Author Archives: Tom Wise

Message In A Minute: Let It Snow

Years ago, when my children were very young, my family visited my Aunt and Uncle’s house for Christmas.

My Aunt and Uncle have always been great with children. This particular time, my kids happened to find some styrofoam around the packaging of one of the opened Christmas gifts. Without my wife and I noticing, our children began to make a mess.

When we realized it, we apologized and started to help our kids clean up the mess. But my Aunt and Uncle had a better perspective. In fact, my Uncle helped them make more of a mess.

My Uncle and the kids pretended it was snowing inside the house. There were small bits of styrofoam all over the carpet. The kids were covered in white and having the time of their lives. It was quite a scene.

Years later, our kids still talk about how much fun they had that morning.

As relatively new parents, my wife and I were worried about the mess. But somehow, my Aunt and Uncle knew moments of delight turn into memories that last. We were focused on the debris that would have to be cleaned up, but my Aunt and Uncle were focused on the elation each child was demonstrating.

Make sure you find wonder in the moments. Don’t let worry and stress overshadow the blessings in the present. God is always at work.

Most mistakes won’t derail you. Many circumstances we view as messes, can be seen in a different light. Best of all, God’s grace can make things right, even if the mess is overwhelming.

There will be big messes in life. There are times to be focused on the aftermath. But, those times are rare.

Don’t miss the wonder in the moment, it may turn into a lasting, joy-filled memory.

Celebrate the moment.

Let it snow.

-Tom Wise

Message in A Minute: Perspective

A little perspective from a day I welcomed a friend’s newborn into the world, and later that day spoke at a funeral for a church member.

I think each of us should be required to stand at the nursery window and quietly watch the newborn babies for twenty minutes.

Then immediately each of us should drive to a cemetery where we would quietly read the tombstones for twenty minutes.

We should do this every few months and maybe we wouldn’t waste so much time and energy on things that don’t matter.

Life is a gift, time is a treasure, and you have both at this moment.

Let go of things that aren’t meaningful, focus on the things that matter the most.

And if you are willing, let God be involved in all you do.

-Tom Wise

Message in A Minute: Works In progress

I was first invited to a church when I was 17 years old.

I had been to churches a few times growing up, but nothing even resembling a consistent church attendance.

I walked into that church at 17 years old with long hair, ripped jeans, and a heavy metal t-shirt on. I honestly wasn’t trying to push any buttons. That was just who I was, and I didn’t know enough about religion to even pretend I was somebody else.

Sure I got some odd looks, yes a couple father’s in the church subtly kept me from even sitting near their daughters. On Sundays, I would usually sit in the back, to avoid any uncomfortable situations. Things like that happen. I even understand why some assumed things about me.

But there were these older ladies who sat in the front row of the church who overwhelmed me with love. They would always hug me, ask me how I was doing, and accepted me exactly the way I was.

A couple times they even invited me and my group (made up of my brother, a cousin, and a friend) to sit with them in the front.

It looked like Metallica was sitting with the Golden Girls.

That’s what God does.

He brings people together, His grace is the same for us all, He isn’t impressed with our clothes, our financial situation, or our status.

It makes me smile when I think of those older ladies who were so welcoming. They are part of the reason I’m a pastor today.

Love people where they are, if they are rough around the edges, let God make any changes needed. Make sure you are growing in your faith, you just may be the reason another person opens their heart to God.

We are all a work in progress.
We are no better than another.
We are all candidates for God’s goodness.

-Tom Wise

Message In A Minute: Return

Every time I hear the song “In the Air Tonight”, I’m instantly 8 years old riding in the back of a station wagon on my way to my grandparents’ house.

When you hear certain songs, does your mind go back to specific times in your life?

Have you ever gone through a closet and found some old photos that take you to another place and time?

Have you ever smelled something that filled your mind with nostalgia?

Of course the answer to all of those questions is yes.

This phenomenon is common in all cultures and it is bitter sweet most of the time.

There is a time in all of our lives that we hold close. A time when all seemed right with the world. He was still around. She was still in your life. Everything seemed to be at peace. What I’m touching on is deeper than we can go into in this article. But I believe “God placed eternity in our hearts” Ecclesiastes 3:11.

There is a longing in each of us for innocence, for peace, for Eden or Heaven if you will.

That’s where repentance comes in. (Don’t let the “religious” word repentance scare you.)

We commonly think of repentance in a religious sense. For example, say you’re sorry and mean it, now change your ways and do better. That’s part of it but not the full picture.

Repentance in the common Jewish understanding is known as “Teshuva” it literally means to “return”. It involves quite a process but for our purposes it means to come home, back to where you’ve always belonged.

You may have never even considered a life with Christ; He is asking you to return to Him, where you’ve always belonged. There may be changes you have to make, there may be things you have to let go of, but the most important thing is to repent… come home.

So maybe those nostalgic feelings that show up every so often do more than just point to a time in your life, maybe they are the impulse in all of us to return to the innocence (forgiveness) that is found in the love of God.

Jesus told the story of the prodigal son 2,000 years ago but it has survived and circulated because it’s true in the deepest sense. Why is the prodigal son story so powerful? Because the son comes home.

The son repents (returns) not knowing if his father will forgive him, if he has lost everything. He plans a speech about how sorry he is for all he has done. But his father jumps off the porch and welcomes Him with open arms. The father doesn’t even let the son get his apology out. He throws a huge party for his son. The father cries out…

“My son who was lost has come home.”

Is that you?

Do you need to return to where you’ve always belonged?

-Tom Wise

Message In A Minute: The Perfect Note

When I first started playing guitar, I didn’t know what I was doing.

It would be a full year before I took a formal lesson. Prior to that time, I learned from mimicking what I saw on music videos, reading magazines with instructions on where your fingers needed to be, and simple trial and error. I wouldn’t say I was particularly gifted musically, but I was aware enough to know what sounded good and what didn’t.

Early on, I learned how to tune the guitar, because if just one of the six strings was out of tune, the whole instrument sounded bad. But there was a problem. I could get the guitar in tune with itself, but I didn’t know that I needed a pure tone from another source outside of the instrument for it to really be in tune.

For example, the first string on a guitar should be an “E” note. Instead of finding the “E” note, I assumed the first string was where it needed to be and I tuned the other five strings relative to the first string. My guitar would sound good by itself, but when I attempted to play along with music on the radio, it wasn’t even close.

In fact, one time I had all of my strings tensioned so tight (too high pitched) that one of them snapped and the end of the guitar string went through the surface of my fingernail and all the way into my finger.

Shortly after that, I realized I needed to start with the proper note, because if I didn’t, there was really no way to play the instrument like it was meant to be played. I needed the true note to start with, the note that every recording artist starts with, the note every singer would be familiar with, the note from outside the instrument itself. I found an electronic keyboard to use as the trustworthy source for the note I needed.

We may assume we have our lives tuned up pretty well. Physically, financially emotionally, relationally, vocationally, and even spiritually, we can feel like we have our priorities aligned, our time balanced, and our life strings in tune. And honestly, you may have all of that tuned very well.

But we need to make sure we check with a source greater than ourselves. Where the note we start with is always pure, always in perfect pitch, and always ringing with consistency.
I sincerely hope your life is making beautiful music, but I encourage you to check with your source.

Are your relationships in tune with the love of God?
Does the melody of forgiveness play in your heart?
Do your words and actions harmonize with integrity?

Today I picked up a guitar, I checked the tuning, and I used an application on my phone to find the starting tone.

It’s a good idea to recalibrate your life, as often as you can, to the source of the perfect note.

-Tom Wise