Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Venom

We got the sacred trinity today:  Count Chocula, Booberry and Frankenberry.  There's an app now downloaded on Madison's iPad that actually brings them to life to add to the fun.  As you can't do this upcoming season properly without said cereals, we now feel prepared to move forward!  In fact, we've already opened the box of Count Chocula, not really wanting to wait for breakfast.

There was piano practice this afternoon, which featured viewing a small portion of "The Marriage of Figaro."  Sadly, all Daddy knows of this opera is singing the word "Figaro" at the top of his lungs three times in a row.  I think many people have done this all their lives.  And wasn't there a Buggs Bunny cartoon with that music in it?

Anyway, it rained today.  Yep.  Lots of rain again.  No shortage of rain here in Georgia at least.  Daddy did do a bit of work today - part of that you'll see below.  But upon getting home, there was a tasty dinner from Mommy, and our usual rhythm again:  homework, and speech practice, and of course a few episodes of Spider-Man.  This led to some more Disney Infinity, as our theme for the day happens to be Venom.  The origin story of this character seems to vary in the cartoon, but the spirit of the thing is there, and that's okay.  Plus, it's toned down somewhat, as Venom can be a large, creepy thing.  And the tongue thing is weird too.  We have this character for Disney Infinity 2.0 - along with all the other characters - and of course had to play him tonight.  Spider-Man and Venom, swinging around Manhattan.  What a nice, relaxing way to help with stress - just grab a webslinging, and do a bit of wandering through a big city.


But what's with that tongue, really?  It's strangely disturbing, this weird extension, a fifth limb really.  I think, considering the black-and-white appearance of the character, that he's based on Gene Simmons from KISS in some way.  Both have black-and-white faces, and a tendency to stick out their tongues.

Completely moving on:  We're still reading at night, almost done with "Silver," a story that Madison is quite thrilled with.  She loves the character of Arabella, Jack's foil in his adventures, his first mate.  In this story, we're meeting Arabella's mother, who happens to be - shudder - a pirate.  This may have profound implications on the crew moving forward.  We'll find out shortly.  In the meantime, there's a trip to the library soon enough to get the next few books.  We're reading these at a rapid pace!

Also reading:  the Bible.  We're almost done with another children's Bible, mostly.  We're at the Palm Sunday story of this newer Bible, and It's been good for small memory verses and basic Bible stories.  She's enjoying listening to it, and always insists on reading the scriptures at the end each night.  She sticks her head in front of the reader (Daddy), so he can't see or read them.  And then begins to read them out loud.

Speaking of which, her speech therapy continues.  That class is coming up on Thursday once more, but she's focusing on the letter 'r' again.  Which seems to be a theme also coming up, what with "Talk Like A Pirate Day" coming up soon.

Anyway, we said goodnight to Madison, and then watched a few more episodes of "The Twilight Zone" before going to bed ourselves. Mommy is nearly out of her pain medication, but she's also getting better too, not needing as much.  She's up and about, and feeling quite optimistic about things.  So are all of us, despite the dire doom and gloom of the upcoming month's forecasts.  But more on that later.  For now, here's the message Daddy wrote for this upcoming Sunday, a movie message showing clips from "Mr. Peabody and Sherman."


CUE SERMON INTRO/CLIP #1 (0:56 – 3:43)

CUE SLIDE:  "MR. PEABODY and SHERMAN"

HOST:  "Say hello to Mr. Peabody and Sherman.  When we were looking at this Time Travel series, we were thinking of famous time travelers - and these two are some of my favorites.  They've got a pretty unique relationship - he's a dog that can do anything just about, and not too long ago, he decided to do something wonderful.  He decided to adopt a little boy."

CUE CLIP #2:  "MONTAGE of SHERMAN GROWING UP WITH MR. PEABODY"(18:35 – 21:47)

HOST:  "It's been a happy life for these two, and wow!  Can you imagine meeting some of the most famous people throughout world history?"

CUE SLIDE:  "DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE"

HOST:  "How'd you like to sit in the same room as the ones signing the Declaration of Independence?"

CUE SLIDE:  "1995 Braves"

HOST:  "Or wouldn't it be awesome to go back in time, and get a seat to watch Game Six of the 1995 World Series?"

CUE SLIDE:  "Sermon on the Mount"

HOST:  "And who wouldn't want to go back and hear Jesus preach at the Sermon on the Mount?"

CUE SLIDE:  "Sherman on the Mount"

HOST:  "Sherman has seen quite a bit - and it's all because he was adopted into the family.  When we saw this movie, you can't help but see that theme - it's a movie about adoption.  And it's something I know a little about:  in 2008, we saw a picture of this girl here in the southmost part of China."

CUE SLIDE:  "Madison in Orphanage"

HOST:  "My wife and I decided we wanted to adopt, and the first moment I laid eyes on this little girl, I knew life was going to become incredible.  Madison, can I get you to come up here?"

MADISON goes up on stage.

HOST:  "Her mother and I went through a lot to be with her.  Especially her mother - she filled out forms, gave blood, gave multiple fingerprint tests, took classes and even fought off cancer.  But in the end, it was worth it.  People like to talk about how blessed an orphan is when they are adopted.  But the truth is, the parents are probably even more blessed.  Adoption is a relationship built on love.  And that's our first point."

CUE SLIDE:  "You Are Adopted."

HOST: "Madison can you read that for everyone?"

MADISON:  "You are adopted."

HOST:  "You are adopted.  There is a scripture I want to share with you that tells you what I mean.  Let me share it with you."

CUE SLIDE:  "Ephesians 1:5"

HOST:  “So he decided long ago to adopt us. He adopted us as His children with all the rights children have. He did it because of what Jesus Christ has done. It pleased God to do it.”

CUE SLIDE:  "TIME TRAVELERS"

HOST:  "The truth is that we're all adopted.  And as much as we went through to get Madison, God went through a WHOLE LOT more to adopt all of us.  For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son.  We were all lost without Him, and He took pity on us, and brought us into His family at such a great personal cost.  Turn to your neighbor and say, 'You are adopted.'"

Let audience reply.

HOST:  "It's the truth!  You are.  And it pleased God to do it!  Now back to our story.  Sherman has a pretty unusual father - and word gets out at the school.  Sherman's about to get a very unusual meeting from a girl named Penny.  Let's take a look."

MADISON returns to seat as movie clip plays.

CUE CLIP #3 "PENNY'S PERSECUTION"(13:30 – 15:50)

CUE SLIDE:  "PENNY"

HOST:  "And here we go.  This can be the world in action right here.  As Christians, you want to stand out and be a light unto the world.  And at school, you want to fit in and be like everyone else.  These two sometimes come crashing against each other!  Penny here was saying - in a not-at-all-nice way - 'You're just like your father.'  She was making fun of him because of his love for His dad.  And here's a newsflash:  the world does that to Christians sometimes.  Even adults hear it:  Are you REALLY a Christian?  Are you REALLY a part of that crazy family?"

CUE SLIDE: "Time Travelers"

HOST:  "It can be tough when you want to be popular.  But being right with your Father is more important than being popular.  That's why we need to be like Paul.  Remember him from the New Testament?  Take a look at this scripture, and what he said."

CUE SLIDE:  "ROMANS 1:16 NIrV"

HOST:  “I want to preach it because I’m not ashamed of the good news. It is God’s power to save everyone who believes.”

CUE SLIDE:  "TIME TRAVELERS"

HOST:  "He was bold, wasn't he?  He didn't care what anyone thought, because he was happy to be a child of God.  He would look at someone like Penny and say, 'Yeah.  That's my Dad.'  And that's how we ought to be too.  When temptation comes creeping in, and we kinda' sorta' feel like we want to do those things we know God isn't pleased with, we have to remember Mr. Peabody's advice here, which is point two."

CUE SLIDE:  "MAKE IT WORK."

HOST:  "Make it work!  That's what Mr. Peabody told Sherman: 'Make it work!'  You just can't let anything separate you from your Father."

CUE SLIDE:  "PENNY & SHERMAN"

HOST:  "Now back to our story.  At school, Penny and Sherman got into a fight.  And because of that trouble, we meet this lady here."

CUE SLIDE:  "MRS. GRUNION"

HOST:  "She wants to separate Sherman from her dad.  So as you would suspect, Sherman had better be on his best behavior.  He needs to listen to Mr. Peabody and NOT show Penny the WABAC machine.  How do you think that turns out?"

Let audience answer.

HOST: " I think you're right.  Let's take a look."

CUE CLIP #4:  PENNY AND SHERMAN TIME TRAVEL (26:39 - 28:38)

CUE CLIP:  SHERMAN

HOST:  "That's just another way we get separated from God - when we do the things we know we shouldn't.  Sherman fell into temptation, and just like him, when we do wrong, it can lead us into a world of trouble.  Now Mr. Peabody has to come to the rescue, and here's the part where Sherman thinks he doesn't need his father anymore.  Oh, my!  That is a bad place to be.  Watch this clip, and you'll see just what I mean."

CUE CLIP #5 - The Trojan War (54:57 - 1:01:51)

CUE SLIDE:  "SHERMAN and the TROJAN WARRIORS"

During lengthy clip, set up two tables on either side of stage.  One table has the Bible, and Ten Commandments tablet on it, and the other table has the gladiator helmet on it.

HOST:  "Sherman wants to do what his friends are doing, even if that means disobeying his father.  And in the clip we just viewed, we got to see a great big fat 'I-told-you-so.'  Sherman finds out the hard way that his father was just trying to keep him safe.  And... he finds out just how much his father loves him."

CUE SLIDE:  "TIME TRAVELERS"

HOST:  "It is no different with our Heavenly Father.  (gesturing at first table) God gave us His word here to help guide us.  His Holy Spirit helps tell us what we need to do - and what we don't need to do.  And there are temptations to disobey - to be free!"

HOST is 'pulled' over towards gladiator helmet, which he puts on.

HOST:  "We want to charge out and be a rebel, or be like others and do our own thing!  Rules were meant to be broken, right?"

HOST takes helmet off.

HOST: "But it's not safe out there.  Even with a helmet on.  God knows this, and doesn't want to see anyone perish.  But just like with Sherman, the choice is up to you.  Will you make the right decision - the safe decision?"

CUE SLIDE:  MR. PEABODY

HOST:  "The thing was this.  Because of his bad decision, Sherman and Penny were about to DIE.  Yet, you saw what happened.  Mr. Peabody was willing to give his life for Sherman - and even Penny."

CUE SLIDE:  "TIME TRAVELERS"

HOST:  "And you know something?  That's exactly what Jesus did for all of us.  He knew we'd mess up, and he knew we'd get ourselves into trouble.  And even though he knew all that would happen, Jesus gave his life for us.  Because he loves us.  We have a loving Father."

HOST:  "Now, does Mr. Peabody escape certain doom?  Of course he does.  And even better, he got in the time machine with Penny and Sherman.  But… we still have to deal with Mrs. Grunion.  Remember her?  She's the one who wants to separate the adopted child and the father.  Let's see what happens next."

CUE CLIP #6 - "I'm a Dog Too"

CUE SLIDE:  "HISTORICAL FIGURES AROUND SHERMAN" (1:11:25 – 1:14:14)

HOST:  "Here we see something amazing.  Sherman is suddenly like Paul, unashamed of His father, and proud to be a part of that family.  And others see that too - and after seeing Sherman, they want in on that action!  And best of all, we see one character in particular come full circle."

CUE SLIDE: "PENNY"

HOST: "Penny.  The very one who persecuted Sherman for who his father was ... is now wanting to be a part of that family too.  This takes us to our final point."

CUE SLIDE:  "REWRITE HISTORY"

HOST:  "Rewrite history.  There were a lot of people heading in the wrong direction.  And that's the way it is with our world today.  You can change that."

CUE SLIDE: "MATTHEW 5:16"

HOST:  “In the same way, let your light shine so others can see it. Then they will see the good things you do. And they will bring glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

CUE SLIDE:  "TIME TRAVELERS"

HOST: "That's what it is all about. One bold witness can change lives, even the lives of those who don't believe, or those who want to make fun of us.  You have no idea what is going on inside their heads.  And you have no idea how God is moving behind the scenes to bring them into His family as well.  You just have to play your part - all it takes is one bold witness, one person finally acting like a Christian, rather than just talking like one on Sundays and Wednesday nights."

HOST:  "God has such a loving heart, and He's adopted you into His family.  But His love is greater than any of us could ever imagine - and He is looking to adopt more!"

HOST: "Are you ready to help out?  It's really simple.  First of all, if you're not sure if you are a member of His family, it's really easy to get adopted today.  All you have to do is pray with us this simple prayer, right now..."

After salvation prayer...

HOST:  "And don't forget God is looking to adopt more into His family.  If He's speaking to you now about someone you know at school, why not invite them to KidPak?  There's always room for more at church, and there's always room for more in heaven."

HOST:  "Don't forget.  God wants all of us adopted!  Let us pray."

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