High Church

Yesterday, Campus combined the two 8:30 services. In essence we had a contemporary service without the praise team. Very casual, relaxed, non-threatening, all the things churches of Christ are trying to be today.

Last night we attended a Christmas Eve service with the Collins family at their Presbyterian church. When we arrived, the auditorium was lit only by candles. Soon the organist started playing a half hour or so of classical music. Then the lights came up and the liturgist read a piece to set the tone for the service. That was followed by a processional. Everyone in the processional was wearing robes or suit & tie. The service included lovely music, responsive prayers, a short message, and communion. Everyone did their part right on cue and it went without a hitch.

As I left, I felt very satisfied. Slowly I came to the realization that what I had just witnessed left me thinking upward. And what we had done that morning left me feeling rather hollow.

So what is the point of worship? It's not entertainment. It's not emotion. It's a statement that God is God, The Creator, The Savior, omnipresent, omnipotent, and omnicient. God is not casual and relaxed. And I don't believe we should be casual and relaxed about Him. Worship should leave us more aware of how high, how great, how powerful He is, and how magnificient that He should care about us enough to die for us. Worship should leave us thinking upward. If we are thinking upward, the outward will automatically follow.

Yes, we want people to be comfortable in worship regardless of where they are in their spiritual walk, but if we give the impression that they are already ok they have no reason to look higher.

I'm not saying we need organs and robes and dramatics. I'm saying we need to take God seriously and acknowledge that we are struggling to be what we ought to be. We ought to be offering our best to God and praying for His mercy. I'm afraid instead we've decided that we are ok as is because God's grace will take care of us. We've lost the reason for worship.

I am a high church person. And I miss it.

Rat Babies

Ok. When I remember this much detail from a dream I need to record it.

I'm in the hospital having a baby. I'm ok with it and John's happy about it. At this hospital everyone is having babies and they are all rat babies, but that's the way it's supposed to be and we expect the rat babies to grow up to become people.

My rat baby is a little boy, about the size of my hand. He's gray with black and red markings (a Georgia rat baby) that make a kind of V down his back. And he's really fluffy. The young girl next to me had an all gray rat baby that was about the size of Lucy, but he's a short hair and not at all fluffy so I prefer mine.

After we've all had our rat babies we have a class on how to take care of them. John and I are kind of bored and would rather play with the rat baby, but the girl next to me is taking in every word. I finally tell the instructor that I've already raised two kids and I think I can handle a rat baby and if he gets bored I'll have my granddaughter come down to play with him.

It's been about 6 hours since I gave birth so it's time for me to be discharged. To get out of the hospital you have to meander through the attached furniture and linens store and we meet lots of people we know who are shopping there, but I'm really starting to hurt and just want to go home. Then I spot the perfect towels for our newly redecorated bathroom so I stop to check them out.

Then the alarm went off and I woke up.

And yes, I dream in color.

Resolution Musings

In order to stick with a resolution, I have to ponder it for while before it takes affect. Here is my preliminary list for 2007.

1. Pray more. Not just the haphazard kind I do now, but add some organized, dedicated prayer time.
2. Start at least a weekly devotional / personal Bible study time.
3. Get back on track with NutriSystem (I've been sliding the last couple of weeks).
4. Increase my exercise time. Just recently I've started walking from the office to the bus stop two or three afternoons a week. I want to work up to doing it every afternoon and then start walking from the bus stop to the office in the mornings. (I have two reasons for this. Firstly, I need the exercise. Secondly, I'm annoyed with MARTA and I want to take them out of the picture for my daily commute.)

There it is. My list of resolutions for 2007 (subject to change).

CHRISTMAS CAROLS FOR THE DISTURBED

1. Schizophrenia --- Do You Hear What I Hear?

2. Multiple Personality Disorder --- We Three Kings Disoriented Are

3. Dementia --- I Think I'll be Home for Christmas

4. Narcissistic --- Hark the Herald Angels Sing About Me

5. Manic --- Deck the Halls and Walls and House and Lawn and Streets and Stores and Office and Town and Cars and Buses and Trucks and Trees and.....

6. Paranoid --- Santa Claus is Coming to Town to Get Me

7. Borderline Personality Disorder --- Thoughts of Roasting on an Open Fire

8. Personality Disorder --- You Better Watch Out, I'm Gonna Cry, I'm Gonna Pout, Maybe I'll Tell You Why

9. Attention Deficit Disorder --- Silent night, Holy oooh look at the kitty - can I have a chocolate - why is France so far away?

10. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder --- Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle,Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells...

A Different Christmas Poem

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.
The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know,
Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.

A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.
"What are you doing?" I asked without fear,
"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"

For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts..
To the window that danced with a warm fire's light
Then he sighed and he said "Its really all right,
I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night."
It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.
No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at 'Pearl on a day in December,"
Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers.
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of 'Nam',
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.
I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.

Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag
The red, white, and blue... an American flag.
"I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.
I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother
Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall."

"So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."
"But isn't there something I can do? At the least,
Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son."
Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
"Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us."

1972 Greatest Hits

Ok, MKC, here's mine.
The ones I like.
The ones I don't like. (blogspot doesn't do strikeout)
The ones I don't remember.
The ones I don't care one way or the other.


1. Rock and Roll part II - Gary Glitter
2. American Pie - Don McLean
3. Lean On Me - Bill Withers
4. Rock and Roll - Led Zeppelin
5. I'll Take You There - Staple Singers
6. Precious and Few - Climax
7. Coconut - Nilsson
8. Let's Stay Together - Al Green
9. School's Out - Alice Cooper
10. Me and Mrs. Jones - Billy Paul
11. Layla - Derek and the Dominoes
12. Goodbye To Love - Carpenters
13. Burning Love - Elvis Presley
14. The Candy Man - Sammy Davis, Jr.
15. Operator - Jim Croce
16. Horse With No Name - America
17. Nights In White Satin - Moody Blues
18. Anticipation - Carly Simon
19. Saturday In The Park - Chicago
20. Get on the Good Foot - James Brown
21. Summer Breeze - Seals and Crofts
22. Rockin' Robin - Michael Jackson
23. Listen To The Music - Doobie Brothers
24. Take It Easy - Eagles
25. Brandy - Looking Glass
26. Diamonds Are Forever - Shirley Bassey
27. My Ding-A-Ling - Chuck Berry
28. I'll Be Around - Spinners
29. The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face - Roberta Flack
30. Morning Has Broken - Cat Stevens
31. Everybody Plays The Fool - The Main Ingredient
32. Popcorn - Hot Butter
33. Alone Again (Naturally) - Gilbert O'Sullivan
34. Iron Man - Black Sabbath
35. Jackie Wilson Said - Van Morrison
36. Tupelo Honey - Van Morrison
37. If You Don't Know Me By Now - Harold Melvin and the Bluenotes
38. You Wear It Well - Rod Stewart
39. I Am Woman - Helen Reddy
40. I Can See Clearly Now - Johnny Nash
41. Papa Was A Rolling Stone - Temptations
42. Changes - David Bowie
43. From The Beginning - Emerson, Lake and Palmer
44. Immigration Man - Graham Nash & David Crosby
45. Tiny Dancer - Elton John
46. Melissa - Allman Brothers Band
47. Honky Cat - Elton John
48. Black Dog - Led Zeppelin
49. Heart Of Gold - Neil Young
50. Taxi - Harry Chapin
51. Feeling Alright - Joe Cocker
52. Down On Me - Janis Joplin
53. You Don't Mess Around With Jim - Jim Croce
54. City Of New Orleans - Arlo Guthrie
55. Long Cool Woman (In A Black Dress) - Hollies
56. Roundabout - Yes
57. Bang A Gong (Get It On) - T. Rex
58. Hold Your Head Up - Argent
59. America - Yes
60. Starman - David Bowie
61. Black and White - Three Dog Night
62. Rock Me On The Water - Jackson Browne
63. Looking For A Love - J. Geils Band
64. The Jean Genie - David Bowie
65. It Never Rains in Southern California - Albert Hammond
66. Easy Livin - Uriah Heap
67. Rocket Man - Elton John
68. Handbags and Gladrags - Rod Stewart
69. Little Bitty Pretty One - Jackson Five
70. Hot 'N' Nasty - Humble Pie
71. All The Young Dudes - Mott The Hoople
72. I Saw The Light - Todd Rundgren
73. I Just Want To make Love To You - Foghat
74. Witchy Woman - Eagles
75. Freddie's Dead (Theme from Superfly) - Curtis Mayfield
76. Rock and Roll Stew - Traffic
77. Delta Dawn - Tanya Tucker
78. America - Simon and Garfunkle
79. I Don't Need No Doctor - New Riders Of The Purple Sage
80. Ben - Michael Jackson

Now the disclaimer: it's been a looooong time since I turned 18. I've slept since then.