An Official Announcement

Hey, everyone!

Hope y’all are having an awesome, praise-filled day!!

Wow! I just realized something! 

I’ve been typing out these Friday Triple C email-bloggy things for a long time! 

Almost 18 years!

(And I only use two fingers! 

I type in the biblical way…

My left hand doesn’t know what my right hand is doing!)

Usually they’re about two pages on my iPad at 11 font which means if you compiled them all in a book, it’d be 1800 pages long! 

I think I found the first of these Friday emails I ever did…

It’s from July 7, 2007…Wanna read it? It’s pretty short!

“Hey, everyone!

Hope you're having an awesome, praise-filled day! …

(Wow! I never realized I started my very first one that way!)

As a matter of fact, if you're not having one of those kind of days, why not turn things around right now and make it one? Take a sec and write down four things you're thankful for. Step two: thank God for them and for being so good to you!   Step three: Well...Don't worry about Step three 'cause Step one and two are all it takes!

That was easy! And praising God makes you feel good inside!

It sure works better, encouragement-wise, than the new encouragement machine they put up in Washington, D.C. They call it the "Compliment Machine". It's a red and white box with an iPod Nano inside that has 100 compliments recorded on it. When the machine senses a person walking by on the sidewalk, it shouts out a randomly selected compliment, such as, "You have nice eyes." or, "People are drawn to your positive energy." 

The iPod is taken in at night so it doesn't get stolen. Apparently, not everyone's energy is all that positive! 

I'm not sure how much it really means to get a compliment from a machine-in-a-box that just picks 'em out by chance and all you have to do to get one is to walk close enough to it. What if you're walking the dog and it says, "You seem like a good friend", or "Hey, good-lookin'!" and you don't know which of the two of you it's talking about… Or "You always make our load seem lighter!" when a pick pocket strolls by…

Y'all were getting some compliments the other day, and you didn't even know it. Someone called up at CCC Tuesday with some specific and very insightful questions about the church because they are thinking of visiting. It's always so impressive when you get biblically precise theological questions from those who want to know more about a church they are checking out. She didn't really ask, but I just kinda blurted out this unsolicited information…"I just want you to know that CCC has some of the sweetest people I've ever known and I love my church family!"  If you're looking for a church to commit to, I think that is some vital info you should put into your calculations! 

"Thanks for being the way you are!"…That's not a random compliment from a box on the corner. It's from someone who means it…and who "talks you up" to people I've never met!”

Looking back over all those blogs, I realized that my pattern was kind of consistent…

1. Try to get a smile, or even a chuckle at the beginning.

2. Try to make you wonder, “What on earth is he talking about??”

And…

3) Share a Scripture or a thought from them to encourage your heart for the day.

It’s kinda the way I’d do messages I’d give when I was one of the pastors at Triple C…

Someone once told a visitor, “If you haven’t heard our pastor’s sermons, it’s like he releases five rabbits at the beginning and we try to see if he catches them all before the end.”

Now that I’m retired, I realized my Friday emails is the only pastoral responsibility I haven’t quit!

And I’m feeling from the Lord, it’s time.

Thanks for reading these all those years!!

Even though I’m not officially a pastor anymore, I’m as busy as ever!

I’m having a full and wonderful semester for my class at Morgan County Correctional Facility!

I’m helping and serving refugees and immigrants that God’s Word tells us (LOADS of times!) to love…

I’m learning about helping folks in recovery…

My Spanish (that I’m speaking a lot of!) is getting better…

And along with ministry trips to Germany, Italy, the Rockies, and British Columbia since the fall..,

(And next week, I’m going to Madison, Wisconsin for the first time!)

I kinda feel like I’m getting to be a missionary again!

(Even tho’ I’m trying to cram it all into Monday thru Wednesday! Gotta have fun too!)

John Wesley rode 250,000 miles around England on a horse telling everyone about Jesus and I love his life’s guiding thought:

“Do all the good you can…

by all the means you can…

in all the ways you can…

in all the places you can…

at all the times you can…

to all the people you can…

as long as ever you can!”

And he sure did!!

I have this song I love that comes from the sweetest movie I know about a British boarding school for boys in the 1920’s, 30’s, and 40’s and a nerdy professor there named Professor Chippings…

The song is their school song…

“In the morning of my life I shall look to the sunrise

At the moment of my life when the world is new

And the blessing I shall ask is that God will grant me

To be brave and strong and true

And to fill the world with love my whole life through!

And to fill the world with love

And to fill the world with love

And to full the world with love

My whole life through!

In the noontime of my life I shall look to the sunshine

At a moment of my life when the sky is blue

And the blessing I shall ask will remain unchanging.

To be brave and strong and true

And to fill the world with love my whole life through!

In the evening of my life I shall look to the sunset

At the moment of my life when the night is due

And the question I shall ask only God can answer…

Was I brave and strong and true?

Did I fill the world with love my whole life through?

Did I fill the world with love?

Did I fill the world with love?

Did I fill the world with love

My whole life through!”

With a Savior so sweet…

and the hurting so many…

and the needs so great…

and our life flying by…

When our time is done…

to the extent that we could…

won’t we all hope we did?

Thanks again for reading these!!

Love y’all so much!!! 

Opening Day

Hey, everyone!

As I’m writing this on Thursday, I just want to wish you…

Happy Holiday!!!

Yes!! It’s here!

Opening Day!

“Opening what!?”

Well, Opening Day of the 2025 Major League Baseball season!

Our Atlanta Braves are looking good with Ronald Acuña and Spencer Strider back (maybe not today, but soon!) and predictions are that Matt Olson is the most likely to take the Padres starter deep for his first (of many!) homers of the year!

One presence that may soon become an absence at Truist Park (and all the stadiums!) in the not too distant future is the umpire behind the plate, surprisingly!

There was some experimentation with the digital “man in blue” in spring training. It’s that electronic strike zone they show on every pitch that does little more than let everyone know how far off the ump was on his call. But the ABS (“automated ball/strike”) system was used in spring training games when a batter, pitcher, or manager wanted to challenge the ump’s call. The pitch would be immediately shown on the Jumbotron and in a couple of seconds everyone would know if it was a ball or strike and if the ump was right or needed glasses!

Those reviews of plays and calls have really calmed the game down! Managers used to fly out of their dugouts…and off the handle!… to register their descent of a call at the plate or a fly ball on the line (or not)…

Now it’s all settled in slo-mo from seven angles. So, what’s the point of kicking dust and flying flicks of spit punctuating the untranslatable? 

That’s why there’s one baseball record that’ll never be broken!

Former Braves manager, Bobby Cox holds the record for the most ejections from games for “over-protesting” umpiring decisions…162!! 

Twice in World Series games! 

Once in a seventh game! 

Jeff Francoeur was ejected from his first game as a Brave. 

He was kinda upset so Bobby…

who was also “sent to the showers”…

told him to calm down but get ready for a $500 fine to show up in the mail. 

“Just pay it and move on! Or you can do what I do. I write ‘em a check for $20,000 and tell ‘em to let me know when I need to make a deposit!”

What if there was an umpire on life’s diamond who could eject folks from conversations ( sometimes it’s about politics or the news!) when their words become too “hot ‘n spicy”?

Or from verbal and/or gesticulor disagreements in traffic that go beyond acceptable levels?

Or an ump who could make the call when a chat session is about to become a gossip-fest and you need to know something said was a “foul, just outside the line”?

You do have an umpire ready to make the call!

In Colossians 3, Paul wrote that instead of deploying “anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language” (verse 9) in your convos, let your heart be full of “compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience!” (Verse 12)

And if you say something that shoulda stayed unsaid, how do you know?

Your umpire will make the call!

“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts…And be thankful!” (Colossians 3:15)

When Paul wrote this, he did it using the Greek language and the word he used for “rule” is the word “brabeuo”…which means…

”to arbitrate or to…umpire”!

“Let Jesus’s peace be your ump!!”

You know how, if you say some knucklehead thing, you immediately feel, “I wish I could take that back! Which I can’t! Yuck!”

Or…

“Did I just say something that hurt their feelings?”

Or…

“Was I trying to show-off how much I think I know, back there?”

And what you DON’T feel is…peace?!

On the other hand, you can just as easily have those moments when you have the opportunity to share with someone something super cool or beautiful that you can see God doing in them…

Or…

You give someone a call because God has put them on your heart and you find that the voice of someone thinking of them, was exactly what they needed that very moment…

Or…

You ask someone if you could pray for them and it’s just what they needed…

Or…

Someone tells you that you just said something that helped them more than you know and you didn’t even know it…

And it just feels…good ‘n sweet!

Whether you feel good or yucky about something you say, I think that’s the peace of Jesus…

Its presence…

Or its absence…

letting you know…

“That was low and outside”…

Or…

“That was a foul”…

Or…

“Safe! Safe at home!”

A few years ago, my friend Bill Paige came down to speak at our Monday evening Young Life banquet. We were thinking of what to do during the day and decided to go visit someone from Triple C in the hospital in Knoxville. We had a friendly chat with a woman at an information desk and after our visit, stopped to say “goodbye “. And suddenly, Bill said…

“Sally (not her real name ), God is telling me that I need to pray for you!”

“Really?!” She answered.

“Yes! Would that be ok?”

“Sure!”

So we bowed together and Bill prayed a beautiful prayer of blessing. When we opened our eyes, we saw that she had tears streaming down her face.

“I didn’t know how much I needed that!” she told us.

Bill had decided to stay over till Wednesday so he could go with me to my Tuesday afternoon class at Morgan County Correctional Facility. I gave him the whole time to share some Scriptures along with a million amazing (and often hilarious!) stories of God’s faithfulness in his life. When he finished, I told my guys the story of our trip to the hospital and our encounter with someone who needed prayer more than she knew.

One of my students raised his hand.

“Was she a middle aged African American woman named Sally?” he asked.

“Yes! How did you know?” I asked.

“She’s my aunt!”

The next week he told me that he had related to his mom on the phone that the guy who had been such a blessing to her sister had come the next day to be a blessing to him!

And I thought I had heard in my heart…

after Bill said “Amen” at the end of his prayer for Sally…

the peace of Jesus say…

“That was a HOOOOOME RUUUUUN!!!”

100% Bracket

Hey, everyone!

Can you believe it's here?! 

The daffodils are blooming! 

The sunshine warms the earth! 

This can only mean one thing!

March Madness!

You know it! The NCAA basketball tourney when we go from the Four Firsts to the Sixty Four Best to the Sixteen Even Better Than That ("Sweet!"), to the Four Almost the Most Best ("Finally!"), to the Best of the Best!

You know how folks fill out the bracket (it's kind of a flow chart of the schedule of all the games) to predict, game by game, who will beat the other and move on to play other winners 'til we make it to the championship game? 

Bet it was looking pretty good until yesterday afternoon!

(Where did McNeese come from?!)

I know we might feel confident that our guesses are pretty good but I read the other day that the chances of the average person getting a “perfect bracket”…

(when it's all said and done, you picked all the winners)…

are one in 9,223,372,036,854,775,808!)

And even for those who know something about the teams, making all the picks that wind up with a "perfect bracket" is one in 772 billion! 

Statistically, your chances of a perfect bracket are about the same as the chances of an NBA player making 414 consecutive free throw in a row! 

(The record is 97)…

Or the chances of a Major League baseball player hitting 17 homers in 17 consecutive “at bats”!

(That record is four!)

Or a PGA golfer sinking a “hole in one” on five consecutive holes!

Or the chances of me, back in my Triple C preaching days, preaching three consecutive sermons in 24 minutes or less! (That record is 0!)

If anyone thinks they could really come up with a perfect bracket with all the winners, that really is "March madness"!

One thing that I was wondering about…

Ever wondered why they rank the teams in "seeds"? 

They don't place the teams in “groupings”, “ranks”, or “preliminary heats”, but in "seeds" The least awesome teams (a "16th seed” or a “14th seed") play the best teams first (a “number 1 seed" or a "number 3 seed").

Why do they call them "seeds"? 

Sound like they're doing spring planting…

That's it! That's why they call it "seeding"! 

Turns out the best teams play the worst teams in the different regions at the beginning so that the better teams…

who will most likely win the first round games…

will meet each other later!

If the teams were seeds planted in the bracket, it would hopefully bloom 'n blossom into more exciting games later in the month as the winners emerge! 

Like seeds do! 

Get it?

It made me think…

Lately, I've been reading the Letter to the Galatians and one thing Paul says about our Lord Jesus is that He is the "Seed of Abraham"…Check this…

"The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. Scripture does not say 'and to seeds,' meaning many people, but 'and to your seed,' meaning one person, who is Christ…" (3:16)

Paul said God wasn’t telling Abraham about his many coming “seeds” 

(ie., “descendants “), but about one seed…Jesus!

Jesus is original “Number 1 seed”!

Later he says, " …But at just the right time, God sent his Son, born of a woman…" (4:4)

Hmmmm…..

It's almost like Jesus was sent from Heaven to earth…

God becoming a human baby…

and growing and living…

dying and rising…

"planted" at just the perfect moment in history…

so that in the end, He wins the victory over all! 

I remember hearing 'bout someone who was reading the Book of Revelation and a friend asked, "Wow! That's so complicated with all the visions and prophesies!! 

Do you know what it all means?"

"Sure! Jesus wins!"

As Corrie Ten Boom always reminded us, "Jesus is Victor!"

I'm not sure how this tournament is going to come out, but no matter what you're facing today, if you puts His Name down as your choice in every space available…

in other words…

that you choose to trust Him, no matter what…

that you choose to follow Him, no matter what…

and that you choose to praise Him, no matter what…

then, no matter what…

no matter what you’re going thru…

your chances at a perfect bracket are…

100%

Make Melody in your Heart

Hey, everyone!

Wow! What a moon! It was sooooo huge this morning!! 

I was out running…

just like everyday…

and now even at 7:00 am it’s still pretty dark and quiet!

And there are so many wonders to see!

A shooting star…

The morning star…

And this first full moon of spring! 

They call the first spring full moon, the “Goose Moon”…

the “Eagle Moon”…

or the “ Worm Moon”!

(That’s because the warming soil of spring encourages the earthworms to come up and out…

And the robins invite them to come inside for breakfast!)

But out there jogging alone in the quiet, I like to call the morning moon…a gift!

From Abba to me!

Running is so good for your heart! 

It lowers your blood pressure and your resting heart rate, and raises your good cholesterol and your mood!

There was a guy named Clarence DeMar who ran to work at his Boston print shop and back home at the end of the day, everyday…

(about 14 miles daily!)…

and in the years between 1911 and 1930, he won the Boston Marathon seven times!

And when he left this world, it wasn’t his heart that stopped his clock!

Two Boston cardiologists checked it out and found that the 70 year old left behind the ticker of a 17 year old!

But surprisingly, the healthiest runners, cardiologically speaking, are the slower ones! 

A BBC Science study showed that the heart-healthiest runners jog along at “conversational speed”, or no faster than slow enough to chat with someone!

(Consistently going faster than that for years can actually stress your heart!)

“Are you jogging right now??”, is a question I get a bunch!

Because I’m often talking to people on the phone while I’m out running my miles in the afternoon!

“How can you do that??” they ask.

It’s easy! 

Go slow!

“Slow enough to chat with you!”

But early in the morning…

when there aren’t many up yet who are in the mood to “conversate”…

I run slow enough to sing!

I put on one of my “Praise” playlists…

and sing along!! 

“…You were enough for me then!

You’ll be enough for me now!

And that’s enough to hope a little longer!

For impossible things!

You’ll do impossible things!…”

My neighbors would think I’m nuts if they were outside that early!

But tucked away in our quiet Oliver Springs “holler in the country”…

the “ox (or cows!) and ass” have been known to “before Him, bow”.

And I like to think they join me in praising our mutual King! 

Someone might be saying…

“I’d love to know how to begin my day without feeling just kinda blah, the way I often do.”

Well, to have a full heart may actually be easier than you might think. 

Turn with me to Ephesians chapter 5 and let’s read together beginning at verse 18…

“…be filled with the Spirit…”

(This really means, “be filled in your spirit…In other words, keep your spirit full!)

“How?”

Keep reading!

“Keep filled in the spirit…with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord!” (Ephesians 5:18-19)

Singing!

Singing praises to Him!

Early if you can!

In the morning, sing praises to Him Who made the springtime full moon for you!

When you jog slow enough to chat, it’s good for your one heart!

And when you run “the race set before you” (Hebrews 12:1)…

and you run it slow enough to sing…

to Him…

NOTHING could be better for your other…your inner…heart!

Help!

Hey, everyone!

What’s up, everybody?

Hope y’all are having an awesome start to your day! But…Yikes! It’s cold as all get out! I mean, gimme a break! It’s time to set the clocks up for spring and you still gotta defrost the windshield! Wow! It’s been a winter and a half! But if it was warm all the time, it’d be kinda lame, actually!

Maybe you’re like, “I’m totally with you on that!” 

Or you’re like, “I don’t see your point!…

In fact, I don’t even know what on earth you’re talking about!”

So…Lately I’ve been helping folks improve their English who didn’t grow up speaking our language…

And you know what?  There are loads of expressions that we use so often that can be confusing for them! And we might not even think about it!

For example, in that first paragraph, I wrote…

“What’s up?”

One resource that helps those from other countries learn slang and colloquial English, explains that “What’s up?” means that “…you’re not literally asking what is above the person you’re speaking to. You’re inquiring about what’s happening in their life or how they’re feeling at that moment.”

“But holy cow! Who would think it means you’re talking about what’s over head??”

Well, it’s just that we’ve heard it so much…

(Remember, “Eh, what’s up, doc?”)…

that we don’t think about what it sounds like for those who’ve never heard that expression before!

(BTW, “holy cow” also needs some explaining! And so does “BTW”!)

In just those first few lines, words or expressions I used that would be confusing for someone learning English as an adult are:

“y’all”

“yikes”

“…as all get out”

“I mean, gimme a break” (there are two slang phrases in that one!)

“gotta”

“…and a half” (as in, it’s been a winter “and a half”)

“kinda”

“lame”

“actually”

“Maybe you’re like…” (As in, “maybe you’re thinking…”)

“I’m with you” (as in, “I agree with you”)

“totally” (as in, “I’m totally with you”)

“I see your point “ (not talking about something sharp)

“…what on earth…” (not referring to anything found on the surface of our planet)

I mean, I even know some people who use the word, “Awesome!” a lot! 

And that might even need some explaining to an ELL (“English Language Learning” ) student!

Even tho’ “awesome” originally meant, “profoundly reverential” or “inspiring awe or even fear,” I think some just get in the habit of using it to mean “cool!” 

(Which is another word that might need some explaining!)

So there’s a place in Gospel of Mark where a guy was used to using a word that isn’t found a lot in the New Testament. It’s only used eight times and he used it 25% of them! He was from a place 25 miles north of Galilee and maybe they used it more there. It was an unusual way to say “Help!”

He had a huge problem!  His child had suffered a debilitating situation for years. 

When he found that Jesus was there, he ran to Him and shouted, “Help!”

“Lord…if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us!” (Mark 9:22)

Actually, the Greek word he used for “help”…

(which seemed to be a favorite of his)…

the word “boētheo”…

comes from two words crunched together…

the word “run” and the word “shout”!

That’s just what he did! He ran and shouted!

It kinda means “Run to my rescue!”

So, what he was really trying to say with his word, was, “Lord, if You can…rescue us!”

And Jesus answered, “What?? What’s this ‘If You can??’ All things are possible to the one who believes!” (Mark 9:23)

Jesus can do anything for those who believe!

And then our friend realized where his emergency really was! 

It was in his heart!

So he used his word again!

“Lord, I do believe (some!)…Help my unbelief!” 

(Mark 9:24…the same word, just two verses apart!)

In other words, “I’m shouting! Run and rescue me from the places in my heart where it’s tough for me to believe in You! From the thoughts I have that don’t believe in You so much!”

“Hurry! Help! I need you to help my family! But just as much, I need you to run and help ME!Come help ME!

Help ME to believe…in THEE!!”

When you feel like you wish you believed in Jesus more…

in a moment when you need to…

in a moment when you need Him…

in a wait that won’t abate…

Ask Him to help you believe in Him more!

You’ll find that in the asking…

because you’re running to HIM…

and asking HIM…

..;you do!

Now that IS awesome!

In my opinion

Hey, everyone!

 What an AWESOME day in East Tennessee! 

What an awesome time of the year!

It’s almost time for March Madness! 

We Vols may be a historic one seed

Baseball’s getting ready to start!

We’re getting a new stadium for the Smokies to play!

Sports-wise, in my opinion, it just seems like the best time of year in some ways!

Not that I need to be sharing my opinion everywhere.

But you know what?! Now that I’m retired, maybe I should just get a little more free to share that opinion of mine and tell y’all what I think!

And usually…

when it comes to my opinions…

I think I’m right about ‘em!

Normally on these Friday Triple C emails I try to avoid sharing my personal views about things…

But somehow…and maybe it’s the gorgeous day itself… 

I just feel...

opinionated!

So here go some things I’ve been wanting to say for quite some time...

In my opinion, I believe that college basketball refs may get more grief from opposing coaches than in any other sport! They’re just closer and more “yell-at-able” than other umps and refs! Bless their hearts! They take it so well!

And I think I’m right about that!

Here’s another opinion I have...

Baseball coaches (called “managers”) wear the uniform of their players during the game for some reason. But if basketball coaches did it, it would look dumb!

And I think I’m right about that!

And in my opinion, when you give a cashier your money and you hold out your hand for the change…

when they put the receipt first, than the bills, then the change on top of that…

and you’re standing there with a receipt with money piled on it…

I think they’ve created a problem for you unnecessarily. 

I mean, before you can put your money away, you have to figure out how to get the receipt out from under the pile!

I don’t know what I would do, but I’d figure out a better way to give you your money back.

And I think I’m right about this!

In my opinion, when you go through the self-check line, if you silence the automated voice that says, “Welcome, valued customer!”…

(P.s…you can!)…

I think you’ll have a calmer, more satisfying shopping experience. 

Some of the things she tells you to do, are either obvious…

(“Scan the item and put it in the bag”...Hello! Where else would you put it!?) 

or unnecessary…

(You don’t have to “insert coins first, then bills”. It’ll work both ways)

And I think I’m right about this!

Here’s another opinion...

Lent begins this Wednesday and I’ve never really had much genuine space in my heart for Lent.

But I’m changing the way I think about that.

I don’t think there is value in giving up stuff you enjoy to somehow earn mercy that is already ours...or to try to pay for failures and faults that are already forgiven.

But I no longer believe most people really think of it like that.

Lent is...

for most who live it seriously...

a time to be more still...

more quiet...

more...reflective.

A reflection is literally when you see yourself.

It isn’t always easy to do.

But if I want to get where I’m going... 

to one day be like Jesus...

Self-reflection is an important stop on the road there.

Sometimes I’ve wondered if our beautiful faith in Jesus…

saving us amazingly by grace…

has led some to believe it’s somehow wrong to look within and ask if there might not be things that aren’t really good inside me. 

Things like…

attitudes that need to change…

hurtful thoughts I cherish…

“any grievous way in me” (Psalm 139.24)

In Alcoholics Anonymous, Steps 4 and 5 say that members should “take a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves...”

and...

“Admit to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs...”

What would happen if we all regularly did this?!

Paul said Jesus “died and rose again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living...” (Romans 14:9)

I believe it’s good and healthy for me to have the Lenten season… 

(along with others times in the year)…

to wonder...

“Does He have all of the rights and rule over me that He died and rose to win?”

“Are there places in my heart I refuse to let Him conquer?”

I think it’s good to ask...

even with the help of trusted friends...

in the safety of the unending love of Jesus for me...

and in the real hope of Him changing me...

“Is there anything in me that needs fixed?…

is there anything about me that needs adjusted?…

is there anything behind me or within me that needs confessed?…

In my opinion , that’s one of the helpful things this Lenten season is for.

To have the time and quiet space to ask if there is anything in my heart…

in my walk with Him or others…

or even in my opinions…

that is one thing that might just be not quite right…

about me?

This is just my opinion…

But I think I’m right about that.

A Listener

Hey, everyone!

Hope you're having the day you hoped you'd be having when you started! 

But if you're not, just try to keep on the sunny side, always on the sunny side! 

Keep on the sunny side of life! 

It will help you every day!

It will brighten all the way!

If you keep on the sunny side of life! 

Wait. 

That's a song. I just quoted a song! 

Wow. 

Where did that come from? 

Oh. I know. 

That was an old song from the Carter family, the "First Family of Country Music"! 

Tons of what they sang helped bluegrass music gets that awesome "sound".  

And in the spring, for some reason, my heart just turns to bluegrass!

I don't really know why. It's hard to explain!

(Kind of like the other day…I saw an ol' possum in the road and later I was wondering why I kept humming George Jones songs to myself all morning…) 

I'm not sure why spring is bluegrass music season in my heart, but 'bout the time others’ grass starts to turn green , mine turns blue! 

Maybe it's the soaring harmonies of…say…Dolly and Emmylou singing' "Just A Few Old Memories" that I love so much…

And who could forget that syrup-y sweet, unmistakable voice of Lester Flatt? 

(“For the finest biscuits ever was, get Martha White Self-rising' Flour! 

The one all-purpose flour! 

Martha White Self-rising Flour

It's got Hot Rise!”)

And how I wish I could do that Bill Monroe yodel when he sang Jimmie Rodgers’ “Blue Yodel #7”! 

(And you can ask Tina! I've tried!)

But when you hear that drivin' Earl Scruggs banjo, isn't there a place in your soul that says, "How could people not believe in a Creator when the world is filled with amazing wonders like this??”

Do remember where you were the first time you heard Earl Scruggs play the banjo? 

Bet you do!

Sometimes folks struggle with bluegrass music because they think it borders on the corny. 

In fact, some believe it's crossed the border and is somewhere out there in the middle of the corn field itself! 

Some say that they can't listen to bluegrass because of all those sappy songs about "mother and dad up in heaven"…

Some think the lyrics are just too sentimental…

just too emotional…

just too…much. 

Bill Monroe, a pioneer of bluegrass music, wrote one of those songs about "mother and dad"...

"Mother left this world of sorrow.

Our home was silent and so sad.

Dad took sick and had to leave us.

I have no home. No mother nor dad

Their souls have gone up to heaven

Where they'll dwell with God above.

Where they'll meet their friends and loved ones

And share with all His precious love

There's a little lonesome grave yard.

On these tombstones there they say,

On mother's, 'Gone but not forgotten' 

On dad's, 'We'll meet again someday' "

Bill was the last of eight children and grew up on a poor farm in rural Kentucky. 

He was severely visually impaired and one eye was directed inward. He was bullied because of it. 

His mother died when he was ten. 

His dad died when he was still a teen. 

In spite of these obstacles and pain, Bill eventually overcame a success and leader of his own band…

"Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys"…

Once he had a young lead singer named Del McCoury, who was struggling to sing the words on that song with the depth of feeling Bill wanted. They were traveling through Kentucky at the time, so they stopped  in the tiny town of Rosine, where Bill was born…

He took Del out to a little, hidden graveyard and said…

”I want you to read what's on those gravestones there" 

Del said…

"So I read them. It said on his mother’s gravestone, 'Gone But Not Forgotten’

And on his father’s, it said 'We'll Meet Again Someday' “

Just like the song.

When Bill wrote…

"I have no home, 

No mother nor dad…"

…he meant it. 

Sometimes, if you listen closely to someone's words, you might just hear a hurt that no one else can hear but someone who listens with love. 

You might just see a tear that no one else sees but one who cares to see it.

When he wrote his second letter to Timothy, Paul was old, lonely, and about to face his death in prison. 

And at the end of it, he added…

"Do your best to come to me quickly… When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, and my scrolls, especially the parchments… Do your best to get here before winter." (2 Tim 4:9,12,21)

Listen. I think I hear him say…

"Please. I need my parchments. I need to read them. 

Because I'm working hard to stay encouraged.

I need my coat…

I’m cold…

I need you…

I’m lonely…

Hurry…

Please, Tim…"

Did you hear it?

Do you listen?

Are you a listener?

In a world filled with bloggers, instagrammers, FB'ers, and “former tweeters”…

who will be the listeners?

Almost everyone has a hurt or a sorrow or a burden they carry inside.

Every heart needs someone who will listen. 

Will you?

Will you be a listener?

Tom's Message: HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Hey, everyone!

 Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone!

 It must be so cool to have a holiday named after you!!

February 14 has been Val’s day for centuries!! 

(Actually, it’s “Saint Valentine’s Day”…well, actually-actually, it’s officially the “Feast of Saint Valentine”)

In the liturgical calendar of ancient church traditions, many days of the year have a special follower of Jesus who is remembered every year on his or her special date!

For example, March 17 is dedicated to Saint Patrick, who took the Good News of Jesus to Ireland…

And December 6 is the Feast of Saint Nicolas (the “jolly ol’” was added later!)…

Yesterday was the Feast of Saint Modesto and tomorrow is dedicated to Saint Faustino!

To became famous, all today’s saint had to do was to tell someone he loved them!

So, apparently in ancient Roman times, the emperor didn’t want his soldiers to get married so they could feel more free to take orders without thinking about their sweethearts…

Valentino (as they called him in his hometown in Italia!) was a pastor who kept on doing secret weddings for secret followers of Jesus in spite of what Emperor Claudius ordered…until our brave and romantic saint was arrested by Judge Asterius…who happened to have a daughter who was blind.

The plot thickens…

(and sweetens!)…

when the prisoner and the judge’s daughter bonded in friendship over their mutual love of beekeeping!

Soon, she was in Christ, they were in love, and he was still in trouble with her dad until the day Valentine healed his beekeeping girlfriend! 

(In case you were wondering, the word “honeymoon” DOES come from this story!)

Some say Asterius opened his heart to Jesus when Jesus opened his beloved child’s eyes…as well as his! But he had no power to stop the sentence of the emperor and on the night before he would enter Heaven…

February 13, 269 ad…

Valentino wrote his last love note to his bride-to-not-be and signed it, “Your Valentine”!

And the rest is, as they say, Hallmark history.

Someone said “I love you” to someone and became a saint!

“Wait! That’s not how you become a saint! I learned ‘saints’ are those who believe in Jesus! Like those letters say ‘to the saints in Philippi’ or ‘to the saints in Ephesus’ or ‘to the saints in Colossae’! All you have to do to be a saint is to believe in Him!”

Totally!

Jesus offers the greatest gift!

A new beginning!

A new life!

A new…You!

And like a gift, it’s completely free!

And all we had to do to have it was to need it…to want it…and to take it!

ALL because He loved you and me!

ALL because He wanted you and me!

And ALL because He paid for you and me!

ALL because He gave His own precious blood for you and me!

And ALL because His love is like “my honeycomb with my honey!” (Song of Songs 5:1)

And ALL you have to do is believe!

To believe He is like that!

To believe He did that for you!

To believe He feels that way for you!

And in the believing…

Don’t you just love Him?!

Ephesians 6:24 says, “May grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with unending love!”

(In fact, 1Corinthians 16:22 says if you don’t love Him, you don’t get it!)

“One sec! This seems to say you get grace if you love Jesus! I thought you just said all you have to do is BELIEVE!! I’m confused! Do you have to believe Him? Or do you have to love Him??”

It’s all yours by faith! Just by believing in Him!

But if you believe Him, you’ll love Him!

It’s guaranteed!

If you do…you will!

So you actually do become a saint like Saint Valentine did!

By telling Someone you love Him!

Tom's Message: EXTRA SPECIAL SUNDAY!

I’m gonna just skip the weather forecast this week (btw, it’s gonna be awesome!) because I want to get right to the point…

I REALLY hope you can make a special effort to make it to Triple C this Sunday! We really have some really EXTRA SPECIAL things planned for you this week! 

Just listen to this…

We’re going to have a time to all stand and sing together!

(Now, seriously…Where else do grown ups get together to sing songs as loud as they can??) 

We’re going to be singing some songs about what it means to trust Jesus and along the way, some other ones praising Him directly while we’re at it! 

Then we’ll have some time to pray to Him! We will actually be talking with Jesus personally! It’s gonna be awesome!!

Then there’ll be a time to think and reflect on some words from the Bible and why thinking about Jesus (this Sunday, it’s gonna be about something the ancient Prophet Isaiah told us about Him!) is the most important thing you could possibly do! 

Then, we’ll all take what we call “communion” together to remember what Jesus did for us to make us His! 

It’s going to be a super special time! So, I wanted to let y’all know that…

Huh?

I’m sorry…What’d you say? 

“That’s what we always do!” ??

Oh! Right! 

In telling you that we’re going to have a super special time at Triple C this Sunday, I probably should have added that the thing that makes it so special is that we’re gonna do what we always do!

We always sing! 

Songs to Jesus! 

We always pray! 

We always have time to listen to thoughts from the Scriptures about Jesus! 

That’s what’s so cool about it! 

It’s always the same!

Because your week always isn’t!

In fact, your weeks are never the same! 

They’re full of surprising troubles, unanticipated problems, unexpected discouragements (if you expected them, they wouldn’t be so discouraging!)…

Every week has those “well, I thought I’d seen it all!” moments…

A criticism you didn’t see coming…

Another school commitment they’re asking you to make…

Another cruel social media hit one of the kids suffers at school…

It can feel SO confusing!! 

“What’s coming next?”

I heard this guy say that when he was taking private (intense!) pilot lessons, his instructor would do this thing at the end of the classes where he’d make the student close his or her eyes so he or she couldn’t see anything. Then the teacher would take the controls and start doing mid-air stunts!! Loops! Then he’d fly straight uuuuuuuup and suddenly flip belly-up! Then swoop down towards our earth…Then add a spiral or two, a nose-dive and “wing-tilts” (whatever those are!)! The student would be “utterly discombobulated” at this point! Next…

The teacher would yell, “Now, open your eyes!”, and hand him the controls! The student’s job was to get the plane back flying even, smooth, and under control! Quick!

The exercise is called, “Recovering from an Unusual Attitude”

Maybe that’s one of the things worshiping Jesus together on Sunday does for you. 

You’ve spent the week spinning, climbing and suddenly diving…

ups and downs…

highs and lows…

troubles and trials…

dreading the expected and blind-sided by the unexpected…

rockin’ and reelin’…

And then Sunday comes so you go to Triple C and…

you see your friends…

you sing and clap…

you praise your Savior…

you hear His promises…

you feel His Spirit…

you hear that He loves you still and always…

and that you’re His own forever…

“I am a child of the Maker of stars!

The One Who knows everything hand-made my heart!

He cherishes, treasures me, gave life and blood.

He is my Friend and I am His beloved!”

You do the same thing you do every Sunday.

You remember important things you know.

And at the end…

you’ve “recovered from an unusual attitude”.

See you Sunday!

Just like always!

Tom's Message: First and Second Things (and "Unrealized" Potential)

Quick! Who (in your opinion!) was the greatest painter of the 19th century?

“What?!"
No, seriously. Think about it!

I bet you’re thinking of…Van Gogh, maybe? 
Manet? 
Monet? (I always get them confused!)
Winslow Homer was a good one! 
How about the guy who did “An Arrangement In Grey and White No. 1”?
That’s the official name of the painting that James Whistler did of his mother. 
(They decided to call it, “Whistler’s Mother”!)

One of my favs was George P. A. Healy. 
He did lots of the official portraits of U.S. Presidents, from John Quincy Adams to Chester A Arthur! 

Even tho’ I really like his paintings, I did spit on Millard Fillmore once! 

Tina and I were at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington and I was looking soooo close at the 13th Prez, just amazed at how good it was! 
“Babe! Look at this!”
And I discovered that the “th” in “this” was a little wetter than I realized and a tiny drop of MY spit flew through the air and landed on HIS nose.
“Yikes! What happens next?” I wondered.
(Thankfully, nothing!)

As you were thinking down the list of the greatest artists of the 1800’s…
Turner…Delacroix…Cezanne…Bierstadt…Seurat…
maybe John Singer Sargent (Remember “Uncle Sam Wants You!”?)…
I wonder if anyone thought of Lilias Trotter?

Probably not. 

She wasn’t one of the greatest artist of the 19th century.
She just could have been.

In fact, the most authoritative art critic in the world John Ruskin, told her that she could be the “greatest living painter in the world” and that she “would do immortal things”. 

She did do the second thing. 
Just not the first thing. 
Because she was determined to do the second thing.
So she couldn’t do the first thing.

She grew up in a prestigious manor home among the aristocratic of West London but as a young woman her love for Jesus drew her to care deeply for the poor and broken of East London. She began to volunteer with the YWCA, then a full-hearted urban mission to reach and bring lost and wondering souls to Jesus. 

Her work at the YWCA House on Welbeck Street was an outreach to prostitutes who were always walking the streets of Victoria Station at night.

Her mother took her to Venice for the summer. When she learned that the honorable art critic, John Ruskin was also staying in the Grand Hotel, Lilias’ mother had the nerve to have some of her daughter’s water color paintings sent to his room for his expert opinion, with this note:

“Mrs. Alex Trotter has the pleasure of sending Professor Ruskin her daughter’s water-colours.  Mrs. Trotter is quite prepared to hear that he does not approve of them – she has drawn from childhood and has had very little teaching.  But if Mrs. Trotter could have Mr. Ruskin’s opinion it would be most valuable.” 

A little grumpy at the intrusion, he took a disgruntled peek…and was shocked! And “dazzled”! And amazed! At her pure talent! 

Ruskin and Lilias eventually spent long days together back in England. After he used the word “immortal” for her prospective future impact on the art world, she confessed, “I could only rush about in the woods all in a dream, and it was like a dream for the first day or two…so that I can hardly eat or sleep…”  

There was a qualification however. 

To become the greatest living painter…and immortal in the world of painting, she would have to “give herself up to art”.

Suddenly, she knew what the choices actually were before her.

And to painting, she said, “No.”

She couldn’t give herself up to art because she had already given herself up to Jesus.

And having given up all to Him, there was nothing left to give up.

“I see clear as daylight now, I cannot give myself to painting in the way he means and continue to ‘seek first the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness.’”

Her friends and family were shocked. 

Jesus was not.

He knew her better than they did.

And she breathed what she would later call “the liberty of those who have nothing to lose because they have nothing to keep.  We can do without anything while we have God.” She dove back into her work on Welbeck Street with her precious “lost sheep” as she called them…

Until one night…
in May, 1887 in a church meeting... she heard a missionary speak about the people of North Africa who knew nothing of Jesus. Not even His Name. 

“Is there anyone in this room whom God is calling to North Africa?” he pleaded.
Lillias Trotter stood up. “It’s me. He is calling me.”

The next March, with two other women…
at the age of 35…
without a word of Arabic…
she arrived by ship and camel to the ancient city of Casbah, in Algiers. 

Over the next 40 years…

she would travel on those same camels along the coast and into the Sahara desert...  “bringing the light and love and life of Jesus to the Arab people of North Africa. 

Her creativity (and use of her art!) proved to be 100 years ahead of others in strategic  innovation. She learned how to share in a way that communicated dignity and respect, writing literature about Jesus utilizing the beautiful Arabic calligraphy and her own water color paintings as illustrations. She helped translate the Gospels of Luke and John “in a language that an Arab mother could read to her child”.  

She left behind thirteen mission stations across North Africa to continue the work she began. And lots of changed women and men living for Jesus.

She wrote…

“We are working for the future and its coming day. We are dreamers. Dreaming greatly.”

John Ruskin hoped she would become “the greatest living painter in the world” and “do immortal things”.

She didn’t do the first.
She did do the second.

“Well done!”

Tom's Message: "I AM" and "I am Not"

Hey, everyone…

Just wanted to remind you about…

and welcome you to…

our Good Friday service tonight.

Although it’s not like welcoming you to other things we do.

It’s not going to be an easy time.

It’s a time to read in God’s Sacred Word…

and reflect…

and maybe even to repent…

as we sing and listen and remember the Day when darkness covered the Earth at noon…

as the Son of God and our Savior bore our wrong and shame…

and even His beautiful, love-filled heart was pierced for us.

I don’t believe we will hear so much in awful detail about what happened to Him moment by moment in those dark hours. As you read through the accounts of the Evangelists of the Gospels they are surprisingly restrained as they tell of His sufferings. I believe that it is because all He went through for us is beyond our capacity to comprehend.

As I was reading John’s Gospel this week, I found it chilling that it simply said of His suffering, that “He went out to the place of the Skull…There they crucified Him.” (19.18)

The Gospel doesn’t linger on all the ugly and awful details of what happened to Him.

I was almost overwhelmed when I read however that John does describe in slow-motion and close-up, “moment by moment” detail…

not so much what happened to Him…

but what had happened to us.

What happened to humans??

How could they have been…

how could they be…

so awful??

From His arrest to His death…

watching what they did to Him…

my heart filled with questions.

“How could humans be so cruel..

and cowardly…

and callous…

and shameless…

and merciless…

and heartless?

What happened to us?

You just read and wonder…

“How much would a person throw away for money?” (18:2)

“Where does that first violence come from?” (18:10)

“How dare a person do that?!” (18:22)

“How cowardly and desperate for power could a human be? “ (18:38)

“Why are we worse when we’re in crowds? When we’re shouting?” (18:40; 19:6)

“How could they not have known what they were doing?” (19:1-2)

“How did humans get to a place where they do these things?” (19:18)

“How could they have done this??”

John is telling us in such painful, awful detail…

“Look! This is what is in the human heart. This is what comes out of the human heart.”

And then after they had done all they could do to Him, John tells us of a moment that he alone of the disciples of Jesus witnessed.

“But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side (actually His heart) with a spear…” (19:34)

After describing for two painful chapters all that comes out of the heart of us broken, fallen humans, John tells us what came out of His.

“One of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear…

and out came a sudden flow of blood and water.”

Blood and water from His beautiful heart.

Blood to pay for us.

Water to cleanse us.

Just what a heart like mine needs.

I noticed something in my reading of John this year that I never had.

When Jesus was arrested in Gethsemane, He asked them who they were looking for.

When they told Him “Jesus of Nazareth”, He answered (in John’s Greek language)…

“I am.” (18:5)

When Peter, one of His followers was asked around a courtyard fire if he was indeed a “Jesus follower”…

“Peter replied…

“I am not.” (18:17)

Jesus said “I am” because so many times I have said, “I am not”.

Blood and water from His beautiful heart.

Blood to pay for us.

Water to cleanse us.

Just what a heart like mine needs.

Good Friday Service of Remembrance

Triple C at 7:00pm

Tom's Message: When You Expand Your Bracket...

Can you believe it's here?! The daffodils are blooming! I even saw tulips Monday!

This can only mean one thing!

March Madness!

You know it! And...Go, Vols! 

The NCAA basketball tourney is when we go from the Sixty Four Best to the Sixteen Even Better Than That ("Sweet!"), to the Four Almost the Most Best ("Finally!"), to the Best of the Best!

You know how folks fill out the bracket (it's kind of a flow chart of the schedule of all the games) to predict, game by game, who will beat the other and move on to play other winners 'til we make it to the championship game? 

I know we might feel confident that our guesses are pretty good (I picked the Vols over St Peter's!) but I read the other day that the chances of a person who knows something about the teams,  making all the picks that wind up with a "perfect bracket”… or when it's all said and done, you picked all the winners…is one in 9,223,372,036,845,775,808!!

Or, to round it off, one in 9.2 quintillion!! 

That right! Quintillion! With a “Q”!

It’s because probably no one (except maybe Pottsie!) ever dreamed that Oakland University (his Alma Mater) coulda done what they did last night! 

That’s what makes sports so exciting!!

No one has ever picked a perfect bracket because...
whether Villanova beating Georgetown in the NCAA Final game in 1985…
or Broadway Joe and the Jets over the Colts in Super Bowl lll…
or the ’69 Miracle Mets over the Orioles in five games…
…you never really know for certain who's gonna win!

Theologically, tho…

There is One Who always knows!
He knows Who will win...
He knows who will lose...
And He also knows when a “loss” will prove to be a “win”!

He knows exactly how many times someone who is soooo broken-hearted because they got put out of the Big Dance in the first round…

...someone who must face the fact that the dream they’ve lived for all their life is over…

and because of this crushing disappointment begins to search for a new dream…

a dream that would never end in such a crushing way…

a dream worthy of the devotion he gave to the other…

will meet a friend who seems to have found enough to fill a heart completely full…

and through him or her will find the One his soul had always truly longed for, tho’ he didn’t even know!

Only He knows when the saddest “loss” will prove to have been the most joyful “win”!

I was reading the other day, that in theological terms, while most know that the “Omnipotence of God” means that He is infinitely powerful over all things and happenings… and the “Omnipresence of God” means that He is infinitely present everywhere… the lesser known theological concept of the “Immanence of God” means that He is equally living in every moment of time...past, present and future!!

Just as He is with you in each moment that you are living and in the times today when you are suffering and struggling…

He is also equally living in the future moments, enjoying and rejoicing with “future you” the release...and even the benefits and fruits...of the struggles you’re living today!

It's very mind-stretching, but this means that He is weeping with you in the present troubles and laughing with you in the future over the victories that will come from these!

Weeping and rejoicing... over the same event... "at the same time"! 

Which means, when you expand your bracket into eternity…

YOU WON!!

Tom's Message: Lookit!

Hey, everyone!

Hope you’re having a joy-filled, praise-filled day, peace-filled day of Friday fullness! I have a hint coming up about how I’m learning to do that but first…

I know this is a little unusual but I’d like to begin this Friday blog with a random fact I learned.

(“Tom, is including ...or even beginning this with...random facts REALLY all that unusual?”)

I learned it this morning and I wanted to share it with you just so that…uh…well…actually I don’t know why I wanted to share it…

But here goes!

What do the words “empathize”, “motivator”, “year-round”, “pet-peeve”, “cutie”, “jazz” (used as a verb as in, “to jazz something up”), “over-compensate”, “Keds” (as in the tennis shoes), and “fly swatter” have in common?

Give up?

They all came into the English language in 1917!!

“How do you know this?”

Well, I was looking up a word on a website I like that tells you where words come from and when they first appear in English. And the one I was looking up was first documented in 1917. And along with that, they had a list of all the other words that were first uttered and repeated that year!

“Wow. That really IS a super random fact! Just for giggles, why don’t you tell us the word you were originally interested in? Because I have a suspicion it’s what you’re really intending to talk about!”

Ok! I was looking for the origins of the word, “lookit!”

“Lookit??”

Yeah! Like when you were learning to ride a bike (remember?) and when you finally got really pedaling four or five turns, you yelled, “Lookit, Dad! Lookit! I’m doing it!!”

I remember once there was a Peanuts cartoon where Charlie Brown’s sister Sally was learning to jump rope and as she got it kinda going, she yelled, “Lookit, Charlie Brown! Lookit! I’m jump-roping! Lookit!…Lookit!…Lookit!”

“I’m lookiting!” Charlie hollered.

And Linus looks straight at the reader with an inquisitive expression and says, “Lookiting??”

So I looked it up. And as you mighta guessed, “lookit” (meaning, “look at me!”) was first verified as an English word in…

1917!

I like it a lot!

Especially during Lent!

Lots of times, folks live the Lenten season as a time for self-deprivation and practicing self-denial. And I really do think there’s something positive about having an honest time in the year when you ask yourself, “Has ______ gotten a stubborn place in my life and heart? Can I live without this for a time? Let’s find out.”

But even more than this, I’ve found that if I’m struggling with some stubborn state like anxiety or complaining…

and I KNOW it’s something that God doesn’t want for my heart…

because He’s totally said it!! *…

( * “Be anxious for NOTHING!”-Phil 4.6…”Get rid of ALL…complaining!!”-Phil 2.14)

…even if it feels intimidating to think about a complete and total life/heart transformation to the extent that I NEVER feel or do these two things again for as long as I live…

I might be able to try to not feel or do them for…say…40 days!

As a person who has perennially struggled with anxiety, I can testify that I’ve tried this and…it works!!

“During Lent, I’m taking a vacation from anxiety! I might go back to it when Easter’s done, but for now, I’m taking a break!”

And I did!

And it helps to know…even if just for 40 days…you can!!

In Alcoholic Anonymous, they often say, “You don’t have to quit drinking forever. Just for today!”

They know that there are some people who can really never drink again, but also that the idea of “never” can be intimidating. So, they break up “never and forever” into day-sized pieces!

“Let’s just take this one day at a time!”

In fact, the phrase “living one day at a time” was invented by them!

Two guys were talking to a friend in the Akron City Hospital (it was his eighth hospitalization for alcoholism) and they were trying to help him see that he had to quit for good and forever.

“Gulp! Forever??” he thought.

You can quit twenty-four hours, can’t you?”, they asked.

“Sure, yes, anybody can do that for twenty-four hours.”

“Well, that’s what we’re talking about. Just twenty-four hours at a time. Let’s just take this one day at a time!”

“That sure did take a load off of my mind”,he wrote. Instead of thinking about “the long years ahead…this idea of just taking it twenty-four hours at a time…was a lot of help!”

(Random fact: the phrase, “One day at a time” was born into our language on the day of that conversation…June 26, 1935!)

So, during this season of Lent…

maybe it’s intimidating to think…

“So, I should never ever complain again as long as we both shall live!”

Or…

“Anxiety, I’m done with you!! We’re through for good! I never want to see you again!! I promise I will never ever worry about anything again!!”

(Yikes!)

But, hey! What about committing to 40 days?

Just 40 days! Almost as an experiment!

For 40 days, I want to focus on not being anxious as my Lenten goal! Every time, an anxious thought knocks on my heart, I’m not answering! I’m going to please my Lord and my Heavenly Dad by (as Paul instructs) “letting my need and request be made known to Him!”

And letting the “peace of God that passes all understanding” come through the door instead!!

And to know the joy of having a time in the day…

every day of Lent…

when I say to Him…

“I’m doing it!! I’m doing it!! Lookit!! Lookit, Dad! Lookit!!”

And He will say to thee…

“I’m lookiting, My child! I’m lookiting!!”

Tom's Message: The Five Things

Hey, everyone!

Hope you’re having an awesome Friday! And now that the snow's all sloshed away, we can all live by the motto of the state of Wisconsin...

"Forward!"

The Tennessee state motto for last week could have been "Sideways!" or "Nowhere!" or "Spin In Place!"

I was looking up state mottos and there are some sweet ones and some weird ones and some real doozies!

South Carolina has a good one! South Carolina’s is: “Dum Spiro Spero”, or as we would say in our language, “When I breathe, I hope”. That’s what a motto’s supposed to be! Encouraging, inspiring, even if nobody really knows what it means! 

Michigan’s is nice! “Si Quaeris Peninsulam Amoenam, Circumspect!”, or “If you’re looking for a pleasant peninsula, look around you!” (If it wasn’t in Latin, everyone would know it’s about the nicest of all the fifty mottoes!)

Some are a little tough to understand. 

Like North Carolina…”Esse Quam Videri”…”To be rather than to seem”…??

Or Oregon…”Alis Volat Propriis”…”She flies with her own wings”…Huh?

Maryland’s is in old 16th century medieval Italian (for some reason!)…and nobody really knows why they chose it!

“Fatti Maschii, Parole Femine”…or, “Manly deeds, womanly words”…

(If it was in English, there’d be some explainin’ to do!)

Our state is awesome! 

Our motto is boring! 

“Agriculture and Commerce”...zzz...zzzzz...

(I thought it had to be like a whole sentence!)

My fav is Hawaii…”Ua Mau Ke Ea O Ka Aina I Ka Pono”…

”The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness”…Now, that’s a motto!

Y’know, Alcoholics Anonymous quietly helps thousands and thousands everyday across our nation and around the world. AA is based on simple,consistent truths. Many are expressed in mottos or sayings that are so short and so true!

“You’ll get sober when you’re sick ‘n tired of being sick ‘n tired”…

"The elevator's going down and you get to decide what floor you're getting off on."

“Daniel didn’t go back into the lions’ den to get his hat”…

“We’re only as sick as our secrets”

“Self-pity says, ‘Poor me, poor me, pour me a drink.’ ”

“When you give a talk at AA, the rules are three: Be brief, Be interesting, and Be seated!”

I have a few I live by myself…

I was sharing them Wednesday with some new friends we've made out at a center for brave men and women in recovery.

I was telling them that it's good to have a few words you can remember when the battle gets loud and confusing.

I shared with them how I had recently heard someone say that he asked a crowd in a talk he gave, "If you were nine years old and burst into flames, what would you do?"

"Stop! Drop! And roll!", they all yelled.

Everyone knew the answer.

"How many of you have ever had to do that?"

No one had.

"BUT...if you HAD, you woulda known exactly what to do!! You had a plan! You've gotta get an easy-to-remember plan!"

So I shared with them the five sayings that I've needed and came up with and that I often repeat to myself. 

(If I’m having a bad day, it’s usually because I’ve forgotten one of these)…

“My fight is for joy.”

“My job is to serve”

“My goal is to please God”

“My strength is weakness”

And the one that has been helping me most lately is…

“My time is today!”

This is the only day I have to live in! 

I can’t live in the past and fix it. 

I can’t live in the future and prepare it!

The only day I need to think about is this one!

I can love people…TODAY!

I can only be kind…TODAY!

I can trust Jesus…TODAY!

I can say “Yes!” to Him…TODAY!

I can please Him…TODAY!

I can laugh…TODAY!

I can be someone’s friend…TODAY!

All the possibilities I have for joy are found in one word: “Today!”

Regrets (about the past) and worry (about the future) are the two that send me sideways or keep me spinning in place.

But when I remember that simple motto...

"My time is today!", I can go where they go in Wisconsin!

"Forward!"

Tom's Message: I will rest you.

Wow!! Who saw THAT coming??

Who knew we were gonna get THAT much snow??

Hang on…let me check…(google…google)…”wbir”…(google)…”weather forecast for Sunday Jan 14, 2024”…click…

“A wintry weather system is heading to East Tennessee that will potentially bring several inches of snow to Knoxville and the surrounding areas…The main concerns will be heavy snow on Monday, particularly in the afternoon, and some bitterly cold temperatures that follow Tuesday and Wednesday…”

Oh.

I guess they DID see it coming!

It’s been a lot! But not the most!

When was the most snow ever “ ‘round these parts”? The “blizzard of ’93”?

Nope! That was 15 inches…

But the most in one day was on Feb 13, 1960…17.5!!

By then, our fam was mom and dad and seven kids in a one bathroom C house on Maple Lane with only three network channels and probably four or five days of...

getting bundled up...

getting out...

getting soaked...

getting frozen...

getting dried out...

and probably getting on each other's nerves after a week of snow days!

Y’know, it has actually been an awesome few days down here in the “Springs”!

I thought I had so much to do and so many places to go and it turned out…I didn’t!

‘Cause I couldn’t!

We were pretty stuck for a coupla days!

Someone got their huge tractor trailer stuck on Monday night right in front of my driveway so I super couldn’t get out if I was wanting to try to!

Then on Tuesday night they got a couple of neighbors’ tractors to pull him out and away he went! So, on Wednesday morning I was slippin’ and slidin’ down the road to freedom and found out he’d somehow gotten it stuck sideways, entirely straddling…and blocking!…the only road out!

“Lord, are you telling me something? About myself? Do you want me to possibly just be…still for a couple of days? Because I think I don’t really get a choice!”

After a few deep breaths, I turned around and surprisingly, enjoyed the quietness!

And the reading…

and the peacefulness…

and the beauty of it all…

and the naps…

and the time with my girl together…

and the stillness…

and most of all, the rest.

The rest I didn’t know I needed but did!

It took a bit to take a breath and quiet my heart (with its dial set on “get busy, bud!”) but after a while, I was nothing but thankful!

So, I read something early in this snowy week that I didn’t know I’d need as much as I did! Ready?

Matthew 11:28 and 29…

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls…”

So, because I’m nosey, I wanted to nose around a bit. A few of us are going through a first year seminary New Testament Greek book together and I’m remembering stuff from literally 44 years ago!

I was kind of shocked at what I found!

When I read it in that language, I realized that when Jesus said, “I will give you rest”, the “you” is in the accusative case and not the dative case!!

(Isn’t that amazing, Wednesday guys??)

What that means is that the word “you” isn’t an indirect object, as in, “I will give rest TO you”! It’s the direct object!! The word “give rest” doesn’t have the word “give” in it! It’s the active verb “rest”! With “you” as the direct object!!

“I will rest you!”

If He offers to give rest TO you, you could take it or not!

But this says, “I will rest you!”

And sometimes that means, “Get ready! You’re about to get a rest, whether you think you need it or not!

Because sometimes…in fact, absolutely all the time…He knows better than me exactly what I need!

When He kind of insists you stop…rest…be still…

you might strain a little under the "stoppage time"...

and it might take a day or so...

but there’ll come a moment when you’ll take a great big breath and say,…

“Ahhhh! Thanks, Lord Jesus! I didn’t know it but…

This is exactly what I needed!!”

“Tuesday will see highs in the 50s, with lows in the upper 30s Tuesday night…”

Sniff…

Tom's Message: Gather Together!

Hey everyone!

Hope you’re having an awesome, praise-filled day!!

So, let’s begin with the weather…hmmm…

“Windy and mild with strong wind gusts into the afternoon expected. Rain and a few storms will be possible from around Noon through 4pm…”

So maybe some pretty good windy-ness and a few storms and some rain later today.

So, that’s the weather! Now let’s look at today’s news…

(Today’s good news!)

King David, today’s news correspondent reports, “Praise the Lord…lightning and hail, snow and clouds, stormy winds that do his bidding!” (Psalm 148.7-8)

So, just knowing that He is in control of all the rain and wind on the way later today…

it’s gonna be an awesome day!

Y'know, usually on these Friday Triple C emails, I try to have a thought or two to encourage us for our day along with the announcements for the week but we have an important reminder, so I thought I'd give you that news first…

Sunday is the second Sunday of the month and that means "Fellowship Meal!!"

"What is the 2nd Sunday Fellowship Meal?"

Well, ever since CCC started, we've been doing this thing where everyone brings food from home and after worship, we put it all together, grab a plate, and we just eat together! Sometimes, folks can't stay for whatever reason, but if you can, it's a bunch of fun!

"How do you make sure everyone doesn't bring the same thing by accident? What if everyone brought green bean casserole and that would be all we had? Or what if everyone brought banana pudding and we just had banana pudding to share?”

Well, I know some who would consider that a sort of miracle…but just so it doesn't happen, we have a plan! There is a list. and usually, on the week before, this announcement goes out…

“This Sunday, January 14

is our monthly covered dish luncheon

immediately following the Worship Service.

Please plan to stay and eat!

Bring 2 dishes to share from the following categories:

meat / veggie / salad / bread / dessert

The refrigerator is available to keep cool things cool

and the oven is ready to keep warm things warm,

so come on to Community Group and put your food

in the kitchen until after Worship Service!”

So, you just pick two total from whichever categories. When we put it all together, it's always a balanced diet! (Tho’ if you’re watching your calories as a “New Year’s thing”, I think you’re kinda on your own, as far as that goes!)

"Why do we do this every month?"

That's a great question! There's a simple answer and a complex one!

Simple answer? We're hungry!

Complex answer? Turn in your Bibles to the Gospel of Luke.

"What chapter?"

Wow. You could just read the whole thing!

It's amazing how much food and eating together is in there!

Jesus loved eating together with people! The super religious crowd was upset with Him constantly because, not only did He know folks they considered "less than acceptable", but He ATE with them!

"Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law complained to his disciples, 'Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?'” (Luke 5)

Jesus told the story of the Prodigal Son to some people who were upset with Him and grumblin’ about it! What were they so tweeked about?

”Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, ‘This man welcomes sinners and eats with them!’ ” (Luke 15:1)

I remember hearing about a girl named Edith who was afraid she had been too bad for Jesus to welcome her into His family (of course, He would welcome her!!) but she was encouraged when someone read in church this verse from the ol' King James…"This man receiveth sinners…and eateth with them!"

She brightened up when she thought she had heard, ”and Edith with them!!”!

Our Lord did miracles so people could eat together (Luke 9).

He raised a child from the dead and first thing, got her something to eat (Luke 8)

He promised we'd always have food (Luke 12)

He told stories about food (Luke 17)

He shared His deepest secrets at the table, eating with His friends (Luke 22)

And two folks were shocked and amazed to find He was risen from the dead!

Because He was at their table, eating with them! (Luke 24: 30-31)

One super interesting thing is that the Book of Acts was written by Luke as well! It's kind of “Luke, vol. 2"

And IT'S full of food!

Luke says the first believers in Jesus… "studied what the apostles taught. They shared life together. They broke bread and ate together. And they prayed. Everyone felt that God was near… All the believers were together. They shared everything they had.. Every day they met together in the temple courtyard and in their homes they broke bread and ate together. Their hearts were glad and honest and true. They praised God!" (Acts 2: 42-46)

The word Luke used for "shared together" is the Greek word (Luke's language) “koinonia". We often translate it, "fellowship". It means…uh…"to share together"! They shared tons of stuff! Including their food!

Eating together is a way of saying, "You're important to me! I like being with you and knowing you better! You're like a family in Jesus to me!"

And, amazingly, verse 47 of Acts 2 says, "…They praised God. They were respected by all the people. Every day the Lord added to their group those who were being saved!"

People wanted in!

Because lots of hearts want to be in something that makes them feel that someone thinks they're important…

that someone likes hanging out with them and knowing them…

that someone thinks they're family!

Fellowship Meal this Sunday!

Now for my thought of the week…

uh…

I can't remember what it was…

Well, rats!

Tom’s Message: Stoked about December 29, 2023!

Hey, everyone!

Hope you’re getting ready for an amazing New Year’s Eve! 

I love our latest New Year’s tradition! It’s been this way for about 17 years at our house!

Every year on New Year’s Eve around 9:45 we brush our teeth and get in our PJs! 

Then we jump in bed!

We pass New Year’s Eve the way I used to spend Christmas Eve as a kid.

We go to bed…

go to sleep…

and when we wake up…

magically…

it came!! 

I know it must be amazing to wait up and count down…

(“Twenty seven!…Twenty six!…Twenty five!!…”)

until the “Ball” drops at midnight, but it’s not like by the time the Ball drops in Times Square, they haven’t already practiced it about 47 times that day! 

Did you know that in Hersey PA they drop a 300 lb Hersey’s Kiss? 

In Bethlehem PA (because it’s where they make ‘em) they drop a gigantic marshmallow Peep! 

(Imagine adding two tons of paper confetti and an 85% chance of rain! What a mess!)

In Dillsburg, PA a giant pickle marks the moment!

Sometimes I’ve wondered why everyone is so excited that 2024 is FINALLY here! 

If I remember right, it seems like they were that excited last year about ‘23 getting here. 

“Three…TWO…ONE!!!!! YAY!!!!!”

And by the end of it, lots of folks couldn’t wait to “move on”!

“So are you sayin’ you ain’t excited ‘bout the New Year gettin’ here?”

Well, I’m not super sure I’m supposed to have an opinion on what the year’s gonna be or bring!

James tells us that we shouldn’t say “we’ll go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”…

because, he adds,  “you do not know what tomorrow will bring!”

I can say “This’ll be my best year yet!”

But I don’t really know!

I’m not sure if I should or shouldn’t be super enthusiastic about what 2024 may or may not be or bring but y’know what I’m really excited about?

I’m pumped about December 29, 2023!!

I’m SUPER stoked about today!!

Here’s what I know about this day…

The day the Scriptures likes to call, “Today”…

Today, December 29, 2023…

1) Jesus has promised to be with me all day and never leave me alone for a nanosecond! “For He has said, ‘I will never leave you, nor ever forsake you’”! (Hebrews 13.10) 

So., I’m not alone or on my own all day!

2) I can throw every problem I run up against over to Him to solve, smooth, or remove as He sees fit! 

I’m letting Him take care of me all day!

3) Today is the only day I can say “Yes!” to Him, do what He asks me, and/or please His heart! I can’t do that “Tomorrow” because it isn’t here yet! And forget about doing it “Yesterday” because “Yesterday” is always so…well…yesterday! 

If my goal is to win His smile, “Today” is my only chance!

4) Another thing I know is that not matter what happens today…

good or bad…

happy or sad…

fun or tough…

sweet or bitter…

it’s an ingredient in a plan my Jesus is “cooking up” for me to make me more and more like Him! 

So, if I do get another day on Earth and wake up on December 30, 2023, I should be better at handling anything that comes my way because the promise is I’ll be one day closer to being like the One I love the most!

Jesus said, “Give no thought for tomorrow!” and Paul wrote, “Forget what is behind!”

So…

Lately, I’ve been trying as much as I can to walk this journey, one day at a time!

If it’s about yesterday and beyond…

or tomorrow and beyond…

I’m don’t give it a thought!

And I’ll tell ya…

I’m happier for it! 

Am I pumped about 2024?

Haven’t really thought about it much.

But am I excited about December 29, 2023?

You bet!

Tom's Message: what "Joy to the World" is all about!

Hey, everyone!

I hope so much that your home and heart are filled with the sweetness and beauty of thoughts of Christmas! I hope you find some moments of quiet and peace to meditate on two kids having the Baby they lay in the hay…

(You will if you’re at Triple C on Christmas Eve…7:00pm)

In Italy, they always speak of the “grotto” or cave where the Child came into our world. In peasant towns, this is where farm animals were kept. Just think of it…

It’s not always easy to take your heart to that humble scene with all the swirling world of Christmas, whirling all around us!…

There are so many things that we sing and do without asking why…

Almost all of us have a tree in our house! Think about it for a sec…

YOU HAVE A TREE IN YOUR HOUSE!!

And no one knows why we’ve always done this!

Does anyone really know who “Good King Wenceslas” was??

I heard this Christmas carol the other day…

“I saw three ships come sailing in on Christmas Day, on Christmas Day…”

I’ve heard it all my life! I think I first heard it on the Firestone Christmas albums that came out every year!

But no one sailed into Christmas on a ship! 

Bethlehem is twenty miles from any water! 

And this very Christmas, I’ve sung, “Joy to the world!… Let Heaven and nature sing!”

But nature didn’t sing that night. 

Italian legends say the animals spoke like humans when Jesus was born and still do at midnight of Christmas Eve. 

But they didn’t. 

And don’t. 

One day, when Jesus comes to take over this tired, old, mean world…

all the mountains and hills WILL “burst into song”! 

And all the trees will clap their hands! (Isaiah 55:12) 

In fact, Joy To the World” was really written to remember THAT coming Day and isn’t about Christmas at all! If the trees had started to clap and sing that Holy Night, folks would have flocked to rescue the Baby and family from their misery.

Alone and afraid, a couple of very poor kids held a quivering Infant King in a barn or stall or cave and no one knew or cared except a few peasant shepherds. And all the Heavenly Host! 

And everything changed!

Many of us probably have a Christmas manger scene on a table in our home. 

Ever wonder why?

On Christmas, in the year 1223, a lion-hearted Italian friar from Assisi named Francis, built a rustic manger, put it into a “grotto” in the village of Greccio, led an “ox and ass” into it and tied them up. After a while, it was stinky, poop-y, nasty and buggy. Then he invited the citizens to enter and reflect. 

The animals never spoke once. 

And into a world like this…

a world of darkness and yucky-ness…

and heart-break…

our Savior came. 

And hope was born!

For many, this won’t be an easy Christmas.  

And we don’t know what new problems 2024 might bring. 

But we do know this…

 Jesus is King over all! 

And having Him, we can have a heart-filled with joy, no matter what! 

And one day soon He will come to take us home! 

What a Christmas that will be!!

Let Heaven and nature sing!

Let Heaven and nature sing! 

Let Heaven, let Heaven and nature sing!

Merry Christmas, everyone!

We all thank God for all you all!

Tom's Message: The Greatest Idea in All of History

Hey, everyone!

Hope you're having a super sweet and joy-filled coupla weeks before Christmas! And I hope it's not getting too…silly, I guess. You know how Christmas just gets kinda goofy! Grown-ups walking around with Santa hats and antlers on, wearing big red Rudolphy noses. Which is awesome, f'r sure! It's just that…

Huh? Where does Rudolph come from?

Oh, well, that's an interesting story…

This fella named Robert May used to tell his daughter about the crimson-nose caribou every night before bed. Each nightly re-telling got more and more elaborate. At first he called him "Rollo the reindeer". Then it changed to "Reginald". They both finally decided they liked "Rudolph" best. Unfortunately, he was different, born with a nose "as red as a beet and twice as big and bright".

It came in handy, tho'!

One Christmas eve the regular reindeer were so blinded in the extraordinary dark fogginess that they "almost hit a plane" and "got tangled in trees". So Ol' Santa followed the red glowing light to Rudolph and had the "greatest idea in all of history!"

And you know the rest!

You may not know that in the original, Santa told Rudy that "on judgment day, he would get as many gifts as all the other reindeer"!

"Judgment Day"?!

Seriously, Santa??

Folks at Montgomery Ward where Bob May worked, had heard him talk about it and made him tell the story at the company Christmas party. They loved it! They made a book of it for the Montgomery Ward "Santas" to give away to kids who came to the "workshops" and in five Christmases, 7,000,000 copies were out there!

Robert's brother-in-law took out the lines about Judgment Day and the "greatest idea in all of history" (it was good, but not that good!), made the words rhyme and put it all to music…Bing didn't want to touch it. Neither did Dinah Shore. The "Singin' Cowboy" Gene Autrey had a song he just knew was gonna be a Christmas blockbuster ("If It Doesn't Snow This Christmas"…Remember that one?) but he needed a song for Side B (Remember those?)…

BAM! "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer"! The second best-selling Christmas song of all time!

Kinda silly, really.

'Cept, Robert May made up the story for his youngest.

She was struggling.

With being different.

She was different from her friends. Just like Rudolph.

She was different because her mother wasn't like their mothers. Her mom never got out of bed. She had cancer. She didn't make it to Christmas, 1939. So Bob May's daughter Barbara was even more different. She didn't have a mom.

A couple walked through the streets of Bethlehem in a hurry. They looked like a normal pair with a baby on the way. But they weren't normal.

And they weren't in a hurry.

They were in panic!

This Baby was coming!

And they had no room nor help. Their families showed them nothing but backs turned and doors slammed. Unkind things had been said and untrue things believed. They were alone and afraid and a poor young husband was trying to help a poor young wife be brave.

As silly as Rudolph is, it's really the story of two who were alone and afraid…the story of a poor young dad trying to help a poor young daughter be brave.

When I did chaplain training at UT Medical Center a couple of years ago, one thing I learned was that as normal as folks look, everywhere you go this Christmas, there are those who are having a tougher or sadder time than you'd imagine. For every red reindeer nose you see during the day, there's one that's red at night from crying at home alone.

For all the Christmas silliness, there's lots of Christmas sadness.

Everywhere this Christmas, people are alone…

or afraid…

and trying their best to be brave.

So...

Kindness…

Gentleness…

Sharing some kind, gentle words of encouragement at Christmas for struggling hearts everywhere that others may miss…

That just may be "the greatest idea in all of history"!

Tom's Message: Sleep Inertia and a Fresh Beginning

Hope you’re having a bright and beautiful morning!

Hope you’re remembering where you left the keys, your wallet and…what else am I forgetting?…so you can get out the door and on your way!!

Ever have those mornings when you just wake up and are confronted with the three most important questions of life, first thing?

“Who…?

Wher…?

“Wha…?”

As in…

“Who are I?

Where am I?

What’s my name??”

Well, there’s a word for that!

It’s clinically called, “sleep inertia”

You know, when you wake up...but not quite!

The CDC defines it as:

“…a temporary disorientation and decline in performance after awakening from sleep. People can show slower reaction time, poorer short-term memory, and slower speed of thinking, reasoning, remembering, and learning… Research indicates this typically can last from 30 to 60 minutes…”

In fact…um…let’s see,,,what was I talking about??.Oh, yeah!

Sleep inertia!

“Research found that 100 mg of caffeine on awakening reduces the time of sleep inertia, restoring reaction time more quickly…”

Really!? That’s amazing! My research confirms this finding!!

One of the solutions suggested is “exposure to natural light first thing…”

Like the sun.

“Expose yourself to natural light immediately by opening curtains or going outside. This helps reset your circadian rhythms…”

(Come to think of it, going outside would wake you up even if it was raining like today! Maybe better!)

I love what Zachariah told us about Jesus, the Coming One not yet born…

He will be “the rising sun Who will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness…”

Jesus will be like the sun!

When you have one of those days where spiritually, you can’t quite wake up…

when you don’t quite know where you are…

or who yo are…

or what your name is…

Jesus will be like the sun for you!

As the Apostle says…

“Wake, o sleeper and rise from the dead! And Christ will shine on you!!” (Ephesians 5:14)

Just finished reading First Corinthians and I was astounded (once again!) at the spiritual power that flows from the Message…and meditation on and thinking slowly about…the Message of Jesus and how He was crucified for us!

It’s the only thing Paul wanted them to hear about or think about! (2:2)

It gives wisdom in all of life! (1:24)

It gives power and courage and joy to the heart! (1:18)

When I wake up confused…

not sure who I am or even who I want to be…

wondering what my name really is…

the Crucified One shines on me and tells me…

“You have always been loved! And you are!

You are powerful, empowered by the knowledge of what was done to make you Mine!

And you, My child, get to begin again!

You have this day!

And if you need to start fresh…

and if you want to enjoy a fresh start…

you may!”

In the Dickens “Christmas Carol” of one who was awarded the golden opportunity of leaving behind his heartless, frost-filled past and of stepping into a fresh future of love-filled possibilities, beginning with one glorious morning, Ebenezer Scrooge could barely dare to believe that he was alive!!

He was thrilled that sitting up is his bed, his bed curtains…“are not torn down, rings and all. They are here!!—I am here!!!—the shadows of the things that would have been, may be dispelled. They will be. I know they will!!!

“I don’t know what to do!” cried Scrooge, laughing and crying in the same breath… “I am as light as a feather, I am as happy as an angel, I am as merry as a schoolboy!! I am as silly as a drunken man! A merry Christmas to everybody! A happy New Year to all the world. Hallo here! Whoop! Hallo!”

…He went to church, and walked about the streets, and watched the people hurrying to and fro, and patted children on the head, and questioned beggars, and looked down at the kitchens of houses…and found that everything could yield him pleasure. He had never dreamed that any walk—that anything—could give him so much happiness!”

When you wake up in that unrelenting sleepiness…

and you let the light of Christ shine on you…

And you are momentarily stunned that of all people, YOU have been given a fresh beginning and

“Today” in which to enjoy it…

May you also be as light as a feather!

As happy as an angel!

As merry as a school child!

Good morning!!

Whoop! Hallo!