What a whirlwind summer it has been. I mean is it just me or is 2008 moving at warp speed?!? I guess that means that we are getting busier. I know I have been crazy this summer. There are so many things, people, activities, responsibilities, and problems to juggle it can be overwhelming at times. There is a secret however to winning the battle and it’s surrendering to Jesus.

I just a couple weeks ago made a decision that I know will change my life. I enrolled into culinary school right here in my hometown. It was a big decision but one that was the end result of prayer, talking with my wife, debate, and faith. The bible says in Proverbs chapter 3 that if we trust in the Lord with all our hearts, then He will direct our paths. I trust God to lead my life because He promised that He would. I can’t even tell you just how perfectly everything is working out. The schedule, financing, classes, everything is working out perfectly, and I am rock solid in this decision.

In two days (August 30^th), I will turn 29 years old. I have had a great life so far, and I am looking forward to everything I will get to accomplish before it’s over. I know that nothing will ever happen to me that is outside of God’s plan for me, and that makes me bullet proof until the time he chooses to change it. I have many hopes and dreams and plans. I would love to be a dad someday and for my wife to be a stay at home mom. I would love to own a food related business someday and take the training I am getting in school to incredible heights. I am goal orientated, big and small, every day; I try to get something done that I can feel good about.

Just surrender and leave the worry to God.

I have a few thoughts and questions about the service industry. First of all I do tip, and I am not looking for excuses to stop. I just think the process has become a bit skewed and tangled from how it should be. One thing that I struggle with is tipping based purely on the total of the bill. Let’s look at the following example.

You go to an average restaurant for dinner, like say chili’s or Applebees something like that. You and your guest end up spending a total of 25 dollars for everything. Your server brings your salad, meal, and refills your drinks a total of 5 times. You tip the server 15% on the total, or about $3.75. To earn that tip the server actually worked and kept your drink full and brought everything from the kitchen personally. 15% is generally accepted to be the standard amount of tip.

Now in contrast let’s say it’s your anniversary and you go to Ruth’s Chris steakhouse for a nice once a year type dinner. You get wine and appetizers. Your server brings your wine, but someone else from the kitchen brings your salad and someone else brings your entrée. It’s actually less service performed than the other place but the bill is $100.00 and according to accepted tipping practices you should tip $15.00 on the bill. My question is why? Did the expensive place actually perform more service for you? I would say that the server in the other place did. Some people might say that expensive places share tips, and that concept does not work for me either. There are plenty of bad attitudes in the industry and someone with a bad attitude and poor work ethic gets the same as a hard working passionate worker. That seemed terribly flawed.

A tip is something that is given for service beyond what I expect. If I take a taxi ride, I know before I get in the door the pickup fee is $2.50 and then it’s like $.55 per 1/4^th mile. So if I know my destination is 20 miles away I can pretty much estimate how much the fare will be. There is a set price for a set service. Why should there be a tip involved. Most cab rides I have gone on are not pleasant experiences. The cabs smell, the drivers are rude, and they drive like crazy lunatics, then at the end of the trip I am supposed to give a tip. I don’t think so.

I blame the business owners for changing how the system works. Tips should not be an expectation under any circumstances. A good attitude, a pleasant smile and actually exceeding basic standards of the service you are performing and I will give you a little extra or a tip. If you don’t like having to rely on tips to survive because your job doesn’t pay enough on its own then don’t blame me. There are other jobs available where you can make a wage free and clear of tips. I didn’t take a job like that, and I do not bear the burden of it. So you can earn your tip or find a new job, bottom line.

So much truth in this.

The following is a copy of an article written by Spanish writer Sebastian Vilar Rodrigez and published in a Spanish newspaper in May of 2007 and reprinted on 1-15-08.

It doesn’t take much imagination to extrapolate the message to the rest of Europe – and possibly to the rest of the world. REMEMBER AS YOU READ — IT WAS IN A SPANISH PAPER  Date: Tue, 15 January 2008

Also can be googled under Spanish Writers.

=====================================================

ALL EUROPEAN LIFE DIED IN AUSCHWITZ
By Sebastian Vilar Rodrigez

I walked down the street in Barcelona, and suddenly discovered a terrible truth – Europe died in Auschwitz.  We killed six million Jews and replaced them with 20 million Muslims.  In Auschwitz we burned a culture, thought, creativity, talent. We destroyed the chosen people, truly chosen, because they produced great and wonderful people who changed the world.

The contribution of this people is felt in all areas of life: science, art, international trade, and above all, as the conscience of the world.  These are the people we burned.  And under the pretense of tolerance, and because we wanted to prove
to ourselves that we were cured of the disease of racism, we opened our gates to 20 million Muslims, who brought us stupidity and ignorance, religious extremism and lack of tolerance, crime and poverty, due to an unwillingness to work and support their families with pride.  They have blown up our trains and turned our beautiful Spanish cities into the third world, drowning in filth and crime.  Shut up in the apartments they receive free from the government, they plan the murder and destruction of their naive hosts.

And thus, in our misery, we have exchanged culture for fanatical hatred, creative skill for destructive skill, intelligence for backwardness and superstition.  We have exchanged the pursuit of peace of the Jews of Europe and their talent for hoping for a better future for their children, their determined clinging to life because life is holy, for those who pursue death, for people consumed by the desire for death for themselves and others, for our children and theirs.

What a terrible mistake was made by miserable Europe.

End of Article
**********************************

A lot of Americans have become so insulated from reality that they imagine America can suffer defeat without any inconvenience to themselves.

Absolutely No Profiling!  Pause a moment, reflect back, and take the following multiple choice test.

These events are actual events from history. They really happened!  Do you remember?

HERE’S THE TEST

1. 1968 Bobby Kennedy was shot and killed by:
a. Superman
b. Jay Leno
c. Harry Potter
d. A Muslim male extremist between the ages of 17 and 40

2. In 1972 at the Munich Olympics, athletes were kidnapped and massacred  by :
a. Olga Corbett
b. Sitting Bull
c. Arnold Schwarzenegger
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

3. In 1979, the US embassy in Iran was taken over by:
a. Lost Norwegians
b. Elvis
c. A tour bus full of 80-year-old women
d . Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

4. During the 1980’s a number of Americans were kidnapped in Lebanon by:
a. John Dillinger
b. The King of Sweden
c. The Boy Scouts
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

5. In 1983, the US Marine barracks in Beirut was blown up by:
a. A pizza delivery boy
b. Pee Wee Herman
c. Geraldo Rivera
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

6. In 1985 the cruise ship Achille Lauro was hijacked and a 70 year old;
American passenger was murdered and thrown overboard in his wheelchair by:
a. The Smurfs
b. Davey Jones
c. The Little Mermaid
d. Muslim male extremis ts mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

7. In 1985 TWA flight 847 was hijacked at Athens, and a US Navy diver trying
to rescue passengers was murdered by:
a. Captain Kidd
b. Charles Lindberg
c. Mother Teresa
d. Muslim male extremists! mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

8. In 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 was bombed by:
a. Scooby Doo
b. The Tooth Fairy
c. The Sundance Kid
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

9. In 1993 the World Trade Center was bombed the first time by:
a. Richard Simmons
b. Grandma Moses
c. Michael Jordan
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

10. In 1998, the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed by:
a. Mr. Rogers
b. Hillary Clinton, to distract attention from Wild Bill’s women problems
c. The World Wrestling Federation
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

11. On 9/11/01, four airliners were hijacked; two were used as missiles to take out the World Trade Centers and of the           remaining two, one crashed into the US Pentagon and the other was diverted and crashed by the passengers.
Thousands of people were killed by:
a. Bugs Bunny, Wiley E. Coyote, Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd
b. The Supreme Court of Florida
c. Mr Bean
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

12. In 2002 the United States fought a war in Afghanistan against:
a. Enron
b. The Lutheran Church
c. The NFL
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

13. In 2002 reporter Daniel Pearl was kidnapped and murdered by:
a. Bonnie and Clyde
b. Captain Kangaroo
c. Billy Graham
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

No, I really don’t see a pattern here to justify profiling, do you?  So, to ensure we Americans never offend anyone, particularly fanatics intent on killing us, airport security screeners will no longer be allowed to profile certain people. They must conduct random searches of 80-year-old women, little kids, airline pilots with proper identification, secret agents who are members of the President’s security detail, 85-year old Congressmen with metal hips, and Medal of Honor winner and former Governor Joe Foss, but leave Muslim Males between the ages 17 and 40 alone lest they be guilty of profiling.

The Christians are supposed to go into the world and preach the gospel, but they can’t do so as effectively because they are starving spiritually. Pastors have by and large sold themselves out to appeal to the unsaved and the world. The bible says that being a friend to the world is being an enemy of God. Too many church leaders are following the examples of men and not the leading of the Holy Spirit. They follow men like Rick Warren, who preaches a dangerous gospel that turns out nothing but shallow rooted believers whose faith will scorch at the first test of life. The bible says we are created for God’s pleasure. Rick Warren says that as long as you are doing what you are designed to do then you are making God smile. I say WRONG rick, without the Blood of Jesus Christ that cleanses your soul from Sin you are going to HELL. Pastors are afraid of mentioning SIN, HELL, REPENTENCE, GRACE, and BLOOD of JESUS; because it might offend the delicate ears of the so called seekers that they need to come in and start tithing.

That’s all I am seeing from too many of today’s Pastors; sermons about finances, relationships, family, sex and stress. Nothing that gives people the boldness to go out into the world and proclaim that they have been Saved and redeemed and set free from sin and death and now have an eternal place in Heaven. They are instead to busy going to small group to play board games, or coming to church to have a class on Money taught on tape by Dave Ramsey. They are not out winning souls, and the church isn’t doing any better. There will be a lot of rude awakenings when people who thought they were saved die and they don’t have anything written in the Lambs book of life. There will be a lot of pastors who have that same wake up. Teachers will be held to a higher standard. I hear all the time about how the Spirit is laying stuff on my heart and so forth and so on and all it is, is the pastor building his own empire. Growth is the only thing that matters to them, but the people never ever are given a grasp of the real and genuine Jesus as their Savior.

Pastors need to stop building their empire and start training and mobilizing the army of God to go preach to the lost. They need to stop worrying about the their paychecks and the building the next phase of their 15 million dollar building complete with basketball courts, weight room, library, school, café and social gathering spot and get to work building the kingdom that never parishes or fades, because the time is short.

The emergent church is a teaching that has abandoned the true gospel. Rob Bell, Erwin McManus, Rick Warren, Joel Osteen and others are preaching FALSE gospel. It’s plain in scripture that in the last days there will be many false teachers, and these are examples. It is also in scripture that being a friend with the world is to be an enemy of God. These men make so qualms about being friendly with the world.

I pray God will bless and you and that you will always follow the agenda of Jesus and never ever the agenda of any man. Don’t let the people starve!!!!!!

It’s the latest and greatest trend. It’s the hippest new marketing strategy. Convince the people that the Earth is being destroyed and then convince the people that America is at fault and therefore responsible to fix it. This is a huge, giant lie. There is no such thing as global warming. There is no truth in that whatsoever. Human beings aren’t going to kill poor ol mother earth. That is mostly true because God Almighty has all the authority over the destruction of the Earth, and has the final, the beginning, and all other possible says in the future coarse of events for everything that has ever been created in the entire universe.

Global Warming is nothing more than one peice of the plan. An organized, calculated, cold, brutal and virtually unstoppable plan to ruin and take apart the once great America. Global warming and the subsequent green movement is really one a small cog in the gears of America’s planned death. The fact that the Arab world laughs out loud at us while we buy billions and billions of dollars in Oil from them all the while sitting on the largest reserve of untapped Oil in the entire world is another. That fact is another well planned out strategy.

A great marketing strategy isn’t first explained to the people. It is simply executed. I honestly have to believe that a good percentage of the companies that are putting all this environmental advertising out in the mainstream media don’t really believe it. They are just using the latest trend to make sales. I can’t say that I blame them. I would do the same. I went to walmart the other day and saw all kinds of earth friendly products, cleaners and sanitizers and that kind of crap and its just stupid. It’s all being used to perpetuate the lie that global warming is real and of course America is to blame.

This once great nation is now just a shell of its former self. Our Godly heritage has been replaced with teenage girls believing that underwear is optional, thanks to Britney Spears. Homosexuals openly slap and ridicule God by demanding and getting married with the full blessing of the state, not to mention in a few years I might go to jail for writing a blog that says global warming is a lie.

That’s the sad state of affairs we live with now.

I just couldn’t resist. I am a complete sucker for Schnauzers. They are really great wonderful dogs. I couldn’t imagine my life with out dogs. This was a spur of the moment thing and I really feel great about it. We have a new puppy, and a new puppy is just such a blank slate on which you can shape every behavior. I got my giant schnauzer Jack last February, and he is a wonderful dog but he does have some things that I am not entirely happy with, and its all a result of his past. There is nothing I can do about it but there is going to be no issues with OSCAR my new Mini Schnauzer.

Everything in my life is going wonderfully. I played an awesome gig at 8 Seconds Saloon last night. It was the first gig and it went very well. They will get better. Wait for a couple months and the band will be locked in, tight and will simply dominate the local country music scene here in Indy and surrounding areas. All of the members of the 2^nd Chance band are very cool people. Everyone in the band has a different personality and I think we get along very well. I hope we are able to do stuff outside of rehearsal or gigs soon. I think that is quite valuable for band unity, but its hard to do with a packed rehearsal and gig schedule. Josh Mahoney is an especially nice guy and seems to have a good head on his shoulders as well as good parents. All of the friends and fans of the band that I have met so far have made me feel incredibly welcome and like a real band member. I appreciate the way this band runs and also the attitude of professionalism that is shown. It is a major step up from any of the previous bands that I have been involved with. I look forward to getting tight with the band and getting in front of people doing what we love. That’s the whole purpose, point and reason for this band thing anyway. If most gigs provide as much fun and satisfaction as the first gig at 8 seconds, then I am in for some good times. I thank the Lord for His provision and blessings in my life and marriage and know that the second half of 2008 will be amazing.

When I woke up Thursday morning, I had absolutely no idea it would be a kick my butt into submission manual labor day. I knew that I wanted to get certain things done that are now done but I didn’t know that is was going to happen that day. If I only knew I would have went to bed earlier.

The work seemed simple. Rent a high powered wood chipper and get rid of some limbs and crap from around my yard. So that’s what my dad and I did for 8 solid hours. He mainly sawed up branches from 3 huge over grown 30 foot Cyprus bushes in my front yard and I mainly carried them into the hopper of this amazing machine. It was hell. It was brutal. Let me tell you why it was so brutal. It’s best explained like this. In my youth I was a quite rowdy boy and was always outside getting into something, breaking something, etc. Needless to say I was often scraped up and bleeding. I got so many scrapes, bruises, cuts, gashes, punctures, in my youth. As I grew up I, like most boys, spent less time getting scraped and cut. That was until yesterday. I think it is no exaggeration to say that I now have more cuts, scrapes, scabs on my arms and legs right now than I got in my entire lifetime from age 0 to 18. I am so sore and tore up it’s crazy.

I am not a lazy person. I may not work construction all day every day, but I can push myself pretty hard to get stuff done. It makes such a difference when the work benefits you and not some stupid boss. I don’t think I have ever put in a harder days work than I did yesterday. I felt like a severely hated retched stepchild, who just received the beating of a lifetime. I was just whipped. My shower that night felt like a million little stabs from a million little knives. It was horrible. So what’s a man to do in those circumstances? Why go out to Chili’s and get some killer Portobello and steak Fajitas and a super tall blue moon. I started to feel more human with every bite. I am finally returning to normal and I am so glad it’s getting done.

If you know my property, you might know that certain landscaping items have been allowed to grow unchecked for a few decades, and I am finally beginning to reclaim some of my property and make it pretty. I also got some awesome mulch out of the deal, so I can’t complain about that. Now I need to relax and get some energy built up for my two gigs this weekend and try to forget about the day of the wood chipper.