Pastor Tom's Community

 “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” – John 17:3 “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great…

  I am in a state of unready readiness … paradoxically speaking! God of readiness, of constancy, and of mystery,Invade me, overthrow my stubborn reluctance and Disperse my stagnant sentries who stagger the soulAnd stalwartly resist that which you insist will set me free. Mercy and grace be Your weapons of invasion,My only defense is pretense.Lower…

This popped up in my "On This Day" feed from May 11, 2016: Have you ever felt intimidated about stating an opinion, question, observation, or passing idea? Have you ever calculated the fear of being judged, labeled, or categorized for having a divergent view on some subject or a doubt about some matter of ideological…

  It is not just the urban cowboy who is looking for love in all the wrong places. And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it. But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went…

    Prayer is sometimes difficult. It is work. It is worthwhile work, but it is work. Connecting seems tough. Distance. Cold indifference. Lifeless words. Soulless sentiments. Mundane moments. Routine. Ritual. Obligation. Distractions. Guilty self-flagellation longing for relaxed intimacy and immediacy. Then, in just a moment, realization. It has been about me … even the…

    Grace to you today, refreshing, sweet, and bountiful. Deep, abiding, strong, overcoming peace to you today. Joy to you, overwhelming, surprising, irrational, giddy joy. Love to you today … from One who knows you fully, honestly, and unconditionally for who you were, are, are becoming, and can become. And my love to you…

The sacrament of failure was observed in timely fashion …with suitable dignity …and appropriate simplicity …time honored liturgy.

We face a fearsome, fierce todayYet, trembling through, I stand to say that I shall stay,But only if I may, kneel along the wayTo pray.

Faith embraces that which flickersIn the darkness far beyond our graspWhose enlightened silence whispersIn ears that hear with hands that clasp.

On Being a Grandpa Dirty dishesScattered toysSilly wishesLittle boysLife's a wonderWhen you findGentle thunderOf this kind.