Boys will be Boys

Boys will be boys.  It doesn’t seem to matter whether they grew up in the frosty northern country of Canada or the heat of Nicaragua.  Skin colour, race, and social status will never be able to change that – boys will always be boys.  In the rural community that I live in, here in Leon, Nicaragua there are several ten to thirteen year old boys who live near our house.  Obviously, their cultural upbringing was significantly different than mine but we are all boys!

Let me run down my memories lane to when I was twelve or thirteen years old.  I remember how my brothers and I would fill our spare time with climbing the apple trees in search of apples, sling shot hunting, biking, and any other kind of sport that would entertain us and fill our spare time.

My neighbour friends really aren’t much different.      

Nearly every day, often several times a day, one or all of them show up at our front door.  One morning next door neighbour, thirteen year old, David came over while I was cleaning my daily gathering of chicken eggs.  After several moments of pensive silence he asked me if I was sad.  “No”, I replied, I wasn’t sad, so I returned the question to him.  His answer was different; he told me very honestly, he was sad because he didn’t have any games or anything to do at home.  Boredom, another thing that at some point is also in common to all growing up boys!  So I pulled out a game called Tailgate Toss (a.k.a. Corn Hole) and told him to practice while I finished up my work.  We played several games, and, of course the other neighbour boys came over to join the fun.  They must have enjoyed it, because that evening after school they came back over to play again, and the next day one of the boys asked to borrow it! 

We’ve done lots of other things – iguana hunting or target practice with sling shots, wood burning, card games, sports (mostly soccer!), and climbing the mamon tree in search of its sweet fruit.  Switch the iguanas for black birds, the soccer for hockey and the mamons for apples and my activities really weren’t much different when I was their age!  You see, boys will be boys; we all really are quite alike.

Usually after we are done playing a game everyone is thirsty.  Since we have a refrigerator and most of them don’t, I get the pleasure of giving each of them a “cup of cold water”.  There have been many times that I have thought about that verse from Matthew 10.  

I enjoy spending time with these boys; they are a lot of fun.  Plus, it’s good practice for my Spanish.  But I hope that the time I spend with them will be more than just entertainment and Spanish practice.  In the next several years these boys will need to face some serious decisions, things that their culture might tell them is ok to do but that God’s Word tells them is sin.  I hope that my time with these boys will help to grow our friendship. I hope I will have the pleasure to not only teach them new games but also to teach them about God and the Christian life.  I hope that they will feel God’s love through me and that someday they too will decide to give their lives to Christ.  Yes, boys will be boys, but I hope and pray that I can teach them how to be more than just an average boy, but a Christian boy.        

     

Only three people in the world can call me... UNCLE!

Hey all you "uncles-in-training" out there!  Here is a little hint, there is absolutely no better way to spend an evening with your four year old nephew that at McDonald's.  I had that pleasure not to long ago, let me tell you about it.

We walked into the Golden Arch's and ordered the McDonald's classics, a chicken nuggets Happy Meal with chocolate milk for Jackson and a Big Mac combo with sweet tea (I was in South Carolina, remember=)) for me. We happily wandered into the Play Place to find a seat.  I sat down to eat my meal and Jack sat down to eat a couple fries before heading off into the Play Place to make some friends and explore the exciting maze of plastic tunnels and swinging bridges.

The next hour or so for me consisted of eating my supper (and some of Jack's) as well as taking advantage of the McD's wifi (Ronald McDonald knows what he is doing! All fast food restaurants should be like that!) and watching, and listening, to Jack and the other kids play.  For Jack, this hour consisted of playing very hard, making new friends and stopping every now and then for bite of chicken nugget or french fry, or maybe a swig of orange juice.

Once Jack tired of this, we prepared for the next step.... Dessert!!! And since we were going with the traditional meals what better thing to get than two vanilla ice cream cones!  Then we headed back into the Play Place and sat down to eat our ice cream.  Jack was counting how many licks he took and once he reached a dozen or so then he was through with ice cream, it was time for a little more fun.  So back up the steps he went, hollering and running around with his new friend.  And across the table from me sat a dilapidated remains of an ice cream cone.

I let Jack decide how long we should stay and before long he was ready to leave, except -- Oh, he forgot to say good bye to his new friend!  Sometimes I wish adults could do that, just meet some random stranger and within an hour and a half have a new friend without even so much as an awkward moment moment!

Twas the end  of our experience at McDonald's.  It was an awesome experience with my oldest nephew, and even if he has forgotten it already, I haven't.  I don't know who had more fun that night, Jack or me, but I do know this.... there isn't much that beats a Big Mac with Fries and a nephew named Jack!      

We Call Them People

I had a most interesting day today.  I am currently working for the week on a furniture job in The Big Apple, New York City!  This evening we needed to do a service call to the re-opening 40/40 Club.  Now if you don't know anything about the 40/40 Club then I shall tell you a bit.  It is owned by Jay Z, the famous rapper, and the red carpet opening ceremony is tomorrow!  So here we were, quickly working and taking in the most incredible sight of the 4 million dollar building.  I was impressed and in awe by the massive TV`s, marble counter top, and just ridiculousness of the building.  I think I even got to see Jay Z.

But then, on the way back to our motel, we were waiting in a New Jersey train station and I was sitting beside another man.  He was homeless, sickly and reeked of urine and bad personal hygiene.  He was wearing hospital pants and both his feet were wrapped up in bandages.  But he was praying, aloud.  Then he pulled out his Bible and started reading, aloud.  I was eating some Reese`s Pieces (my favorite) and he told me that I should thank God for them because if I don`t thank God for them then I`m actually praising the devil (I`m not exactly sure what he all said, but he was definitely a Christian and definitely more bold then me.  But to tell the honest truth, I wanted to get up and move to another seat.  The smell was terrible, it was making me gag, and I caught myself, not once but twice pulling my coat away from the guy to make sure it didn't touch his filthy clothes.

I am horrible.

I know that I didn't do what Jesus not only asked but really commanded of me.  "I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me." (Matt. 25:45)


All this to say; people really are all equal, Jay Z, Jason Shantz, and the nameless Brother in the New Jersey train station.  


We wrongly put some people on pedestals and others in the gutter.  Yes, we call them people, but God calls them souls.

My Resolutions

It all started in a festive game of Scattergories.  We play a lot of games around Christmas in the Shantz house.  But this game turned out to be a little bit of a special one -- and no i didn't win.... not even close. (me win Scattergories? Funny)  If you don't know how to play Scattergories then I'll give you a briefer.  You roll a big dice with all the letters on it, then you go through a list of things and you have to make an answer for each of them all starting with the letter on the dice that landed facing up.  Sorry, I'm bad at explaining (that's why the Milton Bros haven't asked me to write game instructions for them yet).

I'm getting distracted.

So the letter was "G" and the question was, "Things you are afraid of" so I thought I was going to be really smart and sneaky and so I put "God"!  Of course thinking of the verse that says, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom..."  Well when we went through our answers at the end of the round and it came my turn to say my answer to the thing that I was afraid of, I tipped back my head and proudly said, "God".

Blank stares all around.

Then someone said, "You are afraid of God?"
So I proudly cleared my throat and quoted the verse about the fear of the Lord.  Then ensued a healthy disagreement, not at all uncommon in our house.  But here folks is where I needed an extra dose of humility.

I was wrong.

I hate to admit it, but yes, I was wrong.  To fear God and to be afraid of God are two completely different things.  The only reason we can have to be afraid of God is if we are not right with him.  But to fear God is more of an act of worship, a deep respect, an awe, epic admiration of God.  Simply because he is God!

But that leads me to a verse that I have found myself quoting a lot lately. A verse that I think a lot about when I think of the coming year, especially when I get scared about the plans of Nicaragua.  It was so awesome, I was listen to audio Bible while I was in my room this evening and this verse, The Verse, came on: "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and self-control." 2 Timothy 1:7 ESV

God doesn't give us fear! No way, he has way better things to give us, Power, Love and.... wait a minute, Self-control?  God gives the spirit of self control?

But if I call myself a Christian, and God gives the spirit of self control, then I should be a very self-disciplined and controlled man.  But I am not!

I thought back over the year 2011.  What I learned, what I did, what I didn't do.  And one thing resounds clearly, God had a teaching theme for me in 2011!  He was saying, "Lead Jason, lead! Learn to lead!"  Of course I learned other things, but it seems that all those other things got wrapped up in learning to be a leader.  Leading in the youth group, leading at work -- basically just learning how to lead everywhere.

Then I got thinking about the year before 2011, 2010.  What was the big thing that I learned that year?  Do you know what it was?  God was saying it again, "Work Jason, work! Learn to work and work hard!"  That was the year I finished up the very busy Gr. 12 and started my first full time job.  It was a lot of hard work.

Then what about 2009?  What did I learn there?  Learn to learn, Jason!  Learn to learn and learn to love to learn!  That was Gr. 11 and 12.  So there I had it, the Big Learns of the past several years.

2009 - Learn to Learn
2010 - Learn to Work
2011 - Learn to Lead

As I peer ahead, through the mist of uncertainty for what this new year, 2012, will bring, I feel like I'm recklessly running over a the edge of a cliff.  Flipping and falling, spinning and swirling, entirely out of control.  That's really how I feel!  What will God teach me?  What will I learn?  The answer...

I really don't know.  I can't tell the future.

But I have this inkling, this tiny little feeling the answer is wrapped up in that verse, "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and self-control." 2 Timothy 1:7 ESV

I think I can hear him whispering, "Learn to claim power Jason, not your own power, you don't have any anyway, but claim mine!  Learn to love Jason, love your neighbors, the Nicaraguans, as yourself! Learn to be self-controlled Jason, be disciplined!"

I don't do New Year's Resolutions.  But I do, however, do Life Resolutions.

Happy, almost, New Years!

Know It and Live It

This Christmas season something new has struck me.  Something different, perhaps not the most important, or most celebrated part of the Christmas story but still, definitely an integral part in the awesome account of Christ`s birth.  I was impressed by Mary.  Not a worshipful sort of impression, (no, I`m not Catholic) more a deep respect or admiration. 

The angel called Mary “highly favoured” and that she was – called to be the mother of perfection, to teach and train, to protect and provide for.  What other being of our human race has been called to do such? Teach and train the omniscient?  Provide and protect the omnipotent and omnipresent? 

Ridiculous!

Mother the Son of God!

After the angel left, reality set in.  Doubt arose.  Fear.  Insecurity.  The angel’s appearance felt dream-like and distant.  Mother the Son of God?  She must tell someone.  Someone she could trust – confide in.  But who, who would believe her?

Joseph.

She must tell him. 

Joseph?  Tell him she was pregnant?  Of course he trusted her, but to tell him she was pregnant was to sign her own death sentence, quite literal.  In Jewish practice of this time a woman caught in adultery could be publically stoned. 

But who else could she tell? Who else would believe?  Of course there was cousin Elisabeth.  But really, Joseph was going to have to know eventually, it was only fair that he be told. 

Imagine, friend, to be Joseph.  To have your sweetheart, your wife-to-be, your soul mate, tell you that she was pregnant, and on top of that, to claim innocence.  The mixture of pain, anger, hurt, rejection and oh so many other emotions tumbled through his head.  Yet he loved her.  No matter how hard Mary must have pleaded her innocence with him, he could find no rational answer except, Guilty. 

Guilty! 

He hated to believe it, no, he feared to believe it.

Yet he loved her.  He didn’t seek revenge, if he had, he would have had her stoned.  Disappointed? Yes.  Revengeful? No.  So Joseph decided he must break their marriage plans.  He must break his heart.

An Angel.  The melodious message of God’s servant, “She is innocent!”

But like Mary, reality must set in.  For Joseph to defend Mary`s innocence, to the public eye, was to plead guilty with her.  He was signing their fate to public scorn and ridicule.

But somehow, these two young souls knew the truth, and then lived the truth.  Reckless and careless to what others thought.  That's my challenge, KNOW TRUTH AND LIVE TRUTH.

The Parable of a Tractor, a Cow, and a Space Heater

This is a short skit I wrote for our youth christmas banquet.  My brother Jamie and friend, Mose Clemmer acted, adding their own one liners in for fun! They did excellent!  Although intended to be humourous, the script addresses a serious topic. "By their fruit will you know them..."

Time:

5 min.

Props:

Can be performed with nearly no props.  Or can be done with minimal props such as clothing for farmers; hats, boots, coveralls etc., table and chairs

Cast:

Two farmers: Billy and Jonny

One waitress: Not necessary, but adds effect

******************************************************************************

Two farmers enter a diner and take seats.

Billy – Well, Jonny, I gotta tell you, my tractor just up and quit last night. 

Jonny – O no!                                      

Billy – Yup, I was half way up from the flats with a load full of firewood and the old tractor just up and quit.  I was all out of firewood too, so last night the wife and the kids got a little chilly.  

Jonny – That’s terrible!  What was wrong with the tractor?

Billy – Well it died.

Jonny – I know, Billy, but why?

Billy – I guess I’m not sure... I didn’t have a chance to diagnose the problem yet.

Jonny - Well how did it quit? Did it slowly just turn off? Or was it not running smoothly? Maybe something is wrong with the transmission?

Billy – It just kind of jerked a couple of times and then was fine for a bit and then it kind of coughed and just quit!  There I was, half a mile from the house with a tractor that didn’t work, a load full of firewood and kids freezing at home.  It really was depressing!  I tell you, is a tractor really worthy to be called a tractor if it’s not doing tractorish things?

Jonny – (thoughtfully) Billy, the tractor did have fuel in the tank didn’t it?

Billy – Like I said Jonny, I haven’t had an opportunity to diagnose the problem yet,(pause) (sheepishly)but, I’ve got a feeling that’s where the problem is.

Jonny – Billy! How can a tractor do tractorish things if it doesn’t have any fuel to run on?!

Billy – Well I changed the oil, cleaned the filters, washed the tractor, why, I even waxed the tractor!  And you’re telling me that that isn’t good enough?

Jonny – Think Billy, if I took your best cow, Gertrude, she is an Excellent, correct?

Billy – (proudly) Yup, Gertrude is the best.

Jonny – Ok, so if I gave Gertrude the cleanest stall, the softest straw, a rub down every night and soft music to listen to, would she produce a lot of milk?

Billy – (smiling) Yup, as long as you’re not the one singing the soft music.  (Seriously)Yup, Gertrude would be the most productive cow this side of the 86!

Jonny – No she wouldn’t.

Billy – (Taken aback) Do you think your cows are better? Is that right Jonny?!  You think that you have better cows than I do?

Jonny – That’s not it at all Billy.  I’m just wondering how Gertrude will produce milk, without any feed.

Billy – Well, yes of course, Gertrude would also need the highest quality feed also.

Jonny – (Grinning and pointing to a Floradale hat on his head) Perhaps Floradale feed.  The point is, if there is no input, than there can be no output.  Cows or tractors

Billy – (thoughtfully) I guess you’re right.

Jonny – Kind of like this space heater (points to a space heater, plugged in and sitting on a table).  If it is not plugged in then there will be no heat (unplugs heater).  But look here (leaves heater plugged in but turns off heat) See the light is still on, the heater is still receiving power but it is not giving heat.  Is this heater really worthy to be called a heater if it is not doing heaterish things? Like heating?

(Both farmers pause, thinking about it, then Billy looks at Jonny and says:)

Billy – Kind of reminds me of life.  If I’m not accepting what God has given me then I can’t really give to others.  But if I accept God’s gift to me and then not just keep it to myself but give it to those around me that’s when I have success.  If there is no input, then there can be no output.  Tractors, cows, and Christians.

Jonny – I think your right Billy.  And is a Christian really worthy to be called a Christian unless a Christian is doing Christianish things?