Tag: love

TommyLog – When Tragedy Strikes – Show Them You Care

Hey Kids it’s Dad, and for today’s TommyLog I want to talk about how you handle tragedy. I have a really great friend in Utah. She is a counselor at a junior high school. Over the weekend one of her students was killed in a tragic accident. Today she has to go to school and clean up the mess. There will be lots of tears, it will be lots of questions. There will be loads of opportunities to try to help. I know she is at a loss of words to know what to say. I know I certianly would be. I think that is natural. Sometimes we just don’t know what to say. There certainly no Hallmark cards to fit in just particular situation. “I’m sorry that your friend got hit by a car on Halloween.” Not to be callous., but you’re not gonna find cards like that.

So I think the best counsel for her and for everyone is sometimes you don’t need to say anything. Just a loving hug, and maybe if more is needed a “I love you!” That’s going to be sufficient.

We don’t know the grand plan of our loving Heavenly Father. But one thing I do know is that all your training that you’ve had throughout these years– it’s for this one big moment. The next few days are not going to be easy, but know that you’re not in this alone. We’re all behind you pulling. These kids definitely need you, but more importantly don’t forget — you need the kids.

TommyLog – Things Happen for a Reason!

Hey Kids it’s dad, and for today’s TommyLog I want to talk to you about how things happen for reason.

For the weekend, Drew was diagnosed with strep throat. Monday morning mom and I flipped to coin for who would stay home. I decided it would be good for me to stay home from work. A few minutes later as I was walking out to take the trash to the curb and, I noticed the smell of gas around the outside heat vent exhaust. I spent a moment and the smell went away so I didn’t think anything else about it. A few minutes later back inside I heard a strange noise coming from the heater. I immediately called the heater guy to have it checked out. I thought to myself I’ll be home all day might as will get it taken care of. A really nice guy named Eric came over to check out the heater. He found that a smart relay device was defective.

Apparently at the beginning of a heating cycle,  the heater sends out 2 bursts of gas. One small burst to begin and then a much larger burst after that first burst has been ignited. Well the regulator wasn’t working properly and there was no first burst of gas only a second much larger burst of gas. Eric stressed to me how dangerous this was and could have led to an explosion. He didn’t want to scare me but he was certainly firm on the fact that this was a bad bad situation.

So let’s think for a second if Drew had not gotten strep throat, I would not have stayed home, and could not have had the heater guy come over to take care of the problem. This could’ve been tragic.

Things happen for a reason. The good Lord was watching over the Clifford family for sure!

TommyLog – Preventative Maintenance in Your Life with Robyn Wright

Hey Kids it’s dad, and for today’s TommyLog I’m coming to you live and in person from the W Hotel in Midtown Atlanta. I’m joined by my awesome Verizon friend Robyn Wright.

We want to talk about preventive maintenance. At work there are many large complicated machines. Every two or three months we have preventive maintenance done on the machines to keep them running smoothly. We do this during downtime to take care of little issues that could potentially become big issues if they’re not taking care of properly. Just like your vehicle, getting the oil changed is something that’s important on a regular basis. In life we need to also do preventive maintenance. No matter if it’s some downtime, a vacation, or just a family dinner. We also need to make sure to take care of our bodies. A check up our yearly check up is important. We need to watch over ourselves!

Preventive maintenance is important. Never forget that.

Thank you Robyn for doing this video with me. It’s always a pleasure to be around you. You bring the best out of everybody. You can find more about Robyn at www.Robynsonlineworld.com, or @Robynsworld on Twitter. YOU ROCK!

Be the Answer to Someone’s Prayer

Last Friday was a total rotten day at work. Do not pass go do not collect $200 rotten. I was home and it was about 7:30 in the evening and I wanted to go get Culver’s for dinner. As I’m driving to Culver’s sun roof open and XM radio turned up high—trying to forget my awful day, I saw a family stranded on the side of the road. They car had broken down. I immediately felt a prompting to do a u-turn and go and see who I could help.


The dad, named John, was from Eastern Europe, Croatia I think and he had a thick accent. He said he was the head chef at a restaurant in Neenah. His car ran out of gas and he and his wife and 2 kids were on their way to the grocery store. I was able to help him get gas and on their way very quickly.

After that, the worries of my Friday was washed away.

What a blessing it was not to ask for answers to a prayer, but to possibly BE AN ANSWER!

What will you do to be that answer?

A Little Goes A Long Way

Hey kids, It’s Dad and for todays TommyLog I want to talk about tooth paste usage. Both Emma and drew are having trouble modulating the mount of toothpaste that they use on a per use basis. A little bit of toothpaste goes a long way.

This led me to think that a little bit goes a long way. A little smile goes a long way, a hello or hi–that goes a long way. So take time to share a little—along the way.