This is just cream of the crop...what a beautiful ministry Gary has...Just wanted to share this for today from their ministry...be encouraged.
I have been intrigued by the phrase "noble simplicity and quiet grandeur"
which was used by the German art historian Johann Jachim Winckelmann describing the Greek aesthetic. (I don't want to sound like something I'm not - an intellectual and a broad-reader. I ran across this expression on the internet as I was researching the word "noble".) To live a life of "noble simplicity and quiet grandeur" seems right and true. For, it is the man or woman with "a noble and good heart, who...produce a crop." (Luke 8:15) We are to live in "simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ." (2 Cor. 11:3) We are to be "a display of God's splendor." (Isa. 61:3) And, we are to "be completely humble, gentle and patient..." (Eph. 4:1,2) A life of "noble simplicity and quiet grandeur" stated another way would be: A life that is magnificent (lofty) and yet unpretentiousness (genuine), majestic (splendid) and yet unobtrusive (humble). This is the life that you and I, as those who have been restored and released by the work of Christ, have been given. But, it is not the life that this world values and therefore it must be battled for. As Paul disclosed, "I press on (strenuously pursue) to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me." (Phil. 3:12) In other words, living this life of "noble simplicity and quiet grandeur" is hard-won. Why? Because, we are up against so much resistance to this authentic life, this pilgrim's life which is characterized as traveling lightly with great purpose. We encounter the vastness and complexity of life.We encounter the expectations, demands and verdicts on us by our culture.We encounter the overwhelming needs that surround us. Thomas Merton wrote, "To allow oneself to be carried away by a multitude of conflicting concerns, to surrender to too many demands, to commit to too many projects, to want to help everyone in everything is itself to succumb to the violence of our times. Frenzy...destroys the fruitfulness of our work, because it kills the root of inner wisdom which makes work fruitful." Perhaps the greatest assault against us living this life is the belief that we hold deeply in our heart about who we are, what we have to offer and how life works. This belief or image that has been formed over decades of interaction with our world has everything to do with the type of life we choose to live; in other words the plan that we form of how we will interact with our world. Prov. 20:5 says that "a plan in the heart of a man is like deep water, but a man of understanding draws it out." Years ago I asked God to reveal to me what I truly believed about myself since He knows my heart better than me. Instantly, Radar O'Reilly in the TV series M.A.S.H. came to mind and it made complete sense. You see, Radar O'Reilly was accepted in the "player's circle" because he could do things for them. He was needed for what he could do, not wanted for who he was; which had become my personal philosophy - the life-plan which had been scratched into my heart over the years. Therefore, my life was filled with trying to prove myself and earn my way into relational and work circles through carrying heavier loads and working longer hours. It was not a life of "noble simplicity and quiet grandeur", but rather to have "succumb to the violence of our times" as Merton wrote. Paul said that we can "exchange the truth of God for a lie" (Rom. 1:25) which is exactly what I had done because the lie remained in darkness unaddressed. I confessed my accepting / agreeing with this lie, renouncing it and announcing the truth of scripture about my life. Jesus said, "If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." (John 8:31) Peter wrote, "I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them, and have been established in the truth which is present with you... to stir you up by way of reminder." (2 Peter 1:12) Paul admonishes us to "stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth" (Eph. 6: 14) Let us strenuously pursue this magnificent (lofty) and yet unpretentiousness (genuine), majestic (splendid) and yet unobtrusive (humble) life God has given us and called us to - that we my alter the world. Your friend and ally, Gary
The Noble Heart, Inc.
PO Box 49173Colorado Springs, CO 80949-9173
http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102574259001&s=1211&e=0019crxSroEa8BfyrWWG03T83tYqTriaJ2U_aRxvv2RP3vv9tFcPW5eYZGRyru8RRSkoTSaxyMVoSsUiCwDkCHNKuTXzBFOH0FARJ1TnlMSwNdv4q_ctnsURQ==
Friday, May 8, 2009
Thursday, May 7, 2009
"Miss Priss and the Outlaws" (dedicated to Poodie, Waco's prettiest baby of 1952)
Yesterday I said that I would be posting a story very soon...a tribute if you will, to a group of men and women who changed my life forever.I didn't think I would be posting it this soon, but this morning I was given the news that an old friend, who has been Willie Nelson's road manager for the past thirty five years died yesterday. His name is Randall "Poodie" Locke. And he was my friend. Poodie was an amazing guy...he lived this life for all it was worth and had a heart as big as all outdoors. The last time I saw him was just a couple of years ago in Birmingham, Alabama. He thought we should surprise Willie and have me over at the side of the stage and just walk out when he started the "Gospel Set". And that is just what we did. It was amazing...Will and I hugged and with a few tears, started into "Will the Circle Be Unbroken" like we always had, when we were all out there, on the road together with Waylon and Jessi .....and Poodie was standing there just grinning. I have a picture of us from that night together....and I'm glad I do. So this story is dedicated to you today Poodie Locke....and there is "a better home awaitin'...In the sky Lord in the sky...."
Once Upon A Time....(and it was a time!)
In a land around the corner...
In a country right upstairs...
Lived a girl who was a princess...
But she needed to do something with her hair!!! haha:)
Soooooo....
"Welcom to Patti-Veesha's House of Beauty!!"
Where our specialty is "mega curl" miracles...
And we can lift those layers up in prayer!!
Between the manicures and pedicures, and the latest styles, you will always find those girls
laughin, and dancin, and always having a big time up in there!
Patti walked over to one of the chairs and sat down...she spun around and stared blankly in the mirror. She said "Mirror mirror on the wall...who's the fairest of them all? and tell me...how in the world did I ever end up here?" Her mind drifted off...to another time and another place. She actually did get to go to the "Palace"... the Palace theatre that is. And that night she felt just like a princess standing on that stage. "What a glorious evening "she thought. but all of a sudden she heard the sound like a bubble pop...the hissing sound....and the fumes of hair spray brought reality back around....like air leaking out of her beautiful balloon. Across the room her friend Becky could see the clouds hovering...watching her tumble back down to the ground.
She knew what was happening and she knew what to do! "Patti!! Patti Veesha!! Straighten up now girl and pin that crown back on real tight! Girl don't you ever let it start slidin to the side!!"
She was a mighty life force that Becky...she could laugh at the devil right in his face, and dance up a storm!! "Becky I didn't say a thing did I?" You didn't have to girl....I know what you were thinking about!"
Sometimes after work the girls would head on down to "Fido's Coffee Bistro" and sip on a couple of "Pink Poodles". One night they sat there at one of the tables, talking, and "stirrin those clouds up in their coffees". Patti leaned back in her chair, and said "Becky! I want to tell you a story!" Patti always had these good stories. Becky said"O.K.....tell me a story!" Patti said "Becky ...Once Upon a Time...there were two ladies who knew, that God could put the heart of a king inside a flesh and blood man. They were women who could baton down the hatches, and ride out all the storms. They stood with their feet planted firmly on "the Rock of Ages" I would listen every night as Jesse sang...".storms never last do they baby? And bad times all pass with the wind..." One night we played at a beautiful old theatre in downtown St. Louis and I stood in the wings and listened as John and June Carter Cash sang "the taste of love is sweet...when hearts like ours meet. I fell for you like a child...Oh but the fire went wild!" These two ladies both had degrees from the "University of Tough Love." Jessi was the air that Waylon breathed... and the calm in all of the chaos. And sometimes when she needed to, she could talk him down from way up there on the" high wire" and bring him back to the arms of unconditional love. They walked it out on the bottom line...Waylon and Jessi, John and June....walkin that line come hell... or high water. Yes, and sometimes the waters got high....But they meant business!! I'll tell you Becky......... you know Miss June was always so kind, and did I ever tell you Becky that John Cash once gave me a red rose that I keep in my bible...and I'll never forget the afternoon that I spent with Will, and he played me all the songs from "Angel Eyes". And Becky I tell you true, I could always see the love of God in Willie Nelson's eyes.....I tell you Becky, these were close encounters of a whole other kind!!" Sometimes in the back of that" black coach" movin down the highway, Jessi and I would talk and laugh and sometimes pray...and there were times when Mac and Shooter would come along and there would be a lot of laughin and jokin along the way. Waylon and Jigger and Gary and Floyd and Dan, and Mr. Moon would sit up front playin cards. Jessi was my sister and Waylon was my brother, and when he walked me down the stairs of their house the day I got married...he was like a father...but always my friend...Waylon and John...Willie and Kris. Authentic and one of a kind.
Well anyhow Becky those men were like modern day "Shadrak Meeshak and Abednigo" kind of guys. They stood and would not bow to that "idol" of homogenizin and pasturizin" music they wanted them to play. "Do it our way!" the Nashville music exec's said" Or you can take the highway!!" And that is exactly what they did! The Highwaymen...keepin it real...to the highways and the byways they would go! They had the love of God in there hearts...and the people knew they were for real too! They were true to themselves.... They were true to their music...true to what they held sacred...they loved each other, and the people too....it was the only way they knew....they marched to the beat of a different drummer... and I did too....yeah Becky....and to this day ..I still do too.
In that fiery furnace you could hear them singin... "songs of love and freedom" Becky, ....they were the kind of men right out of a Louis Lamour western...each one just a wonder...rare ...real and true. They were tough but vulnerable...rugged, but sometimes I'll tell you girl they could be so smooth! And when you were invited for the ride they would take you to a mountaintop and show you the most magnificent view. What a time Becky.... What a time! They could really blow your mind.... I would see them pretty low sometimes, skimming the depths of hell itself, and then watch while the angels themselves walked them clean out to the other side. After wrestling with the devil...... one more time!! It was life on the high wire and a trip to the moon.....and it was over way too fast...and it ended much too soon. And I tell you true Becky...no one will ever play a steel guitar quite like Mr. Moon.
"And you know what Becky?" "If I had the chance to do it all over again...I would do it in a heartbeat....and feel the music take my breath again.......... with The Highwaymen and Jesse and June..... one more time....." I'm still hummin a song Becky....yes I am...down deep inside.
At "Patti-Veesha's" you can always be a princess...
Just bring your dreams inside.....
Cause if you want a happily ever after....
Like Becky says " You just can't let that crown slide to the side!!"
So hold on tight little girl....
Cause it's coming around again....
Destiny is waiting for you ....its coming around one more time!
I can still hear the song of the "Highwaymen".....
"Across the river deep and wide..."
"And with the Highwaymen, along the coach roads I did ride"
"And still....the song remains...
And always will.... again...
and again......and again.
Lyrics from the "Highwaymen" by Jimmy Webb
Once Upon A Time....(and it was a time!)
In a land around the corner...
In a country right upstairs...
Lived a girl who was a princess...
But she needed to do something with her hair!!! haha:)
Soooooo....
"Welcom to Patti-Veesha's House of Beauty!!"
Where our specialty is "mega curl" miracles...
And we can lift those layers up in prayer!!
Between the manicures and pedicures, and the latest styles, you will always find those girls
laughin, and dancin, and always having a big time up in there!
Patti walked over to one of the chairs and sat down...she spun around and stared blankly in the mirror. She said "Mirror mirror on the wall...who's the fairest of them all? and tell me...how in the world did I ever end up here?" Her mind drifted off...to another time and another place. She actually did get to go to the "Palace"... the Palace theatre that is. And that night she felt just like a princess standing on that stage. "What a glorious evening "she thought. but all of a sudden she heard the sound like a bubble pop...the hissing sound....and the fumes of hair spray brought reality back around....like air leaking out of her beautiful balloon. Across the room her friend Becky could see the clouds hovering...watching her tumble back down to the ground.
She knew what was happening and she knew what to do! "Patti!! Patti Veesha!! Straighten up now girl and pin that crown back on real tight! Girl don't you ever let it start slidin to the side!!"
She was a mighty life force that Becky...she could laugh at the devil right in his face, and dance up a storm!! "Becky I didn't say a thing did I?" You didn't have to girl....I know what you were thinking about!"
Sometimes after work the girls would head on down to "Fido's Coffee Bistro" and sip on a couple of "Pink Poodles". One night they sat there at one of the tables, talking, and "stirrin those clouds up in their coffees". Patti leaned back in her chair, and said "Becky! I want to tell you a story!" Patti always had these good stories. Becky said"O.K.....tell me a story!" Patti said "Becky ...Once Upon a Time...there were two ladies who knew, that God could put the heart of a king inside a flesh and blood man. They were women who could baton down the hatches, and ride out all the storms. They stood with their feet planted firmly on "the Rock of Ages" I would listen every night as Jesse sang...".storms never last do they baby? And bad times all pass with the wind..." One night we played at a beautiful old theatre in downtown St. Louis and I stood in the wings and listened as John and June Carter Cash sang "the taste of love is sweet...when hearts like ours meet. I fell for you like a child...Oh but the fire went wild!" These two ladies both had degrees from the "University of Tough Love." Jessi was the air that Waylon breathed... and the calm in all of the chaos. And sometimes when she needed to, she could talk him down from way up there on the" high wire" and bring him back to the arms of unconditional love. They walked it out on the bottom line...Waylon and Jessi, John and June....walkin that line come hell... or high water. Yes, and sometimes the waters got high....But they meant business!! I'll tell you Becky......... you know Miss June was always so kind, and did I ever tell you Becky that John Cash once gave me a red rose that I keep in my bible...and I'll never forget the afternoon that I spent with Will, and he played me all the songs from "Angel Eyes". And Becky I tell you true, I could always see the love of God in Willie Nelson's eyes.....I tell you Becky, these were close encounters of a whole other kind!!" Sometimes in the back of that" black coach" movin down the highway, Jessi and I would talk and laugh and sometimes pray...and there were times when Mac and Shooter would come along and there would be a lot of laughin and jokin along the way. Waylon and Jigger and Gary and Floyd and Dan, and Mr. Moon would sit up front playin cards. Jessi was my sister and Waylon was my brother, and when he walked me down the stairs of their house the day I got married...he was like a father...but always my friend...Waylon and John...Willie and Kris. Authentic and one of a kind.
Well anyhow Becky those men were like modern day "Shadrak Meeshak and Abednigo" kind of guys. They stood and would not bow to that "idol" of homogenizin and pasturizin" music they wanted them to play. "Do it our way!" the Nashville music exec's said" Or you can take the highway!!" And that is exactly what they did! The Highwaymen...keepin it real...to the highways and the byways they would go! They had the love of God in there hearts...and the people knew they were for real too! They were true to themselves.... They were true to their music...true to what they held sacred...they loved each other, and the people too....it was the only way they knew....they marched to the beat of a different drummer... and I did too....yeah Becky....and to this day ..I still do too.
In that fiery furnace you could hear them singin... "songs of love and freedom" Becky, ....they were the kind of men right out of a Louis Lamour western...each one just a wonder...rare ...real and true. They were tough but vulnerable...rugged, but sometimes I'll tell you girl they could be so smooth! And when you were invited for the ride they would take you to a mountaintop and show you the most magnificent view. What a time Becky.... What a time! They could really blow your mind.... I would see them pretty low sometimes, skimming the depths of hell itself, and then watch while the angels themselves walked them clean out to the other side. After wrestling with the devil...... one more time!! It was life on the high wire and a trip to the moon.....and it was over way too fast...and it ended much too soon. And I tell you true Becky...no one will ever play a steel guitar quite like Mr. Moon.
"And you know what Becky?" "If I had the chance to do it all over again...I would do it in a heartbeat....and feel the music take my breath again.......... with The Highwaymen and Jesse and June..... one more time....." I'm still hummin a song Becky....yes I am...down deep inside.
At "Patti-Veesha's" you can always be a princess...
Just bring your dreams inside.....
Cause if you want a happily ever after....
Like Becky says " You just can't let that crown slide to the side!!"
So hold on tight little girl....
Cause it's coming around again....
Destiny is waiting for you ....its coming around one more time!
I can still hear the song of the "Highwaymen".....
"Across the river deep and wide..."
"And with the Highwaymen, along the coach roads I did ride"
"And still....the song remains...
And always will.... again...
and again......and again.
Lyrics from the "Highwaymen" by Jimmy Webb
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
"So Thankful ! "
Today I ran into an old friend...an amazing writer and musician. We had the most wonderful conversation, catching up on our lives and old friends......and.... where is that Floyd Domino? And remembering Mr. and Miss Moon (no one will ever play a steel guitar quite like Mr. Moon!) I have had the honor and privilege to have some of the most amazing people in my life over the years. Some very famous and celebrated, and some who are not visible in that kind of way, but special people who have been and are hidden treasures along the way....sometimes off the beaten path in very remote places. I am thankful that God has given me eyes to see and ears to listen. After our talk, today I have been thinking so much about Waylon and Jessi (who I have missed very much) John Cash and June, Willie Nelson, and Kris Kristofferson and Lisa. I thank God everyday for the incredible blessing that he gave me when he brought all of them into my life. All the fun times on the road...cuttin up and making music all over the near world!! "Miss Priss and The Wild Bunch!" Why me? I will never understand why I was chosen to go on that "great adventure" with them, for that season in my life, but I can tell you this...... there will never be men or women quite like them ever again. They were and are cut from "another cloth" and totally marched to the beat of a different drummer. And I guess I did too....still do. Oh the wonderful times we had, and those memories will remain treasure's in my heart forever. I wrote a little vinyette ...a funny little story about my times with them. A tribute...with much, much love that I will be posting soon.
Thank you God for all my yesterdays...my today....and I really look forward to all the tomorrows you have planned for me. It is truly great to be alive...Yes, and as Dorinda Clark Cole sings "I'm Still Here"...so just "Thank You!!!!:)
Love,
Patricia
Thank you God for all my yesterdays...my today....and I really look forward to all the tomorrows you have planned for me. It is truly great to be alive...Yes, and as Dorinda Clark Cole sings "I'm Still Here"...so just "Thank You!!!!:)
Love,
Patricia
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