Making Connections! The Skinny On Getting On Top Of Things? Get Under Their Skin! The Shortcut From The Eyes To The Soul!

Just a short story and our new “live” vid and song.   Someone asked me, “why do you look around at the audience and band when you sing?”  Well, for me, I have to connect with everyone. Take a shortcut through their eyes into their souls while I sing (even while I talk or even just out at the store). Looking into others eyes reminds me that I am not alone.  Just seeing others doesn’t do it for me.  Seeing into their souls through their eyes.  That’s how I know…  That He is way bigger than we could ever imagine.  And, sometimes, yes, I close my eyes on a part of a song that just has no other expression, but the singing itself. But, mostly, I like to connect with people and take in their hearts…through their eyes.  And, let them take in mine.  While we both take in His. Together.  Makes it easier to connect with God who I can’t see with my natural eyes.  And, I don’t have to get “in the zone”.  He is the Zone.  No matter how I feel or don’t feel?  He knows my heart.  That’s the Good News.  And, we go on… Connecting with the band & everyone?  IS connecting with God.  We are the body…  We ARE connected.  I sing even when I don't feel like it.  Especially then.  I know God can work in my heart and others when we are vulnerable and hurting.  Same with talking and simply looking into someone's eyes as you past by.  A smile and a look into their heart is sometimes my actual prayer.  Sometimes, my praying IS singing and sometimes my smiling with my eyes and mouth is praying.  K...have a wonderful week.  Make some connections.  Oh!  And, take a listen and peek at our "live" video and original song!  You can just click on the arrow button, or if you would like to read all my details about the song, just click on the bottom right YouTube button and it will take you right to my channel and vid and you can read the "all-important" details.  They are right under the vid.  Where else?  Cuz I like to try to stay on top of things. PIMP LOL.  Be on top of things this week.  Connect with those around you...and God!  The skinny on getting on top of things?  Get under their skin...   Eye to eye...  The shortcut from the eyes to the soul!   Oh!  And have fun with all this connecting.  And, click on the picture, for umm...the bigger picture?  PIMP LOL    Trace

Mortified By Spamming...Humored By Hamming...It up?

I got a spam thing from one of my subscribers that showed up on my YouTube channel. Not the photo to the left.  It was a nasty video! Of course, it was for shock value. And…umm…I was...shocked! I was mortified…to say the least. Marked it as spam. Then canned it. Marked it as garbage! Then, I told Mort he better never send me those again. What? Mort has a tendency to mortify me! PIMP LOL. Okay! His name wasn't Mort, but it should have been. I have to have SOME creative license. Anyways, life mortifies and shocks us. God supportifies and Rocks us! Keep your balance of love and grace, humor and hope. Keep your balance…by standing firm! On the Rock! When life spams you? Fry it and eat it? PIMP LOL! Just don’t let it eat you up! Can it! Trash can it! Remember? Garbage in? Garbage out! One more thing? When life spams me? I ham it up, instead of spam it up. No revenge with trash. Just humor and hope, right? Have a weekend that does not mortify you. Better yet? Doesn’t mortify anyone!!! Stand firm on the Rock, not the spam! No eye for an eye, no spam for a spam. How 'bout ham for a spam.  PIMP LOL.  Now, go pet your Llama!!     Trace

Season Salt And Food For Thought! Swallow That!

Season Salt and Food for thought!  Swallow that!  Or, maybe, say that 3 times fast.  PIMP LOL.  So, I use Lawry’s Season salt for everything.  Brings out the flavor and just makes everything more palatable. Kind of like Love does with the truth. Seaons it and makes it dgo down easier.  Got me thinking about speaking the truth in love.  And speaking the love in truth.  Make sure your words aren’t hard to swallow.  Let them be tasteful.  Because you just might have to eat them yourself one day.  Mmm…now that goes down easy.  Ever overhear someone speak out of both sides of their mouth?  And then, ask for help?  Now, I didn’t say this, I only thought it: “My plate’s already full. Gonna scrap what’ll leave a bad taste in my mouth. Some of it’s a lil’ hard to swallow anyway. Don’t wanna bite off more than I can chew. The rest? I’ll take with a grain of salt. Not too much, though.  Might gag me with a spoon.”  PIMP LOL. Instead?  I chose not to be meal-y mouthed and instead of pounding the truth into her flesh by preaching?  I preached by helping her flesh.  Which helped her spirit.  Now, that is preaching!! I fed her a diff kind of food.  God’s recipe?  Sweet Mercy Drops. We all crave ‘em.  Mmm…they are quite palatable.   We are the body and we all need fed.  Season your spiritual food with "Love" Season Salt".  Season all your other food with "Lawry's Season Salt".  Oh, and with love, too!  That's my 2 secrets in my food tasting so good.  PIMP LOL.  Have a palatable day!   No gagging!  Don't choke.   Oh, one more thing?  Click on the photo to get the umm...the bigger picture?        Trace

Racking Up Rock 'n Roll Miles And Milestones! Even Little Steps On Rocky Roads Are Milestones

You’ve heard of Frequent Flyer Miles?  Well, I used to fly a lot, but not much anymore.  Can’t travel too much right now.  Flying or driving.  But, still?  I rack up miles.  Diff kind of ‘em.  I rack up Rock ‘n Roll Miles. How?  First, let me say “Yay”!  I drove to the store today.  Now, I know it’s only a stone’s throw, like a mile! But, for me? A milestone!  You know?  Stone’s throw?  Mile?  Milestone?  PIMP LOL.  Well, I was so thrilled that I felt like I just threw my spiritual arms up and high-5ed it with God. And He did it back!  You see, I have been ill and also can’t drive too much.  So, even little steps on rocky roads are milestones for me.  Whether, I'm hoppin' or two-steppin along.  They are my Rock ‘n Roll miles.  So, anyways, milestones remind me of the miles I roll with God, my Rock. I keep track of my Rock 'n Roll Miles and Milestones!  I rack up Rock ‘n Roll Miles and cash ‘em in for Experience.  Really pays off.  Never have to travel alone. It’s the only Way!  Keeps me on track.  Makes my miles rock!  That's how I roll!  Course I Rock ‘n Roll music and writing and well, just everything.  I only know how to be one person.  The same in all I do.  It’s hard enough keeping track of one of me.  PIMP LOL. I gotta roll with the Rock.  It’s the only way to travel… Through life.  Hope your weekend rocks and rolls.  Rock ‘n Roll!  Stop by some of my other articles.  Just a stone's throw from this one.  My place here?  A place where no stones are thrown and everything is just a stone's throw from hope and humor.        Trace

Football, Sweaters And Fall! You Can Sweat, Just Don't Sweat Stuff! Big Or Small!

Football, sweaters and fall!  Even after living many years in Florida, I instinctively got out a sweater this morning and put it on. Why? I feel fall on the inside of me at this time of year and you know what? I’m keeping it on. Course, you already know that I wear fingerless gloves & whatever I feel like whenever I want, anyways. Anyways, inside me, the seasons still change, even if the weather doesn’t.  God made us all cool like that! And, each unique. Be seasonably cool and be seasonably yourself.  In every season and in every season of your life  Oh!  And, our spirits have seasons, too. Some cool spirit seasons?  Hibernate, Cultivate, Transformate and Celebrate!  Pretty hot, huh!  Well, keeping this short.  I gotta get out and enjoy this sweater weather!  Though, I gotta say um…today’s name for sweaters? Sweaty-ers!  Still keepin' it on.  What?   Have a fun weekend.  Don’t sweat the um…  Okay!  Go ahead and sweat.  It’s Florida and it’s hot.  Especially in a sweater. PIMP LOL.  Just sayin’…don’t sweat the small OR big stuff.  He knows His stuff. God made seasons in our life for His reasons.  Both kinds.  There’s reasons for all seasons…    Trace

Happy Anniversary To Our Dear Half Paycheck!! Doing without? Does us good within!

Happy Anniversary, baby!  Well, it’s our 2 year anniversary! Of living on ½ a paycheck!  Whew!  I know!  You’re amazed and celebrating right along with us.  Cuz you’ve had tough times, too.  I know you're thinking how weird to celebrate this, right?  But, 'tis better to be cheery than weary.  Better for us and those around us, right?  So, we went from 2 nice paychecks to 1 and then to 1/2.  Has it been tuff?  Tuff enuff!  Our recreation budget IS our mortgage payment! PIMP LOL. Nuff said, right? Z’okay! We actually recreate and create in our home!  A lot of people pay big payments for homes that they rarely spend time in.  We have a smaller home, but spend a lot of time here.  Sure, wouldn’t mind having our full paychecks back and sell a few records to make living a little more livable, a little easier.  You know?  A big old house on the river or in the moutains with 3 stories and a huge porch with a swing. But we make do.  I always say: make money?  Need more.  Make do?  Need less.  More or less.  So anyways, I paid the mortgage payment and a few bills and I saw a $27 balance? Now, I could handle it 2 ways. #1: Whine for the next 2 weeks until another payday! Or option # 2: Celebrate! You know? Raise the roof? Cuz we had enuff to keep a roof over our head and a few $ for pizza a night or 2.  Yeauh! We don’t have a lot of $, but lots of laughs. All the way to the bank!  PIMP LOL TNT.  Kidding.  We are very thankful with more or with less…more or less…  Spend some time in your home…not just $.   SOME recreation and creation is still free.   Such as a little music, a little humor, a little hope...for next year.  Not the kind of hope we use today, like saying I wish.  But, the kind of hope that is certainty.  Certainty that we will persevere...in His strength!  So, raise the roof today about having a roof over your head.  Oh, and I realize that He put this on my heart today because, well?  I needed to hear it first.  Ouch! I betta take care of that envy!  PIMP LOL.  One more thing about 1/2 paychecks?  I have way more time not thinking about where and how to manage the other 1/2.  And, when we do start making more again, we can save it, share it or fix the house up or get our music out there.  Point is?  We have been learning that to do without?  Does us good within!  Oh, and stop by some of my other stories...and pages here.  Lots of 'em.   Some humor, hope and character...for every sort of character.   I am going to go look at my checkbook balance again.  I need to build some more character.       Trace

Stores & Purchases. How Does That Register?

After registering my daughter at school, we hit other registers. My main “target” to hit?  Was anywhere I could “pay less” or better yet? Pay only “penneys”? It was so “sears”ing hot out. Like hot “kohls” being heaped on us. Finally, we had all the “staples”, so we declared “marshall” law & rang the “bealls”. Time to go “home to de pot” of food”. Today was as slick as a “wet seal”! Spent more time…spent less money. Now, that?  Registers with me. Oh, and we ran into no characters that registered with us as questionable, so we found no use for our “mace”y. PIMP LOL.  And, I was still dizzy, but not up against the “wall green” with sickness. TNT LOL.  Thank you God for making my day count…making my day register! These little things add up in my book.  And, speaking of all these little things and purchases? I cannot forget the price He paid for our purchase.  Now, that registers, too. In His book.   See you there.            Trace

~---------~ Zipt Lipz, Oil Cans, Wagons And Grease

~---------~   What is that?  Zipt Lipz!  You know?  My lips are sealed?  Well, I was thinking this morning about feeling quiet lately.  Yes, even I do. Which got me thinking about how sometimes that is better.  I know that it's the squeaky wheel that seems to always get the grease because man hears with his ears. I don't like being squeaky. I'd rather try to roll my wagon along quietly. God hears the silent squeak with His heart.  And, knowing that He hears? That is what oils and greases my squeak, and quiets my wagon...umm...my soul.  Less friction with Him. OR, maybe, a better kind of friction. That’s the way I try to roll…my wagon. Hop on!  I hear the more weight you carry, the less squeak?  Oh! And, we can sometimes grease each other squeaks. Right?  Iron sharpens iron, but a squeak does not get rid of a squeak.  Some grease or an oil can does!!!  PIMP LOL. Just call me a little squirt! And, we can take turns pulling the wagon, right?  It can get heavy. That silent squeak you didn’t just hear? He did. Now, that?  Carries a lot of weight with me.   And, there is a right time to speak up...but not in a squeaking voice.  Right?  PIMP LOL. One more thought about grease or oil?  Well, it ain't pretty but it is so useful.  Sometimes, we don't get to do the pretty stuff.  But, we can help the squeaky wheel.   We can make it squeak more or we can grease it.  I'm all game for slapping some grease on that squeak!  TNT LOL.  Well, am I right?  And, one more thought?  All wheels have been known to squeak at some point in their rolling, rolling, rolling.  Hope your day is without squeaks.  But!  Don't forget your little squirt or grease!  You'd be amazed what you hear in a little quiet...     Trace