Kingdom of Joy

The Bible says, “The kingdom of God is JOY in the Holy Spirit.” (See Romans 14:17.) Therefore, when God’s people gather together there should be an abundance of exceeding joy! Joy is motivating. We know it motivated the Lord because Jesus endured the cross with joy set before Him. (See Hebrews 12:2.)

A person who has made a major impact on my life in the past few years is Kris Vallotton of Bethel Church, Redding, California. Here’s something he wrote on the subject of joy that spoke to my heart.

Kris Vallotton says:

It’s time to become childlike (not childish) so we can enter the kingdom. Children laugh 300-400 times a day. The average adult laughs 15 times a day. Solomon wrote; A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones (Proverbs 17:22). 

The Message Bible says; Proverbs 17:22 A cheerful disposition is good for your health; gloom and doom leave you bone-tired.

If laughter is good medicine, then I want to be a pharmacist! 

Some of people's seriousness exhausts me just reading their post; I can't imagine that they aren't bone tired. I grieve for the people who live and work with them. 

Kris continues:  I wrote an entire chapter in my book Spirit Wars on laughter. It's a scientific fact that laughter can make your body well. Maybe that's what was happening in Toronto during the outpouring. Maybe the Lord was trying to get His body well. Of course the church was full of serious people (who wear out the world around them) wondering why this waste.

Jesus was anointed with joy above His companions (Hebrews 1:9). He was happier than the people He hung out with. Go and BE likewise!

One of the reasons I like dancing so much is because it is SO joyful. My favorite Bible verse is about joy. (See Psalm 16:11 and Acts 2:28.) “In Your presence O God is the fullness of joy and in Your right hand there are pleasures evermore.”

I love to laugh and I love to make people laugh. Part of my mission in life is to spread joy around. When I have even made a person smile, I consider myself successful. Every Wednesday during the school year, my friend Charli and I visit the elderly in several nursing homes of Sequim. (We’ve gotten kicked out of two nursing homes for Alzheimer’s folks for being two rowdy because they want to keep them very calm and quiet and we got them all riled up.)

Charli, Mady & Jenna, Mardi Gras at nursing home. 3-3-11

We have begun our fourth year with our nursing home ministry. We have a theme each week and dress up in costumes. For example, we might dress up in 20’s style as “Flappers”, 50’s style with “poodle skirts”, 60’s style with hippie costumes, Hawaiian, Mexican, or Western wear, and for each holiday we have costumes. We have collected all kinds of crazy costumes and accessories from Good Will, thrift stores, and garage sales. People give us stuff all the time too. If you want to see some of our outlandish and hilarious get-ups, take a look at my Facebook under my name, “Jenna Vick Silliman.” Let me know you heard about me on Kingdom Bloggers and request we become “Facebook friends.” Yesterday, for a couple bucks I found an ornate and bejeweled crown fitting for a royal costume. I already have a cloak to match it too. Hahaha! When I go in the fitting room and try something on and look in the mirror, if it makes me crack up laughing, I know it is a “find.” 

Frank&Charli Anderson & Jenna 4-25-12

Ladybug and Bumblebee, 10-3-12

Hippies at nursing home. 4-18-12

Charli & I dressed as girls. 3-28-12

St. Patty's Day, 3-14-12

The Bible says to delight ourselves in the Lord. It does NOT say “Get all serious and somber in the Lord.” If a church gathering is super serious and people are down in the mouth and not ever laughing and enjoying themselves—I would play hooky and go read the funny paper or go dancing or go tell knock knock jokes at your nearest nursing home. Like Kris Vallotton says, “Jesus was anointed with joy above his companions.” May we follow his advice AND the example of our Lord and live our lives FULL OF JOY AND LAUGHTER!

Laugh and Sing

As I’ve thought about this blog, I feel a bit like I do on Thanksgiving when we go around the table to say what we are thankful for … Usually, I mutter something about health, and family.  You can hear (and it is just audio, even though it is a video) a sermon I preached once talking about this ritual here.

I don’t suppose I have anything much more original to say today.  It is always those intangibles that really make us happy and satisfied in life.  So to divert from the obvious, let me offer a few things that might bring a little variety to this topic.

Laughter – yes, laughter makes me happy.  I went through a period where I realized I hardly ever laughed.  I have found that over the years, because of circumstances and all the stuff life throws at you, that I had forgotten how to laugh.  Laughter is a gift.  It releases all sorts of happy stuff through your body.  Recently, on my trips back “home” to Brooklyn I have found myself and found my laugh. 

Singing – I love to sing.  I don’t have a bad voice but living in Music City I tend not to offer it as much as I did when I lived in the Northeast where not everyone was a would-be country star.  Singing makes me happy.  Singing lightens my seriousness.  Like laughter, I used to sing a lot. And like laughter, I sort of “lost” this along the way.  Singing also reminds me of my dad who would often break into song and sing about Jesus in our house.  Anything that reminds me of my dad makes me happy too.  

Brooklyn makes me happy.  Okay, so I have already mentioned Brooklyn.  Tt brings things out of me that I thought were lost.  Seriously, there is no place that makes me happier than Brooklyn.  Some internal switch comes on when I am there and I’m alive again!  And while we are talking about Brooklyn, everything about NYC makes me happy, riding the subway, walking through the crowds, street vendors, and don’t forget a Nathan’s Hot Dog bought at Coney Island!

Last but not least, being Norwegian makes me happy.  I just love to embrace my Norwegian heritage.  I love everything about being Norwegian.  Funny, all these go together – while the Norwegians are known for being “jovial”, they do have a strong wit about them, and do like to have a good time with laughter.  And sing? Oh yes, they love to sing!  I remember watching the Olympics when they were in Norway in the 90’s – every time you turned around some group of Norwegians were singing something.  And of course, for me, Brooklyn and Norwegian go together.  You can see a little clip of my recent trip to Brooklyn to celebrate the Syttende Mai (Norwegian constitution day) here.

Okay, maybe these seem trite and they are compared to my husband, kids, faith, health, etc.  But, if you want to see me really happy – come with me to Brooklyn and we’ll laugh and sing.

Forever a Child by Jenna Vick Silliman

If heaven was giving out awards, I think I would be in the running for winning the award for “Biggest Kid”. After all, I’m five feet eight inches tall—that is a pretty big kid! Some of my best friends are children. I don’t have very many peers that like to goof off as much as I do—they are probably embarrassed to be seen with me! I like to load up my car with kids and go to the beach, go swim at the pool, go folk dancing, or go to the park. I turn the radio up nice and loud and sing at the top of my vocal capacity. I don’t wanna get a speeding ticket, but I really like to drive fast. What I do is “hug the turns” whenever possible and as fast as possible. It is so fun to make the kids squeal! As a result of hanging out with kids a lot, I get invited to their birthday parties. My favorite one so far was Angelina’s princess party. I am pictured here, dressed as a princess, surrounded by my little friends. I told you I was the biggest kid!

One way I am childlike is that I like to have fun. If you ask me what one of my goals is, I will probably say, “To have fun!” To be funloving is a character quality I admire and hope to develop more and more. I like to goof off with kids because they really know how to have fun. When they go to the beach or the park, kids don’t think about their list of things to do or how much money they have in the bank or about their next appointment—they just have fun. My youngest child, Peter, and his friend, Michel and I went shopping one day and I was having a good time with them skipping in the parking lot, telling jokes, and looking at stuff to buy. Michel paid me a high compliment that day. He said, “You know Jenna, you are more like a kid than a mom!” I said, “THANK YOU VERY MUCH!”

I like to make people laugh. Laughing is SO fun and it is contagious too. One of my favorite scenes from a Disney movie is the one in Mary Poppins where they all start singing “I love to laugh—hahaha!” and they all float up to the ceiling. Wouldn’t that be fun?! Children laugh on an average of 400 times per day! Adults laugh like about 15 times a day. Whew--what a difference! I think I’d rather be a kid, wouldn’t you? If you listen carefully, children call adults “dolts”. So that’s what I’ve started calling them too. Hahaha! I’d rather be a kid than a dolt!

Another way I’m like a kid, is I love to sing silly songs. It is common for me to break out in song and the silly ones are my favorites. (With a last name of Silliman, I can’t be too serious, now can I?) For some examples, you might know this song: “I know an old lady who swallowed a fly…I don’t know why she swallowed a fly; I guess she’ll die!” Do you know this one? “I had a little sister; her name was sister Sue, we put her in the bathtub to see what she would do. She drank up all the water, she ate a bar of soap, she tried to eat the bathtub, but it wouldn’t fit down her throat!” Here’s another favorite: “If all the raindrops were lemon drops and gum drops, oh what a rain it would be! I’d stand outside with my mouth open wide, singin’ ah ah, ah ah ah, ah ah!”

Don’t you love the way children are full of wonder and amazement at the world? They chase butterflies, blow dandelion seeds and watch them float on the air, and they love to run and jump and dance around. I love to go swimming with kids and play games in the water. That’s a blast. I like the way kids will get enthusiastic about things too. Why do we have to be so dang reserved all the time? To be childlike is to be more trusting and loving and spontaneous and honest. I teach a children’s dance class and my students never cease to amaze me at how loving they are. They run over and hug me and tell me they love me. They skip and frolic around with carefree abandon. I want to be more like that. Yesterday one little girl told me, “I like your colorful blouse, but I don’t think it matches your twirly skirt very well.” Hahaha! That made me laugh! Kids are so honest. They tell you when they like something and when they don’t.

When I was a girl I was often scolded for daydreaming. My hands would slow down at the task at hand—such as washing dishes, folding laundry, or doing a math assignment. Instead I would stare off into the distance, lost in my dream world. I wrote creative stories about make believe lands and enjoyed reading and daydreaming about what it would be like to be one of the characters in the book. Even now, at age 54, I like to dream. You’d think I would have grown out of it by now, wouldn’t you? No, I like to dream about all the possibilities in life, such as where I’d like to travel and what I’d like to do. The Bible says, “Nothing is impossible with God.” We have an unlimited God and so we need not limit ourselves or our lives either.

As long as I am faithful and responsible and dependable and all those grown-up things, I don’t see anything wrong with being like a kid. In fact, the Lord Jesus said, “Be as a little child to enter My kingdom.” Now I have a new dream. I can picture the Lord saying, “Here’s your award, Princess Jenna.” Jesus walks towards me in a trailing purple robe and in His hands is a golden crown all sparkling with diamonds and jewels of different colors and He places it upon my head and says, “Good job on being childlike! Well done—you have entered into My joy everlasting!”

JOY UNBELIEVABLE...JOY UNDENIABLE

I might mess up your Theology when you read this but I am “one of those” who received and experienced the laughter, that came along with the Toronto Blessing. It happened not once, but many times. As I write this, I wish I could have the same thing happen. But like other gifts given to me, I don’t regulate when they come, how they come and what is inside the package..

When I say that I received it…it is the truth. I felt like it was a gift, given to me by the Lord. I realize that there were those, who were in my company, who didn’t experience what I was feeling, sometimes judged me. I know there are many still that think this phenomenon was not of God. I don’t want to be rude or haughty but I say “oh well”. I tend to think many of us have had encounters with the Lord, that others would have a hard time believing.

So, you may be among the ones who look at me askance or you may be one who tells me that you wish you could laugh like that and ask questions of what it all felt like.

Like I said, I could not make it happen, by an act of my will. But I do know it was wonderful…it was healing…it was refreshing.

“A merry heart doeth good like a medicine” Proverbs 17:22 KJV

I dare say that we have all experienced belly laughter seeing a very funny movie or laughing at the irony of a joke. Isn’t it the greatest thing when we can just forget about our worries and our pain for a time? Well that is how this laughter felt to me. One thing I can say is that just about everything seemed funny.

I’ve suffered from depression, much of my life. When the laughter came, it was like a bubbling of aliveness, from deep within.,It rose up and filled my heart and my mind and my body and my soul with gladness. Gladness to be alive…gladness to just be who I am…and most of all gladness to belong to Jesus…to be loved by Him…to be accepted by my Abba (my Father God). Everything about me and around me seemed effortless. Striving was absent and in its place was a sense of everything was going to be allright.

So, it hasn’t been a sustained experience because “life happens”. Nevertheless, it was real and left an indelible mark on my soul. Surprisingly through it, I learned too, that the Lord has the best sense of humor. I didn’t always know that and sometimes I still forget that but the Word tells us that He laughs at the plans of our enemies.

“Passion laughs at the terrors of hell”…Song of Songs 8:6 The Message

So dear readers, I sincerely wish you joy. It may not come in the package that it came for me. But I ask the Lord that it would be as undeniable, as it was for me. I pray it will fill you and heal you and refresh you too. The simple fact remains, that Jesus came is enough to fill us with great joy.  It is sometimes unexplainable to others…but for us, we know it is reality. We just know.

Jesus…who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross Hebrews 12:2 b KJV

Think of it…we are that JOY!

 

 

Weekly Advent Bible Reading Plan:

Monday, December 5, 2011: John 16:16-24
Tuesday, December 6, 2011: Ezra 3:11-13
Wednesday, December 7, 2011: Psalm 126
Thursday, December 8, 2011: Hebrews 12:1-3
Friday, December 9, 2011: Philippians 4:1-9

I'll bet that never happened to John Denver...

I hate to do back-to-back post about our church's Praise Team, but I've seen a couple of hilarious moments happen in my time on the drums...and well, humor's our subject matter this week.

There's not enough good things I can say about Jamey, our Music Leader. The story I posted last week speaks to the genuine heart this man has when it comes to God. He has been a mentor and friend, and it flows easy when he gets a man hug and 'I love you' from yours truly (not an easy thing for me either, see Tony C Today).

He's one of the most musically gifted people I know or have known. All our music and vocal arrangements are composed by him, and he is the rock of the team...the go-to guy. He can play a song on the piano, bass guitar or drums and never look at sheet music. Harmony comes natural as he listens to 8 different singers to make adjustments. Never forgets a song or score. I'm not just building this up people...he's that good.

He's also a chronic perfectionist...a point of intimidation for everyone else...well...except maybe his wife who sings on the team too.

Don't get me wrong. He doesn't try to be intimidating or heavy-handed, he's just so darn good it's hard to live up to that standard. A very humble man despite his gift. If things start to break down during a song, all eyes go to him. Personally, mine are there most of the time anyway, since we've developed a nonverbal system of communication to cue breaks, builds, patterns and other things I'm forever forgetting during a song.

One Sunday, we prepared to open the service with a particularly spirited song by none other than Chris Tomlin. Again, you ask? I'm convinced our Praise Team leader has a man-crush...but that's another post. Anyway, we're kicking the service off, and there's a pretty good crowd of 230 or so already in the sanctuary. I look at everyone to make sure they're ready, and start the count off. 1...2...3...4...nothing. Nobody starts. No drums, keyboard, guitars or vocals.

Everyone looks at Jamey (including me), he nods, and I count again. 1...2...3...4...nothing. Again.

By this time, the congregation (who had been asked to stand and join in) know something just can't be right. Every one's in place, words on wall, so why aren't we praising? The next few seconds seemed like at least an hour for me. Do I count off a third time? Is Jamey's keyboard or maybe his monitor not working? I was lost along with everyone else on the team of four musicians and eight singers.

Jamey sits with his back to the congregation off to the left side and only a few feet from me. I had never seen the look on his face at that moment before and couldn't figure out what in the world was happening...I just knew that every one in the congregation was looking at me. Finally the silence was broken.

"I've got nothing," Jamey half-whispered into his microphone. We had played this song dozens of times. It was a staple, a fallback song in a pinch....but he had brain-locked in a major way. He looked at me as I looked at him...frozen...helpless. I tried to squeak out a few notes, but my state of panic and complete lack of singing ability did nothing to kick start the process.

"I'm sorry, I've got nothing here." (cricket noises)

After an excruciating period of time and a few bars from the Team Leader, we were finally off and running. All of us in complete terror at where the train was going...but off and running none the less. Jamey's impeccable reputation as a musical genius was, of course, completely unblemished by the whole fiasco, but he took a serious ribbing none the less. I probably mess up a number of times on any given song each and every Sunday, and I'm not alone...but never Jamey. His one goof was out there for everyone to see and hear...or not hear in this particular situation.

He's still my musical hero and mentor and has taught me more about honest, open worship in my role as a musician than I could have imagined. Hey Jamey...I love you man!

Did Jesus Laugh?

The Brazilian bride and groom released white doves after giving their vows, signifying there new life together. There was one small problem, that being the ceiling fan the took the life of the groom's dove en route from the cathedral. The quick thinking pastor said, "that is not what I meant by fanning the flames of love," and continued to the next portion of the service.

After the ceremony, fueled by a few cocktails, it became a unforgettable anecdote.

This week, your Kingdom Bloggers are going to relate a funny story from church - which isn't all that spiritual I guess. Please feel free to comment and relate one of your own - this crew could use a good laugh.

Here is an excerpt from my still unpublished book.

Let me begin. In the Spring of 1999 I met a Brazilian pastor who became my closest friend. He invited me to minister at a church where he was the Youth Pastor. I remember struggling in prayer for 2 or 3 hours before the Sunday evening meeting. I just seemed to be fighting with something in the spirit realm, so I continued to press in, and finally I had a vision. I pictured a balding man in his late 50's to early 60's. The picture in my spirit was rather distinctive - a face I would recognize - and I took note. After the short vision I felt the Lord impress upon me 6 things I was supposed to share with this man. Again, I took note, ended my prayer session and got dressed for the service.

That evening I drove to Igreja Baptista, not far from my house. I met my friend there, and we worshiped for a bit. As I stepped to the platform for my portion of the meeting, I saw the face of the man from my vision. What was confusing to me was that he looked younger than the face I saw; having thin, but rich black hair. I thought, I will just wait for his father to come and deliver the message.

After 30-40 minutes of ministry, no one else showed up in this man's row. I decided to take a chance and asked the man to stand up so I could share what I had seen in my prayer time. I told him about seeing his face and I began to share the 6 things that I felt impressed to tell him. I told him that I sensed that he had been in Brazil for a few weeks and just returned. He nodded in agreement. Each of the 6 topics seemed to hit home and he became tearful as God encouraged him.

As I ended, I then told him how puzzled I was about the vision, the age of the man I had seen and the lack of hair; for he had hair. It was obvious to me that the words I had for him were not far in the future - how could he age and lose his hair? As the man sat down, there were some muffled snickers.

The pastor ended the service with a short prayer.

We filed into the kitchen for refreshments, the pastor and a my friend came to me almost laughing out loud. They told me this man I had just ministered to, had in fact just returned from Brazil - where he received a hair transplant!

My friend thought this particular incident was so much fun, that he used the story to introduce me over and over again while we were in Brazil. HERE is that story.

God really does know us, and He has a sense of humor too.