So last year Morgan’s (my 8 yr old daughter) guidance counselor Mr. Christoff asked me to do an assembly on friendship….and as any dad would say (or at least I hope) given the opportunity to spend the day at your child’s school, having your child as your assistant…of course I said yes, not knowing what I was getting into.  I thought this would be easy, then he told me…6 assemblies, 100 kids at a time, 40 minutes each assembly, and you need to keep their attention.  This had me nervous, and I am not like that…I wanted to do God justice first and foremost, but then at the second thought it was my daughters school and she has to walk in there everyday, and if I suck at this….CRAP!!!  Well needless to say, the assemblies went well, according to the principal and I had a blast doing it, although I woke up 5 times in the middle of the night wondering how to keep the attention of k-2nd grade children and influence them about friendship!  (it was sooooooooooooooooo neat to see how Morgan worked with me and how she actually ran the powerpoint without having to tell her to go to the next slide…I mean I have even had to do that with adult youth volunteers! WE HAD A BLAST)

But that is not what got me…..this is what hit me close to the heart!

I was introduced to this boy….he seemed really quiet but then he opened up and talked to me a bit about soccer.  You see this kid never attended any of the assemblies, because they were in the cafeteria!  When I was introduced to him, this is what was said…Tug, I want you to meet this boy (forget his name) he is from Haiti, and he has a lunch date today…someone eats with him everyday, but not in the cafeteria….he will not step foot in there, because he was in a cafeteria in Haiti when the earthquake hit! WOW!!!!  I immediately thought adoption, immediately thought what can I do for this or any other kid…but then realized having three children is like having a blender with the lid off….I realized a 4th would definately not be in the mix.  But it did not stop there, I could not stop thinking about this….. HE WOULD NOT STEP FOOT INTO SOMETHING THAT HAS SHAKEN HIM UP SOOOOOO BADLY….so here are the thoughts that God gave me on this, and I would love for you to respond with comments or thoughts.

1.  When dealing with fear of anything what is your cafeteria, what is it that you need to overcome by stepping or jumping to a place that you are so afraid of going!  Is God calling you to something that requires you to step out!

2.  Could this Cafeteria in your life represent your struggles or a sin that you have been dealing with for so long, that you need to your “eating spot”  the place that is costing you so much trouble and so much addiction, and you need to run from that?

I have not been able to get this out of my mind….so I thought I would share it!!

By the way I have taken a huge step in life…I let go of something that I was holding onto for the longest time and God has moved…details in next blog!

Again, we will get to the point in a bit! From my readings of Crazy Love (anything in italics is straight from the book)

I have to admit, this morning I came in to work early to make sure that I get a few things done, but another reason I like getting to work early, is the fact that my office is quiet before 9, with usually only Mark (my brother from another mother) Aaron (accountant who is a great guy and fellow believer) , Kristy (our Shipping and Receiving backbone, and fellow believer) and Bob (someone, who I have the utmost respect for, and have grown to understand).  This morning was no different, except the fact that  I find myself fighting back tears, not that anything has happened to me , or that I am completely out of line, but simply I read a question that was posed by John Piper but can be found in the book Crazy Love on page 100…Here it is!

The critical question for our generation- and every generation-is this:   If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied, if Christ was not there?

I asked myself this question this morning and almost began crying…I am getting it, I am really getting it.  I have been fighting this for so long and truly wondering what is enough for Christ, not out of guilt, not out of fear, or anything, but what in totality does Christ want from me.  This question put it all in perspective…If I get to see Grandma again, if I can enjoy my kids and wife when in heaven, La Charreada, Will Rock 4 Food, Mom and Dad and my Brother Gabe’s fam, and other family, the Buckeyes, Racquetball, the elliptical, and yes the Cleveland Browns, If I had all of these earthly things in heaven, would I be satisfied with being in heaven with these if Christ was not there…..HOLY FREAKIN CRAP, that is a wake up call if I have ever seen one.  I mean think about it, does alot of your thought of Heaven focus on the fact of who you are going to meet when you get there, or the fact that you get to spend the rest of eternity in the presence of Christ. I must answer that I do the same…and that is not cool, but still ok!  I do not think, It is going to be the thing that I have longed for, for my whole life, to die and be in the presence of God for eternity and think that is enough. But my eyes are open, and I see that the true importance of this life is not the complete result in the end, although do not get me wrong, I believe that I am the biggest fan of getting to spend the rest of my life in heaven, but the biggest thing is the way that I am running to God on this earth right now!

The fact is that I need God to help me love God. And if I need His help to love Him, I definitely need His help to love other, fault filled human beings.  I mean think about it, we cannot love God well without God, we would lose or focus. So the major thing that we need to think about is the fact that we need God to step in and show us exactly how to love Him, ourself and others and the only way to love others well, is to run straight to loving God, if we do this with all that we are, and we run to him because He is our refuge, instead of guilt, if we run to him, I mean with a laser focus…then watch what He does with our lives.  The fact is that we run towards Him, while carrying other things with us….I mean have you ever tried  to run while eating a box of twinkies, besides being self-defeating and sideache inducing, it would also be near impossible–you would have to stop running, in order to eat the twinkies. In the same way, you have to stop loving and pursuing Christ in order to sin! When you are running toward Christ, and pursuing love, you do not have the time to wonder, Am I doing this right, or did I serve enough this week!

So this is it, Is Christ enough to run after with just Himself being the result of why I am loving so much, or am I loving out of selfish guilt driven ambition!  My prayer today has been that I will take whatever that has been placed in front of God, even though He knows what my heart wants, will be put in a secondary role, and Him be my main reason for loving Him and people, the way that I do.  I challenge you to join me in this prayer.  Please leave a comment if you are not going to “Run with Twinkies” any longer.

Jesus, I need to give myself up, I am not strong enough to love YOU and walk with YOU on my own.  I can’t do it, and I need YOU.  I need YOU deeply and desperately.  I believe YOU are worth it,that YOU are better than anything else I could have in this life or the next.  I want YOU! And when I think I don’t, I want to want YOU.  Be all in me. Take all of me. Have your way with me! Amen

BE GREAT TODAY GUYS!! THINK OF WHO LOVES YOU!

I know the title drew you here, and that is what I wanted it to do… believe me, when you understand what we are getting at by the end of this blog, you will understand the title. It will help you understand God’s love for you.  (this is my blog on chapter 3 of Crazy Love, by Francis Chan)

Do you know that God loves you, Are you scared of Him and led to Him only by Guilt or do you really understand that He is flat out Crazy about you….do you come to him with all reserves aside and no care in the world, and realize that though you are mistake driven, God still loves YOU!!!

KNOWING GOD’S LOVE FROM MY DAD!

To get this to you I am gonna embelish my dad a little bit, and maybe you are not able to do this because you have not had a great relationship with your dad, and maybe that could be why it is hard for you to understand that God loves you.  Some of you know my dad, and you would never think that my dad is one of the most caring individuals. Maybe you saw him at a game in high school yelling at the refs, and almost getting kicked out of a game, or maybe you have just seen him.  He to the normal eye( we were at the fair this year and one of the CARNIES even told him he does not look like someone who follows the rules) looks like someone you would not want to upset!  That is where it is all wrong, my dad has one of the biggest hearts ever and one of the biggest images of love that a son could have ever seen.  My dad and I growing up and even now have one of the closest relationships that a son could ever ask for…why…because I knew from the beginning that he loved me.  Even the one time when I tried to give him a wedgie and he ripped my underwear off..LOL…Nothing impressed me more, than the using of his vacation days to come to our basketball games.  There was nothing like a backscratching from dad growing up. Everyone that I know that does not really know my dad always says…your dad is a beast., but never gets to see his tender heart! My dad has always provided in ways for us that I can never show enough gratitude, and has cared for my kids even so much, that they love their papaw Rock with all their hearts, why, because he loves them. So I must say that I can attribute a little bit of me knowing that my heavenly Father loves me because my dad has loved and loves me well.  But maybe you do not have the benefit that I had growing up, maybe your dad was not that loving of you, and you were always fearful of him…maybe he beat you, demeaned you, and never came to your events….sit back and think, can I attribute the way that I look at God, to the way that I have seen my earthly father. Now I know you are supposed to be fearful of God, but not led to pray, praise Him, spend time with Him out of strict guilt.

KNOWING GOD’S LOVE BY BEING A DAD!

Secondly I would like to discuss the love of my Heavenly Father towards me with the way that I view my relationship with my kids.  You see if you even have a remote clue of who I am, you know my kids.  If you have talked with me , you know all of the ins and outs of what my kid is saying today, what they did that was funny last night, what they want for Christmas, how much they mean to me. I want to give Morgan, Reese, and Tanner the best relationship that a dad could give their kids.  It all began when I heard that first cry in the delivery room, the moment that my oldest daughter took her first breath…then it was time to cut the umbilical cord….the time that she was going to have to rely on me for alot of things, and the time that I was going to spend loving for her (and my other 2 the same way) and caring for her in a way that no one else could. I watch them grow up and become more independent and love them even more.  The best feeling that I have is when that 5 o’clock bell strikes and I pack up my laptop and head home, and I cannot wait to get there. I walk up to the door and 90% of the time before I even get into the garage, that door pops open and out comes 3 of the most precious gifts that I could ever have asked for….to run up to me, hug me, give me a kiss, and let dad know how much they love Him.  Now really think about the love that I as their earthly father have for them and listen to these verses.

If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! -Matthew 7:11  (I go overboard to make sure my kids enjoy life, now can you imagine if that is the case, how much God has in store with us, with his love?)

The word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; ” Jeremiah 1:4-5a (When my children were born, I felt a love like no other, realize that God had that feeling about us before we were born….wow….he set us apart, those who call Him FATHER….HE actually wants you!!!)

KNOWING GOD’S LOVE FROM HIS LOOKING PAST MY FAILURES AND LOVING ME!

This is where the title comes in, and I know before you were like…where is he gonna tie that in…You see when I was younger, when I did something wrong, there was always a result of some sort of punishment. Whether it was grounding, whether it was my grandma breaking a ruler over my butt, getting my mouth washed out with soap…whatever it was there was always a consequence for doing something wrong.  Now think about it, alot of times we are hesitant to think about the love that God really has for us, by really dwelling on how many times we have failed him….we tend to think about the failures sooooooo much more than the successes.  And we really want to outweigh the failures with the good. It will never happen! That does not mean we should not try to live set apart….it just means, we sin, and we need to know that God still loves us…(if you know the story of David…you may be able to get God looking past failures and calling someone a man after His heart) But in scripture there are two verses that tell me, I am not perfect and that my good deeds really nothing compared to God’s holiness.

No one is good-except God alone- Luke 18:19  (realize it people you are not gonna be perfect but we have someone that is there to love us, and accept us for who we are)

All our righteous acts are like filthy rags! Isaiah 64:6 (your good will never outweigh your sin) On page 60 of Crazy Love, Francis Chan says this .. ” The literal interpretation of ‘filthy rags’ in this verse is ‘menstrual garments’ (think used tampons…and if you are disgusted by that, then you get Isaiah’s point.  It is hard to imagine something more disgusting that we could brag about or put on display. But compared to God’s perfect holiness that is how our good deeds appear!

God’s mercy is a free, yet costly gift.  It cannot be earned. Our righteous acts, just like used tampons certainly don’t help us deserve it. (end of excerpt from book) No matter what you think, no matter what religion you are….your good works cannot get you to understand God’s perfect love for you.  You cannot earn your way to feel it.  It is something that has to be developed and through the relationship you will understand the love that He has for you.  If our good deeds are compared to one of the things that you never would think about talking about, than how do we get there.  We need to realize that it is only by God’s grace that we can ever know His love.  We know we deserve hell, but through God we can experience heaven (Romans 6:23) We know we have sinned, and do not even deserve to know His Love (Romans 3:23) We know that even though we have been a grotesque image to God He still loves us and sent His Son for us (Romans 5:8, John 3:16)  And ultimately we know that once we realize we cannot make it to heaven on our own, we need to change our life to learn to live in His image. (Romans 12:1-2)

So no matter where you are at…maybe you did not have a relationship with your dad, or maybe it is filled with bad memories…..GOD STILL WANTS YOU

Maybe you do not have a great relationship with your kids and do not understand the fact that God loves it when we run out the garage door and into His lap to love Him, and let Him feel that in return……GOD STILL LOVES YOU!

Or finally maybe you think that your sin is too much for God’s Son to have bore on that Cross, and that He could not have done that for you…GOD STILL DID THAT….for you!

So wherever you maybe….God still is waiting for you, and is loving you, with a love that we will never be able to understand why, but can rest in the fact that He does!!

Please, lets start a discussion on this topic, and if you have questions please ask!!

But there is nothing normal about today.  Just think about everything that must function properly for you to survive! (Page 39 of Crazy Love, by Francis Chan)

I was driving out to work the other day, and I was thinking this exact thing, in fact I actually spoke this to Angie the other day!  Do we actually realize how much we are not in control.  As Francis points out in this book and as I realized the other day ( I was not in a wreck, I just thought this), we drive down the road at 65, well maybe 70-75, 80 if you are my mom, and we pass cars going the opposite way.  We do not think about or even remotely wonder if that car that is coming has been kept up well, or if the driver is alert, or if his tire is gonna burst, or if he is updating his facebook status while driving.  We simply think that he is in control of his car, and I am in control of mine or maybe we do not even think anything, because we really think that we are going to live past today, and for quite sometime.  We do not think about how our heart is beating on perfect rhythm, or if our kidneys are functioning right.  As Francis points out, ” the only people that think about their kidneyes functioning right, are those with kidney problems.”  This is the way it is with our life, we do not realize how short it is, we do not even begin to chew, or even touch this verse. “What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.”  James 4:13-14

This 2nd chapter of Crazy Love has opened my eyes to quite a few thoughts! Do I really know that I am not in control of my life in totality.  Do I realize that God is ultimately the One who is in control and at any second my life could vanish and in a twinkling of an eye, I could be gone. Am I ready for that? How have I prepared my life in a way so that the preacher will not have to lie at my funeral ( I used to have a shirt that said that)  Think about that, have you ever been to a funeral where the preacher says something bad about the person that is being buried? (Francis points this out in the book) I mean we sit there and think, well he/she was not that great of a person, but it is like an unwritten law that you have to say everything positive about the person that has died.

I have done 9 funerals in my life as a pastor(6 of them have been car accidents), and each one of them have been very hard to speak  at and walk through, I have buried 5 of my teenagers, my friends Grandpa, my wife’s grandpa, my cousin, and my own Grandma, and for the most part only one of them did I truly know well enough (now do not think that all of them were bad, in fact my cousin come to find out was really someone that I wish I would have known better, she truly loved well) to know that every word that was coming out of my mouth that day was the truth.

There was this lady named Marilyn Conrad (my Grandma), who lived every waking minute, up until her last breathe at the Nursing Home in Wapakoneta, Ohio, for Christ.  I mean every second…well there was that one time she, my mom and Angie came down to visit me at church camp, and she fell out of bed and cussed….oh and that one time, her son Jim was taking  a corner too fast and she let another one go….but literally if you knew my Grandma, you have met someone authentic!  Someone who spent every waking minute praying, praising, teaching, thinking and knowing who God was to her, and in her what we would call battle with Cancer, it was not a battle to her, just another day closer to glory (as my buddy Mark would say) Now that I look back on her life, and I am thankful that I knew her the way I did, I realize that the biggest effect that she has had on my life is not the fact that she was my best of friends, but the simple fact that since I knew her, I was able to see someone who knew their life was a vapor and was going to live it that way.

So here we sit, as a human, we are worried about what car we want, what toy we are going to buy our kids for Christmas, what the job looks like, what tomorrow will bring,when we do not even know if we are going to get there! Seriously, think about it, I am getting ready to go to bed tonight and as I sit here, I have always wondered how our bodies rest and then wake back up, it is a big deal of everything working together.  So with that in mind I have got a complete decision to make, if I am just an “extra” in this movie of life, and I, much to my own demise am not the main character, but the movie is all about “God”  what am I doing to make Him more visible…..HOW MANY CAMERA ANGLES AM I GIVING PEOPLE ABOUT GOD IN MY LIFE.  Your life is not about you….sorry….the promotion, the money, the presents, the sex, the beer, the partying, you will not even remember some of the people, and as Francis Chan points out, NO ONE WILL KNOW YOU IN 50 years, in fact hardly anyone that you know will remember you in 50 years…so quit living as if you are going to live forever, and the people that are around you are always going to be there!

It sucks to think about but it is true!

I guess what I am getting from this chapter is this….you and your relationship with God is the only thing that matters,  on page 42 it says that Worry implies that we don’t quite trust that God is big enough, powerful enough, or loving enough to take care of what is happening in our lives, and that Stress says that the things we are involved in are important enough to merit our impatience, our lack of grace toward others, or our tight grip of control!  These two things keep us from realizing that God is in control and handing the reins over to HIM.

Do you need to simply sit back, and really know that He is in control, can you be like my Grandma and Rejoice in every moment of your life….if you got cancer today, would you have to change the way you are walking.  You see some people have a great reputation and that is it…In Revelation 3:1 it says “I know your deeds,you have a reputation of being alive,but you are dead.

WAKE UP…you are not hear for that long….so live your life so they do not have to question what the preacher is speaking at your funeral!!

This counts as my Thursday blog…if I make it that far

Please read the below story….thoughts below

MUMBAI (Reuters) – City authorities in Mumbai demolished the shanty home of a “Slumdog Millionaire” child star on Thursday, forcing his family into the streets months after the Oscar-winning film shot him to global fame.

Azharuddin Ismail, 9, played the character of Salim as a child in the film, a rags-to-riches romance about a poor Indian boy competing for love and money on a television game show.

Ismail’s tarpaulin-covered home in a teeming slum was one of several shanties, illegally built along a drain, that were demolished by local authorities in Mumbai, India’s financial capital and entertainment hub.

“When they came I was sleeping, they shook me awake and one policeman even threatened me,” Ismail, surrounded by half-broken suitcases filled with clothes and utensils, told Reuters.

“What can I do if they have demolished my house? I will sleep out in the open.”

A poster of “Slumdog Millionaire,” signed by director Danny Boyle, fluttered from the only wall of Ismail’s shanty still standing. Open sewers run nearby and it had no running water.

Authorities said the shanties had been demolished earlier but had sprung up again on the same spot.

“The shanties are all touching a drain that has to be cleaned before the advent of the monsoons,” said U.D. Mistry, the local official in charge of the demolition drive.

Earlier this year, there was an outcry after pictures emerged of “Slumdog Millionaire’s” child stars living in squalor despite the movie’s box-office success and eight Academy Awards.

The film also sparked controversy for its name, deemed by some to be offensive to slum dwellers, and its treatment of the cast. Its depiction of the lives of poor Indians was dubbed “poverty porn” by sections of the media.

In February, the housing authority of Maharashtra state, of which Mumbai is the capital, said they would give Ismail and fellow child star Rubina Ali new houses. But Ismail’s mother, Shameem, said the family is now at the mercy of the rains.

“We also heard that the government had promised us houses, but what happened? We are still homeless,” she said. “My son has brought glory to the country, shouldn’t he get some credit?”

(Writing by Tony Tharakan; Editing by Matthias Williams and Paul Tait)

Usually I will not blog about things of hollywood as far as movies, because it never really effects me as far as emotionally or any thoughts that pop in my head that I have to share, but this is a different story.  If you have not seen Slumdog Millionaire, you need to go right now to your local Redbox, or Video Rental place, or for that matter, you will like the movie so much that you should possibly just buy it!  The story is a rags to riches story that is filmed in a dramatic way, but even watching the movie, you really do not see the complete effect until a story like this surfaces…On Oscar winning movie, and yet these kids are still living in the slums…it shows me a few things.  It really is crap that this kid who was such a vital part of the movie, is not able to live in a normal home, while us in America sit in what we think are not lavish homes, but look at the shed in which they live in that we can purchase at our local hardware store for less than $50.00.  I mean seriously there are so many situations like this that are surfacing, that we as believers need to take into consideration in which avenue we are truly showing others the Kingdom!  

I am writing this as well to challenge as many people to this following email. My mom recently visited Africa and has since learned that she and all of us can purchase a lot of land that can turn into an orphanage…..I cannot describe it any better, so I will just let you read the email straight from Africa!!

Dear Janelle, How are you and the ministry ,How is Rock,Gabe and Tug,the two daughter in-laws and the six grandchildren? hope they are fine in the name of Jesus christ.I am so happy to receive a letter from you once a gain,we are excited .Everybody is fine and the ministry is doing okay.The children and the staff are doing fine .Dad is recovering and getting strong and we thank God for that.  Janelle I know it is the will of God to have those pieces of Land,because if the devil have them it will mean a different thing to the children ministry and the impact it will have to the children within the community.Isaiah 54 as from verse 1 on wards says we should expand to right and to the left and we should not spare.You see people have been coming to buy it and letter disagree,they want to develop it and just everything comes to a stand still.God is still holding that land for us.I totally believe it is the will of God to have those land to his glory.There are territorial demons that control the people in this area and they want to have their agents to posses everything so that they can control the area efectively,but we the children of God are here and we will take charge.    I also believe your ministry is in Africa,Kenya(Matisi and expanding) and your coming will mean a plus to the kingdom of God and destruction to the kingdom of darkness.I know that God is able to abound all grace towards you so that you will be safficient in all things also to preach the word.God wants the people Get saved more than we want,so he will provide,amen.Concerning the people to work with let me also pray about it.     Tell Tug,the ministry that God gave Him is still intact and that is the blessing, wherever he goes he will prosper ,for the path of the just is like a shinning light that shines ever brighter unto a perfect day.Read Deut 28.      Did you get the details that Pst Patricia was asking?Greet her in the name of Jesus . Dorcas is fine and Gloria with everybody around me,Dorcas misses you and longs to see you,Hug that great man of God, Rock we miss him too. Bye for now,you are blessed. Benson  So how can you help…..this land can be purchased right now for a total of 5,000 dollars, and if you would like to help, please either contact me on Facebook, Twitter, email me (tug@willrock4food.com) or my mother at janelle@unreined.com   If we can get 100 $50.00 donations, we are done and imagine how many lives will be touched!!! Here is an actual picture of Benson in the orphanage that was without Mattresses until mom actually was able to assist in the purchasing of the mattresses for this room!!  Let us get them another orphanage!! Let our love be motivated by that of Christ!!!  Let us turn their lives around by our love for God!! Will continue to update people on the process of this!! Unworthy but His and always wanting to Bust Satan in the Mouth!!  Tug Taviano Twitter:  tugtaviano Facebook: Tug Taviano Email: tug@willrock4food.com

So as I am physically(not wanting to put my eyes on any espn channel for the next week for this is all we will see), and emotionally(sad to see someone that was great, possibly not go out on top) annoyed by the appearance of this talk about Brett Favre making yet a possible 2nd comeback, I have thought of an intriguing twist to all of this!

First of all here is a quarterback who had retired once, drug himself out of retirement to try and place an impact on those that were close to him, fans of him and ultimately all of football, and that he did. Then he did it again, he retired a second time, and is now seeking another comeback…possibly…..I do not in any way shape or form think that this is going to end up the way that he hopes, but one thing is, he will go down swinging.  I personally think that he was a great quarterback, but is making a mistake by coming back out of retirement for the 2nd time.  

Then there is my savior, one who sort of like Brett, is a Hall of Famer, someone who walked this earth risking every bone in His body, literally, and no matter what anyone thought of Him, He was about His business, which was His Fathers!  Then it happen it came time for Him to retire, and some wanted to see Him go, and few were fighting to keep him here (the majority cheering when He retired).  His job was “done” so to say on this earth and frankly He did not need to accomplish anything else on this earth to remain the savior!  Then it happened, He busted out of retirement and people completely questioned His coming back, wondering if it was really Him, How it could happened and whatnot….but face the truth, in His eyes and for us it needed to be done.  Now this is completely where I believe this situation completely differs, When Christ comes back for the second time, it will be the most anticipated event of my lifetime, and I would never want to turn the channel away from it!!  So needless to say, Christ’s coming out of retirement, will leave everybody without questions, while this Brett Favre situation has everyone including many sportscasters saying….STAY RETIRED we do not need you!!!

If there is one thing that I love about the Brett Favre situation, it is the fact that in Brett’s eyes, he has to have football.  No matter what people are saying, no matter how many people who say stay retired (me included) or how much pain he is going through….he simply loves the game, and every aspect of it.  No matter what is going on around him, it is not keeping him from what he has to do!!  

So I pose the question, Do you have to have Christ, like I guess Brett Favre has to have football?  Do you really not care what people think of you and if you became a spectacle in the world’s eyes,you would still desire to be HIS CHILD!  Would you tuck your tail and go hide at a ranch in Mississippi, or would you explore every open door to make sure you are finishing the job that Christ has given you. Do you need Christ or is He just a commodity for you to have around.  

It leads me to a verse that I recently came across in Luke 9:50 where it states  Don’t stop him! Anyone who is not against you is for you!  Which leads me to say there are people in this world even including satan that will rise against you, and there will be those who verbally poke at you about following Christ…..but those that are not against you are for you!!! You have more on your side than what you think!! Stop living in the world of retirement spiritually and come back for more, there is more to be done!!
But Brett…..stay retired, or at least pick a team that you have a chance at winning a super bowl with…but then again that is not you…you like to face every adversity in your life and slam it into the wall!! To that I say…win a championship for Uncle Gary, a long time Vikings fan!!

The question to ponder is, what do you have the ability to see? So many things are based on vision, actually pretty much our whole life is based off of what we can see, and I can honestly say that sometimes I wish I could not see the way that I do.  You see at the top of my blog-site you will see a quote that was taught and ingrained into my head by the great Dennis Moles.  A quote that if we actually grab it, can change the world.  ”Love people until they ask why, and then loving them some more!”  This is what life is about, but you truly cannot love people without seeing them.  The first thing that I learned growing up was something that I wish I could go back and reverse, because if I could, this whole seeing thing, and loving well thing would have happened sooner. I loved well, do not get me wrong…..seriously have been spit on, people picking fights, punched by an adult, and honestly not respected too much, but all of that did not change the way that I felt about the ones that did those things to me….for one it is nothing compared to what happened to my savior, but that in all honesty is not why I allowed those things to happen.  I did not say, hey punch me in the teeth, I want to be like my Lord.  No it was just a characteristic, and gift that God has given me, to let things roll of my back, like a duck with water so to say!  You harm me, I love you….but I really wish I could have loved in the way that Christ intended!  I know alot of you will say, you did Tug, you loved so well, but to that I would say…I could have loved people better, I could have seen them the way that God wanted me to!  What I am trying to relay cannot be said by any words that I can tell you and can be summed up in this verse!

In John 3:3 it states “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God!” 

For the longest of time growing up I would hear this verse, and say that is great, I know that I am born again, and someday I will be able to see the Kingdom of God, in which I thought could only be summed up by streets of gold, the lion laying with the lamb, and even seeing David and other people that I cannot wait to talk to.  Instead it is summed up by not only those things, but Fourth Street, Main Street, my back yard, your back yard, and everyone that comes against your backyard.  The way that you see them now can be completely changed if you actually realize that you really do not see them until you SEE THEM.  How you see them is the next thing!  Do you see them as people, or your way to enhance the Kingdom of God.  For to say God’s kingdom is here on earth means one thing, there is someone that is trying to overthrow it as well. How are we gonna take it back, are we gonna continue living in the aspect of lazy love, or are we going to go out of our way to love each other.  Are we going to see the hurting and feel it is not our responsibility, or are we going to have to feel their responsibility because we can now see them.  Are we going to go around samaria, instead of “having” to walk through it as Christ did when it was frowned on!  Are we going to fight for our King, or bow down to the world’s king!  Satan right now is trying to gain a stronghold in what is meant to be the Kingdom of God! The question is, If you have the ability to see (have been born again and are walking with God) are you really seeing????  To see is to do something about it, to look is to leave it in question!

Hope this challenges you!!

I have always been someone to pose the question, where are we going….whether it be to my parents when I was younger…to my wife, when we discuss the option of restaurants when we go out to eat (always ending up in the words “La Charreada”) . I even pose this question to God very often, when I have no idea where my life is going to end up…or if I am indeed on the right track to get there??  This has not been a big issue, until recently…do I really need to know where I am going?

I have the ability with my iphone to make sure I know exactly where I am, and can even be followed by a little blue dot on my screen, depicting every turn I make, and telling me if I get off track!  I can zoom in as close as the street, or zoom out as far as the map will go…and it will still show me exactly where I am at, and where I need to be going.  I love this feature, and it has helped me get from point A to point B in the quickest fashion, but has it taken away some of the fun of trying to find your way to your final destination.

      from the book Still Waters and Skycrapers  

                Albert Einstein once boarded a train in Princeton, New Jersey, bound for Boston.  Upon finding a seat, he immediately started fumbling for his ticket, which he couldn’t find anywhere.  Noticing Einstein’s frantic search, the conductor reassured him: “Everyone on this train knows who you are Professor Einstein.  I don’t need to see your ticket.”  While looking relieved, Einstein carried on hunting for the missing ticket.  When the conductor came back along the train he saw the renowned scientist on his hands and knees looking under the seat.  He tapped Einstein on the shoulder and said, “Please. Professor, don’t worry about the ticket. I am quite sure you have one somewhere.”  To which Einstein replied, “No, no.  You don’t understand.  I need the ticket because I don’t know where I am going.”

               I am sure that Einstein was on a busy lecture tour covering many locations, but there is still something perversely comforting about the idea that one of the greatest minds n history could be so befuddled as to forget where he was going on a train journey.  There may be some hope for the rest of us, after all!

        We all have the stories of being lost!  We all have the regrets of making the wrong decisions, that have even possibly effected some portion of our lives, and we all have searched for the answers to actually try and figure out where exactly our life is heading, but isn’t the train ride enough!  Isn’t the fact that God is saying, Tug, I know you have your ticket, now stay in my seat, and let me take you to where you are supposed to be going!  I mean I can name the countless mistakes that I have made, for instance the time when we left Grace College in Indiana, to come back and do ministry full time, when we should have just stuck it out and finished my degree! I could either get hung up on the decisions of the past, or I could realize that these were part of the process of God shaping me in my journey with Him.  Although these are decisions that I really need to evaluate and possibly get going on reaching these lifelong goals, I would not trade in my ride for anything.  

      You see if God would give us a GPS of our life, and all we would have to do is really go from one thing to another, that would take the joy and pain of following Him out of the picture.  God gives us the opportunity to hear Him as clearly as we want to, and sometimes we hear ourselves over Him.  We jump at this and jump at that, and think that it is God!  We do not have the position that we think God wants us to have, and question the conductor of our life.  He is still in the driving seat, and He sees the road clearly ahead….so sit back put on your seatbelt, and enjoy the ride.  

       Now this is not a ride, that you have no part of, or that you just sit there comfortably….when He tells you to turn, turn.  When HE tells you to slam on the brakes, or push the pedal to the medal, do just that!!  But most importantly, keep your little BLUE DOT on his map, and watch where he takes you!!

IF you are curious to the complete information on the book that was stated above… here is the info

Still Waters and Skyscrapers : The 23rd Psalm for the 21st Generation, by Dave Tomlinson

Have you ever been to Disney World,Universal Studios, or have even taken part in a high school, church or other kind of musical that is required to build a set?  I have been thinking about this of recent and was reminded of this on my recent trip to Anderson University…which by the way is a great University!!

I watch movies all of the time, and in fact I have actually never thought of the time that goes into building the set, making it look so amazing that when we watch it at home it looks real…but in all honesty, most of them only look real from the front.  As I have taken some vacations to Disney, and other theme parks, they always want you to feel that you are somewhere that you are not….main street of New York, Paris, whatever city it is, they want you actually to be able to live there for the time that you visit.  Have you ever had the opportunity to be backstage and actually see what they look like….If I am a guessin man and I am going to be… it looks like plywood and 2×4’s…something that you may actually not build a dog house out of because it will rot in a strong storm…or will break in a high wind!!

So I began to think…wow… is that not how alot of people spend their lives…like a movie set, where countless hours are spent trying to make people feel that you are stronger than what you are!  While inside you know that if a certain temptation comes, you will break and if people would actually dig a little deeper into your life, it would actually look like crap, and would people really want to follow or watch your movie if they actually knew what the set truly looked like?

I know this was a complete revelation for me…to actually let people see the crap of my life, so that my set could be authentic…and that it looks the same on the back as it does on the front?  Now there are constant times where I spend time rebuilding, or maybe I should actually say letting God have the tools, but letting people see who I really am, the true me!

For some thoughts from scripture that sort of relate to living real….

Mark 4:1-20 (New International Version)

Mark 4
The Parable of the Sower
1Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge. 2He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said: 3″Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. 8Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times.”

9Then Jesus said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

10When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. 11He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables 12so that,
” they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,
and ever hearing but never understanding;
otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!”

13Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? 14The farmer sows the word. 15Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 20Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown.”

Any thoughts???
For a fun exercise…if you were played in a movie who would be the actor or actress that portrays you, and what kind of movie would it be???
For me… I would want Kevin James to play me in a Comedy of course!!

So last night I went to an elder/staff meeting and we were discussing our vision statement for the church, which is the following:  A community of sojourners in Christ, committed to live by FAITH, to transmit HOPE, and to be known by LOVE! While we were discussing the vision, this question was brought up; “What about our vision excites you?”  I sat back for a minute, truly in thought and asking God…..tell me what really excites me!!  So we were in a point of a standstill, am I excited about the Faith part, definitely. Am I excited about transmitting Hope, for sure!  What about the love part…..and that is where it stayed…right then I began to think of I guess the way that God has wired me….I believe that without a shadow of a doubt that I can outlove anyone on this earth…no matter what you do to me, I love you….no matter how many times you crap on my parade…I love you… Now do not get me wrong….alot of people I do not truly get along with, but honestly would do anything for.  I guess I would say that I am excited about that part of the vision, because that is the easiest for me to do…it is the thing that I am wired for…but what about the weak link…what about the FAITH part?

I thought for the rest of the night, that wow, my Faith is not the faith of those in Africa, not the faith of my Grandma, that when she was dying of Cancer she was still praising God…heck when I am sick for a day…you can find me shriveled up on the couch…not doing a thing! I began to think, it is my Faith that will make me love better! It is my Faith that will make me transmit hope in a better way. It is my faith  that will help me to be involved with the community of which I live in!  But without it, am I truly doing any of it???  So now I get it….I have Faith, but why do I have it….I need Faith, but why do I need it…I preach Faith, but do I truly exemplify it… and now I blog about Faith, but is it truly written in my heart.  Now do not get me wrong, I believe that everyday I am putting an effort into becoming closer with Christ, but am I truly living by the Faith of which I believe.  The faith that God may be requiring me to think outside the box, and really dream….the Faith that this year God is definitely going to move, and I am going to be right their with Him….whatever that may be!!  The faith that no matter how bad this economy gets, God is still enough!!  I ask you what is your Faith, not just that you believe that Christ died for you…but how do you practice what you preach…or do you.   For example there is a buddy of mine, named Charles Hill….a leader in ministry that frankly is that of someone I have never seen!  Someone who gets it, and goes after it!! I am asking you to pray for his next step. He has just announced something huge in his life…he never wanted to plant a church again, thinking that he would stay at New Hope Community in Loudonville, Ohio forever….but now is following the call to plant a church in Salt Lake City, Utah….which is possibly one of the hardest places to plant a church, but is also one of the fastest growing places in our country.  I ask you to jump over to his blog, you will find it on my blog roll, and begin to pray for this man of God and his family…..that God will continue what He has started, and that no man will be able to bring it down…. Charles…keep bringing it bro!!!

Until tomorrow,

Tug

P.S.  Mall Cop is hilarious, but I am still a bigger fan of Slumdog Millionaire!!!