Have You Seen Any Eskimos Lately?
Stories
Object:
Contents
What's Up This Week
"Have You Seen Any Eskimos Lately?" by Ron Lavin
"More Eskimos at Joy House" by Ron Lavin
"The Great Escapes" by Fanny Lee Seville
"Amazing Dreams" by Fanny Lee Seville
What's Up This Week
God gave of himself at Christmas. He gave everything for us. As followers of Christ, we are called to do the same--to give to a world in need as an extension of God's love. Ron Lavin illustrates this calling in "Have You Seen Any Eskimos Lately?" and "More Eskimos at Joy House." Fanny Lee Seville gives us another view of this kind of sacrificial love, this time in the context of family, in "The Great Escapes." She also shows us how God still speaks to us here on earth in "Amazing Dreams."
Happy New Year!
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Have You Seen Any Eskimos Lately?
Ron Lavin
Isaiah 63:7-9
Christmas is a time of joy. We rejoice in the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ. The first Sunday after Christmas and every Sunday of the church year are also times of joy since we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord every Sunday. Isaiah 63:7-9 emphasizes the joy of Christians who remember the gracious deeds of the LORD. Hebrews 2:10-18 says that Jesus is the Pioneer of our salvation. We are called to be followers of the Pioneer, doing deeds that represent him.
Isaiah 63:7 says, "I will recount the gracious deeds of the LORD, the praiseworthy acts of the LORD." Recounting includes repeating the graces of God as his messengers. Actress Mariette Hartley calls the messengers of God "Eskimos." A recovering alcoholic, Mariette heard an unforgettable story in a group therapy session that changed her life and made her look for Eskimos in her life.
A unbeliever said to a priest, "Hey, Father, you got it all wrong about the God stuff. He does not exist. I ought to know." "Why is that, my son?" the priest asked. "Well, when I was ice fishing in the Arctic far from the nearest village, a blizzard blew up with wind and blinding snow. I was a goner. So I got down on my knees and prayed real hard, begging God for help."
"And did he help you?"
"Heck no. God didn't lift a finger."
"But, you are here and you are alive. What happened?"
"Some Eskimo appeared out of nowhere and showed me the way," said the skeptic.
Have you seen any Eskimo lately? Mariette says, "It took me a while to recognize the Eskimos in my life. I needed them so badly, but I just didn't see them for a long time." She goes on to explain that she grew up haunted by her maternal grandfather, John B. Watson, a famous psychologist who founded the movement called "Behaviorism." It taught that parents should resist their children's natural bonding needs, which were considered undesirable--no cuddling, no kissing, and few outward signs of affection. Her mother, who experienced this kind of treatment first hand became an alcoholic to numb her feelings. Her father, a high-powered advertising executive, also succumbed to alcohol.
At age eleven, Mariette was smitten with the theater. It was there that she met her first Eskimo, Eva Le Gallienne, a legendary actress, who was teaching at the White Barn Theater near her home. She was a delightful woman with a tiny nose, violet eyes, and translucent skin. She wore lavender cashmere sweaters and periwinkle-blue dresses. A loving, giving person, she taught youngsters as well as professionals. Mariette learned how to feel and project emotions, and to let "the sacred fire strike" by eliminating self so that the character one is playing shines through. Miss Le G inspired her students spiritually.
Although she didn't come from a religious home, Mariette hopped on her bicycle and pedaled to the Northfield Congregational Church, where she was asked to sing in the choir and to sing solos. Her early days in a dysfunctional family were traumatic, but in the church she found hope and goodness.
At age sixteen, Mariette rediscovered that hope at a nearby Shakespeare festival. She was walking in a field. Suddenly she stopped by a tree and had an overwhelming spiritual experience of the presence of God. She couldn't share the experience with her atheist parents, but she wrote to Miss G about it. She wrote back from London that she too had had a similar experience, that there were times when she felt so utterly undeserving that she was filled with a kind of wondering humbleness, not just humility, but the sort of thing that flings you to your knees, "Try terribly hard not to fail what has happened to you," she wrote. "Always be yourself... never get conceited or spoiled... keep brave, keep strong, do the job at hand to the best of your ability... know that you are being used by some greater Power and try to obey it."
As a teenager Mariette suffered a short-lived marriage to an older man who beat her mercilessly. Later, when offered a leading role in the film "Come Fly With Me," she had to turn it down because she had hepatitis. Then, most devastating of all, her father committed suicide. What sustained her in these difficult times when others would have said that God didn't hear her prayers? You guessed it--Eskimos, God's messengers. She even came to believe that she could be one.
More Eskimos at Joy House
By Ron Lavin
Hebrews 2:10-18
In November of 2006, Joy Mangan and her family were driving to Colorado for the Thanksgiving holiday. They were near Las Vegas, New Mexico. Joy was behind the wheel, with husband Rohry and daughter Mandi as passengers. Joy fell asleep. Their pickup truck went into the soft dirt of the center median and suddenly veered to the right. It crossed the highway into the right shoulder where it rolled over onto its top. The top of the pickup caved in, especially on the driver's side. Rohry and Mandi were spared serious injury, but Joy's neck was pinned down at an extreme angle. Her spinal cord was severed. Later in the hospital, she was told that if the damage had been one vertebra higher, she would have been killed. She was also told she would never walk again.
Joy was pinned in the vehicle. An emergency technician arrived and asked how she was doing. "I'm fine," she said. "I have a request. Will you sing 'Amazing Grace' with me?" As the jaws of life cut open the car, the two of them sang the song of praise. At the University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque and later at Long Beach Hospital near her home in California, Joy sang and prayed with doctors and nurses who cared for her.
Enter Rod Anderson, a retired railroad executive. Rod was sitting in church the Sunday after Thanksgiving when the pastor told the congregation what had happened to Joy, Rohry, and Mandi. Shock, disbelief, and sorrow fill the worshipers. Tears flowed. Many members, including Rod, felt a call from God to do something to help this family. The pastor announced that hopefully, in the not too distant future, Joy would be returning home from the hospital.
As he left church that day, Rod told the pastor he wanted to coordinate the work that would need to be done at the Mangan house to make it wheelchair accessible and comfortable for Joy. Little did he know what extensive work this would involve.
When Rod went to Joy's house to see what he and his group of volunteers were facing, he was relieved to see that the house was a one story. The group was faced with the task of removing the carpeting from several rooms and installing either hardwood or ceramic tile floors in eight rooms. They would also have to widen a bathroom doorway, remove a shower and tub to install new ones, add additional lighting to the home and on the outside, install a wheelchair ramp, paint and remove the double door front entry to install one wider door and side panel to give Joy easier access.
There were times when Rod felt totally overwhelmed. Volunteers came out to help, but there was only one professional construction man in the group. Jerry, the professional, worked for five weeks on his hands and knees laying tile. But we are getting ahead of the story.
One week after the pastor announced Joy's accident, Rod received a phone call from a church member named Lorrie. She said she had a niece named September who worked for a ceramic tile company. Lorrie told Rod that September's company had agree to give all the tile that would be needed for the house, free of charge. The following week the workers rented a U-Haul truck and picked up 2,100 square feet (7,000 pounds) of floor tile for the extreme makeover of Joy House, as they now called it.
Over and over again God provided people with services and supplies. An electrician was needed. One of the volunteers said that he had done some work with an electrical supplier and that he would contact them to see if they would donate the supplies that were needed. Hank's Electrical Supplies came through with all the electrical supplies that would be needed, free of charge. Still, an electrician was needed.
A member of a nearby church called and asked what was needed. "An electrician," Rod said. He called back in a half hour indicating that he had talked to someone at Southern California Energy Service and that they would love to send two electricians. When Rod called the company, they said that two electricians would be sent on the following Friday.
One of the electricians accidentally missed a ceiling joist and stepped through the bathroom ceiling. He wasn't hurt, just embarrassed, but now there was an additional job to do--repairing the ceiling. One of the volunteers stopped by that afternoon to see how everything was going. He saw what had happened to the ceiling. "I've got a friend who does drywall," he said. "Let me check with him." Two days later, the friend had fixed the ceiling.
This kind of thing happened over and over again. Every time there was a need, the phone rang or someone walked through the door with a solution. The basic work at Joy House was completed by the time Joy was released from the hospital on January 18, 2007. When Joy saw all that had been done, she was overwhelmed and ecstatic. Eskimos had been at work at Joy House.
Ron Lavin is the award-winning author of more than twenty books, including Turning Griping into Gratitude, Way to Grow! and the popular Another Look series (CSS). He is the former Pastor-Director of Evangelical Outreach for the Lutheran Church in America, and was a pastor of five thriving congregations, all of which grew substantially under his leadership.
The Great Escapes
By Fanny Lee Seville
Matthew 2:13-23
Children are precious gifts from God. Many parents would risk their own life to save their son or daughter from a disastrous situation. In the stories that follow, none of the parents took the time to evaluate the cost involved in their decision-making. They all acted out of love and concern for their children.
A family was on its way to the Passion Play in Front Royal, Virginia. This year Grandma and Auntie Lee were invited to go along on the family's summer vacation. Now, there were seven people neatly snuggled in their white SUV.
It was a beautiful sunshiny day when the family started on its trip. A picnic lunch was packed to lower the expense of eating in a restaurant. Fried chicken, potato salad, veggies, and Grandma's homemade chocolate chip cookies awaited the picnickers.
The drive through the Skyline Drive, which meanders along the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, was spectacular. Breathtaking vistas, rushing streams, peaceful waterfalls, and the bluish color of the mountains greeted the family at every turn in the road.
Arriving early, the family had enough time to check into the hotel and enjoy a leisurely supper. At the Passion Play, the players in their authentic costumes, brought to life the joys and sorrows of Jesus' life. After the play, the family talked about its significance.
Back at the hotel, as they walked passed a brightly lighted sign, welcoming guests to the resort, the father noticed that the sign flickered on and off as if it had an electrical short. Concerned that a fire could erupt, he reported the sign's condition to the hotel manager who said that he would check into the situation.
During the night, smoked filled the family's suite, awaking the father. He quickly alerted his sleeping wife who in turn awoke her mother and aunt. One by one the father carried his sleeping children to safety. All escaped unharmed because the father courageously returned to the burning building, rescuing each child. Thank you God for the courage of a parent.
The warning signs were posted, "No swimming today -- rough currents." The boys read the sign, but paid no attention. If they stayed close to the shoreline, no harm would come to them. After all they were excellent swimmers. All had passed their survivors' training course. They would be just fine.
The youngest in the group tried unsuccessfully to persuade the others not to go swimming. When they refused to listen to him, he swiftly went to find his mother. As quickly as possibly she ran to the water's edge just as her son went under water. Risking her own life, she jumped into the swift-moving current and safely rescued her drowning son. Both escaped death that unforgettable summer day. Thank you God for the courage of a parent.
It was one of those beautiful summer days when the heat from the sun was not too hot and the sky was a deep, royal blue, and the wind blew ever so gently across her face. Hurriedly, she walked to her car, thinking what a wonderful time she would have taking her two-year-old daughter for a walk around the community. Turning onto the street where she lived, she could see her son, playing with his babysitter on the sidewalk. She also noticed a teenaged boy, riding his bike across the street and stopping to talk with the sitter. As she pulled into her driveway, she saw her son run into the street to fetch his ball. At the same time, she saw a moving van, coming down the street rather speedily. Instinctively, she stopped the car, jumped out, and ran into the street to rescue her son. The van struck the mother's left side, causing no permanent damage. Her son was frightened, but because of his mother's quick action, he escaped being seriously injured. Thank you God for the courage of a parent.
Two accounts of great escapes are recorded in the Bible, both involving Egypt: the first -- Moses and the Israelites' escape from Egypt as recorded in the Hebrew Scriptures, and the second -- Joseph's escape to Egypt from Bethlehem with Mary and Jesus. Moses courageously led his people to the Promised Land, to a new way of life. He had his tribe to support him. But Joseph had no one to shelter him from disaster as he fled to Egypt with his wife and small child. He had no clue as to what the future would hold. Thank you God for the courage of a parent.
Most people can appreciate parents risking their own lives to save their children from injury. But leaving family, friends, and home, risking job opportunities, and going to a foreign land, could prove dangerous and life threatening and could become disastrous for everyone involved. What kind of a man would risk this much?
A father is to protect his family, not place everyone in harm's way. Why would a father travel to an unknown land just to follow a dream? Only Joseph can answer this question. His love for God overcame all odds. God spoke to Joseph in his dreams, and he courageously responded. Today, God is still speaking. The question for us to answer is: Are we still listening?
Amazing Dreams
By Fanny Lee Seville
Matthew 2:13-23
In a lifetime the average person spends a total of six years dreaming. That consists of countless dreams! Cinderella, in Walt Disney's 1950s movie by the same name, sings: "A dream is a wish your heart makes when you're fast asleep."
A dream, I suppose, could be a wish. Maybe a dream is only a vision, a glimpse into the future. Perhaps a dream is God speaking directly to the dreamer.
Many years ago, before sonograms, one morning a young father-to-be awoke and informed his pregnant wife that she would give birth to a blue-eyed, blonde-haired baby boy. The child appeared in his father's dream, walked toward him, and said, "Hi Daddy."
Two years later, the father had a second dream of this nature. When he awoke in the morning, he told his wife that the child she carried in her womb was a blue-eyed, blonde-haired baby girl. She, too, walked toward her father in a dream and said, "Hi Daddy."
The following year, the father dreamed of his third child. Like his brother and sister, he walked toward his father and said, "Hi Daddy." This time the father informed his wife that their third child would be a boy, and he would be different. His eyes would be brown and his hair would also be brown.
Visions of three events occurred in the father's dreams. All came true. God was speaking directly to this father, the dreamer.
Joseph, in the Old Testament, had dreams that alienated him from his brothers who were very jealous of their father's love for him. They hated him even more when Joseph shared with them his dream of the future. "Listen to the dream I had," Joseph said to them. "We were all in the field, tying up sheaves of wheat, when my sheaf got up and stood up straight. Yours formed a circle around mine and bowed down to it."
Upon hearing the dream, Joseph's brothers were indignant and asked, "Do you think you are going to be a king and rule over us?" Now, they hated him even more because of his dreams. Joseph's father also scolded him, wondering if the whole family was to bow down to him!
According to the scriptures, Joseph's dreams came true. God was speaking directly to Joseph, the dreamer.
King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream one night that troubled him greatly. None of his fortunetellers, magicians, sorcerers, or wizards could tell the king what his dream meant.
Daniel and his friends prayed to God, asking God to reveal to them the mystery of the king's dream. During the night, Daniel had a vision in which the meaning of King Nebuchadnezzar's dream was explained.
All came true, as Daniel had interpreted. Again according to the scriptures, God was speaking directly to Daniel, the dreamer.
Before Jesus was born, Joseph dreamed that an angel told him not to be afraid to take Mary as his wife. Although the town's people gossiped about Mary's pregnancy, Joseph followed his dream and became Mary's husband. God was speaking directly to Joseph, the dreamer.
After the birth of Jesus, wise men that studied the stars followed a very bright star. In Jerusalem, they stopped for directions. Secretly, King Herod arranged to meet these stargazers. When they found the one who would guide Israel's people, they were told by Herod to return to him with the information as to the exact location of this new leader.
The star continued guiding the wise men until it stopped over a specific house. Inside the house they saw Jesus with his mother Mary. Their hearts were filled with great joy and happiness. Falling on their knees, they worshiped the king of the Jews and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. That evening, being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left Bethlehem by another road.
God was speaking directly to these stargazers, these dreamers.
After the wise men had gone, an angel appeared to Joseph a second time in a dream, telling him to take Mary and Jesus and go to Egypt. There Jesus would be saved from Herod's death order. Again Joseph followed his dream.
God was speaking directly to Joseph, the dreamer.
A third time an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream, telling him that it was now safe to take Mary and Jesus back to Israel. Again Joseph followed his dream.
God was speaking directly to Joseph, the dreamer.
As the family made its return journey, Joseph was troubled by the stories he heard about Herod's son, succeeding him as king of Judea. In a fourth dream, Joseph was instructed to go to the town of Nazareth in Galilee where Jesus would be safe. For the fourth time, Joseph followed his dream.
God was speaking directly to Joseph, the dreamer.
Today, God is still speaking. We hear God's voice
*** in the kindness of a stranger,
*** in the rustling of a bush,
*** in the singing of birds,
*** in the beauty of a sunset,
*** in the birth of new life, and
*** in the mystery of all living things.
Sometimes God speaks in our dreams. Sometimes we, the dreamers, follow our dreams. And sometimes our dreams come true.
In Matthew's gospel, God spoke to Joseph while he was sleeping. When he awoke, Joseph followed his dream. On four separate occasions, Joseph's dream came true.
How grateful humanity should be to Joseph for his fearless courage to obediently follow his amazing dreams.
Fanny Lee Seville is a retired educator who devoted her entire career to teaching children with disabilities and "at risk" high school students. She is a lifelong member of the United Church of Christ, and has served in many capacities at the local, conference, and national levels. Fanny is married to Jack Seville, Conference Minister Emeritus of the UCC's Northern Plains Conference. She is the author of Sing Stories of Jesus, a children's music book of 25 biblical stories in song.
On An Awful Christmas Eve
John Sumwalt
Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights! Praise him all his angels; praise him all his host!
-- Psalm 148:1-2
Everything changed after Eleanor heard the angels sing that awful Christmas Eve. She had been beside herself with shame and worry. How could she ever go back to church or face her friends in the choir after she had ruined the candlelight service? Eleanor had never done anything like it before. She had always been able to control her emotions, but not that night. Of all the times to lose her composure.
The church had been packed as it always was for the candlelight service. The choir had robed downstairs and were all lined up in the hall outside the sanctuary in preparation for the processional. The organist had already started the prelude. Old Frank Hersog, the head usher, was passing out the candles and Pastor Kristine, the new minister, was getting ready to lead the choir in prayer.
Eleanor looked down the line and happened to see Melinda Gibson laughing with her longtime friend Missy Barren. Missy and Eleanor often sang duets together, but not on Christmas Eve. Eleanor always sang a solo at the midnight service --- the solo. For years and years she had sung ''O Holy Night'' just after the candles were lit. For Eleanor it was the highest, holy moment of the year, and the one thing she was most proud of in her life. She lived for those four wonderful minutes on Christmas Eve.
When she heard that the new pastor had not included ''O Holy Night'' in the midnight service and that she had asked Melinda Gibson to sing ''Jesu Bambino'' instead, Eleanor couldn''t believe it. Melinda was new to the church and had only been singing with the choir for three months. It was true that she had an exceptional soprano voice but no more than her own. It wasn''t fair. How could they do the candlelight service without ''O Holy Night''? It was a tradition.
Eleanor had not shared her disappointment with anyone in the choir. She had held it in and pushed it down until the hurt and bitterness had settled on her heart like a dead weight. When she saw Melinda laughing, she couldn''t help herself, she simply exploded:
''Who does she think she is? What right does she have to sing the solo? I don't know what the pastor was thinking!''
The comments were directed at Sam Wilton, who was standing next to her, but Eleanor spoke much louder than she intended. Her angry words were heard by everyone in the hallway -- and by some worshipers who were just arriving. What's worse, everyone knew exactly why she was upset. And in that same terrible moment, she knew, too, that everyone had heard.
Eleanor put her hand over her mouth, looked down at the floor, then burst into tears and ran out of the church. She sobbed all the way home. What was she going to do? She slept fitfully that night, waking often, wishing that what she knew had happened had been just a nightmare and praying desperately for a way to undo the damage.
Then suddenly Eleanor was caught up in a dream, a dream like she had never dreamed before, one of those dreams that feels more real than real. She was in a beautiful meadow surrounded by fragrant flowers and the ethereal sound of a thousand voices singing music like nothing she had ever heard on earth. The sweet melodies not only fell pleasantly on the ear, the notes exploded before her eyes in a variety of colors, exquisite shades of blues, purples, yellows, greens, and reds that were almost palpable to the touch. And all around her was a host of heavenly beings who radiated light and love in every direction as their voices swelled upwards, praising God with a resounding song of pure joy. The music flowed into her heart like liquid love, warming her through and through.
Eleanor awoke smiling, the pain and the horror of the previous night gone. She ran immediately to the phone and called Melinda Gibson. Melinda heard the love in Eleanor's voice and readily accepted her apology. Then she called the new pastor and the choir director. Both of them encouraged her to come back to the choir and make amends quickly. They assured her she would be welcomed with open arms, and she agreed she would be back at rehearsal at the regular time on Thursday night.
Saying she would come was easy, but going was another matter. When Thursday night came, Eleanor approached the back door of the church with trepidation, her heart pounding. She wanted to run home and never come back but she forced herself to open the door. The choir had already started to rehearse the anthem for the coming Sunday. Eleanor slipped into her usual seat next to Melinda Gibson and opened her music. But before she could open her mouth to sing, Melinda put her arm around her, hugged her close, and whispered, ''I am so glad to see you.'' And then they sang together, radiating light and love in every direction as their voices swelled upwards with the rest of the choir, praising God with a resounding song of pure joy.
John E. Sumwalt is the lead pastor of Wauwatosa Avenue United Methodist Church in suburban Milwaukee. He is the author of ten books, including How to Preach the Miracles: Why People Don''t Believe Them and What You Can Do About It, now available from CSS Publishing. John and his wife, Jo Perry-Sumwalt, were the editors of StoryShare from 2004-2006.
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StoryShare, December 30, 2007, issue.
Copyright 2007 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 517 South Main Street, Lima, Ohio 45804.
What's Up This Week
"Have You Seen Any Eskimos Lately?" by Ron Lavin
"More Eskimos at Joy House" by Ron Lavin
"The Great Escapes" by Fanny Lee Seville
"Amazing Dreams" by Fanny Lee Seville
What's Up This Week
God gave of himself at Christmas. He gave everything for us. As followers of Christ, we are called to do the same--to give to a world in need as an extension of God's love. Ron Lavin illustrates this calling in "Have You Seen Any Eskimos Lately?" and "More Eskimos at Joy House." Fanny Lee Seville gives us another view of this kind of sacrificial love, this time in the context of family, in "The Great Escapes." She also shows us how God still speaks to us here on earth in "Amazing Dreams."
Happy New Year!
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Have You Seen Any Eskimos Lately?
Ron Lavin
Isaiah 63:7-9
Christmas is a time of joy. We rejoice in the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ. The first Sunday after Christmas and every Sunday of the church year are also times of joy since we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord every Sunday. Isaiah 63:7-9 emphasizes the joy of Christians who remember the gracious deeds of the LORD. Hebrews 2:10-18 says that Jesus is the Pioneer of our salvation. We are called to be followers of the Pioneer, doing deeds that represent him.
Isaiah 63:7 says, "I will recount the gracious deeds of the LORD, the praiseworthy acts of the LORD." Recounting includes repeating the graces of God as his messengers. Actress Mariette Hartley calls the messengers of God "Eskimos." A recovering alcoholic, Mariette heard an unforgettable story in a group therapy session that changed her life and made her look for Eskimos in her life.
A unbeliever said to a priest, "Hey, Father, you got it all wrong about the God stuff. He does not exist. I ought to know." "Why is that, my son?" the priest asked. "Well, when I was ice fishing in the Arctic far from the nearest village, a blizzard blew up with wind and blinding snow. I was a goner. So I got down on my knees and prayed real hard, begging God for help."
"And did he help you?"
"Heck no. God didn't lift a finger."
"But, you are here and you are alive. What happened?"
"Some Eskimo appeared out of nowhere and showed me the way," said the skeptic.
Have you seen any Eskimo lately? Mariette says, "It took me a while to recognize the Eskimos in my life. I needed them so badly, but I just didn't see them for a long time." She goes on to explain that she grew up haunted by her maternal grandfather, John B. Watson, a famous psychologist who founded the movement called "Behaviorism." It taught that parents should resist their children's natural bonding needs, which were considered undesirable--no cuddling, no kissing, and few outward signs of affection. Her mother, who experienced this kind of treatment first hand became an alcoholic to numb her feelings. Her father, a high-powered advertising executive, also succumbed to alcohol.
At age eleven, Mariette was smitten with the theater. It was there that she met her first Eskimo, Eva Le Gallienne, a legendary actress, who was teaching at the White Barn Theater near her home. She was a delightful woman with a tiny nose, violet eyes, and translucent skin. She wore lavender cashmere sweaters and periwinkle-blue dresses. A loving, giving person, she taught youngsters as well as professionals. Mariette learned how to feel and project emotions, and to let "the sacred fire strike" by eliminating self so that the character one is playing shines through. Miss Le G inspired her students spiritually.
Although she didn't come from a religious home, Mariette hopped on her bicycle and pedaled to the Northfield Congregational Church, where she was asked to sing in the choir and to sing solos. Her early days in a dysfunctional family were traumatic, but in the church she found hope and goodness.
At age sixteen, Mariette rediscovered that hope at a nearby Shakespeare festival. She was walking in a field. Suddenly she stopped by a tree and had an overwhelming spiritual experience of the presence of God. She couldn't share the experience with her atheist parents, but she wrote to Miss G about it. She wrote back from London that she too had had a similar experience, that there were times when she felt so utterly undeserving that she was filled with a kind of wondering humbleness, not just humility, but the sort of thing that flings you to your knees, "Try terribly hard not to fail what has happened to you," she wrote. "Always be yourself... never get conceited or spoiled... keep brave, keep strong, do the job at hand to the best of your ability... know that you are being used by some greater Power and try to obey it."
As a teenager Mariette suffered a short-lived marriage to an older man who beat her mercilessly. Later, when offered a leading role in the film "Come Fly With Me," she had to turn it down because she had hepatitis. Then, most devastating of all, her father committed suicide. What sustained her in these difficult times when others would have said that God didn't hear her prayers? You guessed it--Eskimos, God's messengers. She even came to believe that she could be one.
More Eskimos at Joy House
By Ron Lavin
Hebrews 2:10-18
In November of 2006, Joy Mangan and her family were driving to Colorado for the Thanksgiving holiday. They were near Las Vegas, New Mexico. Joy was behind the wheel, with husband Rohry and daughter Mandi as passengers. Joy fell asleep. Their pickup truck went into the soft dirt of the center median and suddenly veered to the right. It crossed the highway into the right shoulder where it rolled over onto its top. The top of the pickup caved in, especially on the driver's side. Rohry and Mandi were spared serious injury, but Joy's neck was pinned down at an extreme angle. Her spinal cord was severed. Later in the hospital, she was told that if the damage had been one vertebra higher, she would have been killed. She was also told she would never walk again.
Joy was pinned in the vehicle. An emergency technician arrived and asked how she was doing. "I'm fine," she said. "I have a request. Will you sing 'Amazing Grace' with me?" As the jaws of life cut open the car, the two of them sang the song of praise. At the University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque and later at Long Beach Hospital near her home in California, Joy sang and prayed with doctors and nurses who cared for her.
Enter Rod Anderson, a retired railroad executive. Rod was sitting in church the Sunday after Thanksgiving when the pastor told the congregation what had happened to Joy, Rohry, and Mandi. Shock, disbelief, and sorrow fill the worshipers. Tears flowed. Many members, including Rod, felt a call from God to do something to help this family. The pastor announced that hopefully, in the not too distant future, Joy would be returning home from the hospital.
As he left church that day, Rod told the pastor he wanted to coordinate the work that would need to be done at the Mangan house to make it wheelchair accessible and comfortable for Joy. Little did he know what extensive work this would involve.
When Rod went to Joy's house to see what he and his group of volunteers were facing, he was relieved to see that the house was a one story. The group was faced with the task of removing the carpeting from several rooms and installing either hardwood or ceramic tile floors in eight rooms. They would also have to widen a bathroom doorway, remove a shower and tub to install new ones, add additional lighting to the home and on the outside, install a wheelchair ramp, paint and remove the double door front entry to install one wider door and side panel to give Joy easier access.
There were times when Rod felt totally overwhelmed. Volunteers came out to help, but there was only one professional construction man in the group. Jerry, the professional, worked for five weeks on his hands and knees laying tile. But we are getting ahead of the story.
One week after the pastor announced Joy's accident, Rod received a phone call from a church member named Lorrie. She said she had a niece named September who worked for a ceramic tile company. Lorrie told Rod that September's company had agree to give all the tile that would be needed for the house, free of charge. The following week the workers rented a U-Haul truck and picked up 2,100 square feet (7,000 pounds) of floor tile for the extreme makeover of Joy House, as they now called it.
Over and over again God provided people with services and supplies. An electrician was needed. One of the volunteers said that he had done some work with an electrical supplier and that he would contact them to see if they would donate the supplies that were needed. Hank's Electrical Supplies came through with all the electrical supplies that would be needed, free of charge. Still, an electrician was needed.
A member of a nearby church called and asked what was needed. "An electrician," Rod said. He called back in a half hour indicating that he had talked to someone at Southern California Energy Service and that they would love to send two electricians. When Rod called the company, they said that two electricians would be sent on the following Friday.
One of the electricians accidentally missed a ceiling joist and stepped through the bathroom ceiling. He wasn't hurt, just embarrassed, but now there was an additional job to do--repairing the ceiling. One of the volunteers stopped by that afternoon to see how everything was going. He saw what had happened to the ceiling. "I've got a friend who does drywall," he said. "Let me check with him." Two days later, the friend had fixed the ceiling.
This kind of thing happened over and over again. Every time there was a need, the phone rang or someone walked through the door with a solution. The basic work at Joy House was completed by the time Joy was released from the hospital on January 18, 2007. When Joy saw all that had been done, she was overwhelmed and ecstatic. Eskimos had been at work at Joy House.
Ron Lavin is the award-winning author of more than twenty books, including Turning Griping into Gratitude, Way to Grow! and the popular Another Look series (CSS). He is the former Pastor-Director of Evangelical Outreach for the Lutheran Church in America, and was a pastor of five thriving congregations, all of which grew substantially under his leadership.
The Great Escapes
By Fanny Lee Seville
Matthew 2:13-23
Children are precious gifts from God. Many parents would risk their own life to save their son or daughter from a disastrous situation. In the stories that follow, none of the parents took the time to evaluate the cost involved in their decision-making. They all acted out of love and concern for their children.
A family was on its way to the Passion Play in Front Royal, Virginia. This year Grandma and Auntie Lee were invited to go along on the family's summer vacation. Now, there were seven people neatly snuggled in their white SUV.
It was a beautiful sunshiny day when the family started on its trip. A picnic lunch was packed to lower the expense of eating in a restaurant. Fried chicken, potato salad, veggies, and Grandma's homemade chocolate chip cookies awaited the picnickers.
The drive through the Skyline Drive, which meanders along the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, was spectacular. Breathtaking vistas, rushing streams, peaceful waterfalls, and the bluish color of the mountains greeted the family at every turn in the road.
Arriving early, the family had enough time to check into the hotel and enjoy a leisurely supper. At the Passion Play, the players in their authentic costumes, brought to life the joys and sorrows of Jesus' life. After the play, the family talked about its significance.
Back at the hotel, as they walked passed a brightly lighted sign, welcoming guests to the resort, the father noticed that the sign flickered on and off as if it had an electrical short. Concerned that a fire could erupt, he reported the sign's condition to the hotel manager who said that he would check into the situation.
During the night, smoked filled the family's suite, awaking the father. He quickly alerted his sleeping wife who in turn awoke her mother and aunt. One by one the father carried his sleeping children to safety. All escaped unharmed because the father courageously returned to the burning building, rescuing each child. Thank you God for the courage of a parent.
The warning signs were posted, "No swimming today -- rough currents." The boys read the sign, but paid no attention. If they stayed close to the shoreline, no harm would come to them. After all they were excellent swimmers. All had passed their survivors' training course. They would be just fine.
The youngest in the group tried unsuccessfully to persuade the others not to go swimming. When they refused to listen to him, he swiftly went to find his mother. As quickly as possibly she ran to the water's edge just as her son went under water. Risking her own life, she jumped into the swift-moving current and safely rescued her drowning son. Both escaped death that unforgettable summer day. Thank you God for the courage of a parent.
It was one of those beautiful summer days when the heat from the sun was not too hot and the sky was a deep, royal blue, and the wind blew ever so gently across her face. Hurriedly, she walked to her car, thinking what a wonderful time she would have taking her two-year-old daughter for a walk around the community. Turning onto the street where she lived, she could see her son, playing with his babysitter on the sidewalk. She also noticed a teenaged boy, riding his bike across the street and stopping to talk with the sitter. As she pulled into her driveway, she saw her son run into the street to fetch his ball. At the same time, she saw a moving van, coming down the street rather speedily. Instinctively, she stopped the car, jumped out, and ran into the street to rescue her son. The van struck the mother's left side, causing no permanent damage. Her son was frightened, but because of his mother's quick action, he escaped being seriously injured. Thank you God for the courage of a parent.
Two accounts of great escapes are recorded in the Bible, both involving Egypt: the first -- Moses and the Israelites' escape from Egypt as recorded in the Hebrew Scriptures, and the second -- Joseph's escape to Egypt from Bethlehem with Mary and Jesus. Moses courageously led his people to the Promised Land, to a new way of life. He had his tribe to support him. But Joseph had no one to shelter him from disaster as he fled to Egypt with his wife and small child. He had no clue as to what the future would hold. Thank you God for the courage of a parent.
Most people can appreciate parents risking their own lives to save their children from injury. But leaving family, friends, and home, risking job opportunities, and going to a foreign land, could prove dangerous and life threatening and could become disastrous for everyone involved. What kind of a man would risk this much?
A father is to protect his family, not place everyone in harm's way. Why would a father travel to an unknown land just to follow a dream? Only Joseph can answer this question. His love for God overcame all odds. God spoke to Joseph in his dreams, and he courageously responded. Today, God is still speaking. The question for us to answer is: Are we still listening?
Amazing Dreams
By Fanny Lee Seville
Matthew 2:13-23
In a lifetime the average person spends a total of six years dreaming. That consists of countless dreams! Cinderella, in Walt Disney's 1950s movie by the same name, sings: "A dream is a wish your heart makes when you're fast asleep."
A dream, I suppose, could be a wish. Maybe a dream is only a vision, a glimpse into the future. Perhaps a dream is God speaking directly to the dreamer.
Many years ago, before sonograms, one morning a young father-to-be awoke and informed his pregnant wife that she would give birth to a blue-eyed, blonde-haired baby boy. The child appeared in his father's dream, walked toward him, and said, "Hi Daddy."
Two years later, the father had a second dream of this nature. When he awoke in the morning, he told his wife that the child she carried in her womb was a blue-eyed, blonde-haired baby girl. She, too, walked toward her father in a dream and said, "Hi Daddy."
The following year, the father dreamed of his third child. Like his brother and sister, he walked toward his father and said, "Hi Daddy." This time the father informed his wife that their third child would be a boy, and he would be different. His eyes would be brown and his hair would also be brown.
Visions of three events occurred in the father's dreams. All came true. God was speaking directly to this father, the dreamer.
Joseph, in the Old Testament, had dreams that alienated him from his brothers who were very jealous of their father's love for him. They hated him even more when Joseph shared with them his dream of the future. "Listen to the dream I had," Joseph said to them. "We were all in the field, tying up sheaves of wheat, when my sheaf got up and stood up straight. Yours formed a circle around mine and bowed down to it."
Upon hearing the dream, Joseph's brothers were indignant and asked, "Do you think you are going to be a king and rule over us?" Now, they hated him even more because of his dreams. Joseph's father also scolded him, wondering if the whole family was to bow down to him!
According to the scriptures, Joseph's dreams came true. God was speaking directly to Joseph, the dreamer.
King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream one night that troubled him greatly. None of his fortunetellers, magicians, sorcerers, or wizards could tell the king what his dream meant.
Daniel and his friends prayed to God, asking God to reveal to them the mystery of the king's dream. During the night, Daniel had a vision in which the meaning of King Nebuchadnezzar's dream was explained.
All came true, as Daniel had interpreted. Again according to the scriptures, God was speaking directly to Daniel, the dreamer.
Before Jesus was born, Joseph dreamed that an angel told him not to be afraid to take Mary as his wife. Although the town's people gossiped about Mary's pregnancy, Joseph followed his dream and became Mary's husband. God was speaking directly to Joseph, the dreamer.
After the birth of Jesus, wise men that studied the stars followed a very bright star. In Jerusalem, they stopped for directions. Secretly, King Herod arranged to meet these stargazers. When they found the one who would guide Israel's people, they were told by Herod to return to him with the information as to the exact location of this new leader.
The star continued guiding the wise men until it stopped over a specific house. Inside the house they saw Jesus with his mother Mary. Their hearts were filled with great joy and happiness. Falling on their knees, they worshiped the king of the Jews and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. That evening, being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left Bethlehem by another road.
God was speaking directly to these stargazers, these dreamers.
After the wise men had gone, an angel appeared to Joseph a second time in a dream, telling him to take Mary and Jesus and go to Egypt. There Jesus would be saved from Herod's death order. Again Joseph followed his dream.
God was speaking directly to Joseph, the dreamer.
A third time an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream, telling him that it was now safe to take Mary and Jesus back to Israel. Again Joseph followed his dream.
God was speaking directly to Joseph, the dreamer.
As the family made its return journey, Joseph was troubled by the stories he heard about Herod's son, succeeding him as king of Judea. In a fourth dream, Joseph was instructed to go to the town of Nazareth in Galilee where Jesus would be safe. For the fourth time, Joseph followed his dream.
God was speaking directly to Joseph, the dreamer.
Today, God is still speaking. We hear God's voice
*** in the kindness of a stranger,
*** in the rustling of a bush,
*** in the singing of birds,
*** in the beauty of a sunset,
*** in the birth of new life, and
*** in the mystery of all living things.
Sometimes God speaks in our dreams. Sometimes we, the dreamers, follow our dreams. And sometimes our dreams come true.
In Matthew's gospel, God spoke to Joseph while he was sleeping. When he awoke, Joseph followed his dream. On four separate occasions, Joseph's dream came true.
How grateful humanity should be to Joseph for his fearless courage to obediently follow his amazing dreams.
Fanny Lee Seville is a retired educator who devoted her entire career to teaching children with disabilities and "at risk" high school students. She is a lifelong member of the United Church of Christ, and has served in many capacities at the local, conference, and national levels. Fanny is married to Jack Seville, Conference Minister Emeritus of the UCC's Northern Plains Conference. She is the author of Sing Stories of Jesus, a children's music book of 25 biblical stories in song.
On An Awful Christmas Eve
John Sumwalt
Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights! Praise him all his angels; praise him all his host!
-- Psalm 148:1-2
Everything changed after Eleanor heard the angels sing that awful Christmas Eve. She had been beside herself with shame and worry. How could she ever go back to church or face her friends in the choir after she had ruined the candlelight service? Eleanor had never done anything like it before. She had always been able to control her emotions, but not that night. Of all the times to lose her composure.
The church had been packed as it always was for the candlelight service. The choir had robed downstairs and were all lined up in the hall outside the sanctuary in preparation for the processional. The organist had already started the prelude. Old Frank Hersog, the head usher, was passing out the candles and Pastor Kristine, the new minister, was getting ready to lead the choir in prayer.
Eleanor looked down the line and happened to see Melinda Gibson laughing with her longtime friend Missy Barren. Missy and Eleanor often sang duets together, but not on Christmas Eve. Eleanor always sang a solo at the midnight service --- the solo. For years and years she had sung ''O Holy Night'' just after the candles were lit. For Eleanor it was the highest, holy moment of the year, and the one thing she was most proud of in her life. She lived for those four wonderful minutes on Christmas Eve.
When she heard that the new pastor had not included ''O Holy Night'' in the midnight service and that she had asked Melinda Gibson to sing ''Jesu Bambino'' instead, Eleanor couldn''t believe it. Melinda was new to the church and had only been singing with the choir for three months. It was true that she had an exceptional soprano voice but no more than her own. It wasn''t fair. How could they do the candlelight service without ''O Holy Night''? It was a tradition.
Eleanor had not shared her disappointment with anyone in the choir. She had held it in and pushed it down until the hurt and bitterness had settled on her heart like a dead weight. When she saw Melinda laughing, she couldn''t help herself, she simply exploded:
''Who does she think she is? What right does she have to sing the solo? I don't know what the pastor was thinking!''
The comments were directed at Sam Wilton, who was standing next to her, but Eleanor spoke much louder than she intended. Her angry words were heard by everyone in the hallway -- and by some worshipers who were just arriving. What's worse, everyone knew exactly why she was upset. And in that same terrible moment, she knew, too, that everyone had heard.
Eleanor put her hand over her mouth, looked down at the floor, then burst into tears and ran out of the church. She sobbed all the way home. What was she going to do? She slept fitfully that night, waking often, wishing that what she knew had happened had been just a nightmare and praying desperately for a way to undo the damage.
Then suddenly Eleanor was caught up in a dream, a dream like she had never dreamed before, one of those dreams that feels more real than real. She was in a beautiful meadow surrounded by fragrant flowers and the ethereal sound of a thousand voices singing music like nothing she had ever heard on earth. The sweet melodies not only fell pleasantly on the ear, the notes exploded before her eyes in a variety of colors, exquisite shades of blues, purples, yellows, greens, and reds that were almost palpable to the touch. And all around her was a host of heavenly beings who radiated light and love in every direction as their voices swelled upwards, praising God with a resounding song of pure joy. The music flowed into her heart like liquid love, warming her through and through.
Eleanor awoke smiling, the pain and the horror of the previous night gone. She ran immediately to the phone and called Melinda Gibson. Melinda heard the love in Eleanor's voice and readily accepted her apology. Then she called the new pastor and the choir director. Both of them encouraged her to come back to the choir and make amends quickly. They assured her she would be welcomed with open arms, and she agreed she would be back at rehearsal at the regular time on Thursday night.
Saying she would come was easy, but going was another matter. When Thursday night came, Eleanor approached the back door of the church with trepidation, her heart pounding. She wanted to run home and never come back but she forced herself to open the door. The choir had already started to rehearse the anthem for the coming Sunday. Eleanor slipped into her usual seat next to Melinda Gibson and opened her music. But before she could open her mouth to sing, Melinda put her arm around her, hugged her close, and whispered, ''I am so glad to see you.'' And then they sang together, radiating light and love in every direction as their voices swelled upwards with the rest of the choir, praising God with a resounding song of pure joy.
John E. Sumwalt is the lead pastor of Wauwatosa Avenue United Methodist Church in suburban Milwaukee. He is the author of ten books, including How to Preach the Miracles: Why People Don''t Believe Them and What You Can Do About It, now available from CSS Publishing. John and his wife, Jo Perry-Sumwalt, were the editors of StoryShare from 2004-2006.
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How to Share Stories
You have good stories to share, probably more than you know: personal stories as well as stories from others that you have used over the years. If you have a story you like, whether fictional or "really happened," authored by you or a brief excerpt from a favorite book, send it to StoryShare for review. Simply email the story to us at storyshare@sermonsuite.com.
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StoryShare, December 30, 2007, issue.
Copyright 2007 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 517 South Main Street, Lima, Ohio 45804.
