True Confessions, #firstworldproblems

A really good book, but I'm
probably not going to finish it.

Here’s my first true confession: I have been trying to read the book Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson for nearly a YEAR! My smart brother, his smart wife and their smart daughter have read this stuff and THEY don’t have a problem with it, but try as I might, I just can’t conquer this mountain of ideas. And honestly, I like to read things that I can’t put down. That I just fly through. And this isn’t that. Reading shouldn’t be this hard.

That said, it's a really good book, and when I do read it, I get a lot out of it. I mean, it’s right up my alley as far as topics – it’s historical fiction about guy who lived in the time and place when Christopher Wren and Isaac Newton and all those guys who were reshaping London and England and religion and science and mathematics and … just about everything… and you know how I like to think I’m really thinking about stuff. But this book? I’m sorry, I’m just not smart enough to finish it. I mean, maybe I could… I made myself finish Don Quixote, after all... but I choose not to.

Anyway, now that you know this, I’ll tell you about a passage in it that resonated with me, and not in a good way! To give it context, two scientists/scholars are having a philosophical discussion (that I can’t quite follow without hurting my brain) about the difficulty of reconciling a mechanical philosophy with free will, along with a lot of gobbledy-gook about the mind being in harmony with nature, when they have the following exchange:

“It is odd that we should be having this conversation, Doctor, because during the last few days, for the first time in my life, I have felt as if certain possibilities have been set before me, which I my reach out and grasp if I so choose.”

“You sound like a man who has found a patron.” 

Okay, I say this resonated with me, but it would be more accurate to say that it slapped me in my middle-aged-white-lady face. Because I too know this feeling lately – that the world is my pearl-filled oyster and I just have to grab hold of those shimmering, nacreous beauties. And you know why? Because I have found a patron.

Or to be more 21st century freelance graphic designer about it, I’ve finally got a couple of good steady gigs that are paying reasonable monthly fees, so that I no longer have to worry each month whether I will be able to cover a decent share of our family bills.

That’s not to say that before this, I was exactly suffering or anything… I lacked absolutely NOTHING…although I would have enjoyed more meals out and fewer at-home suppers of beans and rice. I just didn’t like that whole iffy-ness thing that was going on. I realize that many people live like this (and much worse!) all the time, and my heart goes out to them… because I didn’t like it at all. Not one tiny bit. 

And I’m not saying I wasn’t happy during the leaner times, because I did experience real joy. But the joy I feel while not owing anyone any money is kind of… different. And I feel really crappy confessing to it… because I know that there are people who are truly in need, and I also know that I am supposed to be “content in any and every situation” as Paul tells his pals in Philippi:

*I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:12-13)

I would love to think I have such a consistently awesome attitude, but as I've just been saying... I don't. To me, being content and in the hole is not as nice as being content and able to meet my financial obligations (and buy the occasional dress). 

I do know that God is behind any good thing that comes to me, and I'm really thankful... but I'm pretty sure my ever-shifting attitude shows a lack of trust in God as my true Patron. But this is me. A woman who can’t finish a hard book and a woman who likes having a patron, as the guy in the hard book says. And that’s just another example of my essential crappiness I referred to earlier in this post. 

And, to my utter relief, just another thing that cannot separate me from the love of Christ.*




*(Romans 8:38) 

Lent Backwards

The Easter buffet at The
Carolina Inn is a bounteous
feast to follow the fasting
of the Lenten season..

Despite the fact that Jesus says that our fasting is supposed to be private (Matthew 6), I have written about Lent several times… like the awful time I gave up french fries, or the unbearable time I gave up Facebook, or the time I laughably attempted to give up the unchecked pursuit of my own agenda… 

I wasn’t raised in a tradition that observes Lent, and despite regular Sunday church attendance and choir practice on Thursdays, my family didn’t speak of spiritual things… but in my later years, I’ve embraced Lent as a part of the rhythm of the spiritual year… We join with Christ in His sufferings for 6 six weeks by denying ourselves candy or fries or what have you, then we celebrate His glorious resurrection on Easter (in our case with an all-church rendition of Handel's famous Hallelujah Chorus and an obscenely generous buffet lunch at The Carolina Inn).

On Easter at the Chapel Hill Bible Church all the 
people stand and sing Hallelujah! It sounds like this.

When I was a kid, no one I knew gave up stuff for Lent… that I knew of. I did know one Catholic family. Did they observe Lent? Maybe their mom didn’t serve meat during that time? I can't know. Anyway, now it seems like it’s becoming more of a thing that people are doing, Catholic or not. I can’t begin to guess why it’s gotten to be a popular thing. I mean, far be it from me to assume where anyone’s heart is at. I can barely keep up with my own. 

As for me, well, I’m not going to lie – I'm carrying a bit of a mixed bag of reasons… I often choose sweets as my thing to give up with the unspoken hope that my body will recover from all the delish cakes and candy and gravy and stuffing I’ve crammed into it over the holidays. Real spiritual, right?

Since I'm not giving up sweets,
I've eaten nearly all of this fantastic
caramel cake Tom got me for
Valentines...!

As for this year… a couple of weeks ago, I posted this on Facebook: “It's been Lent for three days and I still haven't decided what to give up…” And of course the nuts in the peanut gallery were eager to recommend that I give up all sorts of things from Facebook to procrastination to Lent itself. It was a nice chuckle – until this one guy left this comment: “Just give up your sins to Christ Jesus. This is all you need to do to see the Kingdom of Heaven. Believe in Jesus. John 3:16.”

I love that guy!!! First of all, y’all know how much I love John 3:16. That there is my jam. And second of all, this is what I’ve been writing about, isn’t it? Faith alone. Jesus alone. Not that people who give up Lent are attempting to purchase or influence their salvation… Like I said, it’s more of a spiritual exercise… 

Nonetheless, I’ve decided that this year, that I actually AM giving up giving up things for Lent. So that I can focus on the sufficiency of the Jesus’s sacrifice to achieve our salvation. Once we embrace this, nothing we do or don’t do can add or subtract from this.

“Nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” That’s what Paul said in Romans 8. 

So maybe I’m doing the Lent thing backwards this year – sacrifice then celebrate, right? But to remember the true fact that Jesus paid it all… This is always in season!

No offense, y'all...

I just want to be loved – is that so wrong?

When I was writing the previous post, I asked my Buddhist friend if he minded whether I included our exchange in a blog post... I told him that my post would be "nothing too offensive"... but then while I was writing, I realized that I have absolutely no idea whether or not my words were offensive to him or to anyone else!

For all I know everything I say could be making you or someone else roll their eyes and say, "What a chump! How dare she?!" And honestly, knowing that I might offend someone does bother me. Not that I care if they like me or not – okay, who am I kidding? I do want to be liked. (Remember when Jon Lovitz would play that guy who would say, "I just want to be loved - is that so wrong?")

Black clothes, check... concha belts, check... boots,
check! I think these guys from The Alarm have been 
in my closet! It would be a shame if they 
didn't show us those outfits!

But more important, I don't want to hurt your feelings, or turn you off from getting to know God because I've portrayed Him as about anything but love and grace. Or been anything but loving and gracious.

I'm tempted sometimes to NOT write because it seems presumptuous... I know that evangelism is sometimes seen as being sort of paternalistic... Isn't that the word that's used to describe the British Empire who invaded lands for the people's own good? Okay, so maybe it is kind of like that – but I only want to see your heart invaded by the love and grace of God. Again, is that so wrong? Wouldn't it be cool if the sun never set on God's love and grace? 

When I do write, I sometimes find myself tempted to self-edit to make it palatable to any- and everyone who might stumble over it. But I'm a Christian – it says so at the top of the blog. And Jesus told us to tell everybody. (Matthew 28:14) And for me, to NOT say Jesus, well... it would be kind of like living in my closet... And it's really dark in there. And messy. And full of black clothes, concha belts and ankle boots. No, I have to be the city on the hill... the light on top of the bushel... the salty salt... (Luke 14)


And in the end, I'm only just musing – going over some ideas I'm having... Everything I say is as I understand it, and you are welcome to ponder my words or not. I view it as a conversation, even though I usually don't hear your side. Not that I wouldn't like to... Because I really would.

I need a remedy, remedy, remedy, remedy…

You can download this sweet
Adam and Eve coloring page here.

One advantage of posting so infrequently is that I have a LOT of time to chew on ideas before I tap them out on my crumby keyboard. And I’ve been going over this one pretty thoroughly since I threw up the last post. 

In that post, I talked about Christmas as being about the cancellation of our debt to God… and well, I put that up, and naturally, my crazy brain KEPT going over it. I thought - maybe some people are thinking, “What do I owe God anyway?” And I guess if you don’t believe in God, you can assume you owe Him nothing. But what if He exists? What do people owe Him? 

Some people – myself included – look to the Bible for answers… and it’s chock full of info about what God expects from folks – starting with Adam and Eve, who he told “don’t eat that fruit.” (Genesis 2:17) And of course they did, so… now we’re in a right pickle. 

Keep reading the Good Book and it will almost feel like that Bob Dylan song, Subterranean Homesick Blues – which is a driving auditory barrage of do this don’t do thats… including, but not limited to, the following: “Light yourself a candle / Don’t wear sandals / Try to avoid the scandals / Don’t wanna be a bum / You better chew gum” and “Get dressed, get blessed / Try to be a success / Please her, please him, buy gifts / Don’t steal, don’t lift…” Then comes the refrain that reminds us to be wary that we’ve probably done something wrong whether we know it or not. “Look out kid / It’s somethin’ you did / God knows when / But you’re doin’ it again…”

It's definitely something you did...

Bob Dylan is an enigmatic character, to be sure – his words subject to endless dissection. How much more of a puzzle is the will of God?

Sure, we’ve got direct orders – like the Law of Moses… which includes the biggies like the Ten Commandments PLUS hundreds of tiny specific rules like refraining from eating shellfish, wearing blended fabrics and muzzling your ox while he’s treading out grain, and what to do if there’s mildew in your house...

Then there’s the general guideline that Malachi gives: to seek justice, love mercy and walk humbly with your God. (Malachi 6:8) Similarly, in the New Testament, James gives this instruction: “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” (James 1:27)

And Jesus himself says that the work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent - ie. Jesus. (John 6:29)

So… which of these do I owe God? Some of it? All of it? Obedience to each tiny law? A general attitude of humility and love for God and fellow man? Belief in Jesus? 

I guess that’s what the guy who asked Jesus “What must I do for eternal life?” was asking. (Luke 18:18) Or the guy who asked Him “What’s the most important commandment?” (Matthew 22:36) Folks like us – we always want to know the loophole. Are we lazy? In my case, yes. Just scammin’ for an easy A? Again, yes. 

Or… is it just that we know that WHATEVER the requirements, we suck at fulfilling them. 

Here’s an exchange I had on FB a while back with a friend of mine who practices Buddhism: 

EP: One of the more painful implications of Buddhist belief is that I experience Donald Trump because I was once like Donald Trump, and if I don't treat the Donald with compassion, I could be just like him or worse the next go round. 

ME: or worse???

EP: Yeah, the negative karma can be exponential.

Guy I don’t know: (emoji that looks like the guy in that painting “The Scream”) 

Me: think i’ll stick with grace… :-P

EP: Oh well, one person's medicine is another person’s poison.

EP: Just to round it out, the good karma from acts of virtue is also exponential.

Donald deserves compassion, like all human beings,
but instead, I am posting a goofy pic of him where he
looks like he is trying to hold in a poot.

Well, that was the end of the conversation, but not the end of me thinking about it, as is my way. And what I thought was, first, it sounds like I’d rather be forgiven than attempt to treat “the Donald” with compassion… which is not what I meant at all. It’s more like… I am 100% sure that my ability to show “the Donald” compassion will fall far short of … the compassion other human beings deserve. 

So while the idea that acts of virtue attract good karma may be comforting to some, well… I’m not altogether sure I have any acts of virtue. Seriously. I’m just trying to get through each day, my friend… I try to do what I can, love folks… not be Hitler… but all day long, I fall short. And I’m so tired. 

And that’s why I told my friend that I would stick with grace. Because I suck. And I’m tired. And to tie this in with what we owe God… well… it doesn’t really matter. I mean, whether it’s the Ten Commandments, or the exhortation to love my neighbor as myself, I’m just not going to be able to do it. The only one of these instructions I can remotely follow is the believing in Jesus… and even that I’m lousy at sometimes. I’m totally with the guy who said, “I believe, help my unbelief.” (Mark 9:24)

Look at this pic of Chris Robinson - we
have this same fake owl on our deck!

And if all of this sounds like I am a completely miserable human being with the lowest self-esteem of anyone in history, I'll say that I actually experience a pretty average sequence of ups and downs and mediums in my life – with times that I am so happy I could cry! 

And remember that part of the Presbyterian credo is our TOTAL DEPRAVITY. Which I guess is what this is. Paul knew all about it… He said: “For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing… What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?” (Romans 7)

This is a pretty popular part of the Bible, because a LOT of people can dig what Paul is layin’ down here… And I guess total depravity would suck if there was no remedy… (Like Chris Robinson of the Black Crowes, I sing, “I need a remedy, remedy, remedy, remedy…”) but there is! Because then Paul says: “But Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

And that’s what I meant about our debts being paid… see? Yay, right? 

Now… I guess I may not have really answered the question “What do I owe God?” so much as reflected on my own poverty… That is to say, it doesn’t matter how much I owe when I don’t have ANY. I mean, it matters, but… only as far as I realize that I DO owe God, and I  accept the payment He provides.

My mom. What do we owe
the one who gives us life?
I should at least call her.

Which is, I guess, your standard accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior… but what then? That’s a question I’m constantly asking myself: “What does the Christian life look like?” Do I just continue on my merry way acting like it never happened – like a child who pretends his parents who gave him life and everything he has don’t exist?* Or do I get involved with this God who gave me life and everything I have. And what does this “getting involved” look like? 

I’m still trying to work that out… and the best I can figure is to try to follow what Jesus said were the greatest commandments – to love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and love your neighbor as yourself. Which, again, I suck at doing… :-P  …and that’s where that remedy aka cancelled debt comes in handy…

As you have probably guessed, I am having a hard time bringing this to a sharp, sassy conclusion… Here's the best I can do... What do we owe God? Everything. What does He require? Faith. What then? Love. 

*Haha… when I wrote this, I was convicted so bad about how infrequently I call or see my own mother!! So I called her! But then I had to hang up because I kept getting a bunch of "more important" calls on the other line… And there you have it… :-P

Thank you very much!! (a very late Christmas blog)

In an effort to justify leaving up our Christmas decorations slightly past Epiphany, my husband informed me (and Wikipedia confirms) that the Julian calendar places the last day of Christmas on January 17th. Today. Apparently in some places, particularly south-western England, celebrate this as "Old Twelfth Night." And now I'm using this piece of arcane info to justify posting this, my traditional Christmas blog, on this, the alternative last day of Christmas. So here goes...

The Moores' holidays are generally jam-packed with activities and candy and errands and more candy and visits and shopping and some extra candy… well, you know – general holiday stuff. And all the while Tom is storing up holiday programs on the TIVO that we don’t have time to sit down and watch – particularly because we’re hooked on the British soap opera EastEnders. It comes on four times a week, and we have to watch them on YouTube as soon as possible – before the BBC yanks them down...

Anyway this is all to say that Tom and I just now watched a movie called Scrooge – a musical adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol starring Albert Finney (with Obi Wan Kenobi making a spooky appearance as Jacob Marley!) Intrigued? If you’ve got a couple hours you can watch the whole thing here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHfaRVf5cUY

We're addicted to EastEnders.

Of course most everyone knows the general plot and intention of this Christmas classic, so I won’t bother giving you a blow-by-blow account of it. I’m just going to start right in on the latter part of the film where Scrooge has been ushered in his nightgown to a scene in the middle of town where all manner of folk are singing a rousing show tune that goes like this: “Thank you very much, thank you very much, it’s the nicest thing that anyone’s ever done for me!” 

And it would seem that the very one they are thanking at this undisclosed future time, is Scrooge himself! Invisible nightgown Scrooge accepts their gratitude with uncharacteristic humility, never realizing that they’re singing and dancing around his coffin! See, these are all the people who owe Scrooge money, and his death cancels their debts! They’re literally doing the old soft shoe on his coffin! (If you drag the slider to about 1hr/20sec on the video link above, you can see this rollicking number.)

So, again, if you’ve been awake during any given holiday season, you know that Scrooge does a 180 on Christmas and life in general… In this version he buys out a toy store and puts on a Father Christmas get-up and shows up at poor, shocked Bob Cratchet’s humble abode to shower his tribe with turkey and gifts and promises of financial aid. 

With Obi-Wan Kenobi as Jacob Marley!

This version then shows New Scrooge cancelling all the debts that are owed to his biz Scrooge and Marley, Inc. – ripping pages out of his ledger book and letting them flutter to the ground! And you better believe those down-and-out Londoners (probably Eastenders, if I may hazard a guess) are out of their minds with joy…. dancing around like crazy, reprising the Thank You Very Much song…

Now, those Londoners – some of them probably owe Scrooge because they made bad choices, but most of them were probably just stuck in the stupid system that was Victorian England – treading the wheel going nowhere. But either way… those debts just wafted to the muddy London paving stones.

Anyway, at this point I realized:

This is what Christmas is all about!!! The cancellation of debts!!! Colossians 2 says this: 

And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 

The more casual Good News translation puts it this way:

When you were stuck in your old sin-dead life, you were incapable of responding to God. God brought you alive—right along with Christ! Think of it! All sins forgiven, the slate wiped clean, that old arrest warrant canceled and nailed to Christ’s cross.

And sure, this is about the cross and Easter and all, but would there be any Easter without a Christmas? 

Scrooge and the Ghost of Christmas Present

To explain: right now in my daily journey through the Bible, I’m trudging through Jeremiah... I say "trudge" because Jeremiah tends to go on all gloom and doom  and “God’s gonna judge you guys harsh”… So that was where my brain was at when I was thinking about all this. Of course, Jeremiah also laid out the mercy that would eventually follow, but I hadn’t gotten to that part yet - you know the incredibly beautiful passage in chapter 29… And because of stuff in the Bible like this, it’s not uncommon for people tend to see just the harsh judgey-judge aspect of God... So what I thought was that…

Pre-ghost Scrooge was (our view of) Old Testament (ie. pre-Jesus) God – all judgey and begrudgey. And post-ghost Scrooge was all – “I’m gonna absorb all your debts!” And because of Christmas, this is how we can start to see God – the one who loved us so much He sent this little baby – HIS OWN SON!! – into the world so that he could grow up to be the Man who would die for OUR utter crappiness. Wow! and, Yay!! 

This truly IS the nicest thing anyone’s every done for me! So this is where I dance up the wall and climb up on something high and sing with the relieved Londoners... “Thank You Very Much!”

Everybody Wins! (repost)

(Because I am lame, I'm re-posting some posts of Christmas past. Enjoy! Again.)

If you are my friend on Facebook (and if you’re not, send me a friend request!) you know that I have been posting a YouTube video of a Christmas song every day since December 1. I love traditional Christmas carols and sappy seasonal songs like Have A Holly Jolly Christmas, and There’s No Place Like Home for the Holidays, though I admit that this is the only time of year that I would listen to this kind of music. But even more, I like when MY kind of music takes a Yuletide turn.

I have no problem at all finding songs to post - lots of my fave artists have gone Yule: XTC, U2, Emmylou Harris, Bruce Cockburn, The Pogues, The Pretenders... There’s one record, though, that I tend to keep in my car throughout the season, and I’ve had to practice quite a bit of what Oswald Chambers calls, “sheer determination of the will” to keep myself from posting every single song off it: A Very Special Christmas 3. As its number indicates, it’s the third in a series of compilations of festive tunes recorded by current pop stars and sold to benefit Special Olympics. This edition is loaded with great tunes by 90s standouts, and nearly every song is AWESOME. 

It’s got Sting, who Saw Three Ships, Steve Winwood, who sings a gorgeous, albeit slightly judgmental Christmas Is Now Drawing Near At Hand, Blues Traveler having an existential crisis, Rev Run & the Christmas All Stars featuring Mase, Puff Daddy, Snoop Doggy Dogg, Salt N’ Pepa, Onyx & Keith Murray giving us a taste of Christmas in the ghetto, and Natalie Merchant or 10,000 Maniacs, doing Children Go Where I Send Thee (which I can’t listen to without thinking about how a friend of mine was at a party once where Natalie Merchant took off her top and danced around.) Also, Patti Smith sings an eerie, exotic version of We Three Kings. My son says she sounds like me – I’m not sure whether to be flattered or insulted! And the guy from Soundgarden does a stunning rendition of Ave Maria – not quite grungy, not quite sweet, but a little of both.

No Doubt

But this year, the song that has been on endless “repeat” in my car for Bill – and for me, is No Doubt’s cover of the Vandals’ Oi to the World. This song has EVERYTHING. A searing bass intro, a groovy ska beat, great trumpet riffs on traditinal Christmas songs, a great story, and a happy ending. It goes pretty fast, but if you can concentrate on the lyrics, it’s about a “punk” named Haji, and a “skin” named Trevor. See, Haji starts an “Oi!” band. 

Here’a a little background (according to Wikkipedia): “Oi! is a working class subgenre of punk rock that originated in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The music and its associated subculture had the goal of bringing together punks, skinheads and other working-class youths (sometimes called herberts).” Britain’s recent history is full of periods of unrest between gangs of its disenfranchised young people. Ever seen Quadrophenia? It’s the Who’s awesome film (featuring Sting!) about riots in the 60s between Mods and Rockers. There were riots in the early 80s and again this past summer. The sharks and jets change, but it’s something that is always just simmering under the surface. Oi! was a shortlived movement that urged young people to "just get along."

So in the song, Haji’s band is playing in a pub on Christmas Eve, which makes Trevor and his friends super mad. You see, they like the music, but not the implication that everyone should get along... A rooftop rumble ensues in which both gangs beat each other to a pulp with nunchucks and “a sword like the guy in Indiana Jones.” Most of the guys flee, leaving our principals suffering on the roof in their injuries. Here’s the best part... While laid out flat on his back, Haji spies a star – ostensibly the Christmas Star, gets up and wraps Trevor’s wounded head with his own turban. Happy Christmas ending: they climb down and buy each other a drink.

See? Perfect. And VERY Christmassy... with the Christmas Star as the herald of a new world order, where racial conflict is disintegrated, and harmony is achieved. The first Christmas star attracted dudes from “the east,” most likely not Jews. See, up until then, the Jews were all about keeping “clean” from Gentiles. But Christ came to bring PEACE ON EARTH and GOOD WILL TOWARD MEN. Not just Jews... His salvation is available to ALL men (or humans, to be politically correct). So, in the words of the Vandals (or Gwen Stefani): If God came down on Christmas Day / I know exactly what He’d say / He’d say “Oi to the punks and Oi to the skins / and Oi to the world and everybody wins!”

Yeah, I'm going ape-ity ape...!

People shagging* to beach 
music in 60s Myrtle Beach

Remember my last post? It referred to the veritable smorgasbord of tunage featured on Triangle radio stations and to that classic of tower of funkitude Brick House… Well, it appears that I'm not quite done with that topic... You see, the other night as I was following my husband to the European Motors place to drop off his 27-year-old Volvo, I discovered in my channel-flipping that one of the stations (preset 6) offers WHOLE show of Beach Music. 

If you're not from around here, you may have no handle to hang that moniker on, so I'll tell you right off the bat "beach music" has nothing to do with the Beach Boys or Dick Dale. Wikipedia defines beach music this way: 

Beach music, also known as Carolina beach music, and to a lesser extent, Beach pop, is a regional genre which developed from various rock/R&B/pop music of the 1950s and 1960s. Beach music is most closely associated with the style of swing dance known as the shag, or the Carolina shag, which is also the official state dance of both North Carolina and South Carolina. Recordings with a 4/4 "blues shuffle" rhythmic structure and moderate-to-fast tempo are the most popular music for the shag, and the vast majority of the music in this genre fits that description.

Mods called it Northern Soul –
and who is cooler than them?

And if you ARE familiar with it and are starting to question my hipness quotient... The Mods in England called such music "Northern Soul"** and who is cooler than them? The music snob in me will also say that I prefer the original R&B songs to the pale copycat stuff that came later.

And like the station's 24-7 approach to music mixing, Big John’s Beach Party played a variety - the good, the bad and the silly. Anyway, all of this is to say: it was on my way home that night that I heard one of my shagalicious favorites, The Showmen's 39-21-46.*** (Listen here.) And I sang that bad boy at top of my lungs.... Bobbing in the car seat, shagging with the steering wheel... I felt positively giddy with the Spirit... And then I realized it:

39-21-46 and Brick House are the THE SAME SONG!!! You can read the lyrics to Brick House on my previous post, and the lyrics to 39-21-46 here:

You are so beautiful
You're such a sight to see

You're the girl for me

You you you you you you you you

You set my soul afire
filling my heart with one desire

Wanting to be with you

You could make a blind man see
You could make a crippled man walk

You could make the quietest man in the world talk

Uh huh huh nobody else will do

Every little boy in town

Wants to get his arms around

You you you you you you you you you you you you

For no one else will do

But you with your 39 21 40 shape

Yes you got me going ape-ity ape over you

You you you you you you you you
Ah ah ah ah you

You could make a blind man see

You could make a crippled man walk
You could make the quietest man in the world talk

Yes nobody else will do

Every little boy in town

Wants to get his arms around
You you you you you you you you you you you you
For no one else will do but
You, with your 39 21 40 shape,
Yes you got me going ape-ity ape over you
You you you you you you you you
Yeah yeah yeah Oh oh oh oh

The Showmen

As a lo divinos (or secular songs sung with a sacred intent), they describe a singular God of perfect proportions... The Object of worship and complete delight... See what I mean?! The same song. Remember in that movie about Ray Charles where he plays his unique style of gospel-turned-R&B for his girlfriend and she's kind of appalled because it seems sacrilegious... Well, I'm flipping that over like a half-done steak!

Because these two songs also remind me that people tend to “worship” things that are only half-baked (or half-grilled, if we're gonna do right by the metaphor): a perfect partner, a well-endowed bank account, a fancy job title, a stellar reputation, a matchless experience, an inspiring artist or work of art, our own agenda... Not that those things are bad, but really – it’s just stuff, you know? 

He could – and did! – make 
a blind man see.

I think it's their hyperbole that makes these songs so easy to convert to praise songs – they reflect the kind of devotion that belongs only to God – you know, the One who actually CAN make the blind see, the crippled walk, and the quiet talk. I myself used to be quiet, doncha know...!

Anyway... in John 4, Jesus tells the Samaritan woman when she's drawing him some water, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

And that’s the water I want. No One else will do!

*I don't recommend doing a Google image search of "people shagging." Just... don't.

**At Crazy Zack's on Hillsborough Street in the early 80s, I once met a British guy who had come to NC to buy beach music records to take back to sell in England as Northern Soul. 

***There seems to be some dispute over whether this song is called 39-21-46 or 39-21-40 Shape...? It says the former on images of the 45, but the song lyrics say the latter.