Packaging Is Everything?

Bam! She’s got a body like an hourglass, but is that sand coming out of her ears and mouth? She is gorgeous with and without makeup and can sang! But my oh my she gossips like nobody’s business. She’s so charming and walks and moves as smoothly as a cobra sways. Oh, and she bites like one too. Can you say “venom”?

Oh my goodness look at the ceps on that bi. What a marvelous hunk of flesh he is. But he can’t read or tell time. Bummer. Look at that Italian Black Stallion walking by like Denzel Washington. My bad, he’s a dog? But why do all the girls (and guys) still want to ride him?

Packaging is everything?

He wears thick glasses and plaid shirts, white socks with black shoes. He’s the top of his class? And a first class gentleman, opens doors for ladies no matter who they are? Maybe I should give him my number. J She’s chunky around the midsection and a little dark and her hair is kinda nappy. Wow, she’s a writer and a counselor who loves people? But you would never know by looking at her. As Gomer Pyle would say “Surprise, surprise, surprise!” Hmmmm.

Packaging is everything?

He has no ears, but he can sing? He has no arms or legs yet he’s a minister, counselor and motivational speaker? They’re African American and have no rhythm? You have three degrees and have no job? What gives? Or doesn’t give?

Packaging is everything?

Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been disclosed? For [the Servant of God] grew up before Him like a tender plant, and like a root out of dry ground; He has no form or comeliness [royal, kingly pomp], that we should look at Him, and no beauty that we should desire Him.

He was despised and rejected and forsaken by men, a Man of sorrows and pains, and acquainted with grief and sickness; and like One from Whom men hide their faces He was despised, and we did not appreciate His worth or have any esteem for Him.

This guy doesn’t fit “The 100 Most Handsome Men of the 21^st Century”. But Packaging is Everything?

Surely He has borne our griefs (sicknesses, weaknesses, and distresses) and carried our sorrows and pains [of punishment], yet we [ignorantly] considered Him stricken, smitten, and afflicted by God [as if with leprosy].

But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our guilt and iniquities; the chastisement [needful to obtain] peace and well-being for us was upon Him, and with the stripes [that wounded] Him we are healed and made whole.

Can’t judge a book by its cover or a wine by its bottle. But packaging is everything?

All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned every one to his (and her) own way: and the Lord has made to light upon Him the guilt and iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed, [yet when] He was afflicted, He was submissive and opened not His mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He opened not His mouth.

Sounds like a patient in a mental ward. Hmmm. But packaging is everything?

By oppression and judgment He was taken away; and as for His generation, who among them considered that He was cut off out of the land of the living [stricken to His death] for the transgression of my [Isaiah’s] people, to whom the stroke was due?

And they assigned Him a grave with the wicked, and with a rich man in His death, although He had done no violence, neither was any deceit in His mouth.

But packaging is everything?

He came into the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him [did not know Him].

He came to that which belonged to Him [to His own-His domain, creation, things, world], and they who were His own did not receive Him and did not welcome Him.

Welcome Home . . .!!! Packaging is Everything?

But to as many as did receive and welcome Him, He gave the authority (power, privilege, right) to become the children of God, that is, to those who believe in (adhere to, trust in , and rely on) His name –

Who owe their birth neither to bloods nor to the will of the flesh [that of physical impulse] nor to the will of man [that of a natural father], but to God. [They are born of God!]

Now we can say it with feeling: Welcome Home Jesus!! Packaging is everything?

And the Word (Christ) became flesh (human, incarnate) and tabernacled (fixed His tent of flesh, lived awhile) among us; and we [actually] saw His glory (His honor, His majesty), such glory as an only begotten son received from his father, full of grace (favor, loving-kindness) and truth.

Sometimes we miss our blessings because of the packaging they come in. We’re expecting it to look one way and thus we don’t recognize it when it arrives and so we reject it (or him, or her, or HIM). (But it’s because of what’s inside of us, not the one in the package.) Hmmmm. So yes in a way packaging is everything in this culture and society in which we live. Yes we should put our best foot forward in all we do and say and in how we present ourselves, but we must make sure it’s our “true” foot and not just a social prosthesis, mirage, i.e. a lie. For guess what? All boxes get opened. The wrappings and bows get removed and what’s inside gets revealed.

Then on the other hand, in our society we concentrate so much on the packaging that we pay little attention to the contents, and believe because we’re “beautiful” in some way that people can experience with their five senses, that we will be desirable to the world. But this is a lie. Chocolate melts. Ice does too and what gets left behind? Well, with too much chocolate probably an abundance of sugar calories on ones thighs and behind, and with ice, well, just possibly your thirst gets quenched. But truly what gets left behind? (No pun intended, but this is a good place to chuckle.) Anyhoooo . . .

Many of us lie to ourselves when we look in the mirror because we’re only looking at the outside. We dress well at all times and make sure our hairs are on straight, and we tell ourselves we’re okay. But this is how we will know how, and what we feel and think about ourselves: When we hit the pavement and come in contact with others, what do we say about THEM? Herein is the clue to what you believe about you-yourself, for we only give what we have in our soup bowl, our cup, on our plate. What we feed to others is what we’re eating ourselves. So, if you’re with someone who is constantly making fun of others, revealing secrets, gossiping, always have to be the bell or belle of the ball, etc. (can you say “noise maker?”) then you need to make a decision. You either need to ask that person “why do you feel so negatively about yourself?” OR you need to distance yourself from that person because you don’t want to share what he or she is eating. It is not good for you.

True dat, you met him or her in a good looking or sounding or smelling or tasting or feeling box (situation) – maybe at a concert, or a party, or a church gathering, or the post office, or at work, but now you realize that all the goodness was only in the packaging. Sometimes you have to discard the whole kit and caboodle.

Now I’m not saying that we “throw people away”, but what I am saying is . . . hmmmm we need to pay attention to how much attention we put into big things in small packages or small things in large packages. Some things/investments cannot be recuperated once they are lost like time, emotions and other valuable resources.

What about good, better and the best things which come in packages we would not envision? What do we do with them? The verses above from Isaiah and John's Gospel [Amplified Bible] describe a man who was misunderstood, judged and rejected because of the package He came in. He was born into a family, to what our culture would call a “single mother” since the earthly father was not His biological father. He was not handsome. His hair was wooly, not long and straight and blond, neither did he have blue eyes. His skin was not white and creamy but brown and ruddy. Even though He was a King, He did not live and act like a king. He worked a nine-to-five job with his dad as a carpenter so his hands were ruddy and he was often covered with dust. He knew more about the law and the prophets than the law and the prophets, yet he had no earthly proof of his education, so just who did He think He was, having the audacity to read from the Torah in the synagogue and then teach others older and more educated than Himself? What right did He have in giving so much love to others, being moved with compassion to the depth that they could touch His clothing and be healed with just a tiny mustard-seed size faith? Who gave Him the right to forgive sins when only God could do that? Who “died” and made Him God? And let’s not talk about raising more than one person from the dead. Please give us a break! God doesn’t look like this man, yet He does what only God can do (and desires to do).

You don’t look like what people want you to look like either do you? Have you ever been rejected because your skin is too dark or too light? Your hair is too long or not straight enough? You’re American and not another nationality, or another nationality and not another nationality? J You’re male and not female or you’re female and not male? You’re tall or short, wealthy or a hard-worker who can’t make ends meet, have a car or not? Over qualified or under qualified? What is your packaging? How are you wrapped? Are you wrapped too tight(LY) or not at all? What are you made of inside? What’s inside your cup? Are you worth the packaging you’re in? Would it be worth someone’s while to unwrap you and see you for what you really are? If yes, then kudos to you. But if no, what can you do to make yourself a better wrapped package, a gift worth God’s giving and worth receiving? What will make you a gift worth having and not just a pretty package?

Jesus came and gave His life in every way. He placed something valuable in each of us, but in order for us to manifest that gift truthfully, we must not reject Him for it is only He Who can bring us to our full potential as the gifts we are meant to be in, and to this world, for the glory of God. The real gift is inside the package.

Peace.

What's in a Rhyme?

Here of late I’ve been listening to quite a few songs on YouTube as I prepare for different concerts and festivals. Some I run into by accident on my way to or from another song, especially when I activate that automatic-play-the-next-song feature. What I notice about many of our American songwriters old and young, and even myself is that we love to rhyme words and phrases. I find this to be so much fun even sometimes when it doesn’t make sense. J When I was a daycare worker for children this was especially fun when the children could not be fooled and they would catch the foolery in the rhyme. Opportunities to teach and learn new concepts would abound during those fun times. Hmmm.

Well, while trying to meditate on the goodness of God, I must admit this time I’m not having a very easy time of it. It’s not because He has changed and not because He is not good. I am sure He is good for I would not be living if He were not, but I’ve reached a place where I question for whom He is good and with what He is good. Sorry to all my die-hard Christian brothers and sisters out there who like me have been taught to “never question God” and to be afraid of Him. I’m tired of living in fear. It is no longer fun, if it ever was, and it just doesn’t work, not for the good anyway. Fear is a heavy unnecessary weight designed to either keep us still, or to drive and push us forward out of the “right place” and “right time” for our lives. II Timothy 1:7 says, “For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” Fear is still a force and many people live and swear by it. Actually it’s faith turned inside out – it’s a negative form of faith which works from the outside in. Faith is a powerful, positive force birthed from within the Spirit of God, and when He dwells inside of us, our hearts, it works from the inside out.

One song in particular that I did not seek out on YouTube is called “It is No Secret What God Can Do”, and the lyrics say “what He’s done for others He’ll do for you.” Well, this time I could go no further with the song, for I realize that this is just a rhyme, whether or not it makes sense, and whether or not it is true. Maybe it is no secret to what God can do, for after all He is an equal opportunity God and He is FOR everybody, but what He does for others He may not necessarily do for you, or me. This song has been in my life and history since I was a child and I grew up believing that God would do for me what He will, and has done for others. But as I’ve grown older, and yes I am older ;-) I see that this is just not true.

Oh let me be careful now for some will say I've taken that line out of context of the song, and I stand guilty as accused, to make a point. The remainder of the hook says, "with His arms wide open, He'll pardon you. It is no secret what God can do." Yes, in the context of this song about salvation, because Jesus died for everyone, it is no secret that He wants to pardon everyone. :-)

Nevertheless, we have been quite flippant and arrogant with our gifts and talents to write songs and poetry. We make them say what we want them to say and what others want to hear, whether or not they are factual or true. We have done ourselves and the church, and those outside of the “church” a disservice, and many of us are paying a dear price for believing, yes, lies from inside the organized church.

Life is more than a rhyme. God cannot and will not be coerced into doing for us just because we have faith in a song that rhymes. Some people are making good and immediate money because they can put two lines together and make people jump and shout and feel mighty good. Have you noticed that I’m not having much success in this blog rhyming anything? LOL!! I find myself questioning everything and everyone. I can no longer just swallow everything that is sent my way because my life of dreams and fantasies, created around what I now know to be untruths, is just not happening, and many years have passed that I can never retrieve to try and do it again, but differently.

The challenge for me now is to not despair over lost time and wasted years believing what others wrote, and to move on to find out what is reality for my life. I won’t make you think this is easy for me because it is not. We all came into this world depending on others first for all of our sustenance in every area of our lives, and it doesn’t end just because we’re no longer in our 20’s. We will forever be leaning and depending on others for help in one way or another, but we cannot “lose” our own minds in trade for theirs on our behalf. No, we still must think for ourselves and find out what is truth. Before sentencing Jesus Christ to death Pilate asked Him “what is truth?” To His disciples Jesus said “I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Light”. (I keep mixing it up with Life, and He is that too.)

So now I’m trying to get my feet flat on “new ground” without all the trimmings I’ve lived with for over 25+ years. ;-) If you don’t know me, don’t waste your time trying to figure out how young I am not. LOL!! It won’t make a difference anyway. And I guess as long as I’m breathing and know who I am and where I am, before me will be another opportunity to learn more truth.

If anyone has any Dr. Seuss books laying around that you no longer need, please consider sending them my way. Rhyming with Dr. Seuss was safe and still is for he never tried to build life principles on a rhyme, but for some reason we could still teach good lessons from his stuff. Cat in the Hat, Fox in a box with Sam I am and green eggs and ham . . . Hmmm, I’m getting a little hungry.

Peace.

Sensationalism.

Recently I began watching a program on the internet dealing with the supernatural. I thought “cool” because I do believe in the supernatural. As a matter of fact, I think it’s supernatural that we exist at all. For example, we humans are comprised of over 90% water, breathing something we cannot see (even on a cold winter day) called “oxygen”, kept earth bound by something we cannot see with the visible eye, yet we’ve identified it to be uh . . . “gravity”. What human in his or her NATURAL mind could create a species such as we are, and give each of us our own fingerprints, blood type and features, and yet not duplicate any of us? Even identical twins (and triplets and quads, etc.) have features that set themselves apart. After all, their Creator did not get confused about grouping them together in the same womb at the same time. He just wanted to keep things interesting. ;-) So as far as I am concerned, it’s all supernatural.

Yet, in our society we don’t see these as supernatural because science has somehow been able to “explain” these phenomena and now we accept them as natural, or the norm. Thus they’ve lost their zing! So be it. But what about those things we just cannot explain? Now that’s what the program I’ve been watching is dealing with. Those things we call spooky, or spiritual maybe? Now lest you think I’m making fun or light of these things, or even doubting the sincerity and authenticity of the telecast and guests, let me make it clear from the git-go, I am not. I too have had my own experiences which, when I’ve shared with those who have not had them looked at me in either disbelief, or in sincere sympathy, “that’s just Jean. We always knew she was special.” LOL!! My focus is not on whether the content of the program (and others like it) are factual. No not at all. I want to talk about embellishments, special effects – audio and visual, flattery, enhancements, airbrushing, exaggerations, deception, overdoing it. I.E.: Sensationalism.

This morning I was reading in one of the books written by the prophet Moses, Deuteronomy 10:1-3, which records Moses’ recount of having to cut (hew) some tablets for God to rewrite the Ten Commandments on because in a moment of temporary insanity (we call that losing ones temper), Moses broke the first ones. Many of us grew up in the 70’s and 80’s watching the movie starring Charleton Heston as Moses. Well if you will recall, when he came down the mountain (in the movie that is) he was lugging a heavy load: two “tomb-stone” sized tables with God’s heavy commandments on them. Ooooh, how scary God was to those Hebrews out in the desert and how scared they were of Him too. After all, they witnessed His miracles on their behalf to get them out of Egypt to where they were now: at the foot of this mountain called Sinai.

Well, this time around I’m reading this exciting book in the Amplified version of the Bible, and I love it because throughout, it provides historical information and facts regarding the times in which recorded history of the Bible was actually lived. One such piece of information is this from a lengthy footnote on page 224 (Zondervan Publishing House): “One of the many misconceptions of articles and events mentioned in the Bible, innocently perpetuated by artists without adequate knowledge, is that of the size of the two tables of stone on which the Ten Commandments were written. They were not great tombstone-sized slabs, but probably small rectangular plates, two of which could easily be carried in one hand.” Please bear with me as I also add the last two sentences of this footnote, and I quote, “Dr. George L. Robinson brought from the Sinai area a pair of ‘tables of stone’ believed comparable to those mentioned here, which he put in his coat pocket. Moses says here, ‘I . . . went up the mountain with the two tables of stone in my [one] hand,’ and he confirms it in Exodus 34:4.”

Hmmmm, kind of takes a little weight off Moses’ shoulders doesn’t it? But does knowing the truth about the size of the tablets cause us to accept the story any less than before? Now that we know the tablets could fit in his one hand do we think God’s Word should be taken more lightly? Does the truth about this make this part of the story less exciting than before? Would we be willing to watch the “Ten Commandments” if Charleton Heston, or maybe another great actor with a booming voice came down the mountain as Moses, and presented to the people God’s Word on pocket-sized notebook paper? Maybe I’m asking these questions to the wrong generation because now we prefer things small and concise: computer chips and iPods, smaller computers and mobile phones in the ear.

Nevertheless, there’s still the need and desire in our society to see things “bigger” than they really are. This doesn’t mean we want to carry them around in our purses, or continue to house them in our homes (except for the flat-screened HD televisions. The bigger the better!), but we need our senses energized and motivated, tickled. Nothing does it for us better than special effects and sensationalism. Reality television is popular because you get to watch peoples’ lives as they’re supposedly being lived out and we all know that real life is not rehearsed or scripted, so anything can happen. That’s the sensationalism of reality TV – anything can happen at any time, and so it’s the expectation of the unexpected that keeps us tuning in again and again. Our senses remain in a heightened state.

But if you’re familiar with biology, psychology, and the human body, you will understand that it is not healthy or NORMAL for humans to remain in this state of mind, and thus keeping our bodies in what is called the “fight-or-flight” mode. Even, and especially, when there’s no reason to run and no reason to fight. It’s like leaving on the lights in rooms that are unoccupied; an unnecessary waste of energy that cannot be retrieved, but yet must be paid for. This is what happens to us when we’re surrounded by constant excitement – our bodies and minds are paying for wasted energy, but we don’t want to stop it and change, until we’ve run out of time.

This is what sensationalism does to us. First of all it’s like airbrushed models – covering up what’s truly there hoping to cause viewers to like and accept the product right away, and also desiring to not only LOOK like him or her, but for some people, they want to BE them. Sensationalism is like flattery too – it’s a lie people tell themselves and each other to hide the truth. Sensationalism is embellishments, and enhancements of the facts, but to a level of overdoing it, like wearing too much makeup, or gaudy big jewelry with a sequined outfit. ;-) Many times what we refer to as “special effects” – visual and audio are just forms of sensationalism. They appeal to the five senses to draw and captivate our attention. Now I will be the first in line to see a good sci-fi movie because I love special effects and especially wonderfully scored music to accompany them, but there comes a time in all of our lives when we must push back from the table of . . . hmmm, I cannot seem to find an easier way to say it so I’ll just say it, deception and lies, and face and embrace TRUTH.

Real everyday life can sometimes be boring, I know this, but it is what it is, and it is what we sometimes make it too. We have choices, and I’m learning more each day that within me are choices that can create excitement for me and others, and there are decisions that can keep me in a dumpster mood. It’s all up to me, for I’VE GOT THE POWER! ;-) But as far as I’m concerned, and I don’t know about you, but when a person says they are bored, it’s because they are BOR-ING. Duh. It’s like “we are what we eat”. Therefore we are what we say we are, we are what we think, and we are what we do. Yes we are! “And you will know The TRUTH, and the TRUTH shall set you free.”

We choose sensationalism because we don’t like what we see and know, it’s not good enough, it no longer satisfies. We choose sensationalism because the truth is not exciting enough, it won’t “sell” on its own, the fans won’t like and accept us if we’re not airbrushed, the record companies won’t record us if we don’t sound like someone else. And on and on and on. Sensationalism will take us out on a limb far away from the tree, but it cannot keep us safe there when the storm winds blow. Nor can it keep the limb from breaking. Sensationalism cannot bring us true joy and happiness, and it will fade away with the credits. Sensationalism never fulfills, and we have to continue “using” it and “eating” and “drinking” it, and “inhaling” it just to keep up our moods. Sensationalism takes on a life of its own, yet it has no true or lasting life to give.

Yes, I use makeup, and sometimes I find the need for certain clothing to help un-enhance my figure if you will, but I never lose touch with my reality, who I really am, when using these tools. And that’s all they are – tools, or gifts if you will, to help us, not use us, or drive us, or to control or change us. To enhance what we really are but not to the point that God doesn’t even recognize us! And not to the point where we don’t know who we are and we forget we’re not perfect, nor are we invincible (sorry MJ). Enhance, but don’t deceive. Be attractive, but not a sellout. Let’s not sell our souls for things that don’t last. Let’s not allow ourselves to be led by the nose into the latest fads and fashions, diets and exercise, religions and spiritualists, celebrities and musicians, presidents and governments, etc. Let’s learn to use the God-given minds we have. We don’t need to let others think for us, making our life’s decisions for us, turning our homes, minds and health upside down because of something flashy and big.

In Matthew’s Gospel chapter 23:1-12, Jesus talks to his disciples about sensationalism. He shares with them what “religious” people (and we can be religious about anything from collecting candles to riding horses. Being religious is not just about the church or other religions.)look like, their tendencies, so they will know what to avoid in their own characters; not so they can play the blame game, or I’m-better-than-you dodgeball. Sensationalism empowers us to elevate ourselves, our cause, our desires, our business, our beliefs – ours, I, me, mine, us – to “be” more than we are. It is a form of deception and lying which introduces and or feeds (and feeds on) an attitude of pride, arrogance and haughtiness. In verse 12 Jesus says, “Whoever exalts himself [with haughtiness and empty pride] shall be humbled (brought low), and whoever humbles himself [whoever has a modest opinion of himself and behaves accordingly] shall be raised to honor.”

As I said in the beginning, I believe in the supernatural, and I love special affects and ear candy, as one musician termed it, in music, but icing is spread on cakes, not on flashing lights or moving photos of cakes. When we’re sharing our life-stories and expressing ourselves, the cake of the matter – the truth is what’s really wanted and needed. If we don’t like our truth, then we do have the power to change it, for good or bad, but using sensationalism to change its appearance just delays the inevitable: curtain call! We can be transformed (from the inside out) by the renewing (changing) our minds (our thoughts and beliefs). Sensationalism does not have the power to do this, only Truth.

Peace.

Horse Chips

If you live long enough and travel outside of your neighborhood, city, state and country at least once, and stay away for any length of time . . . say, about a month at least, I can guarantee you will meet some special people along the way. What I mean by meet is you will become acquainted with people to the degree that you can make some fairly accurate conclusions about them without being judgmental, or critical. For instance, I’ve been away from what I grew up as being “home” for about five years now. I’m no longer residing in the country where I was born, so we can safely say I’m in another world.

Since being away I’ve met so many people, even some from my “neck of the woods”, or at least our woods may have connected over some common borders. One person in particular really believed that he had most of the answers (if not all) to solve everyone else’s problems, at least in theory. So he felt that he was right most of the time. I’m trying to be fair and not label him as an extremist, so I won’t say he felt he was right ALL of the time, even though when interacting with me this was the case. Anyhoooo, whenever one did not meet up to his expectations and standards and he wanted to know why or why not (depending on your perspective of the half-filled or half-empty glass), he would reject their explanations as “excuses”. However, whenever he dropped the ball when promising to perform a task for you, he always had a good REASON. Hmmm, to that I say “horse chips”.

There are so many different types of horses from different parts of the world, I couldn’t begin to name them all. Beautiful shiny blacks, whites, browns and reds, golden and mixed colors. Wow! This is one of the good reasons for watching western movies and documentaries of the western territories of the United States, to see the beautiful horses. Wars were fought because of horses (remember the Trojan Horse?), and also they were fought on the backs of horses. Many horses have saved peoples’ lives (The Lone Ranger's "Silver", and Black Beauty to name a few), and many have lost their lives for good and bad reasons. Horses are not only beautiful but intelligent animals. They can sense fear in humans and they know their owner’s scent and voice. They have excellent memories and impeccable hearing. They know how to lead and to follow, and they know how to find their way home. They can be trained. (James 3:3)

Horses have a lot in common with people too. They’re sensitive and they have five senses. They have their own language and they have to mate in order to procreate. They eat and sleep, drink and play. They walk and run and they know how to play tricks too (watch the circus). Just like humans, hours after they eat, they have to let go of the stuff they’ve eaten. You get my drift don’t you? You don’t have to be rocket scientists, lawyers, Indian Chiefs or doctors. Just, human. ;-) Let’s just call them “horse chips”.

Just like there are many different types of horses in the world, there are now several different types of chips and chip companies. For instance, potato chips, rice chips, corn chips, black and blue chips, with and without salt. Stackable chips, broken chips, Pringle’s, Lay’s, some generic names, and Frito-Lay. We all have visited the world of chips in our favorite super markets. Now there seems to be almost a chip for every type of person on the earth. Sugar-free and salt-free chips, vinegar and salt chips, pickled chips, you name them, men and women have fried, baked, sliced, tye-dyed, dried and tried them. And just as many people as there are in the world, there are also just as many horse chips.

What are horse chips anyway? Well, I knew I would never forget what they are once my fifth grade teacher taught us the meaning of the word. (And she loved the wild west too!) And guess what, whenever she put them on a test (not the chips!), we all got it right!! LOL!! Okay. Hmmm, horse chips are those things horses no longer have need of at the end of the day, yet in the places they leave them behind, the grass and vegetation seems to grow mighty fine. ;-) Sounds like a line for a country song doesn’t it? LOL!!! That’s the literal definition of HCs. Now on the social side I refer to “horse chips” as those stories we all tell when we cannot tell the truth, or we don’t want our truth to be known by others because it’s so ludicrous or ridiculous (did you notice that you spell both of those words with the same letters?), or we just don’t have a really good enough reason to explain ourselves. You see what I mean? Some people refer to them as “BS”, and others as “n’importe quoi” en Francaise. I’ve heard other expressions too – poppy cock and “I ain’t buying it”. Oh well, I guess it depends of course upon where you were born, and how your familiars expressed their frustration. Or where you find yourself in the present; right now, no one I know expresses their frustration as “horse chips”.

I say "horse chips" when people try to make me think I was born yesterday just because I’m new to the current situation and scenario. "Horse chips" when they’re always right and you’re always wrong. "Horse chips" when arguments are one-sided and lack focus, yet you’re being forced to swallow them hook, line and sinker and make major life-changing decisions upon. "Horse chips" when what’s good for the goose IS NOT good for the gander. "Horse chips" when the pot wants to call the kettle black. "Horse chips" when it’s quacking like a duck but they’re trying to convince you it’s a dog. Both begin with the letter “d”, but that’s about all. "Horse chips" when the only one worth hearing is always the one doing all the talking, but never listening. "Horse chips" when men are the only ones who can become angry and show it because it’s not “lady-like” for women to display their anger. "Horse chips" when people insist this is a “man’s world”, but he’s always looking for the perfect woman. If it’s a man’s world, then men don’t need women. "Horse chips" when women insist they have to be naked to prove they’re beautiful. "Horse chips" when people insist that white is always right while all other colors of the world are inferior. "Horse chips" when people conclude that racism is the major problem of the world when in fact “fear” is the foundational problem of human existence. All the others are just pawns on the chess board.

"Horse chips" when it’s not cool to be your real self. "Horse chips" when people say "I love you" and then turn around and abuse, accuse, and misuse you. "Horse chips" when others insist you do what they’re not willing to do, or you will lose your job, home, etc. "Horse chips" are those “excuses” we all put out there and hide behind, and blame others in order to keep from doing what we know is right. "Horse chips" when thieves in black, grey and navy blue suits and ties tell their victims “we did it for your own good”. "Horse chips" when politicians push for laws they refuse to live by, or think don't apply to them. They're for the "underbeings". "Horse chips" are what keep boys inside men’s bodies and little girls walking around in 44D bras trying to convince the world “this is how we do it” i.e. the adult thing. "Horse chips" are what cause people to say “the devil made me do it” and then turn around and say “God doesn’t exist”. "Horse chips" are the stupid statements that God is causing our troubles and then "where is God when we need Him?" "Horse chips" are put out by those who believe you should do as they say and not as they do. What happened to leading by example? Horses do. And do. ;-)

Could it be the reason our society is suffering from split and multiple personalities is because of all the "horse chips" put out generation after generation, creating horse chip landmines called “laws”, and now we’re trying not to step on them moment by moment lest we get blown up, as we try to live in our homes, raise our families, work our jobs and have a little fun on the range? (Where the dear – yeah I know – and the antelope play . . .) After so many years of saying what we don’t mean and doing what we didn’t say, and meaning what we thought we did, gheesh, hmmm bipolar, schizophrenia, dementia, anger, rage, depression, fear, etc. you name it, begin to create the normal dysfunctional society. What then, could possibly be the answer? Well, lest I sound like the semi-extremist I described at the beginning of this monologue, the answer lays with the One Who created our universe, (and I believe He has deserved the right to be Extreme in every way.). In Holy Scriptures He has spoken these words, “A double-minded man (person) is unstable in all his/her ways.” (James 1:8) Now even in regular English, or whatever language you prefer, this is not difficult to understand.

Double means . . . duh “for 400, what is two Alex?” Your mind. Now, hmmm that’s a more difficult one. A person who says what he means, means what he says and whose actions line up with his words and thoughts, is a focused person. Multi-taskers may refer to this person as having a “one-track mind”, but I believe that is better than having two tracks and your brain, I mean train derails because at the crossroads you cannot make up your mind on which one to send it. Whatever you believe in your heart or mind about anything, then your words and actions should match that, otherwise why do you believe it? We put out horse chips when we believe one thing, say another thing, and do something entirely not in line with the former two. That’s when we appear to be a person with multiple personalities. Yeah and we say “appearances can be deceiving”. That’s exactly what we’re talking about here. Deception, lies, untruths. In order to get others to believe it, you must first believe it yourself. Horse chips.

It’s time for us to tell the truth, first to ourselves, then to everyone else. There is however, ONE person in the universe we can lie to, but He’s never snowed over, and that is God. He’s never deceived and neither does He deceive. And He knows just how to reveal all those horse chips. It’s called “heat”. LOL!! When the heat is on, the truth comes out. Hay, I’m not a horse and if you’re reading this you aren’t either (unless you’re Mr. Ed, of course). Neither am I a chip manufacturer. Are you? But if we catch ourselves, or each other putting out chips which benefit no one, or only someONE, we need to put ourselves out of business. I don’t think anyone wants to buy Horse Chips by Frito-You, Frito-Me, or Frito-They. I ain’t buying it. Crunch!!