Learning to Speak Cayman (The Letter C)

Flashing back to 2013 I wrote: "My hope once a week or so is to share with you a little Caymanian vocabulary. Many of my readers are no doubt ex-pats who reside here in the Beloved Isle Cayman - and while each of us are required to speak English when you arrive on island, there is no such requirement to learn words & phrases unique to Cayman...now that the pressure's off, there is no better time like the present."

Well, it's 2015. And I only accomplished the Letter A and the Letter B.Time to carry on. Straight outta the Cayman Islands Dictionary - some favorite Caymanian terms from the Letter C.


Cake-up (kayke up) Noun. 1. Excessive Make-up. 2. Make-up which appears to have been applied using a spray gun and trowel. e.g. " Errytime I see dah girl, her face always be cake up even when she in da gym."
  >> This isn't even regionally accurate, it's a universally accurate term to describe the phenomenon of beauty product overuse. 
>> Frankly, I don't care when people where too much make-up. The only reason I have a beard is to hide my face so I don't have to "cake-up" myself! 

Checkin' (chek in) Verb. 1. The second stage in a four-part structure of a relationship, which involves: (1) talkin'; (2) checkin'; (3) dealin' ; (4) goin'. 2. The season of an uncommitted relationship. 3. The preliminary stage of a young relationship.  
>> The obvious question, then, is what's dealin'. Thankfully, it's not drugs (that would be awkward!). It's a mutual agreement to be monogamously involved with the other person. Once that's negotiated, then you get goin.' 
>> I applaud any kind of dating system that gets us to the DTR. Defining the relationship is spelled out very clearly and everyone knows where they stand. 

Cuzzy (cuz-eh).  Noun. 1. Friend. 2. Brethren. 3. Cousin. 4. Can be used for an old friend, new acquaintance, or just for someone whose name you've forgotten. eg., " Yeah, cuzzy, I gah check yah back bout goin' boatin' diss weekend. "
>> Once our church extended past the 100 person threshold, retaining every person's name has proved exceedingly difficult and the worst solution is the "Hey you," which was certainly invented at a sales conference based out of a Holiday Inn by a guy with a bluetooth earpiece.  
>> "Cuzzy" is kind of affectionate. I wouldn't even care if you forgot my name and called me this because it would mean I'm somewhere in the range of a beloved stuff animal. I'd take that!

Cyar (kyarr). Verb. 1. to carry. 2. to transport.  
>> This word has two bonuses: (1) Taking two syllables and reducing it to one. I'm always in favor of word efficiency. ; 2. Sound pirate-y. "Cyar it me car!"

Try dropping one of these into a conversation this week. I look forward to calling you Cuzzy. 

10 Most & 10 Least Popular Books of the Bible

The folks at the Overview Bible Project received raw search data from BibleGateway.com   to determine what the majority read and altogether avoid since the inception of the popular Bible tools website in 1993. 20 years of data and Bible searches now in the billions seems like a good sampling. 

Surprised to be Left-off the Most Popular List: James. James may be looking down from heaven disappointed* but he can justify this by reminding himself his letter remains a go-to Bible study book with other people, but perhaps we are not necessarily looking for verses of his letter on a search engine or as part of our personal Bible study. 
* - unlikely since he is in the presence of Jesus.




Surprised to be Left-off the Least Popular List: Leviticus. Moses surely thought included on this list would be his guidebook that includes how to deal with unseemly cold sores and which precious livestock you need to have sacrificed if you accidentally touch a dead fly. Rejoice my main man, Moses! I've still never heard anyone preach a sermon series from it, but Leviticus ain't no cellar-dwellar either. 

A Teenager's Sermon Notes - Mark 1:1-13

Sunday proved once again to be the best day of the week. In large part because our humble church packed up a Nature Valley Bar, grabbed a Gatorade (or Vitamin Water...or Green tea??) and embarked on what will be a glorious trek through the Gospel of Mark investigating the life of Jesus. 

Back by popular readership (or viewership), here is a second straight week of a Teenager's sermon notes. 

Highlights for me personally include:
(a) A valiant attempt to depict two amorphous entities - Jello and the Holy Spirit. I thought about poking some fun at the old Adam West Batman looking "Ka-pow"-shaped attempt at the Holy Spirit - but, let's be fair, as a Spirit He's really hard to draw. I've seen some lame attempts too - mostly centered around clouds and leaves rustling to symbolize wind;  

(b) The perfect balance of drawing Jesus as THE man with impressive muscular tone -  versus going Super-Man over-the-top muscular. Impressive because my point in the message was that Jesus did not defeat Satan's desert temptations as some sort of laser-shootin' superman. But neither must he resemble Leonard from The Big Bang Theory. 

A Teenager's Sermon Notes

Had opportunity yesterday to preach on Isaiah 58 & a paradox walking with Jesus of Receiving Through Giving. In case you don't want to bother listening, one teenager gave me permission to share the notes she took.

That pretty much sums it up!

Learning to Speak Cayman (The Letter B)

As mentioned in the first post (Learning to Speak Cayman - Letter A), my hope once a week or so is to share with you a little Caymanian vocabulary. Many of my readers are no doubt ex-pats who reside here in the Beloved Isle Cayman - and while each of us are required to speak English when you arrive on island, there is no such requirement to learn words & phrases unique to Cayman...now that the pressure's off, there is no better time like the present.

So here we go - straight outta the Cayman Islands Dictionary - some of my favorite Caymanian terms from the Letter B.

Bad Up (bahd-upp) Verb.  1. To vex or agitate the mind or emotions for the purposes of furthering progress or "getting the ball rolling." Used especially with customer service at restaurants or in long queues. Eg. "Anytime I orda from "Fake Cayman Restaurant mentioned as such because I don't want to offend anyone," I usually have to bad up because they take their time otherwise."
>> I appreciate this one especially because I can't find an suitable equivalent in the English vernacular. "Instigate" maybe, but that isn't necessarily confined to hurrying up customer service. Sometimes, you just gotsta "bad up" (or patiently love them like Jesus...wah-wah).

Banga Langa Langa (baing-ah laing-gah laing-gah). Interjection. 1. You're gonna get it; 2. You're in deep trouble; 3. Song of impending doom for a child. 
>> It just rolls of the tongue. Not only is it fun to say on the domestic side, I can see this one catching on in the workplace. As in: "What? You forgot to submit your TPS reports to Mr. Livingstone?!! It's banga langa langa for you."

Beast (bee'ce) Noun. 1. Obsolete or untrendy technology
>> Helpful for some of us here in Cayman who don't have the quickest access to the latest and greatest. For instance, I just upgraded to a digital watch with a calculator on it! Beast no longer, my friends!

Brand-new-Second-hand (brahn-n'yoo-seh-hun-hahn). Noun. 1. Previously owned by someone else but still in excellent, near-perfect condition. Eg. "My friend is selling the Blackberry his work just gave him because he wants an iPhone. It's brand-new-second-hand."
>> Two spectacular aspects about this gem (oversell?? Wait for it...). (a) Anyone who has ever been in sales, as I have been so blessed, recognizes the need to sell something that's basically new but you can't call it new. Options: "Floor model" (mmm...that means hundreds of hands have touched it); "Very good" (too sentimental - now I know it's not very new but because it served you so well that you now have an emotional attachment - making it more valuable in your mind than it really is); "Used only a handful of times" (oh yeah, whose hand?). You get the picture, the alternatives are scarce; (b) Brand-new-Second-hand provides the ideal alternative.

Broughtupsy (brot-up-seh). Adjective. 1. Having good manners as a result of a positive upbringing.  Eg. "I don't like watching that child, all his parents do is stick him in front of an iPad so he can't talk to adults. He has got no broughtupsy."
>> This term allows you to, in one word, simultaneously evaluate the child (because let's face it you need to) and build up/tear down the parents who have raised him. 
>> Plus, I like words that end in "sy" like "funsy" or "onesy."

Bunkey (bung-kih) Noun. 1. gluteus maximus
>> A Caymanian classic. Once had opportunity to even utilize this word, affectionately, in a sermon I gave.

Go forth in the confidence that you can drop one of these little beauties on someone today - impress a friend or a co-worker...or better yet, confuse a family member or spouse.

Learning to Speak Cayman

Since moving to Cayman almost 3.5 years ago, I've assiduously read histories and asked old-timers countless questions about this great island. And because, especially early on (this has certainly changed some), SCC consisted almost entirely of ex-pats, I thought it would be a good idea to write about some interesting Cay-History stories, movements & characters (see Article #1, Article #2, Article #3, Article #4). The goal being to familiarize more people with the culture and nation where they make their home.  I received some positive feedback about folks enjoying those. So back by popular demand (and by popular demand I mean any amount more than three, one of whom can be my Mom), I bring you "Learning to Speak Cayman." 

While you may be required to learn to speak English to move here from off-island, Immigration does not require you to learn vocabulary unique to Cayman. So I thought I'd post some of my favorites courtesy of the Cayman Islands Dictionary. Let's learn together!

Air Condition (ere kun-dih-shun) Adjective. Any type of clothing that has holes in it, resembling A/C vents. 
>> Now this is perhaps my favorite of today's words in terms of making the most sense. In a hot climate, what's better than to be wearing something that allows a little breeze to blow through. It's air conditioning without CUC. 

All Now (awl now). 1. For all time, up until now. 2. To this day. Eg. "Pastor Ryan promised to use me in a sermon illustration, but all now he ain't done it."

Aweleh (awe-leh). Interjection from West Bay. 1. A startled reaction to a particular situation.  2. A verbal demonstration of surprise.  Eg. "Awleh! I didd'n know you could still run fast even though you are old enough to be my dad." 
>> As someone who loves the Bible, the Psalms, and worship music, any fun comment of surprise that includes the first part of Alle-lujah! can and should be used.

Ayegah (aay-gah). Adjective. 1. Feverish; 2. Cold chills. Eg. "I feel kinda ayegah, and the only prescription is more cow bell."
>> That's more about cow bell than anything.

Great stuff. And we didn't even get past the LETTER A. Okay, I encourage you join with me in my goal to choose & use ONE of these today in actual conversation. 

Making Fun of Journaling

I owe this to my congregation. During the month of August preaching on Psalm 27, I've had occasion (x2) to expound on the importance of recording God's provision for our lives & to have something available upon which to take notes or write down a Scripture Reference.


In other words: GET A JOURNAL!   (or if you're a man whose embarrassed to say he journals you can call it a "moleskin" -- see Mark Driscoll).


And while I still support this, I probably need to make fun it (lest I it too seriously & it becomes an idol). So just as I was laughing with someone about journaling, I browse the interwebs to find Jon Acuff already did a pretty good job this morning of doing just that. Enjoy a laugh Christians and read: 


"Secretly Hating to Journal"

A Real Word: "FAITHIST" (*Use responsibly*)

Finally an -ist word we can all be proud of. No one wants to be called racist, sexist, bigamist, or polygamist (okay, unless you live in Utah -- I currently have no friends there). BUT then I came across this in the Shorter Oxford Dictionary (1900 pgs!!) while doing a bit of reading last week for a sermon on "Faith":

Faithist (n.) - A Member of a sect whose religion is based on a text given through divine or angelic revelation.

Hey, that's me! Finally, an -ist word Christians can legitimately use.

You can use it to encourage someone, "Jim is a true faithist in Christ" or for good-natured teasing toward an occasionally uppity Christian friend: "Dude, you're such a faithist."

That's all I got. I'm sure you can think of some better uses. Do tell....