The Adventures of Timothy and Carla

Yesterday, a young lady saw my Star of David / Cross necklace, and she asked me if I was Jewish. I answered, “Not exactly.” That was the wrong answer. I should have answered, “Yes. I am now.”

Why should that have been my answer? According to Apostle Paul, anyone who believes and accepts Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior has been engrafted into the people of God. That means we are heirs to the promise of Abraham, a Jew.  In other words, we have not replaced Israel, nor have we become the “new” Israel or the “new” people of God. Rather, we have been engrafted, been made a part of, Israel.

Although I am not Jewish by human blood, I have become Jewish by the blood of Jesus. Therefore, my answer to that young lady should have been, “Yes. I am now Jewish.”

For centuries, the “church” has proclaimed that the Jews killed Jesus. That is a lie. It was not the Jews that killed Jesus. It was the the Romans, with the aid of the organized religious sector of the time. It was politics and greed and fear. It was not the Jews.

Next time I see that young lady (she’s a Messianic Jew), I’m going to apologize to her for my answer.  I still have a lot to learn about the Jewish Jesus, and my own Jewish heritage as a child of the one true God, but I’m willing to learn and change.

What about you? Do you want to know the truth about who God and Jesus really are? Check out the Jewish Roots section at Larry Huch Ministries. There’s good information there, but it so much deeper than that. Watch the videos on that website, and be sure to buy his new book, “The Torah Blessing”  (No, I’m not getting a commission).

So many have been searching for the keys to the kingdom of God. So many have been looking for the truth. This is it, people. This is going to change the world.

I am so convinced of this that I have placed a mezuzah on my business website (TLROSS.COM). Click on the mezuzah, and see what I mean.

Shalom, y’all

Today we celebrate Shavuot, or the Day of Pentecost. Carla and I have recently come to understand what this day is really all about. We went to church this morning expecting a breakthrough in some areas of our lives. We were really blessed today.

Upon entering the building about 25 minutes before the official start of the service, I could feel the electricity in the air. The atmosphere was charged with the power of God. We found our seats up front, and settled in to wait for the service to begin. The worship team was practicing, as they always do, prior to the beginning of the service. Their practice quickly turned into much more.

The people that were in the sanctuary began to sing along with the worship team, and they began to clap and dance as well. The excitement was evident on the faces of the worship team as the practice moved directly into worship. By the time the official start time arrived, the entire room was engulfed in full bore worship. The voices of the people became louder and louder and louder until there was a deafening shout of praise. In the 10 months we have been attending New Beginnings, I have never experienced such ecstatic joy. I even shouted at the top of my lungs, and those of you who know me have never seen or heard me do that. I don’t think Carla noticed it, though. She was pretty engulfed herself.

Today is an appointed time… For a short time, the video of this service is available here.

Check it out

Carla and I have been learning all about the Jewish roots of the Christian faith. You do realize, don't you, that Jesus was Jewish. His disciples were Jewish. Paul was Jewish. Even the early church was Jewish. Jesus said He did not come to do away with the law, but rather to fulfill the law. A better understanding is that He came to make God's law come alive for us.

Over the centuries, we (the church) have learned to read the scriptures through gentile eyes, and even western civilization eyes. When we learn the Jewish roots, or customs and understandings of the Jewish ways of life, things become so much clearer. Things make so much more sense. I am absolutely amazed at what the scriptures mean to me now. It's incredible. The scriptures are becoming so very much alive to me.

I want to share with all of you the amazing things we are learning. Pastor Larry Huch is writing a book that goes a long way toward explaining the Jewish roots. It should be available this summer. I'll try to get a few copies for any of you guys that are interested. In the meantime, you can learn the same things we are learning from the same source that is available to us.

The church we have been attending streams the services live over the internet. The streamed services are also recorded, and the last few are available to watch when there is no live service to stream. 

I posted links to the church website and Pastor Huch’s website in the “IMPORTANT LINKS” box at the right. Check them out to see for yourself.

P.S. – My shoulder is doing just fine. I’m finally back to driving again. Life’s good.

It has now been a little over 2 weeks since my surgery. I'm getting strength back in my arm and shoulder, but I still feel exhausted. I think it's the pain medication I'm taking. I have to take it or I can't lay down to sleep. I only take it before bed time, but it still drains my energy.  It's getting better, though. I'm looking forward to getting back to normal. ( I know... some of you don't think I've ever been normal )

I posted some pictures of the Dallas Auto Show. You can see them at the right of the page. I should have posted them several weeks ago, but I've been pre-occupied with my shoulder. But, they're posted now, so go check them out.

I think my favorite car is the new Dodge Challenger. The body style screams "MUSCLE CAR" and I like it. I haven't driven one yet, but I sat in the one at the auto show. Surprisingly, my butt fits just fine. That car just feels fast. It felt like I was tearing up the road even though I was sitting still. Sweet car. Yeah !!!

I was just leaving work back in the late fall when I saw an orange Lamborghini going down the road. I told several people, who laughed at me and said I was crazy. "Ain't no sech thang as an orange Lamborghini", they told me. Well, guess what I saw at the Dallas Auto Show. That's right... an orange Lamborghini. I told you so.... I made sure I got a few pictures of it. They are in the photo album I just posted. So, there!!!

Until next time.... Y'all

Disclaimer: I'm under the influence of pain medication as I write this, so my wife will proof read it before it gets posted.

As some of you may know, I needed surgery to repair my right shoulder from "impingement" of the nerves and to remove some bone spurs. I hate the thought of getting cut on, so I was not looking forward to it at all. To make matters worse, my surgery was scheduled for April Fools Day. I was relieved that everything was still in the right place afterward. They didn't prank me. Yee Haw!!!

It is now two days after surgery, and it wasn't so bad. My last surgery was about 35 years ago, back when they cut you wide open for even the most minor of issues. Now they make minimal incisions and use a scope, which results in less pain and quicker recovery. In fact, it was considered day surgery, which means no extended hospital stay. In and out the same day.

Carla and I arrived at Baylor Medical Center at 12:30 PM. They gave us a pager like the ones you get while waiting for a table at a restaurant. That seemed funny to me, but we were both treated with kindness and respect from beginning to end. Our pager went off after just a few minutes, and we met with Donna, who took care of the registration. She was very friendly and smiley, which eased my apprehension a bit.

She could have just pointed us toward the elevator, but she actually escorted us directly to the surgery center. There, we were introduced to more friendly faces (Elma, the nurse, and Billy, the patient care assistant) that prepared me for surgery.

There was a 2 hour delay because the patient ahead of me needed more delicate and extensive attention. I didn't like having to wait, but I was glad that they were willing to give the extra time to the patient, because I knew I would get the same degree of attention. There was a shift change, and we were introduced to a new nurse, Michelle, and a new patient care assistant, Grace. Again, they were very friendly and always smiling.

I finally made it in to surgery, where I got to meet the team. Again, they were all very friendly, especially nurse Debbie. I was out before Superman (Dr. Kazewych) came in, though. I really like Dr. Kaz. I have confidence in him.

Carla said that these 2 ladies took excellent care of her while I was in surgery, so I want to thank them for that. After surgery, Michelle and Grace made me feel that I was in good hands. I definitely felt safe. I especially want to thank Michelle for that popsicle. I really needed that

I'm still wearing a huge bandage that is due to come off Monday. The stitches will most likely come out at that time as well. I'll be back to work by Tuesday. I'll have to wear a sling for a couple of weeks, so I'll milk that as much as possible.

I finally got the time to upload the video of our trip back home from Indianapolis right after the devastating winter storm left so many people in the dark. The video is on YouTube, and shows a lot of damage to trees and power lines through Missouri. Check it out here.

After getting to see most of the people we wanted to see, and getting snowed in for a day, we set out on our adventurous trip back home.

I promised to post some pics of our trip when we got back home, but I haven't had time until now. So, if you look to the right, you'll see those pics in a new photo album. Most of them are family photos, but I threw in a few of the snow (my favorite is the one of the Texas license plate peeking out from under the white stuff). Other pictures don't really show it well, but the ice had a devastating affect on the trees. I heard someone in Missouri describe it as a war zone. I would have to agree. It was bad.

I checked road conditions before we left the hotel, so I was certain the roads were all clear. I was right. The roads were clean and dry all the way. However, I did fail to consider everything.

When it was time to refuel the car in southern Illinois, we discovered that ice from the storm had brought down many power lines. We drove as far as we could before we absolutely had to stop. We spent a few hours sitting at a gas station in Charleston, Missouri, waiting for the power to get turned back on so the pumps would work. We were settled in to the car for the night, hoping to not freeze to death.

Finally, the station manager came out and told us that a local church had offered food and shelter for the night. So, about a dozen of us stranded travelers headed into town toward the church.

Carla and I just want to take time right now to express our eternal gratitude to the First Baptist Church of Charleston, Missouri. I don't know what we would have done without them. They fed us spaghetti (fortunately, they had a gas stove to cook with), and they offered us a cot to sleep on.

Suddenly, the lights came on, and everybody made a mad scramble to get to the gas stations before the power went back off. We joined them. After getting on the road, I realized that we hadn't taken time to thank them properly. So, after we got home, I looked them up online and called them to thank them. So, if any of you are traveling through Charleston, MO, stop by and say hi to the great people at First Baptist.

We planned to stop a little ways down the road to get a room for the night at the same place we stayed on the way up to Indy, but they had no power either. It was pitch black all the way through Missouri. Nobody had power. We didn't find power until we reached Arkansas, but all of the hotels were full of locals seeking shelter. We couldn't find a room until we were almost to Little Rock. By then, we were both exhausted. The next morning, we drove the rest of the way home. It was nice to see the ground without snow or ice. It was also in the 60's at home. I'm not going to Indiana in the winter any more.

Next time, I'll post pics from the Dallas auto show. Oh, yeah!!!

Greetings, y’all…

I’m writing from the snow covered city of Brownsburg, Indiana tonight. Carla and I came here a few days ago to visit family and friends. We wanted to make this trip at Christmas, but we weren’t able to make it then.

It was great to see everybody, but we both needed a Mikey (our grandson) fix. He didn’t realize that Texas was so far away and that he wouldn’t be able to visit every weekend like he did when we lived in Indiana. It was a really good time with him. He’s a little cutie.

We got to visit other family and friends as well. We wanted to go to Martinsville to visit Carla’s sister, but we got pounded with over 12” of snow. We made it back to the hotel after more than 3 hours driving in blinding snow and ice. Oh, boy!!! I don’t think we’ll do this again. They can come visit us in winter. We’ll wait for warmer weather before coming back to Indiana.

Other than the snow, it was a good trip. Hopefully, we’ll be able to get on the road back home to Texas in the morning. I’m looking forward to sleeping in my own bed in a warmer climate, without snow. Brrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

I’ll post some pics of the trip after we get home and sleep off the drive.

Later

America experienced a truly historic event today with the inauguration of the first African-American President in the history of our great nation. I'm truly proud to be an American right now.

At the same time, another great President left office to return to the ranks of citizens of the greatest nation in the world.

I am reminded of a dream I had several years ago. My wife and I were having dinner with President and Mrs. Bush. We lived in Indiana at the time, so I never thought I would ever get a chance to meet such a great man, much less have dinner with him. I wrote it off as just a dream.

Recently, my employer moved operations from Indianapolis to the Dallas / Fort Worth area. They asked me to move with them, so I did. Now, the Bush's are moving to the same area. My wife and I went to see the Trains at Northpark (I've written about it here) and while trying to get out traffic on the way home, I took a detour. Guess what... we drove right through the neighborhood where the former First Family is moving. That's a lot closer than I imagined it would be.

Hmmmmm.... When I had that dream, in Indiana, there wasn't a chance that I could ever even see President Bush in person. Now, he's going to be a 20 minute drive away. Maybe we'll bump into him out in public sometime. Maybe he'll read this and give me a call. Who knows... It could happen.

My wife and I would sure love to have the opportunity to tell him that we had a Christian President who stood up for what he believed in... a true role model.

Carla and I finally got a chance to visit the "Trains at Northpark" exhibit at Northpark Mall in Dallas. It was pretty impressive. I posted some pictures at the right.

The Trains are part of the private collection of Mr. and Mrs. Ban K. Bywaters, and has become a local holiday tradition since it began in 1987. Chugging on 2,500 feet of winding track, the exhibit is the most elaborate toy train exhibit in Texas, with vintage locomotives whizzing on a journey across America, past miniature national landmarks including Mount Rushmore, Dallas’ skyline, New York City’s Times Square, and Washington, D.C. The exhibit includes more than 40 Lionel-type O-Gauge and the larger G-Gauge locomotives.

Proceeds go to support Ronald McDonald House of Dallas.

I shot some video that I will probably post on YouTube as soon as I get a chance to edit the footage. I'll let everybody know when it is available. I still some video of the Fort Worth Air Show to edit as well.

Quote

Some of you know, but others may not, that I have an online business. Since I believe strongly that we should live our lives without shame, I am shamelessly inviting y'all to visit my online business site and blog.

T L Ross Technologies

Tech at T L Ross Technologies

Enjoy

I have changed the name of my Live Space site. Why? Well, I awakened one morning last week with a very strong feeling that my life was about to change. I have awakened with that same feeling every morning since. In December of 1959, a truly remarkable thing happened. I was born. In the 49 years since my birth, my life has has not been remarkable in any way. If I may borrow a line from the Will Smith movie Seven Pounds (a great movie by the way). "Unremarkable would be an upgrade for me."

Don't get me wrong... I have had absolutely wonderful things happen to me. For instance, I married the absolute love of my life. She is the most wonderful woman God ever created, and I love her more and more every day. In 1975 I was saved and filled with the Holy Spirit. In 1978 I became the first person in my family to graduate high school. In 1980, my brother and I both became the first ones in our family to ever pursue higher education. There have definitely been good things in my life, but I have always felt that there must be more to it than this.

Apostle Chuck Clayton once told me that I have a unique heritage. I didn't know what that meant, but I've been thinking about it a lot. As I looked back at my ancestry, I discovered that my great grandfather on my mother's side was a Pentecostal preacher and my great grandfather on my father's side was a multimillionaire. That's interesting because I don't like public speaking and we never had much money growing up. So what happened to the wealth? What happened to my family? I don't know, but I have a feeling it's about to be restored.

I remembering praying on my way to work one morning, and I asked God for a chance to start over. I asked for a new beginning. My wife and I then resigned from a position we held in our church in Indiana. We both felt such a peace and relief afterward. It was like a huge burden had been lifted. It wasn't about the church as much as it was about us.  We don't have any animosity toward the church. In fact, we still love the Pastors and the people very much. We just needed a change in our lives.

Shortly thereafter, I was informed that my employer was moving all operations from Indiana to Dallas, Texas. I tried everything to find another job, but nothing worked. Finally, my employer offered me a promotion and a raise to go with them. After talking it over with my sweetie, we decided it was the right thing to do. So, here we are in Texas.

We came to Texas in May of 2008 to look for a place to live. Our hotel was directly across the highway from a church with a tall steeple. When we finally made the move, we discovered that church was pastored by Larry Huch, a preacher we had seen on TV, and the church was named DFW New Beginnings. (Remember I prayed for a new beginning?) He had been preaching that the date 8/8/08 was the day of new beginnings. We arrived at our new apartment on 8/7/08. Hmmmmm.

I have a feeling that from here on out our lives are going to be extraordinary. Stay tuned.

I have much more to say, but I have to go watch the Colts beat the Chargers...

Later, y'all !!!

I was finally able to get some pictures of the Christmas lights here in the Dallas / Fort Worth area. They are not all mine, but we actually saw these for ourselves. Fortunately, other people had cameras that worked well at night. The pictures can be found at the right.

Enjoy!

Oh, and have a Happy New Year!!!

Well, we've just experienced our first Christmas in the great state of Texas. Christmas day saw a high in the mid 60's, but Friday hit 83 degrees. Wow...

The weather in December has been a roller coaster ride to say the least. I really enjoy the warm days, with temps in the low to mid 70's, but when you wake up the very next morning to a bone-chilling 22 degrees... well, let's just say I prefer the 70's. I've experienced radically changing temperatures before, but this is ridiculous.

The good thing is we've only seen one day of icy conditions. They don't have salt trucks down here. They have sand trucks. I don't think they're equipped to deal with bad winter road conditions, although the worst accidents have been due to someone leaving their water sprinklers on overnight when the temps dropped below freezing.

We haven't seen as many Christmas decorations here as in Indiana, but the ones we have seen have been very impressive. We drove through a park in Grand Prairie with over two million lights, and we visited a very affluent neighborhood in north Dallas that had about a bazillion lights. I wanted to post some pics of the lights, but my digital camera didn't perform well in a moving vehicle at night. We were going to go back there and ride a horse-drawn carriage, but we didn't want to spend $170 for a twenty minute ride. Maybe next year.

There's a big model train exhibit at some ritzy shopping mall in Dallas (they have valet parking... at a mall...) but 45 minutes to drive 200 feet through a parking lot was enough. Now that the Christmas shopping frenzy is over (hopefully) we may try again before the New Year. If we get to go, I'll post some pics of that.

Until next time... Peace to y'all

Carla and I went to the Texas State Fair on Monday. It was a good time for us both, although I'm feeling it today. I feel like I walked a thousand miles this weekend.

We took in a car show, heard some loud country music, and I even bought myself a cowboy hat. We took some pictures, but the pen of the $95,000 steer was empty. So, no pictures of the steer. We checked out the train exhibit, but we skipped the pig races.

This year's food star was the chicken fried bacon. We tried it, but I wasn't really impressed with it. However, the grilled alligator was rather tasty. Yes, they really had grilled gator, and yes, I ate some. I posted some pictures to prove it. When we come back to Indiana to visit, I'll bring some for everyone to try. There's a local restaurant that supposedly has great gator, although I think it's fried rather than grilled. Carla even tried it, but she thought it was too tough (It's a gator, after all).

Check out the pics. Ain't I stunning in my new hat?

Later, Y'all

I've been working a lot of long hours for quite some time now. But, with the addition of more technicians, we're finally getting things rolling. The company is letting up on the overtime, and I will actually get to enjoy a three day weekend this week.

Carla and I are planning to take in an air show in Fort Worth and a car show at the Texas State Fair. I doubt if we'll eat any of the many varieties of deep fried "stuff", although I hear the chicken fried bacon is very good. Maybe I'll try it.

I had a chance to meet a high ranking official of my employer today. In fact, he bought my lunch at a great local Mexican restaurant. That was nice of him to do. He seemed like a really great guy. He talked about the future plans of the company, especially the facility where I work. He seemed really interested in what's happening at work, and he's easy to talk to. I like him.

He seems to be a really down to earth guy, which is interesting due to who he is. He's a retired astronaut who flew a space shuttle mission in 1985. He came to our company about 3 years ago from NASA. His name is Roy Bridges, and you can read about him by clicking here.

Gotta go work on my website now. We'll post some pictures of this weekend's adventures.

Later Y'all

I just posted a few more pictures of our new home town. I took these pictures with my phone, so they aren't as nice as the one's from the good camera. I've been working weekends lately, but we're going to try to go the Texas State Fair in Dallas. If we can make it, I'll shoot some more pictures to post.

In the meantime.... Adios Y'all