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

Tonight marks the 4th game of my daughter Morgan’s new found love….SOFTBALL!  She is amazing to watch!! I am the coach of the team, so it makes it really easy to watch every play, but I am beginning to be so grateful to even have the ability to see what she is learning on her own!  She so far is 8 for 9 batting, which in the realm of 1st grade softball you have to put the fielders into play with the average, but she has not used a TEE yet!!!!  Secondly I am so jacked to see how tough she is….she loves being the catcher (crazy), and has even got bruises from being hit by the ball, but does not phase her the slightest!!  Last night was a huge thing to watch, Morgan was playing pitcher at the time (we have a facemask on the pitchers)  and our third baseman came about 4 feet from Morgan and chucked the ball at her as hard as she could…hit her right in the facemask!! She looked at me, I went to see if she was ok, she wanted to cry, but said she was fine…I said, you get back out there and play then if you want! She went right back to the mound!!!  Needless to say, what could be so hectic as it is schedule wise, has turned into a great bonding experience with my daughter!! To all you dad’s ,  coach your kids when you get a chance!!! AMAZING REWARDS of TIME BEING SPENT with your own kid!!!

Every morning I get up at 5Am much to my chagrin! I hop out of bed, literally brush the teeth, take vitamins, throw the gym clothes on, grab the bag and clothes for work, ipod, eat a quick breakfast and head out the door by 5:20!  It is nuts to see the desire that I currently have to get strong?  It is not that I am sitting here saying, I cannot wait to be the strongest person in the world, but it is a dedication to be the best that I can physically while completely conditioning spiritually as well.  In the past few weeks I have really began to see the results by doing these early morning workouts! If you would have asked me six months ago if I would be where I am at today, I would have laughed at you, with a piece of pizza in one hand and a Pepsi in the other.  I set out on a mission, to become less of me but yet so much more!  The whole your body is a temple thing!! You know the thing that completely makes you feel like crap  if you are a little overweight to majorly obese. You do not want to heare that message when you walk into chuch, but yet you think the bigger the temple, the more room for God to move.  I had that mentality for so long, that I began to become lazy in many portions of my life, and finally began to realize that less is really more, and that the Power of God will show up in my weak spot….it is just the transferring it over to Him that is the hard thing! One day, I really felt the urge to completely change my lifestyle, to devote my physicality to God as well, and that is when the spiritual side completely took off! It was like Exercise was my weak spot and God was wanting to show me His power by getting me on a complete different level.

But just like it was for me physically it is the same spiritually…what is your weakest spot, because that is where God wants to show up!!  Is it the way you trust Him with your finances, is it the way you see your ministry, family, self, or possibly even others!!  Whatever the weakest spot is, God wants to reveal His power to you!!

In 2 Corinthians 12:8-10 it states Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away.  Each time He said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.”  So now I am glad to boast about my weakness so that the power of Christ can work through me.  That is why I take pleasure in my weakness, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions and troubles that I suffer for Christ.  For when I am weak, then I am strong.

It is like what God is asking us to be proud of, are the times when people ridicule us….the things we want to hide from others, the addictions and whatnot that we have overcame by the Power of God! So much has been hammered down on peoples weakness, that they can never see that that is the very thing that God wants to use for people to see His power.  If others never see your weakness, how are they gonna see His strength. It is like the hardest thing that we have to go through, is where God wants us to say….hey idiot, that is where I want to show up….so if your life is crap right now…watch out because manure helps things grow!!  The thing is realizing that you have got to suck it up…you have got to hold to Christ… so you can see His power…give up to soon…you will not see it!!  

Another thing that is key is to make sure you know your role!!

It is like this passages of scripture in Matthew 20:20-28 and then in Mark 10:32-45

Where the mom and the sons both asked Jesus this question!

“In your Kingdom, please let my sons sit in places of honor next to you, one on your right, and one on your left”  (Matthew 20)

“When You sit on your glorious throne, we want to sit in places of honor next to you, one on your right, and one on your left!”  (Mark 10)

Jesus’ response in both scriptures: “You don’t know what you are asking! Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of suffering that I am about to drink, are you able to be baptized with the baptism of suffering I must be baptized with!”  they answer yes….He says ” You will indeed drink from my bitter cup and be baptized with my baptism of suffering.  But I have no right to say who will sit on my right or my left. God has prepared those places for the ones he has chosen.”

Needless to say…the big thing is not where you will end up…the key is that you will drink of the suffering…for that is where Christ will take your life by storm!!

These two guys wanted to have stature, and Jesus just wants them to see His power!!!

So for today…my challenge to you is that you let Christ show you your weakest spot, so that His strength can be seen so much more!!!

SEE YOU TOMORROW!!

T

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!!

So many thoughts have been passing through my head lately….so many thoughts of wonder, of excitement, of curiousity, of love, how to love everyone well.  How to walk through the mud and the mire while holding onto a God that never changes, how to look up while it seems that so much stuff is going down!  How to run and not get weary and how to wake up every morning at 5 am and push myself physically as I am spiritually!  Alot has happened of recent, and if you have not heard, I will let you know what is going on in my life at this current time…..crazy stuff, and am so jacked to be a part of all of this, yet it is one of the hardest times of my life!  About a month and a half ago I really felt like God was going to be moving in my life in a way that I have never experienced, and in all honesty at that time it even felt uncomfortable!  We had started this new thing with our student ministry called “joes on the road” in which the teens have no idea where we are going until they get here, and that night we were visiting Cornerstone Harvest Church in Lima.  I wanted the teens to experience a complete different style of worship that they have never seen.  Worship was amazing, the message was as well….and then this happened.  A friend of mine that I have alot of respect for, who is an assistant pastor at that church, asked me to sit with him.  I did, and he says, “every time that I looked at you during the service, I felt God telling me this, that in the next few weeks, you are going to have some rough meetings ahead, but do not be afraid for your heart is right, and the decisions that you make will take you to a different level!! I walk out and share this with only one other person, an adult leader, and I was blown away, but had already been feeling God stirring something in my heart, so this somewhat gave me a peace!  Well, needless to say, giving has been down of recent at our church, and the economy has taken its toll and 3 weeks to the day after that service, I am pulled in the pastors office before staff meeting, and he tells me that due to finances, I and the children’s pastor will be getting laid off on June 17….I actually smiled, not out of disrespect, but because the stirring of what God had already been doing is now coming into fruition.   This is nuts, I mean here I am being told that only due to finances I will be out of a job, and I have a complete peace with it!! This is not me, if you know me, I am so worried about being the provider for my family, someone who has got to completely know that all is well, but not this time…at the biggest point in my life where I should have doubt, I have none!  I personally know that this is God, because none of it makes sense!  Alot of times that is the way that God works, when things do not appear to make sense in mans eyes, God ultimately uses them for His glory!!  Needless to say I feel like God is overcoming one of the darkest times (losing a job) with His Brightness.  You see I have been on a rampage for a while now in my studies, and have really been diving into scripture, and I truthfully know that no matter what, if I continue to draw close to Him, He will draw near to me, and He already is! It is like no matter what I do, I know that He is my rock, and He is the only thing that can hold me up….it pains me to lose the direct weekly relationship with my teens and adult leaders, but I am so JACKED about the future that it is not even funny….Here are some lyrics from a song that has really hit home with me…

Well I’ve been hit from every corner

And I’ve been thrown from side to side

And I’m cracked up in the inside

So I come to You for life

Your presence always heals me

So I wanna’ drink it in

You know where we’re going God

And You know where I’ve been

And your love is like a rock

When I’m spinning

And your love is like a rock

When I’m spinning

And your love is like a rock

When I’m spinning around.

Yesterday I felt so angry

And today so insecure

And I hate it that I wrestle with the God that I adore

Your presence always heals me

So I wanna drink it in

You know where we’re going God

And You know where I’ve been.

And your love is like a rock

When I’m spinning

And your love is like a rock

When I’m spinning

And your love is like a rock

When I’m spinning

And I know less about You

But my heart loves You so much more

You’re the bright in sadness

You’re my brightness

I wish this thing could pass from me

But I’m wanting what You want

So bring me high and bring me low

Just hold me in Your love

And your love is like a rock

When I’m spinning

And your love is like a rock

When I’m spinning

And your love is like a rock

When I’m spinning

And your love is like a rock

When I’m spinning

And your love is like a rock

When I’m spinning

And your love is like a rock

When I’m spinning around.

So when my life is spinning out of control there is only one Rock , and that is who I am leaning on!!! He came into the mud and put my life on solid ground, He sent His son to be the mediator and through Him, we can see the Kingdom!  He loves us so much that He wants to share all of it with us!! What do we have to do in return, Fight, Love, Respect, Serve, Listen, be His subjects, and rule His Kingdom right along with Him and how can I do that, if I do not trust the KING!!!

So needless to say, in  my darkest place, I see His brightness clearer than ever before!!

Books that are helping in this time:

The Barbarian Way: by McManus

Jesus for President: by Claiborne

The Bible: studying Psalms in which it consistently talks about Crying out to God

Music that is helping:

Charlie Hall: The Bright Sadness

Jars of Clay: The Long Fall Back to Earth

1. What is something daddy always says to you? Go in your room…LOL

2. What makes daddy happy? sitting by me.

3. What makes daddy sad? i don’t know. .

4. How does your daddy make you laugh? sometimes when he laughs.

5. What was your daddy like as a child? FART…..LOL

6. How old is your daddy? 18.

7. How tall is your daddy? takes her hands and makes about a foot!!! LOL Like the five dollar foot long

 8. What is his favorite thing to do? See Bob and Larry.

9. What does your Daddy do when you’re not around? Goes on a date with Tanner…my 2 yr old son.

10. If your daddy becomes famous, what will it be for? Being FUNNY.

11. What is your Daddy really good at? Doing games to get stuffed animals.

12. What is your Daddy not very good at? putting dogs back in their cage.

13. What does daddy do for a job? feeds people, something on his computer!

14.What is your daddy’s favorite food? Pizza

15.What makes you proud of your dadddy? Doing letters and writing Tanners name

16. If your daddy were a cartoon character, who would he be? DORA…LOL

17. What do you and your daddy do together? Play and Dancing.

18. How are you and your daddy the same? a long time ago you had blond hair!! we watch cartoons

19. How are you and your daddy different? you have pieces of red hair now!!…

20. How do you know your daddy loves you? When you kiss me…and morgan and tanner

21. What does your daddy like most about your mommy? giving her rings…and letting her smile at you

22. What is your daddy’s favorite place to go? to the buckeyes games!!

23. What do you wish you could do with your daddy? play with him, with dora stuff, and princess stuff

24. Where do you like to go with Daddy? grandma and grandpa’s house 25. When you grow up what do you want to be? Dora?

26. Who is your favorite person in the bible? Dora…Lol

27. What is your favorite thing to eat? Pizza?

28. Who is your best friend?? Daddy, and Mommy…and Grandma…papaw Tanner chimes in: and Josh, and Andy, and Clint, and Jacob, and Papaw

29. Where do you want to go on vacation? to the Fair

30. Who is your favorite person? Andy (the old drummer for This Beautiful Republic) Tanner chimes in …Andy the drummer

So I know it has been a while since I have blogged and have even been told…man you got a sweet new blog up..and you are gonna let it fall on its face….and I do not want to talk to someone that has not blogged for two weeks…but I am back…and dang has it been a crazy two weeks! Just a quick snapshot of what God has been doing!!

Last Monday the possible next step for Will Rock 4 Food and our concert ministry was beginning to take shape…A friend of mine Jim Schmidtke (who just happens to be the guy who led Coach Tressel to the Lord)  who I have met through the involvement with THE MAIN EVENT (Columbus and Lima) called me a few weeks back and wanted my take on some concert ideas, and to help him in what a great concert, or what the next steps would be….basically wanted help with the vision behind something!! That something happens to be a concert that would be following a Columbus Crew game in September @ The Crew Stadium!! Now I do not know the involvement or anything we will have as of yet…but we had a 2 hour meeting with the President of Events for the Columbus Crew and it looks pretty good.  I never thought that when we started Will Rock 4 Food in a park in Lima, that God would do so much with it…He has already completed my dream, and now I am just completely blindsided by what is going on!!  So the day of the meeting, we  (my brother Gabe Taviano, Friends and Colleagues Charles Hill, and Dwayne Sayre) got an in depth tour of the Woody Hayes Center (the Ohio State University Athletic Training Center) a tour of the Crew Stadium and got to hold the MLS Cup, and then we jumped the little fence and ran on the field @ Ohio Stadium!!  You can see the pics on my facebook page. What an amazing day….and who knows what the outcome will be, but God!!

Then on Wednesday, we filmed the first 8 episodes of this tv show on WTLW TV 44 that I am co hosting with, Billi Dray.  The show is called the Surge, and is a Christian Music Video show geared towards taking the topics of the videos and doing little 2 minute teaching segments in between… The tapings went longer than was expected, but definitely glad to see what God is going to do with them!!  It is at its first step, and will begin to air in late March….I am new to the TV thing, and was really nervous for the first couple of shows!!  Glad to be able to host this show with a friend, and former news anchor!!  

Then on Sunday we switched all of our youth things around…times all changed and are focusing more on jr. high being separate from high school….which definitely already saw positive effects the first week.  It is amazing how middle schoolers will open up when there are no high schoolers in the room!! It was a great first week of Evolve our MSM, and Crave, which is our HSM.  We also started a joes on the road thing, where we are starting off every Wednesday night with the teens not knowing where they are going and taking them to places in which they will learn many lessons!! Tonights topic was Encouragement…so we stopped at an Older gentleman’s house from our church, and gave him a dozen golf balls and a card, and then went to a students tournament game together, and ended up at my daughters’ pine wood derby….three different ages of encouragement, and three different ways!!  

I have been swamped this week with prep for youth, prep and promo for the upcoming Skillet concert on April 4th at the Elida fieldhouse (www.willrock4food.com)  and being the best dad and husband that I can be at the same time…Lets just say, at night I am drained!!  So if you can pray for the next few weeks and this month that God will provide the energy that I will need to  do what He is directing me to do!!!

Tonight we had the Awana Grand Prix, which is a pinewood derby, and my daughters took home 1st Prize in Design (Reese with Larry the Cucumber…pics on my facebook) and 2nd place overall speed (Morgan) .  I knew or at least was confident that Reese would get a prize for design…but Morgan’s trophy was a shock to me, because every other year my cars have sucked as far as speed goes…I am not the engineer like my cousins Jessey and Joey!! This time what we did worked….plus the red track was fast all night..LOL

Finally I want to give a little shout out to a blog that you all should be following…. it is a blog from a college friend of mine named Mark Artrip!! Mark is a youth pastor at Grace Church u in Powell, Oh.  Mark actually performed at one of the first ever concerts we had (I believe you were there Mark with Godsound)  with Grits! He is a very talented and funny man, and according to his top 25 music albums….we both agree that Justin Timberlake is talented…lol!! I actually like JT’s style of music!!  You can follow Mark at www.markartrip.com   Mark was also the one that said my blog site was sweet, but I am letting it fall…lol….so I said I would blog about him!!  Mark, thanks for helping promote the concert on April 4, and for being a friend, colleague and fellow passionate member of the world of hip hop.  

Until next time!

Tug

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

As Valentine’s Day is approaching…I thought you may want to see this video! Watch with caution! You may actually feel the need to tell someone you love them when you are done!!

So many times we think that people do not need to hear the words I love you…or we use them flippantly and forget what meaning they actually have!  These are words that I cherish and that I hold at high regard….and honestly when I say them I truly mean them.  Maybe you are wearing a ring on your finger and you are like the guy in this video that rants and raves about people in public, but in behind closed doors, your relationship is that of confusion, or not knowing if you actually love that person.  Maybe you are truly thankful for the people that God has placed in your life..but have not went out of your way to show that you love them!! I know Valentine’s Day…is kind of a Hallmark holiday, and we feel like it is our obligation to by people cards, or give them candy….but I challenge you to not do anything if you feel obligated…but only do it because you truly LOVE THEM…..

I can honestly say that I tell my wife that I love her everyday!!  Recently have I truly began to see how important she is to me.. WHY I could never do life without her!!  Here is a short list of things that I love about her…that I can share in public at least…

1.    She is drop dead gorgeous
2.    great mom
3.    better cook than what she thinks
4.    patient with me
5.    does great with the house
6.    persistent
7.    beautiful without makeup
8.    dresses fit to kill
9.    loves to spend time with me
10.    sings amazing
11.    follows God’s lead
12.    loves soo well….especially those who are close to her
13.    appreciates when you take time to notice her
14.    loves to shop
15.    beautiful eyes
16.    good listener
17.    means well with everything she does
18.    wants to know details about everything
19.    her strengths compliment my weaknesses
20.    great driver
21.    LOVES THE KIDS…..NO MATTER WHAT
22.    GREAT HOUSEWIFE
23.    will bend over backwards for you
24.    needs to know you love her
25.    loves to look pretty for me, even though she does not have to do anything to do that
26.    Prays with the Kids
27.    strongminded(sometimes too strong but most of the time it is a good strong)
28.    loves the same kind of movies that I like…for the most part
29.    Forgiving…many times
30.    Loves to be cared for
31.    Loves my attention
32.    LAST BUT NOT LEAST>>>> SHE DOES NOT KNOW HOW MUCH I LOVE HAVING HER AS MY WIFE

I cannot tell her enough how much she means to me…and truly how blessed I am to have her as my wife!!  So Angie…when you read this…remember the words of the GREAT LIONEL RICHIE!!! ….because I’m Truly…..Truly in Love with you Girl!!

I love you

Tug