I was discussing recently the difficulty we have with labels-not on clipping them from Del Monte cans and handing them in so your school that's poor from spending money on sports can buy books instead of raising taxes on people who are already well off-but still don't want to pay taxes any higher than they did in the '60s.
I'm talking about the labels we apply to folks in general. Liberal and Conservative. Christian, progressive, or fundamentalist. There is actually no way to avoid labeling to some extent. If we didn't we'd all be stuck using general and neutral pronouns.
Excuse me person? Could you hand me that thing with the stuff on it?
"This?" no
"That" no.
the thing with the color on it that's darker than the color of your eyes or the thing with the stuff on it the color of your skin but darker? No-the thing with the thing that's sitting on that other thing.
It quickly would become an exercise in futility and vagueness.
What can be frustrating though is the vast differences and nuances of opinion that exist in each individual and the attempt to try and place one person or the other in a particular category. This of course is what helps us define people but it can erode the sense of complexity that makes up individuals as well.
I long for a day like Dr. Martin Luther King spoke of when "we'd one day be judged not by the color of our skin (or any sort of label in particular), but on the content of our character".
It seems like a happy possibility to not be categorized as a lover of Rush Linbaugh or a lover of Keith Olberman-or maybe Bill O' Reilly vs. Al Franken. The truth is we're a huge amalgam of opinions, influences, circumstances, and convictions. To categorize anyone is to simplify people and the human experience so that we can be less anxious about reality.
Our anxiety comes from self consciousness-self awareness and the understanding that we can't figure everything out-and that there is randomness and insignificance as well as meaning and relationship that makes up our reality. But we can't wrap it up in a neat package for marketing it can make us antsy. If I can't buy it at Wal-Mart Dwight, I just don't trust it.
It reminds me of the phrase from the movie Pleasantville where everyone who is frightened about the change that is taking place all over the town say something to the effect of "Where do you go when everything around you is changing and the world seems so uncertain? The bowling alley of course".
People can certainly lean one way or the other in terms of political, religious, and all other viewpoints and character traits. But sometimes the idiosyncrasies and contradictions within our selves or that we observe in others is dumbfounding.
I know of a lesbian couple who attended a church that was against homosexuality. They did so because they didn't want to attend a church that while supportive of homosexual people had a woman minister. DOH!
That's like an NRA member that can't find it within himself to quit his knitting group even though his friends think its gay.
We're all so different-it makes us have to come up with labels to manage it all sometimes-so I respect that. I just ask "Where then is the middle ground?" Where can we find a place to accurately describe people, or realities without limiting the person or reality to that specific label? The bowling alley.
I don't know and I don't think we're supposed to know. I think that probably the process of learning about people and relationships is a lot more important than the arrival or the destination. That's not a particularly original concept-but it holds true in many instances. Along the way I think we're invited to make sure we laugh, love, and whatever third thing you can add here to make it a complete statement.
What is it that he poster says "Dance like no one is watching-even though you look like a dork, laugh as thought people around you aren't frightened by your boisterous and close to maniacal look and sound, and love like you aren't going to be issued a restraining order.
I hope you can label yourself as one who laughed at the end of today and each day.
Grace,
Dwight
Monday, August 18, 2008
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Down time
Tomorrow my sermon is about Sabbath.
Perhaps one of my more hypocritical sermons because one would hope that when a preacher delivers a message that it at least has a grounding in the faith practices of the one who is doing the preaching. In short I could be doing better at Sabbath observance.
I've learned more about Sabbath from the time I was leaving seminary to the present. I do remember some things about Sabbath when I was a child. I remember my parents complained that the pharmacy WASN'T open on Sundays because of the blue laws (for those under 38 that's when stores were required to close because Sunday was "The Lord's Day"-this of course assumes that all days aren't the Lord's and that Sunday itself was actually the true Sabbath).
Seventh Day Adventists have Saturday as the Sabbath, as does the Jewish Faith Tradition. We Christians observe Sunday as the Sabbath-sort of. I know preachers who wouldn't cut their grass on Sunday-not because they wanted to spend more time honoring God-but because it seemed more righteous to live by the letter of the law rather than the Spirit of the law "Remeber the Sabbath Day and Keep it holy." being one of the top ten commandments NOT written by a team of writers working for Letterman.
They also encouraged people not to shop on Sundays-because in so doing-they were supporting the sin of those having to work on the Sabbath.
Orthodox Judaism observes Sabbath from the sunset of Friday through the Sunset of Saturday evening-and they take it to heart-letter of the law not to do any work or activity that is not completely necessary (see Leviticus for a list of things you can do on the Sabbath like "get your ass out of a ditch"-meaning your wild beast not coloquial for your own hind quarters).
But what I've learned-or think I've learned is that Sabbath isn't a set day-it's actually a way of being. It is a state in which a person chooses consciously to disengage from all that is worry driven and laden with responsibility in order to contemplate sometimes the Holy, but sometimes just the belly button. Jesus said in response to those who criticized his disciples for picking grain on the Sabbath as breakers of the law and thus sinful people ignoring their relationship with God. Jesus tells the critics "The Sabbath was made for humanity, not humanity made for the Sabbath."
So resting, spending quiet time-not necessarily prayer and Bible reading-but that can be part of it-spending time just BE-ing. Not moving necessarily, maybe counting breaths, maybe just holding on tightly to your loved ones in a hug, or smelling the flowers in your back yard, inhaling the air intentionally from a breeze-it is in short an awareness that all is not centered on you-and that you in fact are part of something-a reality much bigger than yourself-and that the world and all the planets will go on spinning even if you decide to stop and do something to care for yourself.
So perhaps the definition of Sabbath I believe is: The act of caring for oneself as a response of gratitude for the grace and love God has shown us in an active or passive way of being-happening during a set period of time-at least twenty four hours in length and having at least some connection to the awareness that there is a God and it is not you. It may require being by oneself, and also can include those who nourish and build you up and require from you only that you be your authentic self.
So I hope for my sake-and the sake of all who read this-that I am able to observe Sabbath faithfully to honor God-and to honor the gift of who I am. It is in our honoring of our authentic selves that we bring glory to God for having created us in the way that God did.
Much grace to you and yours,
Dwight
Perhaps one of my more hypocritical sermons because one would hope that when a preacher delivers a message that it at least has a grounding in the faith practices of the one who is doing the preaching. In short I could be doing better at Sabbath observance.
I've learned more about Sabbath from the time I was leaving seminary to the present. I do remember some things about Sabbath when I was a child. I remember my parents complained that the pharmacy WASN'T open on Sundays because of the blue laws (for those under 38 that's when stores were required to close because Sunday was "The Lord's Day"-this of course assumes that all days aren't the Lord's and that Sunday itself was actually the true Sabbath).
Seventh Day Adventists have Saturday as the Sabbath, as does the Jewish Faith Tradition. We Christians observe Sunday as the Sabbath-sort of. I know preachers who wouldn't cut their grass on Sunday-not because they wanted to spend more time honoring God-but because it seemed more righteous to live by the letter of the law rather than the Spirit of the law "Remeber the Sabbath Day and Keep it holy." being one of the top ten commandments NOT written by a team of writers working for Letterman.
They also encouraged people not to shop on Sundays-because in so doing-they were supporting the sin of those having to work on the Sabbath.
Orthodox Judaism observes Sabbath from the sunset of Friday through the Sunset of Saturday evening-and they take it to heart-letter of the law not to do any work or activity that is not completely necessary (see Leviticus for a list of things you can do on the Sabbath like "get your ass out of a ditch"-meaning your wild beast not coloquial for your own hind quarters).
But what I've learned-or think I've learned is that Sabbath isn't a set day-it's actually a way of being. It is a state in which a person chooses consciously to disengage from all that is worry driven and laden with responsibility in order to contemplate sometimes the Holy, but sometimes just the belly button. Jesus said in response to those who criticized his disciples for picking grain on the Sabbath as breakers of the law and thus sinful people ignoring their relationship with God. Jesus tells the critics "The Sabbath was made for humanity, not humanity made for the Sabbath."
So resting, spending quiet time-not necessarily prayer and Bible reading-but that can be part of it-spending time just BE-ing. Not moving necessarily, maybe counting breaths, maybe just holding on tightly to your loved ones in a hug, or smelling the flowers in your back yard, inhaling the air intentionally from a breeze-it is in short an awareness that all is not centered on you-and that you in fact are part of something-a reality much bigger than yourself-and that the world and all the planets will go on spinning even if you decide to stop and do something to care for yourself.
So perhaps the definition of Sabbath I believe is: The act of caring for oneself as a response of gratitude for the grace and love God has shown us in an active or passive way of being-happening during a set period of time-at least twenty four hours in length and having at least some connection to the awareness that there is a God and it is not you. It may require being by oneself, and also can include those who nourish and build you up and require from you only that you be your authentic self.
So I hope for my sake-and the sake of all who read this-that I am able to observe Sabbath faithfully to honor God-and to honor the gift of who I am. It is in our honoring of our authentic selves that we bring glory to God for having created us in the way that God did.
Much grace to you and yours,
Dwight
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Golden moments
Are you like me? Do you have Olympic Fever? Not even a rash? Or a cough?
For whatever reason I've been camping out in front of the television at night and watching intently as athletes from all over the world swim like dolphins wearing those nifty swimsuits that look like unitards or something. I think it'd be fun to just own clothing like that-all aerodynamic and shiny.
It'd be more comfortable and moisture absorbent too.
Some pitfalls would of course be the lack of modesty-or where to put your wallet, your keys and your cell phone.
But if I was Michael Phelps I'd wear that suit and my medals everywhere. I can't believe how dominant he is. Performance enhancing drugs? Who knows?
But if he DID wear his unitard suit everywhere instead of an Olympic hero he'd be treated more like Radio from the movie of the same title where Cuba Gooding plays a developmentally disabled dude who loves football-wait isn't that ALL of us football fans? Well maybe just those who root for Philadelphia and Washington.
In Radio Gooding Junior had such memorable lines as "Where my pie?" and "Dere your ball." God it was amazing. How the academy overlooked him I'll never know.
But I still think aerodynamic unitards are the future of clothing-much better than the fifties movies that portrayed all future people wearing that shiny silver lamay material that was also a one piece suit with some boots or something.
The U.S. women's gymnastic team fell short in their quest for the gold-but it was good television.
I couldn't understand the controversy over the age of the Chinese girls competing. Wouldn't being twelve instead of sixteen give the advantage to the older gymnasts? Some of the Chinese girls looked like they were about six years old. Nothing new for gymnasts to look young-but if they were sixteen-then I'm a petite model for aerodynamic swimsuits. Still it looks like the older gymnasts would be at a mental advantage.
Of course if you're not watching the Olympics none of this means anything to you. I then invite you to get a radio, carry it around close to your ear, and ask people "Where my pie?" That would create for you-your own golden moment.
Later,
D
For whatever reason I've been camping out in front of the television at night and watching intently as athletes from all over the world swim like dolphins wearing those nifty swimsuits that look like unitards or something. I think it'd be fun to just own clothing like that-all aerodynamic and shiny.
It'd be more comfortable and moisture absorbent too.
Some pitfalls would of course be the lack of modesty-or where to put your wallet, your keys and your cell phone.
But if I was Michael Phelps I'd wear that suit and my medals everywhere. I can't believe how dominant he is. Performance enhancing drugs? Who knows?
But if he DID wear his unitard suit everywhere instead of an Olympic hero he'd be treated more like Radio from the movie of the same title where Cuba Gooding plays a developmentally disabled dude who loves football-wait isn't that ALL of us football fans? Well maybe just those who root for Philadelphia and Washington.
In Radio Gooding Junior had such memorable lines as "Where my pie?" and "Dere your ball." God it was amazing. How the academy overlooked him I'll never know.
But I still think aerodynamic unitards are the future of clothing-much better than the fifties movies that portrayed all future people wearing that shiny silver lamay material that was also a one piece suit with some boots or something.
The U.S. women's gymnastic team fell short in their quest for the gold-but it was good television.
I couldn't understand the controversy over the age of the Chinese girls competing. Wouldn't being twelve instead of sixteen give the advantage to the older gymnasts? Some of the Chinese girls looked like they were about six years old. Nothing new for gymnasts to look young-but if they were sixteen-then I'm a petite model for aerodynamic swimsuits. Still it looks like the older gymnasts would be at a mental advantage.
Of course if you're not watching the Olympics none of this means anything to you. I then invite you to get a radio, carry it around close to your ear, and ask people "Where my pie?" That would create for you-your own golden moment.
Later,
D
Monday, August 11, 2008
More than you can carry
I chose Veranda font for this post-it always reminds me of the line from The Three Amigos where the Mexican woman says to Chevy Chase's character-"Would you like to kiss me on the veranda?" He says "No...the lips would be fine."
I was thinking about people who try to carry too much at one time and wondering if its something in our DNA. Maybe its something that happens when we become parents I don't know. Seinfeld said we all like to think we're superheros of some sort-that's why we see guys driving down the road in their car carrying a mattress on top of the car and have one arm out the window holding it on the car-as if they could keep the mattress from flying away using one arm.
I think the same is true of parents-we frequently try to carry way more than we can all in the name of not making more than one trip. Intellectually we may realize that one more trip would not actually be that much more effort or that much more inconvenient. But if you're like me I convince myself that I can carry a bag with my things in it, a twelve pack of Diet Dr. Pepper, a stack of books, my calendar, and maybe a couple of protein bars or something. Then I actually have the gall to get angry when I drop something.
Parents I think do this when we have our children-especially when they're infants. We have the stroller all loaded up-the baby is in it-then we have to get all of the things that we carry as parents-the diaper bag, the stuffed toy, the book to read (as if) and maybe an item we're trying to return to the store. More than once I found myself with one or both of our daughters balancing what seemed like ten items or more along with one girl on the hip and one in the stroller-women do this with their eyes closed AND work full time AND balance a checkbook-me? I get sympathy/pity/"what are you a moron?" looks from women who see this clueless dude about to topple over from the weight he's carrying.
So why is it that I insist on attempting to carry more than I am able at one time? No good answer other than wishing I was Superman.
We have to be careful that trying to avoid more trips from the car to the house isn't demonstrated in all the ways in which we live. If we're not careful we can try to take on more than our fair share and this only wears us out in the long run.
So I end by sharing this piece of good news: "No matter what we do think or say-we CAN'T make God love us any more or any less." That's truly Good News.
So lay down your five grocery bags, the mail, a movie rental, your keys, a pair of gym shoes, your overnight bag, and umbrella and rest in the knowledge that we can make more than one trip-and that we don't have to carry it all. God will help us and our brothers and sisters around us will help us. I pray that this gives us strength and encouragement.
Grace,
Dwight
I was thinking about people who try to carry too much at one time and wondering if its something in our DNA. Maybe its something that happens when we become parents I don't know. Seinfeld said we all like to think we're superheros of some sort-that's why we see guys driving down the road in their car carrying a mattress on top of the car and have one arm out the window holding it on the car-as if they could keep the mattress from flying away using one arm.
I think the same is true of parents-we frequently try to carry way more than we can all in the name of not making more than one trip. Intellectually we may realize that one more trip would not actually be that much more effort or that much more inconvenient. But if you're like me I convince myself that I can carry a bag with my things in it, a twelve pack of Diet Dr. Pepper, a stack of books, my calendar, and maybe a couple of protein bars or something. Then I actually have the gall to get angry when I drop something.
Parents I think do this when we have our children-especially when they're infants. We have the stroller all loaded up-the baby is in it-then we have to get all of the things that we carry as parents-the diaper bag, the stuffed toy, the book to read (as if) and maybe an item we're trying to return to the store. More than once I found myself with one or both of our daughters balancing what seemed like ten items or more along with one girl on the hip and one in the stroller-women do this with their eyes closed AND work full time AND balance a checkbook-me? I get sympathy/pity/"what are you a moron?" looks from women who see this clueless dude about to topple over from the weight he's carrying.
So why is it that I insist on attempting to carry more than I am able at one time? No good answer other than wishing I was Superman.
We have to be careful that trying to avoid more trips from the car to the house isn't demonstrated in all the ways in which we live. If we're not careful we can try to take on more than our fair share and this only wears us out in the long run.
So I end by sharing this piece of good news: "No matter what we do think or say-we CAN'T make God love us any more or any less." That's truly Good News.
So lay down your five grocery bags, the mail, a movie rental, your keys, a pair of gym shoes, your overnight bag, and umbrella and rest in the knowledge that we can make more than one trip-and that we don't have to carry it all. God will help us and our brothers and sisters around us will help us. I pray that this gives us strength and encouragement.
Grace,
Dwight
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Laughing in cars
I was just listening to This American Life on NPR today. This week's program was about fear of sleeping-the program listed all of the different difficulties people have while sleeping. Check it out at http://www.thislife.org/
One of my favorite comics (because he's clean, and self-conscious and honest) is Mike Birbiglia. (http://www.birbigs.com/) He sleepwalks and told a story of his having jumped out of a second story window while sleepwalking-he makes it funny-the fact that he survived helps.
It occurred to me as I sat in my car-parked in the lot of a Speedway in Springfield Ohio that I was laughing hysterically at his story. I became self conscious about it. I noticed several people look at me and wondered if they thought I was some sort of madman.
What do you do when you see someone laughing deep belly laughs and nearly crying from laughing so hard when they're in their car? What's the first thought that pops into your mind? Granted it might not happen often-but I've wondered about it before.
Once one of my parishioners told me they were trying to wave at me as I was driving by and they saw me just laughing it up like crazy and asked what was so funny. I couldn't remember. I listen to comics all the time in my car-and to comedy channels on radio.
I've also noticed when people walk by and I'm laughing until it hurts-it makes THEM appear self conscious-so in THAT moment-I'M self conscious about laughing alone in my car, and THEY'RE self conscious because they think I'm laughing at them. Or do they perhaps think I'm about to lose it and go into the gas station and throw candy bars at passers by while I perch myself on the sandwich counter. It's just one of those things that made me think-"I wish it wasn't such a rare sight to see someone laughing out loud for real instead of the ubiquitous text speak we have beaten to death 'lol'."
There's so LITTLE joy in this world-I invite you to join me in seeking out that which is absurd and raucous to bring a grin to our own face, someone we love, or the face of someone we don't even know. Have fun and don't be afraid to laugh. It makes us close to the heart of God in my humble opinion.
Grace,
Dwight
One of my favorite comics (because he's clean, and self-conscious and honest) is Mike Birbiglia. (http://www.birbigs.com/) He sleepwalks and told a story of his having jumped out of a second story window while sleepwalking-he makes it funny-the fact that he survived helps.
It occurred to me as I sat in my car-parked in the lot of a Speedway in Springfield Ohio that I was laughing hysterically at his story. I became self conscious about it. I noticed several people look at me and wondered if they thought I was some sort of madman.
What do you do when you see someone laughing deep belly laughs and nearly crying from laughing so hard when they're in their car? What's the first thought that pops into your mind? Granted it might not happen often-but I've wondered about it before.
Once one of my parishioners told me they were trying to wave at me as I was driving by and they saw me just laughing it up like crazy and asked what was so funny. I couldn't remember. I listen to comics all the time in my car-and to comedy channels on radio.
I've also noticed when people walk by and I'm laughing until it hurts-it makes THEM appear self conscious-so in THAT moment-I'M self conscious about laughing alone in my car, and THEY'RE self conscious because they think I'm laughing at them. Or do they perhaps think I'm about to lose it and go into the gas station and throw candy bars at passers by while I perch myself on the sandwich counter. It's just one of those things that made me think-"I wish it wasn't such a rare sight to see someone laughing out loud for real instead of the ubiquitous text speak we have beaten to death 'lol'."
There's so LITTLE joy in this world-I invite you to join me in seeking out that which is absurd and raucous to bring a grin to our own face, someone we love, or the face of someone we don't even know. Have fun and don't be afraid to laugh. It makes us close to the heart of God in my humble opinion.
Grace,
Dwight
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Warning don't feed the pastor
Pastors are often fat.
That's true of me so I feel entitled to comment on it. I'm not sure that there's an excuse-but certainly the explanation is that we tend to care for everyone else before we do ourselves.
What's funny about that? Well I've come up with some ideas that may help us preachers and Christians do more to make our bodies a temple instead of a literal living (but soon to be dead from obesity) sacrifice unto God. We like to dig our graves with a spoon and fork thank you very much-its so benign and gradual. Plus it tastes good.
I think something helpful would be a treadmill or stationary bike attached to the sound system of the church-the speakers and microphones would not work unless I peddled fast enough.
Walking to visit people in the hospital-God knows the gas prices would make it easier to do this with a good conscience.
How about this one? An elliptical trainer that would run the electricity going to my laptop? Now that's a great idea. If I couldn't get on here to blog-or check my email say 112 times a day-I'd feel like a junkie without a fix. The amount of miles I'd cover to stay connected would be staggering.
Maybe we could have cell phones that run on kinetic energy. The number of minutes I get would be tied to the amount of movement in which I was engaged. For them to work you'd have to be walking, lifting weights, or dancing. I like the dancing idea-doing a swing dance while conversing would make for a good mental focusing exercise as well as physical.
Oh and how about deep knee bends while praying-say the Lord's prayer over and over while standing up and down-until you've said it 100 times.
Here's one to help the whole congregation. Have as much liturgy as possible-and stand up on alternating verses of the call to worship. Also stand up and and sit down on alternating verses of the hymns.
Put in a mill that grinds wheat that has to be pushed manually to make the bread for communion-have communion every Sunday.
Walk to church from home-carrying a backpack full of Bibles so that its a Holy journey.
Literally pick up your cross daily and follow Jesus-make sure your cross weighs no less than 70% of your body weight-and no more than 120% of it. Carry it everywhere-especially in Wal-Mart to impress people with your piety.
Also make sure to walk in place the entire time you do the liturgy for communion-of course one in which you use only whole grain bread that you milled yourself.
Grow, tend, and harvest the grapes for the communion that you have every Sunday.
Finally when you sing the hymn "Guide My Feet While I Run This Race" sprint around the sanctuary through all six verses.
I'm feeling more fit already. My fingers must have burned eleven calories typing this. Now I'm going to have some pie and coffee so I can have energy for the worship service on Sunday. I've got bread and juice to make.
Grace,
Dwight
That's true of me so I feel entitled to comment on it. I'm not sure that there's an excuse-but certainly the explanation is that we tend to care for everyone else before we do ourselves.
What's funny about that? Well I've come up with some ideas that may help us preachers and Christians do more to make our bodies a temple instead of a literal living (but soon to be dead from obesity) sacrifice unto God. We like to dig our graves with a spoon and fork thank you very much-its so benign and gradual. Plus it tastes good.
I think something helpful would be a treadmill or stationary bike attached to the sound system of the church-the speakers and microphones would not work unless I peddled fast enough.
Walking to visit people in the hospital-God knows the gas prices would make it easier to do this with a good conscience.
How about this one? An elliptical trainer that would run the electricity going to my laptop? Now that's a great idea. If I couldn't get on here to blog-or check my email say 112 times a day-I'd feel like a junkie without a fix. The amount of miles I'd cover to stay connected would be staggering.
Maybe we could have cell phones that run on kinetic energy. The number of minutes I get would be tied to the amount of movement in which I was engaged. For them to work you'd have to be walking, lifting weights, or dancing. I like the dancing idea-doing a swing dance while conversing would make for a good mental focusing exercise as well as physical.
Oh and how about deep knee bends while praying-say the Lord's prayer over and over while standing up and down-until you've said it 100 times.
Here's one to help the whole congregation. Have as much liturgy as possible-and stand up on alternating verses of the call to worship. Also stand up and and sit down on alternating verses of the hymns.
Put in a mill that grinds wheat that has to be pushed manually to make the bread for communion-have communion every Sunday.
Walk to church from home-carrying a backpack full of Bibles so that its a Holy journey.
Literally pick up your cross daily and follow Jesus-make sure your cross weighs no less than 70% of your body weight-and no more than 120% of it. Carry it everywhere-especially in Wal-Mart to impress people with your piety.
Also make sure to walk in place the entire time you do the liturgy for communion-of course one in which you use only whole grain bread that you milled yourself.
Grow, tend, and harvest the grapes for the communion that you have every Sunday.
Finally when you sing the hymn "Guide My Feet While I Run This Race" sprint around the sanctuary through all six verses.
I'm feeling more fit already. My fingers must have burned eleven calories typing this. Now I'm going to have some pie and coffee so I can have energy for the worship service on Sunday. I've got bread and juice to make.
Grace,
Dwight
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Synonyms
While on a youth trip three weeks ago I was able to play a word game with the youth that was an ongoing process of coming up with words that were synonyms for energetic frivolity.
Here's the short list of those that we came up with-please add your own if you care to in the comments.
Here's the short list of those that we came up with-please add your own if you care to in the comments.
- Hijinx
- Rabble rousing
- Carousing
- Hullaballoo
- Nonsense
- Ruckus
- Commotion
- Rigamarole
- Lasciviousness and my favorite...
- Shenanigans.
Its good to think of silly sounding words that make us smile-what are some that strike you funny?
For instance the word chicken? Very funny. the word duck...not really funny. You don't hear one of the oldest jokes in the book "Why did the Duck cross the road?" If you add a modifier to the word duck-one that isn't a natural fit-then it becomes funny-as in Venomous Duck.
Chicken though-just say the word three times really fast-or ten times really fast-I dare you not to at least smile.
Grace,
MM
Beginning to laugh
Proverbs tells the reader that "Laughter heals the bones". I believe that-I believe laughter heals a lot of things. I've got a story I'll have to look up and link to of a man who had cancer who went and rented all the Laurel and Hardy Videos and Three Stooges he could find along with the Marx Brothers etc. He was determined not only to remain joyful during his illness but also to try to get well. The story may be an urban legend-but as it ends he is healed from what was supposed to have killed him.
While I don't anticipate a faith healing ministry via this blog and the inevitably upsetting sarcasm, goofiness and absurdity it will contain-I trust that when you read it you will find fodder for your funny bones.
For me while the source of what makes me laugh is often far from holy or righteous-the result of laughter to me is close to the very heart of God-to have joy expressed in bodily form holds great value for me-and I consider it a ministry as well as an outlet for creativity. I hope too that it will be a source of joy for you to read.
While I am far from a Samuel Clemens-aka Mark Twain I ascribe to a straight shooting irreverent style of rhetoric and ridicule-I bet you're already impressed by my use of alliteration twice in only four paragraphs aren't you? Probably not.
I'm a clergy person who is 37 years old and who's been a pastor for ten years in the parish setting. My humor is sometimes obtuse, sometimes offensive, and always seeking to make you respond whether in a positive or a negative way. My faith is grounded in Christ-but often my topic of ridicule is the Christian faith and the ways in which not only I, but all of us fail to live up to our calling to love one another.
If you don't find anything to laugh about here-I want to encourage you to find something in your life that makes you laugh until your belly hurts, you cry, or your face hurts from so much smiling and guffawing.
Here's to loads of fun with one another.
Grace and peace to you and yours,
Pastor Dwight
While I don't anticipate a faith healing ministry via this blog and the inevitably upsetting sarcasm, goofiness and absurdity it will contain-I trust that when you read it you will find fodder for your funny bones.
For me while the source of what makes me laugh is often far from holy or righteous-the result of laughter to me is close to the very heart of God-to have joy expressed in bodily form holds great value for me-and I consider it a ministry as well as an outlet for creativity. I hope too that it will be a source of joy for you to read.
While I am far from a Samuel Clemens-aka Mark Twain I ascribe to a straight shooting irreverent style of rhetoric and ridicule-I bet you're already impressed by my use of alliteration twice in only four paragraphs aren't you? Probably not.
I'm a clergy person who is 37 years old and who's been a pastor for ten years in the parish setting. My humor is sometimes obtuse, sometimes offensive, and always seeking to make you respond whether in a positive or a negative way. My faith is grounded in Christ-but often my topic of ridicule is the Christian faith and the ways in which not only I, but all of us fail to live up to our calling to love one another.
If you don't find anything to laugh about here-I want to encourage you to find something in your life that makes you laugh until your belly hurts, you cry, or your face hurts from so much smiling and guffawing.
Here's to loads of fun with one another.
Grace and peace to you and yours,
Pastor Dwight
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