It’s Friday…again! Here are my favorite finds, with love.
1) Beyond the Guitar – Probably our all-time favorite films are set in Middle-Earth – a wild and beautiful place created by writer J. R. R. Tolkien. Those films are The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit (one book, three films). Nathan Mills of Beyond the Guitar takes us back, with his arrangement, to that far home place Misty Mountains.
His performance of this piece transports us to Bilbo Baggins’ Hobbit house. Nathan could be playing for the warrior dwarves, all sitting dreamily in front of the fire, as they reminisce in song about what was once their home. Enjoy!
YouTube Video – The Hobbit: Misty Mountains – Classical Guitar Cover (Beyond the Guitar)
YouTube Video – Misty Mountains (Cold) Full Song and Scene with Lyrics
2) Black History Month – We’re over halfway through February which is Black History Month in the US. What impact has this observance had on your thinking? in 2019, we will mark 400 years since the first Africans arrived in English North America.
American Revolution – 2019 – Black History Month
Photo Credit: Urban Theological Radio
30 Black Christians You Should Know: Complete Edition
3) Firefighter’s Gender Reveal – Don’t we love our first responders? Don’t we also love babies? Put the two together and a gender reveal is born in a most creative way. Let the video show what happens:
Firefighter and Wife Use Fire Hose for Baby’s Gender Reveal – Inside Edition
What makes this even more special for me? They are our niece and nephew. Bring on the stuff of Baby Girls!
4) Olympic Gold – If you’re like us, you’re not getting much sleep this week as the Winter Olympics are in full-swing. My favorite sports to watch are figure and speed skating, the luge and bobsled competitions, and (as of this year) snowboarding. 
Photo Credit: Detroit News
Below are videos of just three of the gold medal performances so far. Mind-blowing!
YouTube Video – Shaun White Wins Halfpipe Gold with Epic Final Run (Run starts at 1:30)
YouTube Video – Chloe Kim Lands Back-to-Back 1080s, Wins Olympic gold in Halfpipe (Run starts 30 seconds in)
YouTube Video – Savchenko, Massot Win Gold Medal Free Skate with Record Breaking Performance
What are your favorite sports? Please comment with a link to your favorite performances. It’s hard to take it all in with so many events going on. Thanks!
5) Brené Brown on Guns – This week we are stunned and grieved at the school shooting in Florida where 17 lost their lives. The news is full of talk of gun control and emotions are high. How I long for civil discourse that could extinguish political ambition for the sake of the people.
Writer and thought leader Brené Brown just last year wrote this piece on gun reform:
Gun Reform: Speaking Truth to Bullshit, Practicing Civility, and Affecting Change
It’s a worthwhile read as she exposes the incivility of the gun reform debate and how it doesn’t get us where we need to go. She closes out her piece with a call to discourse and to reasoned action:
When we engage in the “us versus them” argument, we lose. The only person who wins is the person who owns the framing of the argument.
Own your opinion. Fight for what you believe in.
And don’t let others frame your beliefs.
Speak truth to bullshit. Be civil. Take action. – Brené Brown
Photo Credit: I am one of those who wants us to be able to protect our children but who also sees more and more gun legislation as a slippery slope. What would be the right gun laws? Those laws that most protect those who need protecting without putting guns only in the hands of the lawless.
“When guns are outlawed only the outlaws will have the guns.”
Whatever your worldview, Brown’s article is thought-provoking. Today is not the day for more legislation, but today is the day we come alongside grieving families and friends…putting aside what may divide us and holding on to what unites us – truly caring for one another.
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That’s it for this week…except for the bonuses below. I pray you have a safe weekend, spent with those you love. Let’s be gentle with each other…and ourselves. Life is precious…such a gift. Never to be taken for granted.
Bonuses:
Quote: Don’t let what you can’t do interfere with what you can do. – John Wooden
Favorite Podcast Interview with week – Rising Tide Startups and Career & Business Strategist Mike McRitchie
The Good Doctor – on Arrogance – [I LOVE this TV show.]
The Heart of Man Documentary is now on Netflix (deals with the subject of pornography and other moral failings)
On Responding to an Offense (whew…so convicting):
Photo Credit: Scott Phillips, Facebook
Valentine’s Day Friends Gathering
One Old Song & Three New to Me:
Lazem – This is a pop song I knew years ago in Egypt – Lazem Ahebek (I Have to Love You). My dear friend Heba introduced it to me – and it reminds me of taxi rides through Cairo – windows down, a hot breeze blowing our hair – and times together at home, dancing to it.
Owl City – Fireflies
The Tenors – Lead with Your Heart
Cinematic Orchestra – To Build a Home