Living With Heroes

Greetings and salutations, I know I promised to explain some things from my last blog in this edition of wackiness but yall are going to have to be a little more patient because I'm still not quite sure I can explain some of those things just yet, but don't worry I promise to have some answers soon.

Anyways on to the point of my present blog. The guy in the photo is my step-dad, I couldn't have done much better as far as step-parents go and I could have done a lot worse. It wasn't until this last year that I realized how truly fortunate I am to have such an incredibly compassionate and understanding human being to have as a step-dad. Oh sure he's a little rough around the edges and lacks patience with my stubborness sometimes but I have learned a lot of valuable and intangible lessons from this fine man.

When I was growing up I didn't have a lot of strong, solid, trustworthy male figures to look up to and to learn from at a time in my life when all boys need such role-models, but my step-dad has tried to be that in the time that I have known him. Sure he's made his fair share of mistakes but he's done quite well for a man who has never had kids and before he married my mom hadn't spent a lot of time around kids. He has done the best that he can do to support and help my sister and I, and his best is pretty darn good.

Though my pride will never allow me to admit this to him, I thank God everyday that He put my step-dad in my familiy's life. I also pray that I might someday become half the husband, father, and grandfather I consider him to be. Because he has taught me how to be a devoted and loving husband, a patient and understanding father, and a compassionate and prayerful grandfather. Those are the things he has taught me and those are the things I will carry around with me long after he leaves this life. I hope he realizes how truly grateful I am for him. I guess it really is true what they say, "everyone can be a father, only a select few can be dads." This guy not only turned out to be a dad, he turned out to be a hero.

I hope that all of you may be so fortunate to find a hero like I did.

Until next time keep smiling and may God richly bless ya.

Tucker

Living with Heaven and Internet problems

OOOOO-AAAAH, sorry about the delay in my blogging, we've been having multiple problems with our wireless Internet server at the ranch, and I have been battling a horrible case of apathy in all things writing related as of late, but now I'm back on the horse and I hope you enjoy looking at the world through the eyes of yours truly. By the way thank-you to everyone who has deemed it necessary to post such appreciative and gracious comments. I am both humbled and honored that y'all guys take the time to read these ridiculous little things.
I've been thinking a lot about my legacy, what will I be remembered for here on earth when God sees fit to call me to my home in the "sky" ( I'll explain why I put sky in quotations in my next post, I would explain it now but I'm still trying to explain it to myself, so be patient) :-)
Anyway as I was saying, I've been thinking a lot about the legacy I will leave behind when I die. On the surface it's a rather morbid subject that most people tend to avoid, and while I think thinking about it too much can result in some very dangerous thought patterns I think it is worth delving into on occasion.
Oswald Chambers has a quote that I think sums up what I want to be remembered for and it goes like this: "Never run away with the idea that you can ever do a thing or have an attitude of mind before God which no one else need know about. A man is what he is in the dark. Remain loyal to God and to his saints in private and in public, and you will find that not only are you continually with God, but that God is counting on you."
WOW!!! What a statement, and what a goal. That's what I want my friends and family to be able to say about me when God calls me home, is that I stayed true to myself, and that staying true to myself, I stayed true to my God. Now don't get me wrong I fail constantly in this aspect of my relationship with God, and I will probably always fail in this simply because like the rest of the world I'm human, or at least I was last time I checked, but just because we can't do something doesn't mean we shouldn't try. Who knows, maybe the more I fail in my issues of character the better I will become in accomplishing this goal. Because as a very wise friend of mine was reminded me "Sometimes great failures are just great successes in disguise.
Anyways that's what's been bouncing around in this strange mind of mine for the last couple of days and it had to escape somewhere and this is where it chose to escape to. :-) As I said I'll explain the mysterious quotations in my next post which I promise won't be too long delayed.
Until next time, keep smilin' and may God richly bless ya.

Tucker

Living With My Story

Greetings and Salutations, sorry I haven't been very good about posting new blogs here of late, in fact some of you have even been calling me a "blog slacker." So to get those of you who have been bugging me to post more blogs off my back, here you go, I hope you're happy.
One thing I love about not having a lot of staff around the ranch this time of year is that you get to really spend some real quality time with God and the few staff that are around, I have had the opportunity to have some really fun and interesting conversations with some people I really haven't had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with up until now.
For example, I was having a conversation with a friend of mine a couple of days ago, and we were kind've sharing life experiences and he asked me this question, "Tuck, if you could be God for a day and you could go back in time and change anything in your life what would it be?"
I thought about it for a couple of minutes then told him that I wouldn't change anything. While not all of my life experiences have been pleasant, and some of the choices I've made have turned out to be painful ones, I honestly believe that even if I had the ability to change those things I wouldn't, because if I did then the Tucker that sits here today would not exist. All of my life experiences God has used to shape and form the person I am today. In fact I am grateful that God has put some of the challanges that I've faced in my life. It makes my story that more effective to some people, now I can minister to and touch people in ways that I wouldn't be able to if I hadn't faced those challanges.
Which leads me to another point, occasionally I get really frustrated because I want God to use me for something big and dramatic. I get jealous of the guys that are great preachers, or great writers, or great leaders, and I just want to be part of God's plan. I want to fit somewhere. And it took a great friend to help me realize that God is using me, I may never be a firery orator or a great writer, but God uses me in the small things that I sometimes take for granted.
Those who know me, know my struggles an yet they see me press on, they admire the fact that no matter what life throws at me that I have the faith that God is somehow going to pull me through, they respect me for fighting through things they know are hard for me. That is my ministry, SIMPLY LIVING, isn't that AWESOME!!! That God is so powerful that He can use a life as ridiculous as mine to prove His existance and to draw people to HIM!!! Of course that is how He has always worked, He has always used the seemingly small and insignificant things of this world to fulfill His purposes.
My constant and unceasing prayer for yall guys is that yall rejoice in being small and insignificant, because in your weakness our God is made powerful through us.
Until next time, keep smiling and may God richly bless ya.

Tucker