Filthy Roman Sponge by Mark Driscoll

Times arn’t changing. Times have changed.

What? No More Bacon?

Gosh! Would you look at this?

Gosh!

I resonate with this image because it describes my life. Does it describe yours?

The Emo culture has impacted my thinking because I am tempted to bemoan the issues that involve me, mine, and more of me. It seems that I am in a season of struggle where everything seems every event is of major importance…family needs, house renovation, parishioners needs are at all time high, money to make it, medical needs and lack of funding, job responsibility needs, transitions, school for kids, and school for me, etc.

This morning a scripture really brought some comfort: “But the people who know their God will be strong and do great things.” (Daniel 11:32b). Although everybody and everything requires maybe more than I can deliver…but the promise of the Word is that by knowing God, we will accomplish “Great Things.” Another great inspirational scripture is “Come near to God and he will come near to you…” (James 4:8).

Don’t forget, as you put your foot on the wobbly board of life and stare down the road of life…trust that God is with you as you put the other foot on the board. As cliche as it is it really is true: “Let Go and Let God.”

It’s A Good Thing

NASHVILLE – The fourth annual Sales Tax Holiday is scheduled for Friday, August 7 and continuing through Sunday, August 9.The Department of Revenue reminds Tennessee shoppers that the Sales Tax Holiday provides three full days of tax breaks on clothing, school and art supplies, and computer purchases.

The holiday begins Friday, August 7 at 12:01 a.m. and ends Sunday, August 9 at 11:59 p.m. During the designated three-day weekend, consumers will not pay state or local sales tax on select clothing with a price of $100 or less per item, school and art supplies with a price of $100 or less per item, and computers with a price of $1,500 or less, a savings of nearly 10 percent on exempt items. Visit

http://www.tntaxholiday.com/ for more information on the holiday.

“During tough economic times, this tax-saving initiative provides savings for Tennessee shoppers and a much needed boost for Tennessee retailers,” said Revenue Commissioner Reagan Farr. “We are hopeful that all Tennessee shoppers will enjoy the immediate relief of the 2009 Sales Tax Holiday.”

Please visit the Sales Tax Holiday Web site at

http://www.tntaxholiday.com/ to learn more about the items exempt from sales tax. The Tennessee Department of Revenue also assists consumers via e-mail, Salestax.Holiday@TN.gov, and through its toll-free statewide telephone hot line, (800) 342-1003. Staff is available to answer questions Monday through Friday 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central Time. (Out-of-state and Nashville-area callers, please dial (615) 253-0600.)

Examples of exempt items include:

· Clothing: Shirts, dresses, pants, coats, gloves and mittens, hats and caps, hosiery, neckties, belts, sneakers, shoes, uniforms whether athletic or non-athletic and scarves
· School Supplies: Binders, book bags, calculators, tape, chalk, crayons, erasers, folders, glue, pens, pencils, lunch boxes, notebooks, paper, rulers and scissors
· Art Supplies: Clay and glazes; acrylic, tempera and oil paints; paintbrushes for artwork; sketch and drawing pads; and watercolors
· Computers: Central processing unit (CPU), along with various other components including monitor, keyboard, mouse, cables to connect components and preloaded software (Note: While the CPU may be purchased separately, other items must be part of a bundled computer package in order to be eligible.)

The Department of Revenue is responsible for the administration of state tax laws and motor vehicle title and registration laws established by the legislature and the collection of taxes and fees associated with those laws. The Department of Revenue collects approximately 92 percent of total state tax revenue. During the 2007-2008 fiscal year, the department collected $11.2 billion in state taxes and fees. In addition to collecting state taxes, $1.9 billion of local sales tax was collected by the department for local governments during the 2007-2008 fiscal year. Besides collecting taxes, the department enforces the revenue laws fairly and impartially in an effort to encourage voluntary taxpayer compliance. The department also apportions revenue collections for distribution to the various state funds and local units of government. To learn more about the department, log on to

http://www.tennessee.gov/revenue.

Flag Day 2009

Old Glory is flying in Nashville's City Cemetary.

Check out a great story by clicking on the picture of the flag. Interesting history and close to home!

My house is featured in the news!

My House! Click the picture to read the article!

The AP wrote an article which features my house. They found me through researching Twitter. The writer is in NYC and they dispatched a photographer out of Nashville. Pretty cool article…but even cooler how they found me!

Click the pic to read more!

Real Power – Sunday AM Message

I had the opportunity to share the “message” yesterday at Christ Church Nashville! This link is to the entire service I hope it speaks to you!

Real Power…

Weekend of Fun

Looking for something different to do on a weekend? A celebration is coming up!

The weekend of May 8th-10th is going to be great…if you go to Narrowgate. This place is perfect…a hollow and some mighty hills are home to young men who are being taught the scripture and are becoming mighty men of God.

They have been in action for 5 years and are celebrating with great food, fun, worship, and Bible teaching. If you can’t take it all in…at least take some of it in…just get out of your box and do something different!

See you there…

By the way, I am teaching Sunday, May 10 at Christ Church Nashville in both AM services. But, if you are at Narrowgate…you get a free pass to skip me and join in this Celebration!

Peace of Christ,

Daniel

My Latest CD Cover

Leif Shires is an incredibly talented musician. I have a copy of this CD playing in my office! He is a great dude, too. Check out his link at http://leifshires.com/