Somebody Like Me

In case someone missed it, I am doing a giveaway of two books - details on July 2 post. Ten more days.

Ran across this song a few months ago, and it makes me think every time I hear it. Don't think there is a youtube video of it, but here are the lyrics. They speak their own message:

Somebody Like Me


The congregation parted like the Red Sea
When that old drunk stumbled in,
Down the aisle and took a seat
Right in the middle of “Amazing Grace”
He could feel the judgment they were passing
Thought to himself “ain’t that just like a bunch of Baptists”
I’d rather be on the street, than in this place”
With tears on his face

You’d think somebody
Would put their arm around him
You’d think somebody
Would hit a knee
Pull him in, say a prayer
That’s what I’m taking ‘bout right there
You’d think somebody
Would practice what they’re preaching
Wonder who that somebody might be
Probably somebody like me

Well he’s got problems
Nobody wants a part of
When he got up and stepped out
Nobody stood up
They don’t want to make a scene
So they let him walk out of there
Without a prayer

You’d think somebody
Would do something different
You’d think somebody
Would go against the grain
Be the one to run him down
Bring him back and turn him around
You’d think somebody
Would want to make a difference
Wonder who that somebody might be
Probably somebody like me

Fireworks & Cornhole

Yesterday was July 4th, and what better thing to do on July 4th, than to eat, play games, and go to see fireworks.

My sister Vicki had us up to her house, along with her husband's parents and brother. There is a
game that has been around for a while, but seems to be getting more popular, called cornhole. Similar in some ways to horseshoes or lawn jarts, for those not familiar with the game. My brother-in-law bought the materials and made his own.

There are two raised wood platforms with a hole cut towards the top/back of it. The platforms are places 30-some feet apart, and 4 people play, teams. One person from each team stands at each platform and throws the bags at the other platform. Person from team A will throw one, then team B, going back and forth until all of the bags are thrown, then the score is tallied for that round, 21 being the score to end the game.

There are 4 red bags, and 4 blue. They are filled with dried corn - hence the game name - throw corn through the hole.

Scoring goes like this: a bag in the hole is 3 points, any bag on the platform is 1 point, but points can get canceled out by the other team. If team A gets a bag in the hole, they are up 3 points, but if team B gets one in the hole, it cancels out those 3 points, and neither team has any points for the round. If team B gets a bag on the platform, as opposed to the hole,

one point gets canceled out from team A. At the end of the round, all points are added up and subtracted - if team A has 8 points for the round, and team B has 6, team A gets 2 for that round. If team B also has 8 points, no one gets any for that round.

The game is more challenging than it sounds. It is one thing to get a bag on the platform, another entirely for the bag to stay there and not slide off or get knocked off.

I put a few pictures in case someone is not familiar with the game. It is a lot of fun. My niece's cat was exploring, and I

got a picture of her sticking her head up through the hole.

After we played games for a while, we ate. Steve (my

brother-in-law) had been grilling. He marinated a pork loin

in terriaki sauce and grilled it, plus a venison roast that had

been marinated in something, barbecued chicken, and of

course hamburgers.

Added to that was macaroni & cheese, macaroni salad (yuk!) and pasta salad. Mom made the strawberry shortcake dessert that we like that has jello and pudding in, and it was a hit, as usual.

After we ate, we played more cornhole and sat around. At 8, Vicki, Steve, and the girls, and Mom & Dad, and myself, headed for the Canfield fairgrounds to see their fireworks, which was a nice display, though we were so early, we sat for an hour and a half waiting for them to start at 10:00. Also took us 30 minutes to get out of there - the place was nuts!

An overlooked Psalm

We all memorized Psalm 23 growing up, and most of us can still quote it. I have been enjoying Psalm 25 a lot lately, and wonder why I overlooked it for so long. It has some good stuff in it too. I tend to read the New Living Translation a lot for my own personal Bible reading, and had to smile tonight as I read verse 17. The wording of this translation renders that verse "my problems go from bad to worse"- who says the Bible doesn't relate to every day life - I can sure relate to that verse!

If you haven't read that passage for a while, get your Bible out and read it, or read it here. By the way, if anyone ever needs an online Bible site, check out Biblegateway.com. They have several versions of the Bible- more than I knew existed - and you can look up certain verses, chapter, or words. It is pretty easy to navigate.

Also, yesterday, I did a blog that has a book giveaway - actually two books, so if you are reading this, go ahead and enter it.


1 O Lord, I give my life to you.

2 I trust in you, my God!
Do not let me be disgraced,
or let my enemies rejoice in my defeat.

3 No one who trusts in you will ever be disgraced,
but disgrace comes to those who try to deceive others.

4 Show me the right path, O Lord;
point out the road for me to follow.

5 Lead me by your truth and teach me,
for you are the God who saves me.
All day long I put my hope in you.

6 Remember, O Lord, your compassion and unfailing love,
which you have shown from long ages past.


7 Do not remember the rebellious sins of my youth.
Remember me in the light of your unfailing love,
for you are merciful, O Lord.

8 The Lord is good and does what is right;
he shows the proper path to those who go astray.


9 He leads the humble in doing right,
teaching them his way.

10 The Lord leads with unfailing love and faithfulness
all who keep his covenant and obey his demands.

11 For the honor of your name, O Lord,
forgive my many, many sins.

12 Who are those who fear the Lord?
He will show them the path they should choose.

13 They will live in prosperity,
and their children will inherit the land.

14 The Lord is a friend to those who fear him.
He teaches them his covenant.

15 My eyes are always on the Lord,
for he rescues me from the traps of my enemies.

16 Turn to me and have mercy,
for I am alone and in deep distress.

17 My problems go from bad to worse.
Oh, save me from them all!

18 Feel my pain and see my trouble.
Forgive all my sins.

19 See how many enemies I have
and how viciously they hate me!


20 Protect me! Rescue my life from them!
Do not let me be disgraced, for in you I take refuge.


21 May integrity and honesty protect me,
for I put my hope in you.

22 O God, ransom Israel
from all its troubles.

Oh Can You See?

In the monthly magazine my denomination has, for the month of July, they gave the history of how our national anthem came to be. I, of course had heard the story, but had not read about it for years, and it was refreshing to read it again, and think of what our forefathers went through to give us the freedoms we hold dear.

The man who sits in the Oval Office doesn't like our national anthem - "too violent" and all that, so before he declares it no longer our national anthem - and he just might! - thought that I would put it here, on the eve of America's 233rd birthday. If you have a few minutes, read it and/or watch the video I have atached. The gentleman does a pretty good job of telling the story.

"On September 3, 1814, Francis Scott Key and John Stuart Skinner, an American prisoner-exchange agent, set sail from Baltimore aboard the ship HMS Minden flying a flag of truce on a mission approved by President James Madison. Their objective was to secure the release of Dr. William Beanes, the elderly and popular town physician of Upper Marlboro, and a friend of Key’s who had been captured in his home. Beanes was accused of aiding the arrest of British soldiers. Key and Skinner boarded the British flagship HMS Tonnant on September 7 and spoke with Major General Robert Ross and Admiral Alexander Cochrane over dinner, while they discussed war plans. At first, Ross and Cochrane refused to release Beanes, but relented after Key and Skinner showed them letters written by wounded British prisoners praising Beanes and other Americans for their kind treatment.

Because Key and Skinner had heard details of the plans for the attack on Baltimore, they were held captive until after the battle, first aboard HMS Surprise, and later back on the HMS Minden. After the bombardment, certain British gunboats attempted to slip past the fort and effect a landing in a cove to the west of it, but they were turned away by fire from nearby Fort Covington, the city's last line of defense.

During the rainy night, Key had witnessed the bombardment and observed that the fort’s smaller "storm flag" continued to fly, but once the shell and rocket barrage had stopped, he would not know how the battle had turned out until dawn. By then, the storm flag had been lowered, and the larger flag had been raised.

Key was inspired by the American victory and the sight of the large American flag flying triumphantly above the fort. This flag, with fifteen stars and fifteen stripes, came to be known as the Star Spangled Banner Flag and is today on display in the National Museum of American History, a treasure of the Smithsonian Institution. It was restored in 1914 by Amelia Fowler, and again in 1998 as part of an ongoing conservation program.

Aboard the ship the next day, Key wrote a poem on the back of a letter he had kept in his pocket. At twilight on 16 September, he and Skinner were released in Baltimore. He completed the poem at the Indian Queen Hotel, where he was staying, and he entitled it "Defence of Fort McHenry".

Interestingly, much of the idea of the poem and even some of the wording is arguably derived from an earlier song by Key, also set to the tune of "Anacreon in Heaven". The song, known as "When the Warrior Returns", is said to have been written in honor of Stephen Decatur and Charles Stewart on their return from the First Barbary War.

Key gave the poem to his brother-in-law, Judge Joseph H. Nicholson. Nicholson saw that the words fit the popular melody "The Anacreontic Song", composed by John Stafford Smith, which was the official song of the Anacreontic Society, an 18th-century gentlemen's club of amateur musicians in London. Nicholson took the poem to a printer in Baltimore, who anonymously printed broadside copies of it – the song’s first known printing – on September 17; of these, two known copies survive.

On September 20, both the Baltimore Patriot and The American printed the song, with the note "Tune: Anacreon in Heaven". The song quickly became popular, with seventeen newspapers from Georgia to New Hampshire printing it. Soon after, Thomas Carr of the Carr Music Store in Baltimore published the words and music together under the title "The Star-Spangled Banner", although it was originally called "Defence of Fort McHenry". The song’s popularity increased, and its first public performance took place in October, when Baltimore actor Ferdinand Durang sang it at Captain McCauley’s tavern.


The song gained popularity throughout the nineteenth century and bands played it during public events, such as July 4 celebrations. On July 27, 1889, Secretary of the Navy Benjamin F. Tracy signed General Order #374, making "The Star-Spangled Banner" the official tune to be played at the raising of the flag.

In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson ordered that "The Star-Spangled Banner" be played at military and other appropriate occasions. Although the playing of the song two years later during the seventh-inning stretch of the 1918 World Series is often noted as the first instance that the anthem was played at a baseball game, evidence shows that the "Star-Spangled Banner" was performed as early as 1897 at opening day ceremonies in Philadelphia and then more regularly at the Polo Grounds in New York City beginning in 1898. However, the tradition of performing the national anthem before every baseball game began in World War II Today, the anthem is performed before the beginning of all MLS, NBA, NFL, MLB and NHL games (with at least one American team playing), as well as in a pre-race ceremony portion of every NASCAR race.

On November 3, 1929, Robert Ripley drew a panel in his syndicated cartoon, Ripley's Believe it or Not!, saying "Believe It or Not, America has no national anthem". In 1931, John Philip Sousa published his opinion in favor, stating that "it is the spirit of the music that inspires" as much as it is Key’s "soul-stirring" words. By a law signed on March 3, 1931 by President Herbert Hoover, "The Star-Spangled Banner" was adopted as the official national anthem of the United States. "

Free Books! A Trial Run

As I mentioned on a previous blog, at the end of the month, I will be reviewing a book as part of a blog tour, and will be able to do a giveaway.

I mentioned a blog where they do monthly giveaways - and though I can't do that out of my own pocket, hopefully I will have opportunities to do more of it in the future.

I have, however, decided to do a trial run. See how many people are hanging around and would participate in something like that. I am going to give away two books, since they go together, and what good would book two do me without book one. I actually have the books already - somewhere in storage, and they are good. Christian suspense, with the main character being a lawyer.

The books are "Sober Justice" and "Double Take", both by Joe Hilley. Note: These books were part of my dollar a box deal I bought recently at a yard sale. They are brand-new, but both have a "remainder mark" along the bottom to mark them as clearance items. I think they are great books - I didn't like the newest one in the series, which I read on vacation, but the rest of the series, including these two, are well-written and an enjoyable read.

Here is how it is going to work: I will give this two weeks, so two weeks from today, July 16th, I will pick a winner, get their address, and mail them the books. All you have to do, is comment on this blog. Say "Enter me" or any comment. "Mark is a great guy!" will even work. :-) - just kidding - though I will count such a comment as an entry.

And I will be fair. It was suggested by the author's contact for this upcoming review/giveaway, that I write down everybody's name who enters on slips of paper, and draw a name, so that is how I will do it. You don't have to "follow" my blog, just make a comment on this particular post, and I will enter you.

New blog for book lovers

A while back, I ran across an interesting blog where they review books, mostly or all Christian, and not all fiction. They do book giveaways monthly, I believe, by randomly picking someone from their list of followers. The blog name is "Flannelgraph". If you like to read, check it out.

Exposure

If you like creepy, scary fiction that is clean and has a Christian message, Brandilyn Collins' books are for you. My sisters refuse to read them. They insist her books are too scary and give them nightmares. What wimps. :-)

Exposure is her latest book on the market, and as far as I can tell, is a stand alone title. A very exciting - and yes, scary story.

The main character, Kaycee Raye, seems to be a bit of a psycho. She is paranoid, and has the police over so often for nonexistent issues, that they have chalked her up to being as crazy. So when she suddenly says she is being watched, who is going to believe her? Evidence appears, then disappears before the police can see it. Is she truly going crazy this time, or is someone truly out to get her in real life, not in just her paranoid imagination?

There are two stories going on simultaneously in this book, and eventually the reader sees the link between the two, that they are very much indeed related.

Besides a really good & exciting suspense/mystery story, the book delivers a couple of messages in a non-preaching way. First off, we need to trust God in all things. If we quit trusting Him and keep expecting the worst, we can turn out to be a paranoid person like our fictional Kaycee. The other message/lesson: you will reap what you sow - and partnered with that, be sure your sins will find you out.

If you have never read a Branilyn Collins book, give her a try. I will warn you of this: you may not want to read her books at night while you are all alone. Christian they may be, but they are also quite suspenseful and can be a tad bit scary