THURSDAY IS FOR MUSIC WITH MEANING - JESUS CULTURE

For a season I will be posting music as part of LIFE MATTERS on Thursdays--music with meaning. This is from the new Christian group, Jesus Culture, has been a great source of encouragement to me in my walk with God.

NO MORE TWINKIES

Hostess, the maker of Twinkies and Wonder Bread are going out of business.  Two staples of Americana for decades will disappear from grocery shelves (in some cases, they are already gone).  Given the notorious staying power of a Twinkie, they may actually stay in existence for  another decade in someone's climate controlled (and sentry-dog guarded) warehouse.  Wonder Bread will be gone much sooner. Bread mold still seems to find an errant loaf and turn the white bread green in short order.

Having given up white bread for my health at least 20 years ago, I confess I won't miss that.  My children, however, are a different matters.  Despite being highly educated and extremely health-conscious; they still choose to make their toast or peanut  butter and jelly sandwiches out of that white loaf.  That won't last more than a week, although  there are many white bread manufacturers.  It's just not Wonder Bread.

Think of what this will mean?  The purveyors of deep fried twinkies as street fairs and country fairs will have to deep fry something else--probably pickles or something.  Oh, I forgot.  They already are doing that.

There will be a run on the remaining Twinkies that exceeds bread and milk runs before a snowstorm.  People will have to find a place to hide their stash so that the burglars don't take the Twinkies instead of the computer equipment.

Twenty years from now one of the last remaining boxes of Twinkies will go up for auction in some capital city and will sell for $100,000.

Divorce settlements will have to include the possession (or division) of all the Twinkies in the marriage (unless one spouse has managed to hide them in an off-short safety deposit box).

The potential for crisis and comfort food meltdown are infinite.

It's probably time to have a new food capturing our imagination and identifying with inner peace.

Did I hear someone say, "Broccoli?"

I didn't think so.

Until someone finds a suitable nominee, we will have to cherish the memories (and maybe lose some weight in the process).

WEB SITINGS - CHRISTMAS NOT, DARTH TAKES DISNEY, CELEBRATING THE IDOLATRY SEASON

Todd Rhodes recently shared a link on his blog about the fact 45% of Americans would consider skipping Christmas. Read more

 Now that Lucasfilms and its Star Wars franchise has bought Disney, Michael Kelly offered this video reflection. Then I came across this blog post by Robert Olsen, an evangelical Christian who comes from the same Arminian heritage as myself.

 Merry idolatry season! November 24, 2012 By rogereolson

 Recently, in the last couple days, I’ve been in places where I have to listen to loud, canned, “Christmas” music. I didn’t have to strain to hear the words; they were loud and clear. In one well-known chain coffee shop I have heard dozens of “seasonal” songs but not one about Jesus–directly or indirectly. One song is about Santa Claus and contains the words “Santa brings us peace” and “Santa brings us all love.” There is no doubt that the song’s writer intended to replace Jesus with Santa Claus in the Christmas mythos. I asked a waiter why the store plays only secular “Christmas” music and he said they get complaints if they play anything religious. I said “Please tell the manager that I’m a customer, too, and I’m offended that the store plays only secular “Christmas” music.” He just looked at me like I have two heads.

Even as I write this I hear several Christian voices answering me in my mind. “Let the pagans have the holiday” (Rodney Clapp) is one that I respect. Maybe I’m just too old, but I have trouble going with that. Christians are still a significant portion of this society and our celebration of this holiday should at least be acknowledged and taken seriously by those who want our business. I say play music of all the celebrations of the season–Jewish, Christian, African-American, secular, etc.

Of course the other response I agree with entirely is that the “real” idolatry of the season is the excess of consumerism, not music.

MONDAY MORNING REFLECTIONS - WAY TO GO PENN STATE

BY STEVE DUNN

More than a year ago devastating revelations about Jerry Sandusky and the cover-up by Penn State's highest leadership and legendary coach Joe Paterno rocked Happy Valley.  Next to the victims of Sandusky's sexual atrocities, there were other victims of a different order--the young men who had been recruited to play football for Penn State University and the rich heritage of the excellent athletes and model citizen leaders who graduated from "Linebacker U."

The NCAA, before leveling its unprecedented punishment, gave the remaining young men and incoming recruits the chance to pit their football fortunes in another program.  Some took the opportunity, but many young men of great character and loyalty to their school chose to remain. Penn State brought in a coach, Bill O'Brien, who proceeded to create a "new day" for Penn State football and to help shape a team again into a competitive squad that could hold its head up with dignity and be more than competitive on the gridiron.

Penn State succeeded beyond many people's expectations.  After a slow and sometimes agonizing start, the Nittany Lions grew into one of the class teams of the Big Ten. Their only two losses were close contests against eventual division leaders--Penn State and Nebraska/  Even with no bowl game or Big Ten title games to validate their efforts, these young Lions pressed and worked and performed at a great level.  When they faced the Ohio State Buckeyes, they were very much in the hunt to capture or share the Leader Division title of the Big Ten.

Personally, I am a life-long fan of The Ohio State Buckeyes and rejoiced as Urban Meier and his charges went 12-0 in a season when like Penn State, they would have no further reward. But no football program in America had as much as adversity to overcome and as much to prove as the Penn State Nittany Lions.

So with great respect I must say, Way to go, Penn State!

THE SUNDAY FUNNIES - CHRISTMAS SHOPPING

 

DO LESS BETTER

 by STEVE DUNN

I have always  been a person who seems to seek busyness.  I once described myself as a "recovering workaholic" and someone who knew me well quipped, "Relapsed would be more accurate."  My schedule generally has been full and I have had several Facebook friends who have said, "Your Facebook page makes me tired." I tend to be optimistic about how much I can accomplish in a day or week, and my assessment would be accurate if days had 28 hours and weeks had nine days.

There is no Bible verse to proof text this attitude.  "Busyness is not next to godliness" unless you are reading 2nd Imaginations in the latest version of the Apocrypha.  The outcome of extreme busyness is generally not pretty. Whether you rust out or wear out - out is out.

It's taken two bouts with burnout to get me to give serious attention to my busyness addiction; and even now I need to be vigilant about saying "yes" when I need to say "no".  At some point busyness robs you of joy and true productivity.  It's hard to be content and fulfilled when you're exhausted. Some things take time and solid attention. Trying to do too much usually erodes quality or sustainability.

One of the lessons we need to learn to combat this insidious busyness is to claim a new core value:
DO LESS BETTER.

Many of us carry some old tapes that warn against laziness.  "Idle hands are the devil's workshop" has been used many a time to provide a verbal kick in the rear to someone.  Yet sometimes, idling is needed to get warmed up for the journey.

Some of have tapes that say "Measure up!" or "Prove yourself!" or "Always Look Busy!" As a result we press on to produce and take our worth in the quantity we produce rather than the quality of what we produce.

But our self-worth is first tied to who we are. What we do comes next.  And in God's scheme of things, quality always trumps quantity.  "Whatever you do in word or deed, do it as unto the Lord." (Colossians 3:17)

Maybe we find greater joy if we attended to doing what we do well and not worry so much about how much we do.  White Castle and other mass producing hamburger joints can plow out tons of little meaty sqaures fried in onions, but does anyone seriously think they as good as that turkey you ate at Thanksgiving which cooked for hours before it was served?

So here is my counsel, especially as you get ready for the insanity that is the pre-Christmas season in America.  Do yourself a favor. DO LESS BETTER.

(c) 2012 by Stephen L Dunn

BLACK FRIDAY

Thank you to my friend, Dennis Killinger who posted this on Facebook. It sums up my personal reflection for today.