head) on her…I better not say the word, but it rhymes with the last word in the phrase, "Yes, dear, but…"

So, what happened?

Well, f'r one thang…

She was trying to do something really difficult and incredibly graceful in front of the watching world. And, as I said, it was. Until it wasn't!

And when it wasn't, it REALLY wasn't!

And also, the TV guy wasn't the only one saying she was the best in the world. Everyone thought the gold was already hers. It's almost like if you don't win first place…if you're the second best on earth…you're a loser!

That's pressure! It makes you want to just sit down and not try! Or in her case, go ahead and try, but sit down anyway! BAM!

We just got back from an amazing trip to Chicago with our high school and college team! They so totally rocked it!! Reaching out to men and women who are learning to walk with Jesus after a life of gangs, drugs, and prison…How our folks know how to love and serve!!

And, WOW! Did Lee bring the praise! They LOVE singing, a couple of times a year, the songs we get to sing to the Lord every week!

But I had to give one of the three ten-minute talks. They have three pastors each week give a brief talk on the same subject, a question submitted by one of the men or women being helped by the Bridge ministry. Usually, it's about the struggles of living a new life when they've only known the old one.

And for us, it can feel a little "Olympic-y"

Three pastors. Usually, they're inner-city pastors. Usually they're really preachers! And you (I!) begin to wonder how you'll do, compared to them.  Will you get some "Amen!"s and "Halleluyah!"s? What will I score on the Amen-o-meter?

And then the question is whispered in your ear…"Tonite…of you three…Who's gonna win?"

Win?! At what? Sharing the love of Jesus? This isn't a race! And as soon as you begin to think, "If anyone could win the gold medal tonite, I can"…That's when you're likely to wind up on YOUR can!

So, after I'd prepared my thoughts and gotten it down in my heart, and was almost ready to get up in front of everyone,  I remembered something I try to remember every day.

My goal isn't winning anything. My goal is simply to please the heart of my King.

I wanted to encourage those courageous men and women. I wanted to do my job well. I wanted to help them go home with joy in their hearts. But He is the only one I need to please! I don't need to win a medal! I just want to win His smile!

Every day I try to remember some simple things…
My time is today (this is the only day I need to think about)
My fight is for joy…
My strength is weakness…
My job is to serve everyone…
But my only goal is to please Him…

I love how our athletes with their gold medals watch tearfully as our star spangled anthem is played!

But when it's all over, I'd rather have a gold crown given by my Savior, instead of a gold medal given by some judge.

And I'd rather hear, "Well done!"

A Note From Tom: August 10th, 2012

Hey everyone!

Hope your having an awesome day! You might be planning on catching some Olympics today. I read that 40% of all Americans watch some Olympics at work while they're supposed to be working, so…
if you're a member of the "Sporty Forty" here's what's ahead for your day…
If fencing is your thing, men's team sabre semifinals are coming up…
Then there's men's quadruple skulking finals in rowing…
If you're into cycling, check out the women's BMX semifinals…(That's not cycling, really…)
Wrestling?…mens 55k and 74k finals…(Let's see…what's 2.2 lbs X 74?)
Then it's team free routine in synchronized swimming…women's team...obviously

By the way, you know the feeling when you watch stuff like synchronized swimming and you say to yourself, "Well, dang! I could do THAT!"

Hold your noseplug a second!

Here's the truth about Synchronized swimmers. They practice more than any other sport! Paddling, twirling, puffing, kickin' n' grinnin', six days a week, eight to ten hours a day! Talk about prune-y fingers!

Synchronized swimmers regularly are under water for a whole minute at a time and are holding their breath three out of the four minutes of their routine! They can swim 75 yards under water! And hold their breath for three minutes!! Try that at home! In fact, let's try it right now!

I'll keep the time. Ready? One…two…three…GO! uuuuuhhhhh…. …..pff ….. ppff… …pssss….. …ppffffsss…..HHHHUUUUUU!!! Seventeen seconds!

Whoa. Harder than it looks.

When they do the famous "stack lift" move, the "pushers" lift the" flyer" completely out of the water without touching the bottom (of the pool!). And a "throw" is where they send her flying through the air, all while just kicking their feet under water!

Dang! I don't think I really could do that!

Like being all opinionated about swimming synchronized, I found that sometimes it's easy to be all "brave and bold" when I'm talking about a situation that I'm never gonna actually find myself in. Sunday's the men's marathon…26.2 miles thru the streets of jolly ol' London. Our guy, Ryan Hall has a chance, but if he asked me, I'd tell him,  "I think I would try to take the biggest lead early and run away from everyone. Skip the first two water stops. Get way ahead instead of getting caught at the end". Then I realized…I'm all bold and brave about my opinion in situations I'll never be in! I mean, I've run a few of those marathons. But those dudes will finish one hour and a half before I ever have!  if I was in that race, they would have had a shower, heard the national anthems,and taken a nap before I crossed the finish line! Frankly, it's easy to have a big, bold opinion about a situation I'll never actually experience

Its easy to have an opinion about the dorkiness of synchronized swimming 'til I realize I couldn't do it for 30 seconds no matter how many nose clips I was wearing!

The other day I read an amazing and shocking declaration the Apostle Paul made in his letter to the Romans. It was a super "brave and bold" statement! I don't mean to be critical of the awesome apostle but he was talking about a situation he'd never find himself in!

He was taking about people who didn't know Jesus, and he said (listen to this!),  "I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of them" (Romans 9.3)

Wow! That is bold! And brave! "I wish I could be cursed so they could go to heaven! I wish I could be separated from the love of Jesus if it would help them know Him!"

Only thing…brave and bold, but…That's a situation he was never gonna find himself in! That scenario would NEVER come true! "I wish I could be separated from Jesus and His love if it would help them!"

Ain't gonna happen!!

We could NEVER be cursed, even if we were willing to take it for someone! We've already been blessed with every spiritual blessing  instead from before the foundation of the world (Eph 1.3)! It's a done deal!


Cut off from Christ?
What?!
Even if he was willing…
even if he wanted it…
even if he somehow wanted Jesus to leave him alone…
no matter how much he might want it…
Paul himself had written that "NOTHING can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord!" (Rom 8.39)

We're His very own!
He's promised to be with us always!
He has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Heb 13.5)

Wow!

Just knowing that…it kinda makes you feel bold and brave!