FOLDEROL!

Remember the plastic flutes (also called "tonettes" or "recorders") for many music classes in elementary school? I still have one in the “toy stash” I keep for my grandsons. Oh, so squawky and primitive! Wonderful play item! Seeing it in their toy bins (oh, does it bring on the little-grandboy- giggles!) reminds me of an old-fashioned reed flute of long-ago, and its owner playing a nonsense song called a falderal or folderol. When a singer needed to inject some whimsy into his or her song, the choice was a frivolous interlude, like la-la-la-la. The “o” version (“folderol”) is now more commonly applied to sayings about actions or words that make something seem to be more important than it really is.

Its earliest known use in literature was a 1701 play (Farquhar's Sir Harry Wildair). Today, the old name "folderol" carries the idea of nonsense or foolishness. Besides the spontaneous speaking or singing in silly old songs (like “tra-la-la”), the term "folderol" is used for describing cheap knickknacks (also called “trifles” or “gewgaws”) or celebrations that go overboard with decorations and refreshments.

If you want to adopt that word into your vocabulary and sound sophisticated, you can learn more about it at this site: FOLDEROL Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Website . But I lean toward “simple”--and so did Jesus. In His Sermon on the Mount, He taught in plain language. He used everyday examples to convey deep spiritual truths: “The Kingdom of God is like.....” He didn't make a big show of ministry, not even His miracles of healing people or raising the dead. No folderol. Just mercy and a miracle.

“Folderol” can have its negative implication, too, when someone speaks loosely and/or negatively to or about someone else, without considering the repercussions of that wounding. Instead, Colossians 4:6 counsels, ”Let your words be seasoned with grace”--meaning kindness, wisdom, thoughtfulness, and reflecting Jesus. “When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable,” says Proverbs 10:19, “but he who restrains his lips is wise.”

Thus, not the negative “grr-grr-grr,” but conversations continually passed through the screen of “what would Jesus do?” Not wounding, empty or worthless “folderol,” which can come across squawky, like those old plastic recorders we had in grade school. Instead, words that reflect the harmonious grace and mercy of our Savior, worthy of Heaven's audience.

MORNING 'JOY MEDICINE'

Need a boost? Check out this old video of the song “Zippity Do Dah” from a 1946 Disney animated film (skip any preceding ads): original zippity do dah disney song - Search  Also, multiple renditions at Bing Videos . This selection featuring one quick cartooned clip always amuses me: Bing Videos. It's enjoyed a renewal in other Disney promotions and even a Muppet Show airing. Though the film version of the real “Johnny” (real name, John Chapman, 1774-1845) bent a lot of facts, it still provided a message of “joy in nature” that is common in American folklore.

This classic little song came to mind recently when I found a negative message in my daily E-mail. In putting it up to the "truth test," I  thanked the Lord that He fully knew me, that the message was warped, and that His love was big enough to cover me and help me pray for the unhappy sender. I can't stroll through an orchard singing like an animated “Johnny Appleseed,” but I can seek reminders to invite joy into my life. And in that journey-to-joy, the Lord lovingly reminds me that He is pleased with me.

I guess it's the difference (as one writer put it) between “Good morning, Lord” and the negative, “Grr, morning again.”

I tend to awaken early, and in warmer weather when the window is open, I savor the sounds emerging with day's beginning, especially the local birds chorusing to each other from nearby trees. I ease into my day. I don't pop on the radio or television, or quickly scan E-mail right off. I remember of Matthew 6:26: “Look at the birds of the air. They do not sow or reap or gather into barns—and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” My day begins, quietly, with Him--"fed" by scripture and prayer.

Here's a little-known fact about the apple trees Chapman (“Johnny Appleseed”) left in his planting journeys. He adhered to a religion outside of orthodox Christianity, and he didn't believe in techniques like grafting to improve his apples. Thus, the trees he planted reportedly produced small and bitter apples, useful only for cider, not the sweeter apple dishes like pies. However, his trees' cider was nutritious, and lots safer to drink than local water available in the late 1700s/early 1800s.

Well, every history story has its darker side, this one included. But this real-life yet legendary man was out there doing something to help others. And history took note. Which is to conclude: how will my life have made a difference? At my funeral, will people mention “fruits” (the spiritual type, not apples!)? Will they say that I tried to lift up Jesus? Or, to borrow from Disney's song, had I invited the bluebird of Christ-joy (“the truth, exactly”) to come along on my shoulder?

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To recall the song, try these links. Skip the sandwich ad beforehand at Bing Videos . There are multiple renditions at Bing Videos

WONDER-BREAD

 “God will provide”--how often have your heard someone say that, maybe glibly or with the strain of unbelief from being in a tight spot? Or maybe that phrase brings up the Biblical account of Jesus feeding the multitudes without any supermarket or even a carnival-style food circus nearby.

Sometimes such questions lead me to a quest to find answers—and this was one. Basic truth: there were two occasions when huge crowds who'd come to hear His teaching found their stomachs rumbling and no fast-food places nearby. And Jesus delivered—not with a little car sporting a “pizza” bonnet on its hood. He acted with divine compassion and provision, miraculously multiplying meals shared in the crude woven baskets of that time.

Both “feedings” occurred in the vicinity of the Sea of Galilee, but here are some of the differences.

CIRCUMSTANCES

#1 (5,000)--Jesus had just learned of the execution of His cousin, John the Baptist. Understandably, Jesus and His disciples got away to a deserted place. But even before modern communications, human word-of-mouth traveled like electricity. Soon, multitudes (mostly Jewish) followed, hoping for healing and teaching. Soon, they were hot and famished.

#2 (4,000)--This event took place later in Jesus' ministry, and occurred in a predominantly Gentile region. After three days of healing and teaching, the large crowd was famished with no local provisions.

LOCATION

#1: The 5,000 were fed near Bethsaida, the north end of the Sea of Galilee Just west around the road a bit is Capernaum, where Jesus spent a lot of ministry time. This was also considered Jewish territory.

#2: The 4,000 were fed in a desolate region of Decapolis, southeast of the Sea of Galilee. The crowds here were mostly Gentiles. That general area is where He healed a demoniac plus a deaf-mute man.

FOOD VENDOR

#1. Thanks to a little boy offering his lunch, the disciples had five little barley loaves (typically the size of a hand, weighing 2-3 pounds and one-fourth inch thick) and two small fish among them, barely enough for their own snack. Certainly not enough for the multitude that had swelled to 5,000, sweating and famished in a desolate area.

#2. This time, the disciples had seven loaves and a few fish that Jesus miraculously multiplied.

LEFTOVERS SYMBOLS

#1: From five small loaves/two fish, twelve baskets of leftovers were gathered. Some have noted that those numbers match the five books of the law and the twelve tribes of Israel.

#2. From the seven loaves/a few fish, there were seven baskets of leftovers. Possible symbol: seven days of creation, and the “completeness” of God's work.

DEEPER SYMBOLISM

The events were powerful demonstration of Jesus' compassion, divine authority, and mission to a needy world, including Jews and Gentiles. As the bread and fish were broken apart, they also foreshadowed His own broken/wounded body when crucified to be our new Provider and Sustainer.

My little “digging” about the background of this miracle led me to reflect about how easily we skip over deep truths revealing the power and love of God. Yes, even how a little boy's lunch made history. And--what could He do with my "little," given up?