Angus

Ballet was today, and although Daddy was geared up to go outside and wait in the car, reading a bit, he instead was introduced by Madison to another parent waiting.  The girls went in to dance, and Daddy just sat there listening to an hour and a half.  This woman had cancer, the second woman to strike up a conversation about the same topic while waiting for our little ballerinas inside.  The last lady had cancer too.  Both situations were bleak, or at least the individuals were resigned to their fate.  Daddy's job seems to be encouragement, and as much as he could prescribe.  Mommy survived - Mommy made it through, and so can you.  Don't give up - you're tired and weary from the medication, but that's just the medication that has you like that.  Give it time and you'll fight back.  You just need something to focus on and live for, like that little girl in side dancing for you.  We'll pray for these precious ladies.  It helps that we know yet another Mommy who survived - her kids dance at the same time Madison does.  This woman goes to church with us, and we've been interacting about diet changes and all those adjustments that needed to be made after the fact.  We're part of a family of survivors, having battled something pretty serious.  Mommy is a champion, despite it all.  She looked that evil in the eye and overcame it, and Madison was her prize at the end, the thing she focused on instead.  Daddy was happy to be along for the ride, supporting her every step of the way.  I remember watching every movie Abbott and Costello starred in, an epic marathon we watched at Longstreet Clinic.  We had our headphones on, the two of us, while the chemotherapy was pouring through her body.  She was weak, but we were with her.  And Madison would be on the way soon.

We got home and Daddy had a surprise for Madison:  the latest Never Girls book.  We're on number six now.  Daddy snuck out to get it from the library, returning the previous one.  We're really moving along on this story now - Madison listens to Daddy read nearly every night.

Another thing she listens to are the epic stories in the car on the way to and from ballet.  Today featured the continued adventures of Flower Girl (that's Madison) and her friend Iceman, who worked together to rescue the rest of the X-Men.  Madison likes the X-Men, almost as much as Daddy does.  They had to go to Egypt to rescue their friends from the inside of a pyramid that was filled with traps and peril.  Of course, they succeeded.

Madison earned a trip to the movies when we got home.  Her rewards system set up online, she practiced a whole lot of math, learning about yards and a little bit of algebra as well.  A + A + A + A = B?  Really?  Already?  She knows it though, all in the name of redeeming that next reward, which in this case is a trip to see "Dolphin Tale 2" later this week.

So today we're doing a bit of writing.  Sometimes on our Wednesday night services, we get a bit abstract with the skits, which is fun in an unpredictable sort of way.  Talking about Jesus calming the storm, we have kids up on stage as apostles and a storm simulated on the water.  There's your tie-in to the under-the-sea theme.  Anyway, one of the guys that hangs around the apostles is Angus.  He's fictitious, of course.  But we like this guy - he's Scottish, and generally has flies buzzing around him as he hops around.  Here he is with a few other Bible characters:

The funny thing is that we keep sneeking him into skits.  As I wrap up for the day, here is his latest cameo appearance for us, Under the Sea.

KidPak Adventures:  Under the Sea
Rough Seas

CUE SLIDE:  OCEAN

CUE TRACK:  6 Rufus

JOEY:  “Before going on with the message, I thought I’d share a bit of the Bible with you.  It’s an amazing story you’ll find in Mark, chapter four – and Mr. Narrator, I think you know this one, right?”

NARRATOR: “ Of course I do!”

JOEY:  “That’s great – then let’s tell our audience an amazing story, probably in a way they haven’t heard before.”

NARRATOR:  “As any story should, this story begins with Jesus.”

JESUS enters STAGE RIGHT.

NARRATOR:  “He was with his apostles.  First there was Matthew.”

MATTHEW enters STAGE RIGHT.

NARRATOR:  “And then there was Peter.”

PETER enters STAGE RIGHT.

NARRATOR: “ And finally, there was Angus.”

ANGUS enters STAGE RIGHT.

NARRATOR:  “Okay, Angus wasn’t exactly an apostle.  But he liked to hang around Jesus, and my friends, there’s nothing wrong with that!”

NARRATOR:  “Except that maybe it would be great if Angus bathed once and a while.  Anyway, they all jumped on a boat because Jesus told them to go to a distant shore.  So they hopped in a boat together.”

CAST ‘hops’ on steps in center stage.

NARRATOR:  “It was a lovely day for a boat ride, and so relaxing that Jesus felt it was a great idea to take a little nap.  And so he rested his head on a cushion on the boat, and fell asleep, resting peacefully in the back.”

JESUS falls asleep.

NARRATOR: “And that’s when the apostles saw something.  It was something altogether awful, something horrifically horrific!”

CUE SLIDE:  “BUBBLE GUPPIES”

CUE TRACK:  7 Incantation

NARRATOR:  “They saw Bubble Guppies!  And they screamed in terror!”

CAST (except JESUS) screams in horror.

JOEY interrupts story.

JOEY: “It was not Bubble Guppies, Mr. Narrator.”

CUT TRACK COMPLETELY

NARRATOR: “It wasn’t?  Oh.  Sorry.  Then take that accursed image off the screen!”

CUE SLIDE:  OCEAN

NARRATOR:  “Sorry folks.  That just might give me nightmares.  No, this is in fact what they saw that inspired so much fear.”

CUE TRACK:  8 The Baron Dies and Lives Again

SHARK enters STAGE RIGHT

NARRATOR:  “It was Ray the Shark!  And the apostles – and Angus – screamed in utter horror!”

APOSTLES scream.

JOEY:  “NO.  It wasn’t that, Mr. Narrator.  Don’t you know the story?  It’s in Mark, chapter four.”

CUT TRACK COMPLETELY

NARRATOR: “Oh, that story.  Well, go away shark.  Sorry.”

SHARK:  “Aw, man!”

SHARK exits STAGE RIGHT.

NARRATOR: “ What they saw in fact was worse than Bubble Guppies and a big shark put together.  It was… I can’t say it.”

JOEY: “ Say it!”

NARRATOR:  “Fine.  It was… a storm!”

CUE TRACK:  9 The Kraken (at 3:01.5)

LIGHTS:  BLINK LIGHTS

CUE SLIDE:  “STORM AT SEA”

CUE SOUND EFFECT OF THUNDER

NARRATOR: “A great windstorm arose!  The boat was rocking back and forth in the storm.  Rock back and forth, apostles!”

APOSTLES rock back and forth.

NARRATOR:  “For those about to rock, I salute you!  Come on, Apostles!  Rock on!”

APOSTLES rock back and forth.

NARRATOR:  “Rock like you mean it!”

APOSTLES rock back and forth like they mean it.

NARRATOR: “The weather started getting rough.  The tiny ship was tossed.  If it wasn’t for the courage of the fearless crew, that poor ship would be lost!  But still the waves came – and everyone got wet!”

BACKSTAGE comes out with water guns, and randomly sprays audience a moment, and then fires off a few shots at APOSTLES and even JOEY.  Then flees backstage.

NARRATOR: “I told you.  Everyone got wet.  It got so bad, and yet when they saw Jesus, they realized he was sleeping.  What’s up with that?  Let’s wake Jesus up, KidPak.  On the count of three, everyone yell out, ‘WAKE UP, JESUS!’”

NARRATOR: “One… two… three!”

AUDIENCE:  “Wake up, Jesus!”

JESUS wakes up calmly, stretching and so forth.

NARRATOR:  “The apostles – and Angus – were filled with dread.  They waved their arms at Jesus and said, ‘Don’t you care if we drown?’”

JESUS rises slowly.

NARRATOR: “And that’s when Jesus got up, and simply said these words.”

JESUS:  “Peace!  Be still!”

CUE TRACK:  10 Winter’s a News Story

CUE SLIDE:  OCEAN

NARRATOR:  “And that’s when there was a great calm.  The apostles turned to each other and scratched their heads in wonderment.  What sort of man is this that can calm the seas?”

NARRATOR:  “The answer is simple. It’s the same one that can give you peace that passes all understanding.  So have faith, and trust Him, and you will find your rest – and your peace.”

NARRATOR:  “The end.”

JOEY:  “Let’s give our cast a round of applause as they exit!”