TAWG Update

For the past two weeks our Wednesday nights have been devoted to TAWG (Time Alone With God). I will have to say, I have been doing pretty good with doing my TAWG each day. I have missed a few days, but for the most part, I have done it on a regular basis. I have been journaling some stuff with scripture I have been reading and it has been awesome!

Last week Alison shared with us on the ALONE part of TAWG. Here are some key points from last Wednesday.

• If you want your OWN relationship with God, spend time with him ALONE.
• Having my own relationship with God means....
• 1. Feeding myself continuously.
• 2. Using and Apron vs. a Bib.
• Spending time alone with God is...
• 1. Finding your mountain. (Luke 6:12)
• 2. Getting rid of distractions.
• 3. Digging deep into your heart.
• Being alone with God allows us to:
• 1. grow individually
• 2. completely depend on Him
• 3. be authentic
• 4. have a long-lasting relationship
• 5. have intimacy with Him
• 6. discover our true identity in Him

A couple of questions to think about today...

1. What does your mountainside look like?

2. Is my relationship with God my OWN, or am I depending on a lot of other people, church, etc. to keep my faith alive?

3. What is distracting me from getting ALONE with God?

Great Weekend For My Teams

As you know from my post on Friday, I had a full weekend of basketball watching my former teams play.

Friday night it was the Oak Hill boys playing Madison Grant and winning 71-61. The Golden Eagles really put it to the Argylls in the second half as they had a huge third quarter to put the game out of reach.

On Saturday, it was off to see the #2 Ranked Golden Eagles girl's team play Madison Grant. The Golden Eagles jumped out to a 22-2 lead and never looked back in blowing out the Argylls 63-31. The Golden Eagles are now 18-0.

Saturday afternoon I found myself watching the college team I played for, the Wildcats of Indiana Wesleyan, take on the Maple Leafs of Goshen. The first half was close, but the Wildcats broke the game open in the second half as they won 79-64.

As you can see, a 3-0 weekend! It was great to see some friends from both high school and college and to see all win made it a great weekend of hoops!

Weekend of Hoops

This weekend is going to be a very exciting one as I will pretty much be living at the gym. This will bring back a lot of good memories as I have spent many hours in the gyms I will be attending this weekend.

Tonight I will be watching my former High School team, Oak Hill, battle Madison-Grant, which is always a big rival. As a matter of fact, one of the biggest memories of my High School career came against Madison-Grant. I remember I had some buddies who played on my AAU team from there and it was a battle every time. I can remember my junior year when all three of us scored 25 or more points in the same game.

Oak Hill was ranked as high as number 6 in Class 2A before losing a few here lately.

Tomorrow will be a fun day. I will start my day off at 8 AM playing some hoops with some friends of mine, then heading to watch the UNDEFEATED Oak Hill girls team play Madison-Grant. The Lady Eagles are ranked #2 in 2A right now. They bring a 17-0 record in to the game tomorrow.

I will finish my day with a game at Luckey Gym where Goshen battles the Wildcats of IWU. I am looking forward to getting back on campus and seeing some old friends and to see the changes that continue to take place at IWU.

Now, that's my kind of weekend......Plenty of basketball!

Best News Of The Day

Well, after the Colts lost in the playoffs to the Chargers, many thought that Colts Coach Tony Dungy was off to retirement. I always had a feeling he couldn't leave on that note. Not winning another Super Bowl with a great team, losing like they lost with key people injured, not opening up the new Lucas Oil Stadium next year.

Can you blame the guy? He has a great football team who could win it all next season. The most important thing is that the Colts have a great Christian example to lead them into next season and hopefully more seasons to come.

Super What?

Well, I hear that there is a Super Bowl coming up on February 3. I guess the Giants won yesterday as did the hated Patriots.

All I have to say is....Who cares!

I am now focused on college basketball and following the Hoosiers and Irish.

TAWG TIME

Last night, Derry started a new series on TAWG Time. For those of you who may not know what that stands for it is Time Alone With God. This is going to be a great series and I am excited to see how God is going to work in my life and in the students lives with this series.

TAWG hasn't always been easy for me. I usually have good intentions to do it, but then find myself overbooking myself and then pushing this to the side. Wow, is that the wrong thing to do. I don't know about you, but I have realized whenever I start my day with TAWG, my days go better. Imagine that, spending time alone with God and having better days! In life, we get so consumed with schedules and being busy that we leave out the most important thing in life and that is to work on our relationship with God.

Last night Derry went over two steps that are vital with TAWG:

1. Patience and 2. Priority

In any relationship we have, in order for that relationship to grow, we need to spend time with that person. That is again true if we want to get closer to God. Derry challenged us to even write out a schedule and include our TAWG time on it. I have decided to do my TAWG time at 6:00 AM every morning and start my day off with God.

A big thing with this will be having some of my friends as accountability because we know that works. I am looking forward to this series and to becoming closer with God.

Anyone but the PATRIOTS

Well, I stated Sunday night that I am finished watching the NFL this season. I am still sticking with that because I could care less who wins. There is one thing that I would love to see happen... the Patriots lose!

One of my buddies wrote in his blog today about the Patriots and even has put a poll on his blog about this dreaded team.

This team has to be one of the most hated teams in sports history. They have a jerk of a coach, who has cheated for who knows how long. If you think about it, do the Patriots even deserve any of the championships they have won? If Barry Bonds gets and asterisk next to his name, so should the Patriots.

So, with that said, I hope the Patriots go down. If they do win again, place an * next to it.

Down and Out

I don't think I have ever been more disappointed in watching the Colts as I was yesterday. Sitting there with one of my buddies watching that was like watching the Irish this year. The Colts certainly played down to the level of their competition it was pathetic. Here are some things I took away from yesterday.

1. If you can't beat a team with their BACK-UPS playing, you don't deserve to win.


2. Our defense was so slow my grandma could have ran on them.


3. Again, Manning had too many mistakes in the red zone and our wide receivers missed some easy ones.


4. Marvin Harrison shouldn't have played.


5. I believe we will have a new coach next year.

Also, I am finished watching the NFL this year. I really don't care to watch the Super Bowl either. The only thing I care about is that the Patriots lose1

Roger Clemens

As you know, there has been plenty on ESPN, and all the other T.V. and talk shows about Roger Clemens and the latest steroid mess. I am interested to see what you think about it. Do you think he deserves the Hall of Fame?

This past decade has been labeled "The Steroid Era." To be honest, I am so sick of hearing about it. I say, move on! What is in the past is history and now that Major League Baseball has a better testing policy they need to move on.

If I were a voter for the Hall of Fame, I wouldn't hold these players down from the Hall because this policy wasn't in place yet. I'm not saying that using steroids is good, which it isn't, but just think of ALL the major sports athletes who have probably tried it to get an edge.

The sad thing is, as they get older, it is going to catch up with them in a very negative way.

NFL Picks-Divisional Round

Well, it is that time again to update my NFL playoff picks. This week I am really excited because my team, the Colts, are in action against the Chargers. To be honest, I'm not worried about this weekend. With the week off we now are healthy. I like our chances big-time.

Colts 31

Chargers 14

Jaguars 27

Patriots 24

Giants 24

Cowboys 20

Seahawks 34

Packers 24

With that said:

AFC Championship: Jags vs Colts

NFC Championship: Giants vs Seahawks

National Champs

Congrats go out this morning to the LSU Tigers for winning last night's National Championship against Ohio State 38-24. When is the BCS Committee going to the realize the Buckeyes just can't compete in the National Title game. It is now two years in a row they have been blown away by a much better SEC team.

Big Weekend

One thing is for sure, the Notre Dame football team was horrible this season. Well, the same can't be said for the basketball team. I was at the much anticipated Big East opener against West Virginia on Thursday night where the Irish won their 29th straight game at the Joyce Center. The stakes get even higher tonight when they host UCON at the Joyce at 9:00 on ESPN. I am excited to have the opportunity to go to this game as well. It should be a lot of fun...better yet if the Irish win it.

Thought for January 2, 2008

God has a master plan for each one of us. God has a plan designed specifically for you. It is a plan that God intends for you to live out fully, beginning at the moment of your birth and continuing until the moment of your death. God's plan for you has a purpose, a blueprint for your particular life, a character-development plan, a communication plan, a call to service, a guidance plan, and a blessing plan. Your destiny is to be the person God has created you to be.

Verse of the day:
John 10:10
"I have come that they may have life, and that they have it more abundantly"

Bowl Bash

Well, with the snowy weather today, what better way to enjoy a day of rest and relaxation by watching football all day. Yes, it would have been better if my Fighting Irish would have been playing, but there have been some good games today.

Outback Bowl:
Tennessee 21
Wisconsin 17
-This was a great effort by the Badgers, but Ainge was too much for them.

Capital One Bowl:
Michigan 41
Florida 35
-Biggest upset today, nice way for Llyod Carr to go out on top.

Gator Bowl:
Texas Tech 31
Virginia 28
-Big win for the Red Raiders

Rose Bowl:
USC 49
Illinois 17
-Illini found out they were not in the same league as the Trojans

Cotton Bowl:
Missouri 38
Arkansas 7
-Darren who???

New Year's Resolutions

Happy New Year!
I don't know about you, but I always come up with a few resolutions for the New Year. Some of those resolutions stick for awhile, some fade quickly. Here are a few, not in any order, for me for 2008.

• Have no pop at all
• Work out at least 5 days a week
• Read my Bible more
• Witness more
• Worry less
• Spend more time with family and friends
• Eat healthy