Good Grades and Groundhogs

Madison did great on her tests today, capping off a great week at school.  The unit test in math was the big one, and that was something she'd been studying for quite a bit for the last week.  These unit tests carry a lot of weight - I've always thought that eighty percent of your total grade was pretty big compared to the rest of the semester.  The quizzes and daily assignments make up most most of the work throughout the semester, weeks and weeks of homework assignments, classwork, projects, and quizzes.  But all that work accounts for just twenty percent of the grade.  It's these big tests that are the ones that make up the largest part of the grade.  So there's a little bit of nervousness going into these.  But then again, perhaps that's a training in itself.  College is a place where you have occasional classes that only feature a total of three tests total for a grade, and if you mess up one of those, you're in deep trouble.

Anyway, we checked into the online school site today, and there were a flurry of good grades.  We're very proud of her, no matter what.  We saw her working very hard and studying at night.  We do occasional reminders about this assignment or that, but on the whole, she's so self-driven.  It makes our job in that department so easy!  And again, though she's pretty bright, a lot of it does not come naturally.  We see her study and we see her work hard, and we see her earn her way through.

Today was a quiet day, at least compared to yesterday.  She finished her test, and while she was doing that, Daddy was at work, finishing up some scripts for Sunday - it's Groundhog Day, again.  We have a great skit that we're revisiting, one that Daddy wrote back in 2003 at our North Campus.  It will be pretty epic returning to this one, and so much fun to have the groundhog puppet back on stage once more.  It'll be a nice day!

In fact, I'll post the script below here, it's one that has been adjusted slightly for new cast members, with some other tweaks.  But on the whole, it's the same thing I had seventeen years ago now.  A lot has changed since then, but not our love of Groundhog Day!  In fact, tonight Daddy was making some themed snacks for this major holiday, something to be handed out on Sunday morning to our cast.  You'll just have to see those then, I think.

*****

KidPak Adventures:  All Aboard!
Groundhog Station

CUE TRACK:  1 PHIL STEALS THE MONEY

NARRATOR:  “You may not know this, but nearby the Train Depot, there’s a little hole in the ground, and inside that hole is a pretty famous resident.  Join us now at KidPak as we pay a visit to this special friend on his very special day.”

DAWN, ISAAC and NERDO enter from STAGE LEFT.

DAWN:  “Nerdo, what are we doing here?”

NERDO:  (excited) “It’s Groundhog Day, and we’re here to see the groundhog!”

ISAAC: “Nerdo, it’s too early in the morning.”

NERDO:  “Exactly! Once a year, the groundhog pops out of his hole, first thing in the morning, and looks to see his shadow.  If he sees it, there are six more months of… no wait.  It’s six weeks.  Or is it six days?  Oh, man, I don’t remember!  I’ll have to ask him when he pops out!”

DAWN: “Pops out where?”

NERDO:  “Here! Here’s the hole – this is it! (rubbing hands together)  Oh boy, oh boy!”

ISAAC:  “So… we just sit here and wait until aratsticks his head out a hole and looks for a shadow?”

NERDO:  “How dare you!  It’s not a rat!  It’s thegroundhog.  And he’s the greatest weather forecaster there is!”

DAWN:  (Arms folded, cold and tired and anxious to get this over with)  “Okay, okay, okay.  We get it!  So what do we do?  We just sit here and wait?”

CAST sits there and waits, NERDO looking at the place where the groundhog emerges, looking at it like that’s where Santa Claus comes from.

NERDO:  “Yep!  Any minute now…!”

NERDO is hopeful.  DAWN and ISAAC stand there awkwardly, looking at watches, trying to be patient.

NERDO: “ He should be sticking his cute little head out of there real soon!”

DAWN and ISAAC look ready to go, but NERDO’s enthusiasm doesn’t wane.

NERDO:  “Maybe he needs a little encouragement.”

DAWN (somewhat worried):  “What are you thinking about?”

NERDO:  “My motto is be prepared!  Mee-maw uses this to wake me up each morning.”

NERDO grabs a megaphone from STAGE LEFT

ISAAC: “ Nerdo, I don’t know about that.”

NERDO:  “Don’t worry! This will work just fine! (yelling into hole)  HELLO!  ALL ABOARD! ANYBODY IN THERE?  TODAY’S YOUR BIG DAY!  WE’RE WAITING!!!”

DAWN:  “Nerdo, this is not a good idea.”

NERDO:  (not hearing her)  “HEY! YOU IN THERE!  ARE YOU SLEEPING?!”

ISAAC:  “Probably not anymore.”

CAST looks on at hole, expectantly, but nothing happened.

NERDO: “ I thought as much.  But don’t worry – I brought a back-up plan!” 

NERDO goes to get a coffee thermos from STAGE LEFT.

DAWN: “Nerdo, what are you doing?”

NERDO: “ This is some fine groundhog roast coffee.  Just a little encouragement for our friend. Coffee wakes you right up!”

ISAAC: “Nerdo, don’t pour that down – ”

NERDO pours coffee into hole (just putting cup into hole, and turning cup as if pouring imaginary contents).

DAWN:  “Oh, that is so wrong!  Nerdo, that’s scalding hot coffee!”

NERDO, DAWN and ISAAC wait a moment.  DAWN and ISAAC look worried, but NERDO is still excited.  

ISAAC:  “Maybe we’d better go.”

NERDO:  “No! I’ve got one final emergency plan here.  Don’t panic!”

NERDO goes off STAGE LEFT to get a firecracker.

DAWN: “ Nerdo, that’s not a firecracker, is it?”

NERDO:  “For emergency use only.  Maybe our little friend needs to be jostled a little.  It’s just like an alarm clock!”

ISAAC:  “Not good!”

DAWN and ISAAC jump back as NERDO drops firecracker in hole. CAST puts fingers in their ears.

CUE SOUND EFFECT:  EXPLOSION

CAST reacts, shaking as if the earth has moved suddenly and violently.  Rising, NERDO looks perplexed as nothing else has come out of the hole.  DAWN and ISAAC are relieved.

DAWN:  “Maybe this is the wrong hole.”

NERDO sticks his head closer to the hole to inspect it and to look in closely.  He spends a few seconds looking deep into the hole, and then puts his head sideways to listen in the hole…

NERDO:  “No, it’s got to be!  I can’t hear anything in there, maybe he’s – ”

GROUNDHOG lunges up out of hold and grabs NERDO by the ear, trying to pull him into the hole a bit.

NERDO:  “Aaaah! Get-him-off!  Get-him-off!”

NERDO struggles a moment with GROUNDHOG, running around STAGE while holding GROUNDHOG, as if it is attached to his face.

DAWN:  “Nerdo! You stop treating that groundhog so badly!”

NERDO, screaming in terror, somehow makes his way back to place where GROUNDHOG emerged from, and releases GROUNDHOG back into the hole.

NERDO:  “OW!”

GROUNDHOG emerges slowly, and NERDO, DAWN and ISAAC back off, a little nervous.

GROUNDHOG:  “What is your deal?  You trying to make me into ground chuck?”

DAWN and ISAAC gasp!

DAWN: “What?!? It’s a talking groundhog!”

NERDO:  “You weren’t coming out!  You’re supposed to come out and see your shadow and tell us winter is over or something, right?”

GROUNDHOG:  “I was just about to get to that part, and then someone dumped hot coffee all over me!  I thought we were being invaded!”

ISAAC:  “Don’t look at me.  I had nothing to do with it!”

GROUNDHOG:  “You were screaming at me and throwing firecrackers in my living room!”  

DAWN:  “That wasn’t exactly a nice way to go about things, Nerdo.”

ISAAC:  “Yes, maybe you should ask yourself, what would Jesus do.”

GROUNDHOG:  “That’s a good point!  Would Jesus dump scalding hot coffee on you?”

NERDO:  “No?

GROUNDHOG:  “Would Jesus drop a large firecracker into your living room?”

NERDO:  “No.  I’m sorry Mr. Groundhog.”

GROUNDHOG:  “Call me Chuck.  And you know something? I forgive you.”

CUE TRACK:  2 A NEW DAY

NERDO:  “Oh my stars!”

GROUNDHOG:  “Just remember to treat everyone with love and respect.  That’s how God treats us, and there’s no shadow of turning with Him!”

DAWN:  “Aw!  That little rodent just forgave you, Nerdo. How sweet!”

GROUNDHOG:  “I heard that!  I’m right here?  I’m a groundhog, thank you very much!”

NERDO: “So… um… did you see your shadow?  Everyone wants to know.  What’s the weather going to be like?”

GROUNDHOG: “Groundhogs can’t tell what the weather is going to be like.  Only God can predict that far in advance.  I do have the Weather Channel though.  I have it on my large screen television.”

ISAAC:  “Wait, you have a large screen television down there?”

GROUNDHOG:  “Yeah, it’s in the big room next to the Jacuzzi.  Later on we’re having a Super Bowl party.”

DAWN:  “A …Super Bowl party?”

GROUNDHOG:  “Sure thing!  The Easter Bunny is coming over later – should be a swell time.  Want to drop by?”

DAWN, ISAAC, and NERDO look at each other.

NERDO:  “Totally!”

GROUNDHOG:  “Great! Be back here about a half hour before kick-off.”

DAWN: “Thanks Mr. Groundhog!”

ISAAC:  “See you soon!”

DAWN, ISAAC and NERDO start to EXIT STAGE LEFT

GROUNDHOG:  “Oh, and Nerdo?  You can leave the coffee and firecrackers at home.”

NERDO:  (exiting) “No problem.  I’ll just bring the chili!”

DAWN and ISAAC:  (also exiting STAGE LEFT) “NO!”

FADE LIGHTS

NARRATOR:  “It’s Groundhog Day. Again.  And even if there’s six more weeks of winter, when we show love, together we can bask in the warmth of our hearths and hearts, and enjoy this long lustrous winter together. Bottom line:  treat others with kindness.  Do it for the Groundhog.”

*****

I was making those while we were watching a new movie we haven't seen yet, or at least a new version of the same exact movie.  It was "The Lion King," the "live action" version of the same animated classic from the 90's.  Just like with "Beauty and the Beast," there were plenty of exact recreations of scenes from the original movie, and there are a few of us that feel this isn't a great idea.  "Aladdin," "Cinderella," "Lady and the Tramp," and "The Jungle Book" were great movies in that they didn't try and recreate the same exact movie as before, just with live action.  "The Lion King" was pretty much exactly what we all saw in the 90's, but not animated.  And that being said, watching this movie makes one really appreciate how effective and amazing the animated movie really was.

Anyway, the movie was okay.  Afterwards, we even had some time to watch a few episodes of "Kickin' It." Why not?  Tomorrow is Saturday, and we can all sleep in!

Tonight a few bits of major news happened, and we watched them as they happened.  One thing was the official moment of Brexit, where the clock counted down, and Great Britain once again became a completely independent nation.

This has been an ongoing "discussion" for many years, culminating in a vote back in 2016, and then other votes and negotiations, to the point that it has taken four years since that vote to actually do the very thing people voted to have done four years ago.  Amongst those Britains that voted were Madison's great aunt and uncle, who live in Wales.

The usual government bureaucracy dragged this on for four years.  I mean, many people assumed when there's a vote to do something, and there are more votes to do that thing, that sometime soon, that thing would be done.  But here we are, four years later, and it's finally getting done.  That's how much of a struggle it's been between globalist leaders and nationalist leaders, and that's the future battle, really.  Even here in America, there's a surge of nationalism that is fighting back against the globalist ideas, and that ties in nicely to today's vote in the US Senate.  While the impeachment trial is not officially over with, there was a vote today on whether to extend this thing by months (which is what would happen if we had witnesses come in to speak), or to not have witnesses and end it sooner.  The thinking is that this will all be over with on Wednesday, when there is another predictable vote, and the President is acquitted.  The call for witnesses seemed to make sense, if this were a real trial.  But a real trial also involves real jurors, and these are not impartial jurors at all.  In fact, a few of them are currently running for President to replace the man they are voting to impeach.  It's all about as impartial as the process in the House of Representatives, which was not at all.  So despite all the pomp and circumstance, this is all about politics and speaking to the televisions, with plenty of misleading news reports and confusion thrown in for good measure.

It's not exactly a proud moment for our government.  But at the same time, perhaps there is something to be happy about:  it was a test, and it seems as if things are still standing for the time being.  It would be nice if people in government worked together for a change, and perhaps this is a tipping point of sorts, where we start electing people who promise to do that sort of thing, rather than go straight to Washington to oppose and bring down.  I know, I can dream.

So anyway, we had a few big moments tonight in the world.  For posterity, we saw these moments as they occurred, and there's a sense that maybe we can now start moving forward, or at least in another direction and see what happens next.  We'll see how that goes as time moves on.  We prayed tonight in that direction, also praying for friends abroad on missions trips, for Ba-Ba and Nana, for our friend Mr. Edge, and that the Lord would watch over all of us as we sleep.

We read from the devotional, and we read from "Thrawn," a book title that auto-correct just can't get used to.  And then we were all off to sleep rather quickly.  It was a cold day, and we have all these wonderful blankets here that make falling asleep so comfy.  We'll find out Sunday how much longer we have to use those blankets!

Back to the High Museum

Madison was living the High Life today - she went on a field trip today with her photography class, and it was a really nice day for her to return to the High Museum in Atlanta!

She and the other students took their cameras with them, so it was partly an opportunity to learn and see new photography, and also a chance to create some new photos themselves.

That being said, here below is a collection of photos that Madison took in various places at the High Museum.  We were looking at these together tonight, and we were pretty impressed with the variety, the colors, the angles, and the depth of field. 

Umbrellas at the gift shop.

Close-up at the craft area.

Things are looking up at the High Museum!

Interesting low-angle close-up of third floor sculpture 

Returning to the concave mirror shape thing on the third floor!

Doc Brown replaced his speakers after Marty blew up the first set.

Close up of the mirrored surface, looking like the surface of a glass planet.

It almost looks like a small brick house on top of this white building here.

Fashion!

You're obviously in the wrong place.

Love the composition of this one!

Madison says this is her favorite type of picture, with a unique depth of field. 

Atlanta Paint Brushes

The ramp at the High Museum

Atlanta Cityscape on a Cold Day

Windows, Light and Shadows at the High

It was a great trip!  Madison enjoyed it quite a bit, and enjoyed reading on the way home on the bus, getting a good bit into her book she's rereading, "Lost Stars."  She got that one for Christmas.

We went to taekwondo tonight, and she was doing well there with her kicks and sparring, and her self-control too.  There was one boy she was sparring against that was testing that patience a little, or at least Daddy's!  Madison is doing well though, and having a great time each practice.  She's certainly becoming quicker and more flexible as well.

Tonight we read more from "Thrawn," and more from our devotional.  We have a lot to pray for lately, but God is been so good, leading us all through the valley of the shadow of darkness.  We don't have to fear any evil.

China and Viruses

Here is where we are told the coronavirus started, in a market in Mid-China, about 605 miles from the orphanage Madison spent a year of her life waiting at.  It's about a ten-and-a-half hour drive, which is pretty much the distance from here to Washington DC.  Though the flu has infected and killed more people by far, this new virus is spreading quickly and also infecting the world with a sense of fear.  It's a healthy respect for what could be a very dangerous situation, so there are governments acting appropriately:  China is under lock-down, to the point that even their Chinese New Year celebrations were cancelled.  That just shows you how enormous of a situation this really is.  We're not worried here in the States yet, although six people here have the virus and are under quarantine.  This week, a letter went out to parents of Forsyth County school kids, letting them know if they've been to China, it's okay to stay at home for a few weeks - it won't be counted against students who have been to China recently.  Work can be done from home.

It's a tricky situation.  While that's certainly comforting for those who have come from China to know this, it also points a finger at those who have Chinese decent.  Like Madison.  Hopefully nothing more will come from this, and folks will have a bit of common sense as we continue forward.  But as we already know from previous experience, there is sometimes an underlying evil lurking in this county:  it's racism, to put it bluntly.   There's a virus for you.  It sickens people, and it spreads from generation to generation, doing probably far more damage than this current coronavirus ever could.

And it's something we'd never think we'd be experiencing in this day and age, but yeah, it has happened before.  We're not expecting it to happen again, but sometimes people aren't all that bright or educated, and they're sadly quite willing to show off their lack of education.  We're praying against this sort of virus, and against the other as well, as it quickly transmits from one small marketplace to the entire globe.

Okay, so changing the subject, Madison started her unit test in math today and got really far on it:  she's only got three questions left, and all the students get to work on this test on Friday too.  That said, she's in great shape, she feels.  She studied quite a bit for it, and is pretty confident in how she did.  But tonight, she didn't have to study as much, as tomorrow she's going on a field trip to the High Museum.  Still, she did study a little, and also did some other work for school with sentence structures, which she feels a little better about now.  She also took a bath, and did some piano practice.  She's looking up new songs that she can play as well, looking for music sheets.

Daddy and Mommy were working at Kidpak today, developing the message for the night and doing quite a bit of office renovations.  It is looking great now, although we have a bit to go before things are done just right.  Mommy is such an expert with organization, fixing up the area and making things look so much better.

One funny moment at work came when we brought a thermometer down to the office where Daddy works.  We've been complaining about the cold here in this office for years.  The air conditioning starts right next to Daddy's office, and then spreads to the whole building from there.  Evidently there's a leak somewhere, and not enough air conditioning gets elsewhere, and then the system overcompensates and sends more air conditioning... and the end result is that all KidPak staff are used to wearing jackets, warm hats, and yes, frequently blankets.  What was the temperature?  Today it seemed warmer, but officially it was recorded as 58 degrees!

No wonder tonight's message in small groups had to do with the coal car of the train, and "keeping the fire going."  Of course, we're talking about a passion for God, and how that fuels us down the tracks towards the plans He has for us.  It was a fun train-themed message tonight, as we approach the station for one or two last train messages.  It's been a good series!

Daddy got home in time tonight to do some reading, of course "Thrawn," and also our train themed devotional.  We prayed and went to bed shortly after that, and why don't we end this entry here with a devotional about trains, and one in particular that Daddy rode on himself, a long time ago.

I was going through a suitcase filled with brochures of places I've been, stacks of postcards and books of all these wonderful memorable vacations out west.  I miss those old places.  I even found a couple of train tickets, and post cards that my grandfather - Ye-Ye's father - wrote to us from these same destinations.  We all traveled out there frequently, and there's a lot of wonder to see.  But some of my favorite memories growing up were all on a train, like the Silverton and Durango Narrow Gauge.

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“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.” Matthew 7:13 NIRV

     By 1882, the legendary Durango and Silverton Railway was completed, a line constructed mainly to carry gold and silver ores from mines in the San Juan Mountains. But from the very beginning, everyone knew it was an incredibly scenic route – and although this train was designed to haul precious metal ores, it didn’t take long for people to want to ride along on it in order to catch the view.

     Because of the steep canyons and mountainous terrain, this railroad is what is called a narrow gauge. The gauge is the distance between the two rails, and this train had a much smaller width than others. Any wider and it couldn’t find its way through the beautiful landscape. There are some tight squeezes!
     Though it’s different, narrow isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Jesus told us some time ago that the righteous follow a straight and narrow path. Those in Durango would tend to agree, though Jesus wasn’t talking about a narrow gauge railroad.
He was simply saying that fewer folks would choose to follow him, because the path just seemed a little more difficult.
     There’s no question that the Narrow Gauge Railway to Silverton is a little more difficult: it sure is an adventurous trip! But anyone who has ever traveled along it can tell you that it is one straight and narrow that is worth every moment along the way.
     Jesus would say the same thing about our straight and narrow too. Life with him is certainly the better path to go, filled with beauty and wonder all along the route less traveled.

Let's Split

Look how far she's come with her splits!  If only there were a time lapse of all the practices and all the stretching over all the years, you'd see how flexible she's become over time.  It's pretty impressive, so much that Daddy's jaw dropped here.  Imagine in a year or so.  Sure there are other kids that can do that much further, but Madison was at a starting point only a few years ago where she couldn't really go too far at all.  Now look at her!

Tonight we had taekwondo again, and Daddy hasn't brought the camera in too often here lately, but thought it was time.  You can see Madison is working on her form, which she feels rather confident about.  And you can see she's getting into the swing of things with her combat stick below.

The dads are in the back there, in the window, including Daddy who is all the way to the left with the camera.  We're all at this little counter there, all still looking at various baseball cards from Daddy's collection.  Daddy had the camera with him though, and was occasionally snapping shots of the kids at practice, and of course of Madison.

Here she is getting a little instruction from Mr. Edge, who was wanting Madison to do a side kick, and not necessarily a high kick.  Madison couldn't help but kick high though, which was funny, because you'd think it would be easier to just do a side kick.

She had fun tonight, but then again, she usually has a lot of fun out there on the mat.  Afterwards, it was hitting the computer and books for a lot of studying.  Tonight she had to finish up a social studies project she's been working on, one about religions in China.  The other thing she had to do was study for a unit test tomorrow in math.  She's done well on the two previous quizzes, and on top of that there is an early-morning study session she's going to tomorrow morning as well.  Regardless, she spent a good while on this tonight when she got home, and that left little time for anything else.  Such is the life of a dedicated student!  She's got a small break tomorrow night, so she'll probably do a bath and watch a few episodes of her current favorite television show, "Kickin' It."  Thursday she has a field trip, so she won't have to study so hard on Wednesday night.

Tonight we continued our story, "Thrawn," and read from our devotional.  We were praying for our friends on a missions trip in Egypt, and praying for our nation too.  There's a lot to pray for lately.  After zerberts and kisses, it was time for a good night's rest.

The earlier part of the day was school, of course.  Daddy was teaching a class himself, spending two hours or so with the college kids at the church.  This was what he came up with for a pretty decent lesson plan for those wanting to be in the ministry.

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MATTHEW 4:18-22 NIRV

    One day Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee. There he saw two brothers, Simon Peter and his brother Andrew. They were throwing a net in to the lake, because they were fishermen. ¹⁹ “Come and follow me,” Jesus said. “I will send you out to fish for people.” ²⁰ At once they left their nets and followed him.

     ²¹ Going on from there, he saw two other brothers. They were James, son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee. As they were preparing their nets, Jesus called out to them. ²² Right away they left the boat and their father and followed Jesus.

1.   Lures.  There are different types of fish out there and different types of fishermen.  Some go trolling the deep ocean waves for certain kinds of fish while others visit the local streams to do some fly-fishing.  Some use nets.  Some use special kinds of stinky bait.  But all catch fish.  They use the lure… and they tie that to a hook.

2.  Look how many fishermen there were in the apostles. Jesus has four of them here in this passage, the first apostles.  And he tells them – and us – this famous line:  you will fish for people.  

3.  Well, they would know all about this, and now you do too: just like fish, there are all different types of people out there.  And all different types of lures.  This is one reason why I love the fact that there are all kinds of different churches out there.  We use a big old net here at this church, trolling the ocean waves for lots of fish. But there are a few churches less than a mile from here, and they’re small ones.  And you know something?  They’re catching some unique fish that this church cannot catch.  They’re using a different sort of lure.  This is the important part:  we’re all doing what Jesus said.  We’re all catching fish.   We’re just using different lures.  And what kind of lure you use… depends on what kind of fish you want to catch.  

Let me read you another passage that has given me great peace over the years.  You see, we bring up all kinds of stuff kids like to talk about down in our children’s ministry, from Star Wars to Frozen to Toy Story to Football.  None of this is in the Bible, I told myself, so how is it that I can talk about Darth Vader and Queen Elsa in church? Let me read you this passage from Acts 17:16-34 (below).

4.  I want you to see a few things here in this passage.  

a.  First Paul recognized who needed to hear the gospel in the first verse.

b.  Second, he studied these people before preaching to them. In this passage, we see him talk to them using their art – their sculptures (Acts 17:23) and their poetry (Acts 17:38).  And he used their arts to speak to them about the gospel.  I believe if he were alive today, he’d be using their movies too.

c.   Third, he spoke to them, using their own arts and poetry. That was to get their attention. That’s the lure.  Now for the hook:  he tied it all to the gospel.  He tied the lure to the hook.

d.  Fourth, the most important part of this is that there were people that were saved.  There was fruit. Some wanted to hear more (Acts 17:32), and others were convinced right there and then (Acts 17:34).  The lures he used worked. 

e.  That’s the part you hold on to at the end.  Jesus said you judge a tree by its fruit.  Was there fruit?  Were lives changed?  Did the message of the gospel get to people’s ears?  That’s what you judge your efforts by.

5.  Personal example:  My experience with the Catholic church growing up was pretty repetitive. As a young child, I paid no attention to service or what the guy up there was going on and on about.  But there was one service I remember to this day, and I was only eight years old then.  He mentioned “Luke, Leia, and Han Solo.”  I suddenly perked up.  He was speaking my language!  He was using my kind of lure!

6.  This is the strategy we use at our children’s ministry, and it’s a strategy that Paul used, so I know it should work for every ministry. You just have to learn the language of the people you are speaking to.

a.  Remember, you can’t use one type of lure, and expect to catch any kind of fish you want.  You just can’t go to a place like Greece, and speak English, and then expect them to understand the gospel.  Obviously, you need to speak Greek.

b.  In the same way, you can’t just go in and speak to a football prayer breakfast, and not be able to speak football.  Sure, the ones that already know the gospel will do their best to listen. But you’re looking to be fishers of men.  You need to use the right lures and catch newfish.  So you need that lure.   Just like Paul was going around and looking at the world of the Greeks, you need to study football, and see about learning their language.

c.   Just like a fisherman studies the kinds of fish he wants to catch, you’ll have to do some studying too.  Related to the group you are trying to reach:

·      Study what kinds of kids movies are coming out.  

·      Study what’s going on in current events.  

·      Study what people are finding funny.  

·      What holidays are coming up?  

·      Maybe a famous celebrity just did or said something?  

·      Is there a song the kids are listening to?  Is there a song that’s popular again that older folks remember well?  

·      It really depends on the audience you’re reaching, but you have to see what they’re seeing, hear what they’re hearing, and even watch what they’re watching.  That is, if you really want to know how to “catch” them.

d.  Yes, that means you need to study a little about football too. This time of year is easy – there’s a big game coming up, so start with that.  Do you even know who is playing in the Super Bowl?  Not that I’m super passionate about it or anything, but when I bring it up to a room full of football fanatics, sure, they’re already thinking about who they think will win, and all kinds of statistics.  

e.  Already, I’ve started with a good lure.  Now it’s time to find some gospel.  That’s the hook.

7.   So right now we’re going to do a fun little exercise, and it’s all about developing a new series, finding that lure – and then tying it to the hook.  We’ll divide you up into groups of two or three, and we have a list here of “languages” people speak.  And your quick assignment here is to try and figure out a “lure,” and hopefully tie it to the hook of the gospel as well:

a.  Future Farmers of America Luncheon

b.  Pastor wants you to develop services to lead up to Academy Awards Sunday

c.   A message for #millennials.

d.  There are new Hispanic services at the church, and you want to reach that part of the community with a new series.

e.  The Fourth of July is here

f.    There’s a kids camp this summer

g.  The seniors have invited you to speak

h.  The Youth Group is wanting to start the school year in a big way with a new series.

i.    You’re a guest speaker at a Camp Meeting in Lumpkin County

j.    You’ve been asked to do an outreach to a local urban community

k.   Future business leaders of America has asked you to do a weekly series at the school

l.    It’s a Family Campout for church members this weekend, and you’ve been asked to prepare a series for Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Spend time with preparing ideas, and then having students share their lures and their hooks.

8.  One more side note:  we talked about football, or Star Wars, or Greeks, but there are some languages that are universal:  music and humor are two examples.  A good joke can suck just about anyone in.  And music is supremely powerful, even if it is in another language.

9.  Closing and prayer.

Acts 17:16-34 NIRV

¹⁶ Paul was Acts waiting for Silas and Timothy in Athens. He was very upset to see that the city was full of statues of gods. ¹⁷ So he went to the synagogue. There he talked both with Jews and with Greeks who worshiped God. Each day he spoke with anyone who happened to be in the market place. ¹⁸ A group of Epicurean and Stoic thinkers began to argue with him. Some of them asked, “What is this fellow chattering about?” Others said, “He seems to be telling us about gods we’ve never heard of.” They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus. He was telling them that Jesus had risen from the dead. ¹⁹ They took him to a meeting of the Areopagus. There they said to him, “What is this new teaching you’re giving us? ²⁰ You have some strange ideas we’ve never heard before. We would like to know what they mean.” ²¹ All the people of Athens spent their time talking about and listening to the latest ideas. People from other lands who lived there did the same.

²² Then Paul stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus. He said, “People of Athens! I see that you are very religious in every way. ²³ As I walked around, I looked carefully at the things you worship. I even found an altar with

to an unknown god

written on it. So you don’t know what you are worshiping. Now I am going to tell you about this ‘unknown god.’

²⁴ “He is the God who made the world. He also made everything in it. He is the Lord of heaven and earth. He doesn’t live in temples built by human hands. ²⁵ He is not served by human hands. He doesn’t need anything. Instead, he himself gives life and breath to all people. He also gives them everything else they have. ²⁶ From one man he made all the people of the world. Now they live all over the earth. He decided exactly when they should live. And he decided exactly where they should live. ²⁷ God did this so that people would seek him. And perhaps they would reach out for him and find him. They would find him even though he is not far from any of us. ²⁸ ‘In him we live and move and exist.’ As some of your own poets have also said, ‘We are his children.’

²⁹ “Yes, we are God’s children. So we shouldn’t think that God is made out of gold or silver or stone. He isn’t a statue planned and made by clever people. ³⁰ In the past, God didn’t judge people for what they didn’t know. But now he commands all people everywhere to turn away from their sins. ³¹ He has set a day when he will judge the world fairly. He has appointed a man to be its judge. God has proved this to everyone by raising that man from the dead.”

³² They heard Paul talk about the dead being raised. Some of them made fun of this idea. But others said, “We want to hear you speak about this again.” ³³ So Paul left the meeting of the Areopagus. ³⁴ Some of the people became followers of Paul and believed in Jesus. Dionysius was one of them. He was a member of the Areopagus. A woman named Damaris also became a believer. And so did some others.

***********

One thing today for staff were the Whoopie Pies.  Our friends from Maine sent two dozen of these sugar-infested monsters to us, all of these sent during the fast we were having.  So they've been quietly lurking in my refrigerator, and were brought to the office today for such a time as this!  We had ourselves a Whoopie Pie Party.  Daddy was unable to finish even one.  I cut it in half and shared it with someone else.  These things are neutron sugar bombs.  They're delicious, but so rich that I think the next time we have a party like this that we should have paramedics standing by.

Anyway, Madison had Live to Give after school today, and was happy to see a new teacher come in to take over.  Not that she disliked the previous teacher.  She just really likes the new teacher that is taking over the club.

She's studying blood in science, and the function of blood, which is ironic, given that Daddy lost a bit of it today:  I was showing my grandfather's lures to the audience, this collection that Mommy had put together.  Fortunately, it wasn't in front of the students, but wow:  I supremely gashed my finger!  Those hooks are still pretty sharp!  Anyway, the conversation about blood with Madison led to an amazing song by They Might Be Giants, or at least one that I like.

The Bloodmobile!  It's a delivery service inside us!  I think we watched this music video twice, and probably Daddy was more impressed than Madison was.  Still, it's a great video and instructive too.  

Each day we sort of review what was learned in each class:  two-point perspective in art, apertures in photography (although today was just about taking photos), area and volume in math, religions of India and China in social studies, and sentence structure in ELA.  That last one has been a bit of a challenge, but she's more on top of it now after a bit of studying.  

It was a good day today.  They're usually like that lately.  And now... I think we'll do as the title of this entry suggests:  let's split!