Don't be a Thwomp!

Youth tonight, and you can see Maddie in the plaid there right in the midst of the group.  It's been a good night with the kids students enjoying the service and the post-service hangout.  It was a quiet day, although Mom was having an awful day with her health.  She just had one of those bugs that kept her up all night, and it's been going around.  Some people who have had it wound up in the hospital.  Fortunately, neither Maddie or I got it, and none of us decided to go to Manor Lake today to visit Nana, as we didn't want to bring anything there.  It's one of those things that just causes a lot of trouble, and leaves you weak and exhausted afterwards.

We're wrapping up our Narnia series, and we're working on new stuff for the new "Level Up" series.  Video games move on just as movies do, and there are new games and new themes to explore, so we wrote a few new adjustments, and one of my favorites, a message called "Don't Act Like a Thwomp!" 

 

     Ah, to be a thwomp! Wait a minute, do you even know what a thwomp is? Mario, Luigi and his friends surely do: they’re ginormous rocks that hover in the air, just waiting for anyone to casually walk beneath. Thwomps are quite territorial, meaning if you try to walk underneath a floating thwomp, you’d best get ready to be flattened! 
     No one wants to be around a thwomp. But maybe we should be careful before getting too judgmental. That means this: some people act just like thwomps. Some folks look down upon others, and just don’t think they belong around anywhere. Maybe it is because those others have less money, don’t dress well, or even smell kind of funny. Or perhaps it’s because of something wrong that’s been done in the past. 
     It’s bad enough that some people think they’re better than others. What’s worse is when it is taken a step further. Talking bad about people behind their backs can be such a hurtful thing to do! Your words can be more crushing than a thwomp, and they can hurt for a very long time. 
     In our Bibles, Jesus saw the Pharisees about to come down on a woman they thought was beneath them. They too wanted to crush her, not just with words, but with actual stones. 
     That’s when Jesus did what he does best. He told them the truth: “Has any one of you not sinned?” Urg! You see, we’ve all sinned, and no one is perfect. Furthermore, God loves us all exactly the same. That’s why we need to be careful not to act like the Pharisees – or thwomps! 
     Mario and his friends know to stay clear of a thwomp, because nobody wants to be around a thwomp. And if you find yourself acting like a thwomp, you’d best be careful. Thinking others are beneath you is just not right. Crushing them by talking about them behind their backs? Wanting to hurt them? That’s also really bad. 
     Don’t look down on others, and don’t try to hurt them. Treat everyone with love, the kind Jesus would be proud of. In other words, don’t be a thwomp! 

 

Coincidentally, we were playing this Sunday afternoon, a level of Mario Party where the characters explore the land of the Whomps and Thwomps, who have always been one of my favorite obscure characters from Mario World.  Anyway, we were writing that one, and there's another message themed to Minecraft, because that game is still pretty big. 

Also on the list was a production meeting dedicated to "Esther," where we're considering writing large scale project that people can come to see.  Dawn has been with us, and it's been great to have her with us driving this forward.  We have the tools, but she's the one that really pushes things forward, and we're glad of it.

Anyway, we got home after FCY tonight, and did our reading pretty quickly, back to the Discworld, and of course reading from our Narnia devotional still.  We said our prayers, and it was time for bed!

, sick Mom, Narnia wrap-up, Esther production... updates coming soon...