Friday Thoughts & Sky Photos

Lookin' Out My Back Door

Some of you may have noticed that the blog has taken on a new look this week. E-Blogger has some new templates and new options that I have been experimenting with. I haven't settled on a final look just yet, but I think I like what I have so far. Your comments and critique are welcome. The new header photo comes from the Tulsa Fairgrounds Pavilion. I took the photo last October and was inspired by Tulsa Gal's header to use this terracotta detail for my blog.

Well it is Friday, so that means an inspirational song is on the program. This week I am going to share a song from Karen Peck and New River. They're a little bit country, a little bit bluegrass and a whole lot of gospel. This video is from the 2008 National Quartet Convention. My wife and I attended the 2009 convention and had the time of our lives. I don't think we're going to be able to go this year, but we do have plans to go in 2011 when the venue moves from Louisville, KY to Indianapolis, IN. There is an innate desire in man to believe in a life after death. God put that desire within us. For those of us who have confessed our sins, acknowledged that Christ is the Son of the Living God, and invited Him into our heart, we will experience everlasting life in a place prepared just for us. Often I find myself wondering what it will be like. I want to know how it feels. The chorus says;
I want to know how it feels
To make my way down the streets of gold
I want to know how it feels
To have a talk with the saints of old
I want to know what it's like
To rest my feet by the River of Life
I've heard of heaven and I know that it's real
I want to know how it feels 

Friday Thoughts, Sky Photos

 

http://skyley.blogspot.com/

 

If you follow my sky photos very closely, you've probably noticed that I generally like sun rises, sun sets, and stormy skies.  They seem to provide the most color and drama.  You've probably also noticed the too many of my photos are taken from behind the wheel of my pick-up.  That's probably not a habit you need to follow.  This sunset was captured in October, on the highway between Siloam Springs, Arkansas and Tulsa, Oklahoma. Even after a difficult day, God can provide a sunset to calm the nerves and soothe the soul.  Capturing it with my digital camera allows me to share it with you and enjoy the moment again, anytime of day or night.

For my inspirational song this week, I have chosen a song by The Martins.  In Revelation 3:20, Jesus tells us, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with me."  Christ would love to have a personal relationship with each of us, but He gives us the choice to accept or reject that relationship.  Our lord is not yelling and demanding that we answer His call, rather, it is "Softly and Tenderly, Jesus Is Calling".  Come home.  Enjoy.

Friday Thoughts and Sky Photos

It's been cold, snowy, rainy, and pretty depressing around here this past month.  I thought it was time to drag out a photo of happier days.  This was taken in mid-August at one of my favorite places close to home.

In a recent Wordless Wednesday post I submitted a "solarized" photo.  Several people thought that it was pretty cool and a couple of you wondered how it was done.  I have posted a solarized photo as my blog banner photo this week as well. The truth is, it's extremely simple.  Here is how it works.
First of all, I am using Photoshop Elements 7.  It will do virtually anything that I need done without the expense of the full version of Photoshop, in fact,  it's about $500.00 cheaper.  I don't know if other photo editing programs have this solarizing feature or not, but it is built into PSE.

Now, pick a photo that you want to use this technique on.  I will use the one from my blog header.  It is a very brightly colored image to start with, so it will provide lots of fun colors when finished. This sea dragon can be found in the lagoon at Downtown Disney in Orlando, FL.  He's actually made out of Lego's!
Next I cropped him into a square in order to reduce the size of the image file.  Now comes the magic.
Click on the "Enhance" tab and go to "Adjust Color".  In that pull down menu, click on "Adjust Color Curves".  The photo will be displayed with several options.  The last option is solarize.  Click on it and here is what will happen.

Pretty cool, huh!  This is all there is to solarizing a photo.  Now, if you don't like these colors, you can take this another step further.  Click on Enhance/Adjust Color and go to "Hue and Saturation".  By sliding those bars to the left or right, you will change the photo dramatically.  Here is what happens when you set the Hue at +25 and the Saturation at -25.

Here is what happens when you set the Hue at -100 and the Saturation at +50.

I think that the settings for my banner photo were Hue -180 and Saturation +100.  Here is one last example.  As you can see, the possibilities are endless.  Once again, I will emphasize, If I can do this, anyone can do this.

So much for "Fun With PhotoShop Elements", it's time to wrap this up and play the inspirational song for this week. Unless the Lord returns first, there will come a day when each of us will leave this world and step into eternity.  For those who have heard the call of God, repented of their sin, sought the forgiveness of the Father, and invited Christ into their life, they will enter into a place prepared just for them.  When our work in done here, we will be able to "Go Rest High On That Mountain."  Enjoy.

Friday Thoughts & Sky Photos

Click on badges to view other participants.

Click on photos to enlarge

 December Sunrise

We begin a new year.  Each new year typically comes with the hope of better days.  For our country, the past couple of years have been trying, regardless of your political leanings, your faith, or your economic situation.  I pray that 2010 brings joy, peace and hope into your life.
2009 was a busy year in our home and it ended when Dad lost his battle with cancer on December 16th.  However, in the midst of the storm we were able to experience God's abundant grace and endless mercy.  Our Lord surrounded us with friends and clergy to minister to our needs, both physically and spiritually.  There were those who prepared us several meals as we kept our vigil at Dad's side the last few days in hospice.  There were those who prayed with us and for us.  There were those who visited and offered comforting words.  God provided us with perhaps the best hospice facility in the central United Sates to care for him.  It allowed us to focus on loving him and ushering him into his eternal rest.  At the end of it all, we experienced  God's Amazing Grace and Dad's chains are gone.  They are gone because Dad experienced God's Amazing Grace as a young man.  He invited Christ into his life and was saved.  There is no other way.  Enjoy.

Friday Thoughts

Click on either badge to view other participants.
Click on the photos to enlarge.

Winter Sunrise in the Ozarks

I captured these images on the way to work a couple of weeks ago. I was on my way to the office around 7:00 a.m. It is mostly a rural drive. The sun was up, but the clouds provided the opportunity to capture a couple of photos. These were taken with my Canon S5is point and shoot camera. It's a good all around camera when you don't want to drag out the DSLR. It has plenty of zoom, although it gets pretty fussy and fuzzy when you use maximum zoom in low light conditions.
Christmas is just around the corner. I trust everyone is ready. I still have to buy something for my bride. Any suggestions? The last three years have been jewelry, so I think I've worn that option out. Oh well, I'll come up with something.
Today's inspirational song continues the Christmas theme. Nothing says Christmas like this song. When I think of Christmas and the birth of my Savior, one song comes to mind. When I think of the promise of God fulfilled in the birth of Jesus Christ, only one song comes to mind. When I think about the promise of eternal life in a place that God has prepared just for me, one song comes to mind. All I can say is, "Hallelujah. Here is a traditional and contemporary arrangement of Handel's Hallelujah Chorus. Enjoy.

Friday Thoughts

Longing for these evenings again.

Baby, it's cold outside. It's supposed to get down to 20 degrees tonight and into the teens tomorrow night. Brrrrr!!!! Autumn just didn't last long enough.

For the next few weeks, my inspirational song will be a Christmas song. The past two weeks I have featured David Phelps. This week I am featuring Kathy Matea. The very first time I heard "Mary Did You Know", it was on a Kathy Matea album. I fell in love with this song from the very beginning and I think Kathy's version is still my favorite. Enjoy.

Friday Thoughts...Tis The Season

Click on badge to view other participants

The Friday after Thanksgiving, commonly called "Black Friday", is the official start of the Christmas season in this country. The outlet malls in Branson, MO will actually open at midnight. Most retail stores will offer specials beginning at 3, 4, 5, or 6:00 a.m. I'll still be in bed, thank you very much. Well, I may be having a cup of coffee, but I will not be among the mall warriors. We only have one or two gifts left to purchase and they will probably not be a part of any special sale.
Last week-end I put up the Christmas lights around the yard. You have to do that when you have good weather, but we don't turn them on until Friday night after Thanksgiving. That's the rule.
The other tradition in our family that marks the beginning of the Christmas season is that I install Christmas music in the car and the home sound systems. Again, no Christmas music until after Thanksgiving. You will be seeing and hearing some Christmas selections here in the coming weeks. I will begin with what is possibly the best arrangement of "O Holy Night" that I have ever heard. David Phelps is in possession of an incredible vocal instrument, this is proof of his divine gift. So, go get your earbuds or headphones, turn up the volume just a bit and prepare to be stunned. Enjoy!

Friday Thoughts

Click on badge to view other participants.
Click on photos to enlarge.

Autumn is in full swing and winter in just around the corner. The leaves have turned and now have fallen, leaving most trees bare. Skies are overcast, and there is a definite chill in the air. So, I thought I'd post a sky from a brighter day earlier this year.
Our Christmas shopping is in full swing and mostly online. I have bought our daughter's gift and my bride has two of the grand daughters covered, and I now have my marching orders to get a laptop for the oldest grand daughter, but that's a whole other post. No rush, no crowds, life is good....so far. I don't know if my bride and I will be getting each other any thing. Honestly, there is nothing that we really need. We have been truly blessed, and for that, we are very thankful.

And neither of us colors our hair!

Hmm...since this will be posted Friday, Nov. 20 I will celebrating 63 years of life on this planet! Yep, it's birthday time again. Time flies when you're having fun. It travels faster as you grow older. Trust me. Still, life has been very good. I have nothing to complain about and more blessings than I can count. I think my bride and I will celebrate with dinner at a local restaurant. If I could, I'd do a movie marathon with the grandcrew on Saturday. "Disney's Christmas Carol", "Partly Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs", and "Where the Wild Things Are" are all playing at the same multi-screen theatre. That would make for a full, and expensive, afternoon and evening.
So, what do I do for an inspirational song this week? I know, I know, don't play Christmas music before Thanksgiving. Typically, that is the rule at our house. The Friday after Thanksgiving I change the CD's in the car to Christmas music and leave them there until New Years Day. However, it's my birthday party and I can play whatever I want. So there! I am blessed, and there is much joy in my life right now. For that I am ever grateful to the source of that joy, God Almighty. A Christmas song came to mind, "Joy,Joy" the title cut from David Phelps' first Christmas album. Enjoy.

Looking at the Sky Friday

Click on the badge to view other participants
Click on the photo to enlarge

Uncloudy Day

Just a clear October day in Arkansas, about three blocks from my office.
And now, our inspirational song for the week, you guessed it...Uncloudy Day. Enjoy.

Friday Thoughts

A couple of weeks ago I was headed to Tulsa to see my dad. It had been raining all night and most of the day. As I left Springdale, Arkansas on Highway 412, the rain had stopped. By the time I got on the toll road west of Siloam Springs, the clouds were breaking up and a sunset was in progress. Here are a few photos taken between Siloam Springs and Chouteau, OK.



Okay, enough with the drive-by photography. It's time for this week's installment of an inspirational song. One group that I saw for the first time was the Collingsworth Family. While the entire family is talented and sing great harmony, it is the mother, Kim that is an incredible pianist. Here is a sample of her work. Enjoy. If you really want to hear something special, go to YouTube, type Collingsworth Family and select How Great Thou Art. The embedding tag has been removed or I would have shown it to you here. It is something special. Have a great week-end everyone.

Friday Thoughts

Click on the badge to view other participants.
Click on the photos to enlarge.

Tuesday I flew out of Northwest Arkansas to Knoxville, TN. I got a rental car and drove to Franklin, NC. That is about a two hour drive through the Smokey Mountains. You take hightway 129 South out of Knoxville to Highway 28 South. Highway 28 South will take you all the way to Franklin, NC. The leaves are just now beginning to change in the Smokies. In another couple of weeks the scenery will be spectacular. It was a winding, twisting, hair-pin turning drive, but it was full of great scenery. I could have stopped a hundred times and taken a thousand photos, but I had to get to Franklin on business. It was an cloudy, overcast day, so there isn't much sky to admire, but I'm sure there are days when it is breathtaking. Anyway, here are a few more of the sights along the way.

Okay, so now what to we do for an inspirational song? Somehow, "Go Tell It On The Mountain" seems appropriate. Here are two versions, one pure gospel, and one up-tempo country, for your listening and viewing pleasure. Enjoy.

Looking At The Sky Friday

I actually took this image while driving home from work. I just pointed the camera in the general direction of the clouds and pulled the trigger. I would not suggest that anyone copy my driving habits on this day...or any other day. Click on the image to enlarge. Click on the badge to view other participants.

Friday Thoughts

Click on Logo to view other participants.
Click on photo to enlarge

Since fall in just around the corner, I pulled this out of the archives. I took this last November. It was taken in the Ozark National Forest, on highway 23, between Fayetteville, AR and I-40. I actually used it as my blog header for a few days last year. I may do it again.

Last week-end we took the oldest grand daughter to Tulsa to play in a soccer tournament. She was playing as a guest player for a team from Joplin, MO. They are a team that is small in numbers, so Scooter and one of her team mates played for them in order to gain a little more experience. They played for the Pink Panthers. Scooter HATES pink! Therefore, she was NOT thrilled with the uniforms. I took some photos and when I got home to download them, it brought back a few memories. Here is Scooter in one of her first games ever in 2002, playing in an under 8 league. She was not quite seven at the time.

Now, at the age of 13, she is playing on a U14 travel team. You've come a LONG way baby!!

Well, next week is the big week! My bride and I will be traveling to Louisville, KY for the National Quartet Convention of Southern Gospel Music. We will be leaving early Wednesday morning, so there probably won't be a Friday's Thoughts or a Looking at the Sky post. I'll be too busy enjoying some of the best Southern Gospel music and best groups in the world. We are also planning on visiting the Louisville Slugger factory and picking up a REAL wood bat for the grandson. We would like to tour Churchill Downs as well. I just don't know if time will permit many excursions. You can bet on one thing, the following week will be filled with posts related to our trip. Speaking of which, it is time for our weekly inspirational song. Here is another group that will certainly be at the convention with a great song, enjoy Crabb Family Revival singing "Runaway Train".