A Beautiful Relationship

I was out in the backyard last Monday. Spending time digging in the dirt and puttering around the yard is - as far as I am concerned - the perfect way to relax and recover from all of the time and energy that goes into putting on the Passion Play.

My little lawn tractor broke an axle last Fall. I had hoped to sell my house before I needed it again, but alas, the bad housing market is now making it where I'll have to get it fixed. (I guess I figured I could leave it as a present to the new home owners.)

All of that to say...

the early spring yard flowers (often known as weeds) are doing well this year since they haven't had to deal with my mower. So Monday afternoon I was on the back lot behind my creek and the yard there was filled with zebra butterflies flitting from flower to flower.

So why tell you about them here?

And why haven't you ever seen a field of flowers and zebra butterflies?

I'm glad you asked!

I'm telling you about it here because Zebra butterflies are a testimony to God's wonderful creativity and how His creation fits perfectly together.

You may have never seen them because there are certain conditions that have to be met for them to be around.

First off, they only live near pawpaw trees. You don't have a paw paw tree? Well, that's because they only live in the shade of other trees in "deep fertile bottomland and hilly upland habitat" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pawpaw .

Well, it just so happens I've got that right here on Bear Hollow.

My backyard - notice the barn (you can see the door here) way at the back at the foot of my mountain) The pawpaws are right behind the barn.

The pawpaw has a rather unassuming flower - a small brown/green bell that hangs from the branch. I understand that they make the largest fruit in North America, but I've never seen any of my pawpaws with fruit. I don't know if the birds and squirrels get them or if they just don't make at all.

Ends up that the leaves of pawpaws are a bit toxic to bugs that like to chew on trees, but not to the zebra butterfly caterpillar. And (I read a really long article with a whole bunch of really big words that I couldn't understand - but this is what I figured out) the toxicity of the pawpaw is retained not only in the larvae but in the butterfly too! Because of this, birds don't eat them. They know they taste bad.

I think it's just really incredible that Bear Hollow is perfect for pawpaw trees, pawpaw trees are the only thing zebra butterfly larvae eat, the pawpaw protects the butterfly and my yard is full of flowers that the butterfly loves and I have a digital camera and can capture it all for you to see!

It seems to me that it would take a whole lot more "faith" to believe that the pawpaw and zebra butterfly evolved into this relationship than to believe that God was having a lot of creative fun creating this beautiful and beneficial relationship.

The Savior Is Waiting

My mom is sort of just now going through - or maybe going through again - a lot of e-mails she recieved when my Dad passed away last October. She just forwarded this to me. I think it's a really cool story. I think it shows a little what a great influence my Dad was on church music - especially back when Ministers of Music were sort of a new thing in churches. I hope you don't mind me bragging a little. The organist who wrote this is named Wally.

Olivet Baptist Church, Oklahoma City

Bill became my friend when I played on the first recording of the Singing Churchmen and he invited me to play at Olivet a few times when the organist was not there. I called him one day and said, " Bill, I just heard an invitation hymn that I think is the best to come in a long time and I called the composer in LA and asked him if it was available for choir, and he said, that it was not available, and I said, well, I am going to be playing the piano at Falls Creek and I would like to arrange it for the choir, and he replied, you may be my guest. I would enjoy hearing the choir if you do. So, I asked Bill if he would take down the dictation as I arranged it, and he said he would.

I went down to Olivet and we went in that same choir room and as I played it, he wrote the notes and then wrote the words in, and we mimeographed 200 copies of it, and I took it with me to Falls Creek and Gene passed it out to the choir and we all fell in love with, " The Savior is waiting". I had my recorder and I recorded the choir singing it, and then when I came home, I made a copy and sent it to Ralph Carmichael. He wrote me back and said that he really enjoyed it and since I had his address and phone number, I gave it to Gene and he and Ralph became fast friends.

They collaborated on many things after that, but it was Bill and me who introduced it as a choir arrangement. Ralph was then the minister of music for the Baptist Temple in Los Angeles, and he wrote it for his church as an invitation hymn. The arrangement was copied and went like a wild fire into churches in Oklahoma and Texas. I introduced it to Johnny Bisagno when I would fill in for their organist at Del City, and Johnny used it everywhere.

Bill and I shared many smiles afterwards when we would reminesce about that encounter. I played for his church in Tulsa several times also. He was a big booster of mine, and I was very proud of that.

I saw him at Olivet a few months ago at a choir concert and we decided to get together for lunch and talk about old times. I thought we had more time to do that. I liked him.



You can read more about Ralph Carmichael here http://www.ralphcarmichael.com/index.php

Where've You Been?

Is where've a proper contraction? (I don't think so.) (But we say it that way. at least here in the South.)

Anyway, wow! I don't remember ever being this long between posts on our Worship Blog. I definitely needed at least Monday off, and then Tuesday and Wednesday flew by and now... here it is Thursday already. I have to run on over to the church building for a children's handbell rehearsal in about 5 minutes, but I did want to post quickly to give you some things to look forward to on here in the next day or two.

1. We'll have a new poll to vote on your favorite scene from the Passion Play. I know - too difficult to chose just one.
2. Some pictures and comments form the Passion Play.
3. a couple of posts in my head about how cool creation is and how marvelous and creative God is in His creations - with pictures from Bear Hollow to demonstrate.
4. Sunday's order of worship. And maybe a video to help you practice before you come.

Shofar - Show Good

The title is a nice quote from today on Facebook.

I mentioned on Facebook yesterday that I needed a shofar. Here are some of the responses I received. Names have been removed to protect the guilty.


at 9:12am April 8
Shofar Sho good.

at 9:20am April 8
What, they don't have a Shofar-Mart in Nashville?

at 10:00am April 8
get on shofarshogood.com they have a great selection!

at 10:01am April 8
I just noticed someone else made that joke too, sorry to waste everyones time.

at 11:12am April 8
Ok, what the heck is a shofar????

at 12:16pm April 8
Thank you Brenda!

at 12:20pm April 8
Thank you! I was beginning to think I was the only one who didn't know what that is!

Me at 12:54pm April 8
hahaha! A shofar is a ram's horn trumpet that the Israelites would blow as a call to worship or call to battle or I suppose any time they needed a trumpet sound.



Here's what wikipedia has to say http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shofar



continuing on...
at 1:00pm April 8
oooooooooooooooohh. Brenda and are now in the Know!

at 1:14pm April 8
LOL! Hey, check the Mexican restaurants. Seems I have seen bull horns hanging around! LOL!

at 1:21pm April 8
Hey, I shot my eclectic friend an email to see if she has one. she has all kinds of weird things like this. I will call her when school lets out.

Cheryl's office helped out too!


"Think I found a shofar for you. This guy down the street has a real nice limo if you want to borry it."
"I have a powder horn."
"Thought I had one in my purse, but now I can't find it. "
"Had one right here in my hip pocket... right here... thought it was right here... well, I don't know what happened to it!"
"I have some deer antlers. you could rattle them instead of blowing through them! that would be different : - ) "

If you'd like to hear a shofar click here Listen to the three different types of shofar sounds


Then today I mentioned that I now had two shofars and a shofarist (I may have made that word up) and got this great response

at 8:31am April 9
shofar, show good.

Thankfully Rose's son-in-law actually has and plays a shofar and he will be there tonight!

Then...
The one I was expecting earlier in the week showed up at my house today. Notice how lovely it looks in the dining room. I may just have to get one of my own!

Alive Forever Amen

I sang this last Easter with an ensemble. This year the entire congregation will get to sing it. Better practice! Send your friends here to learn it.

The Making of John the Baptist

Some of you out there in blog land may need a "John the Baptist" some time for one of your church productions. So I thought I would share with you how I got ours.

I started out with a kind lovable Children's Pastor.

We had him grow out his beard and not get a haircut for a month. Then we put him in clothes made of camel hair and mussed up his hair.

Unfortunately I showed him the famous painting by Leonardo Da Vinci of John the Baptist.

And ended up with this!

So I threatened to punch him in the nose and singe his eyebrows off if he EVER did anything like that again. (his wife and children all thanked me)

And so now - after "seeing the fire" - we have this!

You can see my "John the Baptist" April 9-11 at 7:00 each night at Hilldale Baptist Church in Clarksville, TN - 2001 Madison St.

Tim as John the Baptist

oh the drama! Notice it's just a week away and he's still reading his lines!