added, OUR GOD IS AN AWSOME GOD. You know where I jus(t)want to go you know but she looks and the tears start. And she says, "You know Tom, they sang Face To Face when we buried Jack, --- Face To Face was Jack’s favorite song and it’s not even in these books." --- And what I ignored, or maybe not intentionally ignored but forgot was that my wonderful mountaintop was her tragic conclusion to something. And without the teaching, teaching, teaching, teaching, teaching, it’s not their fault. It’s not. And you know we need to go back and we need to say and look at her and grieve the fact you know that when we stick these tv’s and microphones and these banners and these screens come down. Yeah it looks a little bit different than when Julie’s wedding was here --- and when we buried Jack. It does, but you know, if I don’t grieve the end of those things with them, if I don’t help acknowledge the loss and help them through that when I get back over here and Happy-Go-Tom and we’re gonna fly around on angel’s wings over here is so up. And where is Mary still gonna be? She’s gonna be back over here. And if she doesn’t think that Tom loves her enough not to get up in the pulpit and preach her a sermon about it but to go to her house and hold her hands and cry with her and walk her thru it and talk with her, then she’s never going. Because when she sees how much we love her and respect her I think she’s a lot more willing when I get up there the next time to say you know what I know him and I know he loves the Lord.

Four little things really quick. Really quick. We’re jus(t) gonna mention um, on about how to deal with critics. Uhmm --- . A. Affirm and acknowledge. Affirm their right to not like what we like. Hold their hands and say because by the same token we’ll have to turn it around and we’ll want them to affirm our light, our right to like what they don’t like. Affirm that decision with them. And next reflect. When they say something to you reflect back on it what they said on it. You know we teach each other that in marriage and counseling. Say now is, is this what I understand you’re sayin’. Let um know you hear what they’re sayin’ and that you’re talkin’ to um that we’re both on the same team. And then lastly I’ gonna say plan’ pray and part in peace. Don’t think that you have to stop every time a critic or somebody stops you in the hall an’ "wantna ya rrrrrrr". Don’ think you hafta settle it right then.----------------------