an exercise in skit writting...

"In 1865 Englishman William Chatterton Dix wrote The Manger Throne, three verses of which became What Child Is This? In the era while Dix was writing hymns and raising a family, Christmas was not the celebration it is today. Neither was it a season where many openly celebrated the birth of Christ. Conservative Christian churches forbade gift-giving, decorating, or even acknowledging the day. These Puritan groups feared that if set aside as a special day, Christmas would become a day of pagan rituals more than a very serious time of worship. In this context, it was unusual for Dix to feel moved to write about Christ's birth, since many hymn writers of the period ignored Christmas altogether." When we look at how Christmas is celebrated today, perhaps the Puritans had a point. At the age of twenty-nine, William Dix was struck with a sudden and near fatal illness and was confined to bed rest for the next several months and he slipped into a deep depression. During this time, he wrote many hymns, including What Child is This which was later set to the traditional tune of Greensleeves.
Lets go through the words to his song, little by little, and see if we can experience some of what he might have been thinking about, praying about, and pondering on.

ME: Hey ( voice 1) have you ever read the words to What Child is This, that old Christmas Carol?

V1: Duh, yes I know the words, and its actually a hymn..

ME : oh, well ExCuuuse me.  Okay , smartypants , how does it start ?

V1 : What child is this who laid to rest
         On Mary's lap is sleeping.
ME : What child indeed, maybe its just me
V1 : It's just you........
ME : Maybe its just me, but I wonder when the Angel of the Lord spoke to Mary, exactly how much did he tell her, could she have been told the whole story, beginning to end?
V1 : According to what is recorded in the gospel of Luke, probably not.  I suppose it is possible she was told more than is recorded, but not likely the whole story.  She would likely have known some of the story anyway, being Jewish and all.
Me : Picture  in your mind ....
V1 : no
Me : Seriously, think about that for a second.  Holding your newborn child on your lap and thinking about their future, as most parents would do.  Now, imagine that the Angel of the Lord has told you that this is God's child.

V1: no pressure......

Me: can you imagine holding that responsibility in your arms?  Can you imagine pondering that future?

V1: This much I would assume, with whatever knowledge the Angel imparted, God must have sent a full dose of strength and peace to go alone with it.

Me : agreed, what is the next part of the song?

V1: Whom angels greet with anthems sweet
        While shepherds watch are keeping.

        This, this is Christ the King
         Whom shepherds guard and angels sing.

Me: I wonder if this family felt like they were all alone.  I mean, this could be a bit of a burden don't ya think?

V1: Alone ?? No way.  That is what this verse is all about.  Jesus was never alone.  Even at this early day, not only was his earthly mother taking care of his physical needs, the angels were singing sweet whispers to his spirit to comfort him, his heavenly Father was watching over him and sending both angels and shepherds, his heavenly and earthly servants, to watch over him.

Me :  Right, I see that now, the shepherds came because they knew the King had arrived, Christ had come, and had come as a child.

V1:  Now the next part, I don't get really.  It says:
        Haste , haste to bring him laud
        The babe, the son of Mary.

Me:  Oh, that's easy.  Laud means praise.  So what they are really saying is, Hurry up shepherds !!  Hurry up, you don't want to be late in bringing  praises to your redeemer, your rescuer, your saviour.  You don't want to be late to praise God's son, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the Lion of Judah has come as an innocent lamb to save you.... hurry shepherds, hurry everyone, Christ the King has come, don't miss your chance !!

V1:  Okay, that makes sense. 

Me : alright, this is kinda fun... what's next.

V1: Why lies he in such mean estate
        Where ox and ass are feeding?

Me:  Now that's a fine question.  Why would God send his son to such a humble and poor existence?  Why an infant at all, let alone start off life in a barn with his crib being a food trough.  I doesn't get much more meager and humble a starting point than this.  Why send him as a child at all ?

V1 : Well, as for the child part, what other choice is there really ?

Me :  Well, God man Adam didn't he. Obviously He could have made a full grown man at the start.  He could have sent Jesus as a full grown King with a huge palace, ready to take on the powers of darkness, with a bunch of..........  ( interruption )

V1 : but that would not have been the point.  The other thing is the humbleness of the starting point.  To fulfill the scripture He had to come as an innocent child, he didn't come to conquer, he came to serve and to save by serving.

Me:  where does scripture say anything about that ?

V1 :  In Matthew is says Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant.And whoever wants to be first must be your slave.  It also points out that.....  Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many, as well as..... so the last will be first and the first will be last.  When you look at all that..... humble is the only way to go...

Me : point taken. 

V1 :  Good Christian fear , for sinners here
          The silent word is pleading
           Nails, spear shall pierce him through
           The cross be borne for me, for you.

Me :  Now, my turn to quote scripture to you.  The silent word is pleading, I imagine Jesus must have been just a little frustrated with being a baby and not able to speak yet.  He is full of all that God stuff but can't say a word.  He knows he has come with a purpose, to serve, to save, to ransom, to rescue, to redeem. He knows what lies ahead of him. He knows all this becaue in John 1:1 it says, " in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God , and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning.  And since we know Jesus is the Word being talked about.........

V1:  Well, that's cool and all, but I don't know if being silent is just because of being a baby or not.  I think it has to do with Isaiah (53:7)  " He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth: He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth"  He could have called down fire from heaven or a league of angels to come to his rescue, but yet he remained silent, he bore the cross for us, for me, for you.

Me : Bearing the cross for me....... that's painful to even consider.

V1 : for me as well.

Me: Hey, I know the next line, I just said it a minute ago.
        Hail, hail the Word made flesh
        The babe , the son of Mary

V1 :  He is God's word, both God and man.

Me : He is worthy of our praise, even though we are certainly not worthy of him.

V1 : He serves us too, yet we are not worthy of being served.

Me : He saves us,  yet we are not worthy of being saved.

V1 : He is God's son and thus God, yet he is Mary's son as well, so he is human too.
        Then bring him incense, gold and myrrh
         Come peasant, king to own him
         The King of kings salvation brings
         Let loving hearts enthrone him


Me:  So, we should bring him gifts.  Now that Jesus is at the right hand of the Father, I doubt gold is of much use to Him.  So, what kind of gifts should we give him now.

V1:  ourselves of course.

Me : that's right, I remember, its in Romans 12 I think.  :  " Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship."

V1: Yup, that's it.

Me: so, it doesn't matter if you are a peasant, a pauper, a blue collar worker, a ceo, a King, a homeless person, a farmer, or a sports figure, Jesus has come for each of us and desires each of us to give ourselves up to him who has given everything to save us.  The throne that we can provide for our King is a place firmly in our heart.

V1: So, let us invite him in to take a seat on this throne.  ( long pause................ )

Me :  Raise , raise the song on high
          The virgin sings her lullaby
          Joy , joy for Christ is born
          The babe , the son of Mary

V1 : All I can think of when I read these last few lines in Mary singing to her son.  Singing with joy, singing with love, singing with praise, singing with tears, singing with strength, singing in weakness, singing with hope.

Me :  All I can think of is what must have it been like to hold someone so small, knowing he was so big. Coddling something so frail, knowing he was so incredibly strong.  Caring for someone so much, yet know he would care for her more.  Loving someone so deeply and yet he really did and would prove he loved her even more.  That he loved us, and loves us more than we can even understand.  What must have it been like ?

V1 :  What child is this ?

Me :  What child indeed !!


1. What Child is this who, laid to rest
On Mary's lap is sleeping?
Whom Angels greet with anthems sweet,
While shepherds watch are keeping?

This, this is Christ the King,
Whom shepherds guard and Angels sing;
Haste, haste, to bring Him laud,
The Babe, the Son of Mary.

2. Why lies He in such mean estate,
Where ox and ass are feeding?
Good Christians, fear, for sinners here
The silent Word is pleading.

Nails, spear shall pierce Him through,
The cross be borne for me, for you.
Hail, hail the Word made flesh,
The Babe, the Son of Mary.

3. So bring Him incense, gold and myrrh,
Come peasant, king to own Him;
The King of kings salvation brings,
Let loving hearts enthrone Him.
Raise, raise a song on high,
The virgin sings her lullaby.
Joy, joy for Christ is born,
The Babe, the Son of Mary

      

What child is this........

"In 1865 Englishman William Chatterton Dix wrote The Manger Throne, three verses of which became What Child Is This? In the era while Dix was writing hymns and raising a family, Christmas was not the celebration it is today. Neither was it a season where many openly celebrated the birth of Christ. Conservative Christian churches forbade gift-giving, decorating, or even acknowledging the day. These Puritan groups feared that if set aside as a special day, Christmas would become a day of pagan rituals more than a very serious time of worship. In this context, it was unusual for Dix to feel moved to write about Christ's birth, since many hymn writers of the period ignored Christmas altogether." When we look at how Christmas is celebrated today, perhaps the Puritans had a point.  At the age of twenty-nine, William Dix was struck with a sudden and near fatal illness and was confined to bed rest for the next several months and he slipped into a deep depression.  During this time, he wrote many hymns, including What Child is This which was later set to the traditional tune of Greensleeves.
Lets go through the words to his song, little by little, and see if we can experience some of what he might have been thinking about, praying about, and pondering on.

What child is this who laid to rest
On Mary's lap is sleeping?

What child indeed.  Maybe it's just me, but I have often wondered when the Angel of the Lord spoke to Mary, exactly how much did he tell her, could she have been told more than what is recorded in Luke's gospel account, could she have known the whole story from beginning to end? Probably not, but I bet she knew enough.  Picture in your mind, holding your newborn child on your lap and thinking about their future as many a parent has done.  Now, imagine that the Angel of the Lord has told you that this is God's child........ no pressure.......  Can you imagine holding that responsibility in your arms ??  Can you imagine pondering that future.  This much I assume, with whatever knowledge the Angel imparted, God must have sent a full dose of strength and peace to go along with it.


Whom angels greet with anthems sweet
While shepherds watch are keeping.
This, this is Christ the King
Whom shepherds guard and angels sing

It is easy for us to look at this families situation and wonder if , at least for a moment, if they didn't feel like they were all along. This verse reminds us, however, that the baby Jesus was never alone. Even at this early day, not only did he have his earthly mother taking care of his physical needs, the angels were singing sweet whispers to his spirit to comfort him and others were coming to help watch over and protect him.  They were coming because they knew the King had arrived.  Christ had come, he had come as a child. 


Haste, haste to bring him laud
The babe, the son of Mary

Hurry up shepherds !!  Hurry up, you don't want to be late in bringing praises to your redeemer, your rescuer, your saviour, you don't want to be late to praise God's son, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the Lion of Judah has come as an innocent lamb to save you.... hurry shepherds, hurry everyone.  Christ the King has come.


Why lies he in such mean estate
Where ox and ass are feeding?

Why indeed !!  Why would God send his son to such a humble and poor existence?  Why would he send Jesus, not only as an infant, but have him start off life in a barn, with his crib being a food trough for animals?  It doesn't get much more meager and humble a starting point than this.  Why send him as a child at all?  God could have sent a full grown man, he had made a man before after all, certainly He could have done it again.  Why not send the King of Kings to earth as a powerful and mighty King, all grown up and ready to wage war on darkness?  I think the answer is in the scripture when Jesus said, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, ²⁷ and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— ²⁸ just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” ¹⁶ “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” (Matthew 20)


Good Christian fear, for sinners here
The silent word is pleading
Nails, spear shall pierce him through
The cross be borne for me, for you

These chilling words for tell the life and ministry of Jesus. Jesus has come and while he is yet still silent he is yearning to speak his Fathers words.  He knows he has come with a purpose, to serve, to save, to ransom, to rescue, to redeem.  He knows what lies ahead of him. He knows because John 1:1 tells us ,"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was with God in the beginning. and Isaiah (53:7)"He was oppressed and afflicted,    yet he did not open his mouth;he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,   and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth."  He could have called down fire from heaven or a league of angels to come to his rescue, but yet, he remained silent, he bore the cross for us, for me, for you.

 

Hail, hail the Word made flesh
The babe, the son of Mary

As he grows and begins his ministry, we are reminded, he is God's word, he is both God and man.  He is worthy of our praise even though we are not worthy of him.  He serves us, yet we are not worthy of being served.  He saves us, yet we are not worthy of being saved.  This line tells us this, he is God's son,  and thus God, yet he is the son of Mary, so he is man  as well.



Then bring him incense, gold and myrrh
Come peasant, king to own him
The King of kings salvation brings
Let loving hearts enthrone him

Here we are reminded to bring him gifts and incense, gold and myrrh are listed.  We also have been told in scripture that the gift that is truly desired is the gift of ourselves, our whole self, ourselves as a living sacrifice to him that has redeemed us.  It doesn't matter if you are a peasant, a pauper, a blue collar worker, a ceo, a King, a homeless person, a farmer, or a sports figure, Jesus has come for each of us and desires each of us to give ourselves up to him who has given everything to save us.  The throne that we can provide for our King is place firmly in our heart..... let us invite him in to take a seat on this throne.

Raise, raise the song on high
The virgin sings her lullaby
Joy, joy, for Christ is born
The babe, the son of Mary

All I can think of when I read these last few lines is Mary singing to her son.  Singing with joy, singing with praise, singing with tears, singing with strength, singing in weakness, singing in hope.  All I can think of is what must have it been like to hold something so small knowing he was so big, coddling something so frail knowing he was so incredibly strong.  Caring for something so much yet know he would care for her more.  Loving someone so deeply and yet he really did and would prove he loved her even more.  That he loved us, and loves us more that we can even understand.  What must have it been like


....... what child is this, what child indeed !!

Lets sing the song together now..........

What child is this who laid to rest
On Mary's lap is sleeping?
Whom angels greet with anthems sweet
While shepherds watch are keeping.
This, this is Christ the King
Whom shepherds guard and angels sing
Haste, haste to bring him laud
The babe, the son of Mary

Why lies he in such mean estate
Where ox and ass are feeding?
Good Christian fear, for sinners here
The silent word is pleading
Nails, spear shall pierce him through
The cross be borne for me, for you
Hail, hail the Word made flesh
The babe, the son of Mary

Then bring him incense, gold and myrrh
Come peasant, king to own him
The King of kings salvation brings
Let loving hearts enthrone him
Raise, raise the song on high
The virgin sings her lullaby
Joy, joy, for Christ is born
The babe, the son of Mary

ever listen to the words??

There are some songs that we just sing because we know the words.  But there comes a time when we have been singing them for so long, we know what word comes next but we really stopped listening to the words we are singing.  We sing from habit instead of appreciation of the words themselves and their meaning.  The message has been lost over time, if we ever got a message from the song in the first place.  One such song is Joy to the World........  have you ever thought about the meaning of the words?? 

JOY !!! 

Lets just look at the first two lines. 

Joy to the World , the Lord is come!

Let earth receive her King;


What does this say to you?  What if we translate it out of sing songy verse and into a mode similar to what we would use if we were speaking.  If we did that, it might look like this.

Hey, today is a great, awesome, happy, rockin day.  It's the absolute best day ever because the one we have been waiting for , waiting for for like ever, has come today, the guy who makes it all better, solves all the problems and leads us to eternal happiness, the king of forever and everything  was born today. The world received a way out, a way up, he was born today!!

Next line

Let every heart prepare Him room,

What does this say to you?

This is more of an instruction the way I hear it.  Here the song is telling us to get on the wagon, have some faith, make room for some big time grace, open your heart and let Jesus in, open your heart and let Jesus lead, open your heart and give the man...... THE man all the room he needs.

And Heaven and nature sing,

And Heaven and nature sing,

And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing.

Moving on......

Heaven and nature sing......  Heaven would be who exactly, and who is nature that it would sing ??  Well, what I hear the author saying here is that this day is SO glorious that the Angels in heaven are happy enough to sing out and nature, why nature is the all the things on earth that God made, the clouds, the rivers, the trees, the stones, everything of the earth feels that a big thing, a huge thing, a glorious joyous marvelous thing is happening today.


moving a little further along.....

Joy to the World, the Savior reigns!

Let men their songs employ;

Again, JOY......  the world should be happy, all the people, all the creations, everything in the world should be mad with joy because the promise has begun to be fulfilled.  The Savior has come, he has arrived, Jesus is in the house !!  Let all mankind sing out and relish the coming of enough grace to get them into God's very presents. 

moving a bit further along......

While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains

Repeat the sounding joy,

Repeat the sounding joy,

Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy

Even the fields and floods, even the rocks know Jesus was born today......  Joy has come, it has come to be with us , wretched tho we are, Joy has come, Grace has come, the promise is here with us today...... 

No more let sins and sorrows grow,

Nor thorns infest the ground;

He comes to make His blessings flow

Far as the curse is found,

Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as, the curse is found.

Why has he come ?  Why are we supposed to be so happy ?  That is what this stanza tells us about.  He came to destroy the power of sin, sin can no longer enslave us as we have been given the power of His grace thru faith.  We could never save ourselves, the law made that all too clear, but now grace has come to save us and we have been brought freedom, freedom brings us joy !! The thorns have been struck down, the curse has been removed, he comes to make his blessings flow, all his blessings.

He rules the world with truth and grace,

He has come to rule over us with truth and grace, he has come to free us from the plague, the immutable stain of our sin is what he and only he can lift away.........

And makes the nations prove
we prove it by our faith first and in his grace we prove it by following him, by loving him, and by living in his will thru his enabling grace


The glories of His righteousness,

the glories are proved out by our salvation, his gift , his grace, unearned, undeserved, but heaped on us non the less...... why oh why will he bless us so........ you need only read , or sing, a little farther now......


And wonders of His love,

And wonders of His love,

And wonders, wonders, of His love.


His LOVE..... his love defies understanding...... it defines who he is...... God is love........  he loves us....  he loved us before we were even created, and he loved us while we were yet sinners... a love that we cannot even begin to grasp........  a love that brought us grace....... grace is a concept we cannot fully wrap our heads around ...... 


now......... now we can think about the words, the message in the song...... we can sing it anew from our hearts... let us sing now......



Joy to the World , the Lord is come!


Let earth receive her King;

Let every heart prepare Him room,

And Heaven and nature sing,

And Heaven and nature sing,

And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing.



Joy to the World, the Savior reigns!

Let men their songs employ;

While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains

Repeat the sounding joy,

Repeat the sounding joy,

Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy.



No more let sins and sorrows grow,

Nor thorns infest the ground;

He comes to make His blessings flow

Far as the curse is found,

Far as the curse is found,

Far as, far as, the curse is found.



He rules the world with truth and grace,

And makes the nations prove

The glories of His righteousness,

And wonders of His love,

And wonders of His love,

And wonders, wonders, of His love.

First is last

I am broken

I am perfect

I am perfect in my brokenness

As I lay in a hospital and suffer I am healed , I recover

As I lay and die I am comforted by a hope in my future because I am going home

I have conflict , turmoil , frustrations and faults

I struggle, I triumph , I improve , I decrease

As I decrease in me, I increase in being useful

I fail , I repent , I succeed

As I walk away, I get closer

the weaker I am , the stronger I am

I have a purpose,  a reason , a mission , a goal , none of which I choose , all of which are good

I am filthy and I am spotlessly unblemished

I fall but never find the ground

I gain everything when I give everything

what I am given I don't deserve and don't earn

what I give away has a cost but what I am given is priceless

I learn

I love

I live

I die

I live

I am

I am because He is

I am because He did

I am because there is a reason for me

I can because He can

He did because I couldn't

I must because He did

I can because He did

I am here

He is

I am loved

He is

I am necessary

He is

I am someone

He is

I am something

He is everything

What I can not

He already did

When I do not

He already did

I am because He is " I am "

What do you stand for ??

This was the status update on a friends wall.  "I'm not nearly as interested in what you are against as I am by what you are for."  Hmmm, that got me thinking ( I know , right !! )  What do I stand for ??  At first glance I thought that question was way too easy, but the more effort I put into the answer the more difficult it became.  Should this be just a political answer ?? At this time when political ads ( ugh ) are bombarding our existence, that is a quick and easy assumption.  What if I look deeper, maybe a theological list would make a good answer.  Even though the question was posed by a pastoral type person, I don't think that is the sum total of what my friend is looking for.  What if I just give a whimsical, yet truthful , response ?  No, that wears too thin too fast.  Man does not live by marshmallow fluff alone ( although ?? well, never mind )  So, my proposed answer will address all three in no particular order.  Politics, Theology and just enough of the whimsy that is life  to keep it flowing and not boring.

What I stand for :

• Bacon - I stand for bacon, bacon is good, bacon is righteous, bacon is necessary, bacon is. 
• Free Speech -  I believe any jerk should be able to state his/her opinion when asked, and even if the rest of us don't like it, that's okay.  We don't have to hate the guy, attack the guy, or try to ruin or influence the guy thru force.  It's an opinion, not an action.  it's a belief, not a policy.  It's the way one person sees a subject. We are entitled to a different opinion, but that is all we are entitled to.  Tossing in a little scripture here, he/she is our neighbor and we are called to love them, that is all.  The two things that pop to mind here are the ongoing Chick-Fil-A debacle and that Bill Maher guy.  Opposite ends of the spectrum in every way, but regardless , my Christian brothers and sisters, we are entitled to our opinion but we are not entitled to our judgement or hate.
• Freedom of religion -  While I wish and pray that everyone accepts the truth, comes to Christ and then begins a life long journey towards a sanctified life in discipleship, I know that is not the way the world was designed.  I do not believe it is right to force, coerce , or kill others because they do not see things the same way as *we* do.  Speaking as a Christian, with my own understanding, we are to lead by being a light, an example, by being different than the world. 
• Community -  I am for community.  We need each other, and we should need each other.  We should be able to influence each other and work together for common goals. 
• Life -  (What ?)  I am for life.  Every person should have one.  Too many people these days exist, but do not live.  That is a shame.  In order to have a life, you must have feelings, you must enjoy, you must regret etc etc.
• Sanctity of human life -  (oh, bet you thought this was where I was going last time huh )  Yes, I believe all human life should have value.  That means I am not for the death penalty, I am not for abortion. I will even take it one step further, I am not for the movie industry or the video game industry either.  Now, before you slam down you fist in forget point number 1, no I am not being a hypocrite here.  I have enjoyed many a movie filled with senseless violence,and I have killed a million or more aliens  and asteroids and caterpillars ( showing my age here ) but I think the overabundance of death and destruction in video format has become sensory overload for the developing mind.  I am not suggesting a ban on video games or movies ( although I am suggesting a ban on the death penalty and abortions ). 
• Parenting -  yes, I am for parenting.  I think it would be awesome if more people who have 'produced' kids would actually raise them.  Raising them means being involved in their lives, leading them by example, spending time mentoring them, telling them NO once in a while, telling them YES when you don't want to once in a while.  Dare I say, raise them up in the way they should go and they will not part from it ?? 
• Regulations -  (gasp )  yes, a liberal viewpoint from conservative me.  We need to regulate the following , desperately, the banking industry, the financial sector (ie wallstreet ) the insurance industry and the medical industry. 
• Free market - ( but didn't you just say !! )  yes, we need regulations, but we also need the market to move about freely, reign in the EPA and OSHA etc, they wield too much power.
• Meaningful Campaign reform -  you should not have to raise a billion dollars to run for county commissioner.  This system is just buying votes and buying policy at this stage.
• Puppies - I mean, com'on who isn't for puppies.
• Marriage- ( that bwess-ed arrangement )  Yep, had to go here, a marriage is a God blessed institution and should be between a man and a women.  Now, having said that, I also have no issue with same sex couples making a permanent commitment to each other and then receiving the same benefits and punishments via the tax code and other entities.  You could call it a same sex civil union, or call it whatever you want.  The state that honors the arrangement can even call it marriage if they so choose, I am just saying this.  There is a difference between a biblical marriage and a secular marriage.  Both arrangements should be treated the same from a legal , political , standpoint, but from a religious standpoint, they do differ.  ( glad I don't own a fast food restaurant )  I will again remind you of a previous statement, they are our neighbors, we are called to love them and that is all we are called to do.
• Tax code revision -  chuck the whole thing and start over !! 
• Adoption - personal beef here.... our domestic system stinks !!  Reform the system and provide more national guidelines.  It is not uncommon for adoptive parents to adopt a child from a different state, however, adopting from a different country is more efficient due to rules changes from state to state.  The child is supposed to be the priority here..... often said, but the actions do not follow the statement.
• Meatballs - a nearly perfect food.  I am for meatballs.  If you wrap a meatball in bacon, then you may have just built a golden calf !

Thanks for the question Adam !!  Got me motivated to blog again .....

Fruit hat massacre

Galatians 5:22-23 

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law

Are we sure about that?  Are we sure there is no law against it?  I ask because it seems to be almost our nature to avoid showing any fruit.  Lets think about it for a minute..........

Okay, minutes up..   if you completely agree with me and you totally understand it.. good....... for the other 99.9% of you, keep reading and we shall discuss !!

There are a lot of human beings ( and I use the term loosely) out there that are just flat nasty, hateful, snotty, rude , classless, self centered , mouth breathing vagabonds with nothing better to do than make everyone around them miserable.  You know these folks, you walk the other way way when you see them, you check the time on your wrist even though you're not wearing a watch just to avoid eye contact with them. Eye contact with them will turn you into a stone just like Medusa's head after all !! Yes these folks are allowed to roam loose in the world.  They, however, are not the problem, we are !!  Who are we then ?? We are the rest of the folks who are just too ( deep breath ) lazy-preoccupied-over burdened-culturally desensitized-distracted-busy-self focused-meandering aimlessly- LOST people.  Yeppers, we're lost.  We wonder thru each day in a fog of overstimulation!!  We plug our way through the forest each and every day never seeing a single tree.  Not one.......  not a single tree.  We don't see this as a problem until we trip over a root, or somebody else cracks our backside with a branch !!  We simply don't see the problem until it is thrust upon us , then we just feel sorry for ourselves.

Let me test you.

Do you know the names of any of the employees at that gas station you stop at on the way home from work?  I know you most likely know their face, but can you, do you, call them by name?

Do you know the names of anyone who works your favorite drive thru window?

The last time some guy tried to cut you off on the highway, did you think to yourself, " oh, this guy must be late for something important, maybe I should give him a little more room and let him get in front of me" ?

That lady sitting at the table next to you last Wednesday, did she have a good day?  You would know if you asked, did you ask?

You go to the grocery once a week ( or twice, or almost daily like me )  do the folks in the checkout line know your name?  Do you know their's, their husband/wife/kids names?  Do you know if they having a good day or not?

When you address a person you do not know, do you smile , say please and thank you, and yes ma'am, no sir?

Unless you answered 100%   YES , of course....... then you're qualified to be, " the rest of us" . Yep, you're in the club, you're the problem !!

Okay, now that I have attempted to point out the problem,  fruitlessness, lets talk about it for a minute.  Yes, I know you're still reading becuase you're just as guilty as me.

Why did you not answer yes to all of the above questions?  I know why, same reason as me, you don't have time, don't have the energy to make the effort, don't really care all that much, and you judge the person as not being enough a part of your life to concern yourself with them. They are just there, there to do what they do and you are just passing by.  Like it or not, that's why.

There is also another reason.  It is easier not to be kind, not to be gentle.  It's more difficult to excersize self control than it is to just go with what you feel.  We would much rather pick a scab than to help a wound heal, its easier and a lot more fun, right !!  It comes more naturally to sit around making fun of your coworkers toupee that looks like a Chia Pet gone horribly wrong, than it does to sit down and have coffee with a guy and listen to him tell you about his wife leaving him, his dog dying, and his kids alcohol and drug problems. I mean, given the choice, which would you pick?  The first option is easy, and for a lot of us, a daily activity.  The second choice is tough and more rare.  We don't even need to focus on stuff that extreme, but it seems to be much easier to verbally destroy others, even when they are not around, even when we don't even know them, than it is to verbally build others up.  We are quick to see the faults in others, the differences, the oddities ( although Walmart makes it all too easy).  We are slow to praise others, it is more difficult.  We feel odd making positive remarks about each other, it is almost as if our culture discourages the activity. Granted, people also discourage that activity, some folks are just hard to be kind to, but that's no excuse.  Why do we have the habit of trying to build ourselves up by tearing others apart?  Can we really better ourselves that way, does it really make us feel better, bigger, stronger, to demean others?

Is it in our nature to be destructive?  Is it in our nature to be negative towards others?  Is the negative the only thing we see in each other, have things gotten that bad? Or, maybe, just maybe, its not the only thing we see, just the first thing?  Yes, I know very large women with messy nests they call hair should not wear really really tight bright green pants......  but , is that a reason to not be kind to them?  Yes, I know some that kid in the drive thru window with a hole in his ear the size of a quarter and golf tee stuffed through the bridge of his nose is entertaining to talk about, but , is that a reason to not show him some forbearance, not to bear with him, not to show him some grace?

Quick side note: For those of you who at this moment are thinking, " well, it's not like I say anything in front of them, they can't know what I say to my friends" I have some bad news for you.  Having grown up as ' that guy'  , we know !  We know what you're thinking, we know what you're going to say later, we just hope you wait till later to say it.  I am as guilty as the next guy, but let me tell you for certain, we know.  It becomes awkward when you look at it that way.  I judge people wrongly, but I unfortunately know they know I am doing it.  When people judge me, I know it.  Why is nothing ever said then?  It's just too awkward to confront casually, that's the only reason.  So the next time you look at the mom who has totally lost control of her kids in the grocery, the kids who are opening the cereal boxes in the aisle and using the Cheerios as confetti, and don't say anything until you get back with your good mom friends, remember this, she knows what you think of her, and what you're going to say...

So, now what ??

We fix it.  We change it.  We correct it.  We apply ourselves.  We work towards making the world better, one small act at a time.  We grab some fruit and wear in on our heads !! ( what did he say )  Ever notice that when someone wears a hat, you always notice the hat?  It is right there, right out there for everyone to see.  What if we wore our fruit on our heads?  That way people would not have to look to find it, they would see it right away.  A lot of us who have fruit, don't always put it out in front in plain sight for everyone to see, we judge and only show the fruit to those we deem worthy.  It's kinda like that guy selling knock off  Rolex watches out of his trench coat.  When only open our coat to expose our fruit to people whom we choose.  We all need fruit hats instead.

Okay, so if you're on board with me,  what do we do, how do we wear a fruit hat?

Well, step one is reverse our thinking.  Typically we think about how we feel and pay attention to what others do.. Step one is to flip that scenario and think about how others feel and pay attention to we do.

Lets go back to the quarter sized hole in ear golf tee wearing drive thru guy.  How is his day going?  Ask him, no seriously, ask him !  " here is your change, receipt at next window'......... thank you sir,  and hey, how's going? its a beautiful day today, I hope you get off work in time to enjoy a little bit of it."  Odds are he is going to look at you funny because he wasn't expecting that, but trust me, if you do it , and then do it again next time you're there you will slowly transform in his mind from that really odd person into that cool person he looks forward to seeing every once in a while.  Yes, its incredibly awkward at first, but it gets easier.

Use your manners.  Please and thank you, have a nice day, how are you doing, etc.  Address people as ma'am and sir is great, but if you can avoid the creepy getting in their business factor, find out their name.  I can honestly say that when I walk in to BP to get gas I can ask Rona how she is feeling today.  I know she is almost fully recovered from the stroke she had a  year ago, and if I am alone she asks " where is that cute little girl of yours tonight"  If Gracie happens to be with me however, Rona and I never speak to each other, she talks to Gracie !!

For crying out loud.......... SMILE.......  people are not invisible. Make eye contact with them, talk to them, smile at them.  Treat every person you see with respect.  Let me say that again, slowly this time.. treat every person you see, every single one, with respect.  Act like they are really people, because in reality, you know what, they ARE people;  People with feelings, challenges, needs, etc.... they are real living people whom you have the opportunity to address in a kind, loving, gentle, self controlled manner..

The concept I am talking about here isn't all that difficult. The difficult part is understanding that we are not doing it.  The challenge is to deliberately and diligently try to show all of the fruit, all the time, to everyone.  The difficulty is in not judging and picking and choosing who we show our fruit to.  The hard part is admitting we are jerks ( hi, my name is Chris, and I am a jerk) and then working at being a freak with a fruit hat.

How cool would it be if we could suddenly accomplish this task?

What if we actually treated everyone with respect, cared about each person we came across, learned to recognize them as people, as individuals, as human beings. What if we shared grace with each person we see?  Let me put it this way, did God give you forgiveness and grace so that you could take all that forgiveness and all the ample grace and put it in your pocket to keep?  Of did He give you forgiveness and grace so that you could share it with others, forgive them, and show them as much grace as they need?

Arlo Guthry , singer of Alice's Restaurant

You know, if
one person, just one person does it they may think he's really sick and
they won't take him seriously And if two people, two people do it, in harmony,
they may think they're both strange and they won't believe either one of them
And three people do it, three, can you imagine, three people encouraging one another respecting each other, smiling and being kind.  They may think it's an
organization. And can you, can you imagine fifty people a day,I said
fifty people a day putting on a fruit had and loving one another And friends they may thinks it's a movement.

 

I am officially declaring this the Fruit of the Spirit Movement.  Join with me and show each person you see kindness, gentleness, goodness, patience, love, peace, and joy.  Join me and put the fruit on your head, wear your fruit hat for everyone to see..........

Fear !!

" The only thing we have to fear................ is fear itself.  "  FDR.

Wow, what telling words these are.  Take a moment and try and remove the words from the WWII context and you will see they have a deeper meaning than simply discussing war.  To address the meaning, you might want to have a working definition of what fear is.

From Dictionary.com :  Fear:

a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid. Synonyms: foreboding, apprehension, consternation, dismay, dread, terror, fright, panic, horror, trepidation, qualm.

 

Okay, read that again...... slowly......

 

a distressing emotion ( blah blah blah )  Danger ( blah blah blah ) EVIL ( blah blah blah )  .......

 
Hmmm, notice anything?  A distressing emotion...... distress........  stress........ stress caused by..... caused by among other things, caused by evil..
 
Wow,  Now rethink FDR's quote..  " the only thing we have to fear....... is fear itself "    Now that we have a working definition of fear, lets reword his famous quote.
 

" the only thing that we have to cause us distress.......... is evil  "

 
Makes perfect sense, but I bet you never thought of it that way.  Why have we never looked at it that way?  Simple reason, fear is almost as complex and nearly as misunderstood as the word Love.  Love is complicated, it means many different things, fear is complicated as well, it also has many different meanings.  Different meanings to different people based on their own perceptions.  For example, also from Dictionary.com:
 
Fear: reverential awe, especially toward God: the fear of God. Synonyms: awe, respect, reverence, veneration.
 

That is a completely different definition of fear, in this context, fear is a positive.

 
Fear can also be a positive when it occurs as an instinct.  From Wikipedia:
 
Fear is a distressing negative sensation induced by a perceived threat. It is a basic survival mechanism occurring in response to a specific stimulus, such as pain or the threat of danger. In short, fear is the ability to recognize danger leading to an urge to confront it or flee from it (also known as the fight-or-flight response
 
In this context, fear is neither positive, nor negative, it is simply a message!
 
Fear is a lot more complicated that you might have guessed...
 

So, what are we afraid of?  Again, from Wikipedia:

 
According to surveys, some of the most common fears are of ghosts, the existence of evil powers, cockroaches, spiders, snakes, heights, water, enclosed spaces, tunnels, bridges, needles, social rejection, failure, examinations and public speaking.  flying, heights, clowns, intimacy, death, rejection, people, snakes, success, and driving.
 

For the purpose of discussion from this point on, I am going to address fear in two forms.  Negative fear and positive fear.  From the above dialogue, I am going to assume you were paying attention and are now sufficiently able to tell the difference between the two.  One thing that I find curious is the source of fear, so lets start there.

 

Positive fear, aka reverence, respect, awe.  This is a Godly fear, or fear of God as it is usually stated.  This has proved an interesting conundrum to me in the past.  If , as we are told, God did not provide us the Spirit of Fear, then why should we, why do we, fear God?  Well, that is why understanding the word is so important.  We should not fear God with a negative fear, God is not stressing us.  He will upon occasion stretch us, but that is a whole different thing all together.  Stretching is growing, and while it might be uncomfortable at the time, it is not something to fear, He has given us Grace after all, and with His Grace and Mercy all we need has been provided, why should we fear?  What do we have to be afraid of?  If God is with us, who can stand against us?  With faith, we stand with God, and it faith we should have no fear.  I am going to submit to you that Positive Fear comes from within us, positive fear is the manifestation of our faith. The greater our fear of the Lord, the greater our faith.. Sounds funny to say it that way in our culture, so let me rephrase it.  The greater our reverence, the greater our respect, the greater our awe of the Lord, the greater our faith becomes.  Now, that sounds better.  My original question was where does fear come from?  My first answer is this , positive fear comes from within us and is directly connected to faith.

 

Before going deeper into the point of writing this post, let me briefly address instinctive fear.  Instinctive fear is a messenger, it is a warning that someone or something is presenting a situation that can harm us.  This fear is also from within us, placed there to act as a signal tower to alert us to potential harm. Each individual may react differently or at a different level to this stimulus, but it is an automatic and uncontrolled response.  We, as humans, can condition ourselves to ignore the warning, perhaps taking it from a paralysing terror down to a more manageable level, but the instinct will always be there.  Soldiers can ignore the fear of thrusting themselves into the battle, but some warning, ignored or not, was there for them.

 

Now , on to the crux of the matter.  Negative fear = a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined.  I am going to add to my question here and not only ask what is the source of this fear, but why, in our culture, do we do like to play with it?  This is the most common definition of fear, when asked about fear, most of my respondents replies fell into this category of negative fear.  (thank you facebook friends for your inputs )  When fear is discussed, usually negative fear is the subject.  Fear, anxiety, trepidation, terror, horror, dread, all these words have extremely negative implications.  None of us ( assumption on my part ) would want to witness the horror of seeing our child, or any child, being struck and killed by a car.  None of us would want to suffer through the terror of being on a plane as it spirals into the ground knowing that upon impact we will die a horrible death.  None of us would want to bear the anxiety of a hostage situation, knowing that sooner or later some of us will die.  We can all agree that this kind of fear, negative fear, is something to be avoided.  We don't ever want to experience this level of fear.

 

This is why I find it so strange, so odd, so illogical, that we as a culture are somehow enthralled with playing with fear.  We have manufactured an entire industry around the creation of artificial fear!  Notice the definition one last time ( beating the horse , I know )  whether the threat is real or imagined.  We all would just as soon avoid real fear, but yet we not only seek out imagined fear, we pay lots of money to achieve it!!  Does this really make sense?  We are saying fear is....... fun.  Does that make sense?  When looked at from logical terms, no, it makes no sense whatsoever, yet, we all do it.  ( yes, I will confess now to being guilty as well )  I do this, I have done this, I am just pointing out how terribly odd this really is.  ( quick disclaimer, I confess because I do not want you to view the following dialog as ridicule, indictment, or judgement )

 

The thing we list most often as fearing is ghosts and evil powers, yet we pay to go to haunted houses, we pay to watch horror movies, we even enjoy a holiday based around dressing up like evil spirits.  There is even a hit television show called Fearfactor.  The participants in the show experience real fear while we entertain ourselves by watching them, by watching their fear.  We flock to amusement parks and get on rides that induce artificial fear in us because of the motion, the height, the rapidity of the movement.  It is all based on our fear.  Are we trying to overcome our fears?  Some might say yes, others no, but if you ride a roller coaster once and experience fear, and the second time you no longer have the same anxiety, do you ride it a third time?  Most would answer yes, even after 'conquering' the fear, you continue to ride in hopes of getting a little more of that emotion.  Spiders were listed high on the list as well, yet the movie Arachnophobia was a blockbuster.  Why would we do that?  People tie rubber bands to themselves and jump off bridges, we jump out of airplanes for sport.  Not all who engage in this had fear of heights, but the emotional state achieved while falling is an attempt at generating a 'safe' fear.  An artificial fear.  A good ride at an amusement park is one in which while you are standing in line, you can hear the riders screaming.  Why are they screaming?  Is it fear?  If so, why are we in line to get on?  Same holds true with a 'good' horror movie, the theater full of screamers is the best movie.  Have we decided that fear is fun? 

 

These are just things that make me wonder, what are we thinking.

 

Other part of the question, where does negative fear come from? 

 

I cannot say for certain. 

 

But, this does come to mind.

 

 

1 Peter 5:8

New International Version (NIV)

8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

 
 

So, in conclusion, I submit this.......  What is fear?  What are we afraid of?  Should we fear anything at all?

 

I end as I began.

 

" The only thing we have to fear....... is fear itself" 

 

Wise words indeed........