Ruby Tuesday Too

Two seconds after you leave the stop light, this is all that the person next to you will see.  If the color of this 2013 Camaro ZL1 doesn't get your attention, the smell of burnt rubber and sound of the 580 hp motor pushing you from 0-60mph in 3.9 sec. will.  Be still my heart.  Happy Ruby Tuesday Too!

Skywatch Friday - How Great Thou Art

 Some days, I get up early in the morning and drive to one of several places that are ideal for watching the sun rise, or I wait until the end of the day and travel to another favorite place to enjoy the sunset.  As I sit there and enjoy the colors of the sky and the wonders of creation, my soul does indeed sing, "How Great Thou Art."  What I enjoy most about the old hymns is their simple message.  In the four verses that are "How Great Thou Art", the entire story of God's creation and His plan for our salvation is delivered.  There are times when a picture is worth a thousand words and there are times when the words speak for themselves, but there are times when they compliment one another.

Verse 1:
O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made;
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.
Chorus:
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

Verse 2:
When through the woods, and forest glades I wander,
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees.
When I look down, from lofty mountain grandeur
And see the brook, and feel the gentle breeze.

Chorus:

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!


 
Verse 3:
And when I think, that God, His Son not sparing;
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in;
That on the Cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin.

Chorus:

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

Verse 4:
When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation,
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart.
Then I shall bow, in humble adoration,
And then proclaim: "My God, how great Thou art!"


Chorus:

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

There are those rare instances when the words and the music and the artist come together to create a very special moment.  This is one of those times.  "How Great Thou Art."

The Beat of the Drum

Tuesday night my wife and I attended a Drum Corps competition at the local high school stadium.  It was great fun.  While it is called a Drum Corps, the truth is each group include a flag line and brass horns along with the drum line.  Each corps puts on about a 12 minute show (basically a football half-time show) and they are judged on their performance.  There were corps from Iowa, Wyoming, Texas, Wisconsin, and South Carolina.  Members are between 16-22 years of age.  They must try out for the corps and pay a fee to help defer the expenses.  Here are a few images from the evening.

This is the entry from Casper, WY and were one of my favorites of the evening.

I really liked their uniforms.

This is the drum line of the corps from Iowa.  I thought they had one of the best performances of the night.

   There are some sharp uniforms and polished instruments.

There are some tense moments and serious competition.  All in all, it was an enjoyable evening.  These corps teams tour the country during the summer, competing against one another.  It all comes to an end in August when they have a national final competition.  If you hear of such an event in your area, I would encourage you to check it out.  I think you will enjoy it.

Now there is always an inspiration for these types of groups.  Some that inspiration comes from military precision drill teams.  Another source are the true Drum Corps, like the Top Secret Regiment from Switzerland.  Take a look at this.

Wordless Wednesday

Lookin' For a Friend

Ruby Tuesday 2

4 Hydrants...No Waiting

During our recent trip to Memphis I was walking in the downtown area and happened by the Fireman's Museum.  I simply could not resist photographing this display in front of the building.  I didn't see any canines in the area, but I'm sure it's tempting.  Happy Ruby Tuesday all.

Tulsa Time

I was surfing through some YouTube videos last night when, for some reason the name Vince Gill came to mind. A brief search turned up this video. While Vince is not the featured artist, the video just caught my attention. There are three guitar legends playing with Sheryl Crow. It is a million dollar band and they're singing about my hometown. Enjoy.

Skywatch Friday

Rockets Red Glare

 Few things in this world are more exciting and fun to watch than a good fireworks show.  Every 4th of July thousands of cities across this country put on displays for their citizens meant to celebrate our independence, inspire our patriotism, and entertain us.  While a lone burst is a beautiful sight, nothing lights up the night sky like a combination of shells exploding simultaneously.

For the Christian, everyday is Independence Day.  We can celebrate our independence from the bondage of sin in our lives.  Repentance and accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior frees us from sin and gives us access to the Abundant Life.  Without Christ there is no life.  With Christ there is life and life more abundantly. 

Thank you Lord for filling my life with more blessings than I can name.  Thank you for a family that loves me.  Thank you for the privilege of living in this country and for blessing this nation more than we can possibly identify and certainly more than we deserve.  Please, restore unto us the joy of our salvation and give us the boldness to share our faith with those that you bring into our lives.

Give us the courage to be salt and light in this world and never hide the light of eternal life under a basket.  May we NEVER be ashamed of the Gospel and may we always be ready with an answer for the hope that lives within us.  Have a blessed week-end.

Amazing Grace

Wordless Wednesday

Classic Details

Ruby Tuesday II

Fire House No. 1, Memphis, TN

Scavenger Hunt Sunday

All In One

Here I managed to get all of the prompts in one image, that is, if you're willing to think a little outside the box.  Red, white and blue are visible in the uniform.  These kids are the Cal Ripkin 9 year old All-Stars, and at some point in the game you're going to see a sparkling baseball play, even at this level.  See...all five prompts in one image.  Okay, now let's try a more traditional route.

  Red

 One of my favorite summer toys is my bass boat and it is mostly red.

White

The truck that I use to tow my boat is white.  How convenient for this hunt.

  Blue

If you attend a little league baseball tournament you will find that red or blue are among the most prominent uniform colors.  

  Stars

Technically, this meets four of the five prompts, and if you add my oldest grand daughters sparkling personality, you get all five in one image.  However, I'm going to stick with the stars that are on her shorts that she hand decorated for the fireworks show at the local park.  She's pretty creative too.

  Sparkle

I'm guessing that this will be the most popular subject matter for this prompt from all of the participants this week.  Fireworks have a sparkle all of their own and they are great fun to watch.  I have a camera that actually has a "Fireworks" setting on it.  All you really need to add is a tripod.  A tripod is an absolute necessity if you're going to get images of fireworks that are in focus.   Well, I hope everyone had a great holiday.  See you next week.

Wordless Wednesday

Elvis 1968

Ruby Tuesday II

Viva Las Vegas

One of the things that Elvis was most remembered for was the stage costumes he wore during his Vegas shows.  There is a collection of these outfits on display at his home, Graceland, in Memphis TN.  While I was never a big Elvis fan, I did truly enjoy the tour of Graceland.  If you're ever in Memphis, take a few hours and visit Graceland.