Category: Top 10 List

“Take Courage, Son.”

The following is an excerpt from the Sermon: “Take Courage, Son,” in which Jesus heals the paralytic after declaring the man’s sins forgiven. 

Forgiven Sins

“Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven.”

The second monumental statement is one the paralytic did not expect… But it is what the paralytic needed the most: his sins were forgiven.

Do you see that? We want the miracles, the relief from suffering, the healings. Yet, what we need most is the forgiveness that Jesus gives us. We need the atonement. We need the cleansing.

And so often, we forget this truth. We need the forgiveness Jesus brings, more than temporal success. We need forgiveness more that temporal peace.

While the temporal healings, peace, and provisions, are helpful to us in the here and now, the forgiveness found in Christ is the eternal blessing that we need the most.

You can listen to the full sermon here.

Top Photos of 2020, Volume 6. Please Vote Below

I hope all my viewers have been enjoying the end of the year series. I know I have. It gives me a chance to look at some of the neat photos I’ve taken of both places and people, even though not all the photos in this series were taken by me. Apparently, one can take a really great picture of a grandbaby using an iPhone. That is what our daughter has done for us, and you can see one of her shots in the first photo of Giggling Annaleise.

The second photo is from July 4th and the third one, Moment on the Couch. Don’t forget to vote.

 

 

Top Photos of 2020, Volume 5. Please vote!

Thanks for voting, and enjoy…

In this installment, we have pictures of the three children, Anthony and the Fedora, Alice and the Blanket, and Bear. The first two were actually taken by Jessica, and the last one by me. This could be a lot of fun, especially if Jessica and the gang at Trinity OPC do a bit of campaigning.

 

Top Photos of 2020, Volume 4. Please Vote!

PLEASE VOTE. It only takes a few seconds. Yes, you have to make a decision. But it’s an easy one. It’s not like deciding between two equally bad political candidates. Just photos. Which one do you like the best. Thanks.

This is the fourth installment of our Top Photos of 2020 series and the votes are coming in slowly. In the first post, Andy is clearly winning with 66% of the vote, over 22% of the vote for Glassy Sunrise, and 11% of the vote for the dog. Exciting huh?

However, I just realized by the time this post publishes on Saturday, the voting will be closed for that post. There is time for you to vote in the other polls as well. Thanks.

Below is Mountain Road from Cloudcroft, NM, Junction Bridge in Little Rock, and Scarlett. My money is on Scarlett although I really like Junction Bridge…

 

Top Photos of 2020, Volume 3.

PLEASE VOTE: it only takes a few seconds. I keep getting all these views, and only a few people are voting. Thanks. 

I should have the tallies from the first day of voting later today. As I mentioned yesterday, Andy’s picture is leading the way.

Today’s pictures have two shots from outside contributors. The first is the family shot, which my son in-law Justin took. He loved the shot because I was the only one paying attention.

The second shot was contributed by my daughter in-law, Jessica, of her two wonderful children: Anthony and Annaliese.

I took the final shot back in the last decade and it is one of my favorite pictures of Joey.

I guess you could say this is the family edition of Top 2020 pictures. More to come. Working on posts for next week as well. Keep checking back and voting. Thank you for all those who have and continue to do so.

And please, you are under no obligations whatsoever to vote for my son, Joey, over the rest of the family. I would never put that kind of pressure on you. Besides, only Google, Facebook, Twitter, and the deep state really know how you voted.

 

Top Photos of 2020, Volume 2. Please Vote

This is the second installment for determining the top photos of 2020 on my blog, and I think that I should point out, that this is a fair and equitable election. I am not using any Dominion voting machines. Each poll will be open for 2 days, and you can only vote once.

As I write this, the first poll shows the picture of Andy in a commanding lead over the Glassy Sunset an Amber, the Golden Retriever. In fact, as I write this, the dog has yet to score a single vote. I thought for sure, dog lovers would rise to the occasion.

In this post we have Avery. Taking her picture was when I realized how good pictures can be of children you don’t know. Her eyes, and look of suspicion, make the shot. Well, the lighting does as well. The concrete wall was reflecting the sun up into her face, which is why we can see her vivid expression.

The second shot is of Marquis Pro playing the saxophone, although it’s mostly of the sax. It’s one of my favorites because of the way it is framed, and the reflections in the saxophone itself.

The third shot is another endeavor into the artistic world and is a bell from The Virginia that I took back in 2007. It’s one of the pictures that brings to mind the sounds of the gulls, and the smell of the sea. I miss those things.

 

Top Photos of 2020, Please Vote. Round 1.

I’ve never done this before, but thought I would give it a shot. Instead of me deciding which are my best top 10 photos of the year, I thought I would let my viewers decide. 

So for the next several days, I will publish posts with three of the best photos, according to internal polls (me), and you decide on which one is the best. I will run the top 10 when we have figured out which ones they are.

Vote below… winning photos will advance…

UPDATE: I fixed the polling so that you can only vote once, and the poll closes after 2 days. 

 

 

Top 10 Pictures from 2019

As judge by a panel of one, while sitting on my couch on a dreary winter day, sipping a beverage with my lovely bride next to me.

Number 1 Picture of the year

Yes, it’s of my favorite person.

This was taken on my birthday with the new 50 mm lens she bought me. Finally, a lens with a short depth of field.

Number 2

Sweet Annaleise is my second favorite picture of the year. It should have been obvious that children and grandchildren would be high up on the list. The following was a recent addition, and made it for the beautiful expression of her wearing her auntie’s dress. We are hoping to take a few more pictures of her wearing the dress before she outgrows it. Well, when she actually grows into it.

Just a question: Why can’t we start dressing our little girls like this again?

Number 3

I love this picture, especially how it came about. It’s a real contrast with the absolute beauty of a an antique fire truck, against the back drop of an antique garage. One is in mint condition, the other close to being condemned.

Number 4

This was monochrome magic in my book. The reflection of the sun, the sky, the Kamikaze. It just seems to be a “big” picture for me.

Number 5

On one of our Saturday morning dates, just before we headed out to Starbucks and Trader Joe’s, I had my lovely bride stand and smile. I love the color and the fact that it captures a bit of our living room.

Number 6

In the collection of photos on doors, I also added door handles. I love this one for color and the reflection in the glass.

Number 7

Shooting the 1936 Auburn Boattail was a lot of fun. I was attending one of Joey’s baseball games when Andy and I spotted the classic pulling into the parking lot. We had no idea what it was, and the research on it was just as much fun as taking the pictures.

Number 8

Wait, we are on the eighth picture of this post, and I finally add a picture of my boys? It happens.

I love this one because Joey was so excited about riding the Kamikaze. On the other hand, Andy was quite nervous about it, which I didn’t know until later.

Number 9

Pure romance and affection.

Number 10

This was another part of my big birthday, in which Heidi gave me a new lens for my camera, was was the simplicity the lens gave me with things like rocks.

 

 

Blue Bell Ice Cream: Top 10 Flavors

Given that we are just coming off the July 4th holiday, in which thousands of calories were consumed in ice cream alone, I thought it appropriates to list my Top 10 favorite Blue Bell Ice Cream flavors. Especially given that just moments ago, I polished off a bowl of one of my Top 10s, a bowl of Dutch Chocolate with the last remaining scoop of Mint Chocolate Chip. Realize, that is far as I’m concerned, I don’t care for any other type of ice cream other than Blue Bell. I know there are those who like differing brands, but for me, Blue Bell is the standard. This is for several reasons. First, Blue Bell is the best. Second, Blue Bell Ice Cream is from Texas. That heaven that the cows believe they are in, is none other than Brenham, TX, where I have lived and my father currently lives. Brenham is a slice of heaven for me. Every time I go to my father’s ranch, I think I’m in heaven. Finally, growing up, we always loved ice cream but knew the it was truly special when we could have Blue Bell. That is still true today!

So without further adieu (that’s French for get to the point) here is my list of Blue Bell flavors.

Number 1 — Natural Vanilla Bean. By far the best of all their vanillas because it captures the flavoring just right, and like the rest of the vanillas, you can add to it for a fine creation. My favorite addition is chocolate syrup with crunched up Oreo cookies and whip cream.

Number 2 — Dutch Chocolate. This is what, in my opinion, God had in mind when He thought of the word “chocolate.” There is no better chocolate ice cream or representation of what chocolate ice cream should be than Dutch Chocolate. After all, it’s chocolate which means that it is heavenly by nature, an Dutch which means that it’s the ice cream of all TULIP wearing Calvinists!!!

Number 3 — Mint Chocolate Chip. How they came up with this idea, I will never know, but it’s like the mint Girl Scout cookies turned into ice cream. Plus, it’s a year around ice cream so available all year long. They also have seasonal ice creams which are … seasonal.

Number 4 — Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. The best of two desserts. Cookie dough, which is the best time to eat the cookie, and ice cream. I know this one may have been invented by those liberal loons back on the east coast, but Blue Bell took the idea and perfected it.

Number 5 — French Vanilla. Much like the Natural Bean Vanilla, only French.

Number 6 — Caramel Turtle Fudge. A seasonal ice cream, but one worth waiting for. They add the caramel, and like anyone who loves a Snickers or a Milky Way to chocolate you have something special.

Number 7 — Peaches and Homemade Vanilla. This one makes the list at the recommendation of my Dad, who lives in Brenham. Using Texas-grown peaches, they have combined one of their top vanillas for a Sunday treat that is worth the wait and anticipation. It’s season because once the peach crop has come and gone, so has the ice cream. We haven’t had a shipment arrive here in Jackson yet. I keep hoping.

Number 8 — Banana Split. Everything that those of us who like banana splits think that it should be.

Number 9 — **Dessert Trio – Brown Rim 
A triple treat of your most favorite desserts combined with our ice cream. Smooth vanilla ice cream loaded with chocolate chip cookie pieces, luscious pecan brownies, and chocolate-coated cake pieces all surrounded by a swirl of rich, chocolate sauce. (OK, this is so new, I haven’t tried it yet. But alas, another Blue Bell flavor to look forward to!)

Number 10 — Cherry Cheesecake. Another seasonal delicacy worth the wait. Since my love for cherries has increase over the years, so has my love for cheesecake and cherry cheesecake ice cream.

OK, that is my list. What is yours? Please… no Benjamin & Gerald’s ice creams please. All they do is add extra sugar to that which everyone else is already doing and charge an arm and a leg.