January 10th, 2014

Hey, everyone!

Or as they say around here, "Hey, y'all!"

Or as 12.63% of Americans, mostly in Pennsylvania, Missouri, Oklahoma and Nebraska say, "Hey, you all!"

Or as 0.20% of us, mainly living in Ohio and Pennsylvania say, "Hey, y'uns!"

If I said, "Hey, yous!", y'all would know I was sending a shout-out from Cape Cod, where most of the 0.67% of us who say that, live.

I was shocked to realize that 42.53% of our co-citizens, mostly across the upper Midwest and California, would have started this CCC Friday email with, "Hey, you guys!"

With choices like "y'all", "y'uns", "yous guys", and "you lot", that many just go with plain ol', "You guys"? Really?

I personally feel "y'all" is quicker, easier to say and it's more inclusive than "you guys". But they didn't ask me.

Actually they asked thousands of folks tho'!

I found out all those stats from a survey that linguists and profs at Harvard took, asking folks across the land to tell how they say or pronounce a variety of things. There are 122 questions in all, and after they compile your answers, they can tell where you come from and/or where you live. Fer instance…

Question 119…"What do you call food you buy at a restaurant but take home to eat?"

Most of us call it, "Take-out" but 6.40% call it "carry-out", mostly from Ohio and Indiana.

Did you know 8.10% of Americans call a grocery "bag" (90.26%) a grocery "sack"? You'll hear that in Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska. 0.13% living in upper West Tennessee call it a "poke"! 

Do you know what 0.06% of us mean when they say, "bog rolling"? They mean "tp'ing a house" (57.71%), or "toilet papering" a house (21.04%) or. as we called it, "rolling" a house (6.68%, concentrated in the Southeast…That's what I'm talking about!)  Did you know 7.78% of Americans don't even have a word for it?! I believe that's mostly in the Amish regions.

If you say "hair elastic", you're from Maine or Vermont. 

If you call an easy course in school. "crip", you're from the Southeast. 

A highway is called an "expressway" only along the Gulf Coast of Texas. 

0.02% of us call "lightning bugs" "peenie wallies". Seriously!  

Along the Great Lakes and New England, "poem' has one syllable.  

"Caramel" only has two syllables in the Midwest. 

"Crayon" only has one syllable in Lower Michigan. 

They only call her their "Aunt" (as in "ahh-nt") and not their "Aunt" (as in "ant") in Connecticut and Massachusetts. 

In Louisiana, "Mary" and "merry" sound the same, but "marry" doesn't. 

59.68% of us keep the "l" in "almond". 5.65% say, "ah-mond". If you say it like that, I'm one of y'all. 

Or one of you guys…one of yous…one of you lot…y'all know what I mean!

If you go on nytimes.com and look up, "How Y’all, Youse and You Guys Talk" , you can take the test yourself! My results told me I was from the Southeast near Nashville, Chattanooga, and Knoxville! They almost guessed we live in Oliver Springs! (I noticed they didn't ask how we pronounce "springs"…or "wrestling")

Ever wondered how folks can tell a person, no matter where they were born or live, is a citizen of the Kingdom of God and is heading home to Heaven?

I guess folks who know Jesus say all kinds of things in our own unique ways. Others don't use the word "do" like we do ("do life together"…"do ministry") We use "just really" a lot. Others don't "love on" people as much as we do. But Paul says you can tell a person belongs to Jesus best by what we DON'T say. Check this…

"Do all things without…complaining, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation. Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky…!"

Wanna shine like a star in the night? A bright light and a child of the King in a world of grumpy, griping grumpiness? As Paul Overstreet wrote and Alison Kraus sang, "You say it best when you say nothing at all!" 

Feel like complaining and just want to say what's bugging you? Don't!

We have a heavenly Dad Who loves us in ways we can't even take in! He's making every single thing that happens or doesn't, fit into the perfect plan for us! He knows whatever we need and the One Who feeds the birds of the world so brilliantly, thinks we're worth tons more than they are! When you think about it, we have no right or reason  to ever complain again!

What if you made a choice to make it to the end of the day without complaining once about anything today? I think it makes the heart lighter, our faith brighter and…

If you string a few complaining-free days together, someone might get the courage to just ask you, "Hey! Where are y'all from?"

"Who me?"

"Yeah! You and all you guys!" Or as they say down here, "All y'all!" (1.87%)