HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME AND RIP PIMP C

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been complaining about my birthday. Four days after Christmas, December 29th is quite possibly the worst time ever to be born. The only time worse would perhaps be, I don’t know, December 28, 27, 26 or the worst of all, December 25th! Can you imagine the conversation? I’ve recently learned that I have the same birthday as John Voight, Mary Tyler Moore, and Jude Law. Oh that’s nice…I share my birthday with Jesus Christ! You people with July birthdays have no idea what I’m talking about, but anyone blessed to have been born between say, December 23rd through December 30th know exactly what I mean when I say, “here’s your Christmas, and um birthday present.”

Sad as my birthday may sound, during my e-search of famous people that share my birthday, I found one whose birthday is even sadder still. I dedicate the remainder of this blog entry to Pimp C. You see today, December 29, 2007, Port Arthur, Texas native, Pimp C would have been 34 years old. Instead, on December 4, 2007, just 25 days shy of his birthday, Pimp C was found dead in his hotel room on the Sunset Strip in California. I admit that I’d never even heard of Pimp C before his untimely death, but I’m not completely ignorant to the hip hop genre. I can crank dat Solja Boy with the best of ‘em.

So what is my point…I have no idea, but I did find some interesting information that came out of the Pimp C funeral. The service in Port Arthur, Texas was led by Reverend John R. Adolph who began with a prayer: “The Bible says, ‘The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want.’ The trumpets shall sound and the dead in Christ will rise. Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord.” Instead of Pimp C songs, hymns were played between eulogies and prayers. Pimp’s mother, Mamma Wes, said that her son had researched the word pimp and found that the meaning had changed over the years. She said of him, “It once meant the nice dressed man who dealt with the girl in the corner. He discovered that pimpin’ now deals with all us from the ghetto who is trying to get out.”

Reverend Adolph asked everyone to gather around Pimp’s casket. The Reverend told the crowd that Pimp joined his church on November 18, and he didn’t even make it to December 18. He bowed his head and said, “Lord, it may be hard out there for a pimp, but there is hope in here for those who believe.”

Wait, I do have a point! I’m not positive, but judging from post funeral interviews with the ‘rap royalty’ in attendance, I believe that Brother Adolph must have then led the crowd in a prayer of salvation. James Prince, CEO of Rap-A-Lot Records agreed with Adolph, saying “It’s hard out here for a pimp, but I have hope in Jesus Christ. So I got hope today.” If James Prince heard it, so did Chamillionaire, Bun B, Trae, Mike Jones, Willie D, and Slim Thug.

The Apostle Paul said in Colossians 1:23, “If you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I have become a servant. Chad “Pimp C” Butler did not die in vain. More than 2,000 people heard the Gospel message as a result of his death.

Happy birthday Pimp C, and rest in peace. I hope I see you when I get to heaven.
Some quotes taken from article “Friends, family and fans come out to honor Pimp C” by: Joey Guerra and Eyder Peralta on www. Chron.com

Greatest Find of The Year

Attention people of the northern hemisphere! I’m going to need everyone’s help in order to get the word out about the latest discovery I happened upon…Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha.
It’s the most incredible thing I’ve ever tasted. I know what you’re thinking. I want a delicious Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha. Where can I get myself a delectable white chocolaty indulgence? This is the great part; you can get your very own Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha from a place called Starbucks®. And they’re everywhere! Having been a lifelong Diet Coke® drinker, I’d never even been in a Starbucks® before. I don’t know how I’ve lived this long without it. I want to tell the world about this virtual treasure trove of caffeinated goodness I’ve stumbled across.

Seriously, Starbucks® does make a great cup of joe, but I’m kidding about wanting to tell the whole world about it. I used this illustration to make a point of how excited we can become over the least little mundane thing that we find to be good or new or exciting. I admit it; I’m as bad as the next person when it comes to jumping on the ol’ bandwagon. After all, I have been back to Starbucks® more than once since my first visit. I have to ask myself though, when is the last time that I’ve been this excited telling people about my Lord and Savior? I wonder what it would have been like on that holy night so long ago if the very first witnesses were as lackadaisical as we are today. And yet I wonder…doo, doo, doo…doo, doo, doo…doo, doo, doo. (Flashback music)

“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.’ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.’ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.’ So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him…they went into town to spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child. As they traveled through the town they noticed that one from their own tribe had recently opened Achmed’s New Wine and Sheep Wash. Suddenly they forgot all about spreading the good news of the newborn king, and decided to stop in for a spot of new wine and to run the sheep through the wash before the upcoming Passover.

Fortunately for us, the shepherds took a pass on stopping at Achmed’s and instead did what God called them to do. Perhaps we should take a queue from the shepherds and remember the very last thing Jesus told us to do in Matthew 28, on his parting over 2,000 years ago…"go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

As for me, I’m going to go see if there is anyone at Starbucks® that I can share the Good News with. While I’m there I’m going to see if they can make a Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha…FRAPPUCINO!

THE STAR by Annette O'Hare

Beautiful Bethlehem star so bright,
Your radiance to celebrate this one holy night.

To announce the birth of the newborn King,
Let heaven, nature and all creation sing.

Your brilliant beams of heavenly light,
Lead wise men through the dark desert night.

To the place where God’s perfect love,
Descended from heaven above.

You shine on the One God gave us,
You shine on Him who will save us.

One bright star, one holy night,
One Savior born to make the whole world right.

Beautiful Bethlehem star so bright,
Shine your joy 'round the world on this one holy night.

Thanksgiving 2007

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good. His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of gods. His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords: His love endures forever. Psalm 136:1-3

It was a sad kind of strange Thanksgiving for our family. We had to spend it without my father, Teddy. No, he’s not dead! He is in Hell however…Minnesota! No offense Minnesotans, it’s just that being anywhere that ain’t Texas, and not even having your family to console you is Hell indeed. It depressed us so, that my mom and I couldn’t even bring ourselves to cook a Thanksgiving meal. Well, maybe we’re kind of lazy too. Nevertheless, we loaded up the troops and headed for Black Eyed Pea. I have to admit it was quite good too!
Teddy called during our meal with a humorous story. He and his partner Jim, having vowed to not shave or cut hair until the dreaded Minnesota job is finished, went out on a quest to find a free meal at one of the local homeless missions since they looked the part of men needing a helping hand. He was joking. We all got a good laugh out of it.

He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy.
Job 8:21

Thank You God for laughter. Thank You God for allowing me to grow up in a family that always laughed, even when all we had to laugh at was each other. Thank You God for blessing me with a husband and children that make me laugh daily. Thank You God for friends that I can laugh with. Thank You God that I have a Savior who gives me the ability to laugh in the face of adversity. Thank You God for Jesus!

Bowel Wars

“Jedi Master Skywalker, this is Rebel Base, we have just received a communiqué from the Supreme Ewok Ruler that Imperial forces have set up an enemy fortress on their home planet of Endor.”
“Roger that, Rebel Base. Gold Leader, Red Leader, chart a course for Endor. We’re going in. Vader and his men won’t be taking control of that planet today. Not as long as I’m in charge.”
“Master Skywalker, this is Gold Leader, I have a visual lock on the Imperial stronghold, awaiting orders to blast.”
“Red Leader here, I’m locked on target and prepared to blast on command.”
“Gold Leader, Red Leader; fire at will, fire at will! May the force be with you.”
“Master Skywalker, Rebel Base here. We are receiving distress signals from Rebels stationed on the planet of Endor. Cease fire! I repeat, cease firing!”
“Skywalker to Base, what’s going on here?”
“Rebel Base here, it appears that we have been seriously deceived! That communiqué did not in fact come from the Ewoks it came from the Empire itself! We have mistakenly killed hundreds of Rebel troops with…friendly fire!”
“NOOOOOOOOO!”
This is a layman’s illustration of what it’s like to have Crohns Disease. The planet of Endor represents more than a foot of my small bowel. Skywalker and his forces represent my overactive immune system that innocently, and yet callously attacks my Endor, er I mean ileum, er I mean small bowel. You see, my immune system views my small bowel as an enemy that needs to be taken out. And apparently I have a pretty darn good immune system because it’s doing quite a number on my bowel. At this point in time, my Endor is suffering severe casualties, and there’s nothing left for it to do, but evacuate. I spend countless hours in the evacuation chamber hoping that I remembered to purchase the extra soft variety of T.P. and not the extra strong variety.
It pains me to think that one part of my being would cruelly attack another part of my being. I don’t know what might happen if I failed to take my medications to suppress my immune system. It may very well try to take over the world! But that’s how it is when we willfully allow sin in our lives. It’s like giving Satan an open invitation to set up housekeeping in your soul. Only he’s not a good houseguest. He won’t be making brownies for you. He’ll set up traps for you to fall into…traps that you can’t get out of on your own.
So don’t give Satan any opportunity to create a foothold in your life. Fill your soul with Jesus, and he will keep your “Rebel Base” safe from all harm. In the mean time I’ll go take more meds to suppress this “Imperialistic” immune system of mine. I wouldn’t want to put an end to the world as we know it!

Strike While The Iron Is Hot

YOUTH DRAMA, if ever two words belonged together, these are the two words. No one group of individuals has more drama in their lives than today’s youth. Every Sunday evening I meet with a group of youth for the purpose of edifying the Father through the art of dramatic interpretation in church. In other words, we kick it old school style for God on the small stage. (You’ve got to stay up on the language if you’re going to hang with the young people.) Why youth, why drama? It’s a secret, so don’t tell them, but when they memorize the skits, they’re actually hiding Biblical truths and sometimes actual scripture in their hearts, and they don’t even realize it! This is how it happens…5:00 rolls around; I’m sitting at the back of a large classroom when the students begin to wander in from youth choir. Some of the kids are still immersed in worship, performing their own brand of uber-exaggerated solos to the songs they just went over in choir. I offer congrats to the two girls that performed the salt and light skit for the youth group that morning. It went off without a hitch. One box of table salt…68 cents, flashlight $3.00…hiding the Word of God in the hearts of two teenagers and them being able to share it with about 40 more of their peers…priceless. By the end of the evening we’ve, for the most part, learned the Roman’s Road plan of salvation, (a valuable tool for any college bound individual) and an entire chapter of Psalms set to percussion accompaniment. Why youth drama? The answer is simple…”Teach me your ways, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name,” Psalm 86:11. We must strike while the iron is hot. We must cast our lines while the fish are biting. We must reach our youth for Christ before the world reaches them first.

Please Pass The Salt

I just finished writing a Christian sketch over Matthew 5:13-16. I call it "Please Pass The Salt". The skit begins with a girl pouring a box of salt onto a plate of food. Her friend comes in and warns her of the dangers of using too much salt on her food. The girl promptly informs her friend that she read in the Bible that "we are the salt of the earth, but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be made salty? It's good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men." The friend goes on to tell her that Jesus wants Christians to influence society just like salt influences food. But sometimes I find myself acting like the girl in the skit. I feel like I'm losing my saltiness, I should be thrown out and trampled underfoot. How did I get this way? I'm a Christian, I'm not supposed to lose my saltiness. But then I have to ask myself, what am I doing to impact others for Christ, and I have to admit; sometimes it's not very much. So what can we do, obviously eating a box of salt won't help. Then God revealed this verse to me, "You know the message God sent, tell the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all." Acts 10:36. This is the answer, GO, TELL, GOOD NEWS, PEACE, JESUS CHRIST! It's all in there! The skit ends with the girl abandoning her plate of salt and reaching for a flashlight. Her friend questions her about the flashlight and she goes on to tell her that she obviously never read Matthew 5:14-16 where Jesus says we are the light of the world. What about you. Do you need to have the salt passed your way?