Chinese Sleeping Beauty

We had a big surprise for Madison this afternoon after church, a visit to a play at Brenau to see "Sleeping Beauty."  But this was a version with a twist - it took place in China.  This was actually a surprise to Mommy and Daddy too - we thought we had purchased tickets to a standard interpretation of the story.  But we heard on Friday that this had this theme to it, and we weren't complaining at all!  We told Madison this morning before church, and she was quite excited to see the play.  We even got the same seats we always get - here they are below, "our seats!"

Madison is ready to watch the production.  You can see her and Mommy checking out the Chinese set. Madison likes the waterfall over there, but the whole thing is really quite nice, including the tree with blossoms over there on stage left.

As for the production itself, we all enjoyed it a lot.  The performances were great, and as you can see here the costumes were splendid.  We sat on the front row of the balcony, and Madison never lost her focus.  She was completely into it.

And she was into what took place after:  ice cream and a meet & greet.  This was the primary reason why we chose to come today, so Madison could meet up with the characters afterwards.  Last year, we did this with the "Alice in Wonderland" characters, and there was time to see all the characters this year as well.  Madison took a program around and had each and every one sign their autograph, just like last year.  And she posed with each one as well, as you can see from some of the pictures above.

And yes, there was ice cream!

Anyway, this was a very pleasant diversion for us, all part of a busy Sunday.  We start things off on Sunday with church, and this morning's service was dedicated to the Pearl of Great Price.  It went very well, as Daddy opened up a whole bunch of oysters for kids on stage, each one containing a pearl or two.  We shared our message as we did so, one that we'll share here below.  Madison and all the other kids had a great morning at KidPak!

“The Pearl of Great Price”

     Deep into the ocean the pearl divers plunge, looking for just the right treasure:  the perfect pearl.  It’s something that has been done for centuries – even Jesus spoke of a pearl at one point, a pearl of great price.

     Pearls are beautiful to look at, but did you know that they are made because of something irritating inside?  It is an annoying bit of sand caught in the oyster, which is covered year after year by layer after layer of white calcium carbonate.  Over time, that becomes the beautiful pearl, a treasure in the ocean. But remember:  it all started out with an irritant.
     In life, we have a lot of irritants we need to endure, don’t we? When things happen that you don’t want or understand, remember the pearl.  Trust God to use your circumstance, and turn that irritation into something wonderful.  Turn the test into a testimony, trial into triumph, and the tragedy into a trophy of grace.

     How do we do that?  Jesus told us how in many ways, even bringing up pearls again.  He told us not to throw them before pigs.  This makes sense, of course.  Why would you want something so beautiful thrown into the mud with a bunch of pigs?  But consider this:  a pearl gets its color, luster – and value – from the water it is growing in.  It needs to stay in the right environment, otherwise it will lose its luster.
     Of course, the same can be said for us.  Don’t spend time in the wrong environment, as it can drag you down.  Pearls don't belong in the mud, and you don't belong where God doesn't want you.

     When Jesus spoke of pearls, He told us, “The kingdom of heaven is like a trader who was looking for fine pearls.  He found one that was very valuable. So he went away and sold everything he had. And he bought that pearl.”
     Jesus compared salvation, and the Kingdom of Heaven, to a pearl of great price.  It is something worth chasing and giving up everything to have.  In the very next sentence, he spoke of good fish, and bad fish.  In you life, use your time wisely:  don’t be a bad fish that is only thrown away, but instead be something good and useful to the Lord.  In other words, seek the Pearl of Great price.