Happy New Year

Welcome to 2023. For many, we can only hope it will be better than 2022.

For our family 2022 was a year of adjustments. Our grandson graduated from high school and that made our daughter and her husband “empty nesters.” For me personally the adjustment has been in the lack of family photographic opportunities. Six years ago we were watching dance competitions, baseball games, track meets and soccer matches. We still had three grandchildren in high school and junior high, so there were multiple opportunities to pick up the camera and record an event involving the family. Now, family photography is pretty much limited to birthdays, vacations, and holidays.

Everyone’s schedule is making more difficult to get the whole crew in the same place at the same time. Life goes on. I have decided to feature a few photos from days gone bye (in no particular order) and it will probably become a recurring theme this year. These posts will allow me to reflect on events that have special meaning to our family and post photos that bring a smile to my heart.

The first event centers around our middle grand daughter. While the world was worried about computers crashing, losing data, and the planet sinking into general chaos, Y2K brought us our second grandchild, dancer and future sports trainer. She is currently in her second semester of graduate school, studying sports therapy.

She has always loved helping Nana in the kitchen baking cookies and other goodies for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

This photograph is one of my favorites of Emily. She was a sophomore in high school in 2016. We went to the studio where she took dance and when I snapped this image in natural light, I new I had a winner. Sure enough, the image captured first place in the Tulsa State Fair for portrait.

These two still have a special relationship in the kitchen.

Monday’s Music Moves Me

The new year starts with a no theme/free choice week at 4M. This past year I came across a couple of accapella groups and I am going to feature one of them today. The group is Voice Play. They were contestants on the show “The Sing Off” several years ago. I never saw an episode of that show so the group was new-to-me earlier this year. Turn up the volume, put on your headphones and give a listen to Voice Play.

The bass singer is a uniquely talented individual. He has in excess of a four octave range, he is incredibly creative and has arranged, produced and and sang all parts to his own videos. Geoff Castalucci is one in a million.

Happy New Year and have a very blessed week!

WWII Warbird -F4F Wildcat

Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas to one and all. We have come to the end of another Christmas Music Marathon. I hope you have heard some new-to-you Christmas music from some new-to-you artists. I hope you were able to stop by often and take a few minutes out of your day to enjoy the season and to remember the true meaning and purpose of this day we celebrate.

While the Christmas story is found in the books of Matthew and Luke, the purpose of Christmas is found throughout Scripture and no more profoundly than the book of John. John 3:16 is a familiar verse to most followers of Christ. It tells us that God loved us so much that He sent his only Son to be a sacrifice and by placing our trust and faith in Him we will receive the gift of salvation and eternal life. John 3:17 proclaims that Christ did not come to this world to condemn us but that we would be saved through His sacrifice. Again we see there is only one path to eternal life and it passes through Jesus Christ. The book of Act confirms this point when Peter told the rulers of the people of Israel, “…for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Seven hundred years prior to that holy night in Bethlehem the prophet Isaiah told us exactly how the coming of the Savior would happen. Isaiah 7:14 gives the details, “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son and shall call His name Immanuel.” Isaiah 9:6 confirms the Messiah is coming as a child and not a warrior on a white horse, ” For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; and the government will be on His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

The virgin has given birth Child has been born and the Son given. He has paid the price for sin and one day the book of Revelation tells us He will return with the saints to establish His kingdom on earth. His name will be King of kings and Lord of lords.

I have placed my faith in the person of Jesus Christ and upon this firm foundation I attempt to build my life daily. We live in an unstable world and it becomes more unstable daily. God is the same yesterday, today and all of my tomorrows. Christ told me in John 14:6 that He is the way the truth and the life. That’s good enough for me. May you and the ones you love have a very Mery Christmas and the most blessed of New Years. Peace.

Lucy is guarding a very special tree in our house. It occupies the space in the front window. The ornaments are extra special. We have four grandchildren and I have taken photos of each of them from infant to age 18 and we have place photo ornaments on this tree. There are 73 ornaments on this tree, 18 of each grandchild and 1 of the oldest granddaughter and her husband. Every ornament is a special memory and I can spend hours looking at this tree and remember Christmas past.

Sunday night, after the Martina McBride concert, my wife and I took advantage of the opportunity to see the lights on the Fayetteville square. Fayetteville is only about 20 miles south of our house, but we rarely take the opportunity to visit. There was a time when we had to visit Fayetteville often for shopping and entertainment, but Bentonville now has a full assortment of activities and many Fayetteville residents head north for restaurants, concerts, and special events.

The spirit of Christmas around our house. She does all of the work, I just take the photos. Merry Christmas to one and all!

My wife and I lead a small group Bible study each Sunday morning. We’ve been leading this group for about five years now. Well at our group Christmas party the class members gifted us with tickets to the Martina McBride Christmas concert in Fayetteville, AR. The Walton Performing Arts Center seats about 1200 and it is the perfect venue. There is not a bad seat in the house and has a very intimate feel. You don’t feel like your sitting in the rafters of an arena venue. It is like 1200 friends seated in the living room and Martina has come to entertain us. It was indeed a special gift.

After the concert we drove a couple of block to the town square and admired the Christmas lights. My wife asked a young couple to take our photo with our phone. There were some reflections in the lens and it shows as those white spots in the image.

I know I posted this song by David Phelps the other day, but Martina performed this classic in her concert and she can still bring the goose bumps with her voice.

Live instruments add a special touch to any concert. While Martina did not bring a full orchestra, she did have a ten piece group to back her up and they were a perfect compliment to her timeless voice. If you ever get a chance to see a Martina McBride Christmas concert, I suggest you get your tickets early and make your Christmas holiday special.

Have a blessed Christmas!

Each year Decorating the Christmas tree(s) is a task that my wife likes to get done the week before Thanksgiving. We have had as many as five trees in our house ranging from four to nine feet tall. This year there are two trees and both are seven and a half feet tall. One is a pretty standard tree while the other is a more narrow variety. The tree in the main living area is decorated with traditional ornaments while the tree in the TV room is decorated with photo ornaments of the grand kids. I have featured that tree in some form nearly every year since we started displaying it. You will likely see that tree very soon.

The main tree has two new ornaments this year. Since my wife’s birthday is early in December it is not unusual for her to receive Christmas themed gifts. This year our daughter got her two new glass ornaments. One is the state of Arkansas where my wife was born and we now reside. The other is the state of Oklahoma where I was born and raised.

Of course Lucy is a permanent fixture around the house and makes a pretty nice decoration under the tree.

Christmas is the happiest of holidays for most of us. For others there is a hole in their heart. Loved ones are separated by various circumstances. Parents and spouses have loved ones serving in the military and deployed to the ends of the earth. First responders must work holidays and cannot celebrate with family. Others are spending their first Christmas without a special loved one. For whatever reason Christmas must be celebrated in the mind and heart. May your Christmas be special. May the Lord bless you, comfort you, and remind you that He is always near and loves you and those you miss more than you can know. Have a blessed Christmas.

We are into the final week before Christmas. By now most of the Christmas shopping is done, much of the cookie baking is complete and we have driven around and seen all of the cool Christmas lights in the area. Family is starting to arrive from distant homes to share the joy of Christmas with us and we are making final plans for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

At our house Christmas Eve is always celebrated with an evening church service. Sometimes it is a candlelight Lords Supper, sometimes a focus on the children, and sometimes a regular worship service with an emphasis on the music of Christmas. Regardless of the type of service the true focus is on the greatest gift ever given to mankind. It has been said that there have been thousands of babies born who became kings, but only one King who became a baby. In order for any man to pass into eternity and spend it in the presence of God Almighty, there must be a price paid for our sinful nature.

God created heaven on earth in the place called the Garden of Eden. He placed man and woman in that garden with only one restriction, do not eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Man yielded to temptation, ate the fruit and was evicted from paradise on earth. The one responsible for leading man into temptation was punished by being required to crawl on his belly forever in this world. The sentence for man was hard labor to bring about food for himself. The punishment for woman was painful labor in childbirth. Still in the third chapter of Genesis, God says that the final victory will belong to Him alone. While sin may have struck at the heel of creation, God will crush the head of sin in the end.

God provided a path to salvation and eternal life through the birth, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. God stepped out of heaven and entered this earth as a babe in a manger to life a sinless life, go to the cross to pay the price of the sin of every man, and rise from the dead to return to heaven and sit at the right hand of God for eternity. For those who acknowledge that Christ is the Son of God, believe that He has the authority to forgive sin, will trust Christ with his life and ask forgiveness from the Savior, to that person forgiveness is given and eternal life is obtained. There is no other way. Christ Himself tells us in John 14:6 “I am the way, the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me!” There are not a thousand ways to heaven. There is only one and He was born on Christmas day. Actually, one Holy Night.

The joy that fills my soul when I realize what Christ has done for me, how God has blessed me in every way every day of my life can only bring about a joyful Hallelujah!

Every time I read Scripture, I learn something new. Of course I’ve been reading the Christmas story lately. The account of the birth of Christ is found primarily in the second chapter of Luke’s gospel. However, there are details associated with His coming also recorded in the first chapter of Matthew. Luke tells us of the visit to the manger by the shepherds. We know that the shepherds visited the infant Savior while he was still in the manger from the account in Luke. We are told that the found both Mary and Joseph with the baby (babe, infant) still lying in the manger. This would imply they came to the stable within twenty-four hours of the birth of Christ.

Matthew tells of of the visit from the three wise men from the east. We assume three visitors because of the three gifts presented to the family. However, further study reveals that these were wise and wealthy men. They had been studying Old Testament prophecy and watching the stars. They were skilled in astronomy. There was most likely an entourage with these visitors. They probably traveled with people to care for their camels, someone to prepare the meals, and someone to set up the camp each night. We also know that they found Jesus some time after his birth. We know this because Matthew refers to Jesus as a child at the time of the visit from these wise men. Remember, he was a baby when the shepherds came to see the King of kings. This makes perfect sense. Mary and Joseph probably spent several weeks in the Bethlehem/Jerusalem area before heading home to Nazareth. After all, Mary needed time to recover from giving birth to her first born son.

So the Birth of Christ and the initial spreading of the Good News that the Messiah had come was not just a one night affair. The Bible tells us it happened over a period of time and men are still spreading the good news that Jesus saves. Have a blessed Christmas.