Happy Birthday to YOU~!

I hope you are ready for a readers quiz because this week I’ve got test time on my typing finger tips. The test question is: What song is the most sung song in America? Depending on which reading arena you find yourself in, you will have a different song for each of the segments. Rock n’ Roll maybe Elvis or Michael Jackson, for Easy Listening, James Taylor would be an artist with plenty to choose from. In the church arena I am thinking Amazing Grace will be the number one song selected there, but I believe the answer to the question of #1 song sung in America-----Happy Birthday!
There is not a single day that this song is not sung in multiple languages including signing and the words of the song are sent “as singing” in text messages, and emails thousands of times everyday. If I asked the church arena why Amazing Grace is so special you are going to hear all kinds of different answers, but what’s the deal with the Happy Birthday song? Some maybe thinking there is nothing special about it other then it’s the day you were born and we sing the song because it is the National Anthem of Birthdays. Now I’ve not conducted any special research into how the song even came about but besides a tune that sings well for even those that cannot sing we all smile when we do it. There is something about that song but what is it?
When we are at a local restaurant that sings and claps we always watch or look over, why? Is it to watch someone be embarrassed, well that could be but I doubt that is the real reason. A birthday is not about anybody else, except you, which makes it special. One could ask why at birthday parties we don’t tell the birthday celebrant their parents did a great job? Why?...because we don’t honor the person whose birthday we celebrate where there were born, not to whom they were born, or even who was there when they were born. We don’t even thank the doctor or hospitals were the miracle of birth occurred…hum…why not? It does seem appropriate but it is not our standard or practice to do that, our standard is ice cream, cake and the singing of America’s favorite song.
As a Christian I think that singing Happy Birthday is or could be a very spiritual moment actually. With explanation and emphasis a birthday celebration could be some kind of way to honor the hand-i-work of God. Consider first that we should mention your earthly parents because the Bible says that Children are a “Blessing of the Lord”, doesn’t say anything about born inside or outside of marriage, just a “Blessing” directly from the Lord, now that is something! Consider the fact that each person that celebrates a birthday was created in the image of God. Now that could be scary for some based upon looks, but nevertheless, being created in the image of the one that created all things, that is something! Consider that each birthday celebration is honoring an individual that has also been uniquely gifted with talents given by God. Consider that the person celebrating a birthday was so loved by God that He died for them long before they even arrived just because He loved them!
There is a lot to consider when singing a simple song like Happy Birthday. Personally I am not sure what your selection is about the #1 song sung in America, but I certainly do hope that the next time you sing Happy Birthday, you will at least remember this column and the thoughts to consider about how special it really is to have a birthday!

Until then

Just a lttle Jesus is a great start

In good law enforcement fashion, stating the facts as they are and evaluating the scene and evidence gathered are always good things when attempting to come to a conclusion or a position. Discovery is a nice legal word that an attorney may use when preparing a case and he wants to talk about a time period that is important in reviewing information. Our lives as humans could certainly use some old fashion law enforcement techniques from time to time. Building a strong foundation of character is not easy. I enjoy the television insurance commercial where you walking into that special room, just name your coverage and it happens, all you’ve got to do is say yes! Wouldn’t that be great if in building our own lives with character we could do something like that? No one would mind if the world watched either.
I doubt seriously if most folks think about law enforcement and the image of lights and the sound of sirens blaring doesn’t come to thought. I’m not sure why, but flashing lights is fun, unless they are in your rear view mirror. In thinking about our individual lives sometimes we need an emergency situation to cause our attention to focus or to bring us to a slower speed or even a stop on the road of life. When I think about such moments in my life the first thought is that flashing lights is not always a bad thing. It could be flashing lights on a sign that are there to simply provide warning of a possible condition or even danger that exists. It is the sound of that yelp or wale that really catches our attention, but if the siren passes us by we naturally express a sigh of relief thinking of guilty and then relief that it’s not us being pulled over, then your mind flashes wondering what’s happened, is there an accident ahead, what’s the emergency.
Facts can be difficult because of required explanation. Gathering evidence can be time consuming and exhausting. Not exactly the things we want to hear but certainly conditions that are true. If we embrace them as parts of the process the system may not take as long to deliver an answer as the wait seems or appears. I believe it is in the discovery that you and I learn to shine or we just continue to polish away. Wouldn’t it be easy if we could reach the perfection of life we desired and that became the facts that remained forever? It would be great to have one big battle knowing that at the end all things were final, but life and our character isn’t that easy. Yes, life is a battle, we have challenges that may cause you to shout Hallelujah or it’s possible that you might just feel like cussing up a storm! Again, I wish I could write a couple simple steps to many things in life with us building our personal foundations of character being easily solved by those steps, but that’s not that case.
Many will never travel a journey to see what can be discovered through a journey of faith because they think all the facts have already been gathered. Sometimes we are quick judges and have settled all things in our mind, thus another possibilities or opportunities are closed by the negative trait or condition of narrow minded behavior. Isn’t it amazing how we could claim to be so open yet so shut off to thoughts? We love flashing lights of color like a disco but we want to be in control of the switch that turns them on and off.
Life is never easy. Mistakes in the average life will be many and the one trait that will set the difference and the distance between all these written discussion will be our response to the final facts. Can we be startled and over react to things, yes, and it’s just as easy to ignore or act like you don’t really hear or see things too. The key to life is exposure and I would recommend a little bit of Jesus to get you started.
Until then

Hymn #150 please

Watching and scanning through my local cable providers available channels I am amazed by all the game shows that are currently running. “Back in the day”, game shows were always seen during the daytime, except of course for Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune. I am amazed at all the different types of game shows and I confess the host of evening shows to watch is quite entertaining and I find myself upset when the Master of Ceremonies, or whatever title it is they hold to, announces we will see what happens “when we return”. Ok laughter is a good part of entertainment and suspense works too. Thinking about all these shows has my mind thinking about all the things I remember that have made a difference.
In 1981 I became a big fan of the television series Hill Street Blues. Thursday nights at 10:00pm you could set your clock on me being in front of the television watching the greatest police series ever produced. Just imagine watching a series today that doesn’t have a city you can identify? The greatness of Hill Street Blues was that watching the show you thought you knew the city and you were sure you understood the characters portrayed and that’s why folks loved the series including me. If someone wants to make my Christmas I would love the DVD series, lol!
The memories of shows and people are all the things that provide richness to our character. It takes time to officially grasp and understand the impact of television shows we watched as children and teens but given the opportunity of time all things will show themselves. Religious program was not always a part of weekly television and just as I can recall my Thursday evening show of preference, there is no doubt that Sunday mornings the Mull Singing Convention with Lady Mull and her man were a must for viewing and anyone witness them through black and white television, has equally a memory of their sponsor Cas Walker.
With the flashing of my memory bank regarding television shows, I had just such a moment in church that activated itself because of a positive and real impact upon my life while growing up. When I was a child attending my junior days at the First Baptist Church Pineville the location for Christian education occurred on the third floor of their educational building. The memory flash was the little blue Junior Hymnal that we used to sing hymns during our open assembly before dividing up into various age group classes. The hymn was # 150 and the song was My Jesus I Love Thee. When the Music Minister announced that he wanted us to sing a love song I wasn’t sure what song it would be, but as the words appeared on the projector screens in our sanctuary I thought immediately, this is a great love song and I know the page number even if we don’t use hymnals anymore.
There are many changes in life and there are many moments that create thoughts for each of to reflect upon. I will be praying that this week you will have a moment like I’ve experienced that will create a heart overflowing experience filled with love too.

Until then

History--ours to write today

In the mountains of Kentucky we love history. We love the heritage of the land in which we call home. The communities that were once filled with homes and families we respect as places were our forefathers lived, and raised their families. We look upon our community churches as strong holds of faith that represent the sincere efforts of our families search for inner meaning and even our personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Kentucky State history is about our independence as a Commonwealth and about our continued work to be neutral and get along in harmony. Let us not forget our State Motto, “United We Stand, Divided We Fall”. The work of our pioneer families, the vision of those early settlers who established mills for grain and stores for trading all serve as the foundation for out towns and even our way of life. The rich history of our families we share in the stories we tell as the pride factors of the distance we’ve traveled and the destination we seek in our future sight.
There are many elements and factors that are involved in our make character and development but three that must not be over looked. No matter the successes we have experienced or the achievements we post as evidence of our advancement we each remain created in the image of All-might God. With positive strokes in life’s steps it is easier to admit this Biblical statement as fact, but when the character witness by others is not so bright in light, nor positive with respect to influence and impact, it is then very easy to not recall the Creator in whose image we represent. No doubt finding the light in darkness can be a struggle and the journey of that search a stumbling experience over all kinds of things that in given light would be easy to walk around. Watching people who do good toward others and witness folks who serve and give it is easy to see the beauty of God, but watch those who take, use and never offer the slightest thanks or appreciation, we categorize those very quickly and have no problem distancing ourselves from their association or even acknowledgement of “once a friend”.
The rich history of who we are should be stamped throughout with the words and actions of faith. The history of who you are is now your responsibility as a family members walking where your family once stood and moved. Even if you moved into this area once as a stranger, welcome now as a new pioneer sharing your traditions that can enrich our own history with new values and appreciation because of where you’ve come from and the stories of your family and the road they have traveled.
Along this journey we have the opportunity to cling to outside sources of strength called faith and hope. These two traits will add much to the history of our traditions and the value of our lives to others we may never even meet. The one resource we have that provides us with a complete new chance for experiences, foundation reinforcement, and courage for new steps is a thing called love. Love can certainly be independence and branch out extending in all directions in addition to being neutral, listening, caring, and waiting for you to move first because it is the proper step.
A history has been written already by those before us, but a history remains to be written by those of us who remain.

Until then