Cotton Candy Of Carnivals And Christians
From my earliest years, I longed to try the candy treat sold as cotton candy. Oh, how it fascinated me. Teased by it’s pastel pink color (usually pink, but there were other colors), lured by it’s airiness and enthralled with wonder at how quickly a mass of it could be assembled on a cardboard tube, I longed for one as only a child can. And, if my mother had not bought one in her own childhood, she might have bought one for me. Mama, too, had strongly desired the sweet treat, right up until her first mouthful. "I was so disappointed when I tasted it," she oft recalled, "It was like tasting air. As soon as it was in my mouth it disappeared." And, Mama was like a protective mother hen, who didn’t want to expose any of her brood to the same disappointments she had faced. "You don’t want any of that stuff. Why, it’s nasty. You can just look at the hands preparing it and tell it’s not something clean to put in your mouth," she would chide, most probably, in order to reinforce her assessment of the taste of cotton candy. One couldn’t buy cotton candy just anyplace, and in my childhood, it was not found anywhere except at a carnival. As I grew older, I was lucky if I got money from my parents to get through the gate at a carnival and almost never received any extra spending money for rides, games, or food. I made it to adulthood without ever tasting cotton candy, while I've tasted the cotton candy that can be purchased in a plastic bag on a grocer's shelf, I've never bought any at a fair or carnival. When I finally did get my first taste of cotton candy, it was much as Mama described. There wasn't much flavor, and it melted as soon as it hit my mouth. In other words, it wasn't very satisfying. I figured I could buy a lot of Snickers bars with what it would take to buy my fill of cotton candy. For the past couple of years, I've been reminded of the qualities of cotton candy, in, of all places, my home church, which is but a reflection of what's happening in churches all across this land we call the good old USA. As I see it, folks far and wide are turning down Snickers for cotton candy, and it's gonna take a lot of cotton candy to make anyone feel as energized as from one Snickers. The apostle Paul (Hebrews 5:12-14) used a similar illustration with respect to sharing the Gospel. He referred to certain believers in Christ as babes drinking milk as opposed to the ability of a mature Christian to digest stronger elements of the Christian pilgrimage, which he described in the analogy as meat. Most recently, I was reminded of the tragedy that's engulfing Christian ministers and congregations alike, through the words of Nancy Leigh DeMoss, whose radio ministry is Revive Our Hearts. In her broadcast of Monday, May 21, 2007 she stated: "Since Revive Our Hearts radio started several years ago, there have been some major seismic shifts in the Christian media industry, also in the Christian publishing ministry and in our churches." "So today when it comes to publishing books or broadcasting programs or doing the kinds of things we do in our ministry, there has been a real shift in the fact that people are not so eager to hear the hard truths. There’s this sense of 'feed me what I want to hear. Give me what will make me feel good rather than what I need to hear.'" "It’s been challenging for ministries like ours because, for example, there are radio stations that do not want to air the kinds of things we’re teaching. Now, I’m not saying that because a station doesn’t carry Revive Our Hearts that that’s the reason. But it’s been a very difficult time for teaching ministries. People say, "We want more music. We don’t want to hear so much of the teaching." And in some cases that’s made it difficult for our ministry to know what to do." "As we were facing some of these challenges, I came across 2 Timothy chapter 4, the first paragraph beginning in verse 1 where Paul tells Timothy what you do in such times. He says, "I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions " (2 Timothy 4:1–3). "It sounds so like today. I remember coming across that passage while we were wrestling with some of these issues in our own ministry and thinking, 'Can ministries like ours even survive in the current climate?'" "And God just used this passage to infuse conviction and faith into my heart and say, "Okay, this is the world we live in. The apostle Paul told us thousands of years ago this would happen. This is no surprise." This is part of what God has promised would be the case. What we’re seeing happening today in our culture, our Christian culture, is not catching God off guard. So don’t be surprised…" I was somewhat astonished in realizing I had not considered that the trends happening in churches are also affecting the Christian broadcast industry. More and more folks want to hear self-affirming messages and feel-good music and less "hard truths" of the Gospel and music that challenges ones comfort level. Persons such as Nancy Leigh DeMoss, who strive to lead their listeners to a greater understanding of Biblical truths and a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ struggle with "seismic shifts," just like many of us. A "cotton candy" Gospel will appeal to a great many people, especially persons classified as unchurched and to Christians who prefer sermons that make them feel good rather that what they need to hear. Similarly, a "cotton candy" music ministry will appeal to persons who sway to the beat of the popular music of our times. However, even large doses of either are not very filling in a spiritual sense. Perhaps the best advice for those of us who find ourselves conflicted with the religious trends of the day is to heed the words of the apostle Paul, as shared recently by Nancy Leigh DeMoss, "So what do you do? Keep doing whatever God has called you to do. Endure suffering. Fulfill your ministry. Be faithful all the way to the finish line. Stay the course." With my luck, I'll finish the race but instead of the laurel wreath, a wreath of roses, or a crown, I'll be handed a cone of cotton candy.
Lock Box Key Lost And Found The nice lady with the Social Security System, whom I spoke to on the phone, explained that for my appointment, I would need to bring an identification card and a certified copy of my birth certificate. I recently learned that I must sign up for Medicare at age sixty-five, whether I need it or not, or face a stiff penalty for enrolling late. "Does a driver's license qualify as an identification card?" I asked. "Yes," she replied. I was asked if I would be applying for Social Security benefits, too. I explained that I would not be applying for SS benefits at the present time. Anyway, I cannot draw full benefits until I reach the golden age of sixty-five years and ten months. While I could begin drawing benefits at any time, I'm only allowed to earn something on the order of twenty-two thousand dollars per year if I choose early benefits. However, if I choose to work beyond the age of 65 years 10 months, there is no limitation on earnings. It's complicated, but then that's government bureaucracy. After supplying my zip code, the lady informed me there were a couple of openings later in the week at their Tupelo office. And, as soon as we ended our conversation, I phoned Barbara to tell her my appointment time and explained the need for my birth certificate. "Your birth certificate is in our safety deposit box at First National," she stated, affirming what I already knew. "I'm not sure where our key is." There's no telling how poor I would be today, if I had actually wagered the millions of dollars I might have bet on something being where I was sure it would be. "It's in the rolltop desk in the guest bedroom," I confidently exclaimed. "Inside the drawer in the middle of the desk." "I'm at home for lunch, so I'll go look for it," she stated. Barbara called back, later, to tell me she couldn't find the key. "Everything's jumbled up inside the drawer," she shared, a bit exasperated. "I'll look through it when I get home from work today." I really don't think we have any junk drawers that aren't jumbled. The contents of any drawer without dividers will get jumbled over time. However, the key wasn't inside the desk drawer, and both of us went though it. After dinner that evening we looked in other drawers throughout our bedrooms, even in the computer room. At some point Barbara remembered using the key to our safety deposit box when she needed to file a claim on my cancer policy. I asked Barbara what she did with her key to the safety deposit box, because the bank had given us two keys at the time we rented the box. Though the bank confirmed we were given two keys, she doesn’t remember getting one, though it's likely stashed somewhere in this house. "They said if we couldn't find one of our keys, they'd have to get a locksmith to drill out the lock, and it'll cost us two hundred and fifty dollars," Barbara shared. I figured it would cost a lot less to request another birth certificate and have it sent over night than paying the locksmith's fee. Anyway, I believed we would find the missing key in a few days. However, at bedtime, I wasn't so sure we would. The next morning, right after breakfast, I decided to check a cabinet in the kitchen that's sort of a catchall cabinet. Barbara had shifted around some of the items the night before, but she's not tall enough to see very well into the cabinet. The second item I picked up was a plastic bag of loose Altoids breath mints. A familiar looking red pouch was behind the Altoids. "What have we here?" I silently mused, opening the pouch to be sure the missing key was inside. I called to Barbara, who was in the living room and met her half-way. "Look what I found," I exclaimed, holding out the red pouch. "Thank goodness," she cried, "Where did you find it? I was about to make myself sick with worry." I told her which cabinet it was in, and I thought she was going to cry. "I started looking there last night, but I couldn't see inside it without standing on something, so I went on to look somewhere else." "It's okay, dear, the important thing is we found it," I shared sympathetically. Barbara is confident she put it in the kitchen cabinet after last using the key, but she doesn't know why she did not return it to the roll top desk. For the moment, we've agreed to leave it in the cabinet, as now we both know where one key is.
Leslie Basham We Go Way Back We go way back, Leslie and I, all the way back to the early nineties in Greenville, MS. She did TV commercials for Pat Peck Honda that aired most of the nights Barbara and I spent in Greenville, while keeping a home here in Pontotoc for our weekend use. She went missing on my radar for a few years, but I later saw her cheerful smile on a billboard in Arkansas, again advertising for an automobile dealership. Someone read an article on my website about Leslie and emailed me she was on Memphis stations in ads for Landers Ford, and that's the last word I had on her whereabouts, until recently. While, I've listened to a number of Nancy Leigh DeMoss broadcasts through the years, I only recently checked out her website. A transcript of each broadcast is included as well as a recording that can be played on one's computer of that particular program. It turns out the voice that introduces Nancy to her listeners each day and explains various offers at the end of each broadcast is none other than Leslie Basham. There are no pictures that I could find of Leslie on ReviveOurHearts.com to support my contention this is the Leslie I remember from the Pat Peck Honda years, but then I'm convinced the voice I'm hearing belongs to the face I remember.
Bodock Beau Atheists Holiday Though the following is likely an elaboration of an old atheist joke and not a real court case, it is nonetheless amusing. Thanks to Carl Wayne Hardeman for sending it our way.
In Florida, an atheist became incensed over the preparation of Easter and
Passover holidays. He decided to contact his lawyer about the discrimination
inflicted on atheists by the constant celebrations afforded to Christians
and Jews with all their holidays while atheists had no holiday to celebrate.
The lawyer immediately stood and objected to the ruling and said, "Your honor,
how can you possibly dismiss this case? The Christians have Christmas, Easter
and many other observances. Jews have Passover, Yom Kippur and Hanukkah...yet
my client and all other atheists have no such holiday!" Policy Decision After Bill's barn burned down, his wife, Polly, called the insurance company. "We had that barn insured for $100,000, and I want my money," Polly told her agent. "Hold on just a minute," the agent replied. "Insurance doesn’t work quite like that. We’ll ascertain the value of what was damaged and provide you with a sum equal to that." There was a long pause before Polly answered, "If that’s the case, then I’d like to cancel the policy on my husband." A Proper Wedding Little Susie was playing wedding with her sister, Sandy, who pretended to be the minister. Sandy said to Susie, "Now repeat your vows after me." To which Susie confidently replied, "I don’t need to repeat them. I already know them: A-E-I-O-U."
Source: Laugh Letter Newsletter - May 2007 Copyright © 2000 - 2007 RRN Online.
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There was little "extra money" in my family
for me to spend frivolously during my childhood and youth. Therefore, the
opportunity for rides and games of chance at the annual County Fair and Carnival
was practically non-existent.
