99 To Beat

 

For the past few weeks, 

My mom and I have been watching a show called 

99 to Beat. 

The show started with 100 contestants and will eventually get down to 1 

Who will win $1000000.

The games are not complicated when not under pressure. 

Think party games,

Relay races,

Minute to win it, 

Stacking cards, 

Popping balloons, 

Stuffing a tent back into its bag. 

And the object isn’t to win. 

The object is not to finish last. 

 

The contestants have gotten close,

Which makes it seem that the show was filmed over the course of time. 

Yet they are in the same clothes every episode, 

Which makes it seem that the show was filmed quickly. 

Come to find out,

The show was filmed over the course of three weeks, 

With 15 hour days, 

And multiple sets of the same clothes were provided and laundered for show continuity. 

 

In other words,

There is a lot to the show that we don’t see! 

There are hours and hours of contestants waiting around, 

Talking, 

Sharing life stories,

Getting to know one another. 

As the show gets closer to its end, 

It’s harder and harder for the contestants to see one of their friends fall. 

There are real connections. 

There are real tears. 

 

When Jesus was crucified, 

One of thieves on his side mocked him. 

The other proclaimed he was Lord. 

How did the latter know this about Jesus? 

What led him to make such a bold declaration? 

Was it simply in how Jesus went about the process of dying? 

Or were there countless behind the scene hours that we don’t see? 

“Criminals” held together awaiting execution, 

Talking, 

Sharing life stories, 

Getting to know one another, 

So that as it got closer to the end, 

It was harder and harder to say goodbye? 

 

I think that sometimes we read scripture and forget that it was real people living the stories

And that all the details weren’t written down. 

There are time lapses and emotional connections and food breaks and rest breaks and 

Themes like clothes used for continuity

But real time passes and sometimes we don’t know how much. 

 

May we allow the Holy Spirit to illuminate the words 

on the pages 

of the book 

that is increasingly being used 

as a weapon 

And may we connect our lives to the 

Greatest story every told, 

Jesus,

The servant King, 

The last one standing. 

Amen. 

Funeral and Wedding Day

 

I had a unique privilege on Saturday.

I was able to officiate a celebration of life service in the morning 

And a wedding in the afternoon. 

For the same family. 

A former colleague found herself in a pinch at the beginning of last week 

When her officiant went into the hospital with reoccurring cancer. 

I told her I would be honored to help. 

And I was. 

 

I found myself in the middle of two of life’s most sacred moments, 

Bearing witness to God’s love, 

Proclaiming God’s grace, and 

Speaking God’s blessings of hope. 

 

Together, 

We celebrated the end of one life that led to the creation of one family 

And marked the beginning of a journey that will create a new one. 

We laughed as we shared stories. 

We cried as we mourned loss. 

We smiled as we watched the bride walk the hallway aisle. 

We listened as a young couple vowed to spend their lives together. 

We let silence linger. 

We put words to memories.  

We cheered when the groom kissed the bride. 

We toasted when all was said and done. 

 

…

 

Over a decade ago,

A little church in Erwin

Believed in me,

Called me out, 

Ordained me,

And now I get to sign my name and serve in the role of minister

In some of life’s most intimate moments. 

 

Strangers’ lives collide and become intertwined forever. 

 

It’s humbling. 

 

It’s awe inspiring. 

 

It’s beyond me. 

 

But I am thankful. 

 

And I am so very glad. 

 

Amen. 

 

Chess The Musical

 

Some shows require more than one viewing. 

I think maybe Chess is one of those shows. 

 

Everyone around me thought it was spectacular. 

At intermission, the woman behind me exclaimed, 

“I LOVE this. I love it so much. I love the stage and the cast and the story. Oh my gosh. I love it.”

 

I didn’t feel the same. 

 

I liked it.  

The show was good with 

Great performances by big named people. 

There were big dance numbers and power ballads. 

There was growth and change in the characters. I think. 

But I didn’t understand a lot of the text because there were so many fast words 

And the whole show was about manipulation and mind games 

And using people as pawns to obtain a larger goal. 

That made me sad. 

The self-proclaimed climax of the show completely lost me because there was so much going on.

Yet it was big. And it was powerful. 

And I can see the show doing well. 

 

So I’d like to see it again and 

Give it another shot. 

Rent. 

Hadestown. 

Hamilton. 

I had similar reactions to all of those. 

There were so many words.

And somewhere I got lost. 

But now I’m a fan. 

 

So maybe I could be a Chess fan, too. 

It hits on love and sacrifice and mental illness and devotion and trying to be  yourself while also being responsible to other people. 

Those themes resonate. 

So there’s a possibility for the liking. 

If I can see it again. 

 

If I give it another chance. 

 

Sometimes. 

We need to give things. 

And people. 

Another chance. 

 

Amen. 

Lost Card

 

Whenever I travel, 

I empty my wallet of all unneccesaries: 

Membership cards, gifts cards, FSA card, debit card, etc.

I leave only my credit card and cash. 

 

…

 

Amelia and I got to the airport at 4am last Friday. 

We went through security without a hitch and got to our gate super early.

We decided to get water and a soda. 

I opened my wallet. 

My credit card was not there. 

I checked my pockets. 

My credit card was not there either. 

 

…

 

When I empty my wallet, 

The pockets become loose. 

 

Evidently my credit card had just fallen out. 

 

Where it had fallen was what I didn’t know. 

My house?

My sister’s house?

The car?

Security?

Had I even brought it at all? 

 

All was not well. 

 

…

 

Awhile back, 

For a reason I can’t remember, 

I loaded my credit and debit cards onto my phone. 

 

A few weeks ago, at Lidl, I left my wallet in the car. 

I used tap pay for the first time. 

 

Well, friends, 

I just tap-paid my way through NYC! 

I didn’t even need my credit card!

I simply needed my phone and my face and 

All was well. 

 

…

 

The good news is that my credit card is safe. 

I contacted airport lost and found and they did, indeed, have the card. 

My brother in law went to pick it up on Friday and, again, 

All is well. 

 

I am grateful for the honest airport person who turned in my card. 

I am grateful that I didn’t freak out when I realized it was missing. 

I am grateful for Finley for going to pick it up. 

I am grateful for the cash that I had just in case. 

And I am grateful for tap-pay and the modern wonder that it is.

 

I’ll be honest, though,

Our trip to NYC was expensive 

And it would have been even more expensive if someone hadn’t been honest and turned in my card. 

But every tap-pay penny was worth it and 

I’d do it all again. 

Except maybe lose my card. 

But even then. 

All is well. 

K-Pop Demon Hunters

 

Growing up in evangelical culture,

The word demon has come to possess a very negative connotation.

The script that I have subconsciously carried is this:

“Anything to do with demons or witches or witchcraft or the cult should be avoided.

Just engaging with them could allow the enemy to attack your mind.”

 

I didn’t realize that I still carried this script until I noticed myself feeling weird about a recent Netflix movie called K-pop Demon Hunters. 

My students loved it. 

They wanted to hear music from it.

But I knew nothing about it except that it had the word demon in it and I had no idea what that meant.

 

So last Saturday night, I watched the movie.

It was actually very good.

If you don’t know anything about it, here is a brief summary: 

 

A globally successful K-pop girl group named Huntr/x — made up of Rumi, Mira and Zoey — are secret demon hunters whose music helps protect the world from evil spirits.  

 

Their biggest challenge comes when a rival boy band called the Saja Boys is formed by demons to siphon the group’s fan-energy and aid the evil overlord Gwi-Ma in breaking the barrier between the human and demon realms.  

 

As the conflict escalates, Rumi must confront her hidden identity and the true cost of fame, friendship and fighting darkness.  

 

The way that the evil overlord gets to the human soul

Is through feelings of shame, self-doubt, self condemnation, and guilt.

He speaks negativity into their minds and snatches their souls.

He controls the inner voice and tells people  that they’re unworthy or broken.

 

Yet music has the power to keep the voices at bay, for it is 

Music that places a protective shield around the Earth and keeps the demons away. 

 

Is the music my style of music?

No. 

But is the music and its content safe for kids at school? 

Absolutely. 

 

When I return to school on Monday,

I saw one of my students you had requested a song from the movie.

I told her that I had watched the movie and she lit up.

When she got to music class that day, she told everyone in the room that I had seen it.

The next day, another one of my students came up to me and said I’m a K-pop demon.hunter 

And I was able to say, “Alright! You use music to fight those bad guys.”

By overcoming a deeply rooted, preconceived notion,

I was able to connect more deeply to my students

And no, without a doubt, that I was not promoting something bad.

 

Oh God,

Help us to remember that you live even outside of evangelical culture and 

Help us to find you in all things. 

Help us to connect with one another in community

And help us to overcome the demons in our lives through music, light, and the love that is you.

Amen.  

Hip Hop

 

I started attending the statewide music conference in 1995.

I’ve watched it change quite a bit over the years,

and I’ve seen lots of people come and go. Some years have been full of workshops I’ve wanted to attend.

Other years have been void.

This year’s line up, for me, was the latter.

 

Not overly excited about many of the elementary sessions,

I decided to step out on a limb.

I went to a three-hour popular session called “Teaching and Creating Hip Hop,”

because, well,

Deanna and hip hop are synonymous said no one ever.

 

To say that I was out of my content comfort zone is an understatement.

I quickly realized that I know very little about modern popular music,

and yet I walked away from the session inspired and encouraged,

knowing that I would remember the session and apply its learning

unlike so many of the sessions I have attended in the past.

 

Among other things,

I learned that hip hop is a counterculture that is very complex.

It has been influenced by all different genres of music,

and rap is just one expression of the larger culture.

There are MCs, who are the rhyme makers and the voices.

There are producers, who put together the beats.

There are dancers and fashion designers who influence the look.

And there is a double standard between men and women on what is acceptable to speak about.

 

Hip hop has historically been heavily judged by the white, evangelical world

Because it unashamedly gives voice to issues of violence, drugs, oppression, inequality, politics, and sexuality,

And the language and content is often jarring to those who stay in a Christian bubble.

However, hip hop is a culture of freedom,

Of protest,

Of giving a voice to those who haven’t always had a voice,

Of the young, the poor, and the outcast of mainstream white culture.

 

 

I’m not sure exactly what I’m doing to do with the information that I’ve learned,

Yet I feel compelled to do something.

To put it simply,

My students are listening to hip hop.

They probably don’t understand its content or even think about the words.

They just like how it sounds.

 

They like the music.

They like the beat.

And maybe I can honor that in someway.

I want to honor it in someway…