Monkeying Around

I was just laying here on the couch, eating some kettle korn and surfing the internet – a pretty pleasant way to spend the evening after a long day at the Stem Cell Clinic receiving a drug infusion and a couple of units of blood – and the theme song from “The Monkees” began running through my brain. Now, I know that seems very random, and really it is, but earlier in the day I read something that referenced them. So naturally, it lodged in the gray matter somewhere, only to pop out again now.

The theme song conjured up memories of summers at my grandparent’s house. My sister and I grew up without a TV in our house until I was 12. To pass the time, we did crazy things like color, read, ride bikes or create with Legos. In the summers and on Saturdays during the school year, we would visit my grandparents, Oma and Opa, who had an enchanted spare room with a closet stocked with Oma’s old high heels and costume jewelry, a sofa-bed and (drum-roll, please) a cable TV – heaven for a TV-starved 10 year-old girl! At night, my sister Erika and I would plop ourselves on the sofa-bed and turn the TV to Nick-at-Nite to enjoy a line-up of “I Dream of Jeanie”, “Bewitched”, and of course “The Monkees”. I think we were both captivated by Davey Jones and his accent. But who wasn’t!? Our “official” bedtime was something like 10 o’clock when we were at Oma and Opa’s, but Erika and I always turned off the lights and turned the volume down really low, huddling close to the TV to sneak in an extra episode or two before we would hear one grandparent loudly proclaim to the other from outside our door, “I’m going to go check on the girls now,” and we would hurriedly turn off the TV and hop under the covers, knowing we’d gotten away with it yet again!

Playing dress up with the TV in the background.  1983

Vegging out to the TV.  Is there someone else in the room?
1986

 Anyway, back from the reverie and back to the point…

As the lyrics from “The Monkees” theme song were absent-mindedly strumming through my head, I began to think about the words, which I’d never really done before.  (I added the underlines for emphasis, hint, hint...)

"Here we come
Walking down the street
We get the funniest looks from
Everyone we meet.

Hey, hey we're the Monkees,
and people say we monkey around.
But we're too busy singing,
to put anybody down.

We go wherever we want to,
Do what we like to do.
We don't have time to get restless,
There's always something new.

Hey, hey we're the Monkees,
and people say we monkey around.
But we're too busy singing,
to put anybody down.

We're just trying to be friendly,
Come watch us sing and play.
We're the young generation,
And we got something to say.

Hey, hey we're the Monkees,
You never know where we'll be found.
So you'd better get ready,
We may be comin to your town.

Hey, hey we're the Monkees,
and people say we monkey around.
But we're too busy singing,
to put anybody down.”

After I laughed at the first lines about getting funny looks from people, which I do so frequently these days with my swollen face and hospital mask, a few important questions and thoughts popped out at me.

• Am I too busy singing, worshipping, and praising God to put anybody down?

• As my Pastor has often said, “If you’re bored with the Christian life, you aren’t doing it right”.  Am I wasting time being restless, or am I looking to that “something new”?

• Finally, am I sharing my testimony of God’s power and saving grace in my life, and the truth of Jesus with others in friendship and through the example of my life?  Or am I too focused on other things to think about it, and possibly missing opportunities to be a witness for Christ? Am I sharing what God has uniquely given me to say?

These are not easy questions that good ole Davey Jones poses to me. I’m going to have to think hard and answer myself truthfully. And the truth is that I'm not doing all I could be...but God's grace is greater.  So, my choice at this point is to either be content with that answer and continue as is, or choose to accept God's grace and commit to doing something about it. 
What about you, how would you answer Davey?

Faith [fayth] n.

1.  A strong belief.  2.  Loyalty, belief and complete trust in God's will.  3.  Devotion.  4.  The acceptance of what we cannot see but feel deep within our hearts.

I received this frame as a Christmas present this year and immediately knew that I could not just fill it with snapshots...random pictures that I would want to change every year or so when they became outdated.  No, I knew that this frame was special, and that the pictures in it would need to tell a special story.  And for me, one of the most powerful expressions of my faith journey has been that of living through the last four years of this uncertain adventure called Hodgkin's.  The story that needed to be conveyed in this Faith frame had to be one that reminded me of God's promises to me, the fulfillment of those promises, and how He carried me through it.  And so I chose four pictures, from four significant milestones, with four significant people who walked my faith journey with me.

The picture on top is the most recent, taken with my mom this past Christmas.  Now that my stem cell transplant has been completed, and I am in the follow-up phase of that, it is my mom who weekly (and sometimes semi-weekly) drives me to Hillman Cancer Center for my check-ups and bloodwork.

The bottom picture is from 2009, from my Europe back-packing trip.  Here, Sherri and I are standing on the Zugspitze, the highest peak in the Alps in Germany.  This is where I looked out over the railing to a view that was completely obscured in clouds.  I prayed a little prayer, asking God to show me the view...and the clouds parted to reveal an incredible blue lake far below.  I stood there, enjoying the view and listening to "You Raise Me Up" on a friend's ipod, while it seemed that noone else around me even noticed the parting of the clouds.  It was just a special time with God and me.  And, when the song ended, the clouds rolled back in.  The entire trip was really such a journey of faith for me...

The picture on the right is next, from 2008.  This is just before I went into the hospital for my Auto Stem Cell Transplant, and that is my sister Erika kissing my bald head.  :)

And the picture on the left is from nearly the beginning, 2007.  I was losing my hair from the chemo and decided to throw a "buzz-cut party" with my friends.  It was great fun!  Everyone took their turn with the clippers, and in the process of buzzing my hair gave me some pretty interesting hair styles!  Peggy, who is in the picture with me, has been such a wonderful friend and support through this journey.  She also is the one who gave me the neon pink wig!  (And this frame too!)

And there it is, all put together...

...and hanging on the wall!  Doesn't it look great hanging there.  I love the combination of the blue frame and the green wall.  I already had the metal "faith" word sitting on the windowsill of my window seat, so I think the two go well together.  And speaking of the windowseat, I just love the fabric on the cushion!  It's so bright and colorful and happy!  The blue fabric on the edge actually matches the frame nearly perfectly... yay for unplanned coordination!  I made the cushion this past spring - my first experiment with cushion making.  I still have yet to finish covers for all the pillows, but I'll get there, eventually!  :)