What is it about truth that is so threatening? George Orwell would say, “In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.”

He also said “If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear” and my favorite, “What can you do against the lunatic who is more intelligent than yourself, who gives your arguments a fair hearing and then simply persists in his lunacy?”.

We witnessed two bright spots recently in an otherwise dreary pattern of contention, corruption, and chaos.

Our First Lady, Melania Trump, took the stand to introduce President Trump and preceded it with the Lord’s Prayer. That act – praying in public if you’re not a minister asked there for that purpose – is an offense to many. This is the state our nation under God finds itself in during this sifting season. But it was also an act of offense rather than defense. That beautiful woman with a lion’s heart showed more courage than we usually see these days. She didn’t ask anyone’s permission. She took the matter into her own hands and took the gathering before the throne of God, Himself. All nations will answer to God. The sooner we acknowledge that, the better off we’ll be. Hers was a revolutionary act of truth.

A second bright spot was the attack on Milo Yiannapoulos, a gay conservative apologist – not the attack, but his response to it. The attack led to a publisher dropping his book deal and cancellation of an important speaking engagement. Because his life is in the public eye, there are numerous tapes of his comments, refutations, sharp wit, and dark humor. Stopdonaldtrumppac.com found some things he had said and twisted them to mean something else. This is the same group that once tweeted “we hate white children”. Lovely people. The accusation was meant to keep him from speaking out. We’ve become used to attacks and condemnations without conscience, but this one was, frankly, from hell, itself. * **

However, I am taking a stand for this man with whom I don’t have much in common, but who is amazingly gifted. Milo has faced much criticism and opposition over at least the last few years. Why? He tells the truth, brutally sometimes and eloquently other times. To accuse someone who has been sexually abused of pedophilia is one of the most hateful things I can think of. This group and others taking up the war cry struck at him with skillful timing. And Milo stepped up and displayed more strength than his accusers might imagine in anyone, including themselves. He publicly acknowledged the abuse perpetrated on him from age 13. (Think for a minute how harsh and despairing that is for a boy on the cusp manhood.) He rejected the accusation of pedophilia and voiced his disgust with such things. He apologized for any hurt those who have been sexually abused felt from his careless words. He refused to see himself as a victim and encouraged others to not see themselves as victims either. (Well that’s refreshing.) And he resigned from his job in order to spare his employer trouble. His clear, immediate, and rather gracious response is something to emulate. He didn’t once raise his voice during his press conference though those there were no doubt happy with his uncomfortable situation. He did what he does so well. He articulately spoke the truth.

Consider these three people. I don’t suppose I would have liked George Orwell personally, but his words are worth thought from everyone regardless of politics. I don’t know whether any of the three I mention here has a relationship with Jesus or if they want one. *** The thing about truth is that it’s true regardless of who says it. And here’s one more truth: The real conflict here isn’t about politics or even about free speech. The war isn’t one of words only. It’s a battle for truth, a war for souls, a battle between heaven and hell. Satan takes no prisoners. His native language is lies. If you fight him from one side, he’ll come at you from the other before you can catch your breath. You don’t have to agree with me or even believe there are such things. But in this time of universal deceit, we need courageous people who tell the truth regardless of the fallout. There’s more at stake than this world dreams of.

* I believe all sexual perversion is wrong, including homosexuality and child sexual abuse. I also believe all sin, seen and unseen, is wrong. (It seems to me that some sin is more detrimental than others depending on how many people are affected, how long they are affected, and the degree to which the person sinning is intentional.) However, all sin, known to others or not, is an affront to our Creator and acts as a death sentence without Christ’s redemption.

** There is a very real concern about pedophilia in this population; but not by this particular person.

*** I hope they do, because their bravery is something He would approve.

Quote: Partial quote from Alfred Lord Tennyson’s “More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of”.

Did your grandma clip things out of the newspaper or magazine and send them to you? Does your aunt still do that? How about your mom?

I was chatting with someone about this just the other day. I come from a long line of clippers. Over a lifetime I’ve gotten more clippings and articles than I can count. Whether or not I agreed with them, I dutifully read them, knowing that the one who took the time to send it thought it important enough to take that time to get it to me. Okay. Sometimes I just scanned them. I know I’m not the only one.

The thing is, clipping an article and sending it to someone is a way of saying, “Here. I think this is worthwhile. Maybe your day/week/life will be somehow enriched by these words.” Maybe it’s even saying, “I love you.”  And the person receiving it sighs, maybe rolls his eyes, glances at it, keeps it for a short period of time and then throws it away.

Enter Facebook. Let’s pause and take a sip of coffee first. Nicely done.

Sharing thoughts, beliefs, and information is an imperfect effort. No matter how or when, we really don’t perfectly understand each other very often. But we keep trying anyway. And now we’re living in a time when our lives are very much affected by what’s going on around us. Think what you wish, but I really don’t think things are going to get better. They are going to get worse. They are going to get more heated because time is short and Jesus is simply waiting to hear “Now”. Putting our hands to our ears won’t change that. Withdrawing from the news won’t change it. Neither will puppy posts. Okay, puppy posts might change it for a minute.

This blog post isn’t about the snarky and sometimes kind-of funny posts or the obnoxious why-would-anyone-write-much-less-share posts or the downright mean posts. I am writing about articles that float around the internet cloud and somehow find their way to your newsfeed. They are articles you love and articles you hate. Depending on who your friends are you get a lot of clippings. A downpour of clippings. A torrent of clippings. Folks get tired of the clippings. They’re getting bleary-eyed from the clippings. I’d like to take this moment to remind you, and myself, too, what those likes or shares or posts represent. They represent time your friend took to read something and (admittedly short) time they took to share it. Maybe you think it’s a decent article. Perhaps you shake your head and look at the ceiling. Or more likely still, you just scroll right on by. Why should you care what they think or what they’ve learned or thought about? But let’s remember what’s behind the effort: “Here. I think this is worthwhile. Maybe your day/week/life will be somehow enriched by these words. I love you.”

Sometimes life hands you things you don’t recognize for the gifts they are until you’ve done all the other things that appealed to you on some level and required work to achieve, but weren’t quite the things that made the most sense for you to do. God must shout down to us, “Look in front of you! No, not there – here, in front of you!” Then in our wisdom, we smile and thank Him for helping us there, not here. Not that that’s a bad thing. It’s just a little funny. It’s not like we can’t enjoy a myriad of journeys. That’s part of the delight of life.

According to a sweet woman who, though shrinking, is still ten feet tall (my mother), when I was four I used to prop up my brothers’ piano music and play it in another key. I didn’t yet read music. It wasn’t until I had my fourth child that it occurred to me that I might write music. I’ll tell that story another time.

I’m writing this for two reasons. First, though you can’t see it, I have been working on my music. Still. Just slowly. And, boy, am I having fun – fun with the music and amazed at how I put an extra 16th beat in numerous measures for one of the songs. I didn’t say I was great. I said I was doing something that’s fairly natural to me. It’s probably even more natural to someone else, but – people – we work with what we have! 🙂 The first children’s musical I wrote was published with Meriwether Publishing – who sold it to Christian Publishers, https://www.christianpub.com/default.aspx?pg=ab&afn=Connie&aln=Pease . I still get a royalty check every year. It’s the little musical that could. For now, though, I’m going to keep closer control and so I am publishing with JW Pepper on MyScore. You can look there, http://www.jwpepper.com/myscore/comemessiah, for my musicals. My children’s musical, Come, Messiah! is already available as is the sheet music for Softly Now He Comes. Whither will be ready for purchase (if the Good Lord’s willing and the creek don’t rise, as they say) in another week or two. Or three.

Secondly, and more importantly, is just to say to you: You know that thing you do that makes time pass more quickly than you can imagine? The thing that seems to not hold much value because it’s just fun (for you)? Or interesting? The thing that grabs you and doesn’t let you go? Do that.

Maybe you’ll hear God shouting, “Look in front of you! No, not there – here, in front of you!” And you can smile and thank Him and . . . do it.

image: publicdomainpictures.net

Back in the day I had three delightful little girls who loved pink and purple and twirly skirts. Into their lives came a little brother who changed Barbies’ nice little town into one of dinosaurs lurking around every corner. They all grew up. Tastes have refined, but in some respects things haven’t changed all that much.

“I think they need a little grunge.”

We were walking amidst the greatest mess I’ve ever seen in Walmart. Truly. It was like walking down Bourban Street during Mardis Gras. It was December 23rd. I was just there as a support person for my son who thus far in his life is following the stereotypical man plan of Christmas shopping at the last minute.

Grunge wasn’t his first choice, but that choice was impossible to manage here in the place of the great unwashed with its low price guarantee. I suggested and he considered leggings in wild colors, and we sorted through them (why do things come in every size but the one you need?). I could kind of see it, though in my heart of hearts had to acknowledge it might be a stretch for the three sisters for whom he shopped. We trudged out of the store shortly thereafter.

On to the next place. Thank heavens there are only half a million stores in the city. He was resolute about his choice of gift. He knew exactly what he was looking for. I could hardly question it. After all, what do I know? I was giving socks and epsom salts to relatives.

And then, what to my wondering eyes should appear . . . not a miracle, but a sweet surprise. On Christmas this year graphic tees were unwrapped and immediately and delightedly donned. Truly delightedly.

So if you see a young woman who usually looks fairly put together walking around in a Red Hot Chili Peppers graphic tee, just remember she has a brother who gave her the perfect present. Take that, Barbie.

Images: http://www.sears.com/young-men-s-graphic-t-shirt-johnny-cash/p-043VA71329312P?sid=IDx01192011x000001&gclid=Cj0KEQiAhZPDBRCz642XqYOCpb8BEiQANUcwT_6M1i1uzOBg3biUeR9JxKJGmkSKBlBBHUTFBAmdnDgaAivM8P8HAQ&gclsrc=aw.ds; https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ARHCP_Logo.svg; https://c1.staticflickr.com/7/6038/6238053350_5caa82f469_b.jpg