Wacky Wednesday

This week was a Dr. Seuss-inspired week, where each day had a different theme to it.  Madison was excited bout today, because it was Wacky Wednesday.  The concept was simple:  wear mismatched clothing, or wear it backwards.  This she did - her shirt is on backwards and she has mismatching socks - and the rest of the outfit sort of speaks for itself, doesn't it?  She was pretty proud of this assembling of clothing, and from the sounds of it, everyone at school looked completely wacky.

Today was a big day at the office, although we did get to go home and wait for Madison at the school bus.  And then we took her to Aldi's to meet Mommy, who was doing a bit of emergency shopping:  it seems we were out of fruit!

Have you ever had British soldiers for breakfast?  This week, Mommy has been treating Daddy to a breakfast just like this.  The grapefruit is warmed up in the oven, and is simply astounding.  The tea is perfect, and of course the egg is perfectly runny.  The concept is simple:  you dip the pieces of toast into the runny egg, and for a few moments, all is right with the world!

All was right with the world tonight as well:  Daddy wrote a new message for the kids, because we had review night scheduled otherwise.  Daddy didn't want just review, so we did a great message that followed our circus theme.  It was based on "Dumbo," and it went really well.  At one point in the message though, he got to share this photo on the big screen:

That's Madison's first ride on Dumbo, way back in 2008, at Disneyland in Hong Kong.  It was also one of her first smiles.  She was really trying to figure out this "amusement park" thing, and she was starting to get the hang of it by the end of the day.  Imagine your world being an orphanage for an entire year, and suddenly you're with new adults, and your in Disneyland on Dumbo.  We were cautious and taking things slowly, careful not to overdo it - but being so close to Disney was too tempting!

Anyway, the message was good - and that was the rest of our night:

KidPak Adventures:  Big Top
Dumbo

CUE TRACK:  6 Circus

CUE SLIDE:  “BIG TOP”

HOST:  “Ladies and gentlemen and children of all ages!   We’ve been talking about the circus all series long, and tonight we’ll wrap up things by talking about one of the most famous circus movies there is:  Dumbo!”

CUE SLIDE: “DUMBO”

HOST:  “This is actually Disney’s fourth movie, made a long time ago.  You know they just had the Oscars the other night, and this one actually won a few Academy Awards too.”

HOST:  “It’s a shorter movie, but it’s been a really popular one, because it’s one that many people can relate to.  You see, Dumbo here is born a little different, isn’t he?  What’s different about him – does anyone know?”

Get answer from audience.

HOST:  “That’s right, he’s got these really huge ears.  And for about sixty minutes, the movie is such a downer.  I mean, for the longest time, everyone makes fun of him at the circus.  But suddenly he realizes he can do something special that no one else can do – and what’s that?”

Get answer from audience.

HOST:  “That’s right, he can shoot peanuts out of his nose!  Can anyone else do that?”

Get answer from audience.

HOST:  “No, that’s not quite the right answer.  What he can do is this:  he can fly.”

CUE SLIDE:  DUMBO IN FLIGHT

HOST:  “The truth of it is that he’s the most amazing act in all the circus.  Everyone no doubt regrets how they treated him, because he’s not the star attraction.”

HOST:  “Many of you know we adopted our little girl a few years ago, and Dumbo was one of those things that made her smile quite a bit.”

CUE SLIDE:  “MADISON ON DUMBO”

HOST:  “She just loved this ride.  Until this point, she’d spent two years waiting to fly.  She was with her original mother the first year, but soon she was at an orphanage, where she waited another year until she finally met her new adoptive parents.  It took a bit for the smiles to come, but as you can see, she’s in this photo, flying high.”

CUE SLIDE:  “BIG TOP”

HOST: “There are a lot of lessons we can learn from Dumbo, but tonight I wanted to focus on just two things.  The first one is easy.  Look at this picture here.  What do you see?”

CUE SLIDE:  “SKY”

HOST: “Nothing.  For thousands of years, the only thing you’d see in the sky were birds, right?  No elephants there at all.”

Let audience answer.

CUE SLIDE:  “WRIGHT BROTHERS”

HOST:  “There were a couple brothers once.  One guy had it rough – believe it or not, he was hit in the face with a baseball bat when he was young.  It gave him some heart problems, and what made matters worse was that their mom was pretty sick at the time.”

HOST:  “The two tried to start a newspaper business, but that didn’t work out.  So they went back to the one thing they were pretty good at:  making bicycles.  Things were doing well, but both of them kept looking up to the skies.”

CUE SLIDE:  “FAILED AIRPLANE”

HOST: “Recently, people had been trying to build an airplane that worked.  But nobody could figure out how to make one stay in the air.  They’d crash left and right.”

HOST: “But these guys saw something in God’s creation.  They saw that all these scientists were getting it wrong – if we wanted to fly, we should look more closely at the birds.”

HOST: “So they used their skills together, and they copied the bird.  They had no college education, and not much money.  In fact, there were scientists racing to be the first to make an airplane elsewhere.  Some were rich, with thousands and thousands of dollars, and a ton of help from companies, other scientists, and lots of free equipment.”

HOST:  “This got the brothers going.  They were going to be first, so they went to the beach and tried over and over again – there were plenty of mistakes and crashes.  But on Deceber 8, 1903, they did what no one had ever done before.”

CUE SLIDE: “ FLYING MACHINE”

HOST:  “They flew.  The world knows the Wright Brothers were the first.  But not even they knew God’s purpose in their lives until it all just clicked.  You see, all that time working in bicycle shops helped them get ready for making the airplane.”

HOST:  “The Bible says this about the Wright Brothers, and it says this about us as well.”

CUE SLIDE: “JEREMIAH 29:11”

HOST:  “God has a plan and a purpose for each of us.  He had a plan for those two brothers, and it just all clicked.  And the great thing for you is this:  He’s got a plan for you too – it’s a plan for you to enjoy success.  It’s a plan for you to have hope for years to come.”

CUE SLIDE:  “BIG TOP”

HOST: “Like Dumbo, we were all made to fly.  God made us all a little different – some of you more different than others!  But different is good.  Turn to your neighbor and say different is good.”

Let audience respond.

HOST:  “The problem comes in when people see that different isn’t good.  It happens at school, it happens at work, it happens at church.  People make fun of others because they are different.  Hopefully that isn’t the sort of thing that you here don’t do, is it?”

Let audience respond.

HOST: “Because that’s not cool.  We’re all created in God’s image, and when you make fun of others, you’re actually making fun of God Himself.  Which is seriously not cool.”

HOST: “Long before the Wright Brothers, there was another guy who was a little different.  He had these weird dreams.  He had brothers that worked together, but not to make an airplane.  These brothers worked together to get rid of him.”

HOST:  “He was sold as a slave, and forced to work in the desert in another country.  There things got worse.  He was thrown in prison for a crime he didn’t commit, where he was left and forgotten.”

HOST:  “Until a day much, much later – a day when his gift of dreams came in handy.  You see, the king had a problem figuring out a dream, and just then, everyone remembered a guy in prison who was a little different.  What was his name?”

Let audience answer.

HOST:  “That’s right.  His name was Joseph.  And it was because God made him different that the whole entire country was saved.  And it was because he was a little different that other countries around his were saved too.”

HOST:  “The two points of Dumbo are pretty simple.  The first one is this:  God has a plan for you.  Just keep doing your best, and keep praying.  God will show you the way, and you’ll be able to use the gifts you have in incredible ways.”

HOST: “The other message is this:  don’t make fun of others because they are different. It takes courage, but we must speak up for those who don’t seem to fit in yet.  God has a great purpose for them too – and remember, when we make fun of others, we’re making fun of God Himself.  Not cool!”

HOST:  “It’s a simple message tonight, but it’s an important one.  Those other elephants are pretty mean in the movie “Dumbo,” aren’t they?”

Let audience answer.

HOST:  “But they learn their lesson by the end, when they watch Dumbo fly.  And you know something?  I really want to be there to watch all of you fly.”

HOST:  “Let us pray.”