Laurie Beth Jones Blog

Celebrating Joy and Wonder

The Christmas Play

Last Sunday I was delighted to behold the Christmas Play at a local community church.  The age range of talent was from four to sixteen.     As all Christmas Plays tend to do, this play had a part for everyone.  It was as if the playwright was instructed “Don’t forget about the donkey!”

This play was a bit unusual because the group had decided on a humorous updating of the Nativity.  When the words were read “It came to pass” two teens actually threw a football to one another.   When it came to the verse “And the angels were sore afraid” the angels started moaning loudly, and hobbling about like they had sports injuries.

We all guffawed, however, when the scripture verse was read “And Mary was delivered” because a five year old yet apparently very pregnant Mary came in standing up precariously on a UPS hand cart wielded by a teenaged angel.

As in all Christmas plays some of the narrators forgot their lines, and had to be loudly coached from crouching adults.

At one point, little toddler Mary, having been “delivered,” grabbed the baby Jesus doll by one foot  and dragged it thumping down the altar stairs as she sucked her thumb and climbed out of the Nativity scene, obviously having decided the fun was over.   Joseph, a child  like Mary,  decided it was his turn to climb in the manger, realizing that was where all the action was, and knowing a vacancy when he saw one.   At this point the parents and the director had to intervene, all while the narrator continued blithely on reading the Christmas story.

The talent in charge of the prop removal was a little distracted, so some props were left on stage and others that were necessary didn’t make it on time.

A trumpeter couldn’t grasp the trumpet easily as it seemed tangled up in the fishing line.  How the story of Joshua at Jericho and Jonah in the whale became part of the Christmas story is all part of the wonderful celebration of the old and the new, (and perhaps because there were more youth than angels needed, at which point the director decided to do time lapses and cut in scenes to establish the context, of course.)

Apart from the cognitive dissonance of seeing a pregnant five year old hobbling toward the altar, I had a very good time.

It seemed like a microcosm of life itself—missing trumpets and tangled lines….too many props or not enough… The image of the little girl dragging the baby Jesus doll by the foot thump thump thumping down the stairs tore at my heart strings.

I wondered how often I do the same thing to the Christ child as I go about my business.

How very patient the Lord is, indeed, with all of us in this Christmas Play.  How very insistent the Author was that we all could have a part in it, even as it comes to pass.

May this Christmas and Holy Day season be filled with joy and wonder– and trumpets– in all the right places.

Blessings to you,

Laurie Beth

These little boys clearly enjoy one another’s company, which apparently revolves around playing soccer together.
For some reason they had stopped together and decided to rest on this bench outside the church.

Life is too short to work with people you don’t enjoy, doing something you don’t enjoy.

I liked this photo so much I have framed it. Enthusiasm. Joy. Laughter. Life. And peers to play alongside you in it all. May all your teammates be has happy as these.

How much time does your team spend playing together?

Reinvent Your Life Workshop. January 14, 2011
By Laurie Beth Jones
Next workshop: March 18, 200 in Dallas Texas

Sixteen people gathered in an intimate theatre in San Diego this past Friday. Among them we had a pastor from Pittsburgh, a photographer from Pasadena, a stylist from Paris, and a police officer whose life was turned upside down by a bullet wound to her spine. We had the head of Asian banking investment firm in Canada, a psychotherapist from British Columbia, an IT genius, and the former marketing director for World Vision International. We also were graced by a woman who runs a third generation nursery, a musician from LA, a graduate from the Naval Academy, a comedienne in the making, an entrepreneur who donates windows and doors to Extreme Makeover homes, and a mother who donates her spare time to giving manicures to women at homeless shelters. Shelly Buckner and I were the designated shepherdesses for the day.

We drew on big art boards with giant magic markers. We put puzzle pieces together one by one. We drew our biggest fears and saw them turned into tiny rubber chickens. We stretched our minds and hearts, opening them to new words and dreams from the Holy Spirit. We wrote out new visions for our lives on handmade watercolor parchment, embossed with my new logo of LBJ, which stands for Live Breathe Joy. We cried a little, laughed a lot, and took time to reflect together what it means to rise and risk and roar, like Fire. To renew, reflect, restore like Water. To remain, return and regenerate like Earth. And to revive, rejoice, and release like the Wind.

Lives were transformed. Old scripts were discarded and new directions were received. It was a wonderful day full of connecting, engaging and extending mission and vision together.
Join the next RYL Workshop on March 18 in Dallas, Texas. We will see you there.
Changing the World One Mission at a Time

Please join me in welcoming our newest Path4Teens Licensed Reseller Debbie Porter from Cincinnati, Ohio. Debbie’s Mission is to Illuminate, Create and Bestow Joy in children and families. Her passion for children is overt and unyielding as she shares her vision to be a BOLD advocate for children and families, emphasizing the importance of making EVERYONE feel like they are included and welcome and valued. Her own desire for connection is truly contagious and I am confident she will take the Path4Teens program to a new level in her sphere of influence and change generations with her Creativity, Joy and Love for the youth of this world!
We are honored to be on this journey together!  Welcome to the Path Community!