Many of you have known my Grandma – Marilyn Conrad – who passed away September 14, 2005 of brain cancer. My Grandma was my hero…she was my spiritual giant…sorry Mr. Heath and Mr. Mohler…but I used to skip school to play Monopoly with her. I would act like I was sick and mom would take me to Grandma’s and drop me off…where I would lay down for around an hour and then…up and at em we went. Sometimes I would hear the famous victory dance from her…sometimes I would beat her. I wish I could still call her…but in all honesty I still have their number programmed as GRANDMA CONRAD. I cannot change it!

She prayed for everyone…She loved everyone, She had a blast…NO MATTER WHAT PEOPLE THOUGHT OF HER. When she died…MY WORLD GOT THE CRAP KICKED OUT OF IT. My Grandpa (PoPo) asked if I would speak at her funeral….How could I not… Well, God must have gave me the strength, because when I came off that stage…I was weeping like a baby! As a matter of fact, I still do from time to time….and tonight may be one of them.

You see…5 years ago my wife came to me and said…Tug, I had a dream, we were together, and we had to ask for these keys… and this lady looked at us… as we told her we needed them. The lady looked at us as like…why am I to give you these keys…how do you know Marilyn. I told her, and she handed me the keys. When I got the keys I unlocked the doors to an arena ….that there was a line outside jam packed waiting to get in. My wife told me…there was no one that was supposed to get these keys, they were specifically for you (me). We (angie and I) were able to pick these keys up and open the door..because my Grandma left these for me. (ya freaked out yet)

When I heard this …I was getting hired at Crossroads… in Lima, Ohio… a church of around 700 at the time, and I thought that was it. Only to be laid off 2.5 years later. I have thought, a lot about this dream and what it means…because I do believe that God gives us dreams…but when my wife vividly communicated this to me, I could not believe it. She left me the keys to a ministry that she had passed on to me! She left me to do the work that she had done for so long….but I GET LAID OFF!!! For a year I was furious…then disappointed, then happy…..minus losing the teens that I loved so much. But what about the dream….where is it gonna go….I sold wireless internet to hotels for the next almost 2 years. This job was something that I could have retired from… I LOVED IT….LITERALLY LOVED IT! God had something else in store!

I began speaking with a guy named Jacob Reiser, and met him and his dad to talk about possibly working for RUSH CONCERTS (This after running concerts for 10 years in Lima, for no income). We met, felt like family, but had no idea what it would turn into. Well 6 months into the relationship, I count them as brothers, and would go to war for these 2 guys (Jacob and Cliff Reiser). They have enabled me, through God’s leading, to pursue the ministry that I know I am supposed to be a part of.

Well…tomorrow is the day… I head up to Saginaw Michigan, with Cliff and His wife Mary, check in to my hotel….spend the night and then its on like FRICKIN DONKEY KONG. We unlock the doors to arenas….that have lines of people waiting to get in….with keys to the kingdom that these people are wanting and needing to be a part of…they may not know it…but we do! You get it yet….my wife’s dream that she had is truly becoming a reality!!! I am soooooooooooooooo humbled and emotional about this!!

Grandma….Thank you for what you have poured into me…an undying love for the lost, and the ability to be myself no matter what people think! God….thank you for what you are going to accomplish through the Rock and Worship Roadshow….I PROMISE TO LEAVE IT ALL ON THE FIELD!!!

LETS GOOOOOOOO!!!!!

IF you are not familiar with this tour… Check out http://www.therockandworshiproadshow.com