"A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

" Proverbs 17:22 Have you ever laughed until tears rolled down your face or until your side ached? Have you ever laughed so hard your cheek muscles tightened up? With these named outcomes one would think that maybe laughter is not so good for you. Actually laughter is good medicine. Studies have shown that this is not just in one's mind that you feel better. Laughter has been proven to lower you blood pressure and your heart rate, alter your temperature and alter your blood chemistry. Laughter has even reported to burn a few calories. All of these things actually make you feel better. Laughter is good in that: 1) you don't need a prescription; 2) it is readily available; 3) the effect is immediate and 4) it has been known to change the environment. Laughter won't change what is going on in your life but it can change you. I have heard it said that if you can't change your situation change your perception of the situation. I am a witness that laughter can also save you. Humor was one of the ways that my parents (particularly my father) would help us get through situations. My Dad would throw out one of his one-liners in response to my Mother's discovery of some mischievousness that one of us kids had

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committed. We knew if he could get my Mom to even smile we were saved from what had looked to be a sure spanking. Now laughter is not always appropriate. Ephesians 5:4 reads, "Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking." There are things that some may laugh at that is hurtful to others. Having a joke at someone else's expense is clearly not acceptable for Christians nor is "off-colored" humor. I am of the mind that there is much we can do with laughter that is acceptable so I advise the appropriate use of humor.

ANNIVERSARY/WEDDING RING Class opened on June 3 with singing Love Divine and a prayer was given by Pat Thompson. Leigh Gettman-Allen sang a beautiful devotion Better than Hallelujah. Estelle Holleys lesson on Let Go! Believe! was very inspiring. KINGS JOY CLASS You ask me how I know He Lives, He lives within my heart and within the New Kings Joy Sunday School Class. We invite everyone to a weekly Bible study on The Character of the Disciples of Jesus by Kevin Warstler, Ph.D, Bible scholar at Criswell College, Dallas Theological Seminary at 9:45 am in the Sanctuary Parlor. TWO BY TWO On June 3 we sang He Keeps Me Singing and Amazing Grace. Carl Schoonover gave the prayer. Jere Thompson gave a good lesson on prayer. Thank you, Jere. Praise the Lord that Marsha Griffith's daughter got the teaching position. Praise the Lord that Mildred Lindsay's grandson, Josh, is doing better. Continue to pray for: Mildred Lindsay's

Learn to laugh at yourself. Read light and humorous material. Spend time with children. Watch a hilarious movie.
Whatever it takes to see the joys that God has blessed us with, find it today. I pray that this thought will change someone's day or someone's outlook at their situation. Blessings, Pastor Cheryl

family and the Burrouses. Glad to have Nathan and Daniel (grandsons of Don and Lucy) visit with us. Hope they come again. On June 10, Don opened the class with singing of Ivory Palaces and Near to the Heart of God. Mary Schoonover gave the prayer. Jim Gettman gave a good lesson on 1 Peter, dealing with faith. Praise the Lord that the Burrouses are doing better as well as Mildred Lindsay's grandson Josh. Continue to pray for the Matthews, the Lamars and Shirley Jackson. Class was opened on June 17 by singing Take my Life and Let Be and Take time to Be Holy. Don gave the prayer and then brought a good lesson on the Book of Esther. Thanks Don. Glad to have the Matthews back with us. Continue to pray for the Lamars, the Matthews, Mildred Lindsays family and Janet Rhodes who is in Ruidosa, New Mexico dealing with the wild fires. We are saddened by the death of Calvin Marsh. Please keep Verna Marsh and their family in your prayers.

The SPIRIT of the Church

In honor of TSUMC's centennial, CrossWise Players presents "Stained" November 9-11. We are in need of crewif you can swing a hammer, hold a nail or can spell saw, we need YOU! Please check with Leon McWhorter, Garry Wolford or Terry Egger for particulars! Troop/Veterans update...We need the current updates/status of active, inactive troops and veterans connected to our church. If you have an update, you may put it on the Troop bulletin board on the first floor of the sanctuary. Our love and sympathy to Verna Marsh in the loss of her husband, Calvin Marsh. Join Tom Thumbs Good Neighbor program and earn money for Tyler Street while you shop. Go to www.tomthumb.com to learn how. Our Good Neighbor number is 1051. Homebound Communion Training is Monday, August 6, 7 pm in the Conference Room.

Thank you for your investment in the ministries of Tyler Street. Financial update through June 30, 2012: Jan-June budgeted receipts Jan-June actual receipts $395,500 $373,495 or 94%

Jan-June receipts under budget $22,005 or 6% Memorials In memory of A. C. Simmons given by Marie Bourell, Dub Sutton. In memory of Ed Thomas given by Marie Bourell. In memory of V. R. Peterson given by Maxine Peterson.

Z a c c h a e us
"He entered Jericho and was passing through. And there was a man named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector, and rich. And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not, on account of the crowd, because he was small of stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was to pass that way." Luke 19:1-4 I will start with a question. How many people in this day and age would climb a TREE to see Jesus? I expect that a broad survey would reveal very few "yes" answers. We now experience our elected officials leaning toward the Anti-God movement indicating that we are not a Christian nation. Our founding fathers were very much Godoriented people. We can review the past and notice that printed on our money is the phrase "In God We Trust." Yes, in God I do trust.

Meet our new Weight Watchers leader, Nikki Szeluga

In 2006, I was morbidly obese when I walked through the door of Weight Watchers. I felt fearful about facing this lifelong struggle but this weight problem had to be dealt with. My first weigh in was tough but I felt the Lord with me. He knew the deep longing I had to be thin and confident. I knew that he wanted me to be healthy. I feel strongly that God led me to Weight Watchers. I also knew that Jesus desperately cared about the things I cared about. Over the next four years I dropped 110 pounds. On December 3, 2011, I hit my goal weight! Weight Watchers has profoundly altered the course of my life. During this time Jesus walked me through every step. The program taught me a few things: self control, determination, perseverance and endurance to name a few. I learned about me. God has taught me so much and if I had the opportunity to go back and be born thin, I wouldn't. I have discovered a love for myself, a compassion for others and a staunch knowledge that the creator cares very deeply for me that I would never have received had I not taken this journey. I want to invite those who may be interested to the Weight Watchers open house on July 16, 2012. We will be having a time of fun, food and fellowship. I would love to meet you and I will introduce the Weight Watchers program and a few of our members will share their own testimonies.

I was late in becoming a preacher. I had the call when I was a teenager. I gave God all sorts of reasons why that was not for me. The main reason I gave was that I stuttered. Time rolled on and my draft notice came in 1951. One could say that I was a "draft-dodger" (which I didn't want to be), so I volunteered and joined the USAF and stayed for the next 20 years. I married Onalee that same year and together we went forward in life, initially without the Church. In 1961 while stationed at Sheppard AFB and attending Burkburnett UMC, I finally surrendered to the call. The pastor at that time pushed me to get out of the Air Force and get involved in ministry, but I told him and God not yet. I had no college education and I wanted to go to a seminary and be ordained. This road took me down the path through night school at various air force stations to obtain my basic degree in order to be accepted by Perkins School of Theology for the three-year master's degree program. During this time in the USAF, I served the church as a certified Lay Speaker and, at each USAF station, I was involved in local Methodist church youth programs. I completed the under graduate requirements to attend Perkins in 1971. An internship was required to complete the Master's Program, so at TSUMC, under Pastor Paul Morell, I completed the requirements. Later I was appointed as an associate pastor here at Tyler Street. Looking back at my original question, "Would you climb a tree to see Jesus?" My answer today and back to the original call would be "yes." Many steps had to be taken over the years of serving God to reach this day in my life. God's faithful servant, Rev. Bobby D. Wilkie

Our Father of the Year was born in Oak Cliff during WW II, the fifth of seven siblings, and lived in the same house until he married in 1963. He is a graduate of Sunset High School, class of 1960. He became a Christian as a small child, at the former Winnetka Bible Church in central Oak Cliff, where his large family filled the back row every Sunday morning and evening. He met his wife on a blind date and they married while she was still in high school. By the time he received his BA in history from UT Arlington, he had become the father of two sons. He was the first in his family to earn a college degree.

Father of the Year...In 1976, a tradition began at Tyler Street which honors a
man who is chosen as the "Father of the Year." He is chosen for his high ideals of Christian manhood, his love for the Lord and for his family and church. Those who have been chosen in past years for "Father of the Year" are: 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 Mr. John Collum Mr. Robert Hickman Mr. Ted Philbrick Mr. John Skinner Mr. Hugh Lamar Mr. Jim Smith Mr. Albert Roberson Mr. Ed Thomas Mr. Rufus McKnight Mr. Jim Gettman Mr. Allen Hargis Mr. John Robuck Mr. John Wheeler Mr. Aubrey Temples Mr. Dennis Jeter Mr. Tom Young Mr. Butch Boss Mr. Bob Cunningham Mr. Wayne Harden 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Mr. Leon McWhorter Mr. Webb Musslewhite Mr. Joshua Thompson Mr. Hoy West Mr. Alan Elliott Mr. Anthony Skinner Mr. Gary Chapman Mr. Mike Brooks Mr. Tony Ostroff Mr. Ed Brown Mr. Pat Whiteley All fathers Mr. Freddy Boswell Mr. Terry Egger Mr. Harold Bannick Mr. Bill Lewis Rev. Mike Walker Mr. Ron Cawthon

He became a father at age 21, while working and attending college. His wife says, "At that young age, he fully embraced the role of protector and provider for his family and from that point forward he made sure we always had everything we needed." When their sons were 15 and 18 their first daughter was born, and 4 years after that came a second little girl to complete their family, but this also meant that they had a child living at home for 36 years straight, and loved every minute of it. He recommitted his life to the Lord shortly after he came with his wife and two young sons to Tyler Street in 1974, never wavering in his faith since that time, and continues to teach in the Challenge and other classes through the present time. Self-employed for many years, he had businesses at various locations around Oak Cliff and S. Dallas County. He went back to earn his MBA at the University of Dallas, and taught at Northlake College for a period of time, and at Grand Prairie Alternative High School where a number of former students have attested to the lasting positive impact he had on their lives. Although retired now, he is always busy and engaged, working on a complicated home or garden project and is often learning new software related to his hobby of photography, never letting any grass grow under his feet. "From watching my father's life," a daughter writes, "I have learned to love, not just with words, but with actions. Through his actions, his hard work to provide for us, his sacrifice and selflessness, putting the needs of his family before his own, my dad lives out daily demonstrations of his love for his family so that we might see what it is to love others." The other daughter adds: "One specific memory I have is when I was in the 5th grade at a garage sale, watching my Dad sell many of his own tools and some hunting guns to make enough money to allow my sister to go on the high school choir trip, something we could not otherwise have afforded. I remember thinking how selfless it was and how sweet my Dad was for doing it." A son-in-law comments: "(His) love for his family isapparent through his thoughtfulness. Every time I see him, (he) asks me about something that I had forgotten I had told him. He always prepares or gives anything when he sees a need. More important to me than the things he does, (he) has always accepted me as a son." One of the sons says, "My father always demonstrated his love for me and my siblings in so many other ways: the nice and thoughtful presents under the tree on Christmas morning, the fun family vacations, his heartfelt congratulations for good grades at report card time, and being by our sides at the hospital when recovering from automobile accidents." Another son comments that his father is "a man the real deal protector, provider, helper and wise counselorand was all my life. It is strange, but I am still learning that as I get older, he gets smarter. If I am ever half the man my dad is, I will really have accomplished something." His wife says that his children "saw a man who loved their mother and treated her with respectand who insisted that they do the same. They saw a man who was there for us, without fail. They saw devotion, stability, steadfastness, fidelity in marriage, reliabilityand reverence to the Lord. They saw a man with a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ." She also says, ...my husband set an example to our children to believe in themselves and have the courage to try difficult things, and to believe they can always do more and go farther than they think they can. Our 2012 Father of the Year: Ron Cawthon

Soccer Camp was awesome this year! We made new friends and got to see familiar faces. Thanks to Coaches Matt, Toch, Nnamdi, Yesenia, Mary Kathryn, Arielle and Maria. Special thanks to all who donated scholarships.

We have all been taught that since we sat in story circle on Sunday mornings, and it is most certainly true. But our buildings at Tyler Street are an important part of who we are and who we have been through our 100 years. Often, they have stories to tell. Did you know that it was 100 years ago this week that the fledgling congregation which would be known as Tyler Street Methodist held its first services in the white frame building at the southwest corner of Tyler and Sunset? That building cost $10,000. Rev. George W. Owens, owner of Owens Lumber Co., provided a gift of labor and materials amounting to $5,000 and the members raised the rest. The

in remarkable shape. It is a treasure, worthy of protection. It was built in the mid-sixties, along with the offices and first floor of the Memorial Building. One last bit of architectural trivia to close out this article: Did you know that the Tyler Street Christian Academy Board designed the front of its 2001 building to mirror the Sanctuary building? The concept of "mother-ship and satellite" was foremost in their minds. Hence, another red brick building with columns and peaked roofline was added to the Tyler Street campus, a nod to the past with a clear vision for the future!

Then and Now

By Vivian Skinner

church rapidly outgrew the structure, and it subsequently became the first home of Bethel Temple Church and then Grace Temple Baptist, before being purchased by the Stamps Baxter Music Company. During the Depression, Stamps Baxter sold the building and it was disassembled. The lumber was used to add a wing to a church building near Jefferson TX. This building still serves the congregation of Shiloh United Methodist Church. Have you ever noticed that there are two colors of red brick on our Sanctuary Building? That is because the congregation built and occupied the "sub-story" (first floor) in 1921, and didn't resume construction until they had completely paid for that portion. Consequently, the first story is a slightly different shade of red than the rest of the building. You may have heard the story of a child falling into a column well during this time period, only to be rescued by the pastor, who would not allow anyone else to be endangered in the attempt. The child was unharmed. The Sanctuary building's architectural style is Greek Revival. It speaks of permanence, and the majesty and power of the God we worship. It was completed in 1923. Work begins soon to replace tile and carpet on the first floor of this building. Get ready to see big changes! The next construction project undertaken by Tyler Street was the Children's Education Building. The cornerstone was laid in 1950. This building was an absolute necessity, as the postWorld War II baby-boom was in full swing. Pictures of the 2 year old class at that time show 15 children, and then there is the 2-1/2 year old class, with just as many! Depending upon how the rooms were utilized at the time, the building provided about 20 nursery and Sunday School rooms, plus office space. We will soon see renovations underway in this building, as a part of our current capital campaign. The Chapel of the Cross was built in 1958, a popular spot for prayer meetings, weddings, and worship services. Did you realize that the architecture of Anderson Hall is something really special? It is not only what we all know as "mid-century modern," but it is specifically of a type called "googie architecture." Googie architecture originated in California in the 50's and 60's, and was heavily influenced by the space and atomic ages. Characteristics include the upward sloping roofs, large angled windows, and other freeform shapes that we see in Anderson Hall. When you consider the fact that we've done nothing to that facility except replace the stage curtain and floor in its entire fifty years, that place is

Join us for a fun summer of musical entertainment!

Tyler Street United Methodist Church's VBS 2012 is July 16-20! All children entering kindergarten through 6th grade are invited to attend! Travel back to Babylon and join Daniel, torn from his home and forced into the king's service. Imagine the pressure of learning a new language and cultureand the shock of discovering your best friends have been tossed into a fiery furnace. Explore exotic sights and smells in a Babylonian bazaar! Kids will find that they're not much different from Daniel and his friends, who kept their faith in a faithless culture.

You are invited to help decorate Anderson Hall for VBS! On Sunday, July 8, after the 10:50am service, join us in Anderson Hall for a light lunch and then we'll have fun decorating! *****

VBS Wish List

We could use your help! Do you have any of the following items to donate? Metal Lids (from jars or juice cans) Wax for sealing letters (old candles?) Bamboo (even one stick will do!) Yarn (all colors) Newspapers (for papier-mch) Blue balloons Tennis balls Tube socks Marshmallows Paper sacks Grapes Dried fruit Olives Nuts Breads

Parents' Night Out at Tyler Street happens every 3rd Friday of the month from 5-9 pm. It includes dinner and plenty of fun! For more info, email Jamie Nelson at jamienelson@tsumc.org. You may register online at www.tsumc.org.