Bluegrass at Georgia Mountain Fairgrounds, Hiawassee, GA

Yesterday my husband and I attended an event at Georgia Mountain Fairgrounds in Hiawassee, Georgia. 

It was a fund raising event for a bluegrass player, Patton Wages who has been having health problems. My husband is involved in the bluegrass community where we live in Woodstock, Georgia and it's a great group of people. Apparently that is true in the more northern part of Georgia as well. The event was well planned and well attended by people who really seem to love this man. It was organized by the music store where Patton works, Acoustic Cellar Guitars. Below is a copy from Acoustic Cellar's web site regarding Patton:

Patton was raised in Stockbridge, GA and began playing banjo at age 9. He was first influenced by Earl Scruggs, J.D. Crowe, and Terry Baucom, Scott Vestal as well as other local musicians such as Don Norman, Eddie Hoyle and several others, but credits his dad Don (Who also plays banjo and guitar and played a lot locally when Patton was younger) with getting him started.  Patton then worked with the Georgia-based groups Lost Horizon  and  Whitepath out of the Canton/Ballground area playing festivals around the southeast and making numerous appearances on national television. Patton then spent four years in Nashville sharing the stage with Marty Raybon  and Full Circle. He’s currently traveling with Award Winning Band Volume Five who’s had several nominations for both IBMA and Dove Awards. The band was awarded IBMA’s Song of the Year as well as Emerging Artists of The Year for 2017. Patton also spent several years in the early 2000s at Gibson Guitar Corp. OAI Division. He’s spent the last 20 years or so teaching and doing set-ups on instruments in amongst his 30 years of playing both banjo and guitar. He now lives in Mountain Rest, SC. and  has a son, Brayden, who is learning guitar as well! If you’re interested in learning Banjo or Guitar, need a professional set-up or just need some fresh strings on your instrument...come by and see him, he’ll help you out! 

North Georgia is beautiful and Hiawassee is no exception with gorgeous mountain scenery and lakes. It is worth a trip there for sure. Hiawassee is the county seat of Towns County, Georgia. It's name is derived from the Cherokee - or perhaps Creek - word Ayuhwasi - meaning meadow.

Photos from the event

Acoustic Cellar Guitars

Georgia Mountain Fairgrounds

Hiawassee, Georgia

Bluegrass Music

A Day's Portion, Every Day

The book of Exodus, found in the Old Testament, is an account of the deliverance of the children of Israel from the greatest superpower of that time, Egypt. I certainly have read Exodus before but at this time in my life's journey, as scripture is prone to do, portions of the text stand out to me that perhaps had not in readings gone by. This morning some simple words caught my eye - "a day's portion, every day". The setting in my reading currently is that after the parting of the Red Sea (Ex. 14) and after a miracle of bitter water being made sweet (Ex 15:22-24) - the children of Israel started to complain about what they perceived as a threat of starvation in the wilderness (Ex 16:2-3). In response to that, God said to Moses, "Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion, every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in  my law or not" (Ex 16:4).

Personally my life has had some significant challenges. Some of those have been due to the actions of others, some have been challenges created by actions of my own. Coupled with my age and life's expectations, the portions of Exodus that relate to a process in life, and most especially in the process of deliverance, are the portions I am meditating and reflecting on.

In the book of Exodus, Moses was the man God had chosen to deliver the children of Israel. Born at a time of grave danger from being killed by Pharaoh, he was miraculously taken into the home of Pharaoh's daughter and raised in the palace. Moses feels the call towards his people as a grown man but stumbles in his actions to help a Hebrew being beaten by an Egyptian and Moses has to flee. By the account in Acts 7, Moses was in the land of Midian, where he had fled, for 40 years. And God has been hearing the cry by the Hebrews for rescue from slavery for years and years, they had been in the land of Egypt for 430 years, and it was Moses he had chosen to lead them out.

After Moses encounters the Lord in a burning bush and finally approaches Pharaoh to let the Hebrews go (there are two chapters of that process, chapters 3 and 4) Moses approaches Pharaoh to let them go and...Pharaoh makes it even harder for the Hebrews. The people turn to Moses, and his brother Aaron and basically say, thanks for nothing! (Ex 5:21). Moses turns to God and then accuses God of doing evil to the Hebrews and not doing what He had promised. (Ex 5:22)

I could list all the events of the apparent stop-go process and challenges of the deliverance but I suggest that the reader take the time to read the book of Exodus for themselves, and I will get on to the "day's portion, every day" reason I write this.

Through the walking away from slavery and walking towards "the Promise Land" process, challenges to the human will and motivations are repetitive in the story of Exodus. Fear and danger are real problems experienced by the Hebrews, yet God never takes it all away. He doesn't transport them quickly to a place of rest with no challenges. No, they are faced with a void of security. They had left behind what was familiar, even though it was slavery, for the unknown but with a promise. Every day was an unknown. And when it came time for food to be provided them, it was not given in over-abundance, it was given as provision. And that is where I ended my reading today, thinking about the effort needed spiritually to live like that, and still have rest and peace in God. When you don't see the provision for tomorrow, what do you do? When you haven't arrived yet at where you are going, and you know the process most likely won't be over soon, what do you do?  They had to walk on and believe every day. The process was to test them, whether they would obey God. God had said to them that they needed to diligently listen to His voice. As believers, that is our challenge, in challenges, day by day, every day.

From the Desk of a Hurricane Survivor

I know what it is like to go through a Hurricane. Hurricane Ivan in 2004 hit the Pensacola, Florida area as a Category 3 storm, creeping along in it's destruction at 3 MPH. It was the scariest night of my life. A 17 ft storm surge hit our house in Gulf Breeze, Florida washing everything we owned away except what we took with us when we evacuated. After the initial shock, you get down to the business very quickly of living your life. Along with eating Red Cross meals, hunting for personal belongings in the piles of debris and cleaning up, I got to taking some photographs and the later, when I could think better, writing a few poems. With Hurricane Florence's depression still raining on the Carolina's as I write this, I am brought back to my own experience and thought I'd make this post.

Abrupt Changes

How could you have done to us what you did, salty, beautiful blue?

Why roar at your gazing lover?

Sue, who gardened by your breezes has gone.

No voices or crabbing adventures and grandchildren playing...

who knew that one day YOU would grow ENRAGED

and take it all away.

How can I love you, trust you, though you woo me daily with your calm lapping, making up to me.

Breathing your scent I can't help myself.

Lover again.

Sue's Home, Sydney's Chair

The Unnamed Storm

Perhaps to name you

was to know you.

Your gradual approach

allowed the denial.

…as if preparations were

unnecessary or not to be rushed…

maybe your landfall would be soft

in the middle of the night as

I slept, unknowing.

Oh but that doesn’t ever happen with

a hurricane.

The steering currents warm

with energy

made certain

that

your arrival would be noticed.

You brought a power greater than mine.

I stood helpless on the shore

to

hold you back

or keep it as before.

My belongings scattered…should I search or

are they ruined by your caustic pounding and should I

just let them go?

The Morning After

But As For Me...

I am currently reading a book entitled, Love Like You Have Never Been Hurt by Jentezen Franklin. The book was sent to me by a dear friend who knows that I have been struggling, and I am so glad she did. I highly recommend it to anyone who has been hurt, disappointed or discouraged. I am currently at a portion of the book that references Job and the book in the Bible named for him. Something caught my attention regarding this and I thought I'd write about it here.

The book of Job is the story of a wealthy man who literally has everything taken from him, including his health. Although the extreme suffering of Job can seem foreign to those who have not literally lost everything, I still over the years have drawn inspiration from this book a few ways - the first in the seemingly good advice of his friends, which turns out to not be good in God's eyes - (read Job 42:7-9 - in my opinion allowing freedom from persistent persuasion that seems well meaning but not ringing true within), another is the beautiful portion in Chapter 28 about where the source of wisdom is, and then lastly is the section of scripture in the Chapter 42, the last chapter - verses 6 - "I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes." I have always loved this scripture as it spoke to me of the greatness of God in comparison to man and that moving from head knowledge of God to experience with God enabling a soul to see Him is when we actually know something.

But in Franklin's book on Page 193, his reference to Chapters 19 and 23 brought something to mind that I had not seen before that I would like to share here.

Job said in regards to God, in Chapter 23 - "I travel East looking for him - I find no one; then West, but not a trace; I go North, but he's hidden his tracks; then South, but not even a glimpse" (Message 8-9). I know I have felt that way. WHERE IS GOD? I am in my 60's and after you have asked yourself that quite a few times over your lifetime, it can wear you down. When I was a younger person I would see grouchy older people and tell myself I would never be like that. Now, with some age to me, I know that experience of being disillusioned by life can make you that way when you give up. God forbid I ever give up!

So, to the heart of this post - Job exclaims in Chapter 19, verse 25 - "But as for me, I know my Redeemer lives". What determination! What faith! Although Job can not find God, Job is saying that no matter the circumstances, he knows that His REDEEMER lives. When all Job saw or was experiencing was loss and pain, he still knew that his savior lived. Job was not in denial of his circumstances. He acknowledged his suffering. But in his suffering he stayed true to God in his heart.

I don't know how long Job stayed in that state of loss and pain, but I do know that God restored to Job more than he had before and blessed the latter days more than his beginning. So I hope this encourages anyone who, in their latter days are feeling discouraged. Hold on to faith and as for you, know that your redeemer lives!

Diane Britton Dunham - artist 

Simple Truths

"For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works, my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance, in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them"
Psalm 139:13-16

Life. Precious and profound. Certainly a human life is more profound in it's potential than any wisdom of mankind, for you see, mankind is not God. Simple statement? Simple truth. But somewhere along the road mankind has discarded their faith, their awe of what is beyond their ability to grasp and understand, which is the potential of a human life. This potential MUST be protected.

I read recently of Priscilla Presley and Kim Basinger protesting with PETA in front of the Korean Embassy in Los Angeles regarding the Korean dog meat trade. I looked up PETA's mission statement, a portion of which reads - "People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is dedicated to establishing and protecting the rights of all animals. Peta operates under the simple principal that all animals are not ours to eat, wear, experiment on, or use as entertainment".

The logic of Peta - protecting the RIGHTS of all animals; operates under a SIMPLE principal that all animals are NOT OURS. Above we have celebrities holding dead dogs for a shocking statement of a principal.

The logic of protecting human life - that the unborn child has RIGHTS; the unborn human is NOT OURS. They are God's. 

Shocking.

Snow, Trees, Sky - Woodstock, Georgia 12/9/17

A Dose of Humility

I wanted to write something that would help me sort through and process the crazy mess going on in our country right now; I don't know if it's possible to do, but here goes...

A man walks into a church in Texas and shoots dead 26 people. In Charleston, SC- precious church going people died because they were black. Another man plans the slaughter of many at a music festival in Las Vegas and murders 59 people. A different man walks into an Orlando nightclub - 49 dead. Another gunman, Aurora movie theatre shooting - 12 dead. A younger man enters an elementary school and murders 20 children and 6 adults.

As I write this, sexual harassment stories are all over the news. Started serious enough and now it seems that everyone who had their butt pinched for the last 30 years is suddenly outraged and "courageously" stepping forward...into the spotlight for their next few minutes of exposure, ironically, and in effect, trivializing the issue by exaggerating their truth for personal gain.

CNN and Fox News - switch back and forth between their web pages for the news and you will see clearly that truth has become subjective, and perhaps false. Democrats and Republicans - Russians, back room deals, millions of dollars paid to win: politicians smile and wave.

Personally I have been internalizing this all and as much as I would like to dismiss it from my psyche, I can't so I have decided to write this for my 3 blog followers. (Smile).

Who are these people and how did they get that way?

Can a society be healthy when children that are raised within it are spending more of their time playing video games, texting, watching TV or videos then they do interacting with other people? Humans need the touch of others, the facial expressions in conversation, the ability to share together. How can electronic devices provide that? These same children have watched outrageous horror movies where realistic depictions of savage murders are clearly portrayed. They have watched overtly sexual videos at ages that they shouldn't even know what a sex act is. A person eats junk food - a person becomes unhealthy. In the name of freedom of speech everything has become a human's right to produce whatever song, video, game, movie they desire, however depraved - and the right to do so has eclipsed the moral right to protect and defend the innocent.

Abortion - the right of the carrier is greater than the carried.

Death - the right of choice to die is served rather than the God who created the dying.

My mother, 1983, a few months before she died at home from ovarian cancer, with her grandkids. She let God decide how long she lived.

I used to retouch negatives years ago when it was done by hand - using a machine where you put the negative in front of an opaque glass with a light behind it and with a very small brush, contrasting dye and a magnifying glass, you dabbed away acne, scars and wrinkles so that when the negative was printed they had been removed.

I got very familiar with the contours of faces working on 30 negatives a day.  Due to that experience I can spot plastic surgery that has been done fairly quickly so I might be more sensitive to viewing it - but I can't understand how swollen lips and skin stretched tight is beautiful. The majority of the selfies you see of young women have the "pout" - and I can't help but believe these young girls are spending too much of their precious time and energy trying to portray an image of themselves then being themselves. And the fashion industry and the entertainment industry spend billions to keep putting an unrealistic image out there, to the real harming of vulnerable young women.

How did we as a society get this way? Sin, violence and inhumanity is not unique to the United States or this generation  - but our society still has descended into a more violent society and self centered society that created these mass murder monsters. How can that be fixed?

Practically, I believe parents can make it a priority to raise society conscious kids, not self absorbed avatar's. That would be a start for the benefit of society in 20 years. As far as right now those who are already adults can stop, take a deep breath and visualize the mass of humanity on this planet, 7.442 billion, to aide them in realizing that THEY are not so special themselves. I would hope this vision of the mass of humanity would generate humility. Humility breeds knowledge and wisdom in the place of pride, arrogance, and vanity. Maybe a big injection of humility in our society would work against the tide of selfish humans who work only for their personal gain. Maybe we would celebrate the volunteers who work with Habitat for Humanity, the Salvation Army, those who man the soup kitchens all over the country and comfort the dying in hospice. Maybe we would realize that a 4.5 million dollar engagement ring is really a gross neglect of the poor, weighed in the balance. Maybe.