A Visit to Genovia

Today represented a start to the new year at KidPak - not much time off in between this year, as we've been going in on and off to do various tasks that needed to be done.  Still, we're looking forward very much to this new series that has been around in our minds for some time.  Today, we began assembling the stage in earnest, getting things all set up with snow and the Stave Church, or at least a quasi-replica of it.  Snow-covered trees also add to the look of the stage, which will probably finished by late tomorrow night.  In the meantime, we've been getting together soundtracks and working on our message overall.  Daddy has written the entire flow for the day, following a little game we'll put together tomorrow hopefully.

We built some more things for the display case, and pretty much finished that - we'll share pictures of this soon enough.  Madison spent the day with everyone, helping set up for church, getting booklets ready and generally cleaning up things.  We have quite the mess to take care of, but we're tackling it one pile at a time.  Christmas has quite a bit of clean-up to go, both at home and at the church.  And just like that, we're suddenly entering fasting season, with banners that read "21 DAYS" hanging all over the parking lots.

These were put up in the rain.  It poured today.  It's supposed to pour tomorrow.  We got the precipitation, but not the temperature for snow.  Here we all are, ready and waiting for that snow and ice to descend upon us.  It's been promised, and we're pretty anxious to see some of it.  What is it about snow?  At least we can see some on our stage right now.

Tonight we watched a good movie before bedtime.  We had the popcorn, the fire, the works.  With Madison, we watched "The Princess Diaries," again sitting together on the couch.  These were good movies to watch with Madison - we'll probably watch part two later this weekend.  But Madison enjoyed this one, laughing out loud from time to time.  Not long ago, Daddy had a homework assignment in college to read fifty books before the end of the semester, and write a few pages about each one.  He read Narnia books, Terry Pratchett books, and Jules Verne books as well.  Fifty books covered quite a bit of ground, actually.  One series that Daddy actually read was the "Princess Diaries" books, by Meg Cabot.  I think I read about five of them.  The series goes off in a different direction than part two of the movies, but both are really good.  Again, Madison enjoyed it, and she wants to watch part two in a couple days when we go to Genovia once again.  It's a nice little country we'd like to visit someday, not far from the countries of some other European destinations like Pottslyvania, Slovetzia, Lichenstamp, Vulgaria, Kreblakistan, and of course Latveria.

So tonight we read about Joshua before bed, and we said our prayers for those who need healing.  We have a friend with a mom in the hospital, and Brock tore his Achilles tendon about two weeks ago.  That's a miserable story there, one that will go on for another six months.  Madison thought to pray for him on her own, without us bringing it up.  She's very thoughtful.

And so tonight it was off to sleep for sweet dreams.  We're heading back to church tomorrow to set things up, but in the meantime, here's the transcript of the message portion of Sunday's service dedicated to "How to Train Your Dragon 2:"

CUE SERMON INTRO, immediately followed by

CLIP 1:  5:20 – 9:23

CUE SLIDE:  Hiccup and Toothless

CUE TRACK:  5 Dragon Racing

HOST:  “That was gross!  How many of you out there would like to get licked by a dragon?”

Let audience answer.

HOST:  “Well as you can tell, the dragons are back in an all new adventure, one called “How to Train Your Dragon 2.”

CUE SLIDE:  “HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2”

HOST:  “This is the incredible story of a young Viking named Hiccup, as he continues his adventures.  He knows how to train a dragon by now, but the big thing he must learn in this new adventure is this one thing that you’ll see as we continue in this next clip.”

CLIP 2:   10:14 – 13:16 (remove reference to “gods”)

 

CUE SLIDE:  Hiccup and Astrid

CUE TRACK:  6 Road 2 Infinity    

HOST:  “He knows how to train a dragon.  But he now has to learn how to be a leader.  Early on he hears it:  his father has chosen him to be the leader of their island.  But the problem is this:  Hiccup doesn’t want to.  And what happens next sets our story in motion with amazing discoveries, heartbreaking tragedies, unforgettable triumphs, and yes, lots of dragons.  And through it all, Hiccup learns as we do what it takes to be a true leader.”

HOST:  “It is a story we should pay close attention to.  Like Hiccup, you may not realize this, but we are each called to lead!  That brings us to our first point.”

SLIDE:  “POINT ONE:  You are a heir.”

HOST:  “You are a joint heir with Christ.  That means you are a King’s kid.  Here’s a scripture from the Bible that tells us so.”

SLIDE:  “ROMANS 8:16 NIrV”

HOST:  “Take a look at that last part there:  We are God’s children.  It’s a big responsibility!  And God wants you to lead others to Him.  The best way to do that is through your words and your actions.”

SLIDE:  HICCUP

HOST:  “Unfortunately, Hiccup’s actions aren’t perfect, as we soon discover for ourselves.  Like us, he has a whole lot to learn.”

CLIP 3:   18:30 – 21:28 (remove “gods help us”)

CUE SLIDE:  Hiccup’s Father

CUE TRACK:  6 Road to Infinity

HOST:  “His father asked him directly to stay.  Told him to.  And did Hiccup stay?”

Let audience answer.

HOST:  “Was that a smart thing to do?”

Let audience answer.

HOST:  “Let’s find out why his father warned him to stay in Berk.”

CLIP 4:   27:14 – 29:20

CUE SLIDE:  Meeting in the Air

CUE TRACK:  7 Why Does She Have to Die?

HOST:  “He didn’t listen, and had to learn the hard way.  And this brings us to our second point.”

CUE SLIDE:  “POINT TWO:  LISTEN TO YOUR ELDERS.”

HOST:  “Listen to your elders.  Those are your teachers, your pastors, and yes, your parents.  Those who ignore the lessons of the past are doomed to repeat them.  Listen to your parents, your teachers and those God has put in authority – and yes, God Himself put them there to watch over you.  Listen to this scripture in Hebrews.”

CUE SLIDE:  “Hebrews 13:17”

HOST:  “Trust in your leaders. Put yourselves under their authority. Do this, because they keep watch over you. They know they are accountable to God for everything they do. Do this, so that their work will be a joy. If you make their work a heavy load, it won’t do you any good.”

CUE SLIDE:  “HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2”

HOST:  “They are only trying to keep you from harm.  They are only trying to keep you from making the same mistakes that they themselves made.  And if you are too stubborn to listen – and obey – you’ll find yourself messing up the same exact way.  And you have no one to blame but yourself.”

CUE SLIDE:  “HICCUP”

HOST:  “Fortunately, he does learn – and it is just in time too.  For his father was right:  these Vikings must face an enemy that cannot be reasoned with.”

CUE SLIDE:  “DRAGO BLUDVIST”

 HOST:  “His name is Drago Bludvist – and this is how he leads others is this:  by force.  By bullying.  In the first movie, we learned from Hiccup that we can get along with each other with love.  Hiccup and his friends have dragons around because they’ve learned to trust one another.  Let’s see how Drago treats his dragons.”

CUE CLIP 5:  48:23 – 49:47

CUE SLIDE:  DRAGO

CUE TRACK:  8 The Dragon Book

HOST:  “This is one bad guy who can’t be reasoned with.  And he’s got a big dragon behind him too.  For a time, it appears as if he is going to take over everywhere, because he has a ginormous dragon that nobody wants to mess with.  But now it’s time for Drago to learn things the hard way.  It’s time for him to learn how to be a real leader.”

CUE CLIP 6:  1:24:30 – 1:28:56

CUE SLIDE:  HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2

CUE TRACK:  6 Celtic Music

HOST:  “In the end, peace is restored for the time being.  And the biggest lesson of ‘How To Train Your Dragon 2’ this is how to lead.  The answer is simple, and our final point.”

CUE SLIDE:  “POINT THREE:  WE LEAD WITH LOVE”

HOST:  “We lead with love.  The best and only way is to lead is by example, which Paul wrote about in the Bible.  Listen closely.”

CUE SLIDE:  “1 TIMOHTY 4:12

HOST:  “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young. Set an example for the believers in what you say and in how you live. Also set an example in how you love and in what you believe.”

CUE SLIDE: “HICCUP”

HOST:  “The best way to set a good example is by showing loyalty and love.  You certainly can’t do everything right, but as Hiccup points out, you can only try.  Just do your best, because as you just heard, the Alpha protects His family.”

HOST points upward here to illustrate.

CUE SLIDE:  “HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2”

HOST:  “The Vikings in this story know how to train a dragon.  But by the end, they – and all of us – know how to fly high and be everything we are called to be.”

HOST:  “Let us pray.”