on the Anniversary of Martin Luther’s protest

you can read my homage again, if you like…

Martin Luther, Jr.:  A Rebel with a Cause

O Bluegrass! Where art Thou?

I love bluegrass music.  Something about those twangy metal strings.  Even though I grew up in KY, I didn’t listen to it much and didn’t have any friends or family who listened to it.  I acquired the taste in the last 10 years or so.

If you have some interest in the music and like it enough to want to learn more and maybe even start a collection, here are some recommendations in order.  You can download some or buy a used copy off Amazon.

Appalachian Stomp
Good variety from early pioneers like Bill Monroe, Flatt and Scruggs then through Del McCoury and JD Crowe up to Alison Krauss.  Also has highly recognizable stuff like “Dueling Banjos” from that awful film and Beverly Hillbillies TV theme.

Hand-Picked: 25 years of Rounders (major bluegrass label)
2 CD set for cheap with great stuff on it. “Old Home Place” and “High on a Mountain” are two of my favs. “Barrel of Fun” makes my instrumental list.

Home on the Highways: Band Picked Favorites by Alison Krauss and Union Station (available at Cracker Barrel.  The Ricky Scaggs “High Notes” is really good, too) Her voice, her fiddling, plus Dan Tyminski are simply awesome.  Also a good intro to Alison, some tracks are more of a pop/country sound than pure bluegrass.

For the Advanced:  If you are already a fan and like the high, twangy voice and great picking, download “Deeper Shade of Blue” by Del McCoury today!

Now on to some of My Favorites:

• “The Boy Who Wouldn’t Hoe Corn” by Alison Krauss and Union Station
• “The Old Home Place” by JD Crowe and the New South
• “Rain Rain Please Go Away” by Alison Krauss and Union Station
• “Bright Sunny South” by Alison Krauss and Union Station
• “High on a Mountain” by Del McCoury
• “True Love Never Dies” by Del McCoury
• “A Deeper Shade of Blue” by Del McCoury
• “Big Rock in the Road” by Del McCoury

Great Gospel Bluegrass songs:

• “I Know His Voice” by Del McCoury
• “Every Humble Knee Must Bow” by the Nashville Bluegrass Band
• “Recoverin’ Pharisee” by Del McCoury
• “On the Sea of Life” by Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver

Instrumentals-Awesome pickin’!

• “Unionhouse Branch” by Alison Krauss and Union Station
• “Choctaw Hayride” by Alison Krauss and Union Station
• “Barrel of Fun” by Country Cooking
• “Crazy Creek” by Bill Keith
• “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” by Earl Scruggs and Foggy Mountain Boys
• “Nine Pound Hammer” by the Kentucky Colonels
• “Quicksburg Rendezvous” by Del McCoury

How I Got Here-Part 1, the Early Years

I connected with a High School (and elementary) friend through Facebook.  She was curious about how I became a preacher/minister type guy and suggested I share my testimony.  I thought that was a good idea, and now months later, I am finally getting around to it.  I would be very interested in hearing your spiritual journey, as well.

Did I grow up in a Christian home?  I wish that were easier to answer.  Kinda yes, is the best I can do.

My grandfather on my mother’s side was a preacher.  My grandfather on my father’s side was an elder.  My father was a preacher until he couldn’t physically speak any longer because of Lou Gehrig’s Disease (ALS).  His last sermon was from a wheelchair with slurred speech.  I was 2 or 3 when he was diagnosed and 4 and a half when he died.

The next ten years can be split in half.  The years that my preaching grandfather lived in town, we attended where he preached.  The years after he moved hours away, we rarely attended anywhere.

In that ten year period, my mother struggle so much with personal baggage and worked nights, so I was kinda on my own.  I don’t remember much about the Bible, prayer, or Jesus during that time.

We had just started attending worship again a couple of months before she died.   I was 14 and a half. I had been immersed, mainly because of her prodding, a little over a month before she died in an automobile accident.

Saying that my life changed would be an understatement.  Saying that my life changed for the better probably sounds disrespectful and cruel.  But looking backwards through the eyes of faith, I can’t judge God or ask why.

From that point on, I was in a home where I saw adults reading the Bible and prayers were offered at every meal.  I had been transferred from an unpredictable and often frightening home situation into one where peace and love ruled.

It was also a home where church attendance was assumed.  The little country congregation had lots of problems.  Good people, some bad theology, some bad attitudes (if you want to know why I am not real high on MSOP, it is from personal experience).  When this congregation began to unravel, we began worshipping at a larger and healthier church in town.

This is where my faith really began blooming.  A series on the Book of Romans by Mike Tanaro at the Lone Oak Church of Christ is how and where my faith got kick-started.  This would have been around 1992-1993.  I will always appreciate that congregation for many reasons and always thank God for them.  Mike Tanaro is still one of my favorite preachers.

I suppose this is a good stopping point.  Suffice to say that I was still young and immature.  I do recall reading the entire NT for the first time out of blue KJV during these same years (early 90s).  But I was learning and seeds were being planted.  My life had gone from crazy to calm.

I will talk about my college years in the next installment.

Tulsa Top Ten List for Trey

In honor of “Blogger of the Year” Trey Morgan, here are my top 10 moments, highlights, memories from Tulsa this year. I could probably do a top 25.

10. An especially heinous dinner at Ruby Tuesdays Saturday night (thank you, Andy).

9.  Jeff Walling’s lesson on Love being the foundation of Evangelism (I know, “duh”, but we all needed to hear it).

8.  Meeting Randall Adams and hearing of his plans in Italy.

7.  Meeting Jon Pease and Jamie Riley.  Two awesome brothers I am glad to know better.

6.  Patrick Mead’s humor/wit.

5.  Conversion stories/testimonies like those of Joe Almanza and Liz Pence.

4.  The Adventures In Missions program.  A young lady from where I grew up is on the Salt Lake City Team and there is a team going to Prato, Italy!!!  I did not know that!!

3.  SNOW!!!!!!!!!!

2.  The First Annual Blog Luncheon

1.  Maggy Dobbs’ laughter.

A Rambling Man

Wow!  I still can’t believe I drove that much.  Almost 2000 miles over four days.  I have never driven so much in my life.  It was crazy.

The craziest part is that I didn’t even begin to consider the drive until Monday and left Tuesday morning.  My folks bought a new car and offered us their older car.  It is the nicest hand-me-down I have ever seen.  Over the weekend, we decided to give our spare car to my sister since she has three teenage drivers (pray for her, really).  So, we knew that a round-trip road trip was a comin’.

It wasn’t until the wife and I checked our schedules that we realized that this past week was the slowest, and therefore, best time to make such a trip for the next 2-3 months.  I would miss the least by traveling that week.

My route from Home was:

• I-78 towards Harrisburg, PA
• I-81 south to Hagerstown, MD
• I-70 and I-68 to Morgantown, WV (Columbia, MD looks like an interesting town)
• I-79 south to Charleston, WV
• I-64 through Huntington, WV, and, Ashland, KY all the way to Lexington.
• Bluegrass Parkway (Martha Layne Collins)
• Western Kentucky (Wendell Ford) parkway
• I-24 to Paducah

Here are some of my favorite people at my favorite restaurant:

Chong's Chinese Buffet and Family.

Some Highlights and Thoughts from the Road:

• I saw a sign for an Amish Flea Market.  I never knew there were such things at Amish Fleas.
• I said a prayer for every “Adult Bookstore” that I passed.  I prayed for the owner and the clients, and even ask for fire to come down from heaven and burn up the building. (Side Note:  Adult Films.  Adult Bookstore.  Adult Living Community.  Isn’t that just ripe for some confusion?)
• One “adult” store was aptly named, “The Lion’s Den.”  Yep, Satan is definitely prowling around there.
• I saw two normal bookstores in West Virginia, and joked to my friend Chris Gallagher, a native of that beautiful state, that that was progress.  My sister added though, that there were only Coloring Book stores. Sadly, when I went inside all the customers had driven over from KY.
• Red Roof Inn had rooms for $45-$50.  Great deal if you just need a bed.
• I slept in Huntington, WV, one night.  Home of Patrick Patterson, UK “star.”  KY lost their Senior Night, must-win, home game to the worst team in the conference-GA Bulldogs.  How sad is that?  They don’t deserve to be in the Big Dance.  And Patrick Patterson may be overrated. Can’t see him being a pro unless he develops a great jump shot.
• Had a great breakfast with FHU buddy Ben Jones in Morgantown, WV.  We got caught up on friends, sports, church.
• I almost died in Charleston, WV on Tuesday night during rush hour.  Three cars in front of me slammed on their brakes.  I don’t know who did what, but I was thankful that no car was close behind me.  My heart was racing for the next ten minutes as I praised God.
• Otherwise, I had easy traffic and great traveling weather.
• I wore my UK sweatshirt and listened to bluegrass music on Wednesday as I crossed over Jordan into the Promised Land of horses, bluegrass, and basketball.  Of course, it was the same day UK lost to GA.
• I stopped by the birthplace of Bill Monroe, “Father of Bluegrass” on Wednesday but the gate was closed.  I just got a picture of the sign by the road.  I couldn’t even see the house that was up on a ridge in Rosine, KY.  I would love to return next year as they celebrate the 100th anniversary of his birth.
• My eyeball hurt Thursday and Friday mornings.  I apparently scratched my cornea over a year ago.  I had lots of trouble one year ago.  I visited the eye doctor, tried various things, and finally it went away.  Then, after months of no eye problems, two days when I needed to drive 1000 miles, my left eye was watery, sensitive, and hurt occasionally.

And here is the what I drove home.  Isn’t she lovely?

2005 Buick LeSabre

David Letterman, Joaquin Phoenix, & Ben Stiller

I have enjoyed this so much.

The interview on Letterman.  Apparently Joaquin has a history of weirdness.  (BTW-I spelled his name the only way I know that I learned from St. Louis Cardinal pitcher in the 1980s, Joaquin Andujar)

And here is Ben Stiller’s impersonation at the Oscars.  I love Natalie Portman’s response, “you look like you work in a Hasidic Meth lab?”