Under the Sea

It was quite a satisfying start to our new series!  "Under the Sea" was like Christmas morning for most of the kids as they entered the room for the first time. We'll share video later, but picture floating fish, moving colorful lights, bubbles coming out from coral, and a magical soundtrack.  It was such that a lot of adults came in to see it, and quite a few folks just sat down and stared.  It was like being at an aquarium, which was our goal.  This was my favorite stage moment by far, and Daddy has been here for quite a few years.

As for the service itself, things were quite fun!  We had ocean-themed games on stage, not just the trivia, but also a race between a squid (Mr. Cuddles), a turtle (Tug), and a goblin shark (Harriet).  Because the goblin shark was in the news recently, we went with that one for a character.  It's a perfectly ugly underwater beastie, one you certainly wouldn't want to run into.  The name "goblin shark" fits perfectly.  We put a twist on the whole thing by making it a girl shark with a bow.

Madison was there for both services, which turned out great.  We had to stay for a bit to help out for KidPak Español also, but that turned out to be an unfortunate mistake for Madison, who was on the receiving end of a air hockey paddle to the face.  Madison is currently sporting a black eye, courtesy of a careless boy that Daddy wanted to deck, but used a little self control!

Still, they had a good service as well, which made for a great day across the board for KidPak.  One great aspect of our service was the inclusion of a video we asked our California church to make, one filmed right there on the ocean.  It showed someone writing the word "SIN" on a rock - and throwing it out into the ocean waves, an illustration about what God does with our sins.  That's our memory verse for the series.  But here below is our message for the day, which is a bit of a play on words with the upcoming school year starting this week, and of course schools of fish:

Back to School

     Why are fish so smart? Because they live in schools! You know something? That's not a bad idea. Jesus wants us to be fishers of men, so it's only natural to look to the fish a moment to learn a thing or two.
     For example, they stick together. Don't get schooled! As Christians, we fish need to swim together! In the deep blue sea, there is safety in numbers – and it really confuses the enemy. Predators can't focus, and rather than seeing a small fish, they instead see something much bigger: a massive swirl they'd rather just stay away from!
     Sometimes praising God together makes no sense at all to the outside world, but where two or more are gathered, there He is amongst them. And that's where you can find safety, refuge, and hope for the hopeless. Every fish has a wish, and that's to stay cool with the school!
     But you can find more than just safety with other Christians: there is a lot to learn with the school. There are always more fish in the sea – and always someone who knows more about something. In fact, each time you gather together with others, you'll learn more about God and His plan for you. It's a good idea to make sure you stay teachable; otherwise you’ll never learn anything at all! Don't be a fool - stay with the school!
     One last thing you do together is find your porpoise. Or rather, your purpose. Seriously, one fish you don't want to be is a selfish. That's a fish that thinks only of himself! We join together for encouragement and safety – but we also join together with purpose, to serve others. A reef only works when all the sea creatures there do what God designed them to do, and then that reef grows and grows! So find that thing God wants you to do, and plug in to your calling!
     So once more, why are fish so smart? Because they follow God's flow, something you can do too. Just stay teachable, and don't be a selfish. Oh, and make sure you are always heading back to school! 

We had some videos illustrating schools of fish, and we also had a guessing game with the silver moonfish.  The paper puppets were a big hit, and the trivia portion was fun too.  Here is a homework assignment that Daddy made up for everyone, something new we're trying each week.  Fill one of these out and you'll be in the drawing for free tickets to the Georgia Aquarium!

So the rest of the day was just that.  Rest of the day.  We rested, and did a lot of it.  This was easy, considering that Daddy got home around 3:00 am, quite exhausted from setting the stage up and getting all the music and lights and other things prepared.  It was quite a day, so we did a lot of lounging about the remaining part of the day, which after Español, isn't much.  There was some video game playing and some watching television, but on the whole, we were pretty done with the day.  Tonight, we watched "Dolphin Tale" once more, seeing Winter and the others in their first adventure.  Later next month, the sequel is coming to theaters, so we're ready for that when it comes.  Madison is looking forward to it quite a bit.  But not tonight - when we were done with the movie, we were ready to turn in.  It's time to get Madison in earlier and earlier, as we'll be getting up pretty early for school soon.  Today was a great day, where - everyone had a memorable time at church this morning, and that's what it's all about.

Time to go sleep with the fishes!