The end of the day is often painted in beautiful color. It can give us the feeling of another day done. If we've had a tough day at the office, the sunset can hold the promise of a better day tomorrow. There are times when we know that tomorrow will also be a tough day. In fact, we may be facing many tough days ahead. Those who have suffered thorough the devastation and loss of life that floods and tornadoes have brought recently are going to face a lot of difficult days ahead. They need our prayers and our support. I have a friend who has a very unusual disease, for which there is no guaranteed cure. She and her family are facing some trying times in the near futre. However, their faith will sustain them. They can claim God's promises. God never promised that life would be easy, nor that we would never experience sorrow. Instead, He promised us that His grace is sufficient to see us through. He promised that we would have life, and have it more abundantly. That has nothing to do with fame and fortune. The abundant life is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. During those times when life is hard, God expects us to "cast all of our cares upon Him, because He cares for you." (1 Peter 5:7) How great is that? The God of all creation cares for you. He cares about you. He loves you. When the world seems to come crashing down on you, He cares. It is this hope that gives us the courage to face another day. "Because He Lives", I can face tomorrow.
It's been hot, humid and mostly cloudy here recently, but no rain. It's going to be a tough August.
Wednesday evening we enjoyed a special event. My wife and I drove over to Lampe, MO. for a concert at the Black Oak Amphitheater. Lampe, MO is about fifteen miles west of Branson and about a one and one half hour drive from our house. It was the site of many rock concerts in the eighties and early nineties. It's been closed for the past ten years. Under new ownership, the venue has reopened and has a full slate of concerts scheduled through September.
The entertainers included Rhonda Vincent, Earl Scruggs, and Steve Martin. There really is nothing more appropriate for an outdoor amphitheater in the Ozark Mountains than "Bluegrass"!
Rhonda Vincent and her band Rage, opened the show. They were very good. Next up was Earl Scruggs with Family and Friends. The family included his sons Gary and Randy. If you don't know who Earl Scruggs is, there isn't much point in reading further. Just let it be said that he is an eighty-six year old legend in Bluegrass. If you ever get a chance to see this group, don't pass it up. But keep in mind, he won't be around forever. It was a wonderful one hour set of amazing banjo, guitars and bluegrass hits that spanned six decades. The final act was Steve Martin (yes, the comedian) and the Steep Canyon Rangers. Martin is a Grammy award winning songwriter, banjo player, and entertainer. The Steep Canyon Rangers are a great bluegrass band in their own right, but they are currently touring with Martin. The show featured a mixture of comedy and award winning bluegrass. The show lasted about three hours. We got home a little after midnight.
In late August B.B. King will be at the Amp. Unfortunately, we will not be in the area. B.B. is another legend that will not be doing his thing forever. See him while you can. For more information you can visit the Black Oak web site. For you old rockers, Leon Russell will be appearing in September.
Okay, it Friday and time for the inspirational song of the week. In keeping with the bluegrass theme, I am going to share something from Rhonda Vincent. During the show on Wednesday night, Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers sang a very humorous song "Ahiests Got No Song". They pulled out a single sheet of paper and declared that it was the complete Athiest hymnal. While it was extremely funny, it was painfully true. During times of trial and troubles, Christians can turn to prayer, their savior, the Bible, to one another, and to the hyms of the faith. For those of us who love music, hymns often speak to us in ways no other means of communication can. If we will only listen to what God is trying to tell us, we can be partakers of the abundant life. God wants us to share the good news of salvation. He wants us to rise up and become fishers of men. So, without further delay, here is Rhonda Vincent. Enjoy and have a blessed week-end.
It seems that I've taken a lot of photos with overcast skies or storm clouds in them recently. That is not intentional, nor is it reflective of my mood. We've just had quite a bit of rain the past couple of weeks, and the photo opportunities are limited to this subject.
I have to admit, I really needed the three day week-end. After traveling and working a trade show booth the week before, the three days of rest were most welcome. Saturday morning, 5:00 a.m., I loaded up the boat and went bass fishing for a few hours. I got home around 11:00 a.m. and the rains started around 1:00 p.m. Sunday, we headed over to the grand crew's house around 4:00 p.m. for BBQ ribs and all of the 4th of July fixin's. After dinner, we loaded up the cars and went to the local park for the annual fireworks display. It was AWESOME this year.
The fireworks are a wonderful way to celebrate this nation's independence. They are much like this country in some ways. They are colorful, and this nation was founded by some very colorful people. They are exciting. The birth, growth, and power attained by our country in it's relatively short history is certainly exciting to those interested in U.S. history. But, just like fireworks, if we, as a nation, fail to remember what made us great, and cling to those values that brought us to this point in history, we can vanish from prominence as quickly as we rose to this place. With great power, comes great responsibility.
I am going to do something different for the inspirational music this week. I am going to combine it with my first participation in "Five On Friday". "Five On Friday" was conceived and sponsored by Travis, over at Trav's Thoughts. Stop by his blog for the rules. I did change one thing. I made my own badge, just because I can. If you want to use it, feel free to copy and post it on your Five On Friday. At any rate, as most you you know I like gospel music. But I also like contemporary Christian music as well. One of the most popular artists these days is Chris Tomlin. I have featured him before in my YouTube videos, so I thought I'd make him my first featured artist in my Five On Friday play list. Enjoy.
