It snowed over six inches at our house this weekend . Snow days are REALLY inconvenient. They totally interfere with our life. They mess with our plans, we have things we HAVE to do. We have to take care of business, snow days get in the way of that.
Maybe, that’s the point!
Maybe, just maybe, when we get a snow day, God wants it to interfere with our routine.
Maybe, the Scriptor of seasons wants us to take a SLOW day, maybe the Creator wants to give us a SHOW day.
Maybe, God wants us to SLOW down…rest, listen, pay attention, and play.
Maybe, God wants to SHOW us a beautiful object lesson…freshly fallen art, the power of pure covering the grit of the neighborhood.
Maybe, It’s a good time to SLOW down and let our kids SHOW us how to play…make some snow angels, turn some cardboard into a sled, throw snowballs at each other’s face, that is fun for the whole family! But if you’re too busy, you miss it!
Maybe, a SNOW day is a real good time to SLOW down, breathe, read or SHOW our family some love by reconnecting over some steaming hot cocoa (sorry, but I think it has to be the kind with the miniature marshmallows!!)
Maybe, it’s a perfect opportunity to cancel our plans and turn a SNOW day into a SLOW day that can become a pretty amazing SHOW day.
Now, excuse me, I’ve got to find some of those miniature marshmallows.
We’re on the island of misfit toys, here we don’t want to stay.
One of my all time favorite holiday shows is Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. I love it. Maybe, it’s because I can relate to the story of a hairy misfit with a squeaky voice. The show has been on every year since 1964, so I’m betting you know the story. So I will just recap, Rudolph had a nose that resembled a glow stick. This seems to be pretty unnatural. Because of this, he didn’t fit in and subsequently didn’t get to play any reindeer games. His life is hard, Everyone makes fun of him, and even his own father is ashamed of him. So, he runs away. He meets Hermey, a career confused elf, and they decide to be “independent together”…crazy irony. They encounter Yukon Cornelius, a burly prospector with no gold. He acts as their guide and together they set off. It’s a perilous journey, they are in constant danger from the super creepy abominable snowman. They stumble across the island of misfit toys, it is there that they meet a singing spotted elephant (how unsightly), a choo-choo with square wheels on it’s caboose (how embarrassing!!), and a water pistol that shoots jelly (how sticky!!). They jerkily dance in stop motion movements and sing “We are all misfits”.
It’s pretty moving.
Rudolph was a misfit because he was physically different. Hermey was a misfit by choice, he didn’t accept the status quo. He wanted to be a dentist. Yukon Cornelius was loud and socially awkward. They WERE all misfits.
So
Are
We.
We are all misfits.
As I ponder the story, here is what my misfit mind has figured out: Some of us are misfits because of something we were born with that makes us different. We could perceive it as a limitation, when like a shiny red nose, it is meant to be a light.
Some of us are misfits because we have a dream or belief or passion that just won’t let us blend in. We choose to misfit.
Some of us are misfits because our personality cause us to be a constant square peg in a round hole world.
Some of us are a misfit mashup.
Regardless of where we find ourselves, the point is clear…
We are all misfits.
Some misfitness is harder to hide. But, the simple truth is no matter how hard we try to fit in, we are all part of the misfit nation. There is something that makes you different from everyone else who has ever lived. That is art not accident.
We are all misfits, none of us fit in everywhere. We find ourselves on the same island, it is our differences that make us same. Our uncommon creates common ground.
We try so hard to get off the island, We try to be normal. We conform because we have listened to the lies of the evil toytaker. We don’t realize that misfits aren’t the same thing as mistakes.
To the good Toymaker, misfit is just another word for interesting. He took the time to give each of us the beautiful gift of uniqueness. He didn’t have to. It wasn’t necessary. It surely would have been easier for Him to make a bunch of colorless robots who can only conform, but that takes creativity and love out of the equation…BORING!! The Toymaker is not BORING!
You weren’t meant to be boring either!
You weren’t born to fit in, you were designed to stand out.
We sing songs about Rudolph BECAUSE he was different, and BECAUSE he found a way to use his different to overcome darkness.
Different was originally designed to defeat darkness.
We are all misfits.
We are supposed to be.
You are misfit, not mistake.
You are art, not accident.
Why in the world would you want to fit in?!
Fly your misfit flag!!
Sing your song and shine a light in the dark.
We’re on the Island of Misfit toys.
Once upon a time, not too long ago, my wife, Diana and I were out for a nice walk. It was a chilly Carolina night in December. We were strolling around our busy neighborhood shopping village. As We rounded a corner there was a little girl with her family. She looked up at me and suddenly started shaking, almost uncontrollably. I was a little concerned by this reaction to me, but then I noticed that there was a look of unhinged joy on her face. She did a little completely uncoordinated happy dance. She pointed at me and shouted “SANTA CLAUS!!!” Her parents were totally embarrassed. They unsuccessfully tried to hush her up and hurry her along. Diana reassured them that it actually happens a lot this time of year, it MIGHT have something to do with the big white beard and the equally big belly. Maybe, it’s the elf like stature. I couldn’t believe how excited she was, but then I realized that I was HER Elvis. To a four year old there is no bigger celebrity than Santa. And, let’s face it, if you are going to be mistaken for an icon, you could do worse.
But, suddenly, I realized that I had a huge responsibility. I represented a beloved childhood hero.
There is a responsibility to representation.
I could have crushed her dreams by acting like a jerk. I could have been mean or taken myself too seriously and broke her heart.
I could have been a bad Santa.
Instead I did everything in my power to represent well. My jolly “Have you been a good girl?” was met with wide eyed agreement.
It was a sweet, wonder filled moment that I would have missed if I didn’t represent well.
Everybody is looking for a hero.
We want someone big enough to live up to our hopes and expectations.
I only know one Hero who can stand up under the weight of belief.
If we are Christians we represent that hero.
There is a responsibility to representation.
Do we get mistaken for Jesus?
It’s all about HIS reputation.
Psalms 23:3 says: “He guides me along the right paths for HIS name’s sake.”
The stuff that God does in and with us is for HIS reputation, not ours.
It’s not about my good name.
My reputation is shot, the gig is up. People know me. My name will never be good enough.
BUT, I get a fresh chance to represent my hero.
It’s all about HIS reputation, HIS name (which is above all names).
There is a responsibility to representing His reputation.
If I bear the name Christian, I represent the Christ.
Do I get mistaken for my hero, Jesus?
Do I represent him by how I treat my family, my friends, my enemies, my barista, total strangers?
Do I get mistaken for my hero?
Because, I want to.
I can’t act like a jerk, I can’t take MYself too seriously.
People are looking for a hero. I can’t get in the way.
People are holding out for a hero. I know that Hero. I represent that Hero.
There are sweet, wonder filled moments that I will miss if I don’t represent well.
I am quilt.
I am handcrafted from patches of story and struggles.
I’ve been stuffed and stitched and repeatedly mended.
The fabric of my life is layered, it is woven with the beautiful hues of family and freedom. It is interwoven with the multicolored quilts around me. Together we are art.
The older I get the more comfortable I am with who I am.
I may look a little faded and worn, but I believe my most vibrant colors haven’t been revealed yet.
I’m constructed to warm hearts and comfort souls.
I am quilt.
When I was ten years old, I got an amazing Christmas gift!
It was a “Six Million Dollar Man” action figure (I want to clarify, it wasn’t a doll, boys have action figures. It was a fully posable, totally manly action figure…NOT a doll).
AND…
It was AWESOME.
It had some mind blowing special features, you could roll up the skin on his arm and look at his bionic parts (okay, that seems a little gross now, but then it was very cool and cutting edge toy stuff). You could also look through the back of his head through a slightly wonky looking eye and see in “bionic vision”. He wore a standard issued red track suit with matching rubber sneakers. There was a lever on his back that lifted his arm and actually picked up really heavy things, like the plastic toy engine block that was included in the package.
The thing that makes it even more special was that it was the only gift that my Dad ever actually picked out and wrapped for me. Mom usually took care of the gift getting and giving. She was good at it, she found creative ways to stretch the budget and make memories. But, in December 1975 she had a surgery that slowed down her Santa duties. So, Dad had to step up. He SERIOUSLY hated crowds and shopping. So he had to summon all the retail courage he could muster and go to the TG&Y store to get this coveted gift for his oldest son.
It was a big deal.
It was one of my favorite toys EVER!
I had many imagination fueled adventures with my six million dollar friend.
But, in the course of childhood, REAL toys get played with. They get torn up and thrown out. They go on one too many adventures, buried in the mud or they get blown up with firecrackers.
Steve Austin crashed and burned.
I thought the Six Million Dollar Man was a goner.
But, it turns out that…
“We can regift him. We have the technology. We can make him better. Better…stronger…faster.”
30 years after my first bionic buddy, on a brisk Texas Christmas morning, I got another one! My super amazing wife, Diana, had the technology to make it happen. She went on eBay and found a second Steve Austin action figure! He had the same wonky eye, same red track suit! He is in my office today.
It is AWESOME!!
I’ve heard it said that you can’t go back.
I think you can, and it can be better.
I think you can regift a memory.
AND, you can make it better…stronger…faster.
People have very strong mixed feelings about Christmas music. They love it or hate it.
We usually start hearing tinsel tunes sometime in October (probably because Halloween music never really caught on). Some people love it and can’t wait to sing about decking halls and roasting chestnuts. They get all giddy when they hear Bing Crosby swoon about his White Christmas dreams. Other people hate it, they want a TRUE silent night, as in EVERYBODY JUST SHUT UP!!! They have a violent reaction when they hear Mariah Carey singing “I don’t want alot for Christmas…”
I have a confession to make, I like Christmas music. In fact, I’m listening to the Brian Setzer Orchestra rock around the Christmas tree EVEN as I write this. I wish I had some egg nog!
My favorite Christmas song of all time is Joy to the World, I love it! Maybe because I REALLY like JOY. I think that JOY is my superpower.
You probably only hear this song once a year around this time, so let me reacquaint you with some of the lyrics…
“Joy to the World, the Lord has come!
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing.
Joy to the World, the Savior reigns!
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy.
He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders, wonders, of His love.”
We are invited to join heaven and nature in the biggest sing-along EVER. We are singing about unspeakably amazing things, JOY…wonder…glory.
It probably shouldn’t be an once a year deal!
I think that is why we are told to REPEAT the sounding JOY.
But, do you repeat the unspeakable?
How do we make Joy to the World more than a Christmas song?
Because, Heaven knows that the world could seriously use some JOY right now!!
JOY is a singable thing.
How can JOY become the unending song of our heart?
How can it be the soundtrack of our life? A sweet song you never get tired of.
Repeat the sounding joy…
JOY can’t be manufactured or bought, it can only be chosen.
Choose JOY.
Then hit repeat, punch the perpetual rewind button.
Choose JOY, then choose it again and again and again.
It becomes a song that gets stuck in your brain for all the right reasons, because it makes you smile and dance.
JOY is not a feeling or happy little buzz, it’s a deep knowing that life may not always be fun or easy, but life is always a gift so I will treat it as such.
It’s an inner peace that everything is gonna be alright and that causes you to rejoice regardless of outward circumstances.
Happiness and JOY are two completely different things.
Happiness is born of circumstance.
JOY is born of hope.
JOY is not about what is happening TO you, it’s about what happened IN you.
JOY is never out of reach, even in the darkest times.
JOY is based on the unsinkable fact that God loves you with a RIDICULOUS love and you can trust Him.
It’s the kind of thing that can make you sing…
Joy to the world
All the boys and girls
Joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea
Joy to you and me
Do you hear what I hear?
It’s JOY!
It’s EXACTLY what we need for times like this!
Play it again!!
Repeat the sounding joy.
carbonated joy 