The 2010 Year-Ender

DEC 26 2010 - Jan 1 2011 — THE 2010 YEAR-ENDER — ISSUE 186

In five days 2011 begins. That means you have less than 120 hours to accomplish all those goals you set for yourself back at the end of 2009. Or I guess you could leave the country so no one can hold you accountable for not accomplishing them. Either way your week is looking mighty busy, so you should probably get cracking.

As usual, at the end of this issue are the Top 10 Middle names of the year. No Peeking! It took me a while to knock down 51 to 10, so if you're gonna' peek, at least scroll slowly and make a fake drum roll while you do it.

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace."- Solomon

Sometimes I think we don't get much out of life because we don't take moments as they come, but instead focus on those to come. I can't enjoy a meal if I'm only focused on the dishes I'll be doing later. I can't enjoy my time with a person if I'm thinking about what I have to do to be ready for work tomorrow. I can't embrace my time with God if I'm dwelling on everything I have to do before company comes over later.

Rather than letting yourself get caught up in all the schedule-obsessed, deadline restricted calender making for the year to come as we set new goals (or reset old ones), take a different approach. Pray and focus on daily activities, that you'll recognize opportunities as they come, so you'll use time appropriately and reduce that burden we feel when we look past what we're doing right then and become defeated by all the things still in waiting.

Find satisfaction in your current tasks. Make small goals that will add up to your larger plans, but not leave you feeling overwhelmed individually. Enjoy life. Enjoy each moment. Enjoy time as it comes.

Brett "I'm not even gonna' try on this middle name since it can't make it in the Top 10 anyway" Hibbler

THE TOP 10 "MIDDLE NAMES" OF 2010:

10 Brett "Miracle Gro + Me = a free trip to the hospital for poison treatment" Hibbler
9 Brett "When sin says 'Merry Christmas' to me, I say 'Bah, humbug!' to it, wrap my man-shawl tighter, slam the door, and then stomp upstairs to have some crazy, time-traveling, ghost-filled dreams" Hibbler
8 Brett "If I put on my schedule to do something spontaneous, is it still spontaneous?" Hibbler
7 Brett "The last time I tried to dance, someone threw me a life preserver thinking I was drowning on dry land" Hibbler
6 Brett "If spellchecker has dropped the word you're using out of its nearly unlimited index of words because it's so old, it's time to let it go" Hibbler
5 Brett "If only a mother's kiss could give me a goatee like Robert Downey Jr.'s in Iron Man ll" Hibbler
4 Brett "You call it Day Light Savings, I call it a super power" Hibbler
3 Brett "I'm writing a self help book: How To Be Short In A Tall Man's World'" Hibbler
2 Brett "If I were a chocolate bunny, I'd probably nibble off my own ears" Hibbler
1 Brett "Your ego thinks my ego is magnificent and mine agrees" Hibbler

Be A Scrooge

DEC 19 - DEC 25 2010 — BE A SCROOGE — ISSUE 185

Tis the season for the return of some familiar holiday characters. Santa (obviously) and his army of elves and reindeer, the Grinch and those energetic Whos, Frosty and his hat, Charlie Brown and gang, and good 'ol Ebeneezer Scrooge. Of all the characters that come out during Christmas, there's one I feel we can really embrace and even emulate with our own lives. And as much fun as it would be to wear giant black hats and pretend to be melting in public places, or to wrap ourselves in a green carpet and steal small children's toys, the character I'm talking about is Ebeneezer himself.

Scrooge, as we all know, was a rich miser who had no heart, even refusing to help poor Tiny Tim who would soon die if Scrooge didn't intervene. Not exactly the kind of guy you want to emulate. That is, until now. Before I explain, let's change topics for a moment, and then tie it all together like some perfectly constructed sugar-cookie knot that's both edible and functional.

JOHN 12:3-6

Interesting story, right? Mary uses a perfume worth a year's wages (let that sink in a moment) on Jesus' feet, and Judas offers a very, very legitimate counter argument. A year's wages could definitely have been used more effectively from a logic standpoint, and her actions hardly seem like those fitting of a good steward, something we're told to be as Christians. As scripture indicated here and elsewhere, though, Judas' real beef wasn't that he wanted to help the poor, but instead himself. He just covered his heart with a noble, even righteous, argument.

When sin comes, it often appears in all sorts of ways; it begs us, teases us, makes promises to us, entices us, lies to us, challenges our pride, dares us, and sometimes it even appeals to us in the form of righteousness; like an orphan on the street wanting our help and one which appears innocent, but upon closer inspection is just a front for a con. It's this form of sin that can be the hardest to identify at times, and the one that tripped up the Jewish leaders of Christ's era. So much of their sin was covered under the guise of righteousness, but remained sin because of their true hearts, not their actions.

Judas said the right thing in that situation, acting on behalf of a very noble, Christ-like cause, yet he was simply justifying and covering up his twisted, selfish intentions. Don't we do this at times? Don't we try to justify an action, a statement, a thought, an impulse, by using a logic-based, noble-intentioned cover story? Don't we also justify not doing something radical for God by other seemingly-noble reasons? "If I stay up late or get up early for God, I'll be short on sleep which means I'll be less coherent and functional at work, which isn't being a good example to my coworkers of a Christian work-ethic. If I drive to that event, it'll cost me gas, and I'd be better using those funds to pay down that debt I have." That list goes on for miles.

Wasn't this woman wasting money?! Blowing it?! Absolutely. Yet Jesus was honored by this act and defended her, even saying that wherever the Gospel is preached, her story will be told, something we've all witnessed to be true.

Maybe we need to get out of that box of rules that so often defines our walks and realize sincerity is far more important to God than blind obedience. Sometimes we need to be honest with ourselves, and own up to our true hearts instead of pretending to be righteous. Sometimes we need to do radical things for God, where our motive is purely to give Him honor and glory, where He'll be honored even if it's a bit "reckless" from a "being responsible" standpoint. Won't the fire and excitement from that truth, that sincerity, that radical thing carry us through the next day? Won't it override any amount of sacrifice we make? Won't the feeling of being alive in our faith fill us up, much like Christ felt when He fed on spiritual food over actual food? (John 4)

When sin comes begging at that door, acting all pure and innocent and in need, seeking to cover your bad heart with a veil of righteousness, be a Scrooge! Bah humbug that orphan back to the gutter. Be stingy. Be angry. Be the big fat meany you've all wanted to be at times when something or someone is frustrating you. Unleash it all on that sin.

This holiday season, bah humbug your way into Heaven.

Brett "When sin says 'Merry Christmas' to me, I say 'Bah, humbug!' to it, wrap my man-shawl tighter, slam the door, and then stomp upstairs to have some crazy, time-traveling, ghost-filled dreams" Hibbler

That Sinking Feeling...

DEC 12 - DEC 18 2010 — THAT SINKING FEELING... — ISSUE 184
Guest Author Randall Laraway

As I stated not-so-long ago — which, as fast as times moves anymore, could have been three years, two weeks, and four days ago and it would still seem as fresh as our first look in the mirror after having our braces removed where we saw our teeth for the first time in years only to realize they're ginormous and thus never smiling again for fear of being called "Buck Tooth" by all of our oh-so-forgiving teenage classmates (Or was that just me?) — I'll be slipping in some guest authors here and there to keep the 'C fresh. I apparently will also be slipping in my old habit of writing an entire paragraph in the form of one long run-on sentence.

But back to the point. This week's guest author is a man you'll count yourself lucky to meet if you haven't already made his acquaintance, a Mr. Randall Laraway from the Cleveland Church. His story of God's hand in his life is one that will move your heart, and his life and demeanor since then breeds inspiration. He too sends out a weekly letter, and I really wanted to share this one with you. Enjoy.

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"SHREVEPORT, La. — Christopher Patlan was hanging out with friends on the Red River when he heard the desperate screams coming from seven teenagers.  One minute they were wading in shallow water, the next they plunged into a drop-off 25 feet deep."

"Patlan bolted the 10 yards to the river and jumped in, saving 15-year-old DeKendrix Warner.  By the time he had dragged the boy to safety, the six others from two families — all non-swimmers — had drowned.  Family members, who also can't swim, watched helplessly."  Unquote...

What do you do when your children are literally drowning right before your eyes?  The screams, the frantic running back and forth, the tears of total brokenness, helplessness, their hearts crying out for someone to HELP---unable to help their OWN children who only minutes before were playing, and enjoying a nice day with parents & friends at a cook out on the edge of a river.

OH, that DANGEROUS river!!!  The current was swift, the sandy shore was soft and loose...UNSTABLE.  IF ONLY THEY'D HEEDED THE OBVIOUS ? ! ? !   Is this not how the river of life in the world takes us by surprise?   That river of "life" we think is so cool and "right."   But SUDDENLY, that river of life becomes the sinister river of death that will steal our very soul---suck us DOWN into the depths of everlasting hell!!!

Not a pleasant thought you say?  Rather shocking?  But it actually did happen to real families.  So do matters of the heart become treacherous if we---as God's family---persist in our sin and give in to temptations.  As God's children HE IS DOING EVERYTHING TO GET OUR ATTENTION!!!  Like Sonny said this evening, God even gave HIS ONLY SON to buy us back out of the hands of Satan---yes, even from out of the consequences of our own sins!   HOW can I get away from any temptation coming at me?   Then cry out,... "O Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me, the worst of sinners!"   So, dear brother, can you swim?  Have you or are you teaching your children to swim.....that is, swim in the Godly ways of Jesus and the Bible?  OR what kind of example do you display to your kids?   Plus, let's be sure to stay away from those things that allure us away from God and into darkness and uncertainty.

It was encouraging to sing that closing song: "Love Lifted Me."  I was sinking deep in sin, Far from the peaceful shore, Very deeply stained within, Sinking to rise no more; But the Master of the sea Heard my despairing cry, From the waters lifted me, NOW---safe, am I.   L-o-v-e lifted me, YES, love lifted me...when NOTHING else would help.....LOVE lifted me.

With sincere love and respect, ybiC, Randall

The Wonderful World Of Now

DEC 5 - DEC 11 2010 — THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF NOW — ISSUE 183

At the risk of sacrificing every last ounce of my manhood, can I just say how much I wish life was like a Disney Cartoon? Think about it. At any given moment you could bust into a random song which perfectly articulates everything you're feeling in a such an emotional and melodic way, that every person in your town will join in, creating a rambunctious song and dance sure to make it's way straight to the top of the soundtrack charts, and at just the right moment, the dream of your life will break into a duet with you, even though neither of you have ever heard the song before and couldn't possibly know what words or notes come next. Plus, you'd get a super cool animal companion that always cheers you up and somehow communicates well enough with humans to scrounge up your friends when you've fallen in trouble. In fact, about the only downer to being in a Disney film is that you'd have some crazy aunt or uncle or step mom that wants to make your life miserable until ultimately deciding one day to just bump you off. A bummer for sure, but eventually you'll defeat them thanks to the help of your fairy-god-whatever, so it's all good because that's exactly what "Happily Ever After" means; at the end of all those struggles and trials, all ends well for the rest of your life. (Or until a rash of non-hits by the studio forces them to make a sequel and thus add drama to your life one more time.)

Though it would be an interesting social experiment to see how many people would join you in a spontaneous song and dance in the middle of the mall, for those of us not blessed with a Disney voice, that's not a real viable option. The optimism, genuine nature, kindness, and dedication always carried by the lead characters, who often find themselves in very unenviable positions (picked on, disrespected, treated lowly, given all the worst chores, locked up, and denied even some of the most basic privileges), and even loyalty to those who are causing their woes, is one to be admired and is far more obtainable. And though that joy seems almost unreal in light of where they're at, it's not if you realize that it stems from one very simple thing, a dream. They always have an unquenchable hope of one day attaining some bigger purpose, of living a life where they've left their current trials behind and are living happily ever after.

As Christians, we're past the part of our troubled pasts; we buried that part of our life in the waters of baptism. Our dreams of living Happily Ever After have begun, having been given the gift eternal life with only the housing part of that promise still to come. Yes, our "crazy uncle", played so demonically by Satan, still envies our position and wants to get his kicks in where he can. Unfortunately for him, the part of the movie where the hero, epically filled by Jesus, seems to have been defeated, only be raised from the dead, slay the villain, and conquer death and sin once and for all, ushering in new life and eternal promises, has already happened. And with the help of our "magic ferry-whatever", which the Holy Spirit wonderfully fills, we can continue to live in service of the Great King, our Awesome God, in the epilogue of the film.

The climax is over. Satan has lost. Our woes of being trapped by an unappreciative and suppressive world are through. So sing those songs because you're not just dreaming the dream, you're living a part of it. I guess life's more like a Disney cartoon than I thought.

2 CORINTHIANS 4:16-18

Brett "Now that I'm grown I eat 5 dozen eggs, and I'm roughly the size of a baaaarrge!" Hibbler