I've not had great luck in the realm of comedy.  My favorite cartoonist was Gary Larson, who produced Far Side, and then abruptly quit.  Next to suck me in and drop me like a the Rock-a-Bye Baby song was Bill Watterson, the guru behind Calvin and Hobbes.  Finally, it was Dave Barry, whose weekly pieces in the Miami Herald would bring whatever I was drinking shooting out of my nose.  Same with his masterful books:  His personal best?  Dave Barry Slept Here; A Sort of History of the United States.  But he, too, stepped aside, now only resurfacing in late Decembers to summarize what's been going on all year.  So, I wait for these. . .

I have a suspicion my mom looks less forward to them, although she's never said it.  But because the Lousville Courier doesn't publish Dave's articles, I have a Hobbit, ur, habit, of calling and reading her the whole thing every year.  It's assumed the stature of a ritual at this point. 

So, for your amusement, here is the opening of this year's article in the Washington Post magazine (29 December).  You'll have to read the rest of it yourself.

'Cause you're not my mommy. 



What a Cliffhanger of a Year, by Dave Barry:

It was a cruel, cruel year--a year that kept raising our hopes, only to squash them flatter than a dead possum on the interstate (Interjection here:  it's clear to me that Mr. Barry does, in fact, watch The Surge messages on line--it had to be this photo, which appeared on a slide we used just a few weeks ago, that led him to his choice of a word picture.) 

Example:  This year the "reality" show "Jersey Shore," which for six hideous seasons has been a compelling argument in favor of a major Earth-asteroid collision, finally got canceled, and we dared to wonder if maybe, just maybe, we, as a society were becoming slight less stupid. 

But then, WHAP, we were slapped in our national face by the cold hard frozen mackerel of reality in the form of the hugely popular new "reality" show "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo,", which, in terms of intellectual content, makes "Jersey Shore" look like "Hamlet." 

Another example:  As the year began, the hottest recording artist was the brilliant singer-songwriter Adele, whose popularity made us think that maybe, just maybe, after years of rewarding overhyped auto-tuned dreck, we were finally developing more sophisticated musical tastes, and then. . .

WHAP, we were assaulted from all sides by the monster megahit video "Gangnam Style," in which a Korean man prances around a variety of bizarre Korean settings riding an imaginary Korean horse and shouting a song that, except for the words "Eh, sexy lady," is entirely in Korean.  It was that kind of year.  Remember back in 2011, when the big sex scandal involved Anthony Weiner, the ferret-like congressperson who committed political suicide by tweet?  We all thought, "Oh, well, another Washington politician who wants to regulate everything except his own personal ding-dong.  At least there are SOME institutions, such as the Secret Service, the CIA and the Army, where males in positions of responsibility can control their. . .

WHAP. 

Did anything good come out of 2012?  Maybe, Just maybe.  Consider:  For years now, Washington has been paralyzed by bitterly partisan gridlock, unable and unwilling to act in the face of a looming, potentially disastrous economic crisis.  But this year, we, the people, finally did something about it.  We went to the polls, and we made our decision.  Which is why now, as the year ends, we can look forward to a future in which Washington is. . .

WHAP.

Good morning Surgeons!

We're beginning our Toxic series, today's message is about Toxic Thoughts.  

Save the date - Jan 13th, we'll be having our monthly after church lunch, hosted time by Tracie Moulton, check Facebook and your email for details:

Jan 13th, starting about 1:30, hosted by Tracie Moulton!
1754 Wexford Way, Vienna, VA 22182

Next week we'll continue our Toxic series with Toxic Influences and it's going to be great - so don't miss it!

Hope you are enjoying time with family and friends - have a great New Year's!
~The Surge

Merry Christmas Eve Eve Everyone!

Today we have a special guest speaker, Tim Jones!  He'll be talking to us about Christmas, Carols and probably cheese, or something equally random.

We had a lovely time at our Christmas Party on Dec 15th, the musicians were great, so was the food and company.  Special thanks to everyone who helped bring off a successful and warm event.

Selma and Young Life had a wonderful Holiday Hoopla!  Santa, pickles, games, laughter and some meaningful moments resulted in a great celebration of Christmas time.

We're finishing up our Shadows series, with No More Shadow Boxing... and the substance behind the shadows of Christmas being present in the gift of God's love.

Save the date - Jan 13th, we'll be having our monthly after church lunch, hosted time by Tracie Moulton, check Facebook and your email for details:

Jan 13th, starting about 1:30, hosted by Tracie Moulton!
1754 Wexford Way, Vienna, VA 22182

Next week we'll start Toxic and it's going to be great - so don't miss it!

Thanks and have yourself a Merry Little Christmas... NOW!
~The Surge

Hello Surgeons!

Our hearts and prayers are with the families of Connecticut, please join us as we ask God to be near in a time of tragedy.

We're continuing our Shadows series, today's message is Shadows Give Way and we'll explore the idea of how to find the Good, and acknowledge that God doesn't grade on a curve.  See a video from our Pastor Dwaine Darrah here:

Video from Pastor Dwaine!


Our special today is "You Gotta Get Up" by Rich Mullins.

Extra thanks to the volunteers who helped us pull together the Christmas Party / SAW concert last night.  It was an absolutely amazing event!  Great food, great music, wonderful people!  

The Young Life 3rd annual Holiday Hoopla event for teens in our area is happening Dec 16th at 7pm!  If you want to go, it's going be a ridiculous amount of fun... see Selma for details!

We'll be finishing up our Christmas series, with the message No More Shadows as Dwaine brings it home!  

See you next week!
~The Surge

Who hasn't been riveted to CNN or FOX or MSNBC today, Friday, 14 December?  Even if you've been trying to be "hard at work"?  Another day.  Another school.  Another shooter.  Another 2 dozen plus dead, this time at least 20 little kids, just a smidge older than my twin granddaughters, who were sitting in my lap as we heard the news for the first time of events up in Connecticut. 

My family knows no one in that community, but tears flowed.   It was not hard to imagine us frantically seeking to take hold of our kids or those twins and scurry them to safety.  Not difficult to imagine how life as we knew it would stop if we knew our little ones had been mercilessly murdered.  Not hard to want to offer anything to ease the pain of moms and dads and brothers and sisters and. . . well, the ripples will go out to multitudes and reverberate for generations.  It's overwhelming. 

And this, on the heels of the lock down earlier this week at Jeb Stuart when someone brought in a gun.  No one was injured there.  The gun appears to have been a BB or pellet gun.   But it brings home just close how the unthinkable is to our doorstep. 

Listen, it's too early for us to know everything yet.  The investigation in Connecticut is still ongoing.  We're hearing now that the shooter's parents are dead, as well.  Still some reports of children unaccounted for.  My own experience with terrorist attacks are that the early numbers are virtually always wrong.  That was the case for 9/11, and the numbers of actual casualties went lower when all the facts came in.  We can pray this is the case here.

But, speaking of prayer, thoughts at some point after such horrific instances inevitably will swing to questions about God.  Things like, if He exists at all, how could he stand idly by and let this atrocity unfold and do nothing.  This is not the time for deep thoughts about doctrinal issues.  Maybe next week or next month, but not today. 

Today, we need this.  We need to know God is there, that he sees, that he feels, that he cares, that he loves, and that he, too, weeps for the conditions that unfold on what we all know is a flawed planet occupied by flawed people.  Those flaws include me, I fear.  I was off on a noble task earlier today, picking up a Christmas train set donated by a friend that will go to a family that is escaping from homelessness through the good work of FamilyPASS.  Even with such a good spirit about it all, here's the truth.  I couldn't do even that without violating the speed limit.  I didn't slaughter anyone, but i did break the law--even though I know a terrible accident that is my fault is possible every time I sit behind the wheel.  I don't like it, but I've got some responsibility for the conditions of this place we call home.  But that's for another time.

Today, we just need to keep it simple, and we need to hear this:  that Jesus wept uncontrollably when his very good friend, Lazarus, took ill and died before he got there--and this was a friend that he knew he was going to raise from the dead in short order.  Why the tears then?  I think it was because Jesus knows the pain that emanates from death.  Death wasn't in the original creation, and there's a time coming when it  won't exist anymore.  But today, we live in Middle Earth, in the inbetween time.  So, Jesus looked over a city of people who were suffering in misery and wept for them.  He knows what this place can be like for us.  He lived here, too. 

I think if I was in Connecticut tonight, there'd be nothing I could do to ease the pain for these families.  My role would no doubt be just to be with them, hold them, and sob together.  Because I know Jesus is very much alive right now, everything we've seen from him when he walked this earth tells me this is what he's doing.  He's with them, he's got his arms around them, and he's weeping again tonight. 


Dwaine Darrah
Lead Pastor for The Surge

It is hard to move forward when you cannot see the whole picture. It is hard for me to imagine myself as the mother of a Chinese born teenager in only a few short months. It is difficult to know that our family will be taken care of financially a year from now when we want and need a change but so far no opportunities have planted themselves squarely in our laps. It is hard to believe that yes, we have been chosen to adopt a Chinese teenager and yes, we are meant to quit a secure and stable job and buy land and turn into farmers (for real!) and yes, even though this will all be happening within the year but we have very few details somehow these things we are meant to do will work out.

The path sits at my feet, but its end turns a sharp corner and disappears.

Vaguely I can see an out of focus snapshot of my life in the future; vaguely I know in my heart that just as pieces have fit into place thus far they will continue to do so.

It boils down to one simple word: Trust.


They say hindsight is 20/20; for me hindsight is the lifeline that gives me faith for the future. As I look back on my life and cannot deny the protective Hand of God guiding my every step, I can hardly deny His continued presence as I walk into the unknown.