Decisions, Decisions, Decisions

...choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods 

your fathers served in the region beyond the river,

 or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. 

But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Joshua 24:14

We all make decisions each and every day - scores of choices big and small.  Some decisions we agonize over, but many others are made with very little forethought.  What, where and when to eat, for example, are usually not determinations that involve heavy-duty thinking.  There is nothing in our day-to-day lives, however, that does not include decisions: work, school, leisure, vacation, entertainment, exercise, and nourishment. 

I am an avid reader of mystery novels - who-dun-it's, and one of my favorite authors is Anne Perry.  Her marvelous books are set in the Victorian era in England, and showcase either the sleuthing skills of William Munk, or Inspector Thomas Pitt.  I have just finished Acceptable Loss, featuring Mr. Munk, his wife Hestor, and their friend Oliver Rathbone, a famous London barrister.  At the heart of the story are three additional characters - Mr. Rathbone's wife, Margaret, his father-in-law, Arthur Ballenger, and Rupert Cardew, a dissolute but kind young man.  These three characters form the emotional core of the story, and each makes decisions - some rash and on the spur of the moment, that drastically alter the course of their lives (not toward goodness, but in the opposite direction).

I have to laugh at myself sometimes, because I am often found arguing with one of the characters in a book - cautioning them regarding a choice they have made or are making.  "Oh pleeeease, don't go there!!!"  Obviously, it does little good to talk to a character in a novel.  But processing what decisions are being made and what the outcomes are likely to be is a wonderful learning experience for me, if my heart is open to accepting the lessons that are there.

All of us have decisions to make today, and again tomorrow, that will affect the path of our lives.  One of those choices is to whom we will give our allegiance.  The Old Testament leader, Joshua, knew this.  In his confrontation with the people of Israel, he demanded of them, "CHOOSE... Choose whom you are going to serve - the pagan gods from your past, the gods of your Amorite neighbors, or the Lord God."  That same question comes to us today.  Who will you choose to serve?  Yourself?  The gods of money, power and prestige?  Or the Creator of the universe?   

Is Twerk in My Dictionary?

...whatsoever things are pure...

think on these things.

Philippians 4:8
 

Every year new words are added to the English dictionary - both online and print varieties, as our culture and language continues to fluidly change.  Examples of words or terms already added in 2013 include:

phablet, digital detox, geek chic, cake pops, hyperemesis, parasomnia, screencap, tweetable, cruft, dumbphone, appletini, Olympic flame, and touchless.

In the realms of cultural and social change, however, the newest buzz word is "Twerking."  When I hit the Web to research the meaning of "twerk," I discovered that this word is already in the Oxford Online Dictionary with the following definition:  "...to dance to popular music in a sexually provocative manner involving thrusting hip movements and a low, squatting stance."  

Twerking was actually introduced into the hip-hop scene back in the 1990's in New Orleans.  Oxford, who entered the word into their dictionary this year, claims that the term has been around for twenty years, but it's sudden emergence into the current social culture was brought about by the actress Miley Cyrus, who "twerked" during a solo performance by Robin Thicke at the MTV Video Music Awards on August 25, 2013.

One does not have to watch more than a second or two of the "performance" to realize that "twerking" is a far dirtier dancing than anything Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze ever thought of.  Dressed in a nude-colored costume that resembled see-through underwear, Ms. Cyrus offered herself as a sexual object to the singer, the audience, and the television viewer.  No Hannah Montana here.  No, this was a 20-year-old courtesan displaying her wares, complete with a sex toy to aid the display.

Ms. Cyrus has said that she danced that way 1) because "that's just me," 2) because "that's what you're looking for, (the audience)" and 3) because she and Robin Thicke wanted to "make history."

The controversy generated by her act certainly provided them with the history they were looking for.  If her twerking truly is an indicator of her character, then I feel very sorry for her indeed.  I certainly hope there are no longer parents out there who hold her up as any kind of a role model for their daughters.

 

Where in the World Am I?

Sing them over again to me, wonderful words of life.

Let me more of their beauty see - wonderful words of life.

When one takes on the task of writing a daily blog, you expect there to be hiccups from time to time. You come down with an illness, receive an unexpected visitor, have a little accident, race to an emergency at work, etc., etc., etc.  If you are gone for a day or two, those who read your blog don't think much about it - they expect hiccups as well.  But when you disappear for weeks (months?) at a time, there are those who wonder why.  Are you ill?  Have you changed jobs?  Or have you simply quit blogging?

The answer is - none of the above.  The answer is quite simple:  What happens when you run out of things to say?

I do not have a huge readership, and have never tailored this blog to be on any certain topic or in any set style.  I have tried to write from a devotional standpoint, but have also written Bible commentary, social issues commentary, political commentary, and current events commentary.  I have shared favorite hymns, singing groups, soloists, and choirs.  After almost two years of blogging, I began to have days when I could not think of a thing to say - not a single topic that brought inspiration.    Eventually it became obvious that I needed to take a break.

I still enjoy writing, and have just finished a set of seven blogs on the church website and Facebook page (one per week) to go along with a sermon series.  As fall approaches, I'm beginning to feel the pull of wanting to write in this blog again.  I will not write every day - possibly three times a week.  If you are a loyal reader, I apologize for my absence.  If you are seeing this page for the first time, drop back by in a few days for a different story line!