Button Up Your Overcoat

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At our church we have a wonderful group of older ladies who call themselves the "OWLS" (Older, Wiser, Loving Saints). Each month they meet twice in our church cafe to have prayer time, lunch and an entertainment program. Today they held a "Mad Hatter Lunch" and fashion show, at which they had a small singing group entertain the crowd with some old standards. One of them is called, "Button Up Your Overcoat," and I found its words to be amusing. It's a song written in 1928 from the perspective of a woman who's worried sick over the health and well being of her beloved. I guess you could piggyback its message on my previous posts about faith, trust, and being still before the Lord.

Button Up Your Overcoat

Words and music by DeSylva, Brown, and Henderson
Recorded by Ruth Etting on March 11, 1929 in New York City for Columbia Records.
Originally issued on Columbia 1762 D (Matrix 148029)

Listen, big boy,
Now that I've got you made,
Goodness, but I'm afraid,
Something's going to happen to you;
Listen, big boy,
You've got me hooked, and how,
I would die if I should lose you now!

Button up your overcoat,
When the wind is free,
Take good care of yourself,
You belong to me!

Oh, eat an apple every day,
Get to bed by three,
Take good care of yourself,
You belong to me!

Be careful crossing streets, ooh-ooh,
Don't eat meats, ooh-ooh,
Cut out sweets, ooh-ooh,
You'll get a pain and ruin your tum-tum!

Keep away from bootleg hooch
When you're on a spree,
Take good care of yourself,
You belong to me!

Don't step on hornet's tails, ooh-ooh!
Or on nails, ooh-ooh!
Or third rails, ooh-ooh!
You'll get a pain and ruin your tum-tum!

Oh, button up your overcoat,
When the wind is free,
Take good care of yourself,
You belong to me!

Oh, wear your flannel underwear,
When you climb a tree,
Take good care of yourself,
You belong to me!

Steer clear of frozen ponds, ooh-ooh,
Peroxide blondes, ooh-ooh,
Stocks and bonds, ooh-ooh,
You'll get a pain, ruin your bankroll!

Keep the spoon out of your cup,
When you're drinking tea,
Take good care of yourself,
You belong to me!

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The Beautiful Delight of Trust

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I wanted to share with you some of my observations from Psalm 37:1-11, the text for tonight's Young Careers small group lesson. The psalm is one of the most relevant teachings on trust for our day and times. You may notice that a lot of my postings have dealt with the issue of trust and perhaps that is due to the fact that the process of Growing Young is to regain (or develop) a childlike trust in God. He is Abba, "Daddy" a good and faithful Father who is pleased to care for His children. Yet we, His children, are seemingly always so hesitant to trust Him with the important things of life -- our finances, our family, our safety, our security, etc. Here's Psalm 37:1-11:

Do not fret because of the wicked;
do not be envious of wrongdoers,
for they will soon fade like the grass,
and wither like the green herb.

Trust in the LORD, and do good;
so you will live in the land, and enjoy safe pasture.
Delight yourself in the LORD,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in him, and he will act.
He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,
and the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.

Be still before the LORD, and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when men succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes.

Refrain from anger, and turn from wrath.
Do not fret—it leads only to evil.
For the wicked shall be cut off,
but those who wait for the LORD will inherit the land.

Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more;
though you look diligently for their place, they will not be there.
But the meek shall inherit the land,
and delight themselves in abundant prosperity.

Notice anything about this passage that stands out?

I can see a few things. First of all, it is filled with commands. Almost every couplet! Don't fret, trust, Delight, Commit, Be Still, Refrain, Turn, Wait. Wow, it's almost overwhelming! Two commands are repeated more than once in this passage: "Trust" (2x) and "Do not fret" (3x). The two just happen to be closely related. One leads the the absence of the other. When a person frets, he or she does not trust. And when a person trusts, he or she does not fret. Fretting and Trusting do not go together. They are like oil and water — an insoluble solution.

What else stands out?

I see a lot of conditional promises from God to those who follow His commands. Let's explore a few.

• "Trust in the Lord and do good" — when a person trusts in the Almighty protection of a sovereign God, he or she can rest in safety. Why? Because they know someone with more power, more insight, and more love is looking out for them.
  
• "Delight yourself in the Lord" — when you seek to please the Lord with your life, He will bless you with all that you need to be pleased in this life. Notice I say "to be pleased." It doesn't take a million dollars, a shiny new car, or a big house to please a God-follower. Because our focus is on pleasing God and not ourselves. Ans as a result of our focus, we find pleasure and delight in the little things. Like the laugh of a baby, the frolicking of birds in a streetside puddle, or just simply sitting across the table from a brother or sister in Christ.
• "Refrain from anger and turn from wrath" — getting angry at things out of your control is a sure way to burn up and alienate yourself from everyone you hold dear. It does no good.
• "Do not fret" — why? It leads only to evil (or, sin). To worry (another word for fret) is a path of sin? When we worry we do not trust. We don't trust in God, we don't trust in our spouse, we don't trust anyone or anything. Anxiousness (yet another word for fret) leads to sin. And keeps a person from being close to God and close to the ones they love. Jesus said worry does not fit a Kingdom mindset. "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? (Matt 6:25)"
  

God is in the process of taking care of affairs in this world. When we choose to trust in Him for our finances, our housing, our marriage, and our security, we will find that worry and anxiety will cease. We no longer have the burdens squarely on our shoulders. Our burdens are on His!

Do you trust Him enough to take those burdens away from you and handle them? God will take care of your finances. He will make sure you have what you need for life and health and godliness. But do you trust Him to provide? Will you delight in Him and stop worrying? Can you take a deep breath and relax?

Can you?

Be God's.

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Photo of the Day

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Ever feel like you're walking on thin ice? That no matter what you say or do, it has a great chance at failure? I hate walking on thin ice. Sure makes for a tough trek filled with anxiety, fear and insecurity! Thank goodness I serve a God who secures the ice beneath my feet so that I cannot fall through! So I can live in security, peace, and rest. A big part of growing young involves learning to trust that the ice will not break. That the God who leads you across the frozen pond will see you across in safety. Little children follow their parents where they lead. Adults are a lot more skeptical. We see the sign and go around the lake. We won't even trust the ice. We avoid it. Even if it means we have to go way out of our way.

What do you think about thin ice? Will you trust God if He leads you across it? Or will you say, "No thanks," and go a different way?

Be God's.

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Recession Romance

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I saw a most fascinating report on ABC's Nightline last night about how the recession is affecting the dating lives of single adults. I wish the network would let me embed the video for you but, alas, they will not. So here's a link to the report on their website. Check it out. It's fascinating.

http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=7563029

The conclusion of the report was that because money is tight, singles are starting to look for other things than wealth in a partner. They are actually now looking for lasting romance and people who make do with what they have. Because extravagance and wealth are not a part of every single adult's life right now. Go figure! It takes tough economic times to turn people back to what really makes romance and relationships work: time and contentment.

The video is worth watching.

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Growing Old

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Jesus said (to Peter), "Feed my sheep. I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go." (John 21:17-18)

Jesus warned Peter that getting old wasn't going to be easy. That he would find himself imprisoned as an older man, forced to do things he didn't want to do and being led where he didn't want to go. As an older man, he wouldn't be able to exert his free will like he used to do. He wouldn't even be able to dress himself any more.

Growing old is tough. As I have watched my grandparents get older, it has been difficult on my emotions. For my memories are not of older individuals, but folks in the prime of life. My mom's dad was 51 when I was born. Her mom was in her upper 40's. Not old at all! Yet they are both in their 80's now and not quite so strong and able. Both have battled cancer. But both are still of sharp mind, which is a blessing. My other grandmother is 86 and lives in assisted living. She still has a driver's license, which scares us, but mainly uses a walker to get around.

My fiancee's grandmother, however, is not as well off. A tender, wonderful woman of 93, she resides in an assisted living facility here in town, where she receives care 24/7. Stripped of her hearing and her sight by time and trial, she needs help to move, eat, dress, and hear. Yesterday, she was treated to a special Mother's Day lunch by her daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter. As I watched her eat in the restaurant, my heart broke for the woman. She struggled to eat, drink and understand what was going on around her. Her daughter, my future mother-in-law, had to help her with her food (she couldn't see her fork or the pieces of prime rib on her plate very well). The glass of lemonade seemed heavy, full and burdensome.

It once again dawned on me that once we reach a certain age, we start to regress in ability, not the other way around. If evolution is true, each generation of the human race would be able to keep its faculties longer than the previous one. And improvements in motor skills would continue into our 50's and 60's and 70's. After all, we are evolving into a higher life form, right?

But our bodies are not evolving into a higher form. They are breaking down. And the longer we live, the less able we are. I read a statistic once that said the human body reaches its cellular maturity in the late teenage years. From the age of 18 or 19 until we die, our bodies are gradually deteriorating. Our cells become more susceptible to disease and our muscles to fatigue. That's just the way it is. I'm a young 32 and I can already feel it in my own body.

Saint Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:2-3 that our bodies are sick of breaking down. They are "groaning" for that which never breaks; cells that never lose their chemistry and muscles that never ache. And we'll get that new imperishable body -- after this one dies! For it must die. We must get old, if we're allowed to.

And children become parents of their parents who have become like children. Not in immaturity but in ability. This is the way of life. And it is another reason why I want my heart and my faith to be growing young, so that even as my body wastes away my heart and mind remain tuned to the wonderful Creator who once made me and who will one day re-make me.

And I'll be forever young.

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