Sounds Of Thunder, Flashes Of Light!

Once a year we have a street celebration for the Harley Davidson afficionados. It's a local SD thing called the "Jim's Tap Ride Through," and the name says it all. It began more years than I care to think about, ago, and has grown to include the blocking off of several streets downtown, riding skills demonstrations by local motor patrol officers(these folks are good!), contests for the bikers in attendance, and the grand finale is the riding of motorcycles through the tavern from the alley to main street. Sound like fun? It is! In an agriculturally based society where we have tractor pulls and corn events, this is another way for mid-americans to celebrate the summer. Food is vended on the street, folks mill about in crowds looking at the creations of the riders, and in an era where the chopper is celebrated on cable TV, we have them live and in living color! My youngest daughter has decided to start riding(I didn't remind her that she's been doing this since she was a baby, but back then, of course, it was on the tank in front of me. That's illegal today, it might have been back then, but in towns with less than 2500 people in residence nobody really worries too much about it)Jasmine made the ride through with her Godfather, Gino, of Raymond SD. He's been a part of my life for 25 years, it was sure great to see him! All in all, my wife referred to the day as, "PERFECT," and I have to admit, on this we were 100% in agreement.
Paul is pictured here with his lovely bride to be(I'm not sure he knows they are getting married yet. Don't tell him, I want it to be a surprise.) They're the ones blurred just a little, along with the unkown young lady on her own scoot coming through the lines of people. She was sure smiling for the camera, though. God provided us with a wonderful opportunity for true street ministry, and the following night the church's outreach concert provided a perfect vehicle for sharing the Word of God. There is not a single set of circumstances which I consider to be of the inappropriate type for sharing our love for the Lord, but there are some that work better. If you're out there practicing the "Great Commission," I encourage you in every way possible to get a handle on what works best for you and then do it and keep on doing it until you are certain it's complete. Have a wonderful week! In Christ's Love, Preacher.

Saturday Night The Manmade Sound Of Thunder, Harley Style, Shook Our Streets!  

Patience Takes Time, But Holds Many Rewards, For Those Who Can Afford To Wait! 

Precious Beyond Belief Are The Lives Of Our Children! 

Values We Place On Life

Tonight a concert was hosted by our First Baptist Body of Christ in Brookings, SD. Jay & Jodi Marcum were the featured musical artists. The combination of a very old fashioned cookout and concert brought in a harvest of persons seeking. I'm doing the photo historical(hysterical)thing for the folks, but my sense of humor sometimes gets away from me. Crowbar and I were standing out by my scoot between shoots and there were two unnamed persons working at the grill. One of my favorites, Mel(not her name), was hanging out with us when a thought occurred to me, "I wonder what the reaction to a blood-curdling scream from a 9 year old might be for the two at the grill?" I asked Mel if she could provide the proper setup and she readily agreed. I got the camera in position and focused for the shot, she let out the scream, and the two turned in complete concern. It was so good, the picture, and the rest! I can't share it here, I would be sued, but let it be sufficient to say that all parents react in very much the same way when a little one is thought to be threatened. The little duck below got separated from his mom today. My wife hovered over it protecting it to the point that I had to call her into the house. I told her, "The mama can't come get the little one until you're gone." Sure enough, within a few minutes the mother wooduck was back to retrieve her little lost one. We watched as she got all of them in a row again(ducks really do this, that's where the saying came from)and led them off to somewhere for awhile. They're safely back in the nest at night, high up in the tree. We pass by them on the street, the squirrels, cats, rabbits, and dogs, who've been run over, and we don't really think too much of it, until it's close to us and it's alive, and we have to take care of it. Maybe that's more a female thing than male, but I don't think so, I believe we all care deeply about the lives around us, the cute ones, anyway. I know for certain if it had been a baby rat in the yard my wife would not have been protecting it, but then again, who knows? I know this much from the "kodak moment" I had this evening that there is very little that can spur people to action faster than an endangered little one. That gives me some very real hope for all of our human race. We really do care, even if it isn't ours, we care, and that is so real you can see it in the eyes of a lady caught on camera in a beautiful and terrifying moment of concern. I don't suggest anyone try this, it may be hazardous to your health mentally and physically down the road somewhere if my interpretation of the moments that followed are correct. My wife has advised me that she will assist with the preparation of the noose if I ever, 'ever' do that again!
The value that we place on life is directly proportionate to the lives that we take responisibility for, and we never stop counting those. People are, in this respect, as instinctive as mama wooduck. God is the ultimate author of all these emotions and instincts that impact our lives. So much so, in fact, He has known us and cared for us since before the bones were knit together in our mother's wombs. Care and concern are beautiful emotions. Enjoy them, nurture them in others, and observe how they are expressed in the lives around you. You won't be disappointed, and you can see first hand just how much it is that God cares for you. So much so that He gave His Son that we might live. Through God's gift we truly can see the "value" to be found in every life. In Christ's Love, Preacher.

This is year # 3 for the pair that live in the tree on the corner of our patio. They are becoming more prolific each year!  

Feelings, Somewhere Inside The Heart!