My Name is Carol

I have been on this kick of words from the musical “Antshillvania” which is cleverly written and wisdom-filled. In the future, I will be sharing more nuggets from that, but today I found myself humming from another musical our family was involved in—“It’s Cool in the Furnace.” Can you guess what bible story that is about? I’m sure you can; how many furnaces are there?
One of my favorites from that musical—Know When to Say “No”

♫ Yes, we know when to say “No” yes, we know.
The king says “Bow down and pray;
Worship my idol every day,
And do it now without delay.”
What do you say?
We say “No, no no!”

The king says, “If you don’t obey,
You won’t survive another day,
‘cause you’ll be baked like potters’ clay.”
What do you say?
We say, “No, no no!”

Now God says, “There’ just one way,
No other God shall you obey,
And your allegiance I’ll repay.”
What do you say?
We say, “Yes, yes, yes.”
Yes, we know when to say “No” yes, we know.

The first two verses sound so foreign here “in the land of the free and the home of the brave” but as I watch the news, I wonder. I have watched stories about people being forced to stop the display of American flags and crosses, school children being expected to believe without question in evolution, global warming, and a one-world government, and a beauty pageant contestant thrown out for believing that marriage is between a man and woman.

Christianity has been under attack since first century A.D.; and while there have been times when the attacks were less, this is not one of those times. “Separation of church and state” has become the battle cry of those who would stamp it out, and they act as though it were printed in huge letters in the U.S. Constitution. It isn’t! It isn’t even in the fine print. There is no legal separation of church and state.

So, the day may come when we must follow Shadrach, Meshach, and Abedneggo’s example in taking a stand. (Those weren’t their real names, but names given to coerce them into idol acceptance.)

Daniel 1:7 “Unto whom the prince of the eunuchs gave names: for he gave unto Daniel the name of Belteshazzar; and to Hananiah, of Shadrach; and to Mishael, of Meshach; and to Azariah, of Abednego.”

My name is Carol, which means “song of joy”; may it always be so!