9 JUN 07: DEE'S DAY

(BLOGGER'S NOTE: You may find this item humorous, serious, or a little of both - but we offer these thoughts from time to time, as we keep a seventh-day Sabbath.)

Saturday is a big day for a long-time friend - so we offer best wishes to TV news anchor Dee Armstrong. She's the star act in an evening "cultural show" at the Liberty Theater, which includes everything from singing and dancing to hairstyling. You'd think a TV news anchor would specialize in the hairstyling part....

I didn't realize until I read the promotional material for this show that Dee Armstrong is a songwriter. I can't wait to hear what she came up with, to rhyme with Wayne Bennett.

The Columbus Times reported last week that the Saturday night cultural show would mark Dee Armstrong's "singing debut" - but that's not really true. She's sung the national anthem at various local events for several years. But then again, I guess everyone who sang along with her can say they made a "debut" as well.

(In fact, awhile back someone on WDAK radio's "Morning Show" was reading a story about heavy metal legend Dee Snider - and misspoke the name as Dee Armstrong. To which Scott Miller properly declared: "Dee Armstrong probably would have sung it a lot better.")

Dee Armstrong also has sung at area churches with her children. One Friday evening in 1997, I went to the church they attended on Hamilton Road -- and they sang "I Have Decided to Follow Jesus." I'm sorry if that stuns the critics, who claim the news media have nothing but godless liberals....

Dee Armstrong sang at a Columbus church I used to attend. In fact, we sang a duet on February 12, 2000 - the modern Christian song "Via Dolorosa," about the crucifixion and death of Jesus. We sang mostly in English, but a bit in Spanish. Thankfully the verses repeated, so no interpreter of tongues was required.

I remember that date very well, not only because I sang a duet with Dee Armstrong. I got back up a few minutes later at a church service, and gave the sermon. Yes, I've been a "lay preacher" a few times in my life -- although in recent years, the congregation where I attend has chosen to have me lay low.

The duet was scheduled on rather short notice, so I felt compelled to tell the worshipers I did NOT plan for the church service to be "all about me." In fact, my sermon topic was the New Testament character Martha -- a woman who often gets a "bad rap" from pastors. At least she allowed Jesus to visit her home. Some churchgoing folks won't even let Jehovah's Witnesses onto their porch.

By the way - have YOU done what Dee Armstrong has mentioned in music? Are you following Jesus down the "Via Dolorosa," which translates as "the way of suffering"? That's admittedly not a popular way to go. Suffering usually isn't much fun - unless you're one of those strange people who prefers a prison term to trying to live in the free world.

Yet right off the bat, the apostle James writes in the Bible that we should "consider it pure joy.... whenever you face trials of many kinds...." He explains trials make a believer complete. That's not always true in our world, of course - where after you go through time trials, there's still a race to run.

Jesus went through a trial of suffering worse than many of us will ever experience, when He walked the Via Dolorosa. But when He completed it, He was resurrected to eternal life -- and if we follow Jesus, so can we. Review the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and/or John to learn how to follow that way. To paraphrase Ted Turner: let Jesus lead, choose to follow - and don't get out of The Way.

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