Teen Girls Squad and Becky

Humor is a funny thing.  Of course we should never laugh AT people, but laughing with them is another matter.  Sometimes we all need to lighten up, and hoot and howl about something funny.  Research shows that people that laugh out loud a lot are healthier and live longer than those who are sullen, sour folks. Some things are just silly funny and really have no point except to laugh. 

TEEN GIRLS SQUAD

When Anna and Ruth were in youth group years ago, their youth pastor who was- and still is brilliant, started showing clips of  Homestar Runner’s  “Strong Bad” a way silly website developed around 2001 by a couple of guys with a fun sense of humor.  Using stick drawings, it did and still does poke a little fun at teens and the stuff they go through - and helps them to laugh at themselves. My favorite spin off of this website is “Teen Girl’s Squad” I still laugh out loud viewing it to this day. It is sooo random.  Have a look if you have never seen it- you will be hooked:) http://homestarrunner.com/tgs2.html

 

SSH (SIEGES SENSE OF HUMOR)

The Sieges family sense of humor is robust and a little warped. That’s what I like about it.  We like to re-tell funny things that have happened in the fam history.  Like the time Anna stomped up the stairs in junior high while saying to her mom “bite me”. (that was out of character for her and she got in BIG  trouble) Or the time Ruth got a roll of toilet paper from the downstairs bathroom and ran outside to throw it to the upstairs bathroom window where Anna was beseeching ANYONE vehemently to get her some TP.  Ru made the shot inside the window after about 8 tries:) Most of all we love to tell funny stories about our beloved Bud- who is a hilarious person  in his own right. Needless to say, he was an amazing kid to raise.  Now he is 18 and a fine young Christian man, but some of the shenanigans in getting there have been awesome.  The time he got kicked off the bus for burping on girls heads was stellar. The Chicken Story, however, will go down in the history of “Sieges Stuff”

BECKY

Tim went to Kenya for a month when bud was about 8-9 years old to teach Kenyan Pastors counseling.  While he was there Bud was taking care of our young -kinda teen age hens. One day I went out to check on him.  Becky, the feisty bossy chicken was incapacitated.

Me: Bud, why is this chicken over here?

Bud: Oh, she is just tired and resting.

Me: She looks pretty bedraggled

Bud: Mom she is fine she is just tired

Me: Are you sure son?  Becky looks ill. Why does she have her own food and water over here?

Bud: Uhhhh

Me: Why are there popsicle sticks and scotch tape around her leg?

Bud:  Ummmm well -I kinda stepped on her leg….

 After a little more interrogation I finally surmised Evan had stepped on her leg, broken it and then splinted it.  Hmmm… resourceful, but when his dad got home from Kenya- he got rung up pretty good for SO MANY things having to do with this story.  Meanwhile, Becky amazingly got better and grew up.  She actually turned out to be a rooster… and was renamed “Al”.   Al did fine and overcame his gender confusion, Bud learned some valuable lessons having to do with lying, covering up, and a possible chicken EMT career:)

Evan at 8 years old and his beloved chickens- Becky is the big one next to his foot:)

OK- I do realize some things are not funny.  There is no humor in abuse, or war, or the anguish of a loved one passing.  In his role as director of counseling for an international mission organization, my husband deals with some pretty hard things, many having to do with missionaries in crisis.  Even so, on Friday nights he loves to watch WIPEOUT on TV.  He laughs and laughs at that silly show.  Now he has all of us hooked on it. What in the cat hair?

Sometimes I wonder if God has a sense of humor?  What is funny to Him?  Does he ever scratch His head and say “what in the cat hair?”  If He is watching closely the happenings in the Sieges household,  I know He has to grin a little.

Scripture also gives us a few interestingly ironic moments-

In the book of ACTS Chapter 19 we get a detailed account of a riot in Ephesus.  It was CRAZY there. Weird things were happening.  Vss 13-16 tell us of the seven sons of Sceva who were going around pretending to drive out evil spirits in “the name of Jesus who Paul preaches” One spirit said to them, “Yes we know Jesus, and we have heard of Paul- but WHO ARE YOU?”  I can picture theses seven not so bright guys- in the end they ran out of the house naked.  A little funny:) 

 

 Consider that famous passage (1 Kings 18:27) where Elijah is on Mount Carmel taunting the prophets of Baal – asking them where their god was?  He is asking them if their god might be “busy”, or on vacation?    In some translations “busy” is rendered “going potty” Now that is just FUNNY, I don’t care who you are! (A little borrowing from Larry the cable guy) Imagine Hebrew scholars puzzling over this one:)

 

Life is serious.  We should take it seriously.  But funny things do happen. What about menopause and hot flashes? Seriously, what is more hilarious than an older woman having to strip down a little not to expire of heat stroke?

I think my One and Only, Omnipotent, Almighty God  has a fabulous sense of humor.  What about you? When is the last time you laughed until you cried?  Just do it.  Today.

Spatulas, Sisters, and the Red Panda

SPATULA

Giving good gifts is an art.  On one of the only TV shows I watch- Parks and Rec-perky  Leslie Knope  gives thoughtful, meaningful and well planned gifts to her friends and co- workers. Who knew that chic from 2^nd City could be sooo perky and not be irritating? But I digress.  My husband is an expert gift giver- especially to his little hunny.  He has given me many amazing gifts over the years, and this Christmas he outdid himself.  While waiting for a fab hand carved necklace to arrive from Canada where he had ordered it- he got nervous about its imminent arrival- and went out a few days before Christmas shopping.  What showed up under the tree was a 6 foot spatula:)  You might say: WOW!  You might say: What in the cat hair?  I said both of these things while scratching my head: then I thanked him and Pier One.   All of the gifts he gives me are surprising and awesome- and to be truthful they are perfect. When the necklace arrived after Christmas it was perfect too:)

Bud showing off the FABULOUS gift he helped his Dad choose:)

GIFTEDNESS & NON

Giving gifts and being gifted are two entirely different things. While in traffic school a few years ago (Ok I admit it) the officer droning on in a monotone voice for 6 hours that day was definitely NOT GIFTED as a teacher.  Shamika and Sharee, my two new best friends sitting behind me that day were doing the same thing I was- struggling to stay awake.  At the break they went to the snack machine and came back with $25 worth of snacks.  They shared one with me and I was grateful- but I could not help thinking I did not need snacks- and either did Shamika and Sharee- believe me.   What we needed was a teacher who could at least keep us awake.  To be fair- the subject matter was not the most compelling- but Shamika, Sharee and I all agreed the DMV could have done a little better job getting someone a little more gifted at teaching. By the end of the class Shamika and Sharee were constantly saying under their breath “help me jesus”.  I concurred.

I have 4 fabulous sisters who are all greatly gifted in many ways.  They are all beautiful, and hugely successful in their careers. They are either raising or have raised great kids.  While I have the greatest kids(ha) my sisters inspire me in so many ways. I admire them all very much, and what they have accomplished in their lives.

From L-R:  Me, Mom, Janice, Mary Ellen, Kathy, Nancy

To be truthful- we are ALL gifted in some way.  It would take me a LONG time to enumerate the ways my husband and kids are gifted- so I will save that for another blog…  I am pretty good at planning events- I am getting better at working with/training autistic folks. I am/was a pretty good missionary.  I like to teach bible studies.  I am trying to be a better writer- but I have a ways to go on that.

THE RED PANDA

Over Christmas Tim and I went to a Charlotte Bobcats basketball game.  While the Cats were fairly un-inspiring, the halftime show was great. An Asian woman about 40 years old came out on a 15 foot unicycle balancing a dish on a stick on her head.  She was pretty darn gifted.  They kept throwing more dishes up to her- and she just kept putting them up there until she was balancing about 10 of them.  We kept thinking at any moment she would drop them but she did not. It was a pretty cat hair moment.

Where is your giftedness?  If you don’t know -get on it and find out!  What in the cat hair are you good at? What in the cat hair are you waiting for? Throw those dishes up on a stick and GET MOVING! Scripture teaches us to USE our gifts.  If we sit on our hands, or just lay around on the couch watching the Kardashians that really stinks to high heaven.

It goes without saying that Jesus was the greatest gift of all- His sacrifice on the cross was once for all-finished.  But He longs for us to use our giftedness to honor Him. What will you do today to honor Him? Are we in danger of losing our gifts/crowns in Heaven if we don’t get going on this Earth?  Hmmmmm…. Maybe.

2 Corinthians 5:10

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one of us may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.”