Aww…Some Monday – Sedona, AZ

During our recent trip to visit a granddaughter and see some spring training baseball, we took a two day side trip to Sedona, AZ. Sedona is about a two hour drive north of Phoenix. It is a bit of an art colony and surrounded by some spectacular landscape, commonly known as the Red Rocks. As an architect, one thing I wanted to see was the Chapel of the Holy Cross. It was built in 1965 and appears to grow out of the side of the rocks. The crucifix on the interior is stunning. Parking is limited and it can be a bit of a hike up the hill to access the structure, but the architecture and view are worth the effort.

Monday’s Music Moves Me

In the Christian faith this is Holy Week, so I am going to focus my music selections around the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The following are a few thoughts I posted in 2018 and I believe they are still relevant.

There are several types of people living in this world. There are those who have never heard of Christ, those who have heard the Good News of the Gospel and rejected it, those who have accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior and are currently living the abundant life of Scripture, and finally those who accepted Christ as savior but have wandered into a lifestyle that does not magnify God nor reflect the salvation of the soul that took place in their heart so long ago. Many of those who have rejected the Gospel and those who are living the prodigal life stay separated from God because they don’t feel they are good enough to be saved or return to their relationship with the Creator of the universe.

On one level, they are correct. The Bible says all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Scripture further states, there are none righteous, not a single one. That is the reason that Christ was born, lived a sinless life, went to the cross and rose on the third day. God said that he gave His only Son so that whosoever believes in Christ and repents of their sin will be saved and live eternally in a place prepared for God’s children.

God loves us enough to save us and He loves us enough to restore our relationship with Him when we have either wandered off of the path or deliberately run from Him in rebellion. You might have asked the question, “Who am I, that God should care for me?” The answer is, you are His creation, you are the love of His life and He wants you to spend eternity in His presence. There is no better time than Easter to evaluate our relationship with the Lord and re-center our focus on Him. Have a blessed week.

Spring Training – Mesa, AZ

We spent the March 6-13 in Arizona visiting our middle grand daughter, taking in some Spring Training Baseball, and seeing the sights. It was an awesome week. During our stay, the temperature never got above 85, but as soon as we left the thermometer rose into triple digits.

Our grand daughter works for the Athletics major league baseball team, so we got tickets to a couple of the games. We spent one day at the training facility just walking around, watching players and coaches interact, and shooting some photos. Spring Training is such a relaxed atmosphere for the visitor, but I know the players are under pressure to preform and make a team, major league or minor league class A, AA, or AAA. Some are hoping to preform well enough to go to the majors, even if it means they get traded and wind up in a different location. It’s a lot of pressure for some 18-24 year olds to bear, especially those who are away from home for the first time and home is the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, or Venezuela.

Monday’s Music Moves Me

I can’t think of a more appropriate song for this post. In many minor league parks, it has actually replaced “Take Me Out to The Ballgame” for the seventh inning stretch. Have a blessed week.

PLAY BALL!!!

Wounded Decoy

Spring is in the air in Northwest Arkansas but one has to be cautious about rushing the season. We have had cold spell in March and April. A few years ago we had a foot of snow just prior to Mother’s Day, so planting tender flowers too early can be an expensive mistake. On the bright side, birds are beginning to come to the feeder in variety and number. Here are a few examples.

You might expect the Cardinal to be a winter visitor but they are pretty much year-round residents.

Mocking birds are more frequently found in the rural parts of the county rather than amongst us city dwellers.

Robins are starting to show up and that is a sure sign that nest building will begin soon. They don’t seem to be the sharpest tack in the box, as I have seen them set up housekeeping in some very questionable locations.

Monday’s Music Moves Me

The theme this week at 4M is…Mar 16th yesterday was the “Ides of March” and tomorrow is St Patrick’s Day. Based on these find song picks to express whichever occasion inspires you.

I have chosen the Ides of March.According to the Roman calendar, the Ides are a monthly occurrence. In March and other months with 31 days, the Ides always falls on the 15th; it falls on the 13th in months with 30 days. The Ides traditionally marked the arrival of the new Moon and was cause for celebration. The word “Ides” is derived from Latin, meaning “to divide.”

Downy Woodpecker (Woody)

Aww…some Mondays

Yes, we still have squirrels and Rocky has taken over the feeder. First thing in the morning Lucy will sneak out onto the patio, come to a point and then chase the squirrels out of the yard. It gets the dog’s heart rate up and is great fun to watch.

When Lucy shows up, Rocky can be seen “high-talin’ it to his safe zone. Only to return as soon as the dog comes back into the house. It’s a game we play.

Monday’s Music Moves Me

This week at 4M it is freedom of choice, so anything goes. I noticed that The Voice and American Idol have started their seasons and both have made major changes to the format. The biggest change a The Voice is reducing the judge count to three. Over at Idol all of the preliminaries, including Hollywood Week were done in Nashville. Hollywood Week did not include a group sing challenge. All of these changes speak to shows that are maturing and production costs need to be controlled. I’m sure the cost of a forth judge at The Voice was several million annually. At Idol, I cannot imagine the cost of having the production crew set up in four or five cities for auditions. The expense of travel, hotels, meals etc for who knows how many staff versus planting the auditions on the Vanderbilt campus and inviting the talent to come to a single location, especially since two of the judges have residences in Nashville. With that said, let’s listen to a little music from previous Idol winners.

First up is Season 16 winner, Maddi Poppe. I’m not gonna lie, if you listen to more than a couple of songs you can hear a very heavy Taylor Swift influence.

Next up is Season 17 winner and Louisana heart throb, Lane Hardy with a song called Hurricane.

One of my favorite Idols was Jordan Sparks, winner of Season 6

Last up is 10 Winner Scotty McCreery.

That’s a wrap for this short trip down memory lane. What idol do you remember most and were they successful after the show. Carrie Underwood is the reining queen of country music and Kelly Clarkson has had a very successful career after her Season 1 victory. Have a blessed week.

Spring is Almost Here!

Aww…some Monday

Breakfast at the Bird Feeder

Monday’s Music Moves Me

Our prompt for this week at 4M is…The early Roman began the calendar year with March because it brought the first day of spring and new beginnings. The approaching changing seasons with the evidence of life’s return is visible in our area and perhaps where you live, too. Pick songs that reflect the mood of sunny spring weather.

The challenge here is that March in Northwest Arkansas can bring 8″ of snow, thunderstorms and 8″ of rain, or sunny skies and “Chamber of Commerce Weather”. I am inclined to pick thunderstorms so here a a couple of songs that come to mind.

Stormy weather has long been the inspiration for love lost or gone wrong. A song, with the title, Stormy Weather, was first sung by Ethel Watters in the Cotton Club, New York City 1933. Here is Etta James with a classic recording.

Most of us have experienced a little Stormy Weather in romance, but some have seen the relationship go wrong and they’ve heard it when TheThunder Rolls.

In 1940 there was a movie called Stormy Weather. There is a showstopping dance number called Jumpin Jive! Let’s wrap this up with a video that will put a smile on your face and long for the days of pure entertainment.

Squirrels 2.0