Sunday, May 31, 2009

Homeostatic Happiness

Today at HRBC was all about Next steps.. from the graduates in worship to our closeout of the story of Esther.

Few of my thoughts/bullets are below summarizing the stuff we talked about... Was great to see you all today. (post your comments/thoughts on the blog)
  • Commanding generals Lee and Grant "chose" a path to reconciliation and unity at Appomattox. Check out (Appomattox County) for more on this.
  • Esther and Mordecai "won" and chose a path which allowed the Jews to massacre over 75,000 people as a result of the persecution. Was this revenge or justice?
  • There is no linear solution to "happyeverafterness", no matter what Hollywood says
  • Willy Wonka told Charlie "remember what happened to the man who got everything...he was happy"
  • Perhaps by focusing on what God wants for us, we can be happy.. perhaps not.
  • We should live in JOY, and joy is not same thing as happiness.
  • God was at work through Easter and is at work in our lives every day.
  • Holy spirit is with us and will help us anytime we ask.
  • Revenge and Justice are dangerous for us. They present a lot of problems which we can't easily reconcile. Perhaps they are best left to God to deal with..
  • People: both adults and children should never raise ourselves up by putting others down
CLASS ACTIVITIES TO PLAN:
Ackerman assistance (come through Jeff, assessment is underway)
Fun in the Son 2009???
Meat Night
Ladies nights continue..
Remember Open door has a group on Facebook.
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Friday nt forums are ON!.. Prillaman house on Friday nights.. bring enough food for your crew to eat, kids welcome.. we eat from 6-7 and talk from 7-9ish.
on June 5: we will continue with the 912 principles & the Declaration of Independence

Future topics for the forum are likely to include: the Church & the government, Influence of Arts on world, Obamanomics, The Great Depression, Raising kids in our entitlement society, Universal Healthcare, Gay Marriage and embracing diversity, Rich v. Poor in U.S.A. , Green future... Socialism, Fascism in Our time/town... who knows we may even have some guest experts..

1 comment:

Virginia Tenor said...

from Wayne:
You know, happiness is not everything. It is fleeting.



Willy Wonka is a great example.



The story ends in the elevator but life did not end for Charlie and his chocolate factory. There is a reason why there is no sequel movie. It would not be pretty - and certainly not family friendly.



Almost immediately after taking over, Charlie had to hire a team of barristers (“lawyer” in the queen’s English) to defend the countless suits for disfigurement and emotional distress filed by the victims and families of the “golden ticket” winners. Wonka retired just in time, and took the “5th” or its equivalent in England when called to testify as a witness. Sadly, Augustus Gloop died tragically in a Coney Island hot-dog eating contest as his case was coming to court. He didn’t choke, but rather, a large safe attached to a piano fell from a New York skyscraper as he was on his Hoveraround on the way to the contest.



Charlie would also rather forget the dozens of lawsuits by the National Organization for Women and other organizations that cited a decrepit lack of women and minorities in the factory and candy shops’ employ. One particularly nasty allegation noted that the factory, but with one exception had never hired anyone who was not between 36 and 40 inches in stature with the sole exception of the tall, domineering white man who held court over the factory and its minions, who commanded them not with conversation or proper communicative channels but with a demeaning and demoralizing flute-like melody which he used to summon and command employees. No woman in the history of the factory had ever worked there – ever.



Few people can forget the devastating Oompa Lumpa strikes of 1976 and 1978 when they sued for improper working conditions. Among the more colorful allegations were complaints that the workers were never allowed to see sunlight, were forced to live in the factory’s on-site shanty town and were paid exclusively in something called “Wonka bucks” that were only spendable in company stores. In addition, they cited the factory owner’s continued insistence on using human-powered cars, boats and other equipment when suitable electric and gas-combustion equipment was readily available. Fortunately the lawsuit was settled when Charlie agreed to hire new music composers (including for while, a young Barry Manilow – who credits that time with his breakthrough into jingle-writing) and provide new uniforms (with bell bottoms and suspenders) reflecting the fashions of the 1970’s. Apparently, Oompa Lumpas are easily appeased.



The marriage and subsequent divorce of Charlie and Veruka Salt was the final straw for the beleaguered Charlie. After daily tabloid coverage, he finally sold out to M&M- Mars in the late 1980’s and now lives in a New York Shelter were he is treated for his Type-3 Diabetes, severe tooth loss, and a rare, but chronic disease called Cocoa Lung. He is often heard muttering “Burp, Uncle, burp,” which is an apparent reference to the tragic day when his uncle returned to the fizzy lifting drink room and forgot the secret to coming down. The drink program was terminated and no one has entered that room since the tragic day.



So you see, even when you have “everything,” you really don’t.



Wayne