Aww Mondays

This past week we spent a few days with my cousins at a vacation home on Bull Shoals Lake, outside of Branson, MO. Two young foxes made regular appearances morning and evening looking for snacks. It was apparent that they were seasoned veterans and were used to being fed by visitors. Both would get within inches of you to pick up a snack. No photo does them justice. They are exquisite little creatures.

The home overlooks Bull Shoals lake, which is the third lake in the White River chain of lakes between Arkansas and Missouri. We live close to Beaver Lake, Taneycomo runs through Branson, Bull Shoals is just east of Branson and Norfork is the last lake in the chain on the eastern edge of Arkansas/Missouri. One spot on the patio seemed especially suited to watching the sunrise with your favorite cup of coffee.

At the end of the same patio this little spot seemed perfect to end the day with a little dessert and another cup of coffee.

Breakfast and dinner were always visited by two locals that had no fear of humans. I am sure they have already welcomed the next set of visitors.

Monday’s Music Moves Me

The theme at 4M this week is free choice. The last time we had a free choice week I picked gospel music and featured some relatively new music. The truth is, I love the hymns of the church and I miss having them as a part of the worship service. Nearly all churches today have incorporated the praise and worship songs and abandoned the traditional hymns. Personally I like both but I do miss the days when hymns rang out from every church in town on Sunday morning. Over the years country music stars have been famous for producing two albums outside of their mainstream music. They will record a Christmas album and an inspirational album and these two albums will eventually out sell all of their other recordings because the music is timeless. So here are a few of my favorites.

As a teen, I attended church camp in Oklahoma. Falls Creek was the largest Southern Baptist camp in the world and each week, for six weeks, over 7,000 junior high and high school students descended on this camp to study God’s Word, hear some great preaching and sing beautiful hymns. Okay, so we went to meet other teens of the opposite sex and play pranks on one another. Still we heard great preaching and sang great songs. Victory in Jesus was an anthem at Falls Creek.

At an early age I learned that I was not going to heaven based on my good works. In fact Scripture specifically tells us, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves: it is a gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” There is only one way we will spend eternity in paradise with our Creator and that is through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Our sin requires a sacrifice and that sacrifice is required to be perfectly sinless. The only one to meet that criteria is Christ, so “Nothing But the Blood” will do.

The choice is ours. God is not going to drag anyone, kicking and screaming, into His paradise. We must make the choice to accept Christ as our Savior. God does not intimidate us with His call to salvation. He speaks Softly and Tenderly. Have a blessed week.

Trusty Steed

Aww Mondays

Lucy makes taking a nap look sooo easy!

Hummingbird Moth

Last week I posted some images of the various butterflies that have visited the butterfly bush in our flower bed. More recently Hummingbird moths seem to have taken over. Some days there are five or six working the blooms at the same time. I grabbed the camera and spent a few moments trying to capture these interesting creatures. Here are the results.

Monday’s Music Moves Me

The theme at 4M this week is back to school. It’s been decades since I had a “first day of class” celebration, but it is almost fall, football is in the air and I can think of no better way to get this back to school thing started than with the pregame show of my college alma mater, The University of Okalhoma. BOOMER, Sooner! There is no better place to be on an autumn Saturday afternoon than in the stands of an OU game and witness this extravaganza. It’s been waaay too long since I have attended a game. Have a blessed week.

Family Portraits

Aww Mondays

The love seat on the patio is one of Lucy’s favorite spots. She will ring her bell to go outside and one of us will open the door thinking that she is going outside to take care of business. She may get to the edge of the patio and realize it is sprinkling rain. She doesn’t like to do business in the rain so she will just hop up on the love seat and wait it out.

Just Crop It!

We have a butterfly bush in our back yard and this year it has been a very busy bush. Recently I stepped into the yard to snap a few images.

I managed to get a close-up of this beauty. I am not a butterfly expert so I have no clue what this one is called. Photographically, this in not a great image. The purple bloom of the bush is competing with the butterfly for your attention. A little more blurred background would help.

This image is SOTC (Straight Out of The Camera) and no edits have been made. It just looks like a routine snapshot. What happens if we look for a better image within the image.

Yes, this is the same image! I just cropped it very close, almost macro and then enhanced the color a little. I was fortunate the focus was good from the beginning because this photo was hand held, no tripod involved. In photographer talk this is what is called “fill the frame”. This is only one reason I love photography. There are so many creative options in the editing phase.

Monday’s Music Moves Me

This week at 4M is free choice week. I think I will venture into Southern Gospel. I am sure some of these artists will be new to you, because they are new to me. First up is Zane and Donna King. Scripture tells us that God causes the rain to fall on the just and the unjust. In other words our life circumstances are not an indication of our relationship with God. The good new is that God is with us when things are going great, but He is also our God in the hard times.

Mercy Me is a contemporary Christian group that has been together over 25 years. I love this new arrangement of one of their classics.

The Isaacs are one of my very favorite gospel/bluegrass groups. As this world wanders through the various phases of this Covid pandemic, it can seem like we are wandering in a wilderness that will never end. There is One who will guide us through this journey and never leave us. Here is their new release, The Wilderness.

In this troubled world there is one truth. God is faithful to His children. He keeps every one of His promises. Have a blessed week.

From the Raised Bed

Aww…some Mondays – Grand Canyon 2012

Happy Trails to You

During the past five years Bentonville, Arkansas has become the mountain bike and trail capitol of the world. People are moving here because of the multitude of hiking and biking trails at various skill levels. There seems to be something for everyone. Less than a mile from our home a wetlands park/trail has been developed to preserve the wetland area and provide a walking and bike trail for visitors. Osage Park is a series of interconnecting, hard surfaced trails near the local private airport. The park is 55 acres in size and includes a 12 acre wetlands area with beaver dam and a stocked lake suitable for kayaks. There must be over three miles of connected trails. It is really a great amenity for local residents.

Monday’s Music Moves Me

This week the theme at 4M is pick any decade and develop a play list from that decade. That’s a tough assignment for me. 60’s pop/rock, 70’s rock, 70’s country and 90’s country are among my favorites. I think I will focus on 70’s country for today’s installment.

Wall Mural/Senior Portrait Background?

Aww Mondays

Digging back in the archives, this is “The Big Guy” early in his tee-ball career. This fall he will begin his senior year in high school. Just another reminder of how time flies.

Monday’s Music Moves Me

This week is freedom of choice week at 4M. The last time we had a free choice week I featured a recent vinyl album that I had purchased, titled Trio, by Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, and Emmy Lou Harris. It was released in 1987 and won a Grammy. Today I am going to feature Trio II. In 1997 these ladies released a volume II of their award winning recording and it went platinum in record time. The harmonies are as good as ever and the music shows a new variety of songs for these remarkable ladies. Have a blessed week.