Things have a way of resolving themselves

One of the best friends I ever had - or expect to have - died early last Sunday morning.  He had not been sick for a long time - but long enough that his death was no surprise.  And still a shock.

One of the penalties of getting older (and there are several - though offset, I hope, by other benefits) is that people that you have known for a long time will pass away.  When my uncle died this past August, I realized that part of what I was losing with his death - apart from a loving uncle that would do ANYTHING for me - was one of the few people remaining on the planet who knew me before I knew myself.

With Len's death this week, I've lost another person in my life that I could count on - whatever the circumstance.  I've lost a man old enough to be my father - who treated me like a brother.  I will miss his wit, his eloquence, his precision, his warmth - his voice.

I will miss helping him get into the church on Sunday morning.  I will miss checking on him when a worship service ends.  His death is not real to me yet.  I  don't know when that moment will come.  Maybe it won't come all at once.  Maybe it will take a long time.  But - as Len often said to me - "These things have a way of resolving themselves."  Whenever I hear those words in my mind, it will be Len's voice that I hear.

I take comfort in memories of my friend.  Len was a man who knew that it took more effort and preparation to speak with brevity - and when he said "I will be brief," it was a promise you could count on.  I remember singing beside him for so many years - and with Gene Thompson and the late Phil Haddrill.  I learned how to sing beside these great men.  And I remember how Len would let his mischievous side show - making a comment in a stage whisper during rehearsal - perhaps one of the other sections stumbled or sang off-key - and when asked to repeat the comment, Len would cough and say "I was just clearing my throat".

Beyond my memories, the Lord has comforted me with these thoughts:  Knowing that Len and Maggie have been reunited after so long apart; That the pain and fear which Len experienced during his time in the hospital are over; That my good friend has now been able to hear his Lord speak to him those words that I still hope to hear someday - "Well done, my good and faithful servant".

I only hope that I can live out the remainder of my days in a way that would make Len proud.  And I hope that everyone who knew Len will find comfort in memories of him - having faith that the same God who allowed Len to be a part of their lives has not abandoned them in this time of sorrow.  Let us live as people who have hope of reunion with our father, brother and friend.

Take care.

My Favorite Carol

When I was growing up, there was one Christmas album that was a favorite of the entire family: "Tennessee" Ernie Ford's The Star Carol. The production may seem a bit overblown to twenty-first century ears - a full orchestra, large choir and the rich tone of Ford's powerful bass voice - but you can hear the vastness of the soundstage where the music was performed and the thrill of live performance in the recording studio (no overdubs here, baby!).

The record (which is no longer in print as a compact disc - but available for purchase as a download) features three carols composed by Alfred S. Burt and Wilha Hutson. Burt was a little-known jazz musician (and Michgan native, I will note proudly) who died in 1954 at the age of 33; Hutson was the organist at the Burt family's church. My favorite of these has always been Some Children See Him, a carol which speaks of Christ's appeal to people everywhere - and how love can transcend all the things that separate people. [Sure, that's just my interpretation - but I'll stand by it.]

I have combined my love for the song with a long-standing desire to diagram the lyrics of a song (ever since Capt. Dumbass posted this). I have included a couple of snippets from the song in my audio post - so be sure to have a listen. I hope you enjoy it.


[Click on the picture to enlarge.]

Happy Boxing Day!

Take care.

That's why I love mankind (revisited)*

[REMINDER: You must get over to He Read/She Read immediately - to see the special Halloween Horror post by Captain Dumbass and the Middle-Aged Woman.]

Yesterday Kat (from 3 Bedroom Bungalow to Let in Crazytown - which is just a kick-@$$ name for I blog, I might add) left a cool comment about my RTT post, that said:

I think God should send everyone a letter that says.

Dear (insert name here),

I love you, even when you screw up.

-God

I like Kat's idea - but after thinking about it for awhile, I remembered...

God did send a letter like that - it just got hidden in the WRONG VERSION of the Bible.

As I remember it, the letter read something like this...

I do love you - even when you screw up.
You can see that it's true - because when the time came for someone to be punished for the things you messed up, I came myself -
and let a part of me be sacrificed on your behalf.
And not just you - for everyone who ever screwed up.
So if I loved you that much, shouldn't you try to love each other?
Remember: I loved you before you loved me.

[If you object to my free translation/interpretation of Romans 5:8, I John 4:10-11 & I John 4:19, send me an email and I will gladly discuss it further.]

Take care.

Now get over to He Read/She Read! Quickly!!
I hear that the Middle-Aged Woman is even giving away a prize to some lucky winner at Unmitigated.
Why are you even still here reading?!?!


*I was going to say "Apologies to Randy Newman" - but I ain't apologizing. (I love Randy BTW - but not that song particularly.)

RTT: ...all sorts of ideas about religion and pinup girls

- Saturday night, my lovely wife (the Middle-Aged Woman) and I, The Girl and her Fi-ance, and The Boy, went out to the International House of Pancakes for Ms. Partly Cloudy's 20th Birthday dinner. (Hey, I'm not cheap! IHOP was her choice.) In the midst of our dinner conversation, it was revealed that, as a child, the Fi-ance had mistaken some of the lyrics to the old children's song, Kookaburra - and granted Christ-figure status to the bird. See for yourself:

Kookaburra sits on the old gum tree
Merry merry king of the bush is he
Laugh Kookaburra, laugh Kookaburra
Gave your life for me

It took a long time for the MAW to stop giggling about that one. I, for one, respect a young man who's willing to make this sort of (hilarious) admission in front of his likely future parents-in-law.

- My uncle and I got on the road early Sunday morning and drove 200 miles to visit my Grandma (his mother) for the day. While we were there, the extremely nice neighbor-lady that looks after my Grandma gave me this:

That's right, folks! At the age of 98, my grandmother has become...A PINUP GIRL.

And if the pinup weren't enough, she has also brazenly appeared in a brochure promoting charitable giving for the United Way.


During our visit, I was able to convince the Pinup Girl to go out for lunch (quite an unexpected development - my Grandma has been extremely reticent about eating in public since she had a stroke several years ago) - and it was no surprise that the restaurant quickly filled up with other patrons. The casual observer might have thought it was just the usual influx of business after Sunday church services. But I know better. Though the hordes were clearly being attracted like moths to the Pinup Girl's flame, thankfully, they were all well-mannered enough not to bother her with autograph requests during our meal.

- Yesterday, the MAW posted about some people of an unusually zealous religious persuasion* who apparently burn different translations of the Bible which they believe do not represent the true Word of God. The MAW referred to these as "the WRONG VERSIONS of the bible." I found this "wrong versions" idea so striking, that I began to imagine God herself doing a commercial for "the RIGHT VERSION" of the Bible...

Hi, I'm God.

You know - Jehovah, I-Am-Who-Am. Allah, The Creator, The Big Guy Upstairs...

Well, whatever name you call me, I've got the whole world in my hands. And let me tell you - sometimes I look down at what I've got in my hands and it can be mighty disappointing. People say I don't exist -or that, even if I do, I don't care about what's going on down there. But the truth is: it's not easy to watch the stuff you created get trashed every day. Or hear people misquoting, misinterpreting or downright lying about you. And sometimes the biggest lies come from the ones who make the grandest claims to be representing your interests!

But I've come up with something I hope will clear up all the confusion.

I call it: God's RIGHT VERSION of the Bible. Some of you who are big fans of your current version of the Bible may be a little disappointed in the brevity of this new version - and I admit, it does leave out a lot of the beauty and majesty of the original. But what it lacks in pomp and pageantry, I think it makes up for in clarity and readability.

For those of you who'd like to sneak a peek at the new and improved
God's RIGHT VERSION of the Bible, you should check out any of the following passages in your current Bible:
Matthew 22:37-40; Mark 12:29-31; Luke 10:27; or John 13:34.

So look for God's RIGHT VERSION - and accept no substitutes.
Remember: I've got my eye on you.

- DON'T FORGET: Captain Dumbass and the Middle-Aged Woman review Pride and Prejudice and Zombies at He Read/She Read tomorrow. So get in the Halloween spirit and go there without fail. If you don't...well, have you ever seen the damage a p*ssed-off zombie can do?

Take care.


PS: Did I mention that you are supposed to visit Keely at the Un-Mom immediately.



If not sooner.


*I try to avoid referring to people with whom I disagree as crazy-@$$ MoFos - no matter how crazy they seem to be

Good / God: Jim Styro's Meaning of Life, Part Twelve

Ten years ago today...

I've been using a Franklin Planner since 1991, so certain parts of my life are extremely well-documented. On the page for June 17, 1999, under the heading "Jim Styro's Philosophy, Part I"* is found this entry (modified only slightly for this world premiere):

One person is not inherently better than another.
A person can only better him/herself by desiring to -
and doing - good.
A person cannot credibly declare their own goodness.
It must be demonstrated - and/or established through the testimony of others.

The big lie is not that God exists.
It is that we can become perfect without God through technology - through our own power, ingenuity or insight.
We reject the idea of perfection through goodness because it is
so simple to understand and so hard to achieve.

Hey - that's not bad...for a youngster

PS: Saw the following on a poster at Garden City Hospital near my house -

Perfection is our goal
Excellence will be tolerated

It has stuck with me ever since. That's the sort of attitude I want when life and death may be on the line.

Take care.


* My delusions of grandeur are not a recent development...

Our Bible verse for today

1 John 4:10, 19-21:

This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

Let us love [one another], then, because he first loved us.

If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.

And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.
=======================================================

Apologies if you're not into the whole God thing. But John's stuff works as wonderful prose poetry too - if that helps.

It's all I got. But it's quite a lot actually.

Take care.

"What is this thing called Love"*: Jim Styro's Meaning Of Life, Part Five

Twenty-five years ago (I don't feel really old until I say or write stuff like that)...
Twenty-five years ago, Don Henley sang:

Love's a little word that's been kicked around
Used too much, beaten down
What in the world are you thinking of?

I couldn't have said it better myself - so I didn't bother to try.

I been using that word - Love - quite a bit in recent posts; but I haven't been very specific about what I think the word means - other than to say that I think one of the important qualities of a person who loves is that they are more concerned with the happiness and well-being of others than themselves. But there's more to it than that.

Want to find out if you're a loving person? Then take...(drum roll please)

Jim Styro's Love Quiz

1. Are you patient? [Score no points for "No", 1 point for "Sometimes", 2 points for "Usually"]

2. Are you kind? [No=0, Sometimes=1, Usually=2]

3. Are you jealous? [Yes=0, Sometimes=1, Never=2]

4. Are you conceited? [Yes=0, Sometimes=1, Never=2]

5. Are you rude? [Yes=0, Sometimes=1, Never=2]

6. Do you seek your own advantage? [Yes=0, Sometimes=1, Never=2]

7. Do you take offense easily/frequently? [Yes=0, Sometimes=1, No=2]

8. Do you store up grievances / have a long memory of wrongs done to you?
[Yes=0, Sometimes=1, No=2]

9. Do you do things you know are wrong easily/frequently? [Yes=0, Sometimes=1, No=2]

10. Do you hide the truth from people? [Yes=0, Sometimes=1, No=2]

11. Will you overlook the shortcomings of others (Do you "cut them some slack")?
[No=0, Sometimes=1, Usually=2]

12. Are you trusting? [No=0, Sometimes=1, Usually=2]

13. Are you hopeful? [No=0, Sometimes=1, Usually=2]

14. Are you a "fair weather friend" - unable to endure difficulties when they arise?
[Yes=0, Sometimes=1, No=2]

Total up your points for all fourteen questions - and locate yourself on the rating scale below.

22 - 28 points = You're a Lover - not a fighter

15 - 21 points = You are well on the way to the Love Shack

8 - 14 points = You need to get on the Love Train and turn things around

0 - 7 points = I'm going to steer clear until you start behaving

OK - Cosmopolitan magazine probably won't hire me on the strength of this effort (especially since I completely ripped off Paul's Letter to the Corinthians** to make the quiz). But you get the idea.

Let's review:
If happiness is important, and
Most of us like having other people around, but
Having other people around can make being happy really complicated, then
Love may be what holds the whole thing together.

The results of this quiz should be pretty interesting. I'll show you mine, if you'll show me yours.


Take care.

* Title courtesy of the late, great Cole Porter
** I wonder if I can be consigned to eternal damnation for that? C'mon, you knew there was something familiar about the quiz, didn't you. Heck, most of the married persons reading this probably had the thirteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians read at their wedding. Didn't think that would come back to haunt you, eh?

Easter Sunday (or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Resurrection)

[ALERT: This post will make overt references to religious/spiritual subject matter. If that is of no interest or will offend you, hit the Back button on your browser while you still can. If I haven't scared you off yet, let me just say: This post is not an attempt to save your soul.]

I know why religious people get such a bad rep - we earn it.

If you're not into the whole God thing - and looking at people who are - it's got to seem pretty messed up at times. It seems that way to us (the God Squad) too sometimes. I think being a person of good conscience who tries to live by some sort of moral / ethical code is just difficult - period. And having two billion people* around the world who may believe (vaguely) the same things as you doesn't make it any easier. Those other one billion, nine hundred and ninety-nine million, nine hundred and ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine people aren't around when I have to face myself in the mirror each morning. And they're not going to be around when I take my last breath either. I like Sting's line from All This Time:

Men go crazy in congregations - They only get better one by one**

I don't expect that any of this is much consolation to a person that doesn't believe - and feels themselves bombarded by the ideas and opinions of those other two billion people. What's worse is when some segment of that large group feels they can look down upon the people who don't share their particular belief - seemingly unaware that, by thinking so highly of themselves and passing judgement on the others, they have abandoned the essence of what they say they believe in.

In defense of those believers who strive to be more thoughtful, I will only repeat that - having faith is not easy. And there's no Cliff Notes version of the Bible available to help out either. (Although I have done some studying on world religions, I don't consider myself all that knowledgeable - so I'll try to speak about what I know.) The Bible and Christian theology contain plenty of (seemingly) contradictory ideas. Before I close, I'll offer just one example.

Compare this:

Luke 9:23-24

Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it."

With this:

Matthew 11:28-30

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

I don't know about you - but based on those two passages, I don't find it easy to figure out whether this whole Christianity thing is supposed to be difficult or no sweat. So it doesn't surprise me that some believers can't figure out whether they're supposed to be hard-*sses - or begin passing out flowers and tie-dye shirts on street corners. I figure the percentage of stupid and/or lazy people is proportionally the same amongst those professing to be Christian as any other segment of the population. So I'm not shocked that there are people who, in their "easy faith", conduct themselves in a manner which does not reflect the spirit of the one they call Savior and Lord.

Maybe this last bit will clarify the whole thing. Although there are contradictions, Jesus always seems to speak quite clearly in addressing the subject of self-righteousness; like in Luke 6:42, a particular favorite of mine:

How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,' when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

It's a full-time job just trying to keep my own eyes clear. I figure if my brother asks for a hand getting something out of his eye, I want to be ready.

Take care.
And for those of you so inclined - Happy Easter.


* I don't see how anybody can know a precise figure for the number of Christians on the planet - but that's one I've seen at various places on the Internet that appeared reputable.
**Congregations have their place IMO - but the "getting better" part is definitely a singular affair.

Last supper

[ALERT: This post will make overt references to religious/spiritual subject matter. If that is of no interest or will offend you, hit the Back button on your browser while you still can. If I haven't scared you off yet, let me offer a few words of reassurance: Don't worry - I'm not going to go all born-again Bob Dylan on you.]

Well, aside from having a runny nose for the past few days, the week has gone - if not according to plan - at least, pretty much as expected. I went straight from work to the Maundy Thursday communion service tonight. It's a more intimate worship service than most. We sit at tables, sing bits of hymns a capella, and have a meal commemorating the Last Supper - not just bread (or wafers) and grape juice, like usual. There are raw vegetables (celery, carrots, sliced radish), fruit (grapes, dates, a strawberry), some parsley, a wheat cracker or bit of pita bread - foods to offer a range of tastes and textures: from sweet to bitter, soft to crunchy. The idea is to eat everything on your plate (I always do) - and I had a lot of parsley this year.

In an earlier post, I pled guilty to not only participating in - but being enriched by - the competitive speech program at my high school. That, combined with my being an active member of my church since a young age (my mom was an inspiration in this area), gave me a unique appreciation for scripture as literature. I often considered fashioning a dramatic reading or a poetry script from the Bible. Reading scripture aloud is a great pleasure for me; and when I read it, I try tell it as a story, to adopt the persona of the characters in the narrative or the persons speaking. People have often told me that hearing the stories and the words of the Bible presented in that way help them to hear and (perhaps) understand it in a new way.

Anyway, I hope you will forgive me if I read a few lines from the United Methodist liturgy that are running through my mind tonight.

On the night in which he gave himself up for us
he took bread, gave thanks,
broke the bread
gave it to his disciples and said:
"Take, eat; this is
my body which is given for you.
Do this in remembrance of me."

When the supper was over, he took the cup,
gave thanks, gave it to his disciples
and said:
"Drink from this, all of you;
this is my blood of the new
covenant,
poured out for you and for many
for the forgiveness of sins.
Do this, as often as you drink it,
in remembrance of me."

Thank you for your kind indulgence. Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and - for those of you so inclined - a Happy Easter.

Take care.