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Awe…some Monday’s Music Moves Me

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Last Thursday the youngest grand daughter signed a letter  of intent to run track at Southern Arkansas University.

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She competes in high jump for the back to back  state champion high school track team. They could win number three this spring. Our girl has been a conference champion high jumper and second in state. A few weeks ago she competed in her first indoor meet of the season and cleared the bar at 5′-5″.  That feat made her the 49th best high school jumper in the nation! It also ranked her as the 25th best senior jumper in the country.

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It was an Awe…some day for the family. Yes, I will be at all of her track meets this spring and there will be photos coming.

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Monday’s Music Moves Me

December was my last entry in the 4M meme. As you can see, I am experimenting with a new look to this blog. I don’t know if I will settle on this theme or try another sometime soon. Let me know what you think. Okay on with the music. I have been riding my recumbent eliptical recently to regain strength and stamina after a major surgery, but that is a story for another day. At any rate, I ride thirty minutes a day so I put my headphones on, fire up Spotify and go to my playlists. Recently there have been a song that has caught my attention once again and it comes from Randy Travis.

Since I missed the official Valentine Theme week, I will jump in with an offering today. This May my wife and I will celebrate our 46th wedding anniversary. One thing that I have come to realize is that my life would be totally incomplete without her. Almost everything that I am or good that I have done is due to her presence in my life. The song that seems to best express this sentiment is, “If I didn’t have you.”

Lost in Cyber-space

Wordless Wednesday

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Lucy

For those of you who may be wondering where I have been since my Christmas Music Marathon I can only tell you that I am wrestling with where I am going next with this blog. I have upgraded  the site and that should eliminate the annoying ads that appear throughout the posts. The funny thing is that those ads do not appear on my computer so the author is unaware that such a thing is happening. You can now reach my blog with just http://www.drillersplace.com. There is no longer a need for the “wordpress” portion of the address.  The upgrade will allow me to completely revamp the site, eliminate the ads and that is why I am currently lost in cyber-space. Maybe I just have too many options but I’ll figure it out.

One thing that will change is the focus of the content of this blog. I started out sharing the adventures of my life in small town America over a decade ago. There were lots of posts about the grandkids, my work, our vacations, projects around the house, and just things that I found interesting. The past couple of years I have gotten away from that content and spent most of my time contributing to blog-hops such as Aww Mondays, Monday’s Music Moves Me and Wordless Wednesday and Skywatch Friday. I plan to return to a more personal content blog but I will participate in the blog-hops, only a little less frequently.

I don’t know when I will have this new look up and running, so be patient. I will post as time permits and I may try a few different looks before I settle on the theme that best suits my blogging style. Stay tuned. Have a blessed day.

2019 Christmas Music Marathon – Day 26

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Another Christmas Music Marathon is coming to a close. Today we celebrate the birth of a Savior. The God of all creation sent His Son to this earth and among these sinful people to provide a means for all of us to spend eternity with Him. It is still the greatest story ever told. There is a price to be paid for sin, and for the sins of this entire world, past, present, and future, that price is the blood sacrifice of the perfect Lamb of God. Eternal life is available to anyone who seeks it out, is willing to turn away from those things that separate us from God, and ask Christ to forgive us. Every time someone makes that decision there is a celebration in the heavens. There is no better time to secure your place in family of the Creator than Christmas. Accept the sweetest gift ever given and the only gift that will last for eternity. Merry Christmas to all.

I will be going dark for a few days to upgrade my blog. I will be going to a paid version of WordPress will will get rid of the annoying ads that are placed in the middle of the posts. The annoying part is that the ads don’t show up on my screen, only on the readers screen, so the author can go for months and not realize that there are ads being place in the middle of their posts. Anyway, I am going to spend a little time upgrading and redesigning the blog. Hopefully, I will be back the first of the year. See you then. Again, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

2019 Christmas Music Marathon – Day 26

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Christmas 2018

The grand kids +1. Our oldest grand daughter and her husband are seated while the remainder of the grand group surround them. This image was taken in the foyer of our church. As you can see, the grand-son-in-law is the only one truly smiling for the camera. Everyone else is just being themselves. Have a very blessed Christmas everyone.

Do you have any special Christmas traditions? Almost as long as I can remember, the churches that my wife and I have attended have had some sort of Christmas Eve service. Our family attends the service. Afterwards, everyone gathers at our home for dinner. Once dinner is finished we assemble in the living room. One or more of the grand kids read the Christmas story from the second chapter of Luke, followed by a prayer and then the exchange of gifts. It is a great family time and one we look forward to each year. May you and your family have a most blessed Christmas and a joyous New Year.

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2019 Christmas Music Marathon – Day 25

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Christmas 2015

There are only a couple of days left in the 2019 Christmas Music Marathon. Thank you for stopping by and listening to the music of the season. Since many will be busy with travel, family and other obligations, I am going to use today to share several of my all-time favorite performances.

O Holy Night is a classic Christmas song and it has been recorded by seemingly every artist in the industry. However, I don’t believe anyone has done a better arrangement and presentation than the powerful tenor voice of Mr. David Phelps.

Another of my all time classic favorites is the hallelujah chorus from Handel’s Messiah. The most creative presentation I have ever viewed and one of the reasons I am actually thankful for the internet and YouTube comes from a flash mob in a shopping mall. The results are stunning. I would love to be caught up in this.

Christmas to many folks is all about family, especially the little ones. Children bring a special joy to the celebration.  It was a child that gave us the reason to celebrate. God promised to bring a Savior into this world and that child would be born of a virgin. I can only imagine how surprised Mary and Joseph were when they found out that God had chosen them to usher the Savior of mankind into this world.

To this day many refuse to believe the truth of the Gospel because is seems such a strange way to save the world, but God told us that He doesn’t think the same as us.“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, says the Lord” Isaiah 55:8.

While Christmas, like every day, is a day that the Lord has made, it is the day that He fulfilled the prophecy and brought a Savior into our midst and salvation to our hearts. Rejoice and be glad.

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2019 Christmas Music Marathon – Day 22

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The marathon is moving very quickly toward the finish line. I have decided that I will most likely go dark for the week after Christmas. I believe I am going to upgrade and rework the blog site.  So that means there will not be any encore performances this season and since we have one week less between Thanksgiving and Christmas I have a lot of music left to share. Let’s get on with the celebration.

Every married couple that has experienced the birth of their first child knows one thing for sure, a baby changes everything. The circumstances of Christ’s birth not only changed the lives of Mary and Joseph but it was God’s promise fulfilled to change the hearts and lives of all mankind.